Just a little update

-We are in our new place and love having our own space! (Ok, we’re half way in.)
-Nate has been at his job for a little over a week now and he loves it! Soon he will be trained enough to be running things by himself and he can really see the potential in the job. We were so blessed to find this job
-Tayvin is coming up with all kinds of new things to say…Lately….
-“Are you sharing mom?”
-“ Yah, I actually did.”
-“Are you cuddlin’ with me?”
-“We’re goin’ to our Salt Lake house?”
Of course, this doesn’t even do it justice- it’s just too stinkin’ cute to describe.
-Nate’s parents came to visit for a few days and it was so good to see them-especially for Tayvin.
-We’re planning a trip to Alaska in November sometime-probably the second week, so put it on your schedules!
-My Mary Kay is going well, I just need to get my but in gear but I have so many fun ideas for Christmas. (So if you’re in need of a gift for a man or woman, let me know!)

That’s about it for now, we don’t have our internet hooked up yet but we’ll keep you posted! I promise to post pictures when there are no more boxes in the living room! We hope everyone is doing well!

Wow!

I received this in an email and wanted to share it!
It was written by an 8-year-old named Danny Dutton, who lives in Chula Vista, CA. He wrote it for his third grade homework assignment, to 'explain God.' I wonder if any of us could have done as well.

EXPLANATION OF GOD:'One of God's main jobs is making people. He makes them to replace the ones that die, so there will be enough people to take care of things on earth. He doesn't make grownups, just babies. I think because they are smaller and easier to make. That way he doesn't have to take up his valuable time teaching them to talk and walk. He can just leave that to mothers and fathers.'God's second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot of this goes on, since some people, like preachers and things, pray at times be side bedtime. God doesn't have time to listen to the radio or TV because of this. Because he hears everything, there must be a terrible lot of noise in his ears, unless he has thought of a way to turn it off.''God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere which keeps Him pretty busy. So you shouldn't go wasting his time by going over your mom and dad's head asking for something they said you couldn't have.''Atheists are people who don't believe in God. I don't think there are any in Chula Vista. At least there aren't any who come to our church.''Jesus is God's Son. He used to do all the hard work, like walking on water and performing miracles and trying to teach the people who didn't want to learn about God. They finally got tired of him preaching to them and they crucified him but he was good and kind, like his father, and he told his father that they didn't know what they were doing and to forgive them and God said O.K.'! 'Hi s dad (God) appreciated everything that he had done and all his hard work on earth so he told him he didn't have to go out on the road anymore. He could stay in heaven. So he did. And now he helps his dad out by listening to prayers and seeing things which are important for God to take care of and which ones he can take care of himself without having to bother God. Like a secretary, only more important.''You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to help you because they got it worked out so one of them is on duty all the time.''You should always go to church on Sunday because it makes God happy, and if there's anybody you want to make happy, it's God!Don't skip church to do something you think will be more fun like going to the beach. This is wrong. And besides the sun doesn't come out at the beach until noon any way.''If you don't believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will be very lonely, because your parents can't go everywhere with you, like to camp, but God can. It is good to know He's around you when you're scared, in the dark or when you can't swim and you get thrown into real deep water by big kids.''But...you shouldn't just always think of what God can do for you. I figure God put me here and he can take me back anytime he pleases.And...that's why I believe in God.'

P.S. We moved into our apartment tonight. We won't be staying there until next week though-we can't pick up our mattresses until Monday and I just didn't feel like roughing it. Good thing too, cause we are absolutely beat! It was crazy carrying EVERYTHING up 3 flights of stairs... Thanks Mom & Dad for your help!

Oh yah...

I'm so stinkin' tired! All I wanted to do was come home, lay down by Nate, and go to sleep. I came home. I layed down(I have a rule-I don't have to use proper grammar when I'm this tired.) And I couldn't sleep. I just have all these lists, ideas, and plans going through my head. Anyway, I realized I really didn't say much about Nate's job. He has been offered a manager trainee position with Ryder Transportation and will start Monday. We are trying our hardest to move in tomorrow but we keep having to wait on people so we'll at least get the moving truck packed then I might be moving us in on Monday while Nate is at work. We went to IKEA for the first time ever today. Let's just say I will probably not ever set foot in Walmart again! We love it and found most of the furniture we need there. Can I just say, I love living in the lower 48! Forgot how bad I missed the convenience. Now we just have to figure out how to see everyone in Alaska more conveniently.
I went to another training meeting tonight and loved it! I am so stoked for Christmas and all the things I can do for my customers! So I might just be calling you all... :) I have so many ideas for Christmas gifts so give me a call if you need new ideas! We'll keep you updated on everything and hopefully we'll be seeing those of you in Alaska very soon!

Very possibly the most boring post I've ever written.

I'm kinda getting sick of looking at the word suck at the top of our blog. I don't particularly like the word, especially now that there are little ears and eyes around, but I had to bite the bullet for the umbrella stroller's sake. Anyway, so here's a new post so that we don't have to look at it anymore.

We found an apartment! It's kind of a long story but I'll give you the quick version. We viewed 3 apartments in person. Every time I found one online that we could afford and had enough space for us turned out to be restricted income. Now seriously, if you're barely bringing home over $2000 a month, how can you afford $1000 in rent? We don't get it but regardless, we didn't qualify. Granted our income is nada right now, but that will be changing soon, hopefully. So we looked at one apartment that we mostly loved out near Bluffdale-great rooms, great grounds, great neighborhood, crappy kitchen (which we all know is the most important room to me,) and tinier than a pea living room. So we kinda put it on the back burner for another day-decided we should probably look at more than one apartment before we signed a lease. So the next day we go to "Apartments on the Green." It looked beautiful online. Sadly, that was not the case. The model apartment smelled like smoke and let's just say I wouldn't feel safe there.
So we met my dad for lunch and while driving away we spotted an apartment. We checked it out, loved it, put down a deposit and are now just waiting for Nate's offer letter from the company he should be starting for next week. We're so excited to be moving on with our lives and to have a place of our own! And we can't wait to have everyone come see it. Hopefully we'll be moving in on Tuesday. I'll post pictures as I get the apartment set up.
Oh, and sorry, that was so not a quick version!

A million reasons umbrella strollers suck, I hate them, and vow to never touch one again!

I must warn you, this gets ugly (as you could probably tell by the title) and super long. I try not to do negative posts. I even try not to think too negatively, or even worse, dwell on it- but I must get this off my chest. Perhaps if half the world (or more accurately, half a dozen) people know of my absolute disgust for umbrella strollers, I will feel a little better. (I'm actually not sure disgust is a strong enough word for how I feel, but I just can't think of a word strong enough for this hatred!)
A few weeks back Nate made a comment about not wanting Tayvin to get used to us lying down with him to go to sleep. Not that we usually do, in fact he is very not used to it. But it was kinda funny because the week before, Nate had just volunteered to lye down with him right after saying prayers. So when he made the comment, I naturally called him a hypocrite. Well, tonight I'm sitting on my bed with my laptop waiting for him to come to bed. Guess where he is? Yup, lying down with Tayvin oh, for like, the last hour or so. Volunteered too. But hey, I'm an understanding wife (every now and then,) I get that he wants some quality time with his boy...so here I sit, so ready to write this post that has been brewing in my head for exactly 33 hours and 45 minutes.
Here's the background:
Yesterday we went to the zoo with my mom, sister and her family, and her husbands' cousin. I was supposed to be going to a meeting afterwards so I was a little scatter-brained (as I seem to be a lot lately) while I was getting ready. This resulted in my sweet husband (who skipped his run to get ready so that I could go running instead,) having to move the car seat and get the stroller in the car. I actually didn't mention either of them, he just did it. I tell you this because it WAS greatly appreciated. In fact, I forgot all about needing a stroller until we had been gone 45 minutes. So when I asked if he got the stroller he said yes. Now, just know, I have bought 5 strollers and still own 4 because I gave one to Jeanne to have at her place. But Nate totally knows I prefer one of them over all the others-the original, most expensive one. The others are just kind of random- a double stroller, a jogging stroller, and an umbrella stroller. Now you can see where this is going, right?
Yah, Nate put the umbrella stroller in the car. He said he knew I didn't "prefer it," but didn't know of my utter disgust for it. So basically I was just PMSing anyway and that was it! I was livid! Not necessarily at Nate, just the fact that I hate the umbrella stroller and absolutely do NOT like using it. It's only there for emergencies! So as I walked through the zoo, trying not to be ornery to everyone that made me push the stupid stroller around them, I was blogging in my head-even told Nate so. (He thought I should be grateful for his support of my blogging by giving me something new to post.) So here are my million (well maybe more like ten) reasons why umbrella strollers suck, I hate them, and vow to never touch one again (at least until our next trip where I pack the trunk so full of other junk, that I can't fit my "preferred" stroller in it!)

1. No cup holders. I didn't actually have a drink, because my water bottle was in my huge purse (which we'll discuss later) but my mom always has a coke with her. And since she didn't really have a reason to bring a stroller, we really could have used a cup holder for her coke!
2. The handles are too low. I'm not exactly a tall person-5'6" is pretty average for a woman. I know there are plenty of women and maybe even a few men that are that short, but those handles are so low even I have to bend down to push them. But not enough to lean on them, just enough to make my lower back hurt (which happens plenty without the dumb stroller.)
3. Lack of storage! After we were out of the car and headed into the zoo, I realized I had forgotten my sunglasses in the car because it was cloudy and I hadn't been wearing them. I told Nate I was going to go get them so I'd just meet them in there. Know what he said? You might want to shed your jacket when you go. Are you kidding me? If I had MY stroller, I wouldn't have to worry about it because not only could I hang it on the top of the stroller, but if I wanted to I could put it in the basket on the bottom of the stroller!
4. Bringing me to my next point, what the heck am I supposed to do with my big 'ol purse? Now, I like to think I have graduated from the diaper bag stage-at least temporarily. So I have a big purse. Granted, most of the time I have a few snacks, toys, and diapers in there. But it's a bangin' purse and it's leather and it's heavy! I most definitely don't want to be carrying it around the zoo all day anymore than I want to be carrying my jacket. But forget hanging it on the back of the stroller! The handles of the purse were just a little too short to fit over both handles of the stroller without pulling at the seams (which we all know would usually constitute a small lecture from Nate) but a little too long to hang off of one handle without dragging and scuffing the bottom of my new cute purse. What's a girl to do? Oh, and if one of the kids wasn't in the stroller, it could not be left unattended or the stroller would tip backwards because of the weight of the snacks, toys, diapers, and massive amounts of money in there! :)
5. Seat belt (or whatever they want to call it.) I suppose, it would hold a child in the stroller, were it to tip (which Autumn and I know a little about) but not very comfortably. I guess we've been a little spoiled with our other stroller, but ya know, it's got padding around the straps and all and it's so much easier to fit to the child, and to do up and undo. Enough said.
6. What about nap time? When we have outings like this, it's just a little hard to schedule nap time. So often, I call upon my trusty stroller to make this more convenient for me. My "preferred" stroller has three different levels at which it reclines. The (because I don't even want to claim it as mine) umbrella stroller doesn't even have one level at which it reclines, because let's face it, it sits a child straight up. Resulting in the bobbing of the head neck kinks. Why would I force something like that on my child?
7. Tiny wheels that barely make it over piles of dust, let alone the curbs or rocks. When I was in the airport on one of my last few trips, grabbing the stroller after the flight, the pilots were teasing me about having the 4X4 edition and kindly reminding me of the checkups that need to be done on the chassis or something like that. It was actually pretty funny but they weren't joking. That stroller will pretty much go through anything a jogging stroller will. So once again, MY stroller has spoiled me and umbrella strollers suck.
8. Brakes. On most nice strollers, you lock one brake and both of them are locked. Not on umbrella strollers. Gotta take the time to lock/unlock both. Otherwise, your kid will look like a dog chasing his tail.
9. "Look Ma', two hands!" It just doesn't have the same ring to it. I often drive my stroller with one hand, and sometimes if I'm really feeling gutsy, I'll stick out my stomach as far as it goes and drive with no hands. (I'm pretty sure that will be tons easier once I'm pregnant.) So having to devote the only two hands I've got, when I really need several more, to driving a stroller-just not convenient!
10. 2-handed folding and opening. And my last reason, is probably the one that bugs me the least right now but I know if I were in the airport, that would differ. Ya know, most strollers now days are 1-handed folding and quite frankly, I'm just too lazy and too busy to bother using two hands to fold and unfold a stroller that I don't even want to be using in the first place!

Glad you were born!

Yesterday was Nate's birthday but I was crazy busy spending time with him and getting his birthday dinner ready. So here's my top ten list of why I'm glad he was born:

1. Support- Nate is really quite supportive of anything I decide I want to do. He might give me crap and occasionally make me feel guilty about it, but he's there to help whenever he possibly can.
2. Ambition- One of the main reasons I fell in love with him is his drive and ambition. The guy's got dreams and I have no doubt that he'll achieve them.
3. His Eyes- They're beautiful. Enough said.
4. Confidence- Although it may get him in trouble sometimes. And sometimes I'm so sick of it I just want to scream, I love that he is confident in who he is and what he can do.
5. Family- I love how he values family and I love knowing that WE get to be his family-forever.
6. His Family-(I won't actually put their name in, for safety.) Although I joke about it and give them a hard time, I love Nate's family and am so grateful to be a part of their lives.
7. Color- Nate is very different from my family. And I know it's been hard for him to fit in, but I love the dynamic he brings to us.
8. A higher level- Let's face it, Nate is good at almost everything he does, especially sports, and sometimes I just hate it! But he is always giving me something to reach for. Because one day, I swear, I will be better at him than something other than dancing and singing.
9. Stubbornness- I hate that Nate is stubborn-it makes life hard sometimes, but it is nice to know there is somebody in the world that is even more stubborn than me.
10. Tayvin- I'm sure other people have many of these traits, but NOBODY could have given me the exact Tayv I have. He has so much of Nate in him, it's scary sometimes, but I love, love, love, that he has the same ambition and love of knowledge that Nate has.

Happy Birthday Babe, We're so glad you were born!