4 Months Old!!!

I can't believe that my baby is already 4 months old!! Time sure does go by fast! RubyLyn is smiling so much now and she is trying to figure out how to laugh. It's pretty funny when we tickle her and she trys to giggle. She also loves to jump in the "Johny jumper". A huge thanks to Auntie Christine for getting that for her! Sometimes I think I'll need to pad the doorway because she can get really crazy in it! We are doing our best at making life work with a child. I couldn't do it without the help of family & friends. I'm so thankful for all the help we receive.

Last week we drove to Las Vegas to spend time with my family. RubyLyn did awesome with the drive! I was really nervous how it would go with her not liking her car seat very much. Saturday morning we all went to breakfast with my cousin Ronnie, his wife Adina (9 months pregnant with baby boy Austin who was born today, yea!!!!), Auntie Stacy, and Christine. After Christine and I hit the Fashion Show Mall for some quick shopping before the BYU game. Kevin was so exhausted from a crazy week (or 4 months!!) that he went to bed at 4:30 in the afternoon!! The rest of us watched the BYU game and then chat in/around the hot tub for a while. Basically, it was a nice weekend with great people!

Longest Post Ever!

Yes, we are still alive! and this is our story so far...

The rest of our hospital stay when RubyLyn was born was not that great. The day before we were to be checked out the nurse said she thought her heart rate was slow. So she took her to the level 2 nursery to have the other nurses listen and get their opinion. They also thought it was slow so they ordered an EKG. That was so sad to see RubyLyn so upset when they did that test. They sent the results to Primary Childrens and to her Pediatrician. An hour later we got her back and PCMC (primary childrens medical center) said everything was normal. The next day I was released from my doctor and when the Pediatrician came in to release RubyLyn, Kevin asked again about the heart tests. The Doctor decided to do a 3 hour monitor to get a better feel for what was going on. We were okay with that because it was about 8am and check out is 11. Well, 1 hour into it he returned to say they wanted to keep her for 24 more hours. Her heart rate would dip into the 70-80's and her respiratory rate was fast. They also wanted to perform some blood tests to rule out a blood infection that could be the cause of the heart rate & respiratory rate. This time I was more upset. I was so scared of the unknown. Kevin's dad and brother, Shawn, came to the hospital to give her and I a blessing. The worst part was leaving the hospital without RubyLyn. I went home for a couple hours to take a shower. What a strange feeling to not have her in my belly and not in my arms, either. When we returned the hospital gave us a room in the new wing and said we could stay there free of charge. That turned out to be so nice because it would have been too hard to leave and come back for every feeding. Even though we live 2 minutes from the hospital, I was already so exhausted and still sore from the delivery.

The next 24 hours went well. her respiratory rate slowed, oxygen was perfect, but her heart rate would still dip low when in a deep sleep. They finally came to the conclusion that she was fine because when we stimulated her, the rate jumped back up quickly. They advised us to follow up with the Pediatrician in 3 days and PCMC in 2 weeks. We did just that and with additional tests, including a echo cardiogram on September 15th, her heart is perfect and there is no need for concern!

RubyLyn came home on June 5 at about 11 am. Now I was even more scared!! What do I do with a baby?! I had no clue!! We were only home for about 20 minutes when Kevin's cell phone rang. We had his black Chevy truck for sale and a man called inquiring about it. Kevin talked to him for a long time giving him all the history about the truck. The man offered Kevin a little less than his asking price (site unseen) and said if he would accept the offer he could pick it up in about 2 hours. (The man lived a couple hours away.) Kevin accepted the offer and then went to clean out his truck. Once the man arrived he paid for the truck and it was gone. Kevin said it was just a strange day to have one baby come home and another leave!! He loved that truck and was sad to see it go. But we don't need it anymore with our new one.

Then when RubyLyn was 24 days old we felt the need to take a last minute trip to Las Vegas to visit my Uncle Ron who is fighting brain cancer. He needed to go in for more surgery and the family decided we all needed to be there to support him and cheer him on. We decided to fly because I didn't think she would do very well in her car seat for that length of time. I kept her covered and followed doctors orders and she did great on the plane. What a wonderful weekend with my family! My mom is one of nine and all were able to make it there to be with Ron. Although I was nervous about traveling with her so young, it turned out to be one of the best times with that side of my family.

I went back to work when RubyLyn was about 4 weeks old. I would take her to work with me and Christine & I would take turns feeding and holding her. But a couple weeks later, we decided to make an office at my parents house and take turns working from there while tending RubyLyn. Now Christine with with her in the mornings and at lunch myself or my mom will be with her for the afternoons. I'm so lucky to have my family's help so I don't have to take her to daycare. I have to admit that I missed work while I was home with her. Postpartum was not easy for me.

July & August we made many trips to Bear Lake. She did great on the ride there and back and she loves the beach! I think she enjoys being outside in the fresh air. We also go on walks as much as we can.

She is starting to "talk" so much now! and smile! she is so much fun now that she can hold up her head. Christine bought her a "johnny jumper" and she loves it!! I don't know what I would do without my sister, she will make an awesome mom someday.

above is Auntie Cassy (my mom's sis from MN)
Great-Grandma Nelsen

Kevin is the BEST Dad ever!! He gets up with me in the middle of the night to help

And More Pictures

I thought I would post a few more pictures. sorry, too tired to type updates! enjoy anyway!

Don't worry Jayme, I know you didn't make this tutu for her head, but isn't it cute?!!
RubyLyn loves having her hands by her face.

The dogs can't get enough of her!

More Pictures

As Promised...

Introducing...

RubyLyn Burrell

She is finally here!! Born June 2, 2009. 6 lbs 2oz 17 3/4 inches long. I have no idea why she is so small! So that means all the weight i gained went to my butt & thighs, yea for me! ha ha j/k

So the story goes like this...(most of this is for my records, so please excuse some of the details)

She felt extremely low the last couple days. I made the comment to my Mom on Monday that I felt like she was going to fall right out. So Tuesday morning I was getting ready to get in the shower. I leaned over and when I stood back up I felt some fluid fall on my foot. I also felt a strange sensation. I didn't think my water broke because it wasn't that mush fluid, just a few drops. It didn't smell like urine. I decided to proceed with my shower, but I knew that it would be hard for me to tell if I was loosing any more while in there. When I got out I decided to call the doctor for her advise. She suggested I go to Labor & Delivery to be checked just in case. So we called work and let them know the plan. I was pretty sure it would turn out to be nothing and I'd be in later.

We got checked in and the RN proceeded to do the test and check me. We waited for the results for about an hour. She returned and said my Doctor was going to come talk to me. The test was negative for amniotic fluid.

My Doctor arrived and she decided to check me again. I guess things looked a little different. After discussing the possibility of a high leak that's hard to detect, the fact that I'm 2 days from my due date, She is going out of town the next day, and I probably wouldn't make it through the weekend...we decided to proceed with labor. I was pretty shocked. She immediately broke my water and the RN went to get the IV stuff with pitocin. That was about 10:30 am.

I labored until about 1:30 at which time I was in a lot of pain when the contractions were coming every 2 minutes. One was even so bad a got pretty sick. I asked for the epidural and hoped it wouldn't be long.

So about 2:00 my Epidural arrived and that wasn't too bad. The contractions hurt much worse! I waited for that to kick in and the nurse said to give it 30 mins and then she would check my progress and insert the catheter (so I wouldn't feel it!!). Even though they said it would only take about 10 mins for me to be numb, I was still feeling the majority of the contractions. They were still pretty intense. The nurse checked me and I was a 5 and 100%. She called for the epidural man to come see why it wasn't taking. Then about 45 mins later, and me complaining that they were getting worse, she checked me again and said I was complete and ready to start pushing. She called the anaesthesiologist again and told him to hurry because I was ready to push. He came in with a big dose of something much stronger!!

So we started pushing and the RN was amazed at the progress. She called the Doctor and told her when she gets here, we will be ready! So about 3:15, Dr. Langer arrived and couldn't believe how fast I labored. She was expecting 12 hours. I told her that the nurses said shift change was at 6:00 and I was following directions to not be in active labor during that time!! Ha ha!

I did a few more sets of pushes and RubyLyn was delivered at 3:48pm. I think I'm pretty lucky she was small because I didn't have much time to stretch. I do have stitches, but nothing too severe.

I think Kevin & I were in shock the whole day, but mostly when she arrived. I couldn't believe she is actually mine and that's what's been hiding inside my belly. She was very pink from the start and cried for just a few seconds.

I little while later, Kevin went with her to the nursery to give her a bath.

So far, everything has been amazing. We are still trying to figure out the feeding thing, but I'm sure that's normal.

I will post more pictures soon. My camera isn't cooperating with my computer right now. My Sister will probably have lots on her facebook page if you have that info.

Baby Update...39 weeks

I had a doctors appointment today, and no progress. The bad part is my doctor is going out of town the afternoon of the 3rd and returning the evening of the 7th. We have scheduled an induction for June 8th if she hasn't arrived by then. My next appointment is Monday. I guess she is just cozy where she's at and not ready to arrive. I will try to be patient and let her come when she's ready, but it's getting hard!! If she does come on her own, I'm hoping for Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday...we'll see!!!

What's been going on?!

Yep, we're still here! Sorry for not posting. I just looked at my blog and it says I have 12 days left before the big day! ahhh!!! Actually, we will see if it's 12. My last Doctor's appointment I was dilated to a 2 and 80%. She doesn't think I'll make it that far, but we'll see. I'm hoping for a June birth! So my crib thing has been resolved. We kept it and it's beautiful. The room is almost done, just need things hung on the walls.

Since my last post Kevin & I went to Lake Havasu AZ for our favorite WORCS racing track. We love going every year. This race was the last weekend of March. Kevin hasn't raced, or even rode for so long that we were only there for fun. He finished and didn't get hurt, so that's all that matters! Here are some videos from the pro race and the crazy jump they had the option of taking. The pro race is 2 hours long and the best part of the weekend. We may do some races later this year in California and Mesquite.

This is the jump the pros had the option of taking. It cut about 6 seconds off the track! Worth taking if you dared!!

Great view of lake and track.

This is Kevin during his first race. It was hard to get good pictures when I couldn't move very fast!

Here is the Pro start.

This is Davey jumping. He makes it look so easy, like always! Kim was very nervous! Davey did great considering he was sick.

A big thanks to Kim & Davey for letting me lounge all weekend in their air-conditioned motor home! I was swelling from the heat, so it was nice to have a great place to hang out!

Then in April I had 2 baby showers. I'm so blessed to have such generous friends and family. I really can't believe how much money it takes to bring a kid into this world! It's been very overwhelming and I'm so grateful for all the gifts, help, and advise that everyone has offered!

Here is a belly shot of me at 37 weeks. I can't believe she is almost here!

Hmm, what's happened in May...This month is FLYING by! Kevin turned 31 on the 18th! wow! We went to dinner and that's about it. I asked my sister what I should get him for his birthday and she said "you're giving him a baby, isn't that enough?!!". I agreed! ha ha! I will turn 29 (sad) on the 25th. I get the day off work, yahoo! (Memorial Day). Maybe I will have a baby girl on my birthday, who knows!

Well, hope this has been long enough for you! Oh, BTW, we finally decided on a name for baby girl, but we will announce it when she arrives!

My Crib Nightmare

So about 2 weeks ago I finally found the crib I wanted and it came in the color I wanted which is Chocolate Brown. I ordered it and picked it up from JCPenney a few days later. Kevin unpacked the whole thing and then brought a piece into me. It was the wrong color! This crib was clearly Cherry wood to me because of the red. So I called JCP and we returned the crib the next day. JCP called the warehouse and had them do a "hand pick". (BTW, the box was marked correctly as Chocolate Mist) They said they had a crib that was the correct color. So tonight we picked up the replacement. We opened the box in the parking lot to check the color. Same thing, Cherry. So I called the catalog people and talked to them about what the Cherry color could possibly look like if this was their Chocolate color. Also, I've already ordered the matching Dresser, etc. but that hasn't arrived yet because they will only ship that via truck to our house or business. So we kept the crib to compare to the other furniture when it arrives. So in the meantime on the box it has the manufacture info. I looked them up online and emailed them about the problem. To my surprise he replied already and said they've had complaints of same problem. I took pictures of the wood and now I'll wait to see what he says. The Cherry crib is very beautiful, but my bedroom set doesn't really match that color wood. I just want my Chocolate crib!!! I can't find anything else that I like. I'm surprised I'm being this picky about it because that isn't really like me. So, we will wait and see what happens.

The Results Are In!!

In my last post (because I'm just a blogger slacker) I was freaking about my glucose test. Well, I survived! The fruit punch drink was not great, but I managed to keep it down. I didn't drink it in 5 minutes like instructed, but o-well. I got my results back today and everything is perfect! yea! I must admit I was kinda worried.

So last night Kevin & I went to Baby's R Us because we decided we better get on the ball and get ready for this baby. I'm not sure how much time we spent there, probably at least an hour or so, but I'm so overwhelmed. We would look at a few things, then I'd go sit in the rocking chairs! I have no clue what I'm doing. We looked at car seats, strollers, cribs, etc etc etc and I called my Mom and asked if a baby really needs an entire store worth of stuff. We registered for a few items, but I'm at a loss as to what to think. We left without buying a single thing and we're back at square one...nothing! If this kid comes early, I'll really freak! Kevin thinks that because I'm a girl I should know all about this stuff, well SURPRISE...I'm clueless! I've never paid any attention to stuff like this because I didn't think I'd have any kids. And to be even more honest, I don't really feel like researching. Is that pathetic? I probably don't feel like it because I'm busy doing other things, like working.

So, that is my rant for the day. You wonder-women out there are my hero's!

Update

I had my 23 week check-up last Thursday. It included the followup ultrasound and everything is great. Her heart is great and the brain, too. My placenta has cleared my cervix, but is still very low. My doctor is not concerned. My text appointment will be the glucose test. Words can't explain how bad I don't want to do this test. I have the stuff in the fridge and it looks like fruit punch. I just hope I can keep it down and get the test over with and have good results. I have been feeling really good. She is really starting to move more and I look forward to feeling her kicks so I know she is okay.

Not much else has been going on. Kevin has been working on the RZR roll cage that is now at the powder coaters. We are crossing our fingers that we will be ready for the "UTV Wars" this weekend at the Monster Truck show. I hate that the show is over Valentines & President's Weekend, but it will be fun, especially because they haven't done UTV's before and are usually on their quads. I'll let you know how it goes.

I hope all is well with all of you!

Family Weekend

Last week was a crazing week. It all started on Saturday the 17th with my cousins wedding. While we were at the church we received word that my Mom's older brother, Ron, was in the hospital with a mass in his brain. He lives in Las Vegas. The last time we saw him was a little before Christmas when they visited us for a Saturday to have lunch at The Roof and tour Temple Square/Conference Center. He seemed just fine at the time. Well, I guess he has been having memory problems and headaches the last month or so. But the 16th was unbearable. That night Ronnie and his Mom took him to the ER and the scan was not good so they transferred him to another hospital. They spent the night waiting for a neurologist and other tests. So on Saturday while we were at the wedding we kept in touch with text messages. Some family left that evening for Vegas. On Sunday, more left. (My Mom is 1 of 9 kids, so you can imagine how big my family is!!) On Monday my Mom and her other sisters left for Vegas. Finally on Tuesday the neurologist was going to remove the mass. Ron was very confused and starting to loose some function on his left side. The surgery went very well. The mass was the size of the surgeons fist on the front right side of his brain. They were able to remove 95% of the mass because it had "feelers". Ron will have to undergo Chemo & radiation for the rest of the treatment because the test results were cancer. Ron's other son, David, has been in Iraq (Army) so they were able to get him home for emergency leave. We new David was on his way home, but he wouldn't tell anyone when his flight was. He wanted to surprise everyone at the hospital. Well, he did just that. He was dressed in full camo uniform with his luggage and made his entrance into Ron's room. They said he was just gleaming when he saw him. The hospital treated David like a superstar. So, this past weekend Kevin, my sister Christine, my brother Shawn, and I decided we needed to head to Vegas to visit Ron and the rest of the family there. My Aunt Jessie was kind enough to let us stay at their beautiful home while we were there. It's better than a 10 star hotel!!

To see all my family come together for 1 person and pray, support, just be there for each other is so amazing. I feel so lucky to be a part of this big family. Seeing the miracles from priesthood blessings was so uplifting. I love seeing the gospel in action. I don't know where Ron, or my family would be without it. Ron is doing better everyday. I wish we could stay in Vegas and cheer him on and help his family, but we will have to do that from here.

While we were in Vegas, Christine's birthday was on Saturday. That night a bunch of our cousins went bowling with my Grandpa. It was so fun to spend that time with him with just us kids! (yes, we're kids even though some of use are almost 30!!!) I will post pictures when I get them from my sister.

I hope all is well with you & your families. Stay healthy & happy!!!!

19 Week Check up

Last Thursday (sorry for the delay again posting!) I had my monthly check-up and this one with the full ultra-sound. I will have another ultra-sound on my next appointment in February because baby girl wasn't cooperating for the full heart check. They can see all 4 chambers but want a better look at the blood vessels. Also, my placenta hasn't fully cleared my cervix yet so they just want to make sure that is out of the way for delivery. Then one more thing to check is the little things in her brain that still need to fill with spinal fluid. The doctor and tech both said I have nothing to worry about because 19 weeks is still early for all those things and they think everything is fine. I'm crossing my fingers! I do feel lucky that I get to see her again in black & white! I have a DVD but when they started recording, she got shy and didn't want to move much. little stinker! I feel good. My energy is back and I'm not nauseous, which is awesome!! I do feel huge. I can't wear maternity pants because they drive my stomach nuts. So I'm still in my regular jeans, just folding them down a bit. I can't believe how expensive maternity clothes are! So frustrating because when I buy clothes I want to wear them for more than a few months. Yes, I will save them in case we have another baby.

Well, I can't think of much else to chat about. I'm pretty boring these days!!

16 Weeks and....

IT'S A GIRL!!!

This morning Kevin & I went to have a gender check ultrasound. My sister was not going to let me go through Christmas and not know what it was. Kevin always knew he would have a girl first because all of his brothers did, but he was still hoping for a boy. (He doesn't want to buy a shotgun just to chase the boys away!!) I think seeing her on the screen and hearing the heart beat was just what he needed to feel that this is really happening. It was lots of fun! We will have the full head-to-toe ultrasound on our next monthly check up on January 8th. We will get a DVD and more pictures. Things are going great and that's all I can ask for!

Aloha!

Sorry I haven't posted our Hawaii trip sooner. I'm just not motivated these days. Although, I do think I'm starting to feel better now that my first trimester is almost done. Cross your fingers for me!
I'll start with my doctors appt that I had the Thursday before we left. I met my doctor and she is awesome! With the measurements, I'm on schedule for a June 4th due date. All my tests came back perfect and she gave me some pills to help with the nausea, which has been nice. She said to have a great time in Hawaii and didn't give me any restrictions.

So we arrive in Oahu on Saturday afternoon. I did so well on the flight! I was able to drink lots of water which was good because that made me get up to use the bathroom. My doctor said to move a lot so I don't get blood clots. Chad picked us up at the airport and we went to Zippies for food. It was yummy. On our way to his house we drove through Waikiki and saw all the hot tourist spots. That night we stayed at Chad's house with his son Kaleo. We had lots of fun with those 2 boys! On Sunday morning we took our time getting ready for the day and didn't leave his house until noon. So that meant Chad had to give us the 2 1/2 hour Oahu tour because we had to be back at the airport at 3:30 for our flight to Kauai. We had fun driving around the island and visiting (very quickly!) lots of the spots I've heard about. We did stop at the Temple for some photos.

When we arrived in Kauai it was dark and raining. We were greeted with some fresh flower lei's. very cool! Then it was off to our condo...did I mention it was dark & raining?!! that was fun. Most of our trip it rained or was cloudy. We did have some sun on Tuesday and Wednesday, but that was about it.

On Wednesday we went on our MudBug adventure. It was fun to see lots of the back country. We saw where many films are made, like Jurassic Park. They gave us some clothes to wear because you get muddy along the way. We stopped at a waterfall to swim and have lunch.

On Thursday we did the Kayaking & Zip-line tour. This was my favorite. I loved kayaking! the zip line was fun, too.

Friday was our mountain tubing adventure. It rained all day and because we were in the mountains, yes it was FREEZING!! We made it and it was a lot of fun. After that we headed to our Smith Family Luau. That was very yummy! I ate way too much pineapple on this trip. I wasn't sure my mouth would recover.

below are just a few pictures. I think we have over 300! It was so fun to have Skyler & Jayme with us. We have missed spending time with them. We are lucky to have them as friends.

well, sorry for the few details...like I said, I'm just not motivated these days. I need more sleep! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

In our Zip Line gear. BTW...a 5 YEAR OLD was with us and she went on it! What a brave little girl!

View from Lighthouse

Mudbug

Kayaking

Mountain tubing

Us on our Mudbug trip. One of the stops

Skyler & Kevin playing in the Ocean

View from our Condo. We were on the Cliffs!

Our Big Halloween Annoucement! (sorry it took so long to post)

For Halloween this year Christine said that they were all dressing up and she wanted me to dress up also. I didn't have anything in mind so she offered to make my costume. She wanted me to be a pregnant lady! This was very funny to Kevin & I because no one new we were actually expecting. I decided to go along with the plan and told Kevin that I would put a note on the fake belly announcing our big news. (We were going to wait until around Thanksgiving to announce)

Thursday night Christine dropped off the belly she had made. I was so nervous that I didn't sleep well. The next morning we were driving to work and the last turn before our work I lost it and started puking in the car. Kevin parked in our usual spot and I finished puking outside the door. I told him to go get my Mom. She came out and said "are you sick?" I then gave her the note that was not pinned to me yet and let her read it. She didn't really get it at first because I wasn't wearing the belly yet. So I explained to her the situation. She was very surprised. Then Christine came to the car and did the exact same thing. So funny! Anyway, I cleaned myself up and put the belly on and showed my Dad and everyone else in the office. That night we went to Kevin's parents to "Trick or Treat" and they were very quick to get the message!

I have my first appointment on the 13th. I think I'm about 10 weeks and due the first week in June. We'll see if that changes.

I do have "morning sickness". I feel the worst in the morning and at night. I will admit that I'm very lucky that it's not worse. I know many of you have had nightmare pregnancies and I'm always reminding myself that I can do this and it's not that bad!

Christine & I in our costumes. She was a gangster

I had to post Shawn in his costume. He is a Beer Belly Buddy!! The best part is, he delivered the mail to the Post Office wearing this!!! He is so awesome! love you Shawn!

Body Worlds 3

Sorry, I've been slacking on posting.

This past Saturday we attended The Body Worlds 3 exhibit in SLC. One word...amazing! I learned more about the human body in 2 hours than I did in health class in school! If you have a weak stomach for this kind of stuff, don't worry, there is no smell and it almost looks fake anyway. The really incredible part was the "baby" section. They showed the embryo at 6 weeks all the way to about 27 weeks. So cool! oh, and this exhibit is not like the ones in Las Vegas that used Chinese prisoners. They are people that donated their bodies to this cause. They also show the difference between healthy organs and those with tumors or other health issues. So, take care of your body...you only get one!

Top of Utah Marathon

This weekend, I along with Kim, Kathy (Kim's Mom), Shauna (Kim's sister), and Ali ventured to Logan Utah where we went to cheer on A'Lisha while she ran her first, and according to her, her last (we'll see!!) marathon. The drive up was so beautiful. The leaves are already changing, making for a great landscape.

When we arrived we found a great spot at the 18th mile. While we waited for A'Lisha to appear, we cheered on the other runners. We couldn't believe the many different people that were participating in this event. Grandmas, Grandpas, Moms, Dads, etc. Many you could tell were struggling, while others made it seem much easier. Just before it was close to A'Lisha reaching the 18th mile, her hubby Jeramey & princess Kylee arrived. Then...we saw her! We were so excited to see her. She said she was hurting pretty bad, but kept right on movin. (She has been fighting an ankle injury for many weeks) So, then we cut through the neighborhood to see her again. After that we loaded into the cars and found another great spot at the 22 1/2 mile mark. She was looking great!

Then it was off to the finish line. We didn't have to wait long to hear her name on the loud speaker. When she crossed the finish line Kim had a Coke waiting for her! What an emotional moment. We are so proud of A'Lisha. She made this goal and never gave up. She trained so hard. Waking up long before the sun came up so she didn't take any time away from Ky. I can't even comprehend running for 26.2 miles. A'Lisha, you are such an inspiration to me. To do something that is so hard, demanding, and painful because you set a goal. I'm not sure I'm that strong. Maybe one day, I will find out. Thank you for being such a great example to me and everyone around you. Thank you for sharing this special day with us. You Rock!!!

While waiting, we got some breakfast. This is Ali eating a doughnut. She didn't really like it!

The day was perfect. Not too hot, not too cold. Some sprinkles, but I think that was from the runners praying for it!

This is A'Lisha about 18 1/2 miles running with her friend.

While waiting for A'Lisha at 22 1/2 miles, Ali needed some entertainment! Kim, you are such a fun Mom :)

The big moment!!! The Finish Line! You made it all the way!!!You are my hero!The ladies!While A'Lisha was getting her much needed and deserved massage, the girls played in the freezing cold waterWalking to the car. All A'Lisha wanted at this point was a juicy burger! We headed off to Chilis for lunch.

Kauai, Hawaii...here we come!!!

The other night I decided to check out our timeshare exchanges. I always look for Hawaii and they never have it available...until this week!! We found an exchange for the exact time we already had our vacation time scheduled at work. I called Kevin and he was all for it. So, we will be leaving November 15th (Saturday) and go to Oaho first. We will stay with Chad. Then on Sunday evening we will fly to Kauai to our resort. We are staying in Princeville, Kauai. We will return home on Sunday the 23rd. I'm really excited. We went to Maui a couple years ago for Brett's wedding. We didn't see much because we weren't able to stay long, and an earthquake hit. (BTW...that is really scary when you are on vacation and you don't have your emergency kits or food storage) Anyway, it was fun and I've wanted to go back ever since. Then we went to Mexico last November with Robert & Jan. That was so much fun. I'm really learning how to relax on vacation! We now have something to look forward to as we head into political season hell. (our work gets really busy this time of year)

End of Summer

This year is just flying by. I think this summer was way too short. June was too cold to play in the water and August even had a few chilly weekends. Well, Labor Day is usually our last weekend to play in the water at Bear Lake. We had lots of family with us this year. The more people, the more fun! Well, to start things out we had to get a new TV because the big screen that was up there died while Kevin & I were there for your anniversary. My Dad, Kevin, & I went to Costco and were checking out what they had. We thought we had it all picked out and decided to check out Sams Club to compare and see if they had a better TV stand. We got there and an employee asked us if we had any questions about the LCD TV's. We asked her opinion about the one we had decided on and we ended up with a 2 hour teaching lesson on how all this new HD technology really works. Oh my heck, talk about information overload. Our brains were mush by the time we left! To keep this long story some what short, we changed our minds on which TV to get and ended up with a BlueRay home theatre system. Now, don't think that she is some great sales-women and we caved in...Sams Club had set up all the different ways you could hook up the new HDTV's so you could see exactly what it will look like when you get it home. So, we get all the stuff and the next day headed to Bear. We got there about 11 pm and we were up until 3 am setting everything up. WOW, there are no words to describe BlueRay. All I can say is, get it, and watch it! You can watch all your original DVD's and it's like watching a movie for the first time. It takes some getting used to. The picture is totally different. (for those of you that are already up with the technology, we are a little slow!!) So, we watched lots of great movies and played in the water until Sunday evening when the storm came in. I'm glad we at least got some play time on Sunday. We even set up a net and played some "volleyball"....we suck!! but it was so much fun!! Monday was FREEZING!

Kevin took my grandpa on some rides in the RZR. He had so much fun!! they went exploring in the mountains for a couple hours. Kevin took him on some whoop trails to show him how nice the ride is, then he climbed the tractor tire again. The expression on his face was priceless! (I'm actually surprised he could still clear the tire with the new bumper)

Our volleyball game!



For a few years we had the SK (yes, a "suck my wake boat") in our garage. Kevin did a little work on it but we decided that my cousin Jeff would be perfect at getting this boat running again. He has been taking auto mechanics in High school and he loves working on stuff like this. So we told him to come get it (last year) and it only took about 3 days before it was out of our garage! Jeff and my uncle Glen worked on it and they brought it to Bear for the final test. It ran awesome! we had so much fun watching my Dad & Glen TRY to ski (Davey Jones's locker was holding them down!! ha ha) We could have only wished for smoother water to really open it up. Even the slightest wave will make for a rough ride. But it was great to hear that motor again. It brings back so many memories of when I was little. Below is a silly video I took of our ride. Turn your speakers down because it's loud. it's only 30 seconds long. (I need to find a picture of the entire boat) Thanks again Jeff & Glen for your dedication to get her back on the lake!!

Random Thoughts

I have just a few random thoughts to share.

This time of year is great for yummy dinners. We have visited the farmer's market already numerous times. We have enjoyed many nights of BLT's, corn-on-the-cob, and other fresh veggies. It makes dinner so much simpler and the best part...Tastier!

Now for the downer. At the beginning of the summer we had to purchase a new motor for our AC unit. It has struggled ever since we bought our house 6 years ago. We thought we would get lucky and after spending $170 for the new motor, get another year maybe two out of the unit. Well, last week we came home to a very hot house. The air blowing from the vents was not cold at all. We called our very handy friend Shane (his job is heating/air) and he came over and said the compressor is dead. Great. Last night our house was 87 degrees with all the windows open and all the fans on. Tonight, I just looked and our house is now 90 degrees. Yes, we can move to the basement, but that is only about 10-15 degrees cooler. yuk. Needless to say, we haven't been sleeping well. We have to buy a new AC unit and furnace. (both units are "builders" models and are not efficient for our square footage or great models anyway, obviously) So, either we wait for a great combo deal (which we haven't found yet) or we pay almost $6000 now for new stuff. I guess that's what we get for spending $$$ on a new cage & shocks for the RZR! I'm hoping we can survive the rest of the summer and see what winter brings. I'm going to tell myself we can do it!! (any ideas how to convince our cat we're not torturing her??!!) Maybe I will sweat a few pounds away ;)

Also, Christine has been in Hawaii for a few weeks visiting Chad. So being the nice sister that I am, I sent her the following picture with "Do you miss me?"!! How mean am I?!?! Is that not the cutest face you've ever seen? (BTW, this is Monster, one of my Mom's dogs.)

6 Years!

On Sunday, the 17th, Kevin & I celebrated our 6 year anniversary. We were lucky to have our cabin at Bear Lake all to ourselves. It was cool there so we didn't go in the lake. Instead, we watched lots of Olympics and movies. It was so relaxing and perfect.

The time just keeps going by faster & faster. I can't believe it's already been 6 years since we were married, and 9 since we started dating seriously. I know that many people say they married their best friend, but were were truly best friends before we married. We have been so close since my 9th grade year. We have so many memories from school and now, the best part of our lives. I also married into a wonderful family. The Burrell's bring so much fun and happiness into my life. They even taught me how to "vacation" properly!! (In Hawaii)

I want to thank Kevin for choosing me.

Olympics Rock!!

I've loved watching the Olympics since I was young. I remember when I would watch the Olympics all day long. Now, I rush home and stay up late enjoying every moment I can. I enjoy all the stories they do on the athletes. The sacrafices they make to be the best. I also enjoy learning about the countries. I'm hooked!!

Busy Saturday

Our Saturday was filled with family activities. First, we started with our nephew Nicholas's baptism. He is growing up so fast! This is a picture of Nick with his family. Shawn is Kevin's brother (as if you can't tell!) Kathy is my sister-in-law and the other cutie is Savannah. I stole this picture from her blog :) After the baptism we had a yummy lunch at their home and visited with family and friends.Next it was on to a birthday Luau! My sister Christine's friends and family of her fiance had a HUGE luau for 3 kids turning one. This is Hawaiian tradition. We ate really good Hawaiian food and enjoyed the best entertainment. They really know how to party! These people are so fun and talented. What a great culture.
yep...that's her name! when they say it, it's so beautiful.

This is Christine & Chad. He lives in Hawaii so it's always nice when we get to see him. I hope we can spend some with him before he returns home. Christine will be visiting Hawaii for a few weeks in August.
Party animals!
This is all the guys doing the Hakka (sorry, i know i spelled that wrong)
This is Peanut. She is soooo cute! only 5 years old, i think. she really loves Christine. She says they have the same smile! Peanut performed so well at the luau!

The world looses another great man

I'm not sure if any of you have looked at my link to Randy Pausch or not, but I learned of this great man through my Dad. He found his lectures on YouTube. He was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University. I've watched his two most popular lectures several times. The Last Lecture and Time Management. Randy was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in Sept 2006. He beat many odds and lived longer than expected. Today, he passed away leaving behind a wife and 3 young children. I strongly recommend you find the time to watch his lectures. they are each about an hour long, but you will gain so much more than watching a sitcom on television. Even if you don't work, or are not in school, many principals can be applied to your own life. I'm sad to hear of his passing because he has done so much good and it's hard to let the good ones go. I also hate to see a cancer that is so horrible with no cure yet.

His lectures are very entertaining because he has some fun characteristics of Jim Carrey. He's one of those teachers that can grab your attention and keep you wanting more!

Bear Lake

I'm making this post very quick...This last weekend Kevin & I along with Kim, Davey, Ali bug, Robert, Jan, A'lisha, Jeramey, princess Kylee, & Brian, Joey, & Jordan spent the weekend at our house in Bear Lake. That is our local paradise and we love it there. We are so happy to share it with our friends & extended family. Here are some fun pictures and a video. Enjoy!!

Jan...by this time next year, your little guy will be doing the same thing!!
This is where the princess lives!





Fireworks are always fun! I'm glad we finally got the "3 foot" sparklers to light!

boys and their toys

Memory

Fun if you want to participate.

1. As a comment on my blog, leave a memory that you and I have together. It doesn't matter if you know me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re post these instructions on your blog, and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty fun to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you!

UHP Photos

We finally received our DVD in the mail with the pictures and a video they made of our class. The video is too big to post. I will be happy to show you if you are interested in seeing it! (it's really cool!) These pictures are not in order...

This is a simulator they use to train officers to "clear" an intersection when they are in going to an emergency. It was very hard to think of so many things at once...Siren, blinker, change pitch 200 feet before...etc, etc. I got a 70 on my first try, but then the scenario got harder!
This is Kevin at the graduation. The guy in the white shirt is the Commissioner. Gov Huntsman is the boss, then this guy. (I don't remember his name) The other Troopers are part of the program or higher ups.
This is me trying to walk a straight line with the "drunk goggles" on. I was laughing so hard that I couldn't even stand straight. Those goggles would be way too fun at a party. No alcohol necessary!!! I don't know how people even get to their cars when they are drunk!
This is one of the K9's the UHP uses for drug searches. They don't use German Shepard's because a few reasons. They use Belgian Malinois's. These dogs will jump through car windows and drag an adult onto the street by their head. ouch! Just do what the Trooper says and no one gets hurt!!
We had the option of getting in the bite suit and getting attacked. Kevin & I opted out of this one. Some people still had blood blisters even with the suit on!
this is us doing the pit stops and J turns on the track. notice the smoke coming from the tires. way too much fun!
This was our class photo with the trainers at the track.
This is how the fingerprints are read. Arches, loops, valleys, etc.
This is the CSI lab for the fingerprints department. We were taught how to read them and then had to match up prints. I don't know how these people do this all day, I would to cross-eyed! it's not like on TV where they scan it and AVIS decides it's a match. They have to put the points on the print then when AVIS finds similar matches, the lab tech still needs to make the final call if it's a match or not.
This guy is the CSI boss for Utah. Again, I don't remember his name. He has so many science degrees. Very smart guy!
This is our training for traffic stops. Kevin is giving commands to the "felon".
Many of the class members where shot with the paint balls. Those leave nasty welts! It was very scary!
These Troopers taught the self-defense class...and kicked our butts!
This Trooper gets to fly the RC Helicopter with the camera equipment to take pictures of major accidents. By using this helicopter the Troopers can clean up the accident so much faster and get the roads re-opened. Then they use the pictures for the investigation. Kevin loved that helicopter and wished he could fly it!

Well, that's that. I will post some July 4th pictures later.

Coupons??

The last few days I've been thinking to myself how we could cut our budget to save extra money for the higher cost of living...gas, groceries, etc. This morning as I was reading blogs of friends I stumbed across this one:

Last night I witnessed this system first hand. I went to Target with Annalisa to do some coupon shopping. I meet her and she was so cute she made me an envelope with a TON of coupons in it and wrote me up a shopping list. We walked around the store and she was showing me all the good deals and showing me how to combine coupons to get free products and even better get products that earn me money. The best part was the check out we just had a pile of coupons and with every scan the price kept going down. I kinda felt bad because we had so many that 2 people moved lines because they were tired of waiting. My total before the coupons was like $54 then with each scan of my coupons my smile just got bigger when I saw my total as........ $17.99!! However, I also got 2 $5 gift cards to target so basically I spent $7.99 to get all these good groceries. Her deal was even better! Her bill was $109 and got it all the way down to $30 and then she got like 4 $5 Gift cards! Wow!

At my work we've mailed a monthly magazine called Refund Cents. We always see the cover stories about people getting enourmos amounts of free stuff or for almost nothing. My Mom never did the coupon thing. No time or patience for it. Kevin's Mom does clip coupons. I've never even thought about coupons before. Well, now after reading this post I'm kinda thinking that maybe I should take on a new hobby and learn how to save money. After all, I hate spending money on food. Dumb I know, but I rather spend it on more fun things! So, the above post had a website link to find all the great deals. http://slavetosave.synthasite.com/ I think I will give it a try. Wish me luck! If any of you want to figure this out together, I would love a shopping buddy. Or if you've already mastered it, TEACH ME!!

Relay for Life West Jordan 2008

Wow! for those of you that missed it, what an event! It was such an honor to participate in this fundraiser. The goal this year was $53,000...the final total was over $64,000!!!

Kevin & I walked two 30 minute shifts...11:00pm, 1:30am, and at 3:00 am I walked with my Mom. It was so much fun. especially when the luminaries were glowing along the whole track. I encourage everyone to participate in their local Relay for Life.

Kevin's Mom is a survivor. She was invited to a special Survivors only dinner. They gave all the survivors a purple t-shirt with "Survivor" on the back. They also received gift certificates, bracelets, and other goodies.

For the luminary ceremony they had speakers talk about loved ones lost and their courageous battles they fought.

Next to our booth was a group of ladies cutting hair. For those that had over 10 inches, it was free and donated to Locks for Love. That was so touching to see these very young girls donate their hair for someone else. The Mom's said it all with their tears. The girls left with beautiful A-line cuts.

It's such a small thing we can do to show our love and support to all those that are affected by cancer. I truly hope that one day, no one will have to hear those awful words, "you have cancer". It will be up to you and I to make sure the research continues.

Christine, you did a great job as team captain. You always accomplish anything you put your mind to. Your bracelets are so beautiful.

Consider this your invitation!

This Friday night, June 13th, My family and I will be at the West Jordan Park (behind the city building) for Relay for Life. This is a benefit to raise money for the American Cancer Society. My sister is our team captain. Our team, along with many others, will be walking ALL NIGHT LONG, because cancer never sleeps. The Opening ceremonies are at 6pm, a basket drawing at 9:30 pm (BTW...there will be some awesome baskets. My Mom went crazy making some!!) and a Luminary ceremony at 10pm. The closing ceremony is at 8 AM Saturday morning. This will be lots of fun, and I hope lots of people come. My sister will be selling bracelets at our booth that she made. She is amazing at making bracelets. She will also have sizes for baby's and young girls.
Stop by anytime during the event! We will be playing games and goofing around to stay awake while we take turns walking the track. At Midnight, they want anything with wheels on the track. Skateboards, skates, etc.
See you there!!

The West Jordan City Hall is located at 8000 South Redwood Rd. Park at the City building and the park is in the back.