Spring Break?

Here is Alex's snowman that she made this afternoon. Yes, it is April 16th and we got dumped on last night. It was crazy. (Side note: No, I did not let Ashlynn play outside in her PJ's)

No Excuse

So I haven't blogged in a very long time. I really have no excuses. I am sure I could come up with a few but no one really wants to hear me whine. Not a whole lot has been different lately. Currently my life is constantly looking to the future. We are really excited to be going down to St. George at the beginning of May for Alexis's baptism. And then after that we will be going to California for Krista's wedding in the middle of May. I am constantly thinking, talking and dreaming about our small vacations because I am very excited to escape my boring, predictable life.

Easter has come and gone. Not a whole lot of picture taking took place because of different things that happened....complain, whine. I will down load what I got and see if any are worth posting later.

The thing I really wanted to blog about is related to Krista's wedding. So ever since Linda called to tell us that it was official, I have been preparing. I had to loss some weight before the wedding. The last two weddings I was in that had my picture taken I looked horrible. At my father-in-law's I was eight months pregnant. And then at my sister, Katie's I had had Ashlynn only three days before. I was determined to look good. I started working out every day. But it was only until lately that I really started watching what I ate and my caloric intake for each day. I weigh myself only once a week, on Sundays. Yesterday I had finally lost 10 pounds from where I had started. I am so excited. I just hope now that it stays off for another month.

Turn Back Time

Well I am officially 30 now. I had birthday celebrations all week long, just the way I like it. My mom was here for my birthday which was really nice. We all hung out all day, not doing a whole lot. We went to lunch and shopping without buying to much. The weather was really nice on Wednesday so we all got a little sun sitting outside while we let the kids play and jump on the trampoline. We went out for dinner at Applebees and then came home for Martin-made Porcel Torte to top the night off. (It was very yummy.)

On Friday Katie and Dave watched the girls so Martin and I could go out for my birthday alone. We went and saw the movie Race to Witch Mountain and then went out to the Macaroni Grill for dinner. We had to bring home a piece of chocolate cake because Ashlynn almost had a melt down that morning when she was told the Porcel Torte was all gone. Martin and the girls gave me two new CD's since my new car has a CD player. (the jeep did not) I also bought the movie Twilight on Saturday morning. I am very spoiled and love to drag out my birthday but I don't think I will be able to get away with it for any more days so I am calling it to a close. I suppose all good things must come to an end.

Our New Baby!

So we have been talking about getting a new car for a very long time now. The subject usually gets heightened by any upcoming trips. Before we went to Colorado we had a very serious discussion about getting a new car but felt way to rushed. We started to feel as if our trip to California is just around the corner so of course we began once again talking about getting a new car. Martin wants to make sure we get to California safely...I am a little more naive and think we could just make it on faith alone. I know that is not very practical and so that is how we came to getting our new Nissan Armada. When everything was hypothetical we would always say we were going to get a Dodge Durango. It was one of the first things we test drove and immediately we knew that was not the car for us. With Martin putting his seat completely back so he fits, the girls could not put their feet down. They sat cross legged the entire time. The Armada has tons of room and Martin doesn't feel cramped whatsoever.

It is a full sized SUV so it has three rows of seats. Leather seats, which I always said I would not get because they are either too hot or too cold. For the too cold the solution is seat warmers. They make your buns nice and toasty.

I really don't know why I took this picture but this is what I see most often while I am in the car. It drives really smoothly and goes really fast. One thing I like is the dual air control because if Martin is just right that means I am freezing cold.

So the second day we went back we were test driving some other Armadas they had found for us. The first one did not have the DVD players in the head rests. I look back while we are driving and Alex is crying because she wants the car with the DVD player in it. Such a drama queen. She also started to cry when we left the Jeep at the dealership and continually said she was afraid we had left something in there. All in all I think we are all excited about our new car, even Alex.

Nothing New

Well, I knew this would happen. I have nothing to say so I have not blogged for almost a month. I feel like such a loser! Nothing has really changed here. I am constantly just taking care of my kids, doing stuff for primary, and with Valentines day coming up I get to do Alex's school party.

This year for Valentines day, Katie and I have switched baby sitting. Since Martin works that night, I will watch Andrew for Katie and Dave and than maybe later they will watch the girls for us.

Martin and I have never really celebrated Valentines day. The first few years we were together, we were down in California helping out at the flower shop. We would spend maybe half an hour together for lunch and that would be it all day until we would come back to the house and sit around from exhaustion. If you really want to feel the excitement of Valentines day, work in a flower shop. I loved being surrounded by red, white and pink. My nose was delighted all day with the smell of roses. I loved helping people find the perfect something for their perfect someone. Martin and I might not have been able to spend a ton of time together on a day meant for loved ones but it didn't matter. I knew he loved me by the way he would smile at me from the back while he was loading more flowers onto his truck. Sometimes I miss the simple life.

Happy Birthday Katie!

Well today is Katie's 25th birthday. She has had to share her birthday with other family members most of her life. Happy birthday to Helmut! Happy Birthday to Tim! Katie is not only my baby sister, she is one of my best friends. She is fun, creative and has a great listening ear. She is also a great mom. I hope that you have a great birthday, Katie.

Damsel in Distress

I am one who tries to be self sufficient as much as possible, but there are times when I find myself in trouble that only can be saved by someone else. Today I started my errands by dropping off some papers to a primary teacher. As soon as I pulled up next to her house I knew that I was in trouble. The front right tire did not feel as if it was in a good position. I had tried to move over far enough on the road so I would not be in the way but instead I had moved over too far and now my car was certainly going to be stuck in the ditch, in the snow. After taking the papers, I thought that I needed to try and get out but nothing I tried worked. What in the world was I to do? Martin had only been asleep for 3 hours and with the washing machine running he was not going to hear his phone. I tried it anyway...no answer. I ran across the street to a members house to see if her husband was home... he was at work. I am trying to think of what to do when a truck pulls up in front of my car. An older gentleman gets out and offers to try and tow the jeep out. While we are hooking up another older gentleman stops to offer his help. I am feeling really stupid at this time and don't even know how to offer my help. We try a couple of times to pull my car out but instead it slides further down into ditch and the snow is now so deep it is at the bottom of my car. (I have a jeep mind you) As I was meeting Katie to do some shopping, she finally arrives. I give her my house key and ask that she go wake up my husband. The older gentlemen went in search of wood to put under my tires as to give some...whatever, I don't know. Everyone comes back. The wood is placed, Martin takes the driver seat, and out the car comes. So what did I learn from all of this besides not to get stuck in a ditch that is filled with snow? I learned that all I could do was verbally thank those men for their help although they deserved so much more. They were strangers who stopped to help another stranger in need. Since I don't even know their names they are still strangers. Since all I could was say thank you I have decided that it is now my turn. The next time I see someone in need and I can do something to help, I need to slow down and just do as the Savior would and help. And in return all I will get will be a thanks but then hopefully the cycle will continue.