It's about time!

Okay, if you can't tell from the Picture, I am pregnant! I'm only about 5 weeks along, but I've been feeling it for about 4 weeks now, and I took a test (or two or three ;-) ) and the results are positive!! I also went to the Doctor yesterday and they confirmed it as well!

WE'RE GOING TO HAVE ANOTHER BABY!!!! We are soo excited!! Makayla is thrilled beyond words. She's already planning on the baby sleeping in her room. It's a girl ya know. Just ask Mak, she'll tell ya!

Anyway, thought I'd let you all know!

Friends

I just wanted to say that I have some of the greatest friends in the whole world. I treasure each and everyone one of you who have ever come into my life I am so thankful for all the good, bad & ugly that you have shared with me and allowed me to be a part of. For those of you who I don't get to talk to often enough, I miss you. For those who I get to talk to often, I hope you know how much you mean to me! I love you all and am grateful for your friendships.

The Madness

So, for any of you who have talk to me in the last . . . idk, year, you know that I have fully veto'ed the Twilight Books. I love Vampires . . . love suspense, action, thriller and horror - romance, not so much. I really only like/handle it if it's not the main story. I don't seek out movies like the Notebook, Nights in Rodanthe and other such nonsense. Now I did thoroughly enjoy What Happens in Vegas! That was good stuff, but mushy romance, makes me wanna vomit. I've always been this way.
Well, Twilight is mushy romance crap, really with Vampires mixed in. At least no one has ever disagreed with me when I have said that to those who have read the books. Even my best friends in the whole world have been sucked into this madness, and are trying their dangdest to convert me. I'm stubborn, what can I say!
With all that said, I did go to the movie yesterday with about 15 women from my ward and my old ward. It made me laugh so hard to see all of them together and eager for this movie. The best part of the whole thing was when Edward walked onto the screen the first time and THE WHOLE THEATER swooned. SWOONED! It was madness!! I laughed sooo hard. Robert Pattinson did a fantastic job, and when he was in Harry Potter 4 (yes, he was in a movie BEFORE twilight - Cedric Diggory) he was not cute. He still was not that cute in Twilight, better but still the same guys. I will have to admit however, that as the movie went on, I did start to understand the bit of the swoon that went on. It's his personality. There were times when I thought he was incredibly hot!
The movie was good. I was very glad I went and saw it, and I wouldn't mind seeing it again. I did also tell all my friends that I would probably read the books after I saw the movie, so I should probably be true to my word, it's just hard. I've stuck to my consistant protest for several months, but I can see the appeal. So, I will probably pick up the books, but I warn all you die hards now . . . if it's as mushy romance as I think it is, the first book is probably the only one I'll read. Again, the movie was good. I enjoyed it. The actors chosen to play the parts were fantastic! The movie was very well done and I do look forward to a sequel.

Adventures

So tonight, at Makayla's school, they did a free showing of Kung Fu Panda. We've never seen it. Makayla has, but Nate and I haven't, so we decided to go. Hey, free movie and any concessions we bought went to the school . . . which can definately use all they can get! So we talked some of our other friends into going too. It was interesting. The showed the movie on a big screen in the Lunch Room using an overhead projector. I probably would have loved the movie and laughed uncontrollably, but . . .

Well, it was a free movie, so there were tons of people there. Tons of kids, cuz again, it was free and it was at their school. They probably would have stopped talking sooo much if they had turned off the lights, but they never did. Either they couldn't cuz of fire codes and what not, or they just chose not to because there were a ton of little kids everywhere. Oh, and all Makayla wanted was popcorn, they kept running out of popcorn. We literally got popcorn 10 minutes before the movie ended, and Nate had bought it 10 minutes before the movie started!! It was crazy! Oh well!

It was a fun night even though it sounds like i'm whinning, it was an adventure and we gave money to the school, that's what matters. Although we are going to have to rent Kung Fu Panda so that I have any idea of what went on in the movie! :-)

Red Mountain Music Company

So tonight is a my final concert with the Red Mountain Music Company, 7:00 at Cashman Theatre. The main reason is because I was called last week into the Young Women's Program as Laural Advisor. I'm soo excited and I can't wait! But the activities are on Wednesday nights, and so is rehearsal for RMMC, and I haven't quite figured out how to be in two places at once. The other reason, and this is a very sad reason for no more RMMC, is that Jeffrey, David & Wendy are resigning from RMMC tonight. This will be their last performance. This is very sad news for me. I feel like as long as the choir is going the world is still spinning.

I first got intot he choir in 2002 because of my friend Leah. I have since made amazing friends and grown so much as a singer. Jeffrey is soo talented and has such patience with us. He always directs this choir to amazing heights. David is one of the most talented pianists I have ever seen in my life! You should see his hands when he is playing King of the World. Amazing!! And Wendy, it's rare when you met someone so genuin and sweet as Wendy Randall. She is pregnant with her 5th baby and so I completely understand the decision that she has made. I understand David and Jeffrey's decision as well. I'm just sad.

Thank you Jeffrey, David, and Wendy for the memories, the good times, the confidence and the opportunities that you have given us to be a part of something amazing!

Birthdays!

So today, November 9th is FANTASTIC day! There are three birthdays that I get to celebrate today.

There is Riley Farr, she is 3 years old today and the third of 4 girls in her family. She always makes me giggle and my very favorite thing about her is when she says discusting! It's sooooo funny! I wish I could put a recording on here so you all could enjoy it. It's awesome! Nathan is constantly asking her to kiss his toe just so she'll say, "Nooooo (with a little scoop), that's discusting!" She's a cutie, and I want to give her a Happy Birthday Wish!

(Riley as Cinderella at Halloween)

Next is Nicole, my beautiful sister (actually Nate's sister, but everyone thinks she and I are sisters) She is amazing and I am sooo grateful that I finally have a sister that is soo wonderful and we get along sooo well. She usually makes everyone VERY aware of her birthday at least 30 days in advance, however, this year she is pregnant with her first baby (YAYAYAYAY) I am soooo excited, but because of this, she hasn't hardly mentioned her bday at all, so I am doing it for her!! HEY EVERYONE, IT'S NICOLE DOANE'S BIRTHDAY!!! Love you Nicole! I am grateful for you!!

(Nicole & Her Best Friend Julie)

Finally, and very importantly, It's Cindee's Birthday!! I did a short mention of this in my previous post, but felt that she needed a full post about birthdays. I was supposed to be with my bff for this fantastic day in which I am sooo grateful for her birth I don't know how to express it properly. Cindee has seen me through good, bad, ugly and everything in between. Our friendship has been tested over and over but I love her so much that there is probably nothting that can occur to stop me from loving her. She is an amazing woman that you all would be as lucky as me to call her a friend. It's funny cuz she and I technically grew up together. We lived two blocks away from each other; went to church together for several years; have gone to the same school since Kindergarten; but didn't become friends until I talked her into going to Dixie College with me when we were the only two Seniors in our Seminary Class at Bountiful High School. We went to Dixie and the rest is history! I am sooooooooo eternally grateful for being the only seniors in our Seminary class, for that is what made us become friends, well, pluss we also had the same car: a 1988 blue Nissan Sentra. :-) I love her sooo much and don't know where I would be without her today! Cindee, I love you and hope that this year brings about amazing things for you!! Have a fantastic birthday and know that I would be lost without you!!

Great Website

So I've been on the phone all morning with my bff Cindee (It's her birthday! Happy birthday Cindee!!) Anyway, because I couldn't be there for her birthday we decided we'd be on the phone all day. We did ok with that, about three hours this morning. Nate and Makayla were so sweet to let us do that! Anyway, while we were on the phone I was looking through this funny little catalog we got in the mail, it's called Uncommon Gifts. It's got some very funny, very unique gifts in there! I recommend you all check it out! www.uncommongifts.com.

Halloween

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! I hope everyone had a great halloween and I look forward to seeing pictures! We had a great time. We went to a party at Carie's house (she's one of the founders of MetroMamma). Anyway, the McNeil's know how to throw a party! They had a giant bouncy castle on one end of their street and a hugemangous bouncy slide on the othr end. In the middle was a ton of tables and lots of food! There were a bunch of people there. Carie and Ian have a fantastic neighborhood where everyone knows everyone and they are al friends! It's amazing! There were awesome costumes everywhere. There was fun for the kids, socializing for the adults and just a safe, fun environment for everyone! Here are some pictures:

Here is Pyper (Tinkerbell), Makayla (Sweet Heart Bat), Riley (Cinderella) , and Amanda (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle - Raphael to be exact!) Hannah, Pyper and Riley are Mike & Amanda Farr's Girls.

Mike & Nathan - you get to guess what they are . . . Maybe I'll tell you what they are later. ;-) I want guesses!

Carie McNeil (Wonder Woman - Ian choose it and was VERY excited about it!) Leah Mamone (Cute Dorothy, her boys were the Tin Man and the Scarecrow) and me. Not quite sure who I really am, but someone said I was the princess from the Princess and the Pauper. I just like the dress, my mommy made it!

And finally, the Taylors . . . All of us together!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Forgetting my age and paying the price!!

So remember when you were 21 and could stay up and out all night and barely be tired the next day? Remember how you grow up and start sleeping more and staying up all night less? Yeah, I apparently forgot that I was 31 on Sunday night and decided to pull an all nighter . . . ALL NIGHTER!! Needless to say, I was up from 7:30 Sunday morning until 5:00 Monday night. Within all that time, I was in full "go" mode . . . super energetic Sacrament service, followed by an emotional devotional and 2 all out, full energy firesides. It was after that that I decided to stay up chatting with friends all night. Don't get me wrong, I had a blast and some really good talks with new friends, but when the alarm went off at 4 am to get ready to get on the bus to head to the airport, suddenly my body went . . . "okay, time to sleep!" It was not good. I made it to the airport, with assistance from Andy, but then about passed out at the airport. Finally got on the plane home, and, well, I can't sleep on planes. I thought, hmm since I stayed up all night I should be able to sleep at least a little. WRONG!!! There were a couple of old ladies in front of us that were talking loudly the whole flight. There was turbulence on the flight as well, which i am SOOO not a fan of, but being as tired as i was, I was able to relax through it. Score 1 for staying up all night. Then I got home and still wasn't able to sleep. I was picking friends up from the airport, helping Nicole, and taking Makayla to the Doctor . It's now Sunday, a full week later, and I am still tired, plus I got a nasty cold and am still fighting that.

Please, someone remind me next time that I'm not 21 anymore!!

SUV Choir

Ok, so for those of you who don't know, the SUV Choir is the Saints Unified Voices Choir that is directed by Glady Knight. Once a month (usually) we go to a city and do a musical fireside. It's absolutely amazing and I am soooo grateful and excited that I getto be a part of it. I've been in it for a little over a year now and I have made some amazing friends and grown so much!! How could you not when you are out doing missionary work?

Well, this past weekend we were in Seattle. LOVE IT THERE!! And for those of you who think it only ever rains in Seattle, here is a photo proving otherwise:

It was so beautiful! We started our Saturday out eating at this fanstastic little restaurant called The King Fish Cafe, compliments of Bryce - love you Bryce!! It was fantastic! Yummy food!! Our choir filled the whole restaurant!

Our Saturday prformaces were amazing! It's so amazing to be up there and to watch a change come over people in the audience. I really wish that I had gone on a mission! If it was half as good as this, it would have been well worth it! Well, there's always a couples mission when we're older. Anyway, the funniest, yes I said funniest, part about Saturday night, was when the stake president said, "Ya know, I don't say the word awesome very often, but this CD is great!" (He was talking about the One Voice CD that the choir put out 5 years ago) I thought i was ging to die of laughter!! Seriously the running joke the rest of the weekend. My friend Scott came Saturday evening and that was really good to see him. I'm very glad he came.

Sunday was even better! It started off with church at a Samoan ward. Those people sang so well and with so much energy & love that I didn't even want to sing and fight against what they were doing! Even though the whole service was in Samoan, I felt the spirit was so strong! The firesides were awesome! I wonder all the time how it can ever be better than the one that we do before, and yet, it's always amazing! Sunday, everyone was dead on! Gladys was more amazing than I think I have ever heard her! She totally about blew the roof off the building! The audience Sunday @ 8 was soooo energetic! Our soloists were awesome!! When Jay sang Via Dolorosa, I bawled like a baby! It is such an amazing song!

My choir family is absolutely awesome! We have so much fun together! I had spent this weekend getting to know a couple of people a little better. I had so much fun with my new friends Andy Mathusek and Michael Thomas. If you ever want to laugh uncontrollably, hang out with these two! They are in their own little world, but they will let anyone and everyone in who wants to come! Thanks guys for a great time! (Right to left - Andy, MT & Sprout aka Michael Goedel)

Then there is my dear, and amazing friend Leah! She makes everyone look beautiful! She had a line of people who wanted her to do their makeup - and she did it! She is so full of love and life and I totally look up to her. Leah, I love you always!! You're awesome! I also got to room with Rashida. She and I have been friend for about 6 years, and it was fun to be her roomie! (left to right Rashida, me and Leah)

If any of you ever have the chance to see it, don't pass it up!! You will get a renewal of faith and a testimony builder. I have been so blessed by this choir! It has strengthened my testimony every time I get to go.

Patience

Okay, I need to do another post, but I feel like my life never slows down and every moment I am behind another day or two!!

Quick run down, I went to Sara Bareilles last weekend with my cute friend KT!! SO MUCH FUN!! I promise to write more on that later. Also, I am headed off to Seattle this weekend with the SUV Choir to spread the word there. I AM SO EXCITED I CAN HARDLY STAND IT!

I promise that when I get home from Seattle, I will fill in the blanks and give more deets about the happenings and events of the Nathan Taylor clan.

Sunday Conference - 2 in 1

I missed Saturday afternoon, so there is no report there, and Sunday afternoon I had a roomful of little girls, so the notes are much shorter. But here it is anyway.

Sunday Morning Session:

President Eyring - Unity is coming - it's been the topic of talks for years. "We are doing better," but it will be harder in the future to maintain unity, but we can do it. We can't have unity as individuals - WE have to do it together. Unity brings us joy. 3 principals of unity:

1. Revelation - the only way our hearts can know the truth
2. Humble - pride is the great enemy of unity. The children of God have more in common than they have differences. Differences can help us grow
3. Speak well of each other - "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all."

Elder Hales: Contention - nothing good comes from it. Love our enemies - it takes Faith & Strength & Christian Courage. "Standing with the Savior takes Christian Courage." We must never become contentious when discussing our religion. Meekness is not weakness, it's Christian courage. True disciples speak with quite confidence, not boastful pride. High ground is whee the light is - the first light in the morning and the last light at night.

Keith McMullin: A man filled with the love of God is no content with blessing his family alone - he wants to bless the whole world. Church Welfare Program is heavens help in practical ways. Another way to ask for help is to pray - he won't always take our afflictions from us, but he will comfort us through them.

Elaine Dalton: "In the strength of the Lord, I can do all things." Return to virtue. One virtuous Young Man or Young Woman can change the world. We need to exercise more self discipline.

Elder Ballard: Pioneers - Saints driven west. No enemy will stop or frustrate the progress of the word/work of God. we have 13 + million members, and last year (2007) the 1 millionth missionary was called to serve in this dispensation. No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing. From Joseph Smith to Thomas S. Monson, the church has gone forth boldly, nobly and independently. Much has been done, but much more is still to be done. We are all needed - we cannot sit back and be idol. We must Believe, work, serve, and overcome and those who came before us did. He isn't asking us to die as marters, but He is asking us to live a disciples life.

President Monson: Nothing is as constant as change. "Lessons in this life help us distinguish between what is important and what is not." There is no tomorrow to remember if we don't do something today. Do not assume that those around us know we love them, we need to tell them more. Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved. Be happy in whatever place you're in. "No room in the Inn" was not a singular rejection of the savior, just the first - yet He still invites us to come unto him. We need to adapt to changes in our lives, enjoy the journey, Realize what is important.

Sunday Afternoon:

Pres Packer: Saints persecuted and driven out of Missouri. In every nation we are to be law abiding, contributing citizens.

Elder Nelson: Men and women are that we might have joy. We will have joy as we obey Gods commands. "Marriage between a man and woman is sacred It is ordained of God." Salvation is an individual matter - exaltation is a couples matter. The earth was formed and the Church restored so that families could be sealed for eternity. Marriage is not just between husband and wife, it involves God as well. No blessings will be withheld from faithful latter day saints.

William Oswald: 3 Essentials to effective teaching:

1. Show love to those you teach & call them by name
2. Teach from the scriptures
3. encourage the pondering of Gospel truths.

Eduardo Gavarret: Our homes. Family homes, ward homes, stake homes. We have responsibility to help those who aren't here with us.

Carlos Godoy: Testimonies. The spirit is not a loud and booming voice, it's calm, quiet, gentle.

Elder Cook: Unfortunately, i didn't get to hear this one. :-(

President Monson: may we remember the words spoken at these conference sessions. Heavenly Father is mindful of the challenges we face. may we be men and women of honestly and integrity. May we be mindful of others around us.

Sat Morning Conference

President Monson: 5 New Temples!! Calgary Alberta Canada - Yeah Olson!! Greater Kansas Area, Kansas; Pittsburg Pennsylvania; Argentina (can't remember city name); and Rome, Italy. YAY YAY YAY!!

Elder Perry: Todays world, and getting back to the basics. Such a relevant talk to the things that we deal with today. Modesty, morality, financial struggles. LOVE HIM!!

Sister Allred: How to be a better missionary.

Neil L. Anderson: Faith is a decision. We need to have faith as little children, "except ye become as little children, ye can in no wise enter into the kingdon of God."

Marcus Aidaikuis: Book of Mormon - read it, pray about it, follow the direction that our loving Father in Heaven gave us freely.

Elder Oaks: Sunday and Sacrament; Sacrament is our part of commemorating the Sacrifice and atonement of the Lord. LOVING THIS TALK!!! Very specific on how we should act, dress, and treat Sacrament meeting. Spoke directly to the Priesthood holders who officiate over the sacrament about worthiness and preparedness.

Elder Uchtdorf: HOPE!! He is so full of love and understanding. A gentleness that I wasn't aware of in him until RS broadcast last week. Hope is like a beam of Sunlight. With hope comes joy and happiness, with hope we can bear our afflictions. Hope is critical to both Faith and Charity. Hope is the basics!!! "The greater our hope, the stronger our Faith. The more pure our Faith, the stronger our Charity."

Was a fantastic Session!

Happiness & Truths

So last conference I didn't get the chance to listen because i was having fantastic, and much overdo, girls weekend with friends from College. That doesn't excuse me from not watching or reading, that I know, but this year has been a major growth one for me, and since not watching conference, I have been craving it! Well yesterday was the General Relief Society Broadcast, and once again, was unable to watch it (last night) due to my father in law's 50th birthday party - Happy Birthday again Jeff!! But this time I did TiVo it and was able to watch it this morning. Not as much fun watching that at home as in the church, but it was still uplifting!

The General RS presidency spoke, and they did great jobs!! I enjoyed Sister Allred's talk about Temples - I always love to hear about the Temples, they are amazing and fantastic!! If you haven't had a chance to go, get there!! Even if it's just to the grounds! And I really Enjoyed Sister Thompson's talk on Service. She speaks very well. But the highlight of it was Elder Uchtdorf, who is awesome!

Elder Uchtdorf, for those of you who aren't members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is the second counselor in the First Presidency of the Church. He addressed the trials that we face as women, and did not, in the least negate or tell us that they weren't important. In fact, it was the opposite. He told us that every struggle, no matter how insignificant it may seem, is big to that individual, and he understands, and feels for each one.

Admittedly, I am HORRIBLE with short term memory, and won't do his talk justice. But the thing that stood out the very most to me, was instead of waiting and wondering where the answers were to our prayers, he told us to think of the last time we were an answer to someone else's prayers. I thought that was awesome. I have had people come into my life who were answers to my prayers.

While I was going through my hardest times, my bishop counseled me to pay attention to the spirit and do whatever thought came into my mind. I found that the spirit directed me a lot! And it was in all areas of my life. So, I am going to do my best, to continue to listen to that spirit, and hopefully strive to be an answer to someone (or several) prayers. I believe that if we try to do that, our own prayers would be answered, and we would have more peace in our lives.

I encourage all of you to watch or read, especially Uchtdorfs talk from the General RS broadcast. And especially to watch General Conference next weekend. I don't care what faith you are or aren't, there are fantastic words of wisdom taught in those 4 sessions and in this scary world we live in today, a little peace and encouragement is always nice.

I love you all!

Stuff and Stuff

Hee hee hee. I like my titles! Anyway, how bout a bit of updates . . . eh? :-)

Last Wednesday Makayla came home from school happy and ready to play. I went to change her clothes and all down the right side of her body were . . . spots!! Chicken pox!! ("the pox, the pox, how delightful the pox!! - name that movie!!) Well it wasn't delightful, but it also wasn't itchy, and she had no fever. So I called the Dr. They said they won't see kids with the chicken pox, so I had to watch them for 24-48 hours, if it was the pox then they would scab over, if not, bring her in and we'll see . . . yeah right, but I'll get to that story in a sec. Anyway, so she had to stay home from school on Thursday and Friday - no scabbing, no itching, no fever. She was BORED out of her mind!! In fact on Thursday afternoon she asked if she could go play, i told her no and she said, "oh this is BORING! Let's hope this doesn't happen again!" I laughed; Mak is funny! Anyway, Friday, same story second chapter.

Well Saturday rolls around, and I am set to go with Danielle to find a wedding dress (which we found and it's GORGEOUS!! Daniel is going to die!! Anyway, so Nate decides to take her to the doctor. Apparently our original Dr. has moved to California, and has been replaced by an older lady who apparently can't see!! She took a look at them and said, "well it's not chicken pox (duh!) and it's not an allergic reaction (never thought it was) it must be a bug bit!!!" Are you freaking kidding me!?!?! 37 bug bits and she didn't feel a thing and the spots had little white heads?!? She didn't even test them!! Well, it turned out to be Rosiola. It only lasts three days, and honestly, by Saturday afternoon, they started fading. By Monday they were practically all gone!! I'm done with dumb doctors and RIDICULOUS insurance premiums that we have to pay huge deductibles for!! I'm all about moving to Canada!! Veltman, make room for us! :-)

Makayla is continuing to do well in school. She is enjoying it and making lots of friends (and even has a little crush!) She won't tell me about it, but she tells Cindee about it and Cindee tells me. Friday, we had the Fall Festival. That was crazy and fun. Makayla got to do the Cake walk, get her face painted, get a heart balloon made, and have fun with friends from class as well as Thomas and Chase. I meant to take pictures, but during the cake walk, she was dancing around the circle and I thought i was going to die laughing!! It was soo funny! I did video it, but no pictures. Sorry.

As for Nate, work is just busy, crazy and dumb. That's my opinion. Although he was able to come home early and pick Makayla up from school, which she loved! He is now a veil worker at the temple which is nice. Other than that, he still tries to sneak in xbox time, but i told him no more shoot em up games around Makayla. So that's put a major damper on his time.

Me, I'm still working and being busy. I still LOVE my job! MetroMamma is the best job I think I have ever had. I've had struggles and frustrations, but overall, it's amazing!! Perfect I get to take Mak to school head to work, leave work and pick Mak up from school. So in her mind, I am a stay at home mom! It's fantastic!

Well, I think I might have blabbed on long enough. I'll write more often so they aren't as long anymore. Okay? Bye for now!

It's True!

I got my new computer on monday and it is AWESOME! There are a couple of issues that I have with it that we are trying to wor out, but other than that, I LOVE IT! It's been a hard couple weeks without the computer (we took our home computer down to the office for Snappy Thoughts), and it's really pathetic how addicted we've become to computers. When I finally got my computer back, I had 237 emails (I use this for my work email too).

So the last couple weeks there's been a lot happening. As I stated last time, Makayla had a birthday on the 7th! Her party was on Labor Day, which was perfect! It was a great party and she got everything Polly Pocket that she could possibly imagine! Please note the box of the Polly Pocket Mall that is bigger than Mak! And that's just one!

On her actual birthday, Nick and Elise had their cute little Logan blessed and all the Grandparents and some aunts and cousins came to it too!! It was a fun day full of family, balloons, good food and of course cupcakes!!

I can't help how much I love this little girl!

I had a birthday too. I am now . . . 29! Forever!! No, actually, I hated my 29th year, i'm really 31! Woah! I'm getting old! I like it though. I like my hair, i've put on a few pounds (much needed pounds) and i LOVE my job! MetroMamma is an amazing company and I'm sooo grateful to be a part of it! I am also a bridal attendant at the temple, teach Valiant 9 & 10 at church, and I get to sing with Gladys Knight! What more could I really ask for?! I am having fun with my life!

So much has gone on, and yet at this moment, my brain is saying, "i'm tired, stop typing and lay down." so I'm going to obey my body! Didn't get as much sleep as I wanted to last night, so gonna try to make up for it now!

Hope everyone is doing well!!

First Time

Okay,  so this is Nathan.  This is the first time I am attempting the Blog thing.  I have spent the last 2 hours setting up Shannon's new Computer.  I am extremely jealous!!!!!  It happens to be the coolest laptop I have had the privilege to use.  Now the Computer is being reposed.  Shannon wants to play with her new toy, so I will say adios.  Until next time!

 

Nathan

Mak's Bday, the short story!

So, I'm still out a computer and it's making me crazy!!

Makayla's bday party was on Monday (labor day) and was lots of fun!! There were 15ish kids and that many adult as well. My house isn't that big, so we decided to get a bouncy castle!!! Let me tell you all, that was the most BRILLIANT idea I think i have ever had!! Go me!! I'll put up a few pictures, and like I said, i'm still trying to learn more about this whole blog thing, and as soon as I can figure it out, I'll do a slide show of everything. But for now, here are a couple pictures.

The girls all gathered round as Makayla opened her presents. Let me tell you how hard it is to get kids to back up. They all apparently think that they need to be sitting on top of the person opening the presents!! It was funny!

This is Abbey, my friend Aimee's youngest. She looks a lot like her mom!! Parker, Ellee and Abbey (3 of Brent's and Aimee's 4 kids) all came. That was fun as I don't get to see them as much as I'd like to. They live on the other side of town.

I'll write a lot more when I get my computer up, but for now, i am going to go and clean . . . or something. Gotta do something with my day ;-)

Birthday Fun

Yesterday I got to have my FAVORITE meal!! For our birthday's, my mom makes our favorite meal; she's a FANTASTIC cook!! My Favorite is Chili Con Queso! Yummy Yummy!! I only ever get it on my birthday because my brothers don't like it, and since there are three of them and one of me, I fully take advantage of the fact that I only get it once a year . . . on my birthday.

The best part about it though is that my whole family gets together. I realized yesterday that I haven't seen my older brother Jason for probably 3 weeks, and my sister-in-law Stephanie, for almost 2 months! Ugh! I miss them, and they just live down the street!!

Well, dinner was about perfect (not enough in my opinion!) and my cake was great! Cherry Chip cake with Cherry Icing, yum! We just hang out and have a good time. Today is a new try because I'm goign to put pictures in here from last night. Nothing too exciting, and Jason and Steph left before I got any pictures, but here's us being bums!

This is my youngest brother Daniel and his adorable fiance (YAY) Danielle. Yes I did do that right! Dan and Danielle will be getting married on January 16th here in Vegas. We really love Danielle and can't wait until she is officially a member of the crazy Swint clan! She's a lot of fun and has been the best thing to happen to Daniel since his mission!!

This is my sister-in-law Garrettson and two of her three boys. Thomas is the cute one with the Popsicle (he's 8) and Hayden is my super cute, super chunky little baby face on Garrettsons Lap! He was born on May 14th. This is David's family. Can you believe that little baby chunky monkey came from that beautiful skinny thing!! I love Garrettson and the boys, and luckily, they live just one street over from me!! It's so fun. Thomas and Makayla walk to school together (with G & I of course). It's fun.

This pics bigger cuz there are more people in it to explain. From Left to right: Jordan Ballard, practically a member of the Family. Our families are about as close as two families can be. Gpa Mike, Gma Barb and Aunt Allison all love to spoil Makayla rotten! It's awesome!! :-D (those would all be Jordan's Family, and my second Family) Next is Chase, he is a mini me of my brother David and also his 2 year old boy. The kid is just about as cute as a little kid can be!! He is so much fun and full of energy all the time (unfortunately, he fell and cut his eye open last night, it was sooooo no bueno!! ) Then there's Mak, whose birthday is on Sunday Sept 7. She's gonna be 5! Oh, my baby is growing up!! That's my dad who is holding Mak. He's actually quite amazing, and I'm going to have to do a seperate blog all about the AWESOME things that are going on for him right now! YAY! Then there's my mommy. Isn't she beautiful!! She hates pictures, but I love her and I want to show her off. She' probably going to beat me to death for putting this picture up . . . bbbuuuuut, she'll get over it! Love you mom!!

And finally there is Roxy. She is my mom and dad's beautiful little dog. We got Roxy when we first moved here back in February of 00. She was just a tiny little puppy and sooooo fun!! She used to run laps around the house and up and down the stairs. It was so fun to watch her and hear her run around upstairs. Well, Roxy is now too old for her body, and it's falling apart. She has a buldging disk in her back which is causing her to loose feeling in her feet and she will fall over or her feet will fall out from under her. This has all deteriorated REALLY fast. She is probably being put down today. I'm really very sad about it. Although I'm not the biggest fan of dogs, Roxy is an exception and I don't want her to be put to sleep, but after begin with her all day yesterday, I would much rather she be put to sleep than continue to be in pain constantly like she is. :-(


Well, This is incredibly long I know, but it's fun to tell about my family and stuff! Hope you all have a fantastic Labor Day. We are going to be celebrating Mak's bday today! YAY!

First week and stuff

I have a couple minutes before I head off to the Temple to do my Bridal Attending . . .YAY!! I thought I would give a quick update on things.

My computer . . . well, Nate got it up and running long enough to do a complete backup so all my pictures and everything important is now saved. That made me fell A MILLION times better! And I was all excited that he got my computer working. Well, as soon as he finished backing up everything, it died again. It's not even two years old!! But eveyrone says, avoid Dell computers! maybe I'll actually listen this time!

Makayla finished her first week of school with flying colors! At her school they have a Red, Yellow & Green . . . uh . . . honor roll of sorts. Everyday, each student starts out with a Green slip - meaning they are good. Makayla has gotten 5 this week! Yay! But, lets be honest, she does have the Swint gene in her (and the Wright and the Taylor, and the Marley!) so with those powers combined, she's a bit of a chatterbox, and on Wednesday, she did get moved from a Green to a Yellow, cuz she was talking over the teacher. Can you believe it!?! ;-) Those were the only tears shed this week at school, she didn't even cry when I dropped her off her first, second or any other day. She is loving school. On Friday morning we got a moment of "I don't want to go to school," through her tired voice, but Nathan told her the magic of Fridays . . . and that there is no more school for Saturday and Sunday. That, plus her favorite outfit, made her just as excited as her first day. Poor kid, the next LIFETIME of school is going to be long! :-)

We are having her birthday party (and mine . . . sorta) on Monday! 3:00. You're all welcome! It'll be here at my house, and it's supposed to be a beautiful day. Not too hot! YAY! I'm so ready for not soo hot. I will officially be moving in to my 30's age group (after all, 30 is just the finalization of your 20's, but 31 . . . that's into it!). Makayla's official birthday isn't until September 7th, but Labor Day is always a good day to do a party, besides, Gramma Peg works Tuesday thru Saturday @ the temple, so it's pretty much our only option to at least have all the Gparents there.

Okay, i gotta run now and get ready. I have 1 minute before I told myself time was up, and I had to get in the shower! Ugh! Mornings! I'm sure I'll write more later!

Computers . . . GGRRRAAAHHH!

So I know I started this to write about Makayla and her adventures at school; however, this is also for me to write and vent when i need to. And I NEED to right now.

Computers = pain in the butt = frustration. I got to work this morning, and I use my personal computer at work with my own email address (shannon@metromamma.com) and then I have a work computer that I use for all other stuff. That way Carie (my boss) and I can go over stuff at home if needed. (it's fun! I LOVE my job!) Anyway, computer turned on, was going through all my emails from Vendors, customers and Carie, and all the sudden, my computer went *byoiiooooop* and turned off. Now, it won't turn on. I am hoping and praying that the hard drive is fine, that just my DUMB COMPUTER went "i'm tired, and done . . . goodbye!" I have all my life on there! All my pictures from the past 2 years. I will FREAK OUT! if it's all gone.

With all that said, you are all now going to have to wait for me to get it fixed, or at least get my pictures off it to be able to post any pictures again, which is what I was going to do today. Slide show of Mak's first few days at school. Which she is loving by the way! But I'll do that in another blog, a happier blog. :-)

Giving it a try!

Okay, now Makayla is in Kindergarten, and people always want pictures of her (cuz she's stinkin cute!!) so I decided to try this blogspot thing. Don't know how I'll do, but I'll try. This is all for now, as I'm just getting set up. If it all works and it's the way I want, I'll post more! :-)