boat load of pics

here is a boat-load of pics with little explanation. so here we go:



we made a trip to idaho for a girl get-together. nova seriously adores her cousins and plays so well with them. she was in heaven. i am so glad that she gets along with them so well. it is so important to me for her to have a good relationship with them since the relationships i had with my cousins were so important and critical for me growing up. here are some pics of the fun we had.


we had our annual girl tea party for the hall girls. it was rainbow, and as maddie said, 'its so beautiful!' we had rainbow fruit, rainbow tutus for everyone, and rainbow pancakes.


i had youth conference with my lovely adopted daughters. it was a blast and we even met someone kinda important.....AWESOME!!

in front of the temple with my girlies 14 and up. seriously love these chicas. like. a ton. they are so fun and so good. i really can't get enough of 'em.


i literally have been running around this last month too. i ran the odgen 1/2 marathon, the teton dam 10K and the ragnar wasatch back. the ragnar was crazy intense, but i was with some seriously fun people. our team name was: "you don't think we know a butt load of crap about the gospel, but we DO." it really was so fun. a nacho outfit was worn several times, we ran 194 miles between the 12 of us, we didn't sleep much and sat in a van and cheered each other on. we ran it in 32 hours and 18 min.


this week we also went to the princess festival at thanksgiving point. nova was in serious heaven. in the picture with cinderella, she is almost crying she was so excited. way worth the drive to go to see her face. you basically walk around meet princesses, watch little performances, and get their autographs. its a charity event to raise money for "in our own quiet way." its a great charity and it was really fun to be there. it was also fun to see the hundreds of little girls all dressed up and excited to be at the festival.

sleeping beauty

rapunzel

and princess and the pea

7 long years

let me tell you a story. about 7 years ago my good friend ryan introduced me to the CD wicked. he gave me the CD on the grounds that he knew i would love it and one of the songs in there reminded him of me. he played the song 'dancing through life' and from that moment in the crestwood lounge in rexburg idaho, i wanted to see the broadway musical wicked......

7 LONG years......and......

this weekend i went to WICKED with my mom and sisters! it. was. awe. SOME! i have a secret desire to perform on stage, and secretly wished i was there alone so that i could stand up and sing and dance and cheer spontaneously. but, i held myself back. i have such an appreciation for people who can make that much sound with their vocal chords.....and have it sound good. really good. because lets be real, put me on a stage with a microphone, a costume and a green painted face and i could probably make loud sounds too, but it definitely wouldn't sound good....but it would be funny right?

anyway, here are the highlights from our 24 hour adventure to boise:

-olive garden.....do i need to say anything more? yum!
-heather, natalie, my aunt robin, and my mom. need i say more? some of the best people on this planet.
-lots of snacks....which may have not been a highlight--the fact that i am running a half marathon this saturday may make me think less of this as a highlight.
-jumping on the hotel bed, and catching my mom do it on video. funniest thing ever.
-staying up late, laughing and talking, but trying not to wake up nat's little boy archer
-archer. the squeeziest baby ever
-pier one imports and all things bright and beautiful in that store......
-a husband who was as excited for me to go and have some 'mom and sister-time' and watched nova, and did all of her pku-feeding business so i didn't have to worry about it.
-a dans mom and family for helping entertain nova--i don't think she was even aware that i was gone for 24 hours
-learning that my map navigation skills are way totally awesome.
-wicked
-wicked
-wicked

jumpin on the hotel bed to show our excitement

even my mom was a sport.


heather

and natalieand at the show...oh, and did i mention it was awesome? oh i did? ok, because it was but honestly, the these women right here and that i was with, are even better, which is saying something....

Nova the Runner and Magnificent Moms

Two quick notes for you today. First of all, Nova took part in a race yesterday and, much to our surprise, ran over a kilometer by herself. Suzanne ran a 5K to support a fundraising effort for an ill friend, and organizers held a Kids K race after the adults finished. On a whim, Suzanne signed Nova up for the Kids K, fully expecting her to poop out after the first minute and need to be carried.

As you can see in the video below, it turns out that Nova got into the running spirit immediately. I think she was excited by seeing everyone else take off running, but whatever her motivation, she stood in awe for a few seconds when the other kids started and then ran after them, arms pumping wildly and Sunday-shoe-clad feet slapping the sidewalk.

Aside from being carried for 30 feet and subsequently demanding to be put back down so she could run, she ran well over a kilometer all by herself. Reportedly, she even stopped midway through the race, got down on hands and knees, and for reasons unknown did a little pushup before jumping to her feet and racing away once again. That's right, my little two-year-old isn't just tough enough to run a race without stopping, she's also confident enough to sacrifice her finishing time to stop and intimidate fellow runners with a display of upper body strength. She's not too proud to admit that she's completely terrified of men in soldier mascot costumes though, as you might have noticed when she crossed the finish line.

She's one of a kind, our little girl.
The second item that needs to be addressed today is mothers. They deserve our praise, thanks, and love every day, but today of all days I'd like to do it publicly. Too often we dismiss the roles of mothers in shaping our lives and assume that people would have turned out roughly the same regardless of who had mentored them.

Ridiculous, I say. Simply absurd.

I'm grateful that Nova has such a caring and hard-working mom to help her shape her future and become a brilliant and beautiful woman someday. And I'm equally grateful for a mother who was instrumental in shaping a man who isn't very brilliant or beautiful, but is as close as he could be considering what Heavenly Father gave his mom to work with.

Furthermore, thanks to all the moms out there who put endless hours, days, weeks, and years into raising upstanding children, no matter how hopeless it seemed at the time. We have wonderful friends and family because of you, and we can never thank you enough. Whether you're enduring the terrible twos or just wishing your twenty-something son would call you more often, remember that we need you and you truly are the epitome of charity and love.

Thank God for mothers.

eggy treasures and a sidenote

our new bro-in-law dave works as an accountant for some assisted living communites, and they put on an easter egg hunt for the residents families. so even though dave isn't 85 years old or a resident, he and elisa invited us to come on over and find us some eggy treasures. although nova was a little confused, she finally figured it out, and we all had a lot of fun--thanks "leesdave!"

SIDE NOTE: as a parent i have come to realize the utter oddness of holidays. a fat man who comes in your house in the MIDDLE of the night and leaves you presents? he watches you and sees if you are being naughty or nice? CREE-PEE. or, lets knock on people's doors, many of who perhaps you don't know, and they will give you candy.... stranger danger anyone? or the most recent, a bunny who leaves eggs? shouldn't it be a chicken?!!! since when do bunnies lay eggs? why do our holidays confuse? anyway.....its just that sometimes as i am explaining traditions and holidays to nova i realize how utterly weird some of them are, as they are coming out of my mouth, and as i watch the puzzled look on her face. but then again as per last post, the traditions we are creating around here are just as weird......so.....lets move on.

the pics:

nova was SUPER creeped out by the enormo bunny at first. BUT, then as we were trying to get her to find eggs, she asked where they came from---and we told her the bunny had hid them. "that bunny is a tricky one!" is what she said. then when she realized there was CANDY in the eggs, she ran over and gave the bunny a hug and said thank you. from there on out, they were the best of friends and she wouldn't stop talking to the bunny....

and non-hunt related pics, nova and her new-ish bike. our neighbors were giving it away and asked if nova wanted it. she is obsessed with practicing everyday. and she actually is doing pretty good.


the painting princess. she LOVES LOVES to paint. in fact loves doesn't even do it justice. she paints approx 4 times a day. but of course you have to be dressed appropriately while doing something as regal as painting.


blowing bubbles.....



snuggling with dad.....

oh, and read this song before looking at the next pick:
to the music of popcorn popping

i looked out the window and what did i see?
nova looking back through the window at me!
this girl always has a big surprise,
funny faces right before my eyes!
she can be a handful, but being a mom is neat,
she makes us laugh and she is real sweet,
her name is nova so,
and she makes us happy!
in 15 years from now please do not hate me! (for posting this pic!)

ha!
happy saturday!

what a bunch of fools...

yesterday we celebrated april fools, well, like a bunch o' fools. see the pics to see for yourself.....

Fool #1

Fool #2
and the complete group o' fools!

please note: i can't believe this picture is being posted on the blog. wearing your swimsuit over several layers doesn't slim you.....obviously......
also note: the straw glasses were fun, but only drink water through them, they drip and its kinda gross, but good for a laugh. but if you are going to laugh, drop the straw, or you will have milk in your mouth, around your eyes, and coming out your nose.

also yesterday night we went to the Ogden Temple to get some pics. they are closing it and renovating it and it is going to look completely different. we love that temple. we have had some really amazing experiences there. its sad to see it change, but we are excited to watch it all go down and then come back up. it was cool to go and take nova and hang out there and talk to nova about it. she loved it. she really loved that Heavenly Father had a 'swimming pool' at His House, and she was bummed that we were wearing our dresses instead of our swimsuits.

good bye old Ogden Temple. we love you.

just a quote:
"I have been WAITING and WATCHING for a cute little girl to APPEAR on SOMEBODY'S BLOG (or even in my email) wearing a PRINCESS DRESS from a recent wedding. If I gotta be patient about ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING ELSE in my life, then you better help me out on this one. Do I make myself clear???"
yup heather, when you send harsh words, they end up on the inter-web......hahahahaha!
ok, so she was joking. seriously people she was. but its true, i haven't posted for. ever. dan has, but not i. but here you are--mostly for heather--hopefully the anger is diminished.

so here are some blurbs with pics---please enjoy heather!


nova before disney on ice......can we say excited much?nova and i before our tea party date for relief society
happy pie day! and nova with just the apple, minus the pie. someone call racheal ray......my pie making skills are too much, and i may need a show soon. ha!
rain storm at our house=dancing in the rain. we love us a little singing in the rain action at our house. one of our favorite movies, and we love to do it ourselves even more.
and pretty much the only pic i took at the wedding! seriously!!!! (and this is before the meltdown in the bathroom incident dan wrote about earlier.)


one night nova was crying after we laid her down for bed and i went in and she said she needed a snuggle. so i laid by her and she said that she was scared and needed to say a prayer.....ahhh.....seriously, how am i so blessed to have the people i do in my family. and then after the prayer, she said she needed to take a silly picture with mom, and then her 'scared would leave.' oh nova........

we did a countdown to valentines day and one of the days dan took nova on a date. he took her to tangled----just little girls, not moms---nova was SOOOOO excited. like more than SOOOOO excited. seriously, her face looks Ca-RAzy in this pic, but i had to pic this one because its funny and it shows how much she adores dan. and it shows my retro apron....that was made out of my grandma's fabric. love.pink breakfast for v-day


snow cones with real snow! (and made by snow white) it was so themed! hahaha! totally not intentional. i just made the snow white connection as i am typing. ice from the freezer is the pansy and more sanitary way of making snow cones.....plus using real snow is just more fun. the end.

nova getting ready for dave and elisa's wedding with jen---which by the way was awesome. i love weddings and theirs was awesome. we are so excited for them and they really are so cute together.
and dan posted something yesterday that is pretty funny.