Baptism

What a fun weekend we had! Lil turned 8 on Sunday and got to celebrate it the best way, she got baptized! We had a great turn out of friends and family to enjoy this awesome day with us! Thank you to everyone who came to show your love for Lils!

It was really special to see Dave and Lil dressed in white. Dave was a little nervous and so proud! I really loved being there in the dressing room waiting with the towel and being the first to wrap her up in my arms! She was just beaming, I was crying, and all of the stress of preparation went out the window. She said, "I want to do that again!" As I held her in my arms I felt as if I were in the place of the Savior welcoming her. I felt such a joy! So proud and overwhelmed. How did we get here? How did my little girl grow up all of a sudden?

Her poor little brother had a hard time with all of the attention on his sister, so he needed a lot of love. I haven't had a 55+ lb kid on my lap that long ever... so it was pretty intense! :) After the baptism she received the gift of the Holy Ghost with a beautiful blessing. What a special day!

My Mom flew out from Virginia to be with us and my sister and her husband and three kids drove out from Utah. We had a full house and a LOT of chocolate, cupcakes, and good home cookin'! It is always so special to have my Mom here. E cried the whole way home from dropping Grammy off at the airport. I've never seen him cry because he is missing someone before. It was bittersweet. Cora and Brian always bring the fun and our kids just LOVE eachother! They played Mario, in the hot tub, and mostly with these dang "Squinkies" that are all the fad now!

Saturday for her birthday party we had the biggest birthday bash ever. She's never had a big birthday party- so this one she got to go horseback riding! She and her cousins and a few friends went to a horse stable and each got 10 minutes on a horse, they even got to trot around. Lil was in heaven! Not to mention E and Norie who absolutely loved it! It was such a fun experience! After the horse riding, we went across the street to a great park, played and ate cake and ice cream.

10 Years ago today

It was 10 years ago today, the day after Valentine's Day, that Dave proposed to me. He didn't want to ask me to marry him on Valentine's Day because it's just too cliche- so he waited for the next day. I still remember that Valentine's dinner out at "Rodizio Grill" in Provo. Dave was acting a little different and was in the bathroom at least 6 or 7 times! He was having some major nerves (I just thought it was Brazil re-visiting). Little did I know that he had already called my Dad and asked permission, he had the whole date for the next night set up, and he had the ring in his pocket.

The next day as I was walking up to campus by the botany pond by BYU, Dave drove by. Neither of us were expecting to see eachother. I never saw him that early in the morning on those days, neither of us had class- but I happened to be going in at a different time. I gave him a big smile and a wave. I didn't know at that time that he was taking a detour by my house right then because he was still so nervous about that night. He just wanted to drive by my apartment, but he said that as soon as he saw me that morning- he was so excited and thrilled and just knew that he was making the right choice. I was just surprised to see him and crazy in love. I had no idea. Unlike Dave (which makes it impossible to ever surprise him) I don't read into things too much. I wasn't thinking about all of these possibilities and what if's. I knew that Dave was the man for me and I wasn't in any hurry to get engaged or married. I was just happy and knew it would happen soon.

That night we went on a double date with my best friend Katree and my brother Gibby. We went to the place of our first date (again, I wasn't reading into anything- I was just excited that my brother was going out with my best friend... and excited to kick Dave's butt on the obstacle course! :) We went to "Extreme Competition" where they had all of these blow up obstacle courses, sumo wrestling costumes, huge foam poles to knock your opponent off of their pedestal, and other fun things to compete. We had a great time playing, laughing, and I kicked Dave's rear on everything! (I don't really remember)

We walked back over to the lockers and I took my shoe out to put on my foot. There was something inside my shoe. I reached into my shoe and felt a velvety, fuzzy box and that was when I knew. I knew that my life was about to change forever. I shakily took the box out of the shoe and just looked at it. Dave told me to open it. Katrina and Gibby were there smiling and Katrina was taking pictures! I opened the box to see a beautiful platinum ring that I had never seen before but instantly fell in love with. Dave got down on his knee and proposed to me. I just remember him saying that he wanted me to be with him forever and then those beautiful, magical, special, incredible words that have been said millions of times before, but were never before just for me, "Will you marry me?" I cried a happy "YES!!" and we kissed and were both shaking and laughing! What a moment!

After he proposed- Gibbs and Katrina went home and Dave and I had a magical dinner at "Macaroni Grille". We just stared at eachother, stared at the ring, and talked about our future together that was no longer a question but a reality. I remember sitting there at the resturaunt completely oblivious to anyone around us. The waitress apologized a few times with how slow the service was, we even got our entree and dessert for free! We didn't even notice. How would I know that I would love him 10 times more now than I did at that moment 10 years ago. I am so grateful for these past 10 years. I am so grateful for the good times, the tough times, and the comfort that comes with really knowing someone. Isn't it crazy how marriage works? You choose someone who is a practical stranger (no matter how well you know them) and you trust them with the rest of your life.

How would I know how Dave would react to his first real career choice or to a move across the country that would take him away from his family for 6 years. How could I have known how he would handle my crazy pregnancy or no money. How could I have known how he would react when he saw his first baby girl born? Changed his first diaper? Dealt with the endless wakeful nights that come with a new baby? How would I have known that he would stand beside me, carry me home from the hospital, help me with my dinners, build up my testimony in the gospel, cry with me at Disney movies, or encourage my painting. Dave has always been there for me. He has always been the first to cheer me on or pick me up when I am down. He is everything to me. Happy 10 years!

Baptism

My sister, Lorel, put this cute baptism invitation together for me. I don't know what to expect from that day. The more I think about my daughter getting baptized, the more confident in her I become. The Primary presidency gave us a baptism packet that has been so helpful. I felt like I wasn't teaching Lil enough, but every night this month we've had a new worksheet to do, a game to complete or talk to read about baptism. Lil has learned a lot and is excited about her baptism day. It'll be really special to have it on her birthday.

We're going to Disneyland!!!

I never do this, but I entered a favorite family vacation photo competition to win a Disney Cruise from our local radio station. We didn't win the top prize (the cruise) but we were one of the top 5 and won 4 tickets to Disneyland!!!!! I am so excited! I just got the phone call. The lame thing was, I forgot all about it, I should have emailed everyone to vote for us to win! :) Oh well! Super fun!

Here's the link to it:

http://my925radio.clearcontests.com/front/Image_Contest.asp?Action=New&sh=1&ftt=1&SurveyID=111082&zx=235

Lils

Here is my girl in her baptism dress that her Grandma Stutz made for her. Her baptism is in two weeks! I can't believe it.

Entry-way Organization

Before

I feel like I have reorganized this daggum garage a million times. But Dave's Dad just tore down his old fence, so we used the fence posts to make a beautiful entryway locker for each of us the keep our shoes, coats, and bags. I love it! It only cost $45 for a few extra pieces of lumber, the $5 yellow plastic potting buckets from Wal-Mart (for the shoes), and for the hardware to hang the coats. Dave made this thing in, like 4 hours. Hopefully we can keep all of our gear a little more in control now, we'll see.

After

I bought $1 frames at Micheal's and covered them in different mod podge scrapbook papers that I had at home. Then I printed out our name in different fonts and colors. Dave just screwed those straight in to the fence posts so they wouldn't shake or fall off with the door and garage door closing all of the time.The potting bucket for the shoes. I looked at wicker baskets, mini garbage cans, mop buckets, etc. But i was so excited when I found these guys. We can just spray them off to keep them clean and they are the perfect size, and were only $5 each.

Happenings

Here's a few pictures of things going on with us right now:

Look who it is!!!!! We finally met up with some super awesome friends that we met in North Carolina who now live 20 minutes down the road! Chik-fil-a baby! Great times were had by all! We love you dang Smiths'! We need to get together more often. Lils and her favorite friend Parker have a lot of fun together. Parker is still in love with her, so we're all happy!

Somebody's getting a little too big for the Jeep.

Cutie Norie on the princess bike she got for Christmas. The weather has been gorgeous here (60-75 degrees), so bike riding has been an everyday occurrence.

My E-man on Lils scooter

Lil "I want to go roller skating!!!!!!!!"

me- "You got those when you were, like, 4."
Lil "I want to, I want to, I want to!"
me- "Good luck!"... I don't think it worked out very well.