.

What a whopper!

2011-07-02T22:52:00.001-07:00

Weighing in at 16 lbs 3 oz on his 3 month birthday! He is in 9 month clothes too! What a lil butterball!

Happy Birthday Daddy and Happy Easter!

2011-06-29T15:37:00.009-07:00

Brock's birthday fell on Easter this year giving us double the reason to celebrate!

In his yellow jammies for Easter

With Grandpa, checkin each other out

Grandma and Nix lovin on each other

Brock opening his b-day presents

Nixon's first Easter basket. The candy is pretty much for Brock and I...sneaky sneaky!

Daddy holding the little butterball.

Grandma and Grandpa were here to celebrate with us

Surprised he didn't catch the house on fire. 27 is OLD! ;)

Those oreo brownies are so yummy...if I do say so myself!

Hanging out with daddy outside for one of the first times. Brock is a little obsessed with watching his sprinklers.

Aw, what a great birthday present! That blanket is made by Donna Barney in my ward.

1 week old

2011-06-29T15:16:00.007-07:00

All these pics were taken when Nixon was a week old. At the time he already seemed so big, but now he looks so tiny in these pictures. He is growing up way too fast!

Look at that little tiny face!

I loved these gowns. Now they are so tiny, they don't fit!

If only he slept this easy now. He strated sleeping with his arms above his head like this at the very beginning. I couldn't swaddle his arms becuase he would get mad and try to get them out.

Grammy and Nixon

Nixon trying to get daddy's attention while he watches TV

He looks a little unsure about this position.

SO SWEET!

This was taken before his little newborn photos.

This was one of the first outfits I bought when we found out it was a boy.

First Baths

2011-06-29T14:20:00.006-07:00

First thing first...I am going private again. If you gave me your address before, I still have it. If not, email it to me at margombrown@msn.com, or leave it in a comment.

Little man has loves his baths! The sponge baths before his cord fell off weren't as pleasant though.

Poor little guy...we had no idea what we were doing!

He had a little rash after he was born.

Seriously guys, it's cold!

Once he was able to take a big boy bath...life was good! He would just sit so calm in the bath like he was just relaxing in a hot tub. He likes his baths just as much as I do! Now at 3 months, he is getting a little more active in there. He will kick and slap the water with his hands, he loves to splash!

Grammy was there to help. It's good someone knew what they were doing!

Awwww....this is the life!

This is one of my favorite pictures ever. Look at that cute smile!! He is so big in that cute robe. Love my little water bug!

Blogger has an app!

2011-05-25T19:11:00.001-07:00

I discovered blogger has an app for my phone...now I can post little random things when I think about it. You've been warned!

Today Nixon was taking a nap, so I decided to do a lil project. I love these little birds I got for my wedding...but they didn't quite match my kitchen. Nothing a little Krylon spray paint can't fix! They are kinda a mustard yellow now. I like how they turned out! I love spray paint.

Oh. My. Gosh.

2011-05-25T11:07:00.001-07:00

Def not the first....and won't be the last....but for sure the biggest yet!

Things we love about Nix

2011-05-24T11:08:00.001-07:00

When he's out cold and a lil milk dribbles down his chin

When he sticks his lil tongue out and looks like he's licking something...that's daddy's favorite!

His hot little breath on my neck

Believe it or not...when he poops. It's so loud and gross...he is all boy for sure! It's made a few people jump, Atta boy!

He is so chunky! 97% in weight! We went to the Dr today and he weighs 13 pounds 1.5 ounces....at 6 weeks. Homeboy likes to eat....which brings me to.....

He eats so aggressively, you would think I hadn't fed him in days, let alone 2 hours ago. He gulps and growls and snorts. LOVE IT!

When he buries his little face in our chest and rubs and rubs his nose and face back and forth. My mom said baby pigs do that...well...

When I'm feeding him and his little arm hangs down and he tickled my side.

When I pick him up and his tiny little back is arched and he sticks his lil bum out and looks like a stink bug.

His little smelly ear. He spits up and sometimes it gets caught in this little part of his ear...so gross. But I even loved that! (yes I clean it out, but before that its a little gross....don't judge me)

Of COURSE his little feet. I bite them everyday.

His lil fire hose when he pees...lil peanut has some range when he goes pee pee! It cracks me up.

His little smile that's coming around more and more these days.

The fact that he's in 3-6 month.clothes, and is only 6 weeks old. He still wears 0-3, but those are starting to get, ahem... snug. Why is this cute only on babies?

When he goes cross eyed.

His little cry when he was brand new...it sounded like a girl. It made me sad cause it was so pathetic, but it made my mom laugh. Now I miss it!

I could name a million things Nixon, but these are some of our very favorites right now. We love you!

Introducing Nixon W Brown!

2011-05-09T15:37:00.000-07:00

Wow, our lives have changed so much since the last time I posted. It is so much better and so full of love in our house. I'm afraid the doors and windows might blow off, we have so much love busting out of here! Well I guess I should post the story of how it all went down.

On April 7th 2011 I was home all day and preparing for our little guy to come...I just kinda had a feeling it was gonna be soon. I had contractions on and off for a few days. Well around 2pm I lost my, uh, plug. I really didn't know what to expect. I talked to my sister Jen, and she said she always had her kids within a day of losing hers...oh snap. Brock was at work super late, which is not usual. ASU had a fire and they had to work around the clock to fix it. He got home at about midnight, and was pretty tired. By the time he ate real quick, showered and got in bed is when I told him, "Uhhhh....I think we need to go to the hospital". No sleep for anyone! I was having contractions, and wasn't too sure, but thought my water had broke a little. So we loaded up and got to the hospital around 1:30 am. I thought for sure they were gonna be all, "Aww, bless your heart you little first time mom, go home and come back when things are really happenening." NOPE. They checked me and my water had broke and my contractions were pretty good, so they admitted us. That was SO weird to know the next time we left that hospital, it would be with our son.

After being admitted it took forEVER to progress. I was only at a 2 and stayed that was for a loonnng time, but was having a ton of contractions. They ended up giving me IV drugs for pain until I was at a 4, when I could get my epidural. Wow, those drugs were no joke, I was high as a kite, but not in a lot of pain. Bless those drugs. It wasn't until about 5 pm on the 8th that I was at a 4. I think the nurse checking and and accidentally really breaking my water helped too, it was so weird and popped! By that time I was in some major pain, and that epidural was uh-maze-ing! I think Brock was pretty relieved I had the epidural too. Around 10:50 pm the nurse said it was time to get down to business, and start pushing. It was a little nerve wracking without the DR there yet (she was on her way). My regular Dr was in North Carolina...how dare he! I pushed for 30 minutes (again, thank heaven for the epidural....) and out came the most gorgeous little boy ever. My very first though was, wow, he looks chunky....and I was right! 9 POUNDS!!!!! I was NOT expecting that!!! He was 21 inches long and a little too quiet for my liking. He didn't cry, which almost gave me a nervous break down. He was alert though and had really good coloring, so Brock kept telling me he was ok. Brock cut the cord, which was pretty cool. He was such a proud daddy, and we both were pretty emotional when we first saw our little boy. When they gave him to me to hold it was just so crazy. I just kept thinking "He's mine"....which was awesome and crazy and awesome all at once.

Our stay in the hospital was pretty good. It was so nice to get home...for about 30 seconds. Our bed is a little tall...ok ridiculously tall, and I went to step on the inside cupboard of my nightstand to get in bed....I had a lot of stitches and didn't wanna step too high. Well my leg was still a little weak from my epidural and my knee totally dislocated and I dropped like a ton of bricks. That hurt like no other! Luckily I didn't have the baby. Brock and Mitch had to come lift me on the bed. Oh boy...what a way to come home huh...only I would have something so dumb happen. I think the knee is ok..it's still pretty sore. Things have been great since then though. My mom stayed for a little over a week, which was SO SO SO nice. I couldn't have done it without her and Brock. Everyone is doing great now, and we can't get enough of our sweet boy!

I needed a lil oxygen, the drugs made me not breath too well.

Big daddy waiting and waiting to meet his boy.

Grammy waiting too!

Aunt Jen and Uncle Reed!

Grandma and Grandpa Brown

He was such a trooper and helped me through it all

Everyone is getting a lil sick of waiting...ok I was! :)

His first picture! What a handsome little boy!!!

This one just melts me.

Mommy getting to hold her little guy

All bundled up and cozy

His first bath at the hospital. Brock went with him, but I had to stay in bed.

He thinks he's so big with that hat on. :)

So sweet I could eat him!

Us just recovering and falling in love with eachother!!

Aunt Jen showing us how to do the car seat the right way.

Kyler and Roxy got to come meet him, they were so excited!

Ready to go HOME!! I am so puffy from all the IV fluids...yuck!

All buckled in and ready to go home.

We made it home!!!! We love having him here, and can't imagine our lives without him.

Oh boy, I am so behind.

2011-04-06T21:25:00.026-07:00

Sooooo, I am not too good at the blogging lately. At all. Working full time and being pregnant leaves little desire to do much else. We have been in baby mode full time for a while now, and there are still things I need to do. Never ending, right? Well here are some photos of what we have been up to lately. Brock has been putting together baby gear and doing lots of work around the house, like finishing crown moulding, hanging lots of things, and cleaning our carpet. Poor guy needs a vacation. Baylee wanted to help with the stroller. :) We went to Cali for my birthday. We hit up Newport, Disneyland, and the OC Swapmeet. Disneyland 8 months prego isn't the norm, but I still had a ton of fun just BEING there. I went on all the slow rides. Brock went on some of the big ones by himself. He's such a big kid. I didn't take the camera to Disney, because, well, I'm already carrying a baby! But I am CRAVING fish tacos from Chronic tacos right now. It was FREEZING and rainy at the beach, but we had to at least go eat our tacos there. So I am kinda spoiled...ok, really spoiled and had 3 showers. One from my ward, one in Pima, and one in Mesa for friends and family. I got HOOKED UP with tons of cute stuff. I am so lucky! This was at my ward shower at Sunni's house. I loved all the soft fuzzy baby stuff. My ward peeps hanging out. Little cowboy stuff Megan gave me...SOOOO adorable. This was at my mom's in Pima. I forgot to take more pics, I was having way to much fun catching up with everyone. Denise made this diaper cake. Isn't it SO cute?! She helped at the shower too. Such pretty girls! Kendra, Kloee, and Kapree. They made the other diaper cake below...so creative! Cute right?!?!?!?!?! Cami and Machael. Seeing this makes me feel the need to bust out a herkie. Miss the good ole Pom days. My friend Jenn. She needs to move back to Mesa...I'm just sayin. :) Uhhh Denise, why don't I have a pic of you?! Brock after the shower. He got to put all the toys and stuff together. What would I do without him? Shower at Jen's. (Told you I was spoiled!) Cute bird nest theme. Sydney and Roxy..such cuties. Playing a candy bar game. I sucked at it. Such pretty girls! I have lots more to post but that's all for now. Pray I can't post it because I'm in labor..only 5 more days!!!

10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1...Happy New Year!

2011-01-09T17:27:00.001-07:00

This New Year's celebration was a bit low key...and that's just how I like it. We didn't have any big plans besides lighting some fireworks, eating yummy appetizers and watching Ryan Seacrest's show and the ball drop. We did just that. I was lame and hardly took any pictures.

Some of our fireworks..they all pretty much did the same thing. I didn't expect a lot from fireworks bought at Wal-Mart

I made potato skins and jalapeno poppers from The Pioneer Woman's cookbook. As always...she did not disappoint. They were YUMMY!

This was from New Year's day. We saw The Tourist at the theater out at San Tan mall. Brock parked way at the back cause it was packed. Apparently he didn't park too well, because this was on my side of the truck...the side that was a tad bit over the white line. This is probably the nicest mean note ever...and it's written in pink!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-01T16:45:00.002-07:00

Christmas was a lot of fun this year. We were with Brock's family this year, but we still see both families. We were really spoiled! It was so fun to just relax and spend time with family. I can't wait for next Christmas when we have our little guy to spoil and watch play with wrapping paper instead of all his toys. :)

Just after opening our Christmas PJ's. I don't usually get actual PJ's because Brock and I usually wear just shorts and t-shirts to bed.

That's one heck of a smile!

Family pic. Just us three! :)

Tamara's pretty tree!

Brock and I both got Nixon ASU Christmas PJ's. I like the one he picked better...look at that cute hood with horns!

Brock and Baylee bug.

Little Preeka! Oh that face is too cute!

Kendra and Grandma. Love them both!

Kloee pretending to sleep. :)

KoKo! He is so sweet!

Kaleb got a cool string book. He learned Jacob's ladder in no time!

My mom's pretty tree!

Getting ready to go see True Grit.

It's so fluffy!

2010-12-30T20:31:00.004-07:00

We decided to head up to Payson today after hearing about all the white fluffy snow. We even saw snow for 5 minutes in Mesa before we left...not a sight you see often! It was such a fun day, just driving and hanging out with each other.

We had a bit of a close call at a stoplight. We were going super slow, but when we went to stop we started sliding, and couldn't stop. There was a car in front of us and we braced to hit them but we just stopped all the sudden, like we hit a brick wall. There was probably a width of a hair between us. I know we were being watched over for sure. It's crazing in those five seconds a million thoughts go through your head. Brock said he thought about our car deductible, and how much it would cost to fix the cars and how ticked he was that we weren't stopping. I pretty much was thinking "please stop, please stop, please stop, please stop". Whew.

ANYWAY, we ate at this little cafe that has been in Payson since 1967 I believe. It's called Beeline Cafe. Brock's shrimp was so good, my chicken was ok, but our piece of blackberry pie was thebomb.com. We drove around for a little while, went into a bow/hunting store, and stopped for some pictures. I loved just spending the day with Brock and going on a little unplanned adventure.

This is on the way there. I'm prob thinking, "This doesn't look too smart"

What a handsome guy...AND he bought me pie.

Pretty Winter Wonderland!

OF COURSE we had to climb a hill in the snow. Most people avoid snowy dangerous hills...not Brock.

I want to go back looking at this pic.

He's such a hottie, he's melting the snow! ;)

Me and Peanut freezing our lil buns off!

There are times I want to kick myself for forgetting my camera. This little scenery would be one of those times. It would have made for a cute little family picture. I won't even tell you about the time I saw a chipmunk eating a acorn on a tree stump, and my SD card was full. Well I guess I did just tell you, and I'll also tell you I was TICKED!

It was so cold taking these pictures. I'm sure I have frostbite.

My boots are buried!

We got home and it was still pretty cold. The icicles stayed on our truck! Brock decided to cover our trees, but we didn't have actual covers...a lil ghetto, but it works!

Homeboy looks good in a hoody. It's a once a year occasion.

And this my friends is a random pic I took today. This was on Higley, just south of the 202 by San Tan mall. I imagine this was a bumpy ride! The footprints leading away from the car cracked me up. I do hope they are ok though. I'm sure the farmer who owns this field saw this and wondered what in the world happened! :)

How you tell your husband he's gonna be a daddy

2010-11-29T20:32:00.006-07:00

I realize I forgot to post how I told Brock I was pregnant. We had just gone to Pima because Brock had to go look at a job in Wilcox. We came home and he dropped me off at the house. I went to Wal-Mart to get a pregnancy test because I was suspecting I might be pregnant...like...a day pregnant. It was our first month trying so I wasn't expecting too much. I took the test and could NOT believe my eyes when that little plus sign showed up. So naturally...I took another test. Another plus sign!!! The first thing I did was get on my knees to thank my Heavenly Father for such an amazing gift and responsibility. It was a pretty neat experience!

After that I hurried to the mall. Brock called and I told him I had to go make a return for my mom. ;) I had the idea for a while about how I would tell him. I went to Lids and got a hat and had #1 Dad embroidered on it. I got home and Brock was just getting home from the gym. I didn't want to tell him when he was all sweaty so I waited until he took a shower. Then he started saying how hungry he was. UGH! So I waited for him to eat. I was DYING! Finally I said, "Oh hey, I got you a hat at the mall". He said, "oh cool" but didn't act tooooo interested. So I went and got the bag and just kinda tossed it to him and pretended to watch TV again. He pulled it out and because I had black thread embroidered on a black hat, he didn't notice it right away. He said, "Cool, it's just all black?" kinda confused. Then he noticed and whipped his head around and said,

"BABE! You're pregnant?!"

Of course I started crying and laughing at the same time and said yes. He started crying too, it was so dang cute. That was the funnest news I think I will ever get to share. We went down to Pima again that weekend and Brock wore his hat. We had to point out to everyone what it said, it was so fun!

We bad

2010-11-06T15:21:00.005-07:00

For Halloween this year Brock and I were super hard core....right. I bought us some fake tattoo sleeves. I drew a few on Brock's neck too. Not gonna lie, I would hate if he really had all those tattoos, but he looked so hot! :) I "tattoo-ed" Nixon's name on my arm...such a proud mama! It was a fun night at our ward's trunk-n-treat and my sister's party.

Ohhhh BOY!!!

2010-11-06T15:13:00.004-07:00

Meet our little stud muffin!

One of my family's friends is an ultrasound tech and she snuck me in for an early ultrasound on Oct 30th......and it's a boy! As soon as she put the wand thing on my stomach it was VERY evident it was a boy. I said, "Is that a" and she said "yep, it's a boy!". Even Brock, who wasn't so sure about the first ultrasound and what he was looking at knew right away that it was a boy.

Jen was there too and all of us were so happy and crying. After a while Brock started laughing and said "I can't stop crying". It was super sweet. We can't wait to meet little Nixon W Brown in April!

I have more pictures but I need to scan them.

Peanut is movin!

2010-10-21T11:23:00.002-07:00

I felt our baby move for the first time today. Coolest feeling in the world!!!

24th of July weekend and Tamy's Birthday

2010-09-19T19:19:00.019-07:00

My SIL Marisol and her two girls were down for a couple of weeks in July while Bobby was away on business. It happened to be Tamy's birthday during that time so we went down to Pima for the party. It was a fast fun trip. We got to see Marco and Tufton before Marco deployed.

Everyone at Pizza hut for the party

This little guy melts Brock every time!

Tamy blowing out the candles

Us in 5 years? Ya, not so much.

The next weekend was the 24th of July celebration. We went to Pima...AGAIN. That drive seems so short now! It rained a TON but it was still a blast.

Brock wanted a pic of his truck with me by it...his 2 loves, probably in that order. Ha!

We had to climb a big hill in his truck, but I didn't complain because it had a pretty view of the backside of the temple.

The parade was fun, and very rainy!

That Sunday we drove up to the mountains for fun.

There is a deer in this pic if you can find it.

Squirrreeelllll. I missed the shot of a lifetime with a squirrel on a stump eating a nut. It still haunts me in my dreams.

He is making me VERY nervous. Standing next to a cliff, on a rock, in flip-flops. Annnnndddd heart attack.

Our old cabin. I miss it so much!

Kapree being cute as ever.

Kaleb...such a lil stud!

That smile is so dang CUTE!

Cute family picture.

Tamara gave me the idea to take a picture with my grandma's, my mom's, and my hand.

4th of July

2010-09-15T14:26:00.022-07:00

I am so behind on updates! I went through a "I don't wanna blog" phase, but I want to record the memories, so I gotta suffer through it. ;)

For the 4th of July this year we went to Pima. Brock's aunt, uncle, and cousin were down from Kentucky, so we had a fun reunion with his mom's side of the family.

I was put in charge of making the ice cream. Everyone told me how good it was, that would be great if I didn't have to ask Tamara every step, and she basically made it. :) I at least mixed it though!

Sharon, Tamara, and Colleen.

Brock and Grandma Angle

Cute Aunt Sharon

Grandma Angle and Maryanne

The cook

Sometimes I like this view better

Things got a little wild!

So happy to eat!

2 seconds before I demolished this plate!

Everyone getting the yummy food

The ice cream!

I got strict orders from Mitch to lick it clean....he didn't have to tell me twice!

One of Mitch's watermelons

These little punks threw firecrackers at me.

But since he's this cute...I'll forgive him.

The men shooting the bull....what they're full of! :)

The girls!

Brockly and Aunt Colleen

Dresser revamp!

2010-09-14T06:24:00.000-07:00

The next time I decide it's a great idea to do a huge furniture project in my garage, in Arizona, in July.....hit me. I love revamping furniture, but it usually involves paint. Brock made our bedroom furniture in high school in wood shop, and it's actually pretty, solid furniture! It was just a tad bit too light for my taste. I talked to a few people about staining do's and don'ts.

Luckily for me, Brock's furniture guy they use at his work was able to put the furniture in his dip tanks to strip it. I HATE that part of a project and was so grateful for him. It was even probably cheaper than what I would have spent in chemicals. Bless him!

Here is the furniture stripped. It is very close to the original color. I have already sanded the dresser here. I used 220 grit for the 1st sanding and 320 for the 2nd to get it super smooth.

Sanding all the drawers STUNK! I thought I would never finish! I hate sanding.

This is after I stained. I used Minwax Dark Walnut rub on stain. It was so hot that I could only leave the stain on for about 8 minutes before it got gooey on me. I would have done a 2nd coat to make it darker, but I knew I was going to glaze it, so I just did one coat.

Dresser stained

To glaze I used black acrylic craft paint. I know some of you are cringing, but it works, and the black glaze I bought wasn't going on dark enough; it was too opaque. I would paint on the paint all over and take a super damp rag and wipe it off leaving a thin layer on the smooth surfaces and lots in the cracks and creases.

Here is the the glazed next to the lighter plain stained door.

This is just plain stained

Here it is glazed

To seal it I used a miracle product. I used Minwax's rub on polyurethane. It is so easy, you just wipe it on with a lint free rag (I used a staining pad) and it doesn't leave any brush strokes. I did 2 coats to make sure there was a good thick layer protecting the wood.

Ta-Da. I took these before I decorated the top, but you get the idea. It turned out pretty good. I love the dark color contrasting with the aqua/turquoise in my bedroom.

Sometimes Charity Faileth....Warning Graphic Bloody Pictures!

2010-09-13T15:55:00.008-07:00

Ok, the title is just a joke, but kinda fitting. A few houses around us have been foreclosed on, and the yards have gotten a little outta hand. Well the people right across the street moved out and Brock was on that like white on rice. Meanwhile, I had to go feed my sister's animals while they were on vacation. I didn't take my phone in with me and when I got back in my car and opened my phone to this text.

"Hey baby, I don't want to scare you but I cut my hand and probably need to go to the ER".

Uhhhhhh. What? There were also 3 missed calls from him. I drove like a bat outta you know where back to the house. Well apparently Brock had just fired up his brand new hedge trimmer and some sales guys came up right behind him and yelled to get his attention. Who does that? He swung around and his hand got clipped my the trimmer. Ouch. If I find the sales people, I am gonna show them our lovely hedge trimmer..... ;)

It wasn't tooo bad once we got it cleaned up at the Urgent Care. They had to do the skin glue

stuff because it was kinda hamburger meat-ish. (Sorry, it was!) There is still a chunk of his finger missing and the nerve in it is all messed up, but hey, at least there's still a finger right?!

Aw, Brocky, why you so sad??

Ugh

I bet you are so glad I got close ups! The things my new camera can do!

So....what's for lunch?! :)

England Day 7: Windsor and HOME!

2010-09-13T14:11:00.003-07:00

Uh, I only took 2 pictures this day. We decided to go back to Oxford and pick up some more souveniers, and take it all in again before our flight. Oh geez, our flight. Talk about a nightmare. Because British Airways flight attendants were striking, our direct flight got cancelled and we now had a lay over in Seattle. Geez. 12 hours of flying = one tired, grouchy Margo! It was such a fun, amazing trip. I am so glad I had the opportunity to go. It's always nice to come home though too.

My mom wouldn't let me mess with him. Boo.

We tried to be serious. We just kinda look mad though! Ha!

England Day 6

2010-09-13T12:37:00.010-07:00

This was my favorite day, besides Windsor. We went to Oxford, and oh my gosh, I LOOVED it. It was such a charming college town and I fell in love with it. I wanted to go to school there so bad. (Yes, even though I JUST graduated like 2.5 seconds ago).

This was in the train station bathroom. I thought it was so funny! I got one and the "toothpaste" on it tasted like straight mint flavored sugar. The little brush did work though!

I kinda want to sit and read a book by this river!

This lady is from Oxford and teaches at USC. She told us she would walk us from the train station to the heart of town, but she might be slow because of her bum knee. I was practically jogging to keep up with her!

Such a creepy little cemetery, but I was obsessed with it. I had a ton of pictures!

Such good shopping on this street. It was in the heart of the town

Christ Church where they filmed Harry Potter in the main hall. We didn't have time to go in...just more incentive to go back!

This made me miss home! :)

I mean, how pretty is this!? I want ivy to grow on my house!

This is the Original Alice in Wonderland shop. I guess Lewis Carroll got the characters from the statues on Christ church, which is across the street from this. I was in love with this little shop and bought our baby their first book here. (Before there was ever even a baby! I guess wishful thinking works!) It is a cute Alice in Wonderland book.

Inside the shop. It is seriously TINY, but so precious!

Christ Church is GORGEOUS!!!!

My mom had to tell us what a Magpie is...I guess a person who talks a lot? So I made her get her picture by it.

Then we saw this on a door. Too funny. After that, I kept telling her to hurry up!

My mom by "her" bakery. This picture makes me laugh because she is with her umbrella. Our hotel gave them out and she kept losing it. She had a whole new persona with this thing. She thought it made her more regal or something and kept pretending to hit people with it, or would stomp it on the ground. Wow. Easy mom! :)

Yes please!

The science geek in me loved this!

After we went to Oxford, we visited my cousin Gerry and her husband at the London Family history center, where they are serving their mission. It was so neat to see them, and get to know her more.

This was such a cool mural in the FHC!

Such a highlight of the trip!!!!!! We got to see Wicked! I have been dying to see this and none of us had, so it was pretty cool. The show is there full time, so the stage is built for it. I loved it and bought the big book after the show. This is the only time I wore heels, and regretted it every step of the way! My feet, calves, ankles, knees, and hips were so sore from walking everywhere. Give me a break, I didn't exercise much during school!

My mom always looks gorgeous. Geez.

For you Reed!

This was the only dental place I ever saw in England. Hmmm.

This was SO cool. This old guy was playing Hallelujah, one of my favoritest (ya, it's a word, at least to me) songs! LOVED him!!!

England Day 5: Paris!

2010-09-13T11:26:00.008-07:00

Let's just get it over with and I'll say that I didn't care for Paris. Beautiful architecture, amazing crepes, SCARY people. Seriously, I felt like I was in the movie Taken. We took the Eurostar train from London to Paris. It goes like 180 miles and hour and goes UNDER the English channel. Ya, under ground, and under water. Not a fan. My ears popped like crazy, and my claustrophobia was creepin up on me. Anyway, I am sure I would have liked Paris if we would have had more than a day there, but I am satisfied not going back for a while!

On the train. Yep, I had to sit separately on the way there. Good thing I had my ipod with movies on it!

First view of the Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel tower is so DIRTY, like dirt and grime dirty. And there are hundreds of these guys with miniature Eiffel tower souveniers on these big metal rings. They shake them at you and won't leave you alone. I got really good at not making eye contact with anyone!!!

This guy was plain insane. He was a goofball and would act out all these crazy things and try and shock people. Of course Jen can't be shocked and just went right along with what he was doing. I think he fell in love with her.

At the Louvre. This plave was AMAZING. I could have spent 2 days just here!

Jen thinking she was pretty clever. :) Actually I thought it was cool too.

THE Mona Lisa. It was so small, I was surprised. Prety cool nonetheless.

Venus de Milo. There were hundreds of staues there, and lots of naked ones...awkward.

The Sphinx

The Entrance to the Louvre. You go in there to go through security and then go underground.

These cars went by with lots of security cars around it and then a ton of paparazzi went whizzing past. No idea who it was tho.

Notre Dame. This place was really cool. I kept yelling Sanctuary, no one really got it. Hello? Hunchback of Notre Dame?

The windows were incredible.

Some of the streets were so tiny!

We got more crepes here. I think I got mine with Nutella and whip creme.

A view of Notre Dame along the Seine River

I loved this huge statue in the London train station.

England Day 4

2010-09-11T16:12:00.015-07:00

Day 4 was spent at Buckingham Palace and Notting Hill. It was such a rainy day that day, but it was so fun. On the weekends on Portabello Road, they have all the vendors set up selling stuff. This was the place to buy Brock's souvenirs! They even had crepes with brown sugar and lemon juice. My grandpa would make it with waffles, and it is one of my favorite breakfasts when I was growing up. Don't judge me, just try it!!!!

It was the one day a year where they practice the celebration for the Queen's birthday. It was pretty cool to see all the different divisions of their military.

Whoa

The Queen is in here when it's the real deal.

This bird was crazy! We got so close to it. Stupid birds.

This is the store from the movie Notting Hill. It's a teeny bopper clothing store now. I was so sad I didn't walk in and see books!

England Day 3

2010-09-11T14:19:00.007-07:00

Ya, I have been slacking big time. I have been pretty darn sick with this little peanut in me! Anyway, this is the 3rd day or our England trip. This was double-decker tour day! I love those cheesy tours because the guides actually give you a lot of history and fun facts that you may not ever hear otherwise.

The very first Hard Rock Cafe.

This is where the Queen buys her underwears. Like I said, never would have known this if it weren't for the cheesy tour guide!

I just liked the statues diving off the building. It had to symbolize something but I can't rememeber!

Trafalgar Square. I was SO disappointed there were hardly any pigeons! This is in tons of movies, including Mary Poppins. Stupid birds.

The National Gallery. We got to see some amazing paintings here by Van Dyck, Monet, Rembrandt, van Gogh, Michaelangelo, and Da Vinci. My favorite were the watercolors!

He was a bit creepy, and not as good as the one by Grauman's Chinese theater.

A Guard by the Parliament building.

Westminster Abbey. It was so amazing in there. All the tombs were awesome.

Big Ben

The London Eye. This ferris wheel thing had glass floors and it takes 30 minutes to go around! We didn't go on, due to lack of time, but I was glad cause I hate heights!

I took a million pics, might as well get used to it now! ;)

I couldn't see Tink or Peter Pan, but I'm sure they're up there.

This square was filled with protesters of the war.

More of the Parliament building.

London bridge

Winston Churchill statue. He is one of our ancestors.

The architecture was amazing. You could never take in all the details!

Guess what!?!?

2010-08-28T07:44:00.001-07:00

April 12th, we are gonna be parents! We are SO excited!

England Day 2: Windsor

2010-08-03T11:11:00.012-07:00

This might be my favorite day that I had in England. Our whole trip was geared toward going here. You see, my grandpa is from England. His uncle Albert was the Dean of Windsor, and the king's personal Chaplain when he was at Windsor Castle. My grandpa lived with him for a little while at Windsor Castle, how cool, right!? My mom was in touch with the Archivist before we left for England and she wanted to see some of the documents that my mom had.

This is at the train station. I believe it is called Waterloo. It was a little tricky navigating these trains. We had to make one change at Slough and sometimes you really had to book it to the next train. Those suckers are FAST!!!! It would literally take my breath away when the trains went by.

Me and my hot sister. How she wore all white and never got dirty is beyond me. I would have been so dirty by the end of the day.

The gate to get into Windsor. We had to enter here.

We went to this little office before we went into Windsor because we had to get security clearance since we would be going where tourists aren't allowed. You opened the door to the office and bam, there was some STEEP stairs.

Such a random little office huh. Here there are with their badges.

Don't ask me why, but Jen was in love with this guard. It's ok, because her charm got us places a lot more quickly.

Outside of Windsor, kinda in the middle of town.

Inside Windsor

This was so cool to see. The architecture there was to die for!

Jen with a Windsor worker taking us to the right place.

We met with the archivist, Hilda and another lady. They were really interested in the correspondence between my grandpa and his Uncle Albert Bailey.

St George cathedral

Signing in at the archive

My mom and the archive lady talking about our family history.

So focused! We had a lot of documents!

Uncle Albert wrote and autobiography. My mom found one on the internet and bought one when we got home.

Such a cute ole guy huh.

All of us in the archives in Windsor Castle

They then gave us a private tour of the deanery.

This was an awesome little courtyard

These are living quarters

People are "buried" in this wall. Those are their headstones I guess.

The door to where the dean of Windsor lives now.

Even the ceilings were amazing!

More shots of the deanery

This is a big street in the middle of the Castle

My hot mama in the gift shop

Some random guard. I so wanted to mess with them, but they had some serious looking guns!

This is where we ate lunch. A cute little pub where I got more fish and chips.

Another part of the castle. It is HUUUGGGGEEEE.

Oh hi guards.

This was at ANOTHER security checkpoint we went through. And they say we're tough on our borders.

They fly a different flag when the Queen is at the castle..she wasn't there that day.

Apparently the Queen would watch her grandsons play sports and stuff here. Oh you know...William and Henry? No biggie.

We were looking for the princes. Oh well I guess.

I don't think my mom was too interested in Prince Charles...blyuck!

Just trying to take a cool shot here

Uhm, how gorgeous is this? English gardens are SO pretty.

I miss this place!

England Day 1

2010-07-29T16:20:00.004-07:00

Well I have put this off long enough. About 2 weeks after I graduated, I was lucky enough to go on a trip to England with my mom, Jen, and cousin. We had SO much fun. I'll admit I was nervous for the flight. After September 11th I am not cool with flying. Anyway, because I was so busy with school I really didn't research anything which isn't like me. I just kind packed and said, "OK, let's go!". Reed dropped us off at the airport, and my mom got harassed a bit about how much liquids she had in her bag. Luckily they didn't throw too much away. We left Phoenix at 7:30 PM on May 25th 2010. We flew British Airways. The plane was pretty nice. The business class had little pods and I wished we had one of those! There were little TV’s in front of each chair and there were a lot of movies to choose from, and a lot of new releases. I chose Invictus but got bored of it quickly and listened to a book on tape.

Here's mom putting her stuff away after they went through it. The plane ride was good. I took an ambien so I would sleep and it worked! Thank heaven! When we got to London we were at the airport for forever because lovely British airways decided to go on strike and our flight home was canceled. We had to change our direct flight to one that had a layover in Seattle, adding lots more hours flying. Awwwwsome. We also had to buy a prepaid cell phone since ours weren't international. Finally we rented a cab to take us to our hotel. I went to go to the ATM to get money out from my credit card and it kept my card! They said it was because I entered the wrong pin #...whatever. I was so upset and called Brock so hopefully he could get it figured out. That didn’t help too much because they denied me getting another credit card because it hadn’t been 24 hrs. Awesome. I was so mad! It was a little trippy driving on the "wrong" side of the road. I didn't get used to it and every time I had to cross a street, I looked both ways 50 times.

A lil view of our hotel room. We stayed at the Intercontinental hotel, and it was super nice. Bed wasn't so comfy, but we hardly slept the whole time anyway. There was way to much to see!

We went out after we got settled. I thought the street signs were so cute.

This was the entrance to Hyde park. It was right across the street from our hotel, as well as Green Park. So many parks! It was gorgeous.

Us in front of Wellington Arch. We could see this from our hotel room

Or course we had to get pictures in front of the telephone booths! SO cute.

For dinner we ate at this cute little restaurant above a pub. It was so quaint and unique!

Jen got a chicken dish with goat cheese, it was SO good. I love goat cheese!

I had to get fish and chips...it's required right?! It actually was really good!

We went to Harrod's that night too. It is kinda like their mall. Dodi Fayed's father owns it. (He was with Princess Diana)

Another view of Wellington Arch

It was a fun first day and we were excited to go to Windsor Castle, where my grandpa lived for a while!

I'm still alive

2010-06-27T19:06:00.007-07:00

I have been a little MIA from the blog world, and I have a lot of catching up to do...a whole week's worth of England and Paris to be exact. But for now I am just gonna post a few pictures I have taken with my new camera. It's been fun to find a new hobby. I haven't done too much investigating in it yet, and really have just taught myself tiny little things. I can't wait to get better at it.

Today I had to teach Relief Society, I know, right?! This is a calling I always said I would never accept because it scares me to death, but it really has been not tooo bad. My lesson today was on President Uchtdorf's conference talk, "You're are My Hands". If you haven't heard it, definitely put it on your list to read. It really has made me think about how I treat others and that judging is not a great quality.

My favorite story in the lesson was about one woman who had been through years of trial and sorrow said through her tears, “I have come to realize that I am like an old 20-dollar bill—crumpled, torn, dirty, abused, and scarred. But I am still a 20-dollar bill. I am worth something. Even though I may not look like much and even though I have been battered and used, I am still worth the full 20 dollars.”

There was also another story I found online from a radio host in Minnesota. He said, "Author Alexander Irving, in his book My Lady of the Chimney Corner, told of his sainted mother, Anna. She was one of those humble Christians who took on everyone’s burdens as if they were her very own. One day a neighbor lady came to see her. It was obvious the lady was in deep distress. She said to Anna, “I can’t make it through the day, Anna, unless I receive a fresh touch of God.” Anna suggested that they go into the bedroom nearby and pray together for that touch from God. They knelt side-by-side and began to pray together. As they did so, Anna reached out her hand and placed it on the woman’s head. In a few minutes, as they concluded their prayer, Anna asked, “Did He touch you?” The woman replied, “Oh, yes, Anna. I felt His hand—but it felt strangely like your hand.”
Anna quickly responded, “It was my hand, but it was His hand too. Sometimes He takes the hand of a bishop; sometimes He takes the hand of a surgeon; and sometimes He takes the hand of a poor old creature like me. It was my hand, but it was His hand, too!” Then Anna said,
“Christ takes a hand wherever He can find it.”

Ok, I'll stop with the church lesson now, it just really touched me. Anyway, here are some random pics. Have a great week!

This Saturday was spent at the furniture store ordering our new couches (yay!) and at home depot. I've been at home for a while now, and can't start working till July when my license comes so I have taken it upon myself to get to the "projects" I wanna do. One is out bedroom furniture. I am restaining it and antiquing it, I'm sure that will be it's own post. ANYWAY, while we were at home depot checking out stains, we found these cute little landscaping lights. They are solar powered, so they didn't need power, AND they were oly $4 each. Holla! I'm sure they'll stop working soon, but I think they add character to the backyard.

Brock busted out the keyboard Saturday night and started working on "Hallelujah" by Rufus Wainwright. I am in heaven because I love when he plays and it's one of my favorite songs ever.

I just thought this was a cool picture. I love those strong hands!

I'm a real hygienist!

2010-05-21T11:18:00.008-07:00

Holy Cow....I'm done! I FINALLY got my results from my national written boards yesterday, May 21st. I PASSED BABY!! I was sad they came after my pinning ceremony cause I wanted to feel done after that, but really, I am just glad I passed and it's over. Our pinning ceremony was awesome. My friend Mary Jane is from Hawaii and bought everyone real lei's. It was really sweet of her. When the Vice President of the college was speaking he made me stand up again for having a 4.0. Geez, these people are trying to kill me...my heart starts pounding and I feel light headed standing up in front of people! Well, it wasn't the last time, because Jenny and I were inducted into Sigma Phi Alpha, the National Dental Hygiene Honor Society and they called us up on stage to accept our awards. It was pretty cool tho, despite having to get up in front of everyone. I made the slide show for the ceremony, so that was fun to watch, even though I had watched it 50 thousand times! They read little speeches we wrote when we walked up to accept our pins...This was mine

I want thank my husband, Brock, for his encouragement, love, and support. I never could have made it through this program without him. I want to also thank my family for their support, love, and not getting sick of calling me and getting the same reply when they asked what I was doing: STUDYING! My favorite memories are the amazing friends I have made and the fun carpool rides we have had. I am so thankful for my teachers and their help and understanding. I will forever cherish the memories and friends I have made.

Dr. Kaz giving us our awards.

Us with Ms Harper

Class pic

Uncle Gary and Grandma

Brock-lee and me

I am pinned!

Adrienne, me, and Jenny

Jolene and I

Me with Mr. Cenerini

Ms. Nightengale and me

Our carpool minus Adrienne. Me, Lori, Jenny, and Amanda

Ms Harper

Ms La Voy

We had a fun party after pinning at my sister's house. It was a Mexican fiesta. Thanks to everyone that came, it was fun!

Brock, Mitch, Tamara, Jenny, Skyler

Jen, Sunni, and Travis

Jenny!

I love these two pics of my grandma and I! I LOVE her!

Jenny, me, and Elyssa.

I have been smelling my friend Lori all year because she wears this perfume. Brock was amazing and got it for me!

Roxy, Brock, Me

My husband is a complete STUD and got me the camera I have been lusting over..a Nikon D5000. It was unexpected because I talked myself out of it and told him to wait because I felt guilty getting it. I can't wait to learn how to use it!

I want Brock to know how MUCH I APPRECIATE all he has done for me. Whether it has been dishes, laundry, cleaning, making me food, listening to me cry or complain, or just being him, he has amazed me through all of this. There is NO WAY I could have gotten through without him. It has been a rocky road the last 15 months for me and he made it so much easier on me. I love you babe, thank you for being you! I am one lucky chic!

Time to party!!!

2010-05-17T14:15:00.009-07:00

Well on May 4th I graduated...and then I had to go to school for 2 weeks and still take a board exam. Pretty lame huh! All of Rio's classes are online, besides our dental hygiene program so the graduation with the whole school was earlier than we actually finished school. It made it pretty hard to go back to school and pay attention or concentrate. Our graduation ceremony was the the Orpheum Theater in downtown Phoenix. It is a really cool theater, and the ceremony was pretty cool too. There were 5 people, myself included, graduating with a 4.0 so they read our names and we stood up. It was actually pretty neat, and I felt pretty proud. I turned around and I saw a whole row on the balcony cheering for me, a ton of my family came to cheer me on. I love them!

Brock and I before the ceremony

Brittany, Jolene, and I waiting for the ceremony to start!
A view of the theater

Me and the President of Rio Salado (I think)

Jenny and I with our awesome purple and gold tassels. We are the only 2 in our class that are going to be inducted into Sigma Phi Alpha-the national dental hygiene honor society. My other gold tassel is because I got a 4.0.

Me and my sweet grandma. She is so amazing and I was so honored she came to my graduation.

My mom and dad!

Me, Candice, Bryce and baby Baylee. I have not held that beautiful baby enough!!

With Reed and Jen. These two ROCK!

Me and Elyssa. Or the dentist and hygienist.

Me, Mitzi, Grandma, and Jen

With Uncle Gary and Jen.

They had me jump in this pic at the end, apparently my phone call was too important to ignore!

With Mitch and Tamara. I am so glad they came!!!!

I came home to my house VANDALIZED by Sunni and Christi! :) I LOVED it, those two are awesome!

My last day of school was Friday, which was very bitter-sweet. Those girls are like a family to me now. No one else really understands how hard it was and what we had to go through. I am gonna miss them so much! After our last day of clinic we all got our clinical board exam results. I ended up passing with a 98%; I was so excited! I am still waiting on my national written results and it is driving me CRAZY!!!! It stinks to take a 6 hour test and not to get the results for over 3 weeks! Tomorrow is my pinning ceremony, which should be amazing!

Guess who turned 26?

2010-04-28T21:54:00.002-07:00

THIS hot tamale did. I am glad, because we are the same age again. For 2 months out of the year, I have to hear how old I am, and that I am a cougar.

26 things I L-O-V-E about this hottie

1. When his facial hair is in that scruffy stage-it pretty much makes my teeth sweat.

2. How good he looks in anything he wears

3. His obsession with hats-it's cute

4. All the nicknames he has for me-Sexy spice, tiny hiney, etc.

5. He is so worried and protective about me; he doesn't even want me to go running in our subdivision

6. How he is so obsessed with his truck and keeps it ridiculously clean. He is disgusted by my car.

7. When he belts out a song, it sounds SO good!

8. He melts at little kids, and especially little girls. My friends with little girls aren't allowed at my house! He absolutely melts and gives me the "When are we gonna have one" look

9. He loves teaching primary and handles the kids so well

10. He loves music and can play the piano

11. He stays in shape and goes to the gym faithfully..and it shows, yowza!

12. He built me a build-a-bear for valentines day, and told me how he had to kiss it's heart and give it a hug. Wish I coulda been a fly on that wall!
13. His love for Hurley shirts

14. He loves the sheets washed every week just as much as I do

15. He can build or fix anything!

16. Love it when he dies laughing because someone else is dying laughing.

17. He makes me set up anything electronic. I love that he accepts that I can prob do it faster

18. His priesthood blessings never cease to amaze me.

19. His grilling abilities are killer

20. He never gets mad at me...I am the one to get annoyed about something or get mad..he is so easy going! It actually use to drive me crazy. What's wrong with me?!

21. His smile lines around his eyes. Makes his blue eyes twinkle even more

22. When he tells me to go shopping because he knows I am wanting a new outfit and feeliing blah.

23. He lets me dress him..it's like having a life-sized Ken doll!

24. He makes me do his hair because (a) he likes how I do it, and (2) he doesn't have too. I grumble, but I really love doing it.

25. He is so helpful. When a house next to ours foreclosed, he couldn't stand the weeds and took care of the yard.

26. He is so nice to everyone and really cares about people

I really could go on and on but I doubt anyone is still reading. I love my amazing husband SO much and love him more every day. I'm a lucky, lucky girl!

National boards can bite me

2010-04-26T20:34:00.004-07:00

Wow. Wooooowwwww.

That test was brutal and long and yucky and I pray I passed so I won't have to take it again. After taking a test for 6 hours, I am SOOO done. I won't get my results for 2 weeks or so, which is so fun. I love anxiously awaiting my future, no really..I do. If you see me camped out at the mailbox for a while, it's ok. Just bring me a vanilla diet coke and some food. In other news, when I got home brock had pretty flowers for me and a $20 gift card to pizza hut. Random gift card, but it was SO cute. Love that guy more and more each day!

Holla!

2010-04-21T16:40:00.003-07:00

It's FINALLY that time! Graduation is on May 4th, but I won't be done with school until the 14th. I take my Jurisprudence board tomorrow, my NATIONAL board on Monday, the 26th, and my clinical board on the 9th. Basically, I need prayers!

I got a call from the President of Rio Salado College's office yesterday. The lady told me that I was 1 of 6, out of 3000 graduates that was graduating with a 4.0 and they are gonna honor me at graduation. I am slightly embarrassed but really honored too. Pretty cool I guess!

I love to see the Temple!

2010-04-17T16:52:00.003-07:00

We had the great priviledge of being able to go through the Gila Valley Temple today! It was so beautiful! We got to go through before the open house starts because they were letting all of the contractors and their immediate family go through it. Mitch helped run all the electricity to it and a lot of other complicated stuff that I am not gonna try and act like I understand. We woke up nice and SUPER early and left this morning and went through around 9.

We went into the new church right by it, where they showed us a video about the area and the temple. Not gonna lie, I wiped away a few tears. It was a really cool video, and I am so proud to have grown up in Pima. Then we were able to go through the temple. I hope everyone has the chance to go through! It is still crazy to me that my parents have a temple less than 5 miles away!

The only pic I got of it because they don't let you bring cameras in and I forgot to take more when we came out.

So the train derailed almost right in front of the temple. Brock and my mom thinks it's suspicious and were coming up with conspiracy theories. Well I wanted a pic of it because it's a rare occurrence since the train goes like 0.05 miles per hour. This pic is what I came up with...disgusting. Can you see the train behind all the sicknast bugs on the windshield?

What happens on the limo bus...stays on the limo bus!

2010-04-03T14:33:00.005-07:00

My brother-in-law, Reed, is a stud and wanted to surprise jen for her birthday. He rented a limo bus and had a bunch of her friend's and their husbands meet by their house. The limo picked us up there and we drove to Jen's house to pick her up...she was surprised for sure. This bus was too legit to quit! Complete with strobe light and two big flat screeen TV's. The limo took us to a restaurant in Scottsdale. Yep, there was a mechanical bull. Why wouldn't there be, right? It was a fun night with a fun group.

Want me to give you a shot in your mouth?

2010-03-21T17:58:00.004-07:00

'Cause I totally can.

My anesthesia boards were on March 12th, and to say I was nervous was an understatement. Like a few breakdowns type of nervous. Luckily I have a husband who knows how to calm me the heck down, and after a blessing, Brock's goofiness, and a loonnnnnggg run I felt a lot less anxious.

The morning of the exam, Jenny picked me up since we both took the exam that day. We drove to school and were there really early. We hung out in the parking lot and waiting room trying not to pee our pants cause we were a ball of nerves. Finally they gave us our name badges and led us into the classroom. It was at our school, which was nice, cause it kinda felt like home. You have to pass the written test to move on to the clinical, so that is a tad bit scary. There was math and a lot of medical questions. I felt pretty good about it when I was taking it and felt pretty confident that I passed it. They took us on a "tour" of the facility after that (basically for the people not from our school). Meanwhile, you are dying because they put your grades in an envelope and put them in the waiting room while you are on the tour.

Finally we went out to the waiting room and I pulled this out of my envelope!

Heck to the ya!

Next was the clinical test. You have to give 2 injections...a PSA and an IA. I went first in our class which I was kinda grateful for. I like to get it done and over with. The clinical went pretty smoothly. My patient was my friend Adrienne and I was her patient. I thought I probably passed, but they forgot about my results envelope and I waited for like 45 minutes while all my friends that went after me got their results! Talk about cruel!

Finally I got this!

Sweet relief! I was so happy that day was over! Now on to National and clinical boards!! I need prayers!

Here are some pics from our short little celebration in class.

Jenny, Brittany, and I

Same people, plus Jolene!

Me and Jenny. I heart this pic of us.

My other buddies. I carpool with these girls, plus Jenny. From left to right: Amanda, Lori, and Adrienne.

2 new nieces in 1 week!!

2010-02-27T20:23:00.003-07:00

My family grew a lot this week. Bryce's wife, Candice, had their baby..Baylee Marie Mattice on my BIRTHDAY! Who could ask for a better present?! I just saw her last night and she is GORGEOUS!!!!!!!

You can go to erinhouseholderphotography.blogspot.com to see a beautiful picture of her. Erin is amazing, but that's not news.

Bobby and Marisol just added Isabella Alannah Brown to their family! She is so cute with tons of black hair. Melt my heart why don't ya! These babies are making me hungry...and not for food!

Feelin' the LOVE

2010-02-08T17:33:00.004-07:00

Valentine's Day is potentially one of my favorite holidays. I can't decide, but it's up there! I think it's such a great day, to show someone how much you love them. Ya, I hear the cynics out there saying it is just a holiday made by Hallmark.....whatev. Even when I was single I loved it, I would go out with a friend or rent a movie and have my own date! But now that I have Brock, the holiday has moved to it's own level. I am not so big on presents for this holiday, just something to show you care. I hope everyone out there has someone they love and can show it, whether it be a parent, a sibling, a friend, or husband!

I made this video for Brock last year. It's so fun to go back and look at the memories we created. I love you Brock! You are the best husband, and I can't believe I got so dang lucky.
3,
N

Black or White?

2010-01-31T21:37:00.001-07:00

I need your help pronto. Vote for either the black or white riding pants.

What we do on a Friday night

2010-01-29T23:07:00.003-07:00

We need serious help.

Block heads

Is that neck for real? How about Brock's cute eyes?

A bit of a toothy grin

For some reason when Brock had this one on, he kep acting like Brad Pitt's cousin saying "Hey dude, hey Bro!" Does Brad Pitt even have a cousin?

Awww, Santa's crazy little helper.

Gracie Paige has arrived!

2010-01-26T19:43:00.002-07:00

Our friend's Brent and Brittnie had their precious baby girl on Saturday! She is such a doll and so yummy! She really is a gorgeous baby and I didn't want to stop holding her! Congrats guys, she couldn't be any cuter!

Look how cute! Sigh...I want one!

This doesn't help the situation. Brock looks so cute holding her. They became quick friends.

She might have been a bit hungry.... :) I actually think it was a yawn Ha ha! Oh, she is too sweet!

Haiti

2010-01-22T12:40:00.003-07:00

The images and stories from Haiti have been breaking my heart. I can't imagine what those poor people are going through! I am so blessed to live in a country that has structurally sound buildings and very tame weather. (Despite the 2 tornado warnings last night by Mesa...what the?) I applaud all of the rescuers that are donating their time and effort. I saw this picture on the Internet and it made me smile amidst all the sadness. I am praying for Haiti!

Jump Street

2010-01-17T10:45:00.001-07:00

After New Years we all went to Jump Street in Chandler and watched the kids jump, and flip, and wear themselves completely out. That place was fun with wall to wall trampolines and bounce houses for the little kids. I think they all got hurt at one point or another but they had fun!

Case Doc.....DONE!

2010-01-11T22:27:00.003-07:00

This may not mean much to the rest of the world but my friends in hygiene school will def understand how relieved I am that this is over. We have to do a case doc project with a patient and not only clean their teeth but do a whole lot of extra requirements with them. This lady had a total of 7 (ya, I am not kidding you!) appointments. She was an amazing patient and so reliable. I definitely got lucky with her. She even brought me a little Christmas present. This project accounts for a huge portion of our grade and I hope I did good on it. I have to present it in class tomorrow, and I am a little nervous! Wish me luck!

My binder is all done!! Hopefully the cover isn't too flashy! Ha!

Now that is THICK! All from one patient too.

Go Suns!

2010-01-11T09:54:00.006-07:00

Brock's boss rocks and gave us tickets to the Suns game vs the Rockets. They have season tickets on the 10th row. I have never been to a Suns game...I know! It was a ton of fun and I wanna go back soon! It was a good game, we won, and got free tacos because they scored over 99 points. Not a bad Wed night!

2010!

2010-01-09T18:13:00.001-07:00

New Years this year was spent at the Whipple's. Brant's fam came down. Partying happened. Extensive streamer popping occurred. It was criz-azy.

How cute is my mom? So cute.

Whipsters.

Too much girly-ness to handle

Playing Apples to Apples. Girls dominated.

I can't handle all this cuteness

How do they always have such cute pics together!?

My only pic of the night. I think a niece or nephew got beat for this picture. Bad posture...sitting up straight is my New Year's resolution every year. I always fail.

He is obviously having fun!

Ouch! Thats some damage. Reed really got out the leaf blower at 12:30 to blow this all onto their lawn

Kapree is on clean-up patrol!

Christmas '09

2009-12-31T16:50:00.010-07:00

Christmas this year was a blast! We went down Christmas Eve and had the annual party with my family and had my mom's famous clam chowder. It was so good! Then we went over to Brock's grandparent's house to hang out with his family for a while. That night we got all the presents ready and I helped my mom with all the last minute things. We were so SPOILED this year. I got a bike, some HOT boots, kitchen knives, clothes, and bath towels and lots of other fun things. Brock got a pipe for his 4-wheeler, which is all he pretty much cared about, but he did get clothes, a book, and some walkie talkies, and other stuff.

My mom with her new lap-top. She totally needs her glasses on.

My FAVORITE breakfast, two kinds of quiches, pull-aparts, and little smokies. It was SO good. We have it all every Christmas.

This is a present Jen gave my mom. Talk about a tear-jerker. That is a picture of my brother Gary that died when he was 8.

This is on the back of the necklace. That is the nickname my mom called him. Too cute.

Brock and his stocking

Uncle Bock and Kapree

Kendra and Kloee!

Brant, Kaleb, and Koulter. Brant is acting tough because his picture is in the paper and I made fun of him because he looks hard core in it.

Mitch and Tamara opening their present from us. We got them a digital camera.

I LOVE this pic of Brock.

Tamara with her new camera. She needs her glasses too!

Tweedle dee and Tweedle......just messin' you guys!

The day after Christmas Reed, Jen, and their kids came down. We all went on a big ride around the river and the farm fields. it was so fun, even though it was freezing!

Trouble!

We stopped on the bridge to look at the river. I hate being close to the edge!

B-rock and the river

I had like 10 layers on and was still a little cold!

Roxy wanted to go riding again!

Handsome little devils!! I could just bite those ears all day!

We went to eat at El Charro and took up half the back banquet room. This is only half of us! I think we got a complaint because we were so loud. We just know how to have fun!

My dad! I think he looks cute here!

Me and my mama. She gave the relief society lesson on Sunday and it was awesome!

O Little Town of Bethlehem

2009-12-23T22:37:00.002-07:00

My ward really is amazing. My bishop wanted to do a night in Bethlehem on Tuesday. Unfortunately it got rained out but we still did it on Wed night, and it was awesome. A lot of hard work went into it, and it showed. The church ball-fields were totally transformed into a Bethlehem marketplace. I worked at the crackers and cheese booth for a little while and Brock worked at the Bethlehem photography booth. It was a fun night and I totally needed it to get into the true Christmas spirit.

I was Bathsheba and Brock was David. I kid, I kid! I am actually wearing the sheets off our guest bed. So fashion forward huh.

Wait a minute. I didn't know Bethlehem had technology!

I tried taking a picture of the marketplace but it was a lil' dark. No idea who that chick is either.

This is my modern friend from Bethlehem. We worked the booth together and she pretty much made my night. Love ya C-Billquist!

Me and Sun Dog Millionaire. I bet they would have loved Uggs back then.

Love you Nanny

2009-12-06T14:59:00.007-07:00

Well, we had some sad news this last week. Brock's great-grandma passed away. She was an amazing woman, who had more energy and spunk than anyone I have ever met. Most people knew her by her amazing musical talent. She played the piano like you couldn't believe.

The funeral was so good. There were a lot of fun stories about her, and the spirit was strong. Brock's dad gave the family prayer, which was amazing, and didn't leave a dry eye in the room. Aunt Lori gave the opening prayer, Papa gave the life story, and three bishops spoke. Grandma Brown wrote a gorgeous song and a lady sang it beautifully, and Hunter gave the closing prayer. Brock was a pall-bearer and dedicated the grave. He did an amazing job and it was such a beautiful prayer. I don't know how he got through it, but he did. I am so grateful to be married to someone who I am continually learning from, and who makes me want to be a better person. We will miss Nanny, but we are happy she is not suffering. I am sure she is up in heaven happy, and playing the organ.

Brrrr!

2009-11-29T21:04:00.002-07:00

This is the view from Brock's campsite, it looks so cold!

This is officially the longest we have been apart, and it's stupid.

I hate elk.

T-Day!

2009-11-26T21:18:00.015-07:00

Well Thanksgiving was with the Browns this year. It was a short and sweet day, because the much anticipated ELK HUNT is here! We drove to Pima Wednesday night after I got out of school. I got a little hematoma in anesthesia and my jaw and ear were killing me! I rode with an ice pack on my face...sexy.

Thanksgiving morning was spent preparing the food and hanging out with our families. We got to see Bobby, Marisol, and Tammy who live in San Diego now; it was so fun to see them. Brock's cousins came over, along with his Aunt Sharon and Uncle Terry. Thanksgiving dinner was yummy and before we knew it we were already leaving for Mesa so the boys could get on the road to Flagstaff, where their hunt is. I am a HUGE baby and wasn't a happy camper when Brock left. Let's face it, I'm still not. I grew up with my dad and brothers hunting but thought nothing of it, till I got married. I called Tamara and my mom in tears after Brock left and asked if them leaving gets easier...the answer was no. They could have at least lied! ;) Anyway, I love our families and am so THANKFUL we got to spent a little time with them!

He's SO happy to go eat. Aww, I miss that handsome face.

Look, Brock and I cooked! We were assigned the veggie trays, which we left in Mesa, so we had to stop in Globe and try and find something. We have veggies coming out our ears now!

Grandma Angle, Tamara, and I ALL making the gravy. Tamara and I got a gravy lesson that day! :) It made my Thanksgiving!

We asked Bobby to take a picture...and this is what we got the first attempt. The little stinker does this on purpose, but turns out I kinda like the pic!

Just hangin out.... we so did not plan on both wearing plaid! This is one of the first times I didn't pack his bag, and we wound up with similar ensembles. Great minds..

Doesn't Tamara look smokin? I loved her sweater!

Not too sure why this pic is tinted blue? Katelyn and I were first in line....she had to leave to go to work and I, well, I was hungry! :)

Cyndle hiding behing her cute turkeys. They were seriously darling!

The boys throwing the peace sign...probably trying to make peace with their wives for leaving on Thanksgiving

I think something inappropriate was said here. That's Brock's mischievious smile. PS. Did you notice how white I am. I have had 3 diff people tell me I remind them of Snow White...all I hear is "get a tan"! I could fit right in w/ the cast of Twilight. Blah.

Trouble-makers...but I miss em!

Right before Brock left. My eyes are prob red and puffy. I can't wait for this week to fly by!

Chat with Ree

2009-11-23T20:35:00.004-07:00

So the Pioneer Woman had a live chat and I told her to say hi to Brock and she did! It was so cool. And yes, I am a crazy fan and star struck, but I'm ok with that. Of course now Brock thinks she's cool! Actually he is claiming she wants him now...great...that was not a good idea! Lol, I think she is in love with Marlboro Man, but I'll let him hold onto that for a day or so. Anyway, it was so fun to chat with her, she is too sweet!

Ree chat part deux

2009-11-23T20:30:00.002-07:00

Things I don't like, and things I do.

2009-11-23T11:29:00.005-07:00

1. Husbands leaving Thanksgiving day to go hunting.

Yes, I am happy for him that he got drawn and him and his dad, grandpa, and brother are gonna get to spend time together..but let's face it, I am sad for purely selfish reasons. They are leaving Thanksgiving evening or afternoon and I doubt I will handle it well. I will miss you babe!

2. Ovarian Cysts

I don't know what's wrong with this chick, but I feel her pain. The Dr told me there's nothing I can really do....sweet! It could be worse. Whatev.

3. When the mailman takes your mail.

We were looking forward to our blockbuster DVD's in the mail and a few things I ordered, but I guess our mailman thought our box was too full and took our mail without leaving anything in our box. I thought we didn't have mail for a few days, I knew something was fishy when we didn't even have junk mail. I am not about to mess with the mailman though, that's a dangerous situation

4. Turkey Trot

Stinkin Audra and Denise talked me into the Turkey Trot this year. Ugh. Don't they realize all I do is SIT and study now? Gone are the days of running 4 miles every day. I have been trying to build my endurance back up, so I hope I make it across the finish line and live to eat Thanksgiving food! Oh, this picture brings me to my number 5....

5. People dressed as animals!!! It freaks me out and I might eventually delete this picture. People should not dress as animals, end of story. Remember those "You can choose" videos with the mouse and other animals? Roger Smith scarred me for life with those! (Love you Roger!) :)

Well in the spirit of Thanksgiving I should say things I AM grateful for, and I will double the number just to cancel out my negativity above.

1. A husband who works hard and loves to snuggle as much as I do, though he might not admit it to you. He is my BFF and I can't imagine a world without him. Plus he is fun to look at! ;)

2. The pillows I bought at Costco..heaven I tell you. Thanks Tamara for taking me to Costco and picking them up in the first place.

3. A warm house-I am cold all year round, so I am thankful for central heating!

4. Health! Despite my abdominal pain, I am so blessed to be healthy and pray everyday for those that aren't.

5. Amazing family (in-laws included!) Family is my favorite.

6. The gospel-would be lost without it! Sundays are like a breath of fresh air, and I want everyday to feel like that.

7. School-even though I will cuss it till I graduate, I really am thankful to receive an education and will be able to help provide for my family if the need arises! Doesn't mean I have to like studying though.

8. The people who serve our country. I don't know if I could do it, and I am so thankful for the courageous people who do!

9. Friends

10. My DVR-without it, I wouldn't be able to get caught up on my shows...hey, it's the little things right?! Ok that's a bad last one, so I am grateful to live in a free country where I have the opportunity to get and education and to belong to the church of my choosing. I can't imagine having those choices made for me by my government!

I am thankful for so much more, but it will start to get a lil mushy so I'll stop. Have a great Thanksgiving everyone, love you!

You know you wanna buy one!

2009-11-19T12:22:00.004-07:00

My friend Jennifer makes these amazing shelves. I just thought I would post some pictures of them for you to see in time for Christmas. She does amazing work and her shelves are in a lot of really cute boutiques. Her email address is jenncauthen@gmail.com. You can contact her to order a shelf; there are a lot of cute designs, lots of different sizes and colors. Also, check out her blog at http://decorcreateur.blogspot.com/.

This is the one in my house. Isn't she amazing? She makes this from scratch, basically making me look like a talentless ninny!

Brock facts

2009-11-17T21:00:00.001-07:00

You guys, I live with the funniest person ever, you might not expect it from him, but he comes up with the funniest stuff! Here are some fun facts about Brock, he might kill me for these so it's been nice knowing you!

1. He calls a bath loofah a chalupa..like from Taco...Bell..... ? When we go to Wal-Mart he always says, I need a new Chalupa

or ??????

2. Addicted to chapstick. I love kissing him goodnight because I know I will get some chapstick. He buys the black labeled chapstick and removes the label as soon as he opens it.

3. He loves emo...not. I pray our kids will not like this style. We were in the mall once and this kid had on the skinniest jeans and his hair parted so far to the side he walked with his head tilted so it would stay. Pure comedy.

4. Punched a guy out on his mission because the guy was holding a knife to his companions neck, threatening to kill him. One punch, the guys was done. Good thing he doesn't beat me!

5. Has a pulled psoas (pronounced so-ass...well it is) muscle from messing up his back playing softball. I feel so bad for him cause it's been that way forever and hurts...but I love asking him how his psoas feels. :)

6. I got out of the shower once and Brock yells from the bedroom, "Hey, I see your Benjamin Buttons!". What the? Prob TMI but it's funny.

Any resemblance?

7. He was in the newspaper with his brother when they were little. They were selling melons on the highway in Pima and a funeral procession went by so he stood up and put his hand over his heart as they went by and someone took a picture. Melt my heart why don't ya?

8. Where's Brock? We obviously have too much fun at Bass Pro Shop. I was laughing histerically when I took this because it really was hard to see him!

Yup, Gonna be a bear.

2009-11-12T15:29:00.002-07:00

Summer Ditch

2009-11-11T21:12:00.003-07:00

Ok, I can not be the only person that utters this phrase. I swear all the farmers in Pima have said it, when not saying the real thing. I said this at school one day setting up for clinic and my instructor looked at me and said, "Margo, was that you with the potty mouth?". Apparently it sounded a little too much like the real deal. I had to explain that, no, I didn't swear, but said something to resemble swearing. She just laughed at me.

So please tell me you have heard the phrase Summer Ditch somewhere, or am I that much of a small town girl? I fought it for so many years, but I guess you can take the girl outta Pima, but can't take the Pima outta the girl. My sister, Jen won't like that analogy too much. She is still fighting the battle.

And yes, my blog isn't private anymore. It was dumb. I may switch back, but I reserve the right to change my mind as much as I want.

Pioneer Woman Book Signing.

2009-11-09T07:40:00.001-07:00

I don't know if any of you read The Pioneer Woman's website (click HERE to see it), but I am a faithful reader. She came out with a cookbook and is on a book tour..and came to TEMPE! I conned my mom into going with me thinking we would be in and out in an hour, WRONG.

There were so many people there, and a lot of people we knew, it was crazy. They gave out tickets from A-Z when you bought the book, and we were in group N. Crud. They let all the people with kids and in group A go first which was the majority. It started at 7 and we got home at 11:45. I was SO star struck and a lil nervous, but by 11, I was thinking, "Just sign my friggin book already". :)

We finally got our books signed and she is gorgeous and so nice. Oh, and has BEAUTIFUL teeth, which I told her. I also gave her a book called "Don't Whiz on a 'Lectric Fence" with funny cowboy sayings. We were almost up to her in line and my mom sees some gifts people gave her, which were cute and said "Oh look at all the cute stuff people gave her and you are giving her a book with Whiz in the title!". We got the giggles so bad and so did the rest of the line, prob cause be were so tired. Anyway, I am an even bigger fan now, and had so much fun. I met her sister-in-law Missy, and her mother-in-law, Nan, as well. Such a fun time!

The crazy crowd. We ditched out for a while and went to Stein Mart.

Me with Missy and Nan. They were so nice and fun. Missy told me she loved my hair cut. Kinda made my week.

My mom and I with P-Dub herself. Isn't she pretty? So is my mom. Kinda felt like a thorn with these two. Losers.

Good Times. I can see Denise and I now....

2009-11-08T13:59:00.000-07:00

Halloween, Anniversary, and Presents, Oh My!

2009-11-07T11:37:00.011-07:00

Well school is in full swing, Brock is working hard (and working out hard might I say and dannnngg, homeboy looks good), but we have also had a lot of fun the last few weeks. I love Halloween and love getting dressed up, but this year we were lame and didn't do anything. We went to our ward's trunk-n-treat and I got scared in the haunted house. They had cameras in it and a movie screen outside so people could watch. Let's just say I got laughed at a LOT when I came out. We also went to my sister's ward Halloween party, which she put on and did amazing. We handed out candy at her house later, and Roxy was IN CHARGE of the candy. I think that girl ate 20 lbs of candy that night.

They were a hippie family for the most part. Reed, you look groovy! :)

Oh those dimples and floppy ears.. I just wanna bite em.

Triple Trouble. These women are so fun. Jen you look so dang cute.

Syd and Roxy: sister love.

November 4th was our 4th anniversary. Before we have gone all out and got dressed up and went to fancy restaurants and that whole deal. This year we we chill and got sushi and just hung out. It was so much fun and made me love him so much more. Can I tell you he gets husband of the year. He had people come clean out house for me...which got him MAJOR brownie points. He also got me some Viva La Juicy perfume, and a cute sweater and scarf from Buckle. It's the first time he picked out clothes for me and he did so good. I loved it all. I got him some tires for his 4-wheeler, and some clothes. LOVE anniversaries, it's like a double birthday party. I could not have chosen a more amazing man, I seriously scored the jackpot with him.

B-rock and his new tires.

Didn't he do good!? I am so proud he surprised me, cause it's not easy. Love it!

I am distracted from studying=high school tag

2009-10-19T14:41:00.003-07:00

1. DID YOU DATE SOMEONE FROM YOUR SCHOOL? Yep.
2. WHAT KIND OF CAR DID YOU DRIVE? I loved my first car, it was a new silver Mustang convertible. It was so much fun, although some people were jerks to me because of it.
3. DID YOU PASS YOUR DRIVER'S LICENSE TEST YOUR FIRST TRY? Yes!
4. WERE YOU A PARTY ANIMAL? Not at all.
5. WERE YOU CONSIDERED A FLIRT? Probably, what girl isn't in high school?
6. WERE YOU IN BAND, ORCHESTRA, OR CHOIR? No, I wish I was musically gifted, I am SO not!
7. WERE YOU A NERD? I don't think so, maybe a book nerd.
8. WERE YOU ON ANY VARSITY TEAMS? Volleyball, Track, Tennis, and Poms. Good times!
9. DID YOU EVER GET SUSPENDED/EXPELLED? Nope, I was a goody goody
11. WHO WERE YOUR FAVORITE TEACHERS? Mr Arave was fun, and Hemphill was cool. All our teachers were fun though I think.
12. WHERE DID YOU SIT FOR LUNCH? We always went home for lunch, except for when we has student council..which Brock ditched. Thanks punk!
13. WHAT IS YOUR SCHOOL'S FULL NAME? Pima High School...original
14. WHAT IS YOUR SCHOOL'S MASCOT AND COLORS? Roughriders...blue and gold.
16. IF YOU COULD GO BACK AND DO IT AGAIN WOULD YOU? No way, I like my life now. Although I do wish I had kept a journal so I could remember stuff!
17. WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER MOST ABOUT GRADUATION? Having to talk for something, getting dared by my sister to do "superstar" when I got my diploma...which I did, and throwing tortillas (random huh!)
18. WHERE DID YOU GO SENIOR SKIP DAY? To the mountains...which Brock and I still get in a disagreement about.
19. WERE YOU IN ANY CLUBS? I think knowledge bowl for like 2.5 secs, and in NHS, and student council
20. HAVE YOU GAINED SOME WEIGHT SINCE THEN? For sure
21. WHO WAS YOUR PROM DATE? my boyfriend at the time
22. ARE YOU PLANNING ON GOING TO YOUR HIGH SCHOOL REUNION? Ya...I was the class pres, Brock was the VP, and Denise was the secretary...it gonna be interesting for sure!
23. DID YOU HAVE A JOB IN HIGH SCHOOL? Ya, the theater and Star video
24. WERE YOU AN HONOR STUDENT? Yes
25. DID YOU TAKE SEMINARY? Wow, this is a Mormon quiz? Ya I did.
26. WHAT WOULD YOU CONSIDER YOUR MOST FUN TIME? Sports, Poms, and hanging out with friends
27. WERE YOU CONSIDERED SHY OR OUTGOING? Prob outgoing, I don't know. I can be shy at times though.

It's pretty sad when....

2009-10-14T20:45:00.008-07:00

the highlight of your day is when you and your friend are so proud of jumping your car, that you feel the need to take a picture. :) Like a genius, I left my ignition turned on (not running at least!). My key has a microchip thing that lets you start the car without having the key in the ignition. So, I left it on and went to school all day and came back to find a dead car. Jenny and I though we were pretty dang smart doing this all by ourselves!

Also, we thought it was the funniest thing ever to tuck our pants into our cool socks they make us wear. They seriously will pull your pant leg up to make sure you have socks that cover your ankles. We are hot.

This is a lady that cleans teeth at the VA hospital. I got to do a rotation there, and it was so cool. I got to clean a WWII prisoner-of-war's teeth. He was such a cute guy! It was a really cool experience.

This semester we have our anesthesia class. I LOVE giving injections! It is like an adrenaline rush...I am such a freak....

I can give a PSA injection now in clinic, which is awesome. We get to practice on each other, so I kinda felt like a pin cushion today. I got 5 injections and was numb for a loooong time.

Awful picture, I know. I was concentrating!

We had a tie-dying party today at school. Our shirts are for an oral cancer walk that is coming up. It was so fun and I wanna make Brock tie-dye shirts with me! I think they turned out so cute. I pretty much wanted to tie-dye everything I owned today.

My Missionary

2009-10-05T21:13:00.007-07:00

We went to Pima this last weekend so Brock could go on the Brown annual quail hunt. I went to EAC's library and studied and got to hang out with Brock's mom a little bit. Anyway, while we were there, Brock's mom found his mission journals. We had one of them but now we have them all. On the way home I started with the first one and read out loud the whole way. (I was hoarse by the time we got home!) It was SO neat to do that. We have talked a lot about his mission but to read every single day of his mission and have him explain stuff to me made it like I was there. There were definitely times that we got choked up. Ok I did a lot, and Brock did once, but it was so cool to see how great of a missionary my husband was, even from the first day. We only got through like the first 5 months, but we are gonna keep reading them together. It probably was one of the best car rides we have had. I am so glad I have such a smart, caring husband who served a mission and left a lot behind, and sacrificed to serve. I look up to him so much and want to be better because of him. Sappy post I know, but I want to remember this. I vowed to write more in my journal, but this helps out too!

This is Brock and his dad before they went to the priesthood session. Best buddies! I started the tradition of getting Brock a new tie for when he goes to the priesthood session, so he is sporting the new one here. Looks good!

I love to see the temple...

2009-09-28T21:44:00.004-07:00

Well for my friends in Pima, this post is not very exciting. I saw pics this week from the Angel Moroni and steeple being added to the Temple in Central. I can't wait to see it this weekend! I am so excited there is going to be a temple about 4 miles from my parent's house; that is just amazing to me! We had a lesson in Relief Society about how you can make any environment like the temple, and it made me really want to try and make my home more peaceful and inviting. Here is a link to see more pics of the temple and its progress: http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/gilavalley/construction/

Dear "Mike"

2009-09-21T21:30:00.003-07:00

I don't know who you are, or why you are such a jerk, but you have some nerve coming onto MY blog and leaving such an awful comment. Not to mention it was a post about my father-in-law, and we were truly scared for his life and it was a sincere post.

You said I make no sense....listen up genius....it's pretty obvious that Brock's dad told him he felt like he might die AFTER THE FACT. You're pretty quick on your feet! Good job buddy!

Also, if you would clear up the comment about me being a copy-cat, that would be greeeaaattt. Who did I "copy" and what does it matter to you if I did? It's pretty clear that you made up a fake profile and blog just to hate on others. Why not just man up and tell me who you are? I have no patience for people who are mean, just for the sake of being mean. I don't know why you can't just say who you are, it takes a real coward to hide behind a fake blog. You sure are tough talking to a woman, try sending that to my husband or saying it to his face....you have not only ticked me off, but quite a few others. It's because of morons like you that people have to be careful on the internet and why people make their blogs private. I really do feel bad for you; it is sad and pathetic to make others feel bad, just to make yourself feel better.

This is not my first time dealing with cowards writing hate letters on the internet trying to scare people. I would love to know who you are and why you have such a high opinion of me. Thanks for an interesting Monday.

XOXO, Margo

Ok to everyone else, obviously someone has made me mad. Someone left a pretty nasty comment on the post I wrote about Brock's dad being attacked by bees. (Be warned, there is some bad language) What I can't figure out is why? It was a heartfelt post, and we really were scared for Brock's dad's life. I have not one enemy that I can think of...I like everyone! I really do (with the exception of this Mike person). What the? Why do I always attract the crazies!!! So unfortunately I am going private Friday. I know I said I would before and I have just been lazy about it. Plus, I don't want to! It's fun having people comment on your blog and finding new friends. I hate it when a few people ruin it for everyone. However, my family and especially Brock are pretty mad and told me I gotta go private. (Brock is REALLY mad) Dang. If you left me your email address before I have it, if not, get it to me before Friday. Sorry to post such a depressing post, hopefully this will be the last of the blog freaks.

Well it's about time!

2009-09-17T20:03:00.003-07:00

I got my vinyl a few months ago, and have been asking Brock to put it up. Well I finally took matters into my own hands and did it. What a pain in the neck. I was seriously sweating and let out a, "Son of a motherless goat!" a few times. Such a rebel, huh.

Yay! I just ordered some vinyl chandeliers and frames that are awesome. I can't wait till they get here.

Glass half empty!!

2009-09-10T13:44:00.006-07:00

What do you notice about this glass? Hopefully you notice it's half empty, because it is representing me being HALF DONE with school. Ya, you read that right! I am now on my two week break from school. (Well, technically after I take my online test tomorrow I will be, but I am not sweating that at all.) Yessss! Next semester is going to be more challenging in clinic, but I am excited for it. We also will learn our anesthesia, which we practice on each other! I am sure I will be posting some stories about that!

That glass also represents me drinking more water, which you all recommended. I am drinking more water, which I love. I also noticed that I am getting my migraines on Thursdays. My blood sugar can get really low and I eat breakfast around 5:30am on Thursdays and then I am in clinic all morning and don't get home till about 1. I think this has really affected me and I need to take a short break and eat something. Duh Margo. I am also gonna try some of the other things you all suggested...thanks so much!

It's funny how when life gets super busy you forget to take a drink of water, or eat a snack, or sleep, or in my case all of the above. My goal for next semester is to take a little bit better care of myself and not run myself into the ground.

This is my new toy! This is one the things to help me take better care of myself! I never have ANY time to go to the gym anymore so I quit the gym and got this bad boy. I love it! It is pretty cushioned so running on it is a dream. I like having it right there so I can jump on, get my workout over with, and then get back to studying. When I went to the gym to drop my membership I walked in and said "I wanna quit the gym!" like Chandler does on friends. Ya....no one got it. Brock busted up laughing, but that was it. Please tell me you have seen that episode! I was half expecting them to bring out the hot chick that persuades you to keep your membership.

I need your advice...twice

2009-09-03T17:24:00.006-07:00

So I hate headaches. Like REALLY hate them. Do any of you get headaches? Lately I have been getting migraines like once or twice a week and it really is not fun. Excedrin Migraine doesn't work, Tylenol doesn't work, and Ibuprofen doesn't work...awesome.

The only thing that makes me feel better is some 5 year old, expired migraine medicine that my doctor gave me because he though I was just having headaches. (He also gave me Xanax because he thought I was stressed out about my upcoming wedding. Turns out I when I got an MRI because none of that stuff helped, it was a severe sinus infection in the middle of my nugget. Awesome diagnosis doctor!) However, that medicine KNOCK me out and I can't take it during the day.

So, what do you people do for headaches? Yes, they are prob from stress from school, but I don't see that stress going away anytime soon.

Soo, I have been thinking about getting highlights. My hair is so dark and grows so fast that it makes me a little nervous to do it, just because I am busy with school and will have to get my roots done a lot. I am kinda chicken...should I do it. BTW, I like the above picture a lot and like her color. Mine will be a lot darker though, bummer.

So your two jobs...migraines and highlights, what do I do?

It's 1:30am and I am studying...and drooling

2009-08-30T01:20:00.004-07:00

I am in lust. I can't help it. I need these. Now. Sigh.

I love that when I wear my boots in Mesa, someone always says, "You're wearing boots" like it was an accident that I put them on and left my house in them.

I might have to go to confession after this little lust session. It was SO worth it.

Heaven forbid I don't post this

2009-08-16T16:24:00.010-07:00

Brock was a lil' disappointed that I haven't posted this until now (granted he only looks at the blog like once a week at work), so here ya go babe...

A few weeks ago we were in Pima and saw quite a few lifted trucks, Brock's obsession, and we started talking about how when I got out of school we would get one. He couldn't lift his because of the all-wheel drive.

One week after that I was looking on Craigslist and found a sick truck and showed it to Brock and ten minutes later we were on the 101 going to Legends Cadillac in Scottsdale. Yes, it's my fault. Homeboy totally owes me. Come to think of it, I haven't received my part of the deal........

Anyway, it was an awesome deal and it was the perfect time to trade in his truck if we wanted to get anything out of it. (I think it had like 90,000 miles on it).

We are now proud parents of this lifted beast. It already had the 6" lift, tires, wheels, cold air intake, only 6,000 miles, and exhaust. What more could he want? Darker tint of course, which is what he did yesterday, and it is way too dark and beyond illegal. I am a fan, can you tell?

I will miss this truck though. We have had it our whole marriage and it has been a lot of fun!

Doesn't this look like an ad for GMC?

And just for old time's sake, this is the truck we had when we were dating and like the first 2 weeks of our marriage..until it got stolen. :( Can you tell he has a type? We had so many FUN times in that truck!

Crazy

2009-08-11T19:08:00.003-07:00

This is crazy! My cousin Michelle posted this on her blog and I had to post it too. All I can say is I am not too fond of the government right now AT ALL. My case in point right here!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAOBlqUqUZ8&NR=1

I, for one, can't wait for 4 years to be up and get Obama the heck out of there.

So cute I might die

2009-08-10T16:07:00.005-07:00

Houston

Sydney

Kyler

Kloee

Koulter

Kaleb

All my nieces and nephews 4 years old and over were able to come to my school to get their teeth cleaned. It was SO FUN having them there! I cleaned Houston, Sydney, and Kyler's teeth, and my friends cleaned Kaleb, Kloee, and Koulter's teeth. Poor little Roxy and Kapree were too little for us to work on. I love them all and was so glad they could come in!

PS. If any of their teeth look yellow it is because they have fluoride varnish on them, not because they don't brush! ;)

She's here!!!!!

2009-08-04T08:07:00.005-07:00

I start crying every time I look at this picture. I can not believe my friend since basically the day she was born has a baby! I am so excited for her and can't wait to meet her new little bundle of joy. It seems like just yesterday we were stomping in mud puddles in our cowboy boots and hitting my dad up for money to go to Sugar Shack. I swear it was just last night that we were going to Sonic and cruising Main blasting Britney Spears and swearing we were never getting married. I love you Denise and Dane, Congrats!!!!

These beautiful pictures are by Erin Householder, who is now an new aunt. Thanks Erin for keeping me updated yesterday! She is an amazing photographer, hire her!

It huffed and it puffed and it....

2009-08-02T17:57:00.004-07:00

...blew the freakin' tree down! We had JUST taken the poles off the tree that made it stable because we figured, "Hey, it's tall and strong now!". Righhhhht After he took the poles off, the tree started to really bend in the wind so we were a little WT (white trash) and hooked a tow strap from his truck to the tree overnight to hold it up. It worked for a while, but a big storm came and Brock was in Tuscon for the day for work and the tree just blew right over! Brock claims I pushed it because I am not a fan of mesquite trees and never liked it, but he can't prove that theory!

So sweaty and dirty....I'm not hating it! ;)

So here is my little lumberjack at work. Why do boys get so excited to pull stuff with their trucks?

Scary Monday

2009-07-27T16:42:00.003-07:00

We had such a scare today! Brock's dad was working out in Bonita in the bucket truck (he is a lineman for the power company) and a tractor hit a tree causing THOUSANDS of bees to swarm out of it. Everyone ran for cover but Mitch was stuck in the bucket about 10 ft up and was strapped in. He hid in the bottom of the bucket hoping the bees wouldn't find him there but unfortunately they did! They started attacking him and the only thing he could do was jump out. Of course he landed on his head.

The guys he was working with pulled him into the truck and got rid of the bees that followed them in. They drove him to the hospital and his throat was starting to close and he told Brock he really felt like he might die. He was so swollen when they got to the hospital he couldn't even hold a pen to write. Luckily they gave him some steroids and antihistamines at the hospital and after a few hours the swelling went away. They kept him for a while because his heart was acting funny, but eventually they let him go home.

I know we all were saying some heavy duty prayers today and I know they were answered. Brock called me when I was at school and I went into the radiography room by myself and lost it for a little bit...I was so scared for dad! I called my mom to go check on him because we didn't really know how he was doing, and of course when I talk to my mom and I am scared I cry. Anyway, what a scary crazy start to the week! I am just grateful Mitch is ok!

Why I love Pima

2009-07-26T17:32:00.004-07:00

This weekend we went down to Pima for all the 24th festivities. It was a much needed little getaway! I did get some studying while there though, so it was a little productive!

This picture needs some explanation. I bough those sunglasses on the Internet for like $2. They looked super cute online but when they got to my house, well they were a lil large. I put them on and Brock's exact words were, "Those are horrible, take them off!" Naturally I have been wearing them ever since. They are so ugly that I love them. Does that even make any sense?

Despite all of Tamara's attempts, I got a picture of her. Sorry Mom, but you look so good in this pic, I couldn't resist! We has fun this weekend staying at their house and catching up. I miss them!

As soon as we got to Pima, we went to the Rodeo. Good times for sure! It was fun watching the rodeo but it was even more fun getting to see "my" Denise. Isn't she just the cutest thing with her little belly! I still think it's just one of volleyballs stuffed in there, but in about 8 days we'll see. I love and miss that girl a ton, and can't wait for her to be a mom! What a fun mom huh? Not to mention that kid is gonna be friggin athletic. We always joked that her kids are gonna beat mine up, hopefully they'll be friends instead and not get into as much mischief as we did. Toilet paper? Us? No!

Love this one! I don't think I could NOT laugh when we're together.

Sadly we had to go home. This was a hill on the way home; that little spot totally looks like a heart. Too cute huh. We had so much fun at the 24th, I don't ever remember there being that many people there! I got to see so many people that I haven't seen for years. The fireworks and company made the weekend. Love Pima!

Epideral

2009-07-23T15:12:00.005-07:00

So it looks like Brock is going to be getting an epidural before I do!

They can't find a single thing wrong with his back from his MRI.....are you kidding me! Poor guy walks like he is 90 sometimes. Luckily they are going to do an epidural next Wednesday and hopefully it will get rid of his pain for a while.

Here is a pic of how they do it...I don't think he will have the uterus or baby though...

In other news, I am so excited to go to Pima this weekend for the 24th celebration. Granted I have a HUGE test next Wed (yes, same day as Brock's epidural) so I will spend most of the day Sat holed up in EA's library in a study room...just like the good ole days. I look back and wish I would have played a little bit more instead of study my brains out my last year at EA. I DID get Organic Chemistry student of the year though. Wow, don't make fun of me for that. I wish I would have gotten to know more girls at EA after Denise and Chelsea left but my mom and I were best friends, and we had a lot of fun hanging out that year! I still miss our weekly matinee movie!

I wanna win!

2009-07-20T19:15:00.002-07:00

I want to win this. Thanks Desiree for posting it on your blog!

http://www.shelfreliance.com/blog/index.php/2009/07/20/free-friday-providence-essential-person-72hour-kit/comment-page-1/#comment-4827

We actually need it too! I think water is important to have in your 72 hour kit and I def need more of it!

Happy Birthday Sun-Dog Millionaire!

2009-07-17T17:36:00.007-07:00

What can I say about my friend Sunni that would do her justice? Nothing really, because she is seriously the awesomest person in every sense of the word. Obviously she is gorgeous (obviously), but she is a beautiful person inside and out. Her testimony amazes me...no really... it does. I feel like I am in Primary sometimes when she bares her testimony. Her family is adorable, if you have seen her kids...you know. She is such a good mom and I have NEVER heard her complain about being a mom or how tiring it is. She is always gushing about how her kids are her rock. Through all of her hard times she has been such a good example and has been so faithful when most would crumble. I am seriously a better person for just knowing her. Love ya Sunni-D!

Update on going private

2009-07-13T15:44:00.003-07:00

Ok, so I have been getting a ton of emails about what happened and how to put a site meter on your blog.

Go to the bottom of my page and click on the little red square, and that will take you to blog patrol. All you have to do is sign up on their website and add that little button to your blog, it is so easy, free and helps you know how people are getting to your blog. It won't show you who looks at your blog but how they get there. Like if someone clicked onto my blog from yours, it would show that. It gives the country, IP address, and how many hits a day. It also shows if people google something and they got to your blog that way. (Kinda creepy when you have a ton of people googling you!) Anyway, good luck with that!

So I noticed on my blog patrol that there were HUNDREDS of hits from this braces website. I was kinda weirded out so I went to it. You have to be a member of it so I signed up. Apparently there are sick freaks out there that have a fetish with girls with braces and get off on that and they linked like 10 of my pictures directly on my blog. When I saw this and the disgusting comments about the pictures it made me seriously sick to my stomach and I cried for like an hour. Poor Brock didn't know what to do. There were even categories for "young girls with braces". The one thing I absolutely HATE in this world is porn, and the fact that someone made me a part of it for innocently posting pictures of me and my family made me so MAD! No telling who is out there and what sick crap they are into. Seriously? Braces?

Anyway, I will prob make it private next week, so get your email address to me ASAP if you haven't yet. Some people have emailed me and asked if it might be weird if they are looking at my blog...are you kidding me!! The more the merrier! (Just not porn freaks) So if we went to EA together and barely know each other or whatever, don't hesitate to have me add you, that's the point of these things right. Don't act like everyone doesn't look at random blogs!

Going Private

2009-07-12T19:04:00.004-07:00

If you don't have a blog site meter on your blog...get one.

Something really creepy has happened to me through this blog and the only way I found out was through my site meter. Some fetish freaky porn website had links to a lot of my pictures and lets just say it is disgusting, revolting, and pretty terrifying. I should have listened to everyone telling me to go private, but I am now. I feel totally violated and kinda scared!

So that brings me to email addresses. If you want to visit my blog, I am gonna need email addresses so I can send you an invite. I hate having to do this, but unfortunately there are freaks out there. If you want you can send your email address to my email margombrown@msn.com

Oh Brock.....

2009-07-06T18:12:00.004-07:00

I fully give Brock permission to post my retardedness when I say something really off the wall, because this is too funny not to post.

So we are walking out of the mall after getting me some new shoes for school (I can only wear all white shoes and am getting really sick of wearing the same shoes and scrubs EVERY DANG DAY) Here they are..I'm really excited about them too. Can you tell I don't get out much?

Anyway, back to my story. So my dear, sweet husband and I are walking out of the mall and talking about going swimming and being pregnant came up because we were about to go out with our friends Brent and Brittnie who is expecting. So Brock gets this really funny look on his face and looks like he wants to ask a question. So I say "What's up?" and Brock says..."Can you go swimming when you are pregnant?" So I say, "Ya, actually pregnant women like it a lot because it takes all the weight off, lets their back relax, etc."

Brock:"So, the baby can't....like, drown?"

Oh sweetie. I can't wait to be pregnant so I can hear all of his fun questions. You might think by the stuff I post that he says weird stuff a lot but he is basically a genius...I just get a kick out some of his rare, random comments. Anyway, we had a little biology lesson on amniotic fluid.

I love my husband, and I really hope he doesn't post my dumb questions because his funny questions compared to mine is like a ratio of 2:1000. That or he could video record me falling down on a daily basis..no seriously, its bad. I swear my ankles are made of rubber, I roll them all the time and never bruise or swell.

Happy 4th!

2009-07-01T17:23:00.002-07:00

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy 4th! This is my awesome cousin Bryden. He and his friend have made a CD and are seriously talented. Some of my favorite songs of his are Four Foot Ten Fortune Teller and CO. Can anyone guess what Four Foot Ten Fortune Teller stands for? I will be impressed if you do!

I love the 4th. One year at girl's camp our theme was centered around our country's freedom and how we are free to worship as we choose. I am so grateful for that! I gained a deeper respect for our freedoms and the people that serve to protect us. To this day if the national anthem comes on, I have to stand up. Sometimes I feel like a dork if it is on TV and there are a lot of people around, but I usually go to the kitchen or something. It just feels WRONG not to stand up for that. Anyway, enjoy.

I told you...talented. Srsly.
Their website is myspace.com/burntbright

I may get divorced after this post.....

2009-06-26T18:10:00.003-07:00

But it will be SO worth it! ;)

Brock hurt his back about 6 months ago and he finally gave in and went to a back doctor after lack of success at the chiropractor for months. They made him wear this goofy gown while being examined and when I took out my phone to take pictures, instead of hiding, the dork started posing. WOW. Watch out Zoolander!

Work it! Own it! (I think the face was supposed to be a sexy pout...)

Poor guy, I am gonna be in trouble. Anyway, they ordered an MRI and think his disc is bulging. OUCH! They will most likely give him an epidural shot so the inflammation will go down and he will be out of pain. Hallelujah!

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-22T01:26:00.003-07:00

Happy Father's Day to all the dads in my life, I love you guys!

Happy FUTURE Father's day to Brock. I can't wait for him to be my baby's daddy. I already know without a doubt he is going to make the best dad ever!

Green with envy

2009-06-20T13:40:00.005-07:00

Brock is in Cali with his family right now visiting Bobby and his family. They moved up there a few months ago so everyone is missing them a ton. I have a ridiculous amount of studying to do (story of my life) so I couldn't go, and I am so jealous and miss him a TON. This is the farthest apart we have ever been! :( Nothing is too new in the Brown household. Brock is working a lot, and has recently discovered golf. Oh joy. He just bought some clubs from his friend Brent and I am sure this is the beginning of many golfing excursions they will go on.

I have been doing so many interesting things as well...oh wait, no I haven't. I HAVE started seeing patients at school though, so that is really cool. I have had great patients and their appointments have gone well, I am just a slow poke so far. Kinda pathetic that it takes 3 appointments to do one cleaning!

Brock was my first patient and has been a champ. He will have one more appointment before he is all done! I am sure he can't wait! :)

Home Happenings

2009-05-30T21:47:00.005-07:00

I went to Goodwill this week to find a "small" project but I found a bigger one instead. We actually had gone to Ashley to find a chaise lounge or a love seat for our master bedroom, but didn't find anything that we liked. Well, we did find a gorgeous chaise lounge but it was about $1200 and we didn't want to pay that plus we wouldn't have the rest of the set that matched. So I found this couch/bench thing. It was yucky to begin with, but I had big plans as soon as I saw it that I tried to brush away. Ya....they didn't go away. $40 later I was the proud owner of this plaid mess.

Not my favorite...at all. Not a fan of the wood color, and the cushions def had to go!

Blah

Ta-Da!! I am in love with it. It might be the aqua color, it might be the antiquing, but I thinks its a combo of everything. I painted it, distressed it with sandpaper and some screws, and antiqued it with burnt umber paint.

I love the rounded areas.

I found the cushions at Pier 1 Imports. They match our room perfect and are super comfy. We have the aqua color as an accent color in our room and this bench ties it all together.

Brock hung our TV and we got rid of the entertainment center we had. I put the dresser I did under it and made a flower arrangement. I am gonna get candle sticks to go where the round thingys are but those are there for now.

The pic made the colors lighter but you get the idea.

Next up is the vinyl that Brock is SUPPOSED to put on the wall for me. ;) Hopefully I can get him to do it soon.

Happy Birthday Christi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-05-29T21:15:00.003-07:00

This hot little number has a birthday today. Christi is definitely one in a million. She is one of THE funniest people I know. I am not too gullible, but I fall for her sarcasm a lot. The girl can make awesome food, is a spiritual GIANT, and is so thoughtful and loving. I am so glad we were in YW together. I hope she has a happy birthday at DISNEYLAND today. Give Mickey a pinch on the butt for me! (Did that once on my senior trip and he just looked at me. Prob was a girl in that suit and she was prob really annoyed)

Friday Faves

2009-05-29T20:49:00.004-07:00

Sunni took me to Cosmo Prof to get some self tanning stuff that is amazing, unfortunately I was allergic to it and had tiny bumps all over. That was fun. Anyway, I got this shampoo and conditioner while I was there. It is called Rockaholic and smells so good! (Sunni made fun of me for choosing based on smell) It also is really moisturizing which I love since my hair can be dry. Thanks Sun Dog Millionaire!

I got these sunglasses from Tilly's for like 10 bucks. I love cheap sunglasses and they are fun!

I was wanting new summer clothes and went to a few cute boutiques and couldn't find anything. Low and behold I went to JCPenney with my mom and found a lot of cute stuff, really cheap. Love that place.

Being so busy with school has really cramped my workout routine! On my break I have loved going to the gym and getting sore. It's a love/hate relationship. I hate it while I'm there but love how I feel afterward. I even don't mind being sore, I know I actually did something!

My MIL bought me some hand sanitizer at the mall in Bath & Body Works last weekend. It was so fun shopping with her and I scored some really good smelling hanitizer, as my niece would say. I got wild honeysuckle and it smells wonderful. I sanitize my hands like 100 x's a day at school (no exaggeration there!!!) so it is nice to have some that smells good. PLUS she helped me score bags from stores that I needed for a Relief Society display. Some stores are really stingy with their bags!

I FINALLY got out my sewing machine that Brock got me for Christmas and that puppy is awesome. Granted it was the 1st time I sewed by myself and it took me 45 minutes to get the bobbin right, but it was fun. I made some rice bag heat pad things. Watch out Martha!