road trip nightmares

Last Friday we decided we needed to go up to St. George. We did actually need to go up there, Nathan had to get the tools and equipment out of Grandma & Grandpa Taylor's garage finally. So we thought it would be a good opportunity to go visit the some friends, and eat at the Pasta Factory while we were there (WELL worth the drive to St. George, I'm just sayin). Anyway, since it was going to be a quick trip, Nicole decided she and Ryiah would go with us. See our plan was to go in the morning and be home by 5. We had a ward party that night that we wanted to be at. The key to those last two sentences is PLAN. Never plan anything. Something will go wrong, and you'll never make it home when you PLAN to.

Let's back track a bit. For a couple weeks, Nathan's truck would make this weird, high pitched noise, not so much a screech, but a noise. It would make the noise for a minute then go away. Also, his brake light was always on, and two weeks ago, his ABS light went on. Not good signs. We had taken it into Tire Works to have the brakes checked and the tires rotated, but they said the brakes were OK but would need to be replaced in the not too distant future. Well, they were actually right. The brakes weren't too bad, it was the hubs, and let me tell you, when the hub barrings go out . . . so does EVERYTHING ELSE!!

As we were just entering Utah, right at the point of entry, there was a HORRIBLE screeching noise, and suddenly, Nate was holding the steering wheel to the right just to make us go straight! Being in the back seat, I could feel the "grinding" that was happening, and luckily Nathan was smart and pull us off the side of the road, quickly. He got out of the truck and there was a HUGE plume of smoke coming out of his drivers side tire. Not happiness. There was no more driving the truck!! So, we called AAA, and my dear friend Evelyn to come rescue us. Poor Makayla was having a melt down. She was so scared!! Nicole and I were laughing and taking pictures. What else do you do? Nathan was over dealing with the truck and Makayla wanted her daddy, so she was with him. Evelyn came and got us girls and kindly let us use her car for the day. We did get the tools picked up, we did get to see the Despains at least & we did get to eat at the pasta Factory. We did not get home by 5, we got home at 10:30, and the trip cost us A WHOLE LOT MORE than we;d had planned. Good thing we had just gotten our tax return, otherwise, Nates truck would still be in St. George & we would be a one car family. We definitely count that timing as a blessing.

Well, here are some pictures to enjoy!

8 years, 9 days, & 25 weeks!!

So today, April 29 my hubby and I have been married for 8 years and 9 days. It's been a rollercoaster ride (what marriage isn't?) but it's been good. For our 8th anniversary, we went to Disney Land (kinda easy to do when you have a best friend who lives in LA and annual passes). It was good times!

I didn't do many rides, okay all I did was the Jungle Cruise, which I have come to LOVE being pregnant. Makayla's favorite ride is Soaring over California in California Adventure. She is sooo cute! I wish I had gone on it with them. Nate and Garrettson took Mak on it, and at the end you fly over Disney Land, they said Makayla squealed and cheered and clapped causing everyone in the room to bust out laughing! They said it was so cute! Oh, David and Garrettson met us down there with Chase (Hayden was left at Noni's and it was Tommy's Dad's weekend).

Makayla and Chase had sooo much fun!! We took them over to Tom Sawyers Island, which is incredibly fun! Not if you don't like stairs, but it ireally is cool! You could spend several hours over there with little kids. I don't remember ever really going over there, but let me tell you , it is worth going just for the bathrooms! Okay, the bathrooms aren't that cool, but the hand dryers in there are! I'm not kidding they are not regular hand dryers, they are like something that you put your hands in and it blows the water off your hands like a car wash dryer. It's freaking cool! I made Nate, David and Garrettson all go in there just to experience it. Gosh, the things that amuse pregnant women! LOL

As for the 25 weeks, I am officially 25 weeks pregnant today! YAY!!!! I'm getting bigger and bigger (as you can tell in the above picture) and she is moving more and more all the time. I love it!! This is what makes pregnancy fun! I'm slowly hitting the point where I have the mild freak out about the baby coming out one way or the other, but i'll get over it soon! :-) I can't wait to meet this little girl, and Makayla keeps getting more excited! She will come give me hugs and then give a seperate hug to my belly and give kisses, on my belly button, to her "sissy." I can't wait to see them together!

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!