Nathan, Toni, and Grant

Day 10: Auschwitz

2012-01-27T11:15:00.000-07:00

On day 10, Nathan and I woke up bright and early, actually it was still dark, somewhere around 4 am. We hopped in our little rental car, a Mercedes, but the crappiest little Mercedes you ever did see, and began making our long journey to Poland to the small city of Oswiecim to see the once Nazi concentration and extermination camps.

The day got off to a great start when we first realized that the instructions I had printed off of map quest were not actually correct. Our little rental did have a navigation system, and feeling hopeful, we turned on the system, only to find out it was all in German. By some miracle, we were able to figure out the system though, put in our destination, and make our way through Germany all the way to Poland. Once we actually got out of the inner city of Berlin, driving to Poland was a piece of cake. We hopped on the autobahn and drove east for like 7 hours. We stopped not long after reaching the border of Germany and Poland and bought some straight up Polish food at a super sketchy little outdoor booth sitting on the side of the road. I was really expecting to die from some kind of contamination, but I'm still here, so it was obviously just fine. While there, we exchanged a some euro to Zlotys and then continued on our way. Soon after crossing the border, we hit road construction and couldn't drive over 30 kph for the first 2 hours. It was the worst experience EVER! Finally though, the roads became drivable and we were able to continue at a normal pace.

Our rental ride! Don't let the big flashy Mercedes symbol fool you. This thing was a piece!

So, as a little side story, people in Europe drive like PSYCHOS! They make New Yorkers look patient and kind hearted while on the road. They fly past you at over a 100 mph and honk and wave at you if you do not get over the second you notice them trying to pass. And for your future reference, on the autobahn, it is illegal to pass on the right-hand side. Funny how no one dares to break that rule, but they hold no regard for the speed limit by going like 5 million kpm.

Anyway, so we finally passed through one of the last main cities before making our way on some back roads to Oswiecim. The trip had gone pretty darn smooth overall until now. Navigating our way through the little village was RIDICULOUS. There are like 6000 round abouts with another 50 exits in each one. There were plenty of signs pointing towards Auschwitz, but you just were never quite positive which exit it was pointing to since there were so many clustered together.

About this time, I pulled out my camera to start taking pictures and with a sickening drop in my stomach, realized I had forgotten to take my memory card out of my computer back in Berlin, 7 hours away, and put it back in my camera. I nearly started crying, Nathan wanted to throw me out of the car, but we managed to console ourselves because we both had camera phones, which both only had about half battery life left.

K, so we FINALLY made it to the actual Auschwitz. We found some parking and entered through the main office to purchase our tickets, pick up our audio devices, and join our tour, which was mandatory. Our tour guide found our little group, and we started on our way. It was hard to look past her hairy armpits at first, and I think if it would have been any other places, I would have probably died laughing, but the feeling throughout the concentration camp kept me in place.

Now for some pictures:

This is just a small section of a room filled with the shoes of the prisoners.

This

The feeling at Auschwitz was indescribable. It was so hard to believe that such a beautiful place could have housed such horrendous atrocities. I am so grateful that we did take the time to make the trip over to Poland and see this camp. It is an experience I will never forget.

I can't remember what time we finally left, but it was late afternoon. We easily found our way through Oswiecim this time and hopped back on the autobahn. We were pretty exhausted and were hoping for a peaceful drive home; our hopes were in vain. Not long after leaving the town, we were cruising along, listening to music, when we noticed some PSYCHOPATH trying to drive on the shoulder of the road next to us. My heart sunk a little thinking that for sure we were going to be mugged or worse. Nathan sped up to get away from the guy, but he just kept right up with us. He slowed down a little bit and then kept waving his hands out the window for us to pull over. I told Nathan to keep driving, but he said he wanted to pull over incase it was a cop of something. As soon as Nathan began to slow down and pull over to the side of the road, I felt sick to my stomach. He got out and I locked my door but cracked the window slightly to try and hear what was going on.

The crazy driver man gets out of his car and I see him hand Nathan a business card. At that moment, I wanted to kill someone. He seriously put our lives in danger driving like a psycho just to share some business information. I started listening more intently and the next thing I know is that the guy is asking Nathan for money. He's like ripping his necklace off and handing Nathan his watch in exchange for cash. Nathan just kept tell him "no." The guy wouldn't take "no" for an answer so Nathan just hopped in the car and we took off. Basically, the guy told Nathan that his credit card had broken in half and that he needed the cash. If the guy wouldn't have been so bananas, I probably would have had a little sympathy for him and gave him a few bucks, but our nerves were so high, we just wanted to get away from him asap.

So, we left the psychopath in our dust and headed back towards Germany. We made a stop at McDonald's, which was the fanciest, most beautiful McDonald's I have ever laid eyes on. We ordered some food, which was not as good you would think it would be coming out of such a beautiful building, ate our food, got some fuel, which was the most ridiculously expensive thing ever, and made it back to Germany. We got in pretty late that night and I honestly can't even remember much because I was so exhausted. I think we walked down the road and ordered some interesting pizza from some little stand, went back to the hotel, and hit the hay.

Christmas Time!

2011-12-04T20:38:00.010-07:00

I've decided to take a break from my vacation postings and update on my family. So much has happened in the last year, and I am so sad that I have not kept on top of recording these events. Here are a few pics of my sweet boys for you all to enjoy!

I can't believe how fast these little men of mine are growing! Carter will be 22 months on the 11th and Grant is 4.5 - do not say he is just four, it's four and a half and he WILL correct you!

These boys of mine fight hard! They want what the other has and will scream until one gets their way. Despite their differences, they are also best buddies. We purchased a set of bunk beds for the boys because our new home in Grand Junction, CO is so small, this was really the only option. Every night, they sleep snuggled up to one another on the top bunk. The first few days I about had a panic attack just waiting for one of them to plummet off the bed to their death, but so far so good!

Some fun things about Carter include:

He just began saying "I love you!"

He loves to sing.

When he goes to kiss you, he sticks his bottom lip out and says, "mmmmm."

He likes to make you smell his feet...?

He takes his diaper off roughly 600 times a day.

He loves "ba bas" and cheese A LOT!

He is probably just as busy, if maybe not mores than Grant was at this age, and that's saying something.

Some fun things about Grant:

He also loves to sing and makes up the most outrageous words when he is stumped by the lyrics.

He does not want a new baby but would be okay with a kid brother.

If the baby is a boy he would like to name it Lincoln, if it's a girl (which it's not), he first chose Obama....but quickly changed his mind to Washington!

He makes up the craziest phrases including: "You crazy crinkly comet," or "You're a meaner" (those are two of my personal favorites).

Not only can he spell his name, he can spell Gold's Gym. That's right, Gold's Gym. I usually take the boys with me when I go workout and one night, Grant just decided to memorize how to spell the name of the center. Pretty funny!

Unlike his brother, Grant hates food and reminds me of this fact constantly.

As you probably concluded from the paragraphs above, we recently moved from Wyoming to Grand Junction, CO. It's definitely been a change. I miss my friends like crazy but am slowly adjusting here. I do enjoy the shopping!

Nathan is as busy as ever, which is both a blessing and a curse. We can't complain when the pay check comes, but we sure miss him while he is gone!

We are also expecting our 3rd little boy in May. I'm still a little in shock that I will have three boys, but I also couldn't be more excited!

I felt this little man move on Logan's birthday, which is great because I will never forget the date. Man is this kid a wiggler too.

That about sums up the happenings in our life lately! We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas season filled with lots of joy and yummy food!

Germany: Days 8 & 9

2011-12-01T08:37:00.020-07:00

I'm finally updating on our vacation again! I really need to stay ontop of this because I am forgetting details of our vacay by the minute! Anyway...
We headed out of Amsterdam, which I was not too saddened by, and made our way towards Germany. By now, with all the plane and train rides we had taken thus far, I was getting quite good at hoping on our means of transporation and falling right to sleep; this ride was no exception. I woke up about 3 hours later, leaving only another 2 hours left until we hit Berlin. The ride was pretty quiet for the most part, but at the last hour, the other man sitting in our compartment decided to become friendly. He was quite the interesting fellow. We learned that he was from Poland, worked in the oil fields, and didn't really like his wife or children...The most memorable thing about this guy though was the fact that he rummaged through mine and Nathan's garbage, took our half eaten desserts, put them his bag, while he casually carried on a conversation with us. I don't think I have ever tried so hard in my entire life not to bust out laughing! HILARIOUS!

Well, we finally made it to Germany, which did I mention that we missed our scheduled train there too! We were awesome at missing our trains! So, in Germany....this station was massive! We did figure out how to get to our hotel though without too much trouble! Once we got to the hotel, we just kind of relaxed and enjoyed the evening. We went out to eat at a little restaurant right down the street from the hotel! I had my very first taste of weinersnitzel, which was fantastic!

The next morning the real fun began! I had accidentally misplaced my mascara so we walked down the road looking for some kind of drug store to purchase a new one! After we finally found some makeup, which was super expensive by the way, we continued walking for like EVER to the bust stop where we would begin our "Berlin Hop-on-and-off" tour. Of course, we missed our bus and had to wait for the next, which thank goodness, was only like 15 minutes, and our adventures through Berlin began!

Walking down the street to find some makeup! The roads were lined with these bears. Each one represents a different country around the world.

I can't remember the exact order anymore of all the places we stopped, but I am pretty one of the first places was the Jewish Museum. This museum was very...interesting. The architecture along with all the elements of the place are set up to basically make you feel as lost and uncomfortable as possible. It's suppose to be a sort of representation of the Holocaust. It worked; I felt really awkward and empty throughout the whole tour!

Somewhere on this bus ride we passed a big portion of the Berlin Wall.

After our trip to the Jewish Museum, we walked over to Checkpoint Charlie. I swear there were like 10 million people here! It was hard to take in because of the craziness of it all!

We stopped for lunch at this fun, and delicious, little restaurant. I swear we were there for two hours! That's just how they role in Europe; eating is a day long affair!
So this is where all the details of Germany kind of become blurred together. After lunch, I think we just kind of wandered around and found some things to look at. We came across this beautiful....church...I think it was. It's so sad I can't remember for sure! Right next to the church was this amazing museum filled with artifacts from Classical Greece and Rome and even pre-Rome, i.e. the Etruscans and such! I was in heaven.

Another view of the possible church! So beautiful!

Inside the museum!

A Roman bath infront of the museum.

A neat building, which of course I can't remember its function, while we were driving, or possible walking, through Berlin!

The Brandenburg Gate, also surrounded by like 5 million people! Ugh...tourists...(;

These crazy tour bikes were all over town! It was really funny to see like 8, or however many people they seat, trying to maneuver these suckers around!

After the Brandenburg Gate, I think we headed back to the hotel. Nathan had to leave to go pick up the rental car, which was an interesting experience in itself. Once he got back to the hotel, we hit the hay early. The next day we would be up bright and early. Next stop Poland to see Auschwitz.

Day 5, 6, & 7!

2011-09-04T22:05:00.023-06:00

Welcome to Amsterdam!!!

Now welcome to Amsterdam!

The beautiful building in the center of this photo is the Amsterdam Central Station.

Monday morning we headed to the train station to leave Paris! It was absolutely pouring rain outside so Logan and I decided to take a taxi to the station. Thinking that it was only just down the street, it would cost us basically nothing! Little did we know, taxis have a minimum you have to pay even if they drive you across the street! To make our taxi ride extra special, we discovered that the handle on my suitcase would not go down. Logan basically had to beat it with his hand to get it to fit in the taxi! This was only the start of my suitcase problems! Anyway, we finally get to the station, quite early, or maybe it was late, I really can't remember. It was late I'm pretty sure! Either way, we missed our train and had to go wait in line for like TEN HOURS to make a reservation for a new ride to Amsterdam (Okay, 10 hours is an exaggeration, it was 2, but it really felt like an eternity). So while waiting in line, we met this extremely friendly gentleman who gave us some wonderful advice about Amsterdam.... "Do not go to the Bull Dog Cafe!" He persisted! "Their pot is cheap quality and no good!" Logan and I graciously nodded our heads and thanked him for the advice, while making subtle eye contact with each other, hoping neither of us would crack up laughing! And people say the French are rude...psh!
Anyway....we finally got on our train and let me tell ya, it was WELL worth the wait! This was the most ballin' mode of transportation I have ever used in my life! Free wi-fi, reclining chairs, power outlets, constant food service; it was amazing! Too bad the ride was only an hour and a half! We made a stop in Brussels, Belgium, which was hard to enjoy because it was also raining!

We met some friendly college students who were also headed to Amsterdam just for the day! We knew right away just exatly why they were headed there! I figured I would share some useful advice that was given to me in Paris and let the boys know NOT TO GO TO THE BULL DOG CAFE! They seemed very appreciative!
Following our little layover in Belgium, we hopped on another train, which DID NOT have wi-fi, and was not even close to as nice as our first Thalys' train! What can you do? Once to Amsterdam, which by the way, our trained stoppped like 6000 times on the way there so it felt like we were never going to get there, we were dropped off at the airport, Schipol, and somehow found our way to the metro, and finally to the central metro station in Amsterdam! Lucky for us, the station was just down the street from our hotel! We got some directions and walked on down, in the rain of course!
We got to our hotel and let me tell ya, Dwight K. Shrute was working, or his long lost twin! These guys looked so much alike! Their likeness in looks couldn't be more contrasted with their personalities though! This dude was one of the most hyper people I have ever met! He must have smoked too much pot, which by the way, there was a big sign that said "no marijuana allowed in this facility!" What a relief!
We got to our room and it was nice! Bigger than our one in Paris and with a few more ammenities. The only downfall...the bathroom door was glass and made it extremely awkward when you had to do your business, especially when you are sharing a room with your little brother! I actually hated that bathroom! The shower was totally retarded and I even slipped and fell in it and whacked my head on the wall! Stupid shower!

View from our hotel, the Amsterdam Hotel de Roode Leeuw

The next day was a super exciting one! Nathan arrived! Of course though, with no internet or phone service, it was extremely hard to coordinate our plans! I ended up all the way back at the airport, just missing Nathan, who was now at the hotel with Logan! Anyway, we finally all met up and proceeded to make our way to the station once again, so that Logan could get to the airport and fly out! I'm pretty sure Logan snuck on that train because our pass was expired! Anyway, we said our goodbyes as Logan prepared for pretty much the LONGEST flight ever )Amsterdam to SEATTLE, and then to Salt Lake). Nathan and I left the station, in the rain of course, surprise? We ate at some weird turkish place, well Nathan ate there (I ordered some french fries, which looked delicious, until they plopped a cup of mayo on top of it. It just wansn't the same after) and then boarded this super ghetto canal "bus" to begin our tour of Amsterdam!

Here is a picture of one of the more famous parts of the canal; it's called the 7 bridges or something like that! As part of the tour, you get off, if you feel like it, at various sites throughout the town! Our first stop took us to the house of Anne Frank. We waited in line for an eternity, in the cold and rain, and finally made it inside. Pictures were not allowed unfortunately but it was really an amazing place! It was narrow and TALL! I mean, it was like 4 or 5 stories high! One of the staircases was nearly straight up and down! That was absolutely my favorite part of the trip!

This was a beautiful building we passed during our canal bus ride!

Although Amsterdam smelled like pot and you were pretty sure someone was going to solicite sex to you around every corner, it was BEAUTIFUL!

The fauna and flora were out of control in Amsterdam! All the flowers just thrived and flourished!

I LOVED all the old Protestant churches throughout the region! So beautiful.

Following Ann Frank's home, we went to the Rijksmuseum! This was a super neat museum that really focused on the colonial era of the Dutch. Think Pirates of the Caribbean!

After the museum, we decided to explore some of Amsterdam on our own! We found a place to eat; a Brazilian place at that! It was called Rodizio Grill, and well, it was very similar to the Rodizios in the states. The food was great, and as usual, we both ate WAY too much! We continued walking around and managed to find ourselves on the outter edge of the Red Light District! We ended up basically having to cross a street though it if we wanted to get back to our hotel sometime that night; I know, we are so daring! Let me tell ya though, just the 10 seconds we spent walking through was NASTY! Porn everywhere! I don't recommend it!

After an extremely long night, we headed back to the hotel, where we were finally able to Skype with my boys! It was so fun to see them!

The next mornin we packed up and headed out! We made it to the train station right after the train left. We had officially started a new trend of missing our trains, first Paris, now here! We figrued while we were waiting, we'd stop at the bank and get some cash. The line was short, in fact, only one person in front of us, and a few behind. So, after we had waited about 25 minutes, we were starting to get slightly perturbed. One of the older gentlemen that had been waiting also looked and asked us how long we had been waiting. We told him about 25 minutes. He was NOT okay with this. He started yelling at the teller and the customer. It was actually pretty hilarious. He kept whispering in shock and disbelief under his breath, "Five and Twenty! My gosh!" When he was done fighting, he looked at Nathan and I again and said he had filed a complaint for us! Ha ha! We all laughed a little!

Anyway, after the bank, we had to wait in line for ages to get a new train reservation. we met some American basketball player who had A LOT to say! It was a little annoying actually. Finally, we got our reservation, and just in the nick of time because our train pulled up within minutes. We hopped on the train and a whole new world of adventures began!

Next time....

Read about the man who rummaged through my garbage and stashed away our half eaten food for later.

Also, read about the crazy psycho on the autobahn that drove on the shoulder of the rode next to us, trying to get our attention!

Day 4!

2011-08-29T18:07:00.017-06:00

Our last full day in Paris we decided to fit into our already cramped schedule absolutely everything we could possibly squeeze. We started out with a journey to the Pantheon located in the Latin Quarter of France. We made our way by the metro, of course, and for the first time, got completely lost. We wandered around until a kind gentleman pointed us in the right direction. As a side not, all of the Parisians we came across were soooo incredibly kind! Some of the nicest people we met on the whole trip! Completed in 1789, this secular temple is the resting place of various influential French scientists and scholars including, my personal favorite, Victor Hugo (les Miserable & Hunchback of Notre Dame), Alexander Dumas (Count of Monte Cristo), along with Descartes and even Voltaire.

My planking attempt in the Pantheon! Too bad Logan is the worst photographer EVER and didn't get what I was planking in front of; this giant fresco, to be specific!
I definitely got a few looks!

We stopped at this McDonald's after leaving the Pantheon and even ordered some food on this special maching. After waiting almost 20 minutes, and getting extremely grumpy because of our hunger, they finally told us that if you actually pay at the machine, it cancels your order. Who'd a thunk that paying for something meant you DON'T get your items!
P.S. McDonalds in Europe are totally gourmet and so fancy! They also are pretty much the only businesses that have public bathrooms, and free ones at that, so if you gotta go, stop there, but be prepared to wait in line for a LONG time!

After we visited the Pantheon, we made our way over to the Musee de l' Armee (military museum) which hosts artifacts dating back to medieval times and before. It also is the home of the Tomb of Napoleon.
Can you name which Greek God is pictured in this photo, top right? I'll give you a hint...check out his hat!
This was also my attempt to plank inside the canon! It was much harder than it looks!

So Logan and I had a planking pact. When one of us named a place, the other had to plank it, no questions asked. This was by far was the most daring. We were inside the musem in a long narrow corridor. There were guards on both ends of the hall with a camera. The second both security officers stopped looking, I stood in the way of the camera, kind of, and Logan jumped on this canon. Who knows how old it was? It was terrifying but definitely worth the experience!

The streets through Monte Marte were so narrow but so beautiful. I wanted to lay on the cobblestone and I don't know what! It was just so pretty! From my understanding, Monte Marte is one of the oldest parts of Paris. It was also built on a hill, which served as a huge quarry at one time and almost collapsed. Anyway, the point about the hill...it was incredibly steep and gave us quite a workout, but once you got to the top, the view was breathtaking!

Ah, the Sacre Couer located on top of the tallest hill in Paris, and also in the midst of the most beautiful and historical neighborhoods in the city. We actually went inside the basilica but pictures were prohibited. Honestly, it was so ridiculously crowded that taking a photo would have been worthless. All you would see are random tourists' heads!

Paris is known for its amazing pastries. Not only are they super tasty, but incredibly beautiful. These specific desserts were located in a small shop in Monte Marte. No surprise they were beautiful; everything there was!

Probably one of the most disappointing things in all of Europe was the Moulin Rouge. It was really hard to believe this dumpy little place surrounded by other dumpy little buildings is so famous!

After the Moulin Rouge, we headed back to the hotel (I think) and packed up our stuff so we could head out the next day! Next stop The Netherlands to the city of Amsterdam!

In Memory!

2011-08-19T20:14:00.005-06:00

I'm still in denial that my sweet mother-in-law Deborah is gone. I honestly feel like any second someone is going to call and tell me they made a mistake and that Deborah is actually just at home. Life is never that simple though. Deborah loved her grandkids sooooo much! I know all grandmothers do, but she did especially!

Her grandkids were absolutely everything to her and it completely breaks my heart that my boys will grow up never knowing their grandmother.

I wish I was super creative and could make some beautiful blogpost chronicling her life, but I'm not, so this will have to do. I think Deborah would be okay with that. She was always so simple. She didn't need big elaborate expensive things to make her happy. That was something I always admired and envied about her.

We miss you so much already, Deborah! I'm so sorry! That's all I know what to say! I'm just sorry! Until we meet again! Love you forever!

-Toni-

Day 3: Versailles & Eiffel Tower

2011-08-17T23:27:00.017-06:00

Day 3:
It's crazy how fast I have already forgotten everything about our trip! Day 3 was quite the day! We woke up early, but apparently not early enough, because by the time we got down for breakfast our tour driver was waiting for us. We asked if he minded if we ate on the bus and of course he said, "yes," he did mind! So, Logan and I snuck some yummy sandwiches (for breakfast, I know!) into his backpack and hopped onto our tour bus! After driving around Paris and squeezing through impossibly small streets, we picked up a few other passengers and headed out to Versailles!
The trip there was very exciting. Our tour guide was extremely knowledgable and had information not only on Versailles but what seemed like every rock that we drove past!

Just one little fleck of this could pay for my kids' college education!

If you can name the god in the statue (picture above), you win a prize! Not really, but why not take the challenge!

The middle picture is of Logan and I shaking hands in the Hall of Mirrors, completing the Treaty of Versailles 2011!

The outer hall of the palace! Statues lined the entire length.

We finally made it inside the palace of Louis the XVI, self-proclaimed lover of art and culture! The home of this French monarch was so massive it was hard to believe that 18th century humans could construct it out of their primitive (compared to what we have now) instruments and tools.

Bed Chambers of (left) Louis XVI and (right) Marie Antoinette.

The tour lasted roughly an hour and a half. We made our way outside to the gardens, which needs an entire day to tour alone! To me, this lavish garden epitomized the colonial era monarchs in Europe. I could just image Marie Antoinette in her lavish gown, strolling through the gardens, an orchestra in the background, her court following close behind fanning their delicate faces with paper fans.

We did not get much time in the gardens, which was unfortunate, and soon after we headed back to Paris. On our way, our guide gave us a little "bonus" by explaining some of the monuments we drove by. The Luxor Obelisk, for example!

The Eiffel Tower! I literally have dreamed of seeing this massive metal masterpiece my entire life! For as long as I can remember, just the thought of the Eiffel Tower sent butterflies into my stomach! Now that it's over, it feels like it was just another dream!

After arriving at our hotel from a long day at Versailles, Logan and I once again fell asleep! Waking up way later than our plans allowed for, we decided that we would only have time to see one thing and what better to see than the Eiffel Tower at night time.

We headed over on our favorite method of transportation, the metro, and gapped in awe at the very symbol that has come to define Paris, even France. After taking several pictures from the ground and navigating our way to the ticket booth, we loaded an elevator which dropped us off near, but not all the way, top of the tower. Unfortunately, the upper tower closed early so we missed our chance.

After staying on the tower for a while, and seeing a lovely display of affection (a man proposed to his girlfriend a top the tower) we headed back down! We then made our way over to a small booth infront of the tower and I, not Logan, invested in a crepe (with ice cream, chocolate, banana, and the works)! It was amazing!

Finally, on our way back to the hotel and making a deal with the mafia (this crazy hustler selling Eiffel Tower souvenirs) we realized the metro station was closed for the night! We found a taxi instead and made our way back to the hotel where we stayed up late because our jet lag was still having the best of us!

Day 2

2011-08-07T17:09:00.007-06:00

Day 2 started out bright and early as we made our way first to Notre Dame! This was probably one of the most, if not THE MOST, exciting moment of our trip. I have dreamt of seeing the Notre Dame Catherdral for years and years! We rode the metro over to the 14th century Catholic church where we were able to walk right in!

The amazing view from when you first ascend from the underground railway.

The Catacombs

This line was drawn onto the roof of the quarries to help show workers the way out!
The Catacombs have been turned into a sanctuary and, therefore, monuments and dedications are spaced throughout to honor the dead.

Following our self-guided tour of Notre Dame, we headed back to the Metro station to meet my good friend Lindsey, her mom, and her sister at the Catacombs. We arrived about 45 minutes before opening, and thank goodness we did, because right away the line began to grow. By the time the doors opened, the queue wrapped around the block. Once inside the ticket office, you descend a ridiculous number of stairs to get to the quarries in which the bones are laid to rest. The old stone spiral stair case was narrow and went down down down until finally we reached the entrace into the Catacombs.

After the Catacombs, we made our, by metro of course, over to the Louvre! It kind of surprised me when I saw it because it almost popped out of nowhere, which I don't know how that is even possible because it was soooooooooooo big! Before going in, we decided to go eat at a little cafe across the street from the massive museum. There, as you can see in the pictures, Lindsey decided to try escargo! She tried to get the rest of us to taste but with no success. After lunch, we headed to the Louvre where we parted ways Lindsey and her fam, and Logan and I headed to through the entrance.
Once again, the size of this museum is almost unfathomable. We were there for two plus hours walking full speed ahead and didn't even see 1/16 of the place. We did get to see the really famous art though, like the Mona Lisa!

Saint Chapelle
After the Louvre, we headed back towards Notre Dame because we wanted to climb the tower, which was closed the first time we went that morning. First we stopped by Saint Chapelle and made a quick trip through this amazing building!
When we arrived at Notre Dame, the line to enter the towers was ridiculous, but Logan and I decided to wait it out anway. About two hours later, we ascended the never ending spiral staircase to the very top of the cathedral. It was amazing!!!

Our last stop of the day was at Champs Elysees and then to the top of the Arc d' Triomph, where we climbed about a millio more stairs! Logan and I calculated that we climbed and descended well over 2000 stairs that day! In fact, when I woke up the next morning, I could definitely feel the burn in my legs!
View from the top!
Getting back to the hotel, I don't know if I have ever felt so exhausted in my entire life! We walked all over Paris and saw most of the main tourist attractions, climbs thousands of stairs, and just went a little crazy! Of course that night, the jet lag set in once again and at about 1 am, I turned over to see Logan wide awake playing on his phone also! After a few hours, we were able to fall back to sleep and get nice and rested up to start our next day of adventure!

Adventures in Paris!

2011-07-23T13:01:00.004-06:00

Logan and I finally arrived in Paris on Friday morning after two very long (and seperate) flights3.5 from SLC to Washington DC and 7 to Paris). Luckily Logan's flight was delayed so we ended up landing at Charles de Gualle within minutes of each other, so around 7 am Paris time. After having a slight panic attack after arrival, trying to figure out how in the world we would find each other, we found each other! We navigated our way through the airport to the metro, which was probably the most confusing portion of our stay in Paris and made it to the train station near our hotel, Gare de l'est, I think it was. We were both pretty exhausted by this time; neither of us had really been able to sleep on the plane and because of the time change and my brilliant idea to stay up all night so that way we could just sleep on the plane didn't pan out so well, so by the time we arrived, we were both tired and exhausted. We walked to our hotel and found out that we would have to wait several hours to check into our room. So, the kind hostess let us leave our luggage and then proceeded to make our way around Paris. First we stopped at a local pub-like corner shop and bought two cokes, which we calculated cost us nearly 15 American dollars. After that much needed refresher, we headed out and did a little sight seeing around town. This is what we saw:

Our ridiculously expensive Coca-Colas!

We were finally able to check into our hotel at, I think around noon! By then we were so tired we couldn't see straight. We decided to lie down to take a short little nap and woke up at 8:30! We rushed to get ready because we were scheduled to meet one of my best friends and her mom and sister at a nearby restuarant; it was crazy that both of us ended up in Paris at the same time, completely unplanned! Anyway, we met at this amazing little place called Chez Loiuse Marie, or something like that. I pretty muched starved that night because I'm such a picky eater and everything on the menu made me want to up-chuck! I already posted the pictures on an older post of it!

Anyway, sorry this is so descriptive, but I'm doing it this way for journaling purposes! I'm going to try and post day-by-day, but we'll see how that works because altogether our trip amounts to 21.

Paris!

2011-07-19T12:09:00.015-06:00

Top: View from on top of Notre Dame Catheral
Below: Palais Garnier (Paris Opera House)

Left: Gates to Versailles

Right: Random catherdral. There were many of these spaced throughout the city.

Above: Palais Garnier

Above: Bits of beauty

My heart is in Paris! Imagine my surprise when the first thing I saw was this (picture to the left) when I first climbed the stairs at the metro station.

The beauty in this city was indescribable.

There was also several things that surprised me. For one, the people. I always hear about the rudeness of Parisians. This was absolutely not the case. We met so many kind and wonderful people; it was quite refreshing!

Now take all the beauty, kindness and immense size of the city and add a wide-eyed girl with a camera. I was bound to go a little crazy, and I'm glad I did because I never want to forget this amazing city.

A piece of my heart is still there and hopefully one day I can return to leave a little more! Paris truly is the "city of love!"

I "LOUVRE" Paris!!!!

2011-07-08T16:58:00.003-06:00

We made it to Paris and I am totally in LOVE! It's sooooooo much better than I could have ever imagined! Here are a few pics of me meeting up with my bestie Lindsey, her mom, her sister, and my little bro! We went to this amazing little restruarant, Marie Chez Loise (or something like that)! It was the funnest experience ever! I will upload more when I have time!

A Whole Lot of Nothing!

2011-03-31T00:28:00.006-06:00

I got a new "toy" for my camera! It's called the control freak lens, by lensbaby! I am having soooo much fun with it! My spring wreath! We finally made it home from Arizona! Let me just tell you what a trip that was. After leaving wayyyy later than we intended to, getting stopped by a Navajo Native American asking for either a ride or money (and then settling for the two quarters I had on hand), taking an accidental little "detour" to Colorado, and dealing with two screaming boys, I was ready for a vacation from my vacation! We did have a great time though! It was wonderful to see friends and family and to see a little sunshine; something long forgotten in our summer forsaken land of Wyoming.

Arizona 2011!

2011-03-20T22:28:00.003-06:00

My cousin Natalie got married this weekend in beautiful, sunny Arizona! We came down, and are actually still here, enjoying the warm weather and sunshine. Here are some fun pictures I snapped of the wedding! She looked GORGEOUS! Congratulations cuz! I'll post more pictures of our actual trip when I get back home to Wyoming!

World Traveler!

2011-03-11T22:37:00.005-07:00

Today was such an exciting day; Nathan and I officially booked our trip to Europe!!! We will fly into Paris and travel, via railroad, to Amsterdam, Berlin, Poland (Auschwitz), Prague, Rome, and Italy. We are spending 21 days child free! I literally cannot contain my excitement, and nerves (I HATE flying)!

Besides that, life has been somewhat uneventful! The weather has been warm-ish here lately so we have been taking advantage of it and ventured outside for a few hours over the last few days. Here's a few pics of my studly men!

I love his little curls!

Birthday fun and a husband!!!

2011-02-14T00:34:00.009-07:00

Man I LOVE these guys!!!

Life has been great lately. First of all, I got a HUGE surprise last two weeks ago, January 30 to be exact. Nathan got to come home for his two weeks of leave! I had an inkling something was going on when I opened my bank account and it said I had purchased food at pizza hut in Kuwait. At first I thought maybe Nathan's card had been stolen, but then I started thinking and remember Nathan had told me that when they come home, they stop in Kuwait first and then fly from there. Anyway, it was an amazing surprise and I cried! Grant freaked and was like "daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy" and Carter went right to him, which was even more crazy, because Carter pretty much hates everyone but me!

Next most exciting thing, my sweet baby boy Carter turned 1! I cannot believe it either. Where did the time go! He is just the sweetest, cutest little guy and I can't get enough of him. Dang it, now I want to go upstairs and give him a kiss while he sleeps! We had a big birthday party at the rec center for him and Grant, who will turn 4 on Friday, and which I also cannot believe and want to go give him a huge kiss now also, and had tons of friends and family come and join us for the fun! Here's some pics! Hope you love!

Finally, an update!!!

2010-11-21T21:17:00.012-07:00

Finally, an update. Life has been chaotic lately with the whole "single" mom thing. We miss Nathan like crazy! I'm not going to lie, it's pretty much the hardest thing I have ever done. We just keep trekking along and staying busy though.

First off, Grant started preschool. He absolutely loves it too. They have a lot of fun and he brings home cute new projects all the time.

This is how Grant opens the door to my truck. He climbs onto the step and then grabs the handle and swings!

This is Grant's best friend, Bentley. They had so much fun at school together. I say "had' because Bentley moved back to Salt Lake! We miss our little buddy.

Halloween time was awesome at the Southam house. We had lots of fun activities.

We made this super cute "spiders" but the boys didn't seem to think they were so cute. Grant took one bite and then puked all over. He just couldn't get over the fact that it was a spider. It was hilarious!

Snake pizza bread. These were YUMMY! The boys loved painting them too!

Some of my favorite things that Grant says:

"Toni, I'm getting sweatin'!" He says those when he is hot or doesn't want to help me pick up! Ha ha!

"Toni, Carter's making me crabby!"

"Toni, brother/sister's crying!"

"Toni, Carter's freaking out!"

"Toni, call your dog!"

"Wait, I forgot to say I love you! I love you!" He says this everytime he is on the phone with anyone!

"Yummy fruika!" Then when I ask him what "yummy fruika" is, he says "it's not your turn!"

"PRAYERS! And I have to say be good sample!" (Example).

Me: "Grant, you are awesome."

Grant: "No....I'm Grant!"

This little guy is now almost 10 months. I literally cannot believe how fast he has grown. It blows my mind. He started crawling around 7 months and has gone full speed ahead since. He says "mamamama" and "dadadada" and "lalalalala" all the time. He also just started waving and clapping his hands.

Pumpkin cookies for Halloween.

Those two are the best brothers in the world. Carter idolizes Grant. Everything Grant does makes Carter crack up laughing.

Pumpkin painting with Levi and Bentley. We sure miss those two boys and their awesome mommy!

Grant's first school party. The kids LOVED wearing their costumes to school. They were all sooooo cute. I volunteered for the party so I got to be there to see his cute smiling face the whole time too!

Oh my heck, Grant's dresser FELL on him! It was awful. Scared me too death! Poor kid!

Erica and I kept up mine and Nathan's Sun vs Jazz game thsi year. It was super fun. We got to sit in the 9th row and it was amazing! The Suns manhandled the Jazz and it was just a beautiful thing.

We also got to wave at Steve Nash and..... he waved back. It was AMAZING! I wanted to cry!

So funny story about the game actually. When we had left some ladies stopped us and asked if I was Steve Nash's wife. They said they thought I was because I was so "glamourous" and because I kept shouting "I love you!" to Steve Nash. They also thought Erica was my nanny.....She was not too happy about that, ha ha ha!

Halloween Trunk-or-Treat at Camp Williams!

Grant LOVED "prick-or-treat" ing this year. These boys definitely got their fair share of candy too. We went to two different trunk-of-treats and went through my parent's neighborhood.

We have spent a TON of time in Spanish Fork with my family. We all just love it there and my parents are so happy. Their new house is beautiful and so is the scenery surrounding it!

See my little pasty boy. Well, the kid was doing this thing called a breath holding spell. The first time it happened, I was at my parents and he PASSED OUT! It was awful. His face went whiwte, his lips were completely blue, his eyes rolled around a little and then he just kind of was gone. I was bawling, my mom was freaking, Logan was shaking. He just held his breath til he passed out and then came to again but was really weak and frail for a while. Anyway, this is a really normal thing apparently. But, I took him to the Doctor's anyway and the poor kid was soooooo anemic. Anyway, we have him on iron now and he hasn't passed out since. Amazing how something so little can make all the difference in the world.

This is the Harikrishna temple in Spanish Fork. It is GORGEOUS!!!

So, I got this wild hair one day to re-do my kitchen. I'm super loving how it turned out too. Here are some pics and yes....I did the tile!!!! Right here is a picture of my awesome dishrag curtains. They are probably my favorite part of the kitchen.

We got out house all Christmased up nice and early.
I got this freakin' cute table from Urban Outfitters for like 20 bucks!!!
And the tree.

Fun Pictures!

2010-10-08T20:46:00.012-06:00

So, I don't really have time to update right now....crazy life as usual, but here are some fun pics of the boys to hold you all over til I do get the chance to play catch up!

Bear Lake 2010

2010-08-17T14:43:00.006-06:00

It has definitely been a while since I have blogged. I just literally do not ever have two seconds to do anything lately. Life is just insane. Between two crazy boys, two crazy classes, and one crazy mom, my days seem to fly by and the next thing I know it's 6 weeks since Nathan has left, my baby is sitting up, and my house somehow got destroyed again!
Here is a little summary of what we have been up to these last few weeks! Carter just turned SIX MONTHS! I can't believe it. He is finally sitting up too; it is soooo nice because I can actually put him down with out him freaking out! I took him to the doc's about a month ago because he had a double ear infection and the kid was almost 18 lbs. The stinker has quadrupled his birth weight!
I LOVE this little boy. He is sooooo funny! The other day I was asking him to help me pick up some toys and he sits down and goes, "I can't! I'm sooooo dizzy. I'm just too dizzy!" When Carter is crying, Grant likes to inform me by screamin, "Toni, Carter's freaking out!" He just says the funniest things!

How could I pass up this cook book? I'm a mom with two boys, it's like an unstated rule that we have to like Star Wars and do Star Wars things!

My studly little men!

Someday this will be me with my boys! Aw....I love my family!
We had our annual trip to Bear Lake this year! AWESOME, and it was even better because I wasn't prego this time around! We had sooooo much fun!

Out in front of the condo! Bear Lake is so beautiful. It was also Raspberry Day's which made it that much more fun!

My mom and dad spent their 28th wedding anniversary while we were there! Wow, they are soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo old!

On the way home we stopped at Fossil Butte, why not? It was funnish! It was kind of cool to see some of the stuff they had; no dinosaur fossils because the beasts were already extinct at the time fossil butte lake had developed.

I'm also re-doing my kitchen! It's a little overwhelming but I am excited with how it's turning out! Here's a little sneak peak! I'll post more when I'm finished!

Let's see, I also have a new neice and nephew. Two of my sisters-in-law just had their babies over the course of the last month. Nathan is doing great. They got a few days of leave so he headed to Minnesota, it was the furthest they would let him go from base, and had a great time. I miss him sooooooooooooooooo much though! Um...hmmm, school is crazy. Caluclus is the hardest thing ever. I finished Insanity and my results were AMAZING! I'm going to start a p90/Insanity hybrid workout now that I'm done!

Well, that's about it! Hope everyone is doing well! Nathan heads to Afghanistan sometime this week so as soon as I have an address for him, I will post it and you can write him; I expect LOTS of letters and love for the guy! Also, if anyone would like to email him, it's nathan.southam@us.army.mil

2010-07-09T09:04:00.005-06:00

Life has been pretty crazy and eventful lately. For one, I started school again after an AMAZING two week break! I'm currently taking Calculus and started to thing what have I gotten myself into. I had no prob with Algebra and Trig! We'll see how it goes! We also celebrated our 5 year anniversary. Nathan suprised me in the form of a new camera. It's a Canon Rebel t1i and I abso-freakin-lutely love it. He is the best! Cardy started eating rice cereal! The first day he wasn't so sure but he really enjoys it now. We went to his 4 month appointment and he is 15 lbs 15.6 oz. so basically 16 lbs! He was 25 inches also. He's in the 50th percentile for both!
Grant is the funniest boy alive. He says the craziest things. For example, the other day we were at the store and I smelled something not so nice. I asked Grant if he had poopoed. He responded by saying, "No, I no poopoo's, I tooted!" I don't even know where he thought of that. It was hilarious though!
This pictures absolutely kills me! He looks like such a freak in it and that's what makes it so funny. This picture just sums up his personality!

Remember when I first had Carter and Grant slammed the door on the nurse and shouted "Baby's gone?" Well, Grant can't get enough of his brother now, I mean, literally can't get enough! He wants to help and hold Carter all the time. Grant's favorite thing to do is ask if he can hold Carter and then ask me to take a picture!

His face is always dirty, I swear!

My little fat man also started rolling over last month. On June 19 actually!
And for the biggest event. After lots of tears and even more issues with the airport, Nathan is officially deployed! I have to admit that it has been a lot harder than I anticipated. I miss him sooooo much like crazy! I totally have no makeup on in this pic because I cried it off!
Nathan said goodbye to Grant the night before, which was sooooo hard. I bawled of course. We decided not to take him to the airport with us in the morning because he would have to wake up at 4 and he would have been so crabby and not really understood what was going on anyway.
So, Nathan and I have to wakeup at 4:30 in the morning to make it to the airport on Tuesday morning. We get there and some of the guys in his unit are standing around. Nathan asked them why they hadn't gone through security and come to find out, someone forgot to pay for their tickets. The flight was booked but not paid for. So, their commander gets there and goes to figure out. America Airlines told him that because the tickets were not paid for they gave away the guys' seats. So, the commander starts working on booking another flight! So we wait for forever. Finally, the commander tells us he has a flight booked for 10. Just enough time for us to leave the airport, go to the hotel and come straight back. (Rest of the story below)! We get back to the airport and they inform me that I can get special permission to go to the terminal and wait with Nathan, so naturally, I do! We get there and wait. Finally it's time to board the plane. So everyone gets in line and starts waiting. After about a half an hour of nothing happening the airline person gets on the overcome and states that something is wrong with the plane and it's going to be a few minutes. So everyone goes and sits down. After about an our, she gets back on and says it's going to be another hour. It's about noon by now and all the other wives had left. Carter was freaking out so finally we decided it was time for me to go! THat was soooo hard. Nathan walked me to the end of the terminal and we said our "goodbyes." I was totally fine until we both turned around to walk away. Then, neither of us would move. I told him to start walking and he told me to start walking. That's when the water works started and we just held each other and I cried for a few more minutes. Then we decided to both walk away at the same time!
So I leave and tell Nathan to call me when his plane takes off. So I still hadn't heard from him and it's like 3 o'clock. I figured he had just forgotten and that he had boarded the flight but I decided to try calling anyway. Sure enough he answered and his flight had been cancelled til the next morning.
So next morning comes and he finally gets on the flight and gets to Atlanta. Lo' and behold though it doesn't go without a hitch. They board the plane and then find out that there was a storm in Detroit and that they couldn't take off for a few hours until the weather got better. So he got stuck sitting on that plane for like 2 hours! Needless to say, he is finally in Wisconsin and they made it! He will stay there for about 30 or so days and then head to Afghanistan!
I don't know if it made me feel better or worse that Nathan and I were not the only ones with a baby and young child out of all the men being deployed! One of the guys had a two month old baby and it was their only child!

Anyway, I hope everyone is doing great. Remember to keep all of these amazing men and women who fight for our rights and our freedom in your prayers!

2010-06-12T11:16:00.022-06:00

So Nathan and I decided to take the boys on one last little hoorah before he has to head to Afghanistan. We ended up deciding on Yellowstone since we live in Wyoming and all. We had such a great time. The first night wa a little crazy because we got there after dark and had to set up the tent in the rain. We pretty much froze that night. Then the next morning the ice in our cooler, which had melted on the drive, froze and so all the food was stuck. We had an interesting first meal. Things calmed down though and we had sooooo much fun!

Over by Old Faithful!

There were bison everywhere!

Mammoth Hot Springs

Gyser Basin

I really loved the signs they had around the park1 If this doesn't make you stay on the trails, I don't know what would!
My awesome hubby had breakfast ready every morning for us!

You literally got to hike down and stand at the brink of some of the waterfalls!

Our home away from home!

This was the first night. I was soaked.

The Tetons are crazy amazing!!!

My boys!!!

3 Months Later

2010-05-22T18:19:00.004-06:00

Remember when Carter was not much bigger than a box of Mac n' cheese?
Gone are those days!!!

I sure do love my chunky monkey!

Carter's Blessing and The Boys First Pictures

2010-04-28T19:38:00.011-06:00

We had the chance to get Nathan home long enough to bless Carter on the 18th! It was such an amazing day with lots of family and close friends joining us! Thanks again to everyone who traveled all the way up here for the event! Especially thanks to my parents who came up the night before, cooked, AND then cleaned up after everyone once again! They are just the best! It's no wonder my boys are crazy about them.
I also had Carter's and Grant's pictures a few weeks ago by a friend who use to live in Price! She did such an AMAZING job and was so great to work with. She didn't stress at all when my boys were crying and being crazy! Check out her website! It's jackheartjill.com! Thanks again Suzy! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the pictures!

Grant was devastated when Grandma left!

Grant took this picture of Grandma!

Nathan giving his Grandma Kirk a big hug because who knows when they will actually get to see each other again!

We also celebrated my 2........4th birthday on Carter's blessing day! Ugh, I'm getting old!

My bestie Raquel and my buddy, her son!
My center pieces didn't last so well over night!

Easter in Arizona

2010-04-09T15:58:00.009-06:00

So we FINALLY had the chance to get down to Arizona again and thank goodness because it was AMAZING! The weather was a little bit cooler than what I would have liked, but it also made for an awesome time at the zoo! Here's some pictures of our fun time! I got to see my best friend in the whole world, Ashley, and ger two adorable boys, my "unofficial godsons"!

is amazing resort in Scottsdale on priceline.com for a whopping 47 bucks and just had an awesome time!
We spent Easter at my Grandma G's with most of my Aunt's, Uncke's, and cousins! It rocked!

So, I pretty much grew up in Arizona for those of you who don't know. My best friend when I went to elementry school there was named Tiffany. We lost contact after I moved and found each other again via facebook! We met up at Peter Piper and let the kids play. It was so great to see her! It had been TWELVE years!
Cardy's very first swimming adventure! Swimming...it was amazing. Here in Green River it seems to be only something from a distant memory!
We went to the Phoenix Zoo, which cost us freakin 65 dollars for the 3 of us! I couldn't believe it! Anyway, here is Granny Fanny roaring like a lion!

Happy Easter! Can you tell how excited Carter was? Ha ha!

Pedicures with my mamacita! She is the best! Thanks mommy!

The beautiful outdoors! It was wonderful!
Cousin Stella checking out Carter. Isn't she stinkin' adorable?
Mamacita smelling the delicious orange blossoms!
My amazing Grandma G, G Unit. I love her sooooo much!
I truly think Arizona is one of the most beautiful places on Earth! I can't get enough of it!
Great Grandpa Perkins meeting Carter for the first time. Carter gave his very first real smile to my grandpa!

Driving to Arizona is sooooo long! By the way, Sam is pretending to be asleep!
That's his eager face?

By the way, I took Carter into the doctor's today and he was 11 lbs 12 oz. Can you believe how fat he is getting?

2010-03-20T10:05:00.004-06:00

This was at the hotel in Salt Lake! Grant and I had a great time jumping on the beds!
So life is absolutely crazy with two kids. I have time for, well...nothing! That's okay though, I am loving life with my guys!
Carter just turned 5 weeks old and is getting fat really fast! He went to the doctor's when he was just a day shy of 4 weeks and was already at 8 pounds; the little chunkster has doubled his birth weight since! He eats like a horse, and poops like one too!
Grant is starting love his brother more and more all the time. He always wants to hold Carter and then of course he makes me take a picture of it. When we were at the doctor's, they brought Carter back to weigh him and do their thing and Grant got so upset and started asking "Where's my Carter?" It was so cute. Much better than their first meeting when Grant slammed the door on the nurse and shouted that the baby was gone!
Nathan actually got to come home again for a few days also! It was wonderful!!! We went and spent the night in Salt Lake and bought a new fridge, washer, and dryer; it's been national appliance-kick-the-bucket month for us! He left for drill on Thursday night and then will head back to California on Sunday. Hopefully I will also be going out to Cali at the beginning of April to stay with him until he goes to Afghanistan.
I really can't believe he has to go. We have known about it for over a year but I thought for sure things would change. I was definitely wrong. He really really really has to go! I hate it and try not to think about it because it just kills me to think of him there in all that craziness and danger. It also kills me that he is going to miss Carter's whole infancy. When Nathan gets home Carter will be over a year. Ugh...anyway, enough of feeling bad for myself. I hope everyone is doing great and hopefully life will slow down a little so I can blog a little more often and show off pictures of my adorable little boys! I just love them!

Carter's 2 weeks and Grant's 3!!!

2010-02-25T22:33:00.005-07:00

Life has been crazy lately-who would have thought! Carter is 2 weeks now and really chunking up! When he was just 3 days old he had already gained weight and was up to 5 lbs-huge I know! He eats like a horse and sleeps wonderfully; he's the complete opposite of Grant!

Grant also just turned 3! My baby is getting so big. He calls Carter his "brother/sister" and is warming up to him more and more everyday! The first day at thed hospital Grant wanted nothing to do with his new brother! The nurse came in to pick the baby up and Grant ran and opened the door for her shouting "bye baby"! Then he slammed the door and exclaimed "baby's gone!"nIt was actually quite funny! Nathan got to come home for an entire week! It was so much fun and Grant could not get enough of his daddy! We miss him sooooo much! We are going to miss him even more soon because, lucky us, Nathan gets to serve his second deployment and will head to Afghanistan in July. I try not to think about it because I get so depressed, but the Lord has a plan and I just have to have faith everything will be okay!

Grant got a bloody nose and he needed a "bandah" on top of it! He's obsessed with band-aids, doctors, and "stetascopes" lately!

Carter may have gotten a hint of the Puert Rican gene in him! He seems kind olivey to me! I can't believe how much he looks like Grant. They are like twins. Carter even has a clogged tear duct like Grant did!

Carter Douglas

2010-02-13T09:59:00.008-07:00

I am so happy to finally have Carter here. He is just the tiniest most amazing little guy! I can't believe how much I love him. My labor was crazy too! I went into the doctor's on Monday and I was only measuring 34.5 weeks and I was 37 weeks so he decided to do a sonogram to see what was going on. He did the ultrasound and we found that Carter was breech and in a really funky position. The doctor talked to me about some of my options and we decided on doing an external cephalic version the next day.
I went into the hospital and got an epidural and everything before they performed the procedure. The procedure itself went great but right after was AWFUL! Carter's heartrate dropped to around 65-70 and my shot up. My blood pressure dropped and they had to give me some meds and put me on oxygen. Finally, after about 5 minutes Carter's heart beat came back to normal and everything was okay. The doc said 2 more minutes and we would have had to do an emergency c-section.
They sent me home because I was still only dilated to a 2. The next day was just like any other day. My mom was up here to help with Grant from the version. I was SOOOO sore from it too. I can't even believe how bad my stomach hurt afterwards. Wednesday, we went shopping and just hung around. I went and worked out at the rec center and came home. At about 8:30 I started having some small noticable contractions so we started timing them. Then events just happened one after another. I lost my mucus plug (I know, too much info). My contractions started gettting bad and then at 12:30 my water broke. We jumped in the car, dropped Grant off, and drove to the hospital. By the time I got there I was in some serious pain. My muscles were still so sore from the version and the contractions were getting worse. I was like one of those crazy women on t.v. I seriously was screaming because I thought my insides were ripping open. Even the nurses were really worried because the pain was so incredible. My contractions with Grant were nothing like this.
Anyway, the anesthesiologist got there about an hour later and I was at a 7. Then, at around 5 I really started feeling some pressure. I called the nurses in and they told me not to push because the doc was on his way. The doctor got there at about 5:30 and I pushed 3 times; it was less than 5 miutes and my little munchkin popped out! A whopping 4 lbs 14 oz. They think that he just stopped growing in there and needed to come out! He is perfectly healthy though and we are home now!
I still can't get over how different this delivery was because with Grant I pushed for TWO hours! Anyway, that's the story. Kind of long!
Here are some pictures of the little man.
He's not way too much bigger than a box of macaroni!

Grant was NOT okay having a little brother the very first day. He was pretty mad at me too but he is warming up more and more everyday!

Nathan was in Louisiana and just could not make it. We were sooooo sad, but he will be home Sunday and make up for the lost time!

THIS WILL BE MY LAST POST BEFORE I GO PRIVATE SO IF YOU HAVEN'T LEFT YOUR E-MAIL, DO IT NOW! THANKS!

He's here!!!

2010-02-11T19:18:00.002-07:00

Carter Douglas Southam born at 5:36 a.m. Weighing in at a whopping 4 pounds 14 ounces and 17 1/2 inches long. Toni did great! Got to the hospital at about 1 a.m. and delivered at 5:36 a.m. She will post more info. once she gets home.

Going Private

2010-01-13T14:08:00.004-07:00

Yep, I'm going private too. It's time. I have gotten one too many weird comments! So, leave me your e-mail address in the comment box and I'll send you an invite. Remember, you don't have to have a blog to continue looking at mine, just an email address. I will probably officially go private in about a month, the time the new baby is born, so make sure to get me your email by then!

P.S. If you don't want to post your email in pubilc where everyone can see it, send it to tonisoutham@gmail.com

Christmas Chronicles!

2009-12-26T18:42:00.008-07:00

We had such a great and busy time this Christmas season! Here are some fun pictures of some of our adventures.
We went to a cookie party for the kids. Besides the fact it was a little chaotic, we had a great time. By the way, nerds on cookies just evaporate in the oven!

This is Grant's new "thing!" Everytime I take a picture of him lately he closes his eyes. I am not sure why but it is pretty funny.

Helping "Mommy Toni" -that's what he has been calling me lately- wrap Christmas presents!

Too much excitement for one night; Grant conked out at the top of the stairs!

Here's my 30 week baby bump. People still don't realize I'm pregnant. I have had one person, just one, ask me if I was expecting. Oh, and do you love my super cute maternity jeans. My first pair. I finally gave. They are Rock and Republics and I got the best deal EVER, which is great because they are the most comfortable maternity jeans ever!
Arroz con gondulez minus the gondulez. Nathan and I went to 7 stores trying to find them with no such luck!
Pernil! More awesome Puerto Rican food. Our family tradition is to cook this way every Christmas. I absolutely love it and it turned out great!

Christmas morning!
Grant had a hard time getting enthusiastic about opening presents at first but he quickly got into the groove of things!

Eyes closed!
Eyes closed again!
Making sure his eyes are closed! Now Grant is all ready for our annual Jazz vs Suns game which takes place on the 25th. I can't wait! Maybe I will get to touch Steve Nash again!
More eye closing! He got a "Mack" -which he calls every semi-truck- from Grandma and Grandpa Southam and he just can't get enough of it! Thanks guys!
And this is proof that we are definitely turning into Wyomingites! This picture kind of makes me think of Dale Gribble from King of the Hill riding his lawn mower in his undies!

Overall we had a great Christmas. Nathan was allowed to come home for a few days which was awesome. We just hung out around the house and enjoyed each other's company, I am on break from school so it was extra awesome! On Christmas day we went and saw Sherlock Holmes and then Nathan left early this morning! Grant had so much fun with his daddy. He sure does love him. We miss him so much all the time. I can't wait to move to California and be a family again one day. Hopefully soon! Hope everyone had an awesome Christmas season and have a great up-coming New Year!

P.S. Logan comes home on Thursday!!!

Viva California!!!

2009-12-05T22:44:00.005-07:00

What a week what a week. I am pretty sure I have consumed more calories in the last week then I have for the entire first 11 months of 2009 combined. I have good reason though. I finally had the opportunity to fly to California and meet up with my long lost husband. Some of you may remember him, for those of you who do not, his name is Nathan and he is has been in California since July. I think I have seen him maybe 4 times since he left. We both hate this situation so much but are grateful that he is working and making money.

I flew out on Tuesday morning from SLC in LAX. The flight was awesome too, which was great because I am terrified of flying. When I am nervous I like to talk so the poor guy next to me got an earful. I also learned a lot about him! For example, his name is Houston, he's from Alabama but living in L.A. He's also lived in Spain and South Africa. He attended college in Boston and has worked for the last 8 years producing movies. He has a Chihuahua and has been dating his girlfriend for three months who is from Venezuela!!! That poor man, I just had to talk to keep from being scared!

Nathan picked me up at the airport and we stayed at the Hyatt Regency. The most amazing hotel EVER, all 4 1/2 stars of it. Oh and did I mention I got the BEST deal EVER. 57 dollars a night! I only believe in Priceline when it comes to buying hotels.

We went to Disneyland on Wednesday and had sooooo much fun. This was Nathan's very first time and he loved it. Here are a few pics.

The Haunted Mansion was AWESOME. Everything was "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and it was the cutest thing ever!

This tree was HUGE!

After two nights in L.A. we went to this tiny little town near Bakersfield called Kernville and stayed in this super cute little inn. They had the best breakfast ever and we just hung out and relaxed the whole time. Nathan even got to do a little fishing while he was there. My Camera died and I had to buy a disposable one so when I develop it I will put more pictures up.

Saturday morning we checked out and headed to Bakersfield so Nathan could show me our new stomping grounds. It's true, really for real this time we are moving to California. He officially has signed the transfer letter and everything. I'm not sure when I will get down here because I am going to stay in Green River til our house sells while Nathan rents a small apartment with Nate, one of the guys he works with here. We also have another HUGE surprise coming in July, which I can't talk about yet, so really I won't be moving here for quite some time. It's a really confusing situation.

That's about our life in a nutshell. Grant is hanging out with grandma while I am still here in Cali getting ready to head out in the morning. I miss him like CRAZY, but he is so attached to my mom that I don't think he really even notices! I am getting huge and pregnant, not pregnant huge but just huge. In fact no one can even believe I am pregnant because my belly is so small, my butt is huge though! I have packed on the pounds! School is also going great. I LOVE my classes at GCU! Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Happy Holidays!

Trick-or-Treat

2009-10-31T22:19:00.006-06:00

So I had to get these pictures up for Nathan since he couldn't be here for Halloween. I have to say it was quite the event! He also got another hair cut which was INSANE! He freaked out and kicked and screamed and told the barber to "shut up" about a million times! What can you do?Happy Halloween!

Here is Grant at his first house trick-or-treating!
Seconds later he had his top off.
And then the pants!
He HATED his costume. I didn't even get to paint his face or anything because he hated it so badly. After a little while he finally got into the groove of things and agreed to wear his costume as long as the top was unbuttoned! At least he liked his Spiderman bucket!

Early Halloween Fun and...

2009-10-19T18:46:00.005-06:00

So Nathan got to home come home for my ultra sound. We were both sooooo excited! We had some fun making celebrating Halloween a little early because Nathan won't be home for it. The cookies turned out a little funky and we went old school on the pumpkin but hey, we had fun that's all that matters!

I just love Grant's crazy hair. I just can't bring myself to get it cut yet!
And for the exciting news...I had my ultra sound today. Everything looked great and we found out we are having a baby...BOY!!! Another boy. I am so excited. So as of now, and hopefully forever, his name will be Jack Douglas. We can't wait and feel so blessed. Hope everyone is doing great!

2009-09-27T22:04:00.004-06:00

Boy it's been a while. You see, I'm suffering from this disease. It's not an actual medical condition. Maybe some of you have heard of it though. It's called incurable laziness. It affects a person's motivation to clean, cook, and well, move! I'm hoping it's a temporary condition that comes with pregnancy. We'll find out.

So not a whole lot has happened here. I am finding out what I'm having on the 18th! Woo woo. Don't forget to vote on the side, or leave a comment so that way you can prove you were either right or wrong. I really have no idea still. We have names picked out either way though. Actually, we have had them picked out for a while so if you announce your naming your kid one of our names, well, too bad, our kids are going to have the same name!

I am on break right now from school which is AW-some! I start again October 26th. Also, I lost ANOTHER cell phone. Yup, about two weeks ago. The absolute only places I went that day were to the grocery store and to my neighbors. It was a sad moment in my life. One of many I have concerning cell phones! I did get a pretty sweet phone out of the deal but I lost all my pictures and videos of Granny Fanny. I still can't get over that.

Well, that's my life lately in a nutshell. Here's some pictures because blogs are no fun unless there are pictures involved.
And now for a "Grantism". The other day I was outside mowing the lawn. Grant was watching. Now, the one and only time I really get down right mad at Grant is when he goes into the road because we live on a blind corner with no stop sign and people fly around it. So, back to mowing, I got near the side walk and had to step off and next thing I hear is Grant saying, "Toni, get out of the road!" I love it. He is the funniest kid. Did I ever mention that he only calls me "Toni" not "mom"? It's true. He's done it since he was just little!
I felt like putting a picture of my awesome chandelier up. We've actually had it a while now but I just LOVE it. This picture does NOT do it justice.
Proof of my ridiculous laziness. My poor child fell asleep on the floor with a hat over his eyes because he wanted to go to bed and I didn't want to get my booty up. Oh, not to mention the atrocious disaster of my house in the background. I'm kind of mortified that I consented to put this picture up because of the background. In my defense I was also in the middle of a sewing project. That accounts for like 80% of the mess!

I never know what to title my posts as....

2009-08-17T11:27:00.005-06:00

So life has been pretty uneventful lately with the exception of a few exciting things that have happened. First, the most exciting event was Nathan suprising me at four o'clock in the morning. He had been in California for 6 weeks and was scheduled to stay until October. Well, one of his tools burned up and he can't go on any jobs until it is fixed so he drove all day and night, and came home. He literally scared the doody out me though. He has to head back tomorrow and I wont see him again til October, but it has been awesome having him home. Grant and I have missed him like crazy. So I officially am transferring schools, Grand Canyon University, and starting work on my bachelors degree in history. I am ECSTATIC. Hopefully soon I'll be just like Indiana Jones fighting off bad guys while I uncover some mysterious ancient historical secret!

My friend Juanita threw a big birthday party and had me make the cake. It was super fun and I think it turned out to be my best. Everyone really loved it to so that's always a plus.
Juanita and her hubby Jorge making some awesome carne asada!
We stayed in Price for a little while this last month because my house was sooooo stinkin' hot I couldn't handle it. Carli and Grant got in a nice little water fight in the front yard. It was so cute. Grant kept telling Carli when she had the hose "my turn, my turn Carsee."
We also had a Southam family reunion party kind of thing. Nathan's mom threw a 24th of July party. It was a lot of fun and of course, I forgot my camera. What can you do?

The pregnanacy is going pretty well also. I feel pretty much the exact same as I did with Grant. I'm hoping for another boy but we'll see. I haven't been running but I have still been hitting the rec center because I am determined to not get super chubby like I did with Granny Fanny.

Grant is talking more and more all the time. I think we may have finally broken him of the habit of yelling "shut up" in the middle of a public area. He can't get enough of four wheelers, trucks, planes, anything that moves. I swear he can spot a plane from a mile away. He does this funny little thing now all the time where he lifts up his front leg and yells "watch this". Then he takes off as fast as he can and runs around the room. I love it. He is the funniest boy. I can't wait til he is a big brother. I ask him all the time where mommies baby it and he slaps my tummy. We're still working on the being gentle thing!

I think that about sums up my life lately. It's been nice to just kind of relax and enjoy things day by day, not having tons of things planned and going crazy. Hope everyone else is having a great summer!

Only me!

2009-07-16T23:34:00.006-06:00

The only picture they got of me wake boarding. Awesome, not!

Erica and Carli both rock at wake boarding!
Ugh 2 sippies! I hate those things!

Sam and I had a good laugh posing for the camera at the top of this mountain!

Case of the missing smore solved!

Have I ever told anyone how the most random things happen to me? Okay, so I might mention it like everyday to everyone. But really, I mean the whole IUD thing; who does that happen to? What about Nathan's drug overdose that was actually an accident? Maybe the time Grant locked me out of my house in my undies, or the time he locked himself in a total strangers car and I had to call the police? Did I mention this was just this year? Well, another crazy thing just happened to me that only my life could muster up.

The other day I was driving through and intersection when something caught the corner of my eye. I looked into my rear-view mirror and there is went. My four-wheeler went flying and rolling out the back of my giant lifted truck. It all happened so fast. I know if rolled off the truck and then rolled again. I pulled over expecting to see bent handle bars and chunks of plastic all over but fortunately there was no body damage. After about 5 or so minutes of standing in the middle of the intersection trying to call someone for help because I couldn't flip it over myself, a bunch of painters came running to my rescue. It reminded me a lot of bay watch, accept not as sexy. They came over and got the four-wheeler in. I made it home and had my friend's husband come over and help me unload it. He took around the block and the thing runs like a charm. That bad boy is a beast. I mean a beast! Buy Hondas!

Besides that, my life has been somewhat normal. We had our annual trip to Bear Lake where I actually was able to wake board this year. Did I mention I am like the WORST wake boarder ever? Grant got to take a trip in the boat for the first time this year also. He was so stinkin' cute on it.

In case anyone was wondering from last year, not I did not have any flying phlegm experiences this year where my dad ended up wanting to kill me! Another typical event could only happen in my life.

For those of you who couldn't figure this out from my last post, yes, Nathan and I are expecting numero dos sometime at the end of February beginning of March. I actually started getting suspicious when I was running the Flaming Gorge 5K and ended up having to walk it towards the middle. I started running again to the end and right at the finish line, oh yeah, I upchuked all over.

Fortunately, no one was in my way. Also fortunately, that was my only sickly experience. I have felt one-hundred percent AWESOME this pregnancy. No sickness whatsoever. I have even been able to keep up on my running. Well, not for this last week because I have had a few issues but hopefully everything will work out okay.

Nathan is in Cali right now working, if you can call it that. He sits out by the pool everyday at his hotel, goes out to dinner. I feel really bad for him!

Well that is basically my life in a nutshell. Hope every one is doing great.

Getting ready for Bear Lake!!!

2009-07-04T12:15:00.003-06:00

It's that time of year again! Time to go to Bear Lake! Yay!!! I am so excited. I guess I am going to have to quit smoking the dooby though, I hear it's not good when you're pregnant! Suprise! P.S. I don't really smoke!

"Happy to"

2009-06-18T22:28:00.003-06:00

Happy to!!! Today was Nathan and my 4 year anniversary! Wow, I can't believe it's been that long. I freakin' love my sexy husband and can't imagine myself with anyone else in this world.

And I am sure every morning he wakes up, he thinks the same thing about me! After all, what's not to love?

P.S. This was my awesome custome for nerd night, which by the way, thanks to all my losers friends for truly making me the nerd by being the only one who dressed up!

P.P.S Grant always says "Happy to" for "Happy Birthday to You" or "Happy Anniversary" or whatever!

P.P.P.S. Sorry the wedding pic is aw-ful! I had to take a picture of a picture and then put it on my computer because I can't find my wedding album cd! Awesome!

My Crazy Life!!!

2009-06-05T09:52:00.006-06:00

Poor Adam and Eve. I know exactly how they feel. Okay, maybe not exactly, at least I wasn't naked. Grant just happened to lock me out of my house this morning in my underwear! That's right. It was in my backyard so that was a plus. Once again, Raquel, my hero, rescued me. She brought over a shirt and was able to get the screen off of my front window! Who does this happen to? I think I might be cursed! I wonder how I have any hair left at all! Yesterday, I was down stairs and I get a knock at the door. I was mortified when I opened the door to find a police officer holding Grant, who was in his diaper and one boot! I wanted to bawl. He said Grant had ran into the street!
Terrible two's are here and with a vengance!

Keith Young Memorial 5K and The Ring of Death!!!

2009-05-29T12:52:00.005-06:00

K, so this picture is awful but Nathan and I accidentally killed our lawn. We call it the "Ring of Death". We bought some weed killer and thought it was safe to use on the lawn!

This past Saturday was the Keith Young Memorial 5K. It was so much fun, even though I did AW-FUL! My worst time ever. What can you do?
Every single solitary race I have ever done, this lady is always in front of me by just a tiny bit. She beats me everytime! Ugh!
Here are some of my awesome friends. When I say awesome I mean it. Candace, the girl in the yellow, took first place out of the women's category. There were almost 400 people at the race so I'd say that was pretty impressive.
This is my friend Adrian who works at the Rec Center. We wore matching shirts for luck. Unfortunately, my luck was bad, Adrain's was good though. He beat his sister Candace and took 5th overall out of the men.

Look Who Graduated!!!

2009-05-21T17:05:00.002-06:00

Grant's Funniest Home Videos

2009-05-17T12:06:00.006-06:00

Grant has got to be the funniest little boy alive! I love it. This first video is absolutely hilarious. The more you watch it, the funnier it gets. I laugh so hard each time I watch it. Anyway, hope you all enjoy these videos of my adorable little man!
Grant thinks he's a rockstar!

Life is good (knock on wood)!

2009-05-10T21:30:00.006-06:00

We watched Lincoln a few times this week. I just love watching him because 1. He is totally cute and 2. Him and Grant play so hard and just keep going and going until they both fall asleep from exhaustion.

Grant is just too handsome. He loved my neighbors little "Four-lala"-as Grant calls them.
Life has been pretty good lately. Nothing too dramatic happening so that is good! Nathan is back at work. I just finished my second semester of school. I've been doing a lot of running lately. I ran this little fun run thing put on by the city a few weeks ago. I was the only smart enough person to wear shorts to it. Not! I really thought I was going to fall on my face because my legs were so numb from the cold I could barely feel them. Luckily though, there was no permanent damage, and I WON a cooler! Woo Woo!

Hope everyone has had a good Mother's Day by the way. Mine has been a ton of fun. After church, Mike and Raquel, and our good friend Bonnie came over and we chowed down on one of those little knock off Cafe Rio recipes that is the bomb! We had some good laughs, especially about Nathan's whole near death experience. I am glad he is around so that we can laugh about the whole thing now. Best part of all though, I got to talk to Logan. Yay. I was so excited. He sounded so great. Still the same!

We have actually been pretty busy. I think everyone feels bad for us because of what happened with Nathan, so they are extra keen on inviting us places! Just kidding. It's been a lot of fun though. My friend Juanita's son was "Confirmed"-some kind of Catholic church thing. Nathan and I were totally lost during the whole ceremony, mainly because most of it was in Spanish! Then we went to Don Pedros after and had a great time. I just love Juanita. She is such a great person.

We also have been to a few birthday parties, they were a ton of fun. Saw a few movies with the hubby, actually got to go on a real date without our child -we went to the movies and watched Wolverine. Not that I don't thoroughly enjoy chasing my child around the movie theatre and missing the whole movie every time we take him with us, but an occasional break is nice.

Well, that is our update for the month. Hope everyone has had a good one so far.

P.S. I think I am going to root for the Cavaliers. I feel like a traitor because they are from the East, but what can you do? Who are you cheering for? And don't say the lakers!

Home Sweet Home!!!

2009-04-20T12:03:00.005-06:00

What a week, what a week! We are FINALLY home. Nathan got released on my birthday! Happy Birthday to me! We went shopping and I bought the cutest pants EVER at Anthropoligie; it's my store of choice! Then, that night, Nathan ordered room service for dinner. It was delisiouso! Too bad he was totally crabby because of his awful headache from his lumbar puncture! It was still a nice night though!

By the way, I lost my cell phone on Saturday so don't think I am avoiding you. I have no idea what happened to it and I am pretty sad about the whole situation. What can you do?

I am so glad that we celebrated Easter on Saturday, mostly because we wouldn't have had Easter at all if we would have waited until Sunday. Plus, I think it's more important to focus on the fun aspect of Easter the day before and focus on Christ, Sunday. We had a lot of fun. I ate WAY too much candy!

Here are a few fun pictures of Easter:

P.S. GO MISS CALIFORNIA! Way to represent America by using YOUR FREEDOM of speech to express how you feel about something. I love the double standard of the whole thing; Tell me what we want to hear, otherwise we'll burn you at the stake -or try to ruin her image-! If she would have said she was for gay marriage, you better believe no one would be allowed to be mad about that!

Right now the issue is not about whether or not you believe in gay marriage, it's about being able to express your opinion. By misinterpreting Miss California's words the way they have been, it's to commit a fallacy in thinking! Look at what is really happening here and then take a position!

Grant got a bubble machine for Easter!
Grant hated peeps! How could he be my son?

An Update...Kind of!

2009-04-17T22:04:00.002-06:00

Well, nothing new has really happened lately. Nathan is doing great and I am so grateful for that, but this whole situation is getting frustrating. We still have no idea what has caused this. They have pretty much narrowed out an accidental drug overdose and endocarditis, but not completely. He was moved to the neurological ward where they have been doing MRIs and CT's to figure out why there is swelling on his brain. Some of the doctors think it is consistent with meningitis but others are skeptical because he is so healthy right now. He can walk and talk and everything. They did a lumbar puncture earlier today and tried SIX times before they decided to take him to x-ray and do it there.

I think Nathan is getting a little stir crazy being couped up inside the hospital. I sure know that Grant is dying to get out of this hotel. I am starting to feel like a vagabond, moving from home to home (accept I am moving from hotel to hotel). It's getting quite expensive too. I am just glad we had some savings, which is dwindling now; so hopefully he won't be here too much longer!

I know I shouldn't be complaining about anything because I have been blessed with the most amazing gifts; my son and my husband pulling through this with no brain damage or anything.

By the way, tomorrow is my birthday! I can't believe I will be 23! When did I get so old? I think I should be allowed to stay 22 since I will be spending the birthday in a hospital room next to my husband! It would only be fair!

Anyway, thanks for all of the love and support everyone has given through out this whole ordeal! It means so much to Nathan and I to have such great friends and family! Keep Nathan in your prayers. And remember my friend Sid I told everyone about, the one who comforted me and was so amazing when I first got to the hospital, her brother passed away tonight so keep their family in your thoughts and prayers too!

New Update

2009-04-14T17:32:00.003-06:00

Hi Everyone,
Sorry it's taken me a while to update. Also, sorry that my last email was so vague. I was typing on my iPod and it wasn't working out so well.

The story is that:

Friday morning Nathan had knee surgery because he tore his miniscus running, during a regular monthly drill session. He had no complications at all. When we got home, he went outside and raked the lawn -I told him he was crazy-! Saturday was the same thing; we walked around Home Depot for like 2 hours.

We went to bed that night and Nathan slept in our guest room downstairs -I kept bumping his knee the night before and he wasn't going to have any of that again-! I went down Sunday morning to wake him up for church. He woke up and said he wasn't going because his throat was really sore and hurt really badly. I kissed him goodbye and went to church at about 9:30.

When I got home from church, my neighbor Terry was outside -who is just an amazing person and I owe her so much- and I went and talked to her for about 10 minutes. At church, I ran into our good friends Mike and Raquel -also amazing people who we owe so much to- and they asked if the could stop by right after church to home teach! I am so so grateful they did because... when they got to my house, I told them to hold on so I could go down stairs and wake Nathan up.

I went downstairs and repeatedly said his name. I noticed he was snoring extremely loudly and that it was really rapid. I kept shaking him but couldn't wake him up. I turned the light on and noticed that his face was completely ashen and his lips were completely blue. I turned around for a second and kind of said out loud something was wrong but I thought I was being dramatic. I continued to shake him and started getting pretty aggressive.

After about a minute, maybe a little less, I called up to Mike and Raquel and said that something was wrong with Nathan. They headed down the stairs and I told them he wouldn't wake up. They both went into the room and right away Mike started shaking Nathan to wake him up. Raquel, if I remember right, started checking some of his vitals. After about 30 seconds I called 911.

That's when I started getting a little hysterical. I went up stairs and talked to dispatch while they told me I needed to take his pulse and try to keep waking him up. I pretty much just called down to Mike and Raquel what to do because I just couldn't concentrate. I went to the front door where the police officer was already there. She ran downstairs to be with Nathan.

Initially, we all started thinking he had somehow overdosed on his pain killers. I brought the meds to Raquel and she counted everything and it all seemed to be fine. We also checked my pain meds to see if he had accidentally taken some of mine from my surgery but they were all accounted for.

The EMTs got there pretty quickly and intibated him. I am not really sure what else they did. Terry, my neighbor across the street ran over and just grabbed Grant and Lincoln and took them over to her house to get them out of the way. My other neighbor next door took my dog for me.

The EMTs got him in the ambulance and rushed him to the ER. Mike took Grant to his house and Raquel took me to the hospital. Once we got there it got pretty crazy. No one knew what was going on. Since we had narrowed out the drugs, everyone started thinking it was a blood clot.

They did a CT and it was not a blood clot. By this point, we were all pretty positive that they were going to life flight him out but we were not sure where. My dad had already started heading up towards Rock Springs in case he stayed; my mom to Salt Lake.

To make matters even worse. All I had was Nathan's phone, with hardly any of the same numbers as mine and it was about to die. The ER doc informed me that I was going to be able to fly with Nathan to Salt Lake. Which was great. Terry and her husband Justin came up and I made them a list of what I needed. They got everything ready for Grant and I so that when my dad got there, he could just grab it and continue on to Salt Lake. Grant was still with Mike and Raquel at this point. My dad was picking him up also.

Meanwhile, I was pretty much freaking out on the airplane. I absolutely am TERRIFIED of flying. During takeoff, I kind of broke down and made the paramedic hold my hand during take off! He was so nice. I promised him I wouldn't tell his wife! He said he was sure she wouldn't care!

It only took about a half an hour to get to the hospital. Once there, they rolled Nathan into the MICU and sent me into the waiting room. I got in but Nathan's phone was dead and the courtesy phone would not dial long distance.

Then I met the most wonderful lady ever, Sid. Her brother was also in the MICU but they had no idea what was wrong. She just hugged me and held me and talked to me until my mom got there, she also lent me her phone.

Slowly everyone started trickling in. My mom got there and then Nathan’s sister Melissa and her husband, followed by his parents and finally my dad and Erica.

We all just hung around and didn’t hear very much about the whole situation. They finally let me go in and see him. He was still unresponsive but it was mostly due to the sedation medication they had him on.

Finally, later that night, the phlebotomist came in to take some blood from Nathan. That woke him up and he sat right up and pretty much freaked out. The nurses talked to him and explained to him what was going on. He then fell right back to sleep.

The next day Nathan finally woke up for good and by that afternoon they were able to take his breathing tube out. He was pretty happy about that. Last night at around 1:30 in the morning, they were able to move in from the MICU. That was also great.

Now we are just waiting while the doctors run tests after tests. Initially, when we had gotten to the hospital, the main belief was that it actually was an accidental drug over dose but not from him. They figured that the meds the doctor had prescribed him were just way too much and his body could not handle it.

I just got back to the hospital because they decided to do a heart probe and they now have a new prognosis. Endocrionitis (I think is what it’s called). They think that he got an infection from his surgery. The infection built up in his heart and eventually broke off and went to his brain which caused everything to happen!

We don’t know for sure if this is the case, but it is more consistent with the spots on his brain and the damage to his heart.

I am just so extremely happy that I am able to talk to my husband! I felt so desperate and hopeless thinking I would never get to hold his hand or kiss him again. I would never wish this kind of devastation on anyone. You really don’t really how crazy in love you are with someone until you almost lose them. Nathan really truly is my best friend in the whole world and I absolutely don’t know what I would do without him.

On another note, Mike, Raquel, Terry, Justin, Sid, Mom, and Dad, and everyone! I can’t thank you enough for everything. I truly have the most amazing friends and family. I don’t know what I would have done if I didn’t have any of them there! Thank you all so much again! Continue to keep Nathan in your prayers and hope for a full recovery! I’ll update soon and sorry this is ridiculously long!

Nathan Update

2009-04-12T23:35:00.002-06:00

Hi everyone. I am sure a lot of you have heard but for those of you who have not, here you go. Nathan was life
Flghted to the U of U hospital in Salt Lake. We don't know what is wrong. He had his surgery Friday. He stayed home because he was really sick. I got home and couldn't wake him ip. He was barely beathing. My home teacher and his wife were over and they came downstairs. I called 911 and they came. They life flighted him and here we are. No one knows what is wrong. He's in the ICU. I am an emotional wreck but am feeling better because he woke up for a second and was finally responsive. Please remember Nathan in your prayers. I will write more later but I am exhausted. Good night.

"So Long! Farewell! Bla bla bla...!"

2009-04-05T13:33:00.005-06:00

It's finally out! My IUD is gone! I asked the doctor to stomp on it when he got it out. He said he forgot to! What can you do?

Anyway, I went in for surgery Friday morning. Not too much fun! I was soooo nervous. My doctor started getting into all of the terrible things that could happen. He said worst case scenario, he would have to perform a full on c-section to get it out! I was terrified that I would wake up and have this huge cut across my stomach.

Luckily everything went great. It only took him about an hour to get it out. It was underneath my uterus resting on my intestines. Best part of all, he only had to make two little incisions. One in my belly button and one really really low. Like lower than the lowest low rise jeans ever.

I'm feeling pretty good. Pretty sore. My stomach is still poking out a little bit because of the swelling. All in all, I am just super happy the stupid thing is gone!

Would I ever get one again -and IUD-? H-E-Double Hockey Sticks NO!

By the way. Here's a tribute to Castle View Hospital! It gets a bad rap because it's a small town and if one bad thing happens, the entire town hears about it and freaks out. Seriously though, if I have the opportunity, I will have every single one of my kids there, and any other procedures I need.

I had to have nose surgery when I was 16 up north and the care was awful. They just get you in and out as fast as they can! Every experience I have had with Castle View has been so wonderful. I have had the greatest nurses and doctors! I am going to miss Dr. Nielson too. I've been to a lot of doctors moving around so much and he is amazing! Thanks Dr. N for not having to do a c-section either! Whew!

Do you love the smiley face they drew on my bandage to surprise me when I woke up?

Oh my Grant!

2009-04-02T12:39:00.003-06:00

It's kind of hard to see what it going on in this picture, so let me paint a scenario using words! The other day while I was in Green River, I had to run to the laundry mat because our dryer is currently out of order (and I'm not going to lie, I really like drying my clothes there because it goes so fast). I was loading some of the wet clothes into my truck while Grant was running around the front yard!

This Saturn car has been parked in front of my house for I don't even know how long and I had no idea whose it was. I looked up to check on Grant and he was in the car! So I ran over to go get him and what do you know, he locked the door! I went around to my neighbors frantically asking each of them if this was their vehicle or if they knew to whom it belonged! None of my neighbors had any idea. So, my one neighbor called the police for me so we could get him at. While she was on the phone, I heard a click and Grant had unlocked the door and my neighbor was able to inform the police that all was well! Thank goodness!

I wonder if the owner's of the car had any suprises when they finally came and picked it up?

The Prodigal IUD

2009-03-18T14:41:00.004-06:00

Except there is nothing happy about its return really, I guess. Actually, I probably should just use an entirely new title. Well, here is the story. I went in to my doctors in September to have my IUD taken out. He couldn't find the strings and said it meant one of two things;My IUD had fallen out or it had gotten turned around, and the strings were not accesible. He said I needed to have an ultra sound done. So, one ultra sound down and no IUD; then another ultra sound and still nothing. They said that this could mean one of two things;My IUD had fallen out or it was floating around in my abdominal cavity and had to be surgically removed. Well, I figured that it most definitely had fallen out because I wasn't in any pain. Well, after 6 months of not being preggers,I had my dad schedule an appointment for an x-ray and.... There it is! Floating around in my body! Awesome! Looks like Nathan and I are going to be hospital buddies because we just found out he tore his miniscus, and has to have surgery on that! Bring it on!!!

P.S. In case you need help finding it, it's the GIANT T just hanging out by itself.

How to drive yourself mad in a matter of days!

2009-03-08T12:37:00.013-06:00

This last week has pretty much been the craziest week of my life. After finally getting a full night's rest, I had some time to think and I am pretty sure I have mastered the art of driving yourself mad! So, if you are interested in trying it out, repeat the steps below and I am sure you will succeed! It all began around Thursday of last week. One of my really good friends is having a baby. Well, a friend of hers informed me she wanted to have a baby shower for Lindsey and asked if I could help. So, by Thursday, I realized I had to have the invitations out so I ran to the scrapbook strore and threw these together and got them out! I'm actually excited with the way they turned out for being so last minute!

The next day, my friend Terry's little boy was having his fourth birthday. She is such a great friend and always doing so much for Nathan and I. She always tells me how much she loves my cakes so I decided to suprise her and make her son one for his birthday day. So, I stayed up super late Friday working on the bad boy.
The next morning was my fiirst 5K. It was called the Frost Bite. You think I would have taken the hint from the name and have decided otherwise. So, I dropped Grant off at Raquel's (thanks again by the way) and she watched him while I ran. It was so cold, the first 3 minutes I really didn't think I could do it because my lungs were hurting so bad. Then I warmed up and it wasn't too bad! I had a great time. Later that night, Raquel and I pulled the 'ol switch-e-roo and traded kids. I watched Lincoln that night. It was a lot of fun. I love when Grant and Lincoln play together. It keeps them both occupied. It really makes me want to have another child for Grant to play with. I guess we will just keep trying and hoping!

These are some of the rag quilts I started making this week. Above is the picture of my battle scars. It was awful. I swear EVERYONE under the sun is popping out a kid in the upcoming month!
On Wednesday, I went out to lunch with Raquel and one of my friends from Utah, Nicole K., that just moved here. Her and Raquel are going to start working together so I figured I would introduce them!
These cookies seriously took me like 5 hours to make and they didn't even turn out that amazing. There was frosting EVERYWHERE! That was my all day task for Wednesday.

I ended up going to Salt Lake on Friday with one of my really good friends and his best friend. We had such a great time (no worries, he's gay!). We got a lot of shopping accomplished!

By Saturday morning, I was soooo overwhelmed. I didn't get home until so late on Friday night from Salt Lake. The missionaries called and asked if I had any service projects for them. This was about an hour before the shower and I still had so much to do. So...I comissioned them to come and mop my floor! They knock on the door like 5 minutes later. There were 4 of themHa. It was pretty fun. I felt a little ghetto but hey! They did a great job and then they went to the church and picked up some chairs for me! Thanks so much guys, you saved my life!

Here's the guest of honor Lindsey. I didn't even have a chance to put make-up on. Oh well!

This strawberry limeaide was the BOMB!

We played this game where a baby was frozen in ice. Whoever's ice melted first won because their "water broke"!

Lydia was trying to give Grant a kiss!
Through all of this craziness, I was working on my college finals every night! They took sooooo much time. I turned them in last night 2 minutes before midnight. They actually aren't due til today but I have a no Sunday homework policy! I start my next block of classes tomorrow!

We've got the Beat!

2009-02-22T13:24:00.010-07:00

Girl's Night out Retro style. We had a great time. We went out to eat at Don pedros first and then headed over to Nanette's for a litle Rock Band and social time. No kids allowed!

We had a little birthday party for Grant at our house and it was so fun. Nathan's sister Catherine and her hubby Tyler came up and my parents also partied hard with us! Catherine refused to let me take a picture of her. We had such a great time though. Thanks for coming up everyone.

Later that night, we went to yummy Don Pedros (obviously my choice eatery) and they brought Grant some fried ice cream. He got to wear the Birthday Sombrero!

We had a little birthday party for Grant at the house and it was so fun. Nathan's sister Catherine and her hubby Tyler came up and my parents also partied hard with us! Catherine refused to let me take a picture of her. We had such a great time though. Thanks for coming up everyone.
Later that night, we went to yummy Don Pedros and they brought Grant some fried ice cream and he got to wear the Birthday Sombrero!

Happy Birthday to You! Happy Birthday to You!

2009-02-18T09:46:00.003-07:00

Today is my Grant Stinkums, Little Diddle, Monkey Moo's 2nd birthday; and I literally cannot believe it. Where on earth did the time go? I look at these pictures and wonder if Grant really was ever that small. Being Grant's mom is the GREATEST gift I could have ever asked for. I love this kid more than anything in the world and can't imagine my life without him. He is everything to me! I can't wait to give him a birthday party this weekend and hope he has a great birthday! I love you Granny Fanny!

Proof of Global Warming!!!

2009-02-15T13:29:00.002-07:00

Judgement or Judgment

2009-02-09T16:03:00.003-07:00

Grammar Lesson of the Day:

So I going over the weekly reading for school. We were going over some basic grammar skills. The lesson was talking about adding suffixes to a word and when to keep or drop the -e. They had a list of exceptions and "judgment" was one. I thought surely it was spelled wrong, so I looked it up and sure enough. I called both my parents and asked them how they spell it. They also added an -e. Seriously, I am just curious how many people actually knew that it is "judgment" and not "judgement"! I am still in disbelief and not totally willing to accept the fact that I have been spelling it wrong my whole life!

Don't Trade Amare!

2009-02-07T10:19:00.005-07:00

So, apparently the Suns are thinking of trading Mr. Stoudemire. All I have to say about that is, PLEASE don't. I will die if they trade Amare. That is pretty much just as heart wrenching as trading Nash would be. I freakin' love Amare Stoudemire. I don't know how I would break the news to Logan on his mission. It would probably kill the poor boy. I don't think Phoenix wants to be responsible for the death of one of their most devoted fans! So, don't trade him!

January

2009-01-26T13:50:00.007-07:00

What a fun and crazy January month it has been. First off, I am about ready to throw both of my computers out of the window. We lost EVERYTHING on our desktop because it had to be wiped and my lap top has decided to not read any discs, so, it really complicates my life! Besides that, things have been great. I am officially half way through my first semester of school. Actually, Wednesday will be half way. Crazy huh? I have not had a parking ticket since high school and all of a sudden, two in one week. The irony being that they were at two different gyms. You'd think going to the gym I'd be willing to walk a little ways to get inside. It's just that when it is freezing outside... Anyways, I was pretty ticked. When I got the second one, I was sitting in the car and shouted "F', just the letter not the word, next thing I hear is Grant mimicking what I said. Guess it's time to start watching what I say!
Now, take a minute for a little visual. Imagine this, but with my face, on a moving treadmill, and with less mud. Got it? Now for the story. I was at the gym in Price working out. I was doing my running portion of the workout on a treadmill. Next thing I know, I was down on the treadmill trying to crawl back up but couldn't get a grip because it was moving. Finally, I sat down and let the treadmill throw me off. There were about ten people in there staring and laughing at me. Carli informed me later that it reminded her of the Shakira music video when Shakira is crawling through the mud! Hence the pictures!

We have also gotten a ton of freezing cold, wet, nasty snow. Grant obviously doesn't think the same way as I because he couldn't wait to get his little hands in it. Here are some fun pictures of him and Nathan playing in the snow.

Hope everyone is having a great time freezing there booties off!

2009-01-15T10:37:00.003-07:00

Tonight George W. Bush will give his farewell speech. I want to say thank you to President Bush. I think he is a great guy and has been blamed for a lot of things that were out of his hands. I respect him for his morals and values and think the way the media has treated him is just sick and wrong. Everyone talks about poor Britney Spears "Oh the media was so hard on her and this is why she broke down" "Oh poor Britney, she just can't get out of the lime light" and bla bla bla. I really don't feel bad for her because President Bush has had it 1 MILLION times worse than her and he absolutely is not allowed to break down! You think that people would learn there lesson from Britney's whole break down, crazy episode though. Anyways, President Bush, I am going to miss you. It's been an eventful but great 8 years. Thanks again for everything.

P.S. If you have something negative to say about Bush, don't bother posting it because I will just delete it. This is my personal thank you and I don't want anyone trying to ruin it. I have a lot of respect for this man and would appreciate the same show of respect to myself in return. Thanks! Feel free to write your own thank you message to him though. The man deserves a little praise and knowledge that he is supported!

P.P.S. Happy ONE YEAR anniversary on the 16th Logan!

Mullet Fun

2009-01-09T17:11:00.004-07:00

So Erica has been taking cosmetology this year! Isn't she just amazing? Only one more year and she will graduate, then she can do this for YOU!

And here is a video of Grant. My poor child but it is just too funny! I freakin love this kid!

Christmas Season Fun

2008-12-25T20:55:00.012-07:00

We have had such a fun Christmas season. I really can't believe it is over already though. It kind of bums me out because it doesn't really feel like it happened! Anyways, here are a few pictures of some of the fun things that we did. Out of chronological order of course!

Notice the couch in the background? Happy Day. Nathan and I litterally did not sit down from dawn til dusk on the 24th so that we could get everything unpacked!

My mom, a.k.a. Mammy, got him this little tikes car. He was going nuts in it!

Christmas morning was so fun. Grant was so excited. My in-laws came up also and unfortunately, none of the pictures I took of them turned out because they were sitting infront of the sun so you can't see their faces in them! We had a great time with them though.

Nathan got a Play Station 3!

My Christmas present. Nathan thought it would help me out with college!

Here is all of the Christmas after-glory!

Phoenix Suns Mr. Potato head!

Grandma and Grandpa Southam got Grant some fun cars. He absolutely loved them! Thanks!

The best part of all of Christmas was getting to talk to Logan. We did three way calling. It was so great to hear from him. Man I miss that boy! I can't believe I haven't seen my little brother in almost a year!

I had a fun time repainting Grant's room. I really love the way it turned out! We aren't totally done though! I need to get him a comforter, he's just using an old one we had lying around!

Family Christmas picture fun! My friend Anthony made the comment that Nathan looks like he would rather have a colonoscopy than take Christmas pictures and I'm going to have to agree!
Nathan had his 25th birthday on the 21st.

My friend Marlene had her annual cookie party. We had to make 12 dozen cookies! Whew! Here is the loot!

I didn't get a picture of everyone but here are a few of the girls!

Here are some fun pictures of my handsome little man! We also had a great time at birthday parties and Christmas parties but my camera was dead and I didn't have my charger yet! It was still in Utah!

Hope everyone had a great Christmas!!!

Love,

Toni

Merry Late Christmas

2008-12-20T09:58:00.003-07:00

So this year, unfortunatley my Christmas cards are going to be late. I decided to do them last minute and I thought they would be here on time but they aren't. Anyways, so here's a sneak peak and a heads up that they are on a slight delay! Hope everyone has a great Christmas. *Doesn't Nathan just look so excited for Christmas? I followed my general rule of using the picture that I look best in. So, too bad for my boys!

College, here I come!!!

2008-12-12T13:30:00.006-07:00

So, it's official. I am enrolled in college. I start January 5th. I'm kind of freaking out but I am super super excited at the same time. This is something I have been wanting to do for a long long time. I'm going to be doing everything online through the University of Phoenix. I figured it would work out best having an almost 2 year old and all! I'm going to get my degree in Health Care Administrations and once I finish that, probably I don't know! Anyways, wish me luck!

A Tribute to my nephew!

2008-12-04T12:18:00.002-07:00

I really hope that my sister-in-law Catherine doesn't mind me doing this but my heart is so full and I just feel like I need to share her story. Maybe it will help some of us realize how important life is and to look at our children and give them a big hug and kiss and let them know that no matter what, we will love them forever!
Catherine was 5 months pregnant when she went in for her ultra-sound to find out the gender of her baby! Nothing could of have prepared them for what came next. I don't know exactly what happened but the doctor informed them that the baby had passed away! She delivered the baby early in the morning. It was a little boy! Still born.
My poor Catherine. I can't imagine the pain that you are feeling right now. My heart is reaching out to you and aching with you! I'm so sorry that you have to go through this. And I'm sorry that I am such a terrible sister-in-law. I promise to be here for you always. No matter what you need! I love you so much and am so grateful for everything you do for me. You have always been there for me in the times I needed you the most!
You and Tyler are in our prayers forever. I know that your little man although short, fufilled his purpose here. In just the short amount of time, he brought joy into everyone's lives! Remember Heavenly Father is also here for you and you can turn to him anytime! Be strong and know that you have endless amounts of love and support!
Love,
Toni

Daddy, please don't look so sad, Mama please don't cry~ "Cause I am in the arms of Jesus and He sings me lullabies." Please, try not to question God, Don't think he is unkind Don't think He sent me to you, and then He changed his mind. You see, I am a special child, and I'm needed up above I'm the special gift you gave Him, the product of your love. I'll always be there with you and watch the sky at night, Find the brightest star that's gleaming, That's my halo's brilliant light. You'll see me in the morning frost, that mists your window pane. That's me in the summer showers, I'll be dancing in the rain. When you feel a little breeze, from a gentle wind that blows That's me, I'll be there, planting a kiss on your nose. When you see a child playing, and your heart feels a little tug, That's me, I'll be there, giving your heart a hug. So Daddy, please don't look so sad, Mama don't your cry. I'm in the arms of Jesus and He sings me lullabies.

I LOVE Steve Nash!!!!

2008-11-19T13:18:00.009-07:00

So, the other night Nathan, Grant and I went to our annul Phoenix Suns vs The Utah Jazz game. We were hoping to go with my best friend Ashely and her husband Matt but we could just not find four tickets anywhere. Sorry Ash. Anyways, so we ended up getting tickets in the THIRD row. That's right! THIRD row. It was the most amazing thing ever. The best part is though, we got there about an hour early and...I got Steve Nash's autograph and got to touch his hand. That's right. Two time MVP, God of Basketball, Mr. Pick and Roll himself, Steve Nash! I seriously was shaking like a crazy lady. I was SO excited. Grant was wearing his Nash jersey and I handed Grant to him. If you've seen Talledega Nights, I was just like that crazy lady that was all "sign my baby"! ha ha. So, here are some of the pictures from the game.
Incase any of you are wondering, the Suns got their butts kicked. Oh, and for some reason the computer I am on is dumb and it won't let me go back and edit this so it's all funky! Sorry!
How could Steve Nash resist this face?

Amare Stoudemire doing squats!

Warm up for Na na na Nash!!!

Here's our awesome signed jersey.

Shaq is HUGE!!!!

Matt Barnes is awesome!
Family portrait!
The opening!
Yeah it's the Jazz but it's still a cool pic!

Nash got pushed down!

I went to high school with this girl on the Weber State cheer squad. They performed during half time! Her names Mandy!

Grant had SOOO much fun!

Go Suns!!!

Hot or Not and More Reading

2008-11-15T12:04:00.005-07:00

So, the other day I was watching Ugly Betty on ABC and lo and behold, Betty had my skirt on. Now I'm just trying to figure out if this is a good thing or a bad thing?
Also, I have still been on my reading kick. I decided I'll just put a couple of things about each book and whether I liked it or not. Maybe it will inspire a few of you to read. I know I am always looking for a good book so if you are also, well, look and see and maybe something will spark your interest.

I really like books by Daniel Silva. I didn't know that this was a series and accidentally read the last one first but it was still really good. They are about espionage. So, if your are looking for a good spy book, here is one. Warning, they swear in it! Not a ton but there still is some.
I didn't really know what this book was when I started it. It's a true story about the auther, Douglas Preston and his friend Mario Spezi who start doing research into a case. It's about a serial killer who murders couples in Florence, Italy. To this day, they have never found the killer. It's also a pretty good book. It's a little graphic though and they also swear in it.
This is the first book in Daniel Silva's "Gabrielle Allon" spy series. I really liked this one a lot! Once again, some swearing.
I haven't actually finished this book yet, but so far it's super cute. It has a Harry Potter"esque" sort of tone. It's about a young girl named Meggie who thinks that her father is just a book binder when he is kidnapped and she finds out there is a lot more to her father than she knows, including the reason her father will not read out loud to her!
This is the kind of sequel to The Giver. I liked it a lot. It's pretty short and easy reading. I wouldn't say I loved it but it was overall really good.
My little brother told me I had to read the Artemis Fowl books. I'm actually on the second one. Once again, I wouldn't say I LOVE them but they are good and great for passing the time.
This book is NOT for the weak in testimony. It started out SOO good I couldn't put it down. All the way up until the last little bit when Dan Brown totally disappointed me. Let's face it, the man hates organized religion and God. So, yes, it was generally an awesome book with an intense story line, but don't be fooled, nothing is what it seems to be.
Loved this book and I can't wait to see the movie. It has so many good lessons in it. I really really recommend reading it. It's just wonderful. It's not too long either.
A Christmas Carol, also a Christmas classic. I have grown up watching the movie Scrooge every Christmas for as long as I can remember but I haven't ever actually read the book. First off, if you haven't seen the movie "Scrooge" I HIGHLY recommend it. It's a musical version of the classic story "A Christmas Carol" and so far the best version I have seen of all the making of it. The book is just as great as the movie. I love it and totally recommend reading it, especially as Christmas draws nearer!

The True Edward

2008-11-09T17:44:00.005-07:00

So, in light of the new Twilight movie, I took matters into my own hands to pick out who I think the true Edward should be because I am SOOO disappointed in the person they picked for Edward. I mean, I was disappointed when he played Cedric Diggory. Clearly, the English don't know "more beautiful than life itself".
Now, I'm not going to lie, and please don't egg my car for saying this, I just don't think Twilight was THAT amazing. Parts of it were AWESOME and I wanted to die, but overall, I think the biggest reason I like them the most is because I love Stephenie Meyer!
Anyways, now for the big reveal...tell me what you think. On a scale of 1-10, how Edwardian do you think he is?

By the way, this is Chace Crawford from Gossip Girl. If you haven't watched it, I totally recommend it! It's freakin awesome. I totally love it. My little sister Erica and her best friend Desiree totally set aside Monday nights so we can watch it! Oh, and I don't think these pictures actually do him justice. You will just have to watch Gossip Girl to understand what I am talking about!

Oh yes, I just thought I would add, my parents are on a cruise right now with....... Mitt Romney!!! Ah! They sat right by him for lunch the first day and then went to the pool where just he and his wife were. They actually got to talk to him for a while. Then, they do a drill thingy on cruises and they stood right next to him! Anyways...for more on "Mitt watch" check here daily. I will post events as they happen! Mitt for pres. 2012!!! It's never to early to hope!

I'm Sorry!

2008-11-08T22:07:00.003-07:00

Have you ever hurt someone you loved?
Who is one of your very best friends in the whole world?
Who has always been there for you no matter what?
How do you make up to someone who is like your "older sister you never had" and make things back to the way they were before?

This is for one of my best friends who I have known since birth! I'm sorry! There is not a really good excuse for the reasons I said what I said. I guess, I did it because at the time, it seemed like everything I had, everyone I had, I had lost. It felt as if you were slipping away also. You are my stone when things are hard. The only one that can really understand because you experience a lot of the same things I do! I felt like I was losing you too and if it were going to be so, then it would be on my terms. Maybe you can understand. Sometimes we do crazy things when we are at the end of our ropes!

I just want you to know that you are one of the most amazing people I know. You do so much good and you have always been a HUGE example to me. Wether it be church, or just letting me know that some of the things I like are totally dorky!

I know that this probably is not enough to make up for everything but I hope it will be a start. I hope you can forgive me and maybe regard me as a friend again! I understand if things will never be the same, I'm willing to try, but I know that if it's not what you want, I can comply!

Know that I am always here for you no matter what. I love you and appreciate you!

Love,
Toni

The Reasons I did NOT vote for Obama!

2008-11-05T11:26:00.003-07:00

Beware....very long post ahead!

I think a lot of people can agree that last night was quite the shocking and disappointing evening. I did a lot of thinking though and decided that if I want the best life for my family, the best thing I can do is be supportive of our new president and hope that he will make good decisions that will lead our counrty into success.
Now, after reading his acceptance speach, I have completely lost my respect for this man. In John McCain's speech, it summed up exactly what kind of person he was. A great person that truly does want what is best for this country, Obama not so much. He made it a point to criticize and belittle John McCain. Seriously, his entire speech was Anti- John McCain. What can of man is that? All Obama cares about is himself and becoming president. Shouldn't he have been focused on the things he will do, not the things he won't do.
For all you people out there that had so much faith and hope in Obama, what do you think about the fact that he has made promises to all of us that things will get better. That he is going to tax the upper class in hopes that it will bring on a better life for the rest of us. That us middle class and lower class will finally get the break we deserve but wait...there's a catch. Last night in Obama's speech, he said that now we are all going to have to sacrifice. Wait...I thought that he was going to put a higher tax on the upper class and big business so that all we have sacrificed over this last year and beyond, people losing their homes, their jobs, cars, ect...we would finally have a break. What more do we have to sacrifice Mr. Obama? So many of us are already without so much. I think everyone of us out there knows someone personally that has lost something in this financial crisis, if not ourselves.
The thing I don't understand the very most about him though is that fact that he can support abortion. Obama says, and this is a direct quote from his acceptance speech, "I will build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century: terrorism and nuclear proliferation, poverty and genocide, climate change and disease." Note the word genocide. Did you know that over a million abortions are performed a year? Isn't that genocide?
How can we trust the judgement of a man who has no moral issues with killing innocent babies, but letting murderous criminals live. Letting our tax dollars go and pay so that they can live in a cell, free food, free living, free education!
He talks about the value of family. How can you value family when it is so easy for you to destroy the thing that makes a family?
Abortion is NEVER okay. I don't care if you have been rapped or not. You can hate the rappist, hate the situation, but don't hate the innocent child. I know personally, many many families that would adopt a product of rape child without a second thought and it would make no difference to them how the baby was conceived. Don't think I am an insensitive person for saying these things. I could not imagine the pain and anger a rape victim must go through, but killing this baby is not going to make what happened go away. If anything, it will turn a bad situation worse. Why not let something good come out of such an ugly scenario and give the baby to a loving, willing family. Give this child a chance at life!
And for those ladies out there that get pregnant and just don't want to deal, news flash, you made this decision to have sex. The number one purpose of sex is to procreate. It doesn't matter if you used protection and it failed, it wasn't an accident because once again, the sole purpose of sex is to procreate!
I have also said this before, back to the housing market. How is raising the capital gains tax going to help anyone what so ever? The few people out there that still have the time and ability to sale their house, now won't be able to because they won't be able to afford it.
Obama talks about us all being equal. All being entitled to the same rights. I agree, but wasn't Obama the man that went to Rev. Wright for over twenty years? The man that says flat out how much he hates whites. Last time I checked, don't white people deserve to have rights and be equal too? This is coming from a girl who is 50 percent Puerto Rican and is proud of her Latina heritage. And tell me this, how are we all equal if just because you make more money, because you have worked your butt off, your extra money should go to the white trash of this world so they can buy more booze, cigarettes and have more abortions.
Obviously right now I am incredibly bitter. Sore loser, probably, but more so, disappointed. I really feel like if people honestly did there research, we would have heard a different acceptance speech from a different man. People need to turn off their MTV and go and do their own research and develop their own opinion.
Obama talks about change, well, quite frankly, I'd rather things stay the same than have them go completely down hill the way it will when Obama takes office. He is a radical and a socialist. His health care plan is completely ridiculous. Ever wonder why all Brits have such horrid teeth? Because they are on the same health plan that Obama wants us to turn to.
I leave this little speech of mine with a scripture from the new testament. I think everything in this scripture describes Obama pretty well. "This know also that in the last days, perilous times shall come, for men shall be lovers of their own selves. Covetous, bosters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful unholy. With out natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good."
Please God, bless America!

Happy Halloween!!!

2008-11-03T09:34:00.005-07:00

Norsey's suppose to be a bumble bee!

So, we had a great Halloween! Grant had a little fever but once we got going, it didn't seem to bother him anymore! I also chopped off about 7 plus inches of hair, which Nathan said he absolutely can not see a difference! And best of all, I caught some boys, red handed, trying to smash my beautiful pumpkins! Hope everyone had a great Halloween!

House for Sale in Green River, Wyoming

2008-10-28T18:06:00.015-06:00

Backyard

Brand new carpet in the whole basement.

I am going to miss my craft room sooo much!
Brand new hardwood in the living room!

That's right, Old purple is on the market right now. Nathan and I had packed up the house because we were going to go to California, then we found out we didn't have to go, so we were going to stay but now we have decided to sell it anyways and build! Happy day! We are going to stay in the Green River/Rock Springs area and ya! So, if you know anyone looking for an awesome house in the South West Wyoming area, tell them to check it out. It's right about 2100 square feet. 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and just about every single thing in it is brand new. Here are a few pics.
*I don't have any pics of the bathroom yet, but they are both newly remodeled with slate up stairs and ceramic tile downstairs. New vanities, fixtures, paint, the works!

Now, this picture right here is of Carli's room. Naturally, living with the parents comes with a price! They've put me to work re-doing my sisters' bedrooms. So, here is Carli's. Just ignore the dirty laundry everywhere!

This is what Grant does now if someone tells him "no" and he gets mad. He leaves and puts his head down. It's like the cutest thing ever!

This is my other favorite thing Grant does! He LOVES to say prayers. He folds his arms and at the end of the prayer when we say "amen" he starts clapping and saying "yay"!! I just can't get enough of this kid!

Poor Erica

2008-10-21T14:08:00.002-06:00

Poor Erica totalled her car today, I'll write more later.