The Christensen's

Picture Update

2011-10-06T11:17:00.000-07:00

I have been a big slacker in the blogging department. The last 9 months have brought some big changes to our little family. We took a little trip with Madden to Springdale and Zions, Madden turned 1, we added Krew to our family and moved into our new house. Here are a few pictures of the last 9 months!

Lately...

2011-01-26T09:53:00.000-08:00

Things have been a little crazy at our house lately. We have a crazy 7 month old that like to crawl, climb and get into whatever is at his reach. He is always falling over, hitting his head, or getting stuck in crazy places. He has been having to entertain himself a lot lately because his Mama has been doing lots of:

And has seen a lot of this!

That's because...

Notice his shirt and shocked face? That is how his Mama felt when she found out too. You read right, Baby #2 is due in August!

6 Months

2011-01-24T08:16:00.000-08:00

Nicknames: Monkey, Bug, Silly Boy
Temperament: You are always a happy smiling boy. You love to flirt with everyone and then act shy and try to hide your face. You are content to sit and play with toys until you notice no one is by you so you will whine.
Things I Could Do Without:Whining and Teething.
Item/Toy We Love The Most: Any toy that make music or noise. They seem to keep you the most entertained. Your high chair has become a lifesaver when we are trying to get stuff done.
Item/Toy You Love The Most: You still love Sophie the Giraffe but you also love your high chair. You can see what we are doing and you love to eat treats and drink from your sippy cup.
Things I’m Loving Most Right Now: Since you have become mobile you are always on the move. You never want to sit still. If you notice that I am in another room you will come and find me. You have also learned to climb into your bouncy chair and love to bounce on your hands and knees!
Things You’re Loving Most Right Now: You are loving anything that you can put into your mouth. You like to try new foods and treats. You love to eat graham crackers, fruit puff, fruit leathers, Daddy's smoothies, or anything that we are eating. You are still loving to explore our house and have gotten into some big messes!

5 Months

2010-12-05T12:13:00.000-08:00

Nicknames: Monkey, Handsome Boy
Temperament: You are still the most happy when you wake up. You are starting to get frustrated when you can reach a toy or something that you want. I feel like you are in a needy stage where you always want to be held or doing something. You are no longer content to just sit.
Things I Could Do Without: You are still drooling a ton. You have also learned to blow bubbles and make sounds with your lips. You love doing this while I feed you which gets food everywhere!
Item/Toy We Love The Most: Bumbo chair. You love to be in the middle of everything we are doing. I will set you in the bumbo while I am making dinner or cleaning and you love it.
Item/Toy You Love The Most: You love Sophie the Giraffe and love toys that make sounds. You still are chewing on anything you can get in your mouth.
Things I’m Loving Most Right Now: You have just started to army crawl. It is so great to see you growing and learning new things. You have started holding your own bottle and reaching for people.
Things You’re Loving Most Right Now: Now that you are on the move you are in everything. We set toys out for you to crawl to. You love to turn in circle in your belly to see everything. You really love to kick and splash at bath time. You love to eat your baby food and get so excited when you realize it is time to eat.

Real Investment

2010-11-30T16:57:00.000-08:00

My Aunt posted this on Facebook from a website called the The Exponent and I think it is a great reminder of what is really important!

Real Investment
Posted on November 30, 2010 by Whoa-man

For my birthday this weekend my husband and I went to a fancy French restaurant in a nearby historic town. We noshed on decadent food and pretended to live an indulgent life. It was a blast. However, nothing could be further from the truth. We are both graduate students living off University stipends. We rent a small apartment near campus, have hot pockets in our freezer, and wear thrift store finds– quintessential signs of eternal students. In fact, we live such an inexpensive life that I am often embarrassed when a birthday, anniversary, Valentine’s Day, or graduation day rolls around and we have to tell others about the elaborate things we do because most people I know do not invest very much into these holidays.

You see, my theory is to invest more in the things I can’t live without than in the things I can. For example, if my education, career, car, housing, or possessions were suddenly gone it would be difficult, but I would get by. However, if all of a sudden my health, spouse, friends, family, or sex life were gone it would be devastating. It would fundamentally change me. Awhile ago I realized that I was spending most of my time, money, energy, and empathy on the former things rather than the latter. Why was it easier to justify investing in an academic conference rather than an anniversary? Cutting back on presents for each other in order to get that new gadget? Taking the time to listen to experts in my field but being impatient with my kids? Budgeting time for church but not for sex? Focusing on others but not myself?

Real investment is my family’s approach to spending time, money energy, and empathy on the things that matter most. Some basic approaches to this plan are:

* Viewing birthdays as a time to test your connection with another person, i.e. Do you really know what they want? Have you been listening? Watching? What are you willing to invest into that relationship? Usually investing more time, energy, and empathy on a birthday makes a bigger impact than just investing more money.

* Seeing Valentine’s Day as a time to show other’s how much they mean to you. Often real investment isn’t so much about what you do, but rather how the other person feels. It feels nice to be doted on, taken care of, and shown concern. It feels special to take precedence over work, budget, kids, and church duties. It feels fantastic to take the time to focus on the people you love and figure out ways to communicate that.

* Using anniversaries as a time to evaluate and work on your sex life. How often do you have open and honest communication and make needed changes to your sex life? Is one day out of 365 too much to ask for such an important part of your lives?

* Looking at graduations or promotions as a time to celebrate all of the hard work and sacrifice this accomplishment has meant. Rewards are not just kid stuff.

* Realizing that your health and self-perspective influence every aspect of your life and relationships with others. Are you investing enough time and energy on yourself? It is important to figure out what you need to feel good and then asking for those things. Most of the time people are willing to invest the real things but they just don’t know how or they need to be asked.

I’ve found that during the lowest points in my life or the times when we argue the most I have failed to invest in the real things. Real investment has been a really great way for our family to show that we cherish each other above everything else. That French restaurant was a big portion of our budget this month. Sure it could have gone toward something more practical, but it made me feel like I was important and worth the sacrifice it would take to stay on track for the rest of the month.

What do you invest in? Where does most of your time, money, energy, and empathy go? Have you ever tried to invest in the more important things? What was your experience?

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T16:46:00.000-07:00

This year for Halloween we didn't go trick or treating or to any parties we just took our little Monkey around to see the Grandparents. I am sure next year will be a whole lot funny when the Monkey is running around and will actually be able to get some treats for his mom! While visiting Grandma and Grandpa Chris we were able to see Dorothy and her Lion before they headed out trick or treating. And as you will see my mom thought she should give Madden his first piece of Halloween candy!

4 Months

2010-10-31T16:10:00.001-07:00

Nicknames: Monkey, Handsome, Sweetheart
Temperament: You have started showing your little personality. You are still always smiling but when you get frustrated you have started to make lots of noise. You still only cry when you are super tired or hungry.
Things I Could Do Without: Drool! You are always blowing bubbles and have strings of drool coming from your mouth which means your shirt is always soaking wet.
Item/Toy We Love The Most: The bouncy chair and swing. We also like mirrors that can seem to keep you entertained awhile.
Item/Toy You Love The Most: Your love your teething rings or anything that you can chew on. You also love your rattles of toys that make noise or play music. Any book with bright colors and pictures.
Things I’m Loving Most Right Now: You are starting to show that your personality and love to always be making noise. You are using your hands more to grab anything within reach. I love when you wake up and have the biggest smile on your face.
Things You’re Loving Most Right Now: You have learned to roll over and that is all you want to do now. As soon as you are set down you roll right over. You love being able to see things from your belly and love to reach out and play with toys. You love to chew on your hands and any toy you can put into your mouth.

3 Months

2010-09-27T14:38:00.000-07:00

Nicknames: Monkey, Handsome Boy, Happy Boy
Temperament: You are always so happy and always smiling. You rarely cry unless you are hungry. We love when you first wake up and are so talkative and happy.
Things I Could Do Without: You still do not like being burped! You have started spitting up more and have gotten it pretty much everywhere. You don't like to have your nails trimmed and wiggle all over the place. All of your slobber!
Item/Toy We Love The Most: We love the swing. It can keep you happy and entertained for a long time.
Item/Toy You Love The Most: You love to look at any bright colors or things that make lots of noise. You are still content to sit in your bouncy chair or swing and are starting to love your Bumbo chair.
Things I’m Loving Most Right Now: I love that you are being coming more vocal. After waking up you always have a lot to say. You are a wiggle worm and move all over your crib. I have found you a few times wiggled out of your pajamas. You have started to giggle and have a ticklish spot on your neck.
Things You’re Loving Most Right Now: You love to lay on the ground and are trying hard to roll over. You love to listen to music and kick your feet and giggle. You love to go on car rides.

2 Months

2010-08-27T07:41:00.000-07:00

Nicknames: Turtle, Happiest Boy, Handsome

Temperament: You are the happiest when you first wake up and love to smile and talk. When you start to get tired you sure let us know with all your talking and cooing.

Things I Could Do Without: When you have to be burped you complain and make lots of noise.

Item/Toy We Love The Most: Your bouncy chair and swing.

Item/Toy You Love The Most: You are loving you bouncy chair and are starting love to look at bright toys and love the noise rattles make.
Things I’m Loving Most Right Now: You are sleeping 8-9 hours a night. You will lay in your crib and talk and smile until I come and get you. When you lay on the ground and coo.

Things You’re Loving Most Right Now: You love having your diaper changed and get the biggest smile on your face. You love bath time and having lotion put on before bed. You are content to sit in your bouncy chair or just lay on the ground. You love when we talk and sing to you.

1 Month

2010-07-27T13:57:00.000-07:00

Nicknames: Turtle, Mad Dawg, Tank.
Temperament: You have 4 modes. Cry, sleep, grunt, and squirm.
Things I Could Do Without: Having to put your binki back in every 2 seconds, endless bouncy to sleep.
Item/Toy We Love The Most: Bouncy Chair.
Item/Toy You Love The Most: Binki and Sound Machine.
Things I’m Loving Most Right Now: You will sleep 4-5 hours before waking up at night. How sweet and calm you are in the middle of the night, the way you stretch so grandly when we unwrap you from your swaddle in the morning.
Things You’re Loving Most Right Now: your mommy, tummy time, being swaddled and held close, the sound of white noise, your bouncy chair, going for a drive in the car, sucking on your hands, lifting your head up and looking around.

More Pictures

2010-07-27T13:15:00.001-07:00

Here are some more pictures that our friend Andrea took while she was here visiting the first week on July. They turned out awesome! Thanks Ang!

Pictures

2010-07-27T13:06:00.000-07:00

My moms cousin Emily offered to take Maddens pictures. She is awesome and it was crazy as he did not want to sleep at all! Here are some of the pictures we got!

Madden Louis- longest post ever!

2010-07-27T12:15:00.000-07:00

Here is the story of how Madden joined our family. I had been dilated for a few weeks and every time I went to the doctor he told me I would go anytime and there was no way I would make it to make next appointment. After three weeks of making it to my next appointment, the week I was due we scheduled and induction for June 27.

The nurse told me to be to the hospital at 6AM but to call just in case they were too busy. So on Sunday morning I got up at 4:30 got all ready and called the hospital at 5:30. They told me not to come in and that they would call when they were ready. So I let Jonny sleep and I sat and waited. Around 8 o'clock and text my mom and told her I was getting frustrated and she told me just to call again. I called and they were still to busy for me to come in. I decided to lay down to see if I could get some sleep. Finally around 10 they called and told me to come in. I got Jonny up told him to hurry and get ready while I waited. We got to the hospital at 11 and as soon as I got there my doctor came in and was frustrated the nurse didn't have things ready for him to break my water.

The nurse started my IV and at 11:30 my doctor broke my water. He told me that he was going out of town the next day and I needed to deliver ASAP or his partner would have to do it. I was started on Pitocin and was offered my Epidural but decided to wait and see what contractions felt like. I decided to get my epidural around 1:30 so that I could get some sleep. After that we pretty much just hung out. Each time the nurse came in and turned up my pitocin, Madden's heart rate would drop so they would have to turn it down. They figured it was either from the medicine or he had the cord wrapped around his neck. At 5:30 my nurse came in and checked me before the shift changed and I was 5-6 cm and 100% effaced. I figured we still had awhile so I told Jonny if he wanted to go eat he should go now, he told me he would wait a little bit longer.

At 6:30 my new nurse came in to see how far I had progressed. She was shocked when I was completely dilated and could start pushing. She had told me first time moms usually have to push for a few hours so we could start pushing before the doctor had arrived. An hour later, Madden Louis was born weighing 7 pound 9 ounces and 19.5 inches long! When they placed him on my chest it was the most amazing moment. I was so surprised how this massive thing could really grow inside of my body. Pregnancy is the most amazing thing ever!

PS 22

2010-05-12T21:51:00.000-07:00

I promise that there is an update coming.. here is an awesome video to tide you over until I finish the update!

If you haven't heard of the PS 22 Chorus, you need to get on Youtube and watch their videos. They are absolutely amazing!

Christmas Cards

2009-12-14T20:53:00.000-08:00

We will be sending out Christmas cards in the next couple of days. If you would like to receive one please leave me your address. My comment moderator is on so your addresses will not be public!

We have a surprise!

2009-11-26T08:37:00.000-08:00

July Update

2009-08-09T20:02:00.000-07:00

July has been such a crazy month for us. It seems like we are always going and never have a spare minute for anything! I wasnt quite sure how to post everything that has happened so here is a quick little recap!

*Wayman Family BBQ- Every summer we get together to celebrate my Great-Grandma Waymans Birthday. This is we had bouncy toys, good food and as always good company!

*Jonny has been playing in American Forks Softball league and they had their final tournament. I have no idea where they placed because I was usually to busy playing with this cute girl!

*We spent a week at the Ranch in Star Valley. We fished at the pond, went white water rafting in Jackson Hole and basically just relaxed, it was so nice! Jonny and Abbey were determined to catch a fish so we spent most of our time at the dock. They didnt have any luck but the sure had fun on the paddleboat!

* The Fultons visit Utah! My Aunt Carrie and her family came for a long vacation in Utah. We had tons of fun with them. We had a BBQ, played with sidewalk chalk, lite fireworks, and the boys did Ifly.

* Most importantly on August 1, Jonny and I were sealed in the Mount Timpangos Temple. I dont think there is a better way to spend your anniversary than at the temple. We were so grateful our families could be there with us!

Havasupai- Warning really long post!

2009-07-08T18:34:00.000-07:00

Over the 4th of July we were in Havasuapai with Jonny's business partner Clay and his wife. We found out about Havasupai from them and Jonny begged me to go. We decided that we should just go and experience it once. Let me tell you, from our crazy experience we will probably never go back. The weeks before going, I looked it up online everyday so that I would know what to expect. Here is a recap of our great experience!

Driving through Vegas we stopped by Hover Dam. They are building a huge suspended bridge right over the dam, which was really cool!

After driving for 10 hours we finally reached the Hilltop. When we got there the sun was starting to set and the Indians wouldn't let us hike down because of flash floods. So the first night we camped in the parking lot. We all slept like crap. People were coming and going, car alarms kept going off, and finally at 4:00AM we were up. We started our hike down around 4:30AM. The hike down was a breeze, it was all down hill, our first hour was in the dark, and it was overcast.

Getting to the Village we were all pretty hungry after hiking for 10 miles. We decided before going to the campground we would eat breakfast at the Village Cafe. After sitting down for awhile, we all noticed how sore we all instantly were and decided we should continue the rest of the hike to the campgrounds.

After hiking for another two miles to the campgrounds you come around a corner and see beautiful Havasu Falls! It was absolutely breathtaking!

Once we had found our campsite, we decided to go back up to Havasu and swim in the falls after our long hike. The water at Havasu was freezing! I was surprised that there were only a few people there and we basically had the place to ourselves. After playing in the falls most of the day, we decided to head back to camp and call it a night!

The next day we all woke up really sore and with blisters all over our feet. Well really only I had blisters, I don't know how Jonny lucked out! We decided that we were going to spend the day at Mooney Falls and maybe hike down to Beaver Falls. We had heard that Beaver falls had been washed away by a flash flood that happened last year, and wasn't worth the hike to see it. The hike to Mooney Falls was interesting. After reading about it on the Internet, I knew I was in for a treat being afraid of heights!

* Here is the best picture of the trail I could find. I didn't take one myself because I was holding on for dear life. You basically climb down a cliff and the Indians have been nice enough to put chains in the mountain for you to hold onto.

We spent the whole day at Mooney and walking down the river and enjoy the other little waterfalls that were basically hidden. We headed to bed early that night because we were hiking out the next morning.

Hiking out was the most awful thing ever. We left camp around 6:30AM, we had paid for a mule to take our bags out so we figured that the hike would be a breeze. We were so wrong! One of the other kids we were with had fallen while exploring a cave and had hurt his tailbone so this slowed us way down. Once we really got started on the trail we realized that the whole hike was going to be in the sun! We were all almost out of water and were not even to the switchbacks. Once we arrived at the switchbacks the poor kid we were with could barely walk. It was the heat of the day and there was absolutely no shade. Jonny and I decided we were not going to slow down because it was way too hot.

*Here is a picture of the switchbacks. You can kind of see the parking lot on the right top corner. It is basically up the cliff.

We had given our last water bottle to the other couple and continued on our way up the mountain. We literally thought we were going to die. It was so hot, we were out of water, there is no water at the top and we still had 1 mile to the top. Hiking that mile was the longest mile of my life. Once we were at the top Clay had caught up to us saying that their friend needed a horse because there was no way he was going to be able to finish hiking. So while we waited for the rest of our group Jonny went to find out bags.

This is when we found out that they had forgotten our bags at the bottom. As soon as I heard that, lots of bad words went through my head. How could they seriously forget our bags? We freakin paid $90.00. They told Jonny there was absolutely no way our bags were being brought up that day. At that point I was glad that Jonny is my husband because if all of our gear wasn't brand new I would have just left it there. Jonny was trying everything to get our bags up, but it wasn't working. He finally got the Indian to call down to the village to find out what was going on. The lady in the Village told us we had the wrong day, but Jonny had our receipt, so she told us that they thought the helicopter was going to bring them up, but it wasn't running, so they basically gave our mule to someone else.

I finally stopped caring and decided to just let Jonny handle it and I went and laid in the Jeep. A few minutes later Jonny comes to tell us that one of the Indians- Leland is his name, brother was going to bring our bags up, but since it is not his regular job, we would have to pay him $100.00. We all really didn't care, we just wanted out bags so we could go and get some water. So we waited for two hours for our bags to be brought up. During these two hours, we were certainly entertained- or basically shocked, by these two Indians at the hilltop. They were both drunk, on shrooms, and offered Jonny some of their Marijuana. We basically were scammed by all these lame Indians.

We were not very impressed. Yes, the falls are beautiful, but the land itself is filthy.

We spent the 4th in Vegas, but after hiking all day, driving forever (we missed and exit and ended up in California) we just showered, ate dinner, and all went to bed. Our trip was great! My advice for those wanting to go to Havasupai is to take the Helicopter!

What are we thinking!

2009-05-28T10:32:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been thinking a lot about the economy and how it is effecting Jonny and I. To be honest Jonny and I have not really felt the pull that others are feeling. We definitely work hard to have our nice things and are able to go out to dinner, but have not really had to worry about paying our bills or buying groceries. Seeing our spending habits lately has made me think of ways we can cut back and start saving more money; in case we do come to a time when we need it. Luckily I have a really great husband who excellent with money and budgeting, but what was I willing to do to contribute? So I googled ways to cut back on spending here is what came up.

1. Cook at home more often.
- We eat out quite frequently. The weekend comes and all we do is go to dinner or lunch. We definitlely can be better at this! Jonny you will now be taking lunch to work!
2. Brown bag lunch at least of few days.
- I take lunch everyday. There is occasionally a time when I dont and will eat out, but Jonny eats out everyday!
3. Make list before going grocery shopping.
- I am a master list maker. I make lists for everything grocery shopping included. The problem with this is we just end up adding crap that we dont need to the list.
4. Disconnect land line if possible.
- We do not have a landline, but our cell phone bill is pretty high. So think of ways to cut back cellphone costs.
5. Avoid impulse buying.
- Jonny and I are awful at this. If we want it, we buy it. We really need to start buying things we absolutely need.
6.Finally, keep distance from lavish, high-roller friends.
- So to all of our high-roller friends keep away, we cant keep up with your lifestyle! haha

Memorial Day

2009-05-27T18:24:00.000-07:00

Jonny and I didnt have any real big plans for Memorial Day since his family was camping and we didnt go. We decided Saturday to hike to Timp Cave. I dont have any pictures since we decided not to bring our camera with us. It is actually good we dont have pictures because we could barely make it up the freakin trail! We both hadn't hiked it since we were younger and it is a lot harder than we thought it was going to be! Needless to say we are both out of shape!

Later that day we decided to go watch Jonny's brother Jace in his baseball tournament. We dont get to see him very often so we take every chance we can get. He plays catcher was awesome. They had won there previous game 10-0, but lost the second game.

On Memorial Day we decided to go to the Zoo. We had my sister Abbey with us so we had Brooke and Macee come with us. The Zoo was super crowded but Macee had so much fun looking at the animals.

Taylor Swift Concert

2009-05-27T17:41:00.000-07:00

I went to the Taylor Swift concert with my mom and sisters. She was absolutely amazing! It was the best concert I have ever been too. She was so fun to watch and was such a good singer live. I was most impressed at how humble she was. There was a point when she just stood there for a few minutes took out her earphones and just listened to the crowd cheering for her. She was seriously so cute! I only took a few pictures since I was too busy having agood time!

Here very last song was my favorite. I didnt get a very good video of it so I stole it from Youtube.

The Rest of Washington DC

2009-04-20T09:11:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to finish posting our DC pictures. We have tons of pictures so here are a few more of a couple things we did while we were there.

We went to the Navel Academy in Annapolis, MD. Annapolis is absolutely beautiful, it had great shopping and great food!

Mount Vernon was one of my favorite things we did. It amazes me that George Washington actually live in this house.

Washington DC- Day 2

2009-03-29T18:28:00.000-07:00

On day 2 we had a late start with our jet lag and the two hour time difference. We were scheduled for a private tour of the Capitol and barely got there in time. We were able to get a private tour thanks to one of Ashlee's roommates who works for Senator Harry Reid. We were able to watch the Senate in session and visit the crypt which is the very center of Washington DC and where they had planned to bury George Washington.

This is a picture of the dome in the Rotunda of the Capitol.

Here we are standing in the very center of Washington DC.

After our tour of the Capitol we wanted to go and see and a few museums, but by the time we got there, they were closed, so we just hung around The Mall and took some pictures.

Washington DC- Day 1

2009-03-27T07:52:00.000-07:00

Our first evening in Washington DC was pretty uneventful. Since it was St. Patrick's Day we had planned to go watch some Celtic Dancers at the Kennedy Center and then go to an Irish Pub for dinner. When we arrived at the Kennedy Center there were so many people we could not even see the dancers! So instead of watching the dancer we went out and took some pictures of the Kennedy Center and the Potomac River.

Next to the Kennedy Center is Watergate Office Building, which is where Condoleezza Rice now lives.
We then rode the Metro to Chinatown for dinner. We had originally planned to go to an Irish pub, but when we got there, the line was out the door. So we had dinner at this little BBQ place.

After dinner we decided to go and see the Monuments at night. We first went to the Lincoln Monument, which was so amazing! We then walked around to a few other monuments but didn't really see a whole since it was freezing and we were tired.

That is all we did for Day 1, which seems like so much in just the few hours we had been there. I will post Day 2 later and there will be more pictures to come!

We're Back!

2009-03-24T07:40:00.000-07:00

We are back from Washinton DC, we had a great time! I will do a long post with lots of pictures later!

Big Love

2009-03-09T13:30:00.000-07:00

I am completely shocked at the things that are going on around me in the world and in the media. Today as I was checking my Facebook, I saw there were many people joining the group Boycott HBO. It caught my attention so I decided to check it out and this is what I saw:

"On Sunday March 15th, the HBO show Big Love is showing an episode containing an excommunication as well as temple ceremonies. They hired an ex-member to help re-create the ceremony, rooms, and clothing."

I thought there is no way this could be really happening. But if you look in the current TV Guide you will see a woman dressed in Temple clothing (which by the way are pretty close to the real thing). There is also a synopsis of next weeks episode which states the above. I am completely shocked!

KSL News has an article on it and it has statement from the producers and the Church. Here is what the producer said: "Executive Producer Mark Olsen hired a former member of the LDS Church to consult with set and wardrobe designers to re-create the ceremonies, including clothing and certain rooms inside the temple. He insists it's not intended for shock value, it's simple a very important part of the story."

A statement released by the LDS Church called on members not to overreact. It said in part, "Despite earlier assurances from HBO it once again blurs the distinctions between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the shows fictional non-Mormon characters and their practices. Such things say much more about the insensitivities of writers, producers and TV executives than they say about Latter-day Saints.

I am just amazed at how much Satan is in power. This has helped remind me to not get to comfortable in the world around me and even the most shocking things are acceptable to be portrayed in the Media.

Can you believe this?
How do you feel about the Media and Satan's power?

Here is the link for KSL
LDS Church's Statement

My Best Friends Wedding

2009-03-04T18:33:00.000-08:00

One of my best friends got married on February 21. Megan and I go way back, we have known eachother since 8th grade. We were always inseperable. We always had sleepovers on school nights, spent every summer day together, and even liked boys who were best friends. She was the crazy outgoing girl who didnt care about what people thought, and I was the opposite; shy, afraid of what people thought and always stayed in my shell. She has always been someone I could count on no matter how long it had been since we last saw eachother or talked.

When I found out Meg was getting married, I was shocked. When we always talked about it, she was going to wait until she was older and kids were definately not in the picture until she was at least 30. But I have never been so happy for her to have found Chase, they seem to fit eachother perfectly. She looked absolutely beautiful and I am so glad that she is happy!

Ice Ice Baby

2009-03-04T17:57:00.000-08:00

Jonny got us some VIP tickets to the MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice concert. Since we had VIP Tickets we had dinner catered by Costa Vida, free popsicles, and all the drinks we wanted. The concert itself was not as good as I expected. Vanilla Ice was very lame and only sang a couple songs that sounded like rap. MC Hammer was old and had to rest between each of his songs. His dancers were really good though.

I wish I would have taken some pictures of the people. I really just people watched all night. I saw people in Hammer Pants, all denim outfits, lots of neon colors and big hair. The night was pretty fun but was too long for me. They didnt even start performing until 9 o' clock. By the time MC Hammer was on it was already midnight, so the other couple we were with decided we would call it a night.

After begging Jonny to get tickets the best part of the night wasnt hearing Ice Ice Baby or ,Go Ninja Go Ninja Go, it was the people watching and have a good laugh at their crazy outfits!

Pay it Forward

2009-02-11T08:14:00.000-08:00

The Rules

1. Be one of the first FIVE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a free and exciting gift from me!

2. Winners must post this challenge on their blog, meaning that they will Pay It Forward to however many people they choose!

3. The gift that you send to your friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Count!

4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate pictures and comments!

If you are not one of the Top Five Commenters on this post, you can still play along. Go ahead and start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same! SO, REMEMBER...Pay It Forward!

Running

2009-01-14T09:25:00.001-08:00

I am not a runner. I completely loathe running on a treadmill, running out doors, any type of running, I just dont do it. Things changed when I started working at FFP, everyone I work with runs. Last June they all did the Wasatch Back and I was jealous, because for the first time ever running sounded like fun.

Here is a description of the Wasatch Back:

Think of it as a 178-mile party with 12 best friends. Teams of 12 will rock out to live bands, enjoy the wacky participant costumes, and make life-long friends with teammates and competitors. Teams will party along the backside of the beautiful Wasatch Mountains from Logan (85 miles north of Salt Lake City) to Park City, Utah (15 miles east of Salt Lake City).

I knew that the next time it came around I was going to do it. So here I am thinking that I am going to do a relay from Logan to Park City. I am determined to do whatever it takes! The race is June 19-20, so I have a lot of training to do!

Ogden Marathon

I saw that my cousin Ali was going to run the Ogden Marathon. When I saw that, I had a spark go off and I totally knew that I could do it. So now on top of the Wasatch Back, on May 16th I will be running the Ogden Marathon.

Jealous

2009-01-07T15:21:00.000-08:00

Jonny got one of these...

and I am jealous!

Resolutions

2009-01-02T12:06:00.000-08:00

I am usually horrible at New Years Resolutions. To be honest I usually forget what mine are by February. So I hope that if I publish them, I will be able to go back and look at them, and actually be able to accomplish them.

1. Work out more/ Run
2. Train for Wasatch Back
3. Have FHE with Jonny
4. Drink more water...and less Dr. Pepper
5. Read 24 or more new books
6. Write more Thank You cards
7. Attend the Temple one time a week
8. Have more personal Scripture study
9. Try more new recipes
10. Take a photography class

Hopefully, I will be able to remember these and really try to continue pushing my self to be better!

2008 Recap

2008-12-31T17:16:00.000-08:00

2008 was a pretty eventful year for us. We got married and spent lots of time with our families and friends. Here are a few of the great things that happened in 2008:

- We got engaged in February
- Lindsay moved to AF and started a new job
- Traveled to St. George and Vegas a few times with great friends
- Jonny's real estate business flourished and he started The Red Sign
- We got Married
- Made a few "major" purchases: Two huge T.V.'s for Jonny and a Nikon D40 for Lindsay
- Went camping to Lake Lyman with the Peterson Family
- I got my first ever flat tire and had to call my FIL to come and fix it.
- Went to San Fran and saw the Golden Gate Bridge, Lombard Street and Chinatown
- Moved into our first apartment

We have been very blessed with the slowing economy. Jonny's job couldn't be going any better and mine has been very steady. We are feeling very lucky to still have food on our table, a house over our heads and even more importantly great jobs that allow us lots of freedom. We have had a great year and are hoping 2009 will be even better!