Welcome Little Laiken!

My brother and sister-in-law welcomed their second child together to the world last night. Johanna was scheduled for a C-section today at noon because her first pregnancy ended up in an emergency C-section, but she didn't quite make it. She went into labor yesterday and had the C-section around 9 p.m. last night. Laiken Melody was born at 9:14 p.m. on 2/28/2008. She weighed 8 lbs 7 oz and was 19 1/2 in long. Dave and I are kind of glad she didn't end up being a Leap Year baby and she must not have wanted to be one either!

Signs of Spring

Shortly after the snow melted in our front yard last week I noticed these little guys. It seems early, but I am so ready for spring so it was a welcome surprise! They are daffodils and tulips that were planted by the previous owner. I tried planting some of my own tulips a couple of falls ago, but none of them came up (they were old bulbs). I'm glad that even though my bulbs didn't come up we still have beautiful spring flowers to enjoy!

Presidents' Day Get Away

We had a nice weekend away in Grand Junction. It is amazing how quickly a weekend can pass when you are having fun. We decided to rent a vehicle instead of risking it with our truck. We've been left stranded a few too many times with the truck lately that we have lost all confidence in it. We ended up with a 2007 Dodge Caliber. We definitely would not go out and buy one for ourselves, but it was much nicer than our 1993 Toyota Pickup!

(The one we had was white)

Some of our friends in the area invited us to their Ward Elders Quorum Activity. We used to live in that ward so we thought it would be a good way to see people and be able to socialize with them. Plus, our friend is the Elders Quorum President. It was a small turnout, but we did have fun. It was game night, which for any of those who know me know I'm not a huge game fan, but I have to admit that I enjoyed myself. We played Mad Gab. I haven't laughed that hard in a very long time. It was good for the soul. The video below is a tad bit on the long side (1:57), but it shows how much fun we were all having. It might be one of those things too that you had to be there for though???

While we were in Grand Junction we had to go see the sites we used to love to visit and eat the food that we've been craving that doesn't exist in Provo. My favorite place to eat in Grand Junction is Qdoba. It is a Mexican place with HUGE burritos, tacos, nachos, quesadillas, etc. We ate there twice in one weekend so I could get my fill.

One of our favorite sites in the area is the Colorado National Monument. As stated in the visitors brochure, "Colorado National Monument preserves one of the grand landscapes of the American West. Bold, big, and brilliantly colored, this plateau-and-canyon country, with its towering masses of naturally sculpted rock, embraces 32 square miles of rugged, up-and-down terrain. This is a special place, where you can contemplate glorious views that stretch to distant horizons; where you can discover solitude deep in a remote canyon; where you can delight in wild country where desert bighorns roam and golden eagles soar."

When we lived in Grand Junction we even decided to buy an annual national parks pass because we loved to just go on drives through the Monument and didn't want to pay $7 every time we did. As far as seeing wildlife while driving through the Monument, we typically only see mule deer, but this time we were able to see a small herd of desert bighorns. It was a neat experience (I, of course, didn't get any pictures of them though...they were fast)! If you are ever in Grand Junction it is definitely worth your time to drive through and see. Enjoy a few of our pictures we snapped along the way.

Cold Shivers Point

Taking a picture of ourselves

Dave out on a ledge

Artist's Point

Coke Ovens: a series of colorful rock domes created
by the natural sculpting forces of wind, water, and ice.

Ottos Trail: Gently sloping trail that leads to overlook
with dramatic view of the many monoliths.

At the overlook! It was freezing out there!

Independence Monument: once part of a massive rock wall that separated Monument and Wedding canyons. Slowly, as the forces of erosion enlarged these canyons, the dividing wall was narrowed and weakened. Weathering proceeded more rapidly in places where the rock was most vulnerable--along natural fractures. Eventually the wall was breached and parts of it collapsed. Today a remnant of the once solid rock wall survives as Independence Monument, a free-standing monolith. It too will eventually succumb to the ravages of time and weather.

Window Rock: a hole carved out of a crack in a stone wall by
thousands of years of relentless erosion.

p.s. i love you

We had a very nice Valentine's Day! Dave began the day by bringing me roses as I was heading out of the house for work. He got me a rose to represent each year we have celebrated Valentine's Day together as a married couple (7). I had packed him a lunch and left him a Valentine note inside as a surprise.

For dinner we thought about eating at Outback Steakhouse, but were told there was a 1 hr. and 50 min. wait for a table so we decided to go to one of our other favorite restaurants and got a table right away.

After a GREAT dinner we decided to take in a movie at the cheap theater. We saw P.S. I Love You. I'm sure Dave was gagging all the way through the movie, but I, of course, LOVED it! What a real tear jerker! If you haven't seen it yet (and are female) I highly recommend it.

In addition to a nice Valentine's evening together, we are taking an extended weekend trip to Grand Junction, Colorado! It has been awhile since we have gone away for the weekend so we decided since this weekend is a three day weekend for Dave we would take advantage of that. We are both excited to get out of town. It has been awhile since we have been back to Grand Junction to visit friends so it should be nice. We really do miss it there!

Weekend Project

Dave bought a 32" flat screen television at the Shopko after Christmas sale for a really good price. When we got it home though we realized that it was too wide to fit into our armoire. We had an old television stand still around so we decided to use that for awhile. After watching television for several weeks with our current setup we decided it would be nice if the television stand were a little bit taller. After a visit to Home Depot this weekend we were able to add legs to the old stand. I think it turned out all right! It was definitely a cheap fix...about $25! We have priced armoires that the television would fit in and they run about $700-800!

Our Eldest Turns 6 Today!

Missy as a puppy
(Wasn't she cute?)

Today is Missy's birthday! I'm sure most of you reading this think I've totally lost my mind by doing a post about our Pomeranian turning 6, but when you don't have children the animals in your life are the next best thing. It is hard to believe that we've had her for almost 6 years. She has taught us a lot about patience. Although many times we have threatened to get rid of her, she does bring us companionship and happiness (occasionally)! Hahaha!

Missy today
(We like to shave Missy's hair off because she sheds so bad
and is actually hot in the winter with all of her hair...
she is the weirdest dog!)

Making memories!

If my mom never wants to travel to Utah in the winter again, I have to say that I won't blame her! If there was something that could go wrong on her trip, it did. Below is a list of things that happened in preparing for her trip, during her visit here and on her way home:

1. I come down with a cold a few days before my mother's arrival and end up almost with no voice while she is here.
2. My mother reacts to some of the anesthesia or medication given during a dentist appointment the day before she begins her journey to Utah and is up all night vomiting.
3. Once arriving at the airport in Kansas City, my mother finds out that her flight can't leave until their flight crew arrives from Chicago where a huge winter storm had gone through. She leaves two hours after her original flight departure time. She had about 20 to 30 minutes once she arrived in Las Vegas to catch her plane to Salt Lake City. She was the last of about eight people that they let on before the plane was full.
4. Dave, my mother and I drive through a horrible snow storm to get to Salt Lake City for my blood draw appointment. There was about 3 to 4 inches of snow on I-15. Good thing we have four wheel drive!
5. After my appointment we head out to our truck to head home and the truck won't start. We try jumping it, cleaning the battery posts, etc. Nothing works. After learning that there are no rental cars available in SLC on a Sunday, we call Dave's brother in Bountiful who comes to our rescue. He takes us back to his house so that we can borrow his truck until we can figure out what to do with our truck. His truck has no extended cab like ours so we fit the three of us in the front of his small truck. It was VERY tight, but we made it work. We then make our way home to Provo.
6. After a call to our mechanic the next day, we decide to tow the truck from SLC to Provo to have it fixed. Good thing for mothers...she was able to use her AAA membership to have our truck towed for free!!! That saved us about $150! We make our way to SLC to wait for the tow truck to arrive. About 3:00 p.m. Monday afternoon our mechanic calls to inform us that the only thing he can find wrong with it is that there is corrosion built up on the clamp around the battery post. He replaces the clamp and the truck works fine. It was a $38 fix!
7. On Tuesday we decide to take a driven tour around Provo so my mom can see the sights. I decide that she needs to see the Provo River. While walking back to the truck after seeing the river my mom slips on the ice and falls down. My mom's head even bounces off the ground with enough force that her glasses fly off. I knew I had killed my mother. She said she was all right and got up. So far she has had no repercussions from her fall...thank goodness!
8. Tuesday evening my mom heads home. She calls me periodically throughout the evening to update me on her travels. There is snow in Kansas City so we are all worried about her getting in at 11:30 p.m. and driving through snow and ice. She calls at 11:30 p.m. our time (12:30 a.m. Kansas time) and says she is in Oklahoma City. They closed the runways in KC and diverted them to OKC. She spends the night in a hotel. This morning she left OKC and finally made it to KC. Her car has given her some problems because of how cold it is. She hasn't had the greatest roads to drive on either. Last time I heard from her she was about 10 minutes away from my aunt and uncle's house. She was stopping for lunch with my uncle and was then making her way home to Halstead (another 2 1/2 hours down the road). She said the roads haven't been too bad and that she wanted to just keep plugging along.

Needless to say, it has been an adventure. Mom, we love you so very much and are so thankful you made the effort to come see us! We are glad you could be here with us when we got the results of my pregnancy test. Your presence made it easier! Hopefully next time your journey won't be so difficult!

The results are in...

After an eventful morning of driving to Salt Lake City in a snow storm and having our truck die on us at the clinic, we finally know the results of the pregnancy test. It didn't quite go the way we wanted it to. IVF did not work for us a second time around either. We were more hopeful this time than last, but still remained cautious. It is hard to take, but since we've been through this before we are definitely more prepared.

We do appreciate all of your love and support! It is nice to have family and friends!