I've been Tagged!

I was tagged by my sister-in-law who emailed AND called me almost a month ago and still hasn’t heard from me…. Sorry Julia!

20 years ago… I’m not actually sure I remember anything from that far back (sorry to those of you who are like…ancient! : )
-I remember going to Disneyland around this time with my cousins so I was probably idolizing my older cousin Denise. Oh, and riding around in a dolphin wagon at Sea World.
-I loved going “nightcrawler hunting” and fishing with the nightcrawlers afterwards. (I can still give you great instructions on how to catch nightcrawlers, if anyone’s in need of that information. : )
-I was most definitely learning how to be the kind of tomboy my brother would be proud of…too bad society got to me and made me into the princess I am today, huh?

10 years ago… I was an awkward teenager. I was taller than all the boys in my class and stuck in between a clueless phase and a cowgirl phase. Just couldn’t decide who I was-What-ever Mo-tard!
-I had just made the drill team and was loving it!

5 years ago… I had just arrived in Alaska and was working quite a bit.
-I met Nate at the end of July then went and toured Nauvoo, Far West, Adam-Ondi-Ohman, Haun’s Mill, Carthage Jail, Independence, and other church history sites.
-During that year, my first nephew Kye was born, Tuukee joined my family, I met Jess and the boys, and at the end of that year, I started coaching drill team.

3 years ago… I was planning my dream wedding.
-Nate and I were married on the best day of the year, August 12th, sharing our anniversary with my mom and sister.
-In that year I also got pregnant and was glad to be done with school for a little while.

1 year ago… we were counting down semesters till Nate would be done with school and thouroughly enjoying Tayvin and his beautiful smile.
-We were exploring Alaska on our bikes, averaging about 60 miles a week. Those bike rides are some of my best memories with my cute little family.

This year… NATE GRADUATED!
-He landed a great job in Utah in April and two short weeks after his graduation, he left to drive the Alcan with his brother Mo.
-We were so blessed and excited to have all of my family come up for his graduation and some good old fashioned Alaska touring.

Yesterday… was my first day back in Alaska without my husband. It was quite sad since it wasn’t even sunny!
-I also found out another one of my good friends is pregnant, I’m so excited for her! (See post here...)
-I mowed the lawn and went shoe shopping.
-I bought more scrapbook stuff I don’t need. (Please don’t be mad at me, Nate. Just roll your eyes and move on!)
Today… I did a lot of stuff for other people. It was tiring but felt so good to know that I was helping others.
-My mother-in-law also took me out to dinner for helping her out at this great Thai place we’ve never tried.

Tomorrow… I will take my sweet boy to the park and maybe go on a hike.
-I will start scrubbing the apartment (most especially the walls) so that it’s spick-n-span when I leave.
-I will most definitely scrub my bathroom.
-Will be a movie night. We’ll either go to Bear Tooth or rent chick flicks-yay for mother-in-laws!

Next Year… Nate will hopefully be able to move up in the company quickly so we can buy a house sometime around Christmas.
-I hope with all my heart that there will be a need for a nursery in that house…only time will tell.
-My sister will leave on her mission at the end of July to New Zealand-does that rock or what?
-In the next year I will have reread the Twighlight Series who knows how many times but more importantly, I will have read BREAKING DAWN!

I tag whoever wants to play along….

Green Toes & New Shoes!!!

Well, I'm back in Alaska and as you can see, back online! When I'm in warm temperatures for what seems like the 1st time in 5+ years, I just don't want to spend a lot of time on the computer. So sorry to those of you who are as obsessed with other people's blogs as I am.
Just a few random tidbits and updates...
-I got to mow the lawn today so Helvi didn't have to come home to a shaggy yard. I have a pair of flip-flops that I have loved but needed to be put out of their misery. So, I wore them to mow the lawn. The grass was so thick that it kept clogging the bag thus leaving me with stained jeans, green toes, and not-white-anymore flip-flops. Therefore, I went shopping today and added to my shoe collection! (Get to work on that house with a shoe room, Babe.)
-Nate is doing well with his new job. There were a couple of stressful weeks there, but they tell him he is right on track and we can definitely see and feel the improvement. He is working super hard and learning fast. The poor guy has been in Salt Lake in the hot weather (for probably what feels like the 1st time in his entire life) pretty much every day but he's got a good tan to show for it!
-For those of you who are around our family you know that Nate and Tayvin love to talk. (Ok, I might like to talk a little too-but they're definitely worse than me-right?) Anyway, because of Tayvin's non-stop talking, especially in public places, I get alot of people asking me how old he is. (Maybe they're not used to 22 month-old toddlers with 2 to 300 word vocabularies?) So now when somebody asks how old he is, he holds up two hands and says.."owmos TWO!" It is quite cute though.
-He's also getting a little sassy now and then. (I'm pretty sure it came straight from his great-grandma BoDean-skipped me of course :) He was asking for snacks yesterday and being the multi-tasking mother that I am, I distractedly told him 'just a minute.' He looked me square in the eye, held up 1 finger and told me, "ONE min-tuet." And I'm pretty sure he was timing me too.

That's really all I have to share right now, I'm sure one of these days I'll have something of importance to blog about. Meanwhile, stay tuned for my up and coming weekly blog feature... Whatever Wednesday. (See if I call it whatever, I'm not limited to anything, and that's really best for me right now.)

A new update...

Since Nate works so hard on this blog, he has every right to complain that there is no update on it and he is complaining. (sensing the sarcasm about his hard work?)
So, here's the update...
-I'm flying out tonight
-Nate went out on his own today in his own area and did great! Yay money!
-My dear OLD mom turns 50 tomorrow so I guess I better be there to help her out of the bathtub.
-Um, that's pretty much it-I'm really just doing this for Nate.

Love ya babe-Can't wait to see you!

Stac

First Day of School and....

I remember (and have proof of) my mom taking our picture in front of the same tree on every first day of school. Today, Nate had his first day of his first career! I'm sad I wasn't there to take his picture in front of that same tree (ok, maybe I wouldn't have taken his picture but I would have at least gotten up with him and given him many good luck kisses!) I did however, get to talk to him for a loooong time about it. It exceeded his expectations and he really seems to have enjoyed it. I'm so greatful we were able to find something that he will enjoy and also have room to grow in.
I'm getting down to my last few days(at least that's what I keep telling myself) of life as we know it. When we first found out he got the job and when he would have to start, I just cried for several days. It meant that either we had to spend the summer apart or I had to leave everyone and everything in Alaska way sooner than I expected. I needed time...
I want to have a chance to live by my family and friends in Utah but it's going to be hard. This is what I've known for 5 plus years now, and this is where I've done most of my maturing. I've grown so close to Nate's family and many friends here. And seriously, who can resist the beauty of Alaska? Now when Nate reads this, he's going to try to move us back to Alaska much sooner than we planned but I feel like our friends and family here deserve a shoutout. I have four days left here then I will be in Utah for two weeks, then back for a week and a half-but that's not long enough to say goodbye. I was talking about wanting to make some thank you cards for my friends before I leave when Nate suddenly declared that the reason we girls have such a hard time with goodbyes is because we make them too long. (That and we say goodbye, not "so long.") So, maybe I'll just try 'so long' this time and see if it produces a few less tears.....

My Sweet Baby Boy

At times I ache for another baby and sometimes I can't imagine having to share my Tayvin time. Today was one of the later. Tayv was sitting in my lap in front of the mirror saying 'hi' to himself so I said "Hi handsome Tayvin." He smiled at me and said, "Pretty mama" with that look that says you're the world to me. I almost cried. If I had another baby right now, I wouldn't have experienced that. My sweet baby boy...