funny card

I found this funny birthday card to send up to my Papa for his 81st birthday this weekend:





"Here in America, you have the freedomness to celebrationalize your birthday according to your own preferentiation. You be the decider! Happy uh...anniversary of your birth...whatchacallit!"

new baby, new luggage

I have a brand new neice! Congratulations to my brother-in-law and his wife! They had a little girl born yesterday and we're so excited for them. It's their first and they are going to be incedible parents. Inside family joke has named her "UGH," but she'll get a different name soon! Her pictures are just adorable, I wish I could be around to kiss those cheeks! Congratulations!



Another bit of fun info that I'm so excited about--I've been wanting my own suitcase to take over to China when we leave in 2 months, 3 weeks and 6 days! We can take over two cases per person, and we've borrowed a couple already, but I really wanted something mine. I saved up and bought this from Ross for $49.99. I loved it because it's polka dotted and totally cute. Plus I would need something that stands out amidst the black and dark colored luggage usually on the luggage claim merry-go-round. I've never been so excited to buy luggage in my life!

totally didn't see it coming

I am nineteen years old and a student in Rexburg, Idaho. I am attending Ricks College and in love with a boy in Boise, named Ryan. Ryan's very talented sister and brother-in-law have written and produced a very beautiful musical, and the final show is soon. Ryan heads down to Utah to see the show with his family. I had lots of homework to do, but I blew it off and found a couple rides down to Utah to see the production down at UVSC.

I arrived and stayed at my Aunt's home. A couple hours later, a surprise walks in the door! Ryan with MY FAMILY! I didn't know that they were coming, I was just planning meeting up with Ryan and his family the next day.

The next night was the final showing of Heidi, which was absolutely beautiful. There is a love song in the show, sung as a duet with Ryan's gorgeous sister, Jayme. As I had already been introduced and knew this song word-for-word, as Ryan and I picked it as "our song."

The cast bowed as we applauded and I do believe that they received a standing ovation. After the final curtain was lowered, the audience started leaving and the cast started taking the set down. Mingling with other people as I was waiting to leave, a song (ours!) starts playing. My mom grabs me and whisks me up on the stage, where the spotlight is shining on me. Everyone hushed and gasped as Ryan appears on the stage walking toward me.

For the next 20 seconds, he's talking to me, and I see his lips moving, but I don't hear anything. It was just like the movies, everything was in slow motion. He says something like, "I love you....I picked out this ring....Will you be my wife?...." and then gets on one knee!
I was so lightheaded as he put the ring on my finger, and I realized that most everyone from the audience had filtered back in and was witnessing this extra scene, not originally in the musical! I say "yes!" and Ryan hugs me and a roar of clapping, shouting and screaming erupts.

After everything calms down, I began putting the puzzle pieces together. No wonder, most of my family is here, from my uncles to aunts, to cousins. Lots of friends from Boise were there, a lot of Holdaway's friends were there also. I guess word had gotten out amidst the audience what was going to happen, no wonder there were people smiling at me during intermission that I didn't know. Aha!

In front of the entire audience, in this big theater and in front of 150 people, he proposed September 23, 2000. Six weeks after we started dating. And yet, I honestly didn't see it coming. No wonder he was acting so weird. Today, eight years ago, I got engaged!

party time

After church, naps and a few tears, Dawson got to open his presents for his birthday. He got some Transformers, Star Wars guys and an ice cream cake. It was a very low-key event!






Carter was happy just to talk on the phone, his latest hobby.





He opened his Transformers Potato Head (Optimash Prime--seriously, who comes up with this stuff?!)

It was a fun day for Dawson!

four years of Dawson

Dawson is four! How he has longed for this day, he is so anxious to grow up. He asked me in tears the other day, "Why can't I be a teenager?! They get to stay up and play gaaaaaaames!" What a fun guy he is, he brings joy and laughter and plenty of dirt into our home. Happy Birthday Dawsie! He weighed 8 lbs 1 oz, born at 2:38pm, and was 21" long. I can't believe it!


6 months old

One year old

18 months old (before the haircut)
(after the haircut, and yes, that IS a real Easter Egg)
Two years old

Two and a half years old

Excited to be three!

Three and a half