Ho Ho Ho

Lots of family. Lots of snow. Lots of food. Lots of games. Lots of movies. Lots of laughs. LOTS of Lightning McQueen. Hope your Christmas was as merry as ours.

PS- No, those aren't Dallas' legs. They're his brother Austin's, and I couldn't resist posting it for family...

It's Official

I'm a college graduate. It may just be an Associates Degree in General Academics from Utah Valley University, but hey, it's something. At least I know going to school for so many years does eventually produce results. Plus, I am graduating with a 4.0 cumulative GPA. (I know I'm bragging, but it's a big accomplishment!) Now only 5 more years and maybe I'll have my Bachelor's Degree :o).

Dallas also completed this semester with excellent grades- including an A- in his Algebra class! I knew I married a smart boy. Now if only he can keep that going through all of his Civil Engineering classes. Good luck sweetie!

Here's to another successful semester in January...

There is Humor All Around

Saturday night we had a very scary experience. I was going to bed and felt "wet" when I realized that I had been bleeding. We rushed to the ER at Davis North Hospital since we were at my Mom's. Everything ended up being fine. I guess that occasionally a pregnant woman will just bleed like that with no explanation (which seems absolutely insane to bleed that much with no explanation, but whatever. I'm just glad our little Drama Baby is okay). The nurses and doctor said they see it every day. It was really stressful at the time, but there were also some funny moments. Here they are for your reading pleasure:

-When Dr. Holley was doing our ultrasound and we were finally able to see the baby moving and the heart beating, Dallas decided that it was time for something else: "While you're down there, can you take a look and tell us what it is?" I laughed. The doctor just ignored us.
-After finding out that the baby was just fine Dallas says "Are you sure it wasn't just ketchup?" My reply, "I don't know. I meant to put it on my fries, but maybe I missed."
-A pregnant woman doesn't typically carry around pads with her "just in case". So, I got to wear a Huggies size 2 instead.
-E.R. nurses get crazy after midnight. Some even start acting like dying birds. It's true. I saw it with my own eyes.
- When changing into a hospital gown, don't change directly in front of the door. If someone opens it, everyone will be able to see in.

All I want for Christmas is 32 teeth...

March 16, 2009

I have been journaling Dallas' full mouth reconstruction over the last few months. I did really well at first and then it sort of dropped off. Oh well! I still wanted to post what I had. It's out of order- starting with March and then going to December and January and skipping his late January and February appointments all together. (I guess we've just been busy and blogging hasn't been a priority). Here's the latest:
Dallas had his last of the major dental appointments last Friday, March 13th. He has spent over 30 hours in the dental chair, and it has been completely worth it! His teeth are still sore today from his last visit, but the bite is already better. He looks so amazing. I really feel like I got a new husband from this whole experience. He is still self conscious about his teeth, but not at all like he used to be. He is still looking forward to the day when his mouth doesn't bother him while eating though. Hopefully it will be soon! I love to see him smile with his mouth open (although now he smiles with his mouth shut just to tease me sometimes). Most of all, I love to see him laugh out loud and not close his mouth quickly to hide his teeth. He can just be Dallas.
When all is said and done, it was worth every penny. In fact, I don't think we have ever invested our money so wisely. We would recommend Dr. P.K. Clark and The White Cap Institute to anyone!

December 22, 2008

Today is a HUGE day in our family. Dallas started his dental work!! Because of many problems (soft enamel, grinding, bad bite, the list goes on) Dallas' teeth have been significantly worn away. We have been getting quotes from dentists and prosthodontists for years hoping that one day we would actually be able to do something about the pain it has been causing him. The day is finally here! Dallas is having a full mouth reconstruction by a specialized dentist named PK Clark that owns the White Cap Institute. He teaches dentistry (and specializes in crowns and implants) and gave us a deal to be able to use Dallas as a model. Dallas is having his entire top mouth ground down today. He will just have temporary teeth for a few weeks until they get the final teeth back from the lab in a few weeks. We took some before pictures so you will be able to see the "transformation". (It seriously feels like he is on Extreme Makeover or something. Except that we are paying for it... and boy are we. Major dentistry isn't cheap).

You can see how his teeth are worn down to the pulp. His molars are even worn down on the outside, if you can believe that.

I stopped in at 12:30 PM to drop off our last payment and to see him. He was completely out of it, thank goodness. He had been there for 4 hours already and he still had a good couple of hours left. I got to see his teeth all ground down and how his gums looked after the gum surgery. His teeth are so small now- about the same size as Will's. They are crowning or capping all of them. His gums look awesome! They are completely symmetrical and beautiful. His mouth was pretty bloody when I saw it. I'm sure he is going to be in quite a bit of pain today.

Dallas doesn't ever smile with his mouth open, so this is the best of the awkward "before" pictures I could get :o). It's bad. He'll kill me when he sees this posted on here.

I picked Dallas up at 3:00 PM. He is hammered! His jaw aches and his gums feel like they've been put through a shredder. On top of that he only ate a small breakfast this morning at 8:00 AM and he lost that because the anesthesia made him nauseated. His temporary teeth are just a plastic insert type thing (it's glued in) and looks different than the final product will. He looks SO DIFFERENT! It is going to take a lot of getting used to because it is such a huge change.

First set of temporary teeth- only the top are completed.

January 2, 2009

On December 30th Dallas was able to meet with the dentist and the guy that will be making his permanent teeth. After having the temporary teeth for awhile we had a few concerns. The teeth seemed pretty bulky and too large for Dallas' mouth, and he also felt that they were too white. He was very self conscious for a few days (who wouldn't be???). After talking with them we feel much better. They are going to scale the teeth down a little bit. Dr. Clark also adjusted the temporary teeth a bit. He shaved off some of the bulk and made them smaller so they look a lot more natural in his mouth. They are still just plastic teeth, but they actually look really good. I am used to how he looks now and I think he looks so handsome! He has another appointment on January 8th to adjust the temporaries a little bit more to make sure they are where we want them so that we can make final adjustments to the permanent teeth.

His gums have pretty much healed from the gingevectomy and are back to a normal pink color. He's glad he doesn't have all of the pain while he's eating or brushing his teeth anymore. I'm sure it has been awful. I watched him brush one time and couldn't believe the amount of blood he spit out.

We also learned that Dallas is getting top of the line crowns made. They will have zirconia centers instead of metal (what most doctors use). It is supposed to be the latest and greatest material for crowns and will keep them from turning grey as they age. The guy that is making his teeth is one of the top in the country. He left the best lab in the country to come to Salt Lake to start up a lab here. He is in such good hands and we feel so blessed to be able to be working with Dr. Clark and the White Cap Institute for this experience. We've been able to see all of the work, time, and experience that is going into his reconstruction and we feel like we are really getting an incredible deal.

Mr. Potato Head, That's Who!

We've been spending some quality time this month with our family and friends. The other night we spent a good couple of hours with our new friend, Mr. Potato Head the Zookeeper. I think Dallas and I love this toy just as much as Will! (Thanks, Jenn!!!)

Will's Creation

Amy's Creation

Dallas' Creation

I know what you're thinking- "That Nicoll family is just flowing with creative juices." Well, you're right.

We have had several other fun moments in the last few days. They include:

McKenzie playing in the snow.

Will crawling around the fluffy white stuff.

Tea Party's: Not just for the female variety. I would suggest the $5 set at WalMart for anyone! It was a hit while James and Alli were visiting. (I bought it for Alli for Christmas, but I don't know who loved it more.)

Silent Laugh

You know those times when you are watching something and you laugh silently, really, really hard? Well, that's what I did during this. (Thanks Nicole). Merry Christmas.

Heart

We heard our new baby's heartbeat today. No matter if you've heard it before, it is still absolutely amazing. I have been so nervous about this pregnancy; we had the weird things that happened earlier in the pregnancy, and then someone very close to me lost their little one at the end of the first trimester. Whenever that happens it really makes you worry a little more. We feel so blessed that everything is progressing normally.

We had another due date discussion with the doctor and he is still keeping it at July 9th. Today makes me only 10 weeks along. It usually a little early at 10 weeks to hear the heartbeat with the doppler ultrasound device, but we did it! He said I am probably a little further along than 10 weeks, but we are just going to play it by ear towards the end. It's such a mental thing! You just like to have that date to look forward to when you are pregnant. Maybe sometime soon it will stop annoying me. I'm just so glad we could hear it's little heart- 160 BPM this time. Dr. Tayler said that once you can hear the heartbeat with the doppler you are pretty much out of miscarriage territory- 95% of miscarriages happen before you are able to hear it.

Morning sickness is starting to subside a little bit (it depends on the day). Hopefully by Christmas I will be feeling more myself. I lost a pound since my last appointment- that's new because with Will I just seemed to keep gaining and gaining.

I have taken some cute pictures of Will that I wanted to share with everyone. He's such a monkey! (Oh, and he said "blog" the other day. Sheesh. I'm in trouble). He loves Christmas and even is understanding that baby Jesus is the reason why we celebrate it. Hope everyone is having a very Merry Christmas so far!

On Acting (Mostly)

First off, Will learned a new word. He learns new words all of the time, so usually this wouldn't be blog worthy. However, the new word made me think about my own life. What is it? Wal-Mart. I think I've been going there too much lately.

Secondly, we went to Salt Lake to visit Temple Square with Dallas' family last night. Don't get me wrong, I like Christmas lights as well as the next person, but why do we torture ourselves with cold to walk around the grounds when we could sit in a warm car and drive through Thanksgiving Point? I only say this because it seems like every year the goal is to see how quickly we can make it through the grounds and back to the car. We did have some good laughs (mostly thanks to the warm parking garage at the Olive Garden).

Lastly, I performed a monologue for my Shakespeare class yesterday. This normally wouldn't be a big event if it weren't for the fact that I hadn't acted in 5 years. I can't believe it's been that long. I performed a monologue from King Henry VI part 3 that a sweet student Maddie at DHS competed with this year. I have wanted to do it for a long time, so when the option was open to do it for my final project I took it. It was awesome. I even loved the fact that I forgot a line and was able to keep going without it totally throwing my focus. It was fun to discover a totally different way to do it than Maddie did. I think I've grown a lot as an actor (and I use that term loosely my friends) in the last five years just by watching and having more life experiences. (It has also helped to take a Shakespeare class and actually understand what I'm saying in my pieces more clearly). Performing reminded me of why I love being on stage so much. It's a feeling you can't get anywhere else. You're so nervous and frightened, then you perform and you can't wait to do it all over again. Maybe I will audition for some of the Timpanogos Valley Theater Company productions coming up... I just want to feel that again. Some of you know what I'm talking about.

iPod Idol

What is so great about the holidays? Family. What is so great about my family? We're not afraid to make fools of ourselves.

Thanksgiving was fabulous- filled with lots of turkey, candied yams, stuffing, potatoes and pie. (I was even able to get a little dinner down!) The highlight, however, was the Wilson Pie Party. We got together with my Scott Wilson family cousins for pie and a little entertainment. They introduced us to a game called "iPod Idol". Here's how it works: You pick a song from your iPod, crank it up so you can't even hear yourself talk, and you sing along. It's hysterical because everyone sounds tone deaf like I normally do! This game was invented by my cousins Blake and Chris on a long drive home, and it's gold. Gold, Jerry! Songs were performed by new and improved Bon Jovi, Leona Lewis, Christina Aguilera, Creed, Sara Bareilles, Kenny Chesney and let us not leave out a moving performance of Fergie's "Big Girls Don't Cry" as sung by Tyler McCallister (he was my Idol). I think my sister-in-law Kaydee was the only one that sounded good, and she put us all to shame. (Scott thinks James should quit his job and get Kaydee singing).

Here's a taste. Laura, you know I love you. Elaine, you are the greatest. I simply couldn't resist. If someone had recorded me, I would have put myself on here.

I'm having a baby.

It's true! I have been planning to announce on Thanksgiving for sometime now, but I honestly couldn't wait any longer. I am the WORST at keeping secrets. We are so incredibly excited to add another person to our family. We feel so blessed. Will is excited, although he thinks I'm giving birth to a motorcycle (let's hope he's not too disappointed). I am due July 9th, but even that is a story. It is really interesting how all of the cliches are true- "No two pregnancies are alike."

AINT THAT THE TRUTH.

Will was smooth sailing all the way through (minus the epidural wearing off during delivery). This baby has been a roller-coaster ride from the beginning. I have a feeling this one is a girl because of all of the drama that has already come about. (Bless it's little heart).

It all started on Nov. 7th when I experienced some spotting and called the doctor. I went in for a routine ultrasound to make sure everything was okay and that there was a heartbeat. I was 7 1/2 weeks at that point. Everything went well- that little flicker on the screen brought tears to my eyes. 147 BPM. Blessings. They thought the baby looked a little smaller than what it should, so they decided to do another ultrasound in two weeks to come up with a more accurate due date. (At this point, my due date was June 20th).

Two weeks passed. Two very long weeks (as goes the game when you are very sick and pregnant). I was 9 1/2 weeks along and hoping to be able to see a little more of what looks like a baby at this ultrasound. My appointment was Thursday, Nov. 20th. They measured the baby and came up with a gestational age of 7 weeks. YES, I TYPED THAT CORRECTLY. 7 WEEKS. The tech ignored me when I said I was concerned about the growth of the baby. She finished the ultrasound like someone had rung the fire alarm, and I was left to wait for the answers from my doctor. In the meantime to say that I was horribly worried would be an unjust understatement. I tried to call my doctor, but he was in the ER all day and I would just have to until the next day.

After talking to my doctor on Friday afternoon, he explained to me that at the first ultrasound the baby was very small. The growth between the two ultrasounds was normal, and that the baby was perfectly healthy at this point- with a heartbeat of 175 BPM. I was relieved... and depressed. Where I thought I was able to see the light at the end of the tunnel for this morning (more like all day) sickness, I am back in the throws. I am only 7 weeks 3 days today. I'm still getting used to that. (I liked the sound of 10 weeks 1 day much better). This has been confusing because I have long cycles. It's a curse I think.

So, there's the news! Congrats to all of you that have read it all the way through (you must have had a baby, or are pregnant, to be interested in this story for this long!!!)

PS. The baby in the ticker to the right is kind of scary. Don't you think? Miracle and all.

Twilight- better than I anticipated.

**May contain some spoilers.

Yes. I was one of those people last night. Those who know me were aware that I had pretty low expectations for this movie. The trailers were cheesy and I couldn't figure out how they would make Edward's diamond skin not make me want to roll into the aisles laughing. Somehow, they did it; they exceeded my expectations. The movie was definitely not the best movie I have ever seen, but it also wasn't the worst (don't get me started on the latest Indiana Jones). Here are some points that I loved:
-Victoria. She was spot on for what I had imagined. She gave me chills.
-Jacob Black was so Jacob Black! I'm glad he had a few more lines so that we could see his smile and his fun loving and warm personality. (Can you tell I'm on team Jacob?)
-Alice. She was also perfect.
-Edward was much more Edwardesque than I thought he would be. By the end of the movie I actually really liked Robert Pattinson. (He's still not nearly as gorgeous as the Edward I had imagined, but who is???)
-Charlie. Yay for protective Dads and pepper spray.
Now for the things I didn't love:
-Waaaaaay too much of the creepy stares. You'll know what I am talking about if you have seen it. We get it. Your vampires. We are also supposed to be hopelessly attracted to you and not freaked out. Remember that.
-Remember how Bella wasn't supposed to be afraid of Edward? Well, she did an awful job of not acting scared during the scene where she confronts him on being a vampire. I blame the director. Hardwicke should have fixed that.
-Stephanie Meyer, I love you, but you are NOT M. Night Shyamalan or Alfred Hitchcock. Your presence took me out of the movie.

All that being said, I'm glad I went at midnight. If you liked Twilight you should definitely see the movie. I hope they make New Moon. I need more Jacob.

Jewel

All of the grand kids on my Loder side have a chance to take my Grandma Jewel out on her dime- we call it "A Day Out With Grandma." Last night I took my Grandma to dinner and we went to see The Scarlet Pimpernel at Davis High. (I know she loved it even though she fell asleep...) It was so nice to really make an effort to see just my Grandma and spend some time with her. We are so lucky because my Mom takes care of her so we get to see her often. She has been such a great influence in my life and has always set an example of the importance of family. It was fun to be able to treat her, even though I was the one being treated. Thank you Grandma. I love you.

The Presidential Curse

First off, if I don't have your e-mail then you better get it to me. We'll be going private in one week.

Have I mentioned yet that I love school? I love it because my history professor informs us of the facts, as well as a few superstitions and conspiracies. Here is the latest...

Back in the day, we're talking just before the war of 1812 (and if you can't figure out when that was, then I'm un-inviting you from reading my blog), General William Henry Harrison was a Native American fighter. He became famous from the war of the Thames as well as Tippecanoe. It was during this last battle with the Indians that Harrison negotiated a treaty (to, of course, take more of their land). He got them drunk on alcohol in order to get them to sign it. Chief Tecumseh was so unhappy that he supposedly left a curse:

You will attain the position that you most aspire to, but you will not live long enough to enjoy it. Those who come after who do not fix the treaty will also be cursed.

That isn't word for word, but you get the main idea. Well, are you ready for this? The problem lies with the president that was elected during the election year that ends in a zero. Here it goes:

1840- Harrison was the first president to die in office, only one month after inauguration.

1860- Lincoln was assassinated.

1880- Garfield dies.

1900- McKinley was assassinated.

1920- Harding dies.

1940- FDR dies.

1960- JFK was assassinated.

1980- Regan narrowly survived his assassination attempt.

2000- George W. Bush....

The current president has about 60 days left in his presidency... let's hope the curse is broken. (And yes I say hope because no matter how much you may hate Pres. Bush, you really don't want him dead.)

Another interesting fact about this little curse; the only other president to ever die while in office was Zachary Taylor. He died in 1850. He was Harrison's aide at the Battle of Tippecanoe and was there when this treaty was signed and Harrison was cursed.

Spooky...

We're Going Private

The time has come. We are trying to make sure our family is safe. I NEED YOUR E-MAIL to invite you to my blog. If I don't have it, you can leave it as a comment, or I set up an e-mail at nicollprivateblog@yahoo.com where you can send it to us. Don't be shy! If you blogstalk me and haven't spoken up, now is the time to do so! I will wait a couple weeks before we make the official change. Please don't forget! We want to keep in touch with all of you.

We voted.

Did you?

Arrrggh, Matey!

Cute, right?

Shanna, you are the greatest costume maker ever. Thank you. Now if only he'd keep his eye-patch and hat on for longer than 30 seconds.

Naked Hunter

Last weekend Dallas joined many blood-thirsty (okay, so I added that word for spooky effect. Give me a break, it's Halloween) men and women for the annual Deer Hunt. He was headed up in the Logan area with his friend Brady, and busily packed his bag all Thursday morning with a wild and crazy two year old running around. What he didn't know, was how bad this two year old wanted to go with his Dad. After dudding Dallas' fluorescent orange hat Will announced that we was ready to go hunting. Naked. Perhaps if Dallas and Brady had hunted in their "birthday suits" rather than the Wal-Mart cammo they would have been successful. I think these two year olds know more than they let on.

While Dallas was hunting, Will and I went to S-town for a fun visit. It was Cami's 29th birthday (again), so we had a bash. James proved, once again, that he has very little life outside of video games after playing Guitar Hero and hitting 100% of the notes. What a loser. (I WISH I WERE YOU!!!) I even squeezed in visits to Whit and my Aunt Elaine.

Highlight of the weekend: Finding out that Dallas didn't shoot a deer, and that I, therefore, wouldn't have to eat any. Glad you had a good time, Dal!

I LOVE Halloween

In just three short days, one of my favorite things of the year is going to take place: AMC's Fearfest! One week before Halloween, AMC plays non-stop scary movies. I get my fill of vampires, serial killers, and spooks. Ever since I was a little girl I loved to "scare myself". My neighborhood friends Kristen Stock, Wendy Wilson, and whomever else decided to join us, would lock ourselves in a dark room with a mirror and murmur "bloody Mary" three times to see what would happen. I'm not sure if we ever actually made it to the third time before we would start screaming and frantically flip on the light. The Scary Stories series were my favorite books to check out of the school library, and I was a witch or "Vampira" (Dracula's wife) nearly every single year for Halloween. Something about that adrenaline rush just gets me excited! So, in 3 days I will be cuddled up on my couch with a blanket (and hopefully my Hubby) to watch some innocent people make stupid mistakes and get nearly killed by a creepy serial killer... and my Hubby will start walking around like Michael Myers to freak me out.

Happy Halloween!!!

A Day in the Life of Amylee

Kalie Rae tagged me on this picture tag, so here goes... (If I had anything else going on in my life, I probably wouldn't do it, but this is pretty much what my life consists of lately. When you ask what I'm up to, and I say nothing, now you know I'm telling the truth).

1. I collect.... toys for my little man! I know I've posted it before, but it's true. This is a picture of pretty much all of his cars. He always gets them all out and drives them from the table, to the couch, and back to the table.

2. I'm obsessed with... my new sheets! I finally sprung for a new bed ensemble last weekend. (We've been in need of a new one since our last comforter was fried by the commercial dryer at the laundromat. Oops). I tried really hard to get away from red and brown. I failed.

3. I drive... a 2003 Jeep Liberty Sport. It is still missing its lift kit; we have tried to put it on twice now, and both times something breaks on the Jeep and we can't do it. Bummer. I also posted a picture of Dallas' "new" truck. It's a 1999 Chevy Silverado.

4. Self portrait... no comment.
5. I'm procrastinating... my History 1700 homework. I hate reading textbooks, especially when I day dream while reading and can't recall any of the information. This class is the worst; I don't recommend internet classes.

6. Favorite room... my bedroom. I do most of my living in there as of late. It's the only place in this basement that really feels like me. Isn't my new bedspread cute? It will look better when I get my brown decorative pillow.
7. Our backyard... I can't really claim that it is mine, but it is where Will plays. It's nice to have a fenced back yard where I don't have to worry about checking on him every 5 seconds. Now I can just check every 5 minutes.

8. Favorite things... My boy! I took this picture yesterday because he wanted me to, and this was his "smile". It needs a lot of work! But, he's still cute.
9. My closet... is twice as big as it used to be! It used to be more organized than this, but every time I try to pull down one hoodie, they all come tumbling down.
10. Item I can't live without... my camera! I can't very well take a picture of that, now can I? It's just a little point and shoot Pentax, but I have to have it. It makes me angry when I forget it on an outing. We finally got an external hard drive with 500 G of memory so I have room to store all of my pictures and digital scrap booking.

Very Interesting....

Okay, the digi-baby thing was just for fun. (NO, I'M NOT ANNOUNCING ANYTHING). However, I was kind of surprised at how much the boy picture looked like Will. Yes, I think the real genes are superior, but this is the picture that sprung to mind. The hair, the cheeks, and Will even has a weird ear like the digi-baby does. What do you think?


PS- Will read his first book today! Kind of. He repeated every word I said through out the entire book. We read The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss. It's so cute. I'm going to record it and post it eventually. He's getting so smart.

Digi-babies

I'm sorry. I had to.


What do you think about my little new baby Holden?
MakeMeBabies.com - What will your baby look like?



What do you think about my little new baby Annie?
MakeMeBabies.com - What will your baby look like?

Amen!

Thank you Nicki, for your post on California's Proposition 8. It really is time to stand up for what we believe; I believe that "marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children."

"It is un-American and certainly un-Christian to say that because the ideal is not always possible, that we should stop striving for it all together." -Nicki Preece

Visit www.protectmarriage.com for more information on the proposition.

Will Man's 2 Yr Old Stats

Will is 36 in. tall (85%), 25.7 lbs (20%), and his head circumference is in the 60%. At the age of 2 he is able to count to 10 (with only forgetting about 1 number on occasion). Will knows all of his colors- even gold, orange, pink, and purple (thanks to his array of motorcycles). He uses 3-4 word sentences frequently and can understand 2 step commands (ie, go and get your motorcycle and put it in the toy box). He jabbers all day long with many other words that we don't understand. His favorite friends are James his cousin and James his uncle (thanks to his race car), Ty, and McKenzie Harvey. Will likes all kinds of foods; he has even been known to beg for beans! He doesn't like cake, but he does like pop and ice cream. His favorite shows are Curious George, Cars, Little Einsteins (which he calls Rocket), and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He also loves to watch motorcoss and off-road movies, or motorcycle videos on You Tube. He gives his Mommy and Daddy kisses frequently, but they don't come free to anyone else. He is good at saying "please" and "thank you" as well as "your welcome". He's even better at saying NO. He is pretty stubborn, and if he doesn't want to do something, then he won't. He gets hyper at night before bed and always makes us laugh. He usually sleeps through the night; he goes to bed at 9PM and wakes up around 6:45AM. He still takes one nap in the afternoon for about 1.5-3 hours (which I love!). He is our little man, always keeping us on our toes. We love him so much and are so glad he's ours.

Anne Pearson Photography

My sweet friend and old neighbor, Anne Pearson, took Will's 2 year pictures last week. He was such a good boy during the shoot (thanks to the motorcycles that I was driving on Anne's head). I can't believe how big he is. He'll still be my baby until he is replaced by another one some day, but he is definitely a little boy now. If anyone needs some pictures done, she is doing some specials. (You will probably have to wait about a month; she was due to have a baby last Friday.) She is so fun to work with, and does a great job. Thanks again Anne, we love them!

I Love School

School is cause for many fun times. I am taking a Shakespeare class as part of my class load this semester. Professor Fulmer at UVU has a great way of making the class very entertaining, and pointing out little "Shakespeare Facts" along the way. Did you know that William Shakespeare helped translate the King James version of the Bible? The Bard was a humorous man, and he left his signature in the Bible. No lie. Psalms 46. It was Shakespeare's 46th birthday when we was doing this, so he changed a small word to leave his mark. If you go to Psalms 46 and count 46 words from the top you will find the word shake. This word was not used in this connotation at the time; you would have instead found the word quake or tremble. Then if you count 46 words from the bottom of Psalm 46 you will find the word spear. Coincidence? I think not. In class one of the students had a different version of the Bible, and in place of shake was quake, and it wasn't exactly 46 words. I checked in my Bible, and it is shake, and it is 46 words down. Very interesting; what a clever little man.

Plus, by going to school, you also get conversations like this:

Me: I'm going to my friend Katie's house tonight for a make-over.

Grandma K: When Dallas gets back from school he'll have to comment on how beautiful you look.

Dallas: And when I get back from my Math class you will have to comment on how big my brain is.

Joy, Fear, Goal, Obsessions, Random

I've been tagged on this specific survey deal about five times already, but since life has slowed down, I am finally getting around to completing it. Thanks Lindsey for giving me the last tag: Here goes a bunch of predictable and already known facts about me.... or maybe you'll be surprised.

How To Play This Game of Tag: 1. Post these rules on your blog. 2. List: 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 random surprising facts about yourself. 3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names.

JoYs
1. Chocolate chip cookies and milk. One of the major perks to moving in with Grandma is the endless supply of these bad boys. And they're good. She may be 70, but she hasn't lost that magic touch! (And I'll hope she never does).
2. High school kids. Seriously. My sweet Andra lets me play with her students every year for the Shakespeare festival, and it has become my favorite time of year. The kids are so cute, so funny, and so eager (most of them anyway) to learn about the Bard. I love to experience their discoveries, risks, and accomplishments with them.
3. Fall. No offense to all of the other seasons, but this one is by far the best. The weather is perfect, the canyons are stunning, and I get to celebrate my little man's birthday. Also, the sweaters get to come out of the box, and I love that too.

FeArS
1. Cancer. Who isn't afraid of it? Since my Grandpa Loder was diagnosed with more than one type, I have been paranoid from a very young age. Finding lumps and bumps has led me to the doctor a few times, thank goodness it has never led to this great fear.
2. Autism. (See a pattern here?) I want my children to be perfect, just like they should be.
3. Earthquakes. When I first walk into a new building (be it a house, office, even center) I immediately start to think about where I would run for cover if there were an earthquake. I like to think I'm being prepared and not paranoid.

GoAlS
1. Live within my means. I really feel this is why our economy is in such shambles right now. In America if we want something, we get it. Never mind if we can really afford it. I don't want to be like that. Ever.
2. Serve someone every day. I make this goal each night before I go to bed. I try to think of something specific. I'm better about thinking about it than actually doing it, unfortunately.
3. Graduate from college. So, so important to me. More important than I ever thought.

ObSeSsIoNs
1. A Lazy Read. I'm obsessed with this book club! I haven't successfully read one of our selections yet, but I will. Maybe I should put that in one of my goals?
2. Babies. I'm completely and utterly obsessed with all things baby. It doesn't even need to be my own- although I do like mine the best. Sorry.
3. Buying Will toys. Sheesh. I really need to stop that. He has more motorcycles, cars and four-wheeler toys than I know what to do with.

RaNdOm
1. The diamond in my wedding ring wasn't actually a "diamond"... until now! Dallas and I couldn't afford it when we first got married. I refused to go into debt. So, cubic zirconium became my friend. Only a few people knew this. For our 5th anniversary I got a real diamond put into my ring. It's gorgeous. I love it. I'm so glad I waited to do it.
2. I love to sing in the car. Even if there are people in there with me, I don't care. It's the only place I sound good. (Probably because I turn the stereo up so loud that I drown myself out).
3. I am constantly talking to my self in my brain. Scheming, planning, entertaining, calming. I think it's a coping mechanism.

I tag... Sterling Mumford, Nicole Booth, Angie Draper, Bunko friend Amanda, and Whit.