May Recap

May Recap! Why? I don't know. Probably because I feel like SO MUCH HAPPENED in May and it was SUCH A LONG MONTH. And yes, I definitely think those caps were justified. So. Here is a little peek at May.

Hannalyn LOVES my brother T. She laughs at him, follows him around the house, wanders to his room whenever she pleases, and likes to just sit near him. It's adorable. May was good month for Cold Stone, and a busy one. Daniel worked a lot, but it was good for him to be there and help keep everything running smoothly. We've decided we have some really stellar employees and feel really blessed that they are so great. It's going to be rough at the end of the summer to lose so many awesome people, but hey, that's life. We just hope we can find some good new ones, too.

I loved that we had 5 - 10 - 15 and this was at 20 - 25 (well, it would have been if my clock was on military time). I just had to snap a picture. This was right before we went to bed one night. Our bedtime has gotten later and later with Beauty and the Beast rehearsals. Thankfully, Hannalyn sleeps in like a chanmp and so we get all the sleep we need, too. Rehearsals have been long, but very productive. I don't mind being out so late as long as it's productive. 

Also in May I got a couple of new toys. I love them. I have an iPod touch to replace my old Classic that stopped working. I also got a Microsoft Surface Pro 3. It is BEAUTIFUL and so much fun to use. It replaces my laptop that I sort of donated to Cold Stone. I love it so so much. We also finally decided to get internet at our house so we don't have to run across the street to my parent's to check our email. Daniel got a new calling and with that and being always on call for the store, he pretty much needs to be accessible all the time. Plus I'm upgrading and moving all my paper information for my students to digital-awesome-ness, so... we decided it was time. Hence the new toys and the new connections. It's nice - I can blog while Hannalyn is napping instead of having to try to find a time to do it at my parent's. Yay!

Daniel turned 27 this month and Hannalyn turned 18 months. That means she goes to Nursery. Yay! Mostly I'm excited for the child-interaction that has a possibility of happening there. I know that kids in nursery don't typically play together, but there's a better chance of it happening there than in our house where there are no other kids. Check out her first coloring project that she did in nursery (she LOVES coloring at home, so I'm glad it went well Sunday):

She did that all by herself. Two colors! I'm so proud. :)

Life continues on. We are happy and healthy and trying to figure out what is next for us in this great adventure. We are grateful for our family & friends that continue to love and support us.

Life is good.

What we love about 18 months

I can't believe my baby is 18 months old. ...nope. Still can't believe it. But ohmygoodness how we love it! Hannalyn is SO grown up and yet still contains those sweet little parts of her nature that remind us how little and precious and near to God she still is. Hannalyn is gorgeous - curly curly hair of undetermined color. Most say blonde, but we've also heard light-brown and red! It's fascinating, really. Her eyes are blue and seem to be determined to stay that way forever. We feel pretty lucky to have all eye colors represented in our family (except hazel, but since that's a mix of green & brown and we have both green & brown, I think that's ok. sorry hazel-lovers.)

Hannalyn can walk. She chooses not to. At times it is SOOOO frustrating to me because it would make life so much easier and quicker. At other times, I appreciate that I can still move more quickly that she can. I know that won't last much longer. I give her two more weeks in nursery til she's running about with the best of them, so I'm trying to appreciate her choices right now. :) Hannalyn is very expressive. Thankfully, she doesn't often tell me "no", unfortunately, she's usually too upset to say no and yells instead. Oh well. She is really very calm and gentle-natured and doesn't get upset very often. Only if she's tired, but then, I get grumpy when I'm tired, too.

Hannalyn loves boxes and bags and drawers and the dishwasher - basically anything she can reach into and pull something out of. We're working on putting things away. She does about 5 toys and then dumps them all back out again. Ha.

Hannalyn also loves music. She conducts while sitting on her dad's lap in church while watching me on the stand, sings with my voice students, and plays on her little piano while my piano students play on theirs. She loves being sung too and though she doesn't get all the words, she can get a few recognizable melody strains going if you're listening.

Hannalyn is a mermaid. She LOVES the water. Bath time is never quick because she plays and plays and plays and runs away from us when we try to get her out. She is also a thrill-seeker. Anything that scares me, she loves - being pushed as fast as her aunts/uncles can push her in her stroller, being thrown as high as the sky, etc. The faster, the louder she laughs. The higher, the bigger her grin. *sigh*

Hannalyn doesn't use a lot of words yet, but she understands A LOT. She knows a little bit of sign language, but I'm not consistent enough for her to know any more than she does. And just because she doesn't use all her words doesn't mean she doesn't know how to talk. Oh my goodness can this girl talk. On and on and on and on. It's adorable.

What else can I say about my baby? She really is such an angel and such a good child. She is the most amazing blessing in our lives and I am so grateful for her. I can't imagine life without her. She completes our perfect little family in more ways than I ever thought possible. She is so happy and lights up our normal-existence in every way.

We love you, sweet darling girl. Happy 18 months of life to YOU and happy 18 months of new-found joy and adventures and excitement to your parents. :) We've made it.

husband

Sept. 2011

Dear Husband,

Today you have once again made a successful trip around the sun. Congratulations. ;)

Today we celebrate you for all the wonderful things that you are and will be.

Today we remind you how much we love and appreciate you.

Today you are the VIP, top-dog, and head-honcho.

Today is your birthday. The day you came to this earth and started on an incredible journey.

Today I am grateful for your family who guided you on your path and led you to me.

Today I am grateful for your daughter who reminds me of you in so many ways.

Today, and every day, I love you.

Happy Birthday, Dan-the-Man.

xoxoxo forever

Two of Hannalyn's favorite things

1. Playing with bags of sacks. Even though I bought her a ball (which she does play with occasionally), Hannalyn still loves playing with these more. Maybe it's the noise? Maybe it's that she can bang them together? Maybe it's just how life works that kids enjoy the packaging more than the gift? Whatever it is - I've put off taking these to be recycled for weeks simply because everytime I think about grabbing them, Hannalyn is playing with them. Figures.

2. Doing laundry. Well... Sort of. What Hannalyn really likes to do is empty the basket and then pile everything around her and pat the pile and bury her face in it saying "Ahhhh. Ahhhh." like she is enjoying the softness...? Whatever it is, I can't complain. She is stinking cute and it is kind of helpful - until she fights me for folding privileges. ;) Which I'd totally give in to, but, well, you know.

Sideways pictures are the best, right? At least I got some up. :) Yay!

Beauty and the Beast

We were so nervous to audition. We really really wanted to do this show TOGETHER - not one of us having a huge lead and the other being in the chorus and never being onstage together or really being together even though we're in the same place. Daniel was nervous because he picked a great song, but was worried it wouldn't show off the not-so-serious side of him after he'd had such a 'serious' role last year.

I put a lot of pressure on myself to do a great audition because the last show I did with Julie Hansen was 'Beauty and the Beast' when I was in high school and this is the one show that I feel the strongest yearning to be in again. As a result of this imagined pressure, I caved. My audition started really well - I really got to the director and made her cry, which I wanted to do, but then she made me stop so she could leave and compose herself and then I lost it, too. I sobbed. And even though I had time to compose myself, I couldn't. It was the stress of auditioning, missing Julie, wanting the part so so badly, feeling like the timing was perfect, joy at making Taunia cry, and just . . . everything. Well. I lost it so badly that I couldn't get it back together. I sang my song, but it was weak and I cried the whole way through and I was embarrassed. I knew I wouldn't get the part I wanted and I was devastated the rest of the weekend.

When the cast list was finally posted, it was very bitter-sweet for me. My mom and Daniel both got the parts they wanted. And I got the one role in the show that I didn't want. My mom is Mrs. Potts, Daniel is Lumiere, and I am a Silly Girl (one of the 3 who follow Gaston around). Part of me was happy that even though my audition was awful I was still given a role with a name of sorts, but the bigger part of me was more disappointed than ever. I think I'd held out just a teensy tiny bit of hope that God would still make it happen. Before auditioning I was SO convinced that this was my year, it would be my last show - my favorite musical, I wasn't pregnant and so I could do it and nail it and love it and then have a brand new baby early next year. Well, obviously none of that happened. I bombed my auditioned and I got to deal with the consequences.

After thinking about it for a day, I finally decided to accept the role because I felt guilty turning it down when I knew my audition had sucked but the director had chosen to give me a role anyway. However, I determined that I would immediately reject it if I had to be promiscuous at all. If I got the vibe that the Silly Girls were going to be sexy and not just silly, I would drop the role. Thankfully, that hasn't happened and the Silly Girls are really just . . . ridiculous, really, but that's the name of the role. After accepting the role and showing up to the first night of rehearsal, the director approached me and told me that she was so grateful I was there because she really needed me as a dancer and wanted me to be Dance Captain for the show. I was surprised, but grateful, accepted, and have gone through 3 weeks of rehearsal so far in that capacity.

It has NOT been easy. This musical is so near and dear to my heart for a plethora (word points!) of reasons and of course I'm jealous that not only did I not get my favorite role, I also don't get to be Daniel's counterpart. However. I have learned a lot of patience and trust and I am sure that I will continue to learn patience through the remainder of this experience. One of the exciting things about being needed as a dancer in this show is that I have multiple roles. I am a Silly Girl, a Wolf, AND a Napkin. I am being stretched (literally) as a dancer and getting back into top physical condition so that I can do the dance steps and still sing. My body aches, but it is a wonderful ache that I haven't felt in several years. Dancing feels SO good. So so so so SO so good.

It's not easy. I've cried several times since the audition about the injustice of it all and how disappointed I am in myself and in the way things turned out. There are nights that I sit at rehearsal and wonder why on earth I thought doing this would be a good idea and that this is definitely my last show. But I think, in the end, I'll discover that it was worth it. I'm learning that there is more inside of me than I thought there was and there are parts of me that have been buried that are still alive and burning and want to come out. I am proud of myself for doing something hard - and being part of 'Beauty and the Beast' this time around has been h a r d. I hope that in the end I'll love it. Love is worth striving for.

And I hope YOU'LL love it if you come to see it. :) The show runs the last week of June and first week of July: June 22 - July 3. We would love to offer you couches and air mattresses and dinner and breakfast if you come. Just let us know when you'll be stopping in!

April Revisited

I only posted one post in April. But I wrote approximately 5. Don't worry, this post won't be too long. I've taken the most important of the posts I wrote and condensed it down and made it this post. There's not a lot to touch on, and I won't go into depth as much as I'd planned when each post was separated, but here are the highlights of our April (with photos interspersed):

-- I sort of posted about General Conference. It was amazing. I am so grateful to get to hear the voice of God's living prophet. It is always a fabulous weekend for me. You can read the little post I did HERE.

-- We took several day-trips to Salt Lake City during the month of April, one of which was with my sister to see the show that she choreographed at the Empress Theater in Magna. She did SUCH an amazing job. I think it was the first time I've really enjoyed 'Pirates of Penzance'. I've liked it ok before, but she really did a great job using the choreography to help move the story along. It was an exhausting trip - we left Vernal at 5 am and got home at 1:30 am, but Hannalyn was a champ and it was really quite an exciting adventure.

-- Another day-trip was so that Daniel could go to an all-day work training in Sandy. He had a blast and I got to see one of my best friends and my grandparents got to see Hannalyn. Win-win-win. ;)

-- I had the incredible opportunity to go to a super-fancy dinner in honor of one of my Snow College professors - Dr. Kim Christison. This guy was one of the theater directors that I worked with while at Snow and one of the two most influential directors I've ever worked with in my entire life. What he taught me didn't just help me on the stage - it helps me in my daily life. I'm not exaggerating. Ask me sometime and I'll tell you all about it (or maybe I really will write a full post ;) ). Dr. K retired last year and Snow College is naming the stage after him in his honor. The dinner that I went to was to honor and celebrate him and the hard work that he put into the theater program at Snow. It was a blessing to be there and one that I will never ever forget.

-- Also, the above-mentioned trip to see Dr. K was a day-trip made by Hannalyn and me all by our onesies. That's right. I drove 6 hours by myself with my delightful daughter. Woo! I was exhausted, but she was amazing and slept the whole way both ways. Proud mama, right here.

 

-- At the end of the month, Daniel & I auditioned for our community's summer musical. Last year we participated in 'Les Miserables' (Daniel was Jean ValJean and fabulous). This year the show is 'Beauty and the Beast'. And the audition is going to get its very own post because I tried to sum it up here and it just didn't work. The short of it is: Daniel is Lumiere (the candlestick). Oh my goodness - he is hilarious. My mother also auditioned and is Mrs. Potts. They both do a magical job and I really think everyone will love them. I sure do. I am so proud of them both. My mom especially worked really really really hard on her audition and definitely deserved this role. Yay!

-- In between all of this was a little bit of sickness, a lot of fun & play, and some growing opportunities. April was a good month. Overwhelming at times, but definitely good.

The end. And Happy Memorial Day! Give the people you love lots & lots of hugs.

Sunday Inspiration

I really need to figure out how to get my pictures from my camera to my tablet. *sigh* First world problems, am I right? Definitely right. Until then, I'm borrowing from friends :) Yay friends! And yay beautiful pictures of our beautiful world!

Again. Another old-ish post, but I still feel the same that I did a month or two ago.

Photo VIA

I read an interesting quote several months ago as I was reading through the end of the Teachings of the Presidents of the Church book that we were studying in Sunday School and it really stuck with me. President Joseph Fielding Smith said,

"I am praying for the end of the world because I want a better world."

At first, it didn't make sense to me. I thought about all the times I've heard people tell us we need to be happy with where we are and what we have and make the best of it. I've heard that we shouldn't pray for things to change, but instead pray for the power to deal with what happens in life. So I was a little discouraged and saddened and even confused as to why a President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would make such a comment.

Well, I've thought about it a lot since then and this is what I've decided: I agree with him, and I think I may even be praying for the same thing sometimes. 

This world can be scary. There is so much wickedness running rampant through our cities, schools, and neighborhoods. We are met on every hand by the cunning of the devil and his attempts to thwart our return to our Heavenly Father. At times, the trials of mortal life are overwhelming. But there is hope to be found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and in the promise of His return to this world in triumph and glory. I am so excited for that day. A little nervous, too, because I am far from perfect and the idea of being judged and remembering all my former sins makes me want to cry. But I am completely confidant that when Christ does come, it will be a much better world in every way. I am thrilled for that and look forward to that day with hope and optimism. 

When I think of myself praying for the end of the world, I don't necessarily mean I pray for the destruction of the world we live on. It is a beautiful planet and there are wonderful people who do the most amazing things every single day. Instead, I am praying for the end of worldliness and wickedness. I am praying for courage and strength to better my little part of the world and the sphere of influence where I work and live. I am praying for a better world - a world where I am happy & safe with my family. I think that this sort of prayer is a good thing. One that encourages me to hope while reminding me to work. 

I can make a difference in my little home for my little family and thereby create the end of the world as the world wants it to be and instead create a world like the one God has in store for me.

Never Have I Ever...

***This post is so old! ... Haha. Oh well. I found it buried in my drafts and thought, hey, why not? :)

I saw this one a friend's blog and thought I'd make my own list of 9 things that I've never done. Just for fun. :)

1. Broken a bone (my go-to first answer when asked this type of question because lots of people have broken bones, but not me)

2. Been further east than the Mississippi River. (which, looking at that map, actually doesn't seem too bad)

3. Enjoyed a peanut butter & jelly sandwich. (I only remember ever eating one...and throwing it up on purpose because I was a stubborn child and didn't want it. I've never had one since.)

4. Watched the sun rise. (It's on my bucket list)

photo VIA

5. Done the splits. (Even though I'm a dancer, I've never been able to do the splits. I've been close SO SO close, but never had it. I'm working on that this summer for Beauty & the Beast)

6. Had braces. (another go-to answer as braces get more and more common)

7. Had a cavity (I'm proud of my mouth. Is that bad?)

8. Gone swimming in the ocean. (I've been a few times, but only waded to my knees.)

photo VIA

9. Bought myself a pair of jeans. (This is sad, but true - all the jeans I own are from high school when my mom bought them for me or are hand-me-downs. Unfortunately, they are now all SO OLD that I have to get new ones soon. I know. Woe is me, right? :P )


What are 9 things YOU'VE never done?

Book Review: Bondage

The Moses Chronicles: Bondage. Simply put, it was SO good that I cannot wait for the next book!

I have loved each and every one of H.B. Moore's journeys into the men & women in the scriptures and this was no different. I love the story of Moses and Miriam and this book highlighted them both in an incredible way. The story was well-planned and the perfect length for a first book with an ending leaving me wanting more. The characters are fascinating and REAL. If you're looking for an amazing book, READ THIS ONE. I also have good back and re-read the story in the Bible I was so excited for what is coming next. This is a winner.

(And I'm not just saying that cuz H.B. is my auntie... though that does mean she's really cool ;) )

Find on Amazon HERE

Book Review: California Dreamin'

I LOVE TIMELESS ROMANCE ANTHOLOGIES.
Ok. Now that that's out of my system...

I really enjoyed this anthology. I was impressed with the "new" authors and the scope and variety in each of the stories. I have only been to the beach a couple of times, but man, these stories made me want to go back to California so so bad. Here's a little bit about each story:

In Too Good to Be True - Gwen has gone through a bad marriage and Jack is very rich and seems to have the 'perfect' life. They couldn't be more different. But when opposites attract at a meeting on the beach, sparks fly. This novella is by Heather B. Moore and was so tender and precious.

Gone Fishing by Kaylee Baldwin was adorable. When Claire goes to San Diego to convince her dad to give up his life of living on a boat and crazy friend Miguel and come home, she realizes how much she wants to join in their dream. Can she give up her career and her comfortable life at home and step into a new world?

Annette Lyon wrote The Pier Changes Everything. Alex and Michael go to the pier to get some closure and find each other. This story was very serendipitous and exciting. The characters got into my heart quickly and I loved their story.

A Hero's Song by Jennifer Moore was fabulous. A shy, quiet-loving writer and an out-going, famous rockstar couldn't be more different, but they'd once been in love. Could lance make AnneMarie fall for him again? This story had highs and lows and got right to the thick of the story. It was a romance, yes, but it also felt very real. I appreciated the authenticity.

Stay With Me is a story about Jo. A talented, smart woman who's life isn't working out takes a temp job as a nanny in L.A. She expects to do a good job, but she doesn't expect to fall in love with the kids... and the handsome chauffeur Fitz. Shannon Guymon's story was fun and her characters loveable.

I have fallen in love with Sarah M. Eden's writing through these novellas and this one - A Place to Call Home  - was no different. I laughed out loud and moaned when the hero dropped the ball. Stories about home are the best anyway, and so when realtor Ada is helping Craig to find the perfect spot for himself and his son, she is focused on what means home to them. Little does she know that 'home' for all of them will soon become each other.

Timeless Romance Anthologies. The perfect amount of romance for me. I love romances, and these short novellas provide me just enough of romance to feel giddy and silly and lovey-dovey. But they are also short enough that I still feel balanced and not too silly. ;) And it's easy to read one story in a short amount of time - perfect for me with my busy schedule and demanding baby.

Fabulous. Awesome. Romantic. Happy.

Find it on AMAZON   GOODREADS   BARNES & NOBLE