I met one of the three Nephites!

Okay, just so that everyone doesn't get confused...this is Luke. Yesterday I had an interesting experience when I went with the Elders Quorum President to visit some less-active members in our ward. When we came to the door of the first house we went to we were met by an old guy with a long white beard and wearing overalls, cleaning out an empty house. He said "I'll bet I'm not the person you were expecting to find here." He wasn't and we asked what happened with the family that was living there and he said quite firmly that they were evicted. But he continued to tell us that it was our lucky day and told us that he was one of the three Nephites! He then asked us if we knew how we could tell he was a Nephite...he then explained that you could tell a Nephite by his beard and they wear overalls. By this time I was laughing hysterically inside, but then he pointed to his wife who was cleaning behind him and said that she was one of the three Nephites too and told us, "I'll bet you didn't know that one of the three Nephites was a girl did you?" I could hardly keep a strait face by that point. Anyway for the next 1 1/2 to 2 hours we stood there on his porch listening to he gab on about different doctrines...some of his own and some of the LDS church. He was actually very knowledgeable on our doctrines and said that he had read all of the 20+ (I can't remember exactly how many) volumes of the Journal of Discourses, and I think I believe that. He talked about Joseph Smith and other Latter-day prophets..and I won't share what he said about them...I'll just say that it wasn't all favorable. Surprisingly he wasn't really contentious in his ravings, a little offensive, but he didn't try to fight with us like others do, but maybe it was because we could hardly get a word in the conversation, but he did have some pretty weird ideas. He claimed to be a prophet and prophesied about the end of the world...it's going to be in the year 2033 and it's not going to be by any man-made means. Apparently it's common knowledge that the ocean is full of methane hydrates that are being contained by the cool ocean temperatures, and as we all know that is changing. But what we don't know is that this warming will release these methane hydrates in one big burp that will surround the earths atmosphere and all it will take is one lightning strike and BOOM!!! The earth will be a cinder floating in space. So get prepared everyone! Several times we tried to get a name for this "Nephite" and all we could get out of him was Grandpa Country. Anyway, it was an interesting visit to say the least, I just thought I should share.

Two Already?!?

Yesterday was Tianna's 2nd birthday. I can't believe it it's been that long since our little princess came into the world. She was born on Sept. 16, 2006 and 6:43 am. She was 8 lbs 5.5 oz and 21 inches long.
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At her 2 year doctor check up this morning she weighed in at 24.11 lbs. and was 33 inches. Going off the whole "double their height at 2 and you'll get their full grown height" she will be about 5'6 when she's all growed up. The doc said she's healthy and is doing great! She's even big enough to pick out her own distinct style as you can see)

Saturday we had a huge birthday bash for that spoiled little girl! Anyone that knows her will know that she's OBSESSED with Princesses and anything girlie so of course we had to throw her a princess party... featuring her very favorite, Cinderella. (I wonder why she likes Cinderella so much. hehehe)


We had a blast though. Almost all of her cousins came and even some 2nd cousins. They were encouraged to dress up and it was so cute to see all of the costumes the kids had. Even baby Jocelyn had a fluffy dress and Aden had the cutest little prince outfit! Tianna was fully decked out in Cinderella attire and she LOOOOOOOVED that! Here's a pic. of some of the royals.


We played "Cinderella Rewound" which was a game I made up. It started out at the Royal Ball with the kids dancing to music and playing with hula hoops and such then when the clock chimed (car horn honked 12 times) the kids had to put Cinderella in her carriage (red wagon) and whisked her across the driveway to get their magic pumpkins (orange balloons). They had to crawl through a tunnel which was the "Transformation tunnel." Once they were on the lawn they had to smash their pumpkin (pop balloon) and then play "Fairy Godmother, May I?" (mother may I) across the lawn. Then it was time for them to do Cinderella's chores by sweeping a little path and then played "Stepmother Says" (Simon Says). Next we played "Put-the-shoe-on-Cinderella" where Monica had drawn the COOLEST Cinderella for us!!
After that the kids had time to just play in the backyard before we did the pinata`. Then we had cupcakes and opened presents. It was chaotic but really fun. I'm just not sure being in charge is nearly as much fun as participating.



But a REAL THANKS to everyone who attended and thank you for all of generous presents for the birthday girl. It was a great memory that we're grateful to have shared with our loved ones.

This last picture was from yesterday when she finally got to taste that Cinderella cake. She was so anxious that she kept bugging her daddy who was doing homework before we celebrated. She'd go up to him and say, "Pake?....I-ceem?.... Please, Daddy...." It was soooo cute!

Happy Birthday, Baby!

This is another long, picture filled post butLuke turns the big 26 today. I know, I know... making a list of his 26 best qualities is kind of cheesy but I don't care. He's worth it! I could easily think of 100 reasons why I love him, so, at least you only have to read 26 of them. And they aren't in any particular order, just whatever comes to mind at the time.

1. He's so handsome
Looking hot on our honeymoon
2. Very caring
3. way smart
4. Patient with crazy and often emotional wife
5. Good at comforting said emotional wife
6. Best snuggler ever
7. Has a real playful and silly side that not everyone gets to see As Uncle Ricco from Napolean Nynomite Nite
8. Really spiritual
9. Dedicated and works really hard
10. Gives his girls flowers often

11. WONDERFUL DADDY
12. loves the outdoors
13. Constantly telling me he loves me (finds the cutest ways to do it too)
14. Loves his family and would rather spend time with them than do anything else
15. Has a lot of common sense
16. Willing to please me even at the risk of public embarrassment :)
Halloween 2006... Mary had a little lamb (and a BIG ONE!)
17. Righteous and worthy priesthood holder for our family
18. Quick to apologize and doesn't get mad easily
19. Really strong... physically, spiritually, mentally, etc...
20. Crazy enough to ask me to marry him
Our engagement April 28, 2005
21. Willing to help anyone, anytime
22. Gentle
23. Really positive about other people
24. Makes me feel like the most beautiful girl in the world
25. He's the best kisser

26. And he's mine for ETERNITY!!

Happy Birthday, Luke the Peacock

Kona, Hawaii Temple... March 2007

Lovin' Labor Day!!!

We had a great Labor Day this year! Before I get into what we did, I just want to say, God Bless Our Troops!!!

Luke went with his dad and brother-in-law on a horse pack-trip for the weekend. They had a good time but got drenched from the rain. One really awesome thing he experienced was bugling in some elk who returned the call all night long. So between the pouring rain on their tarp tent and the elk bugling all night... (and his dad's snoring and Chris' sleeping antics) Luke didn't exactly get a good nights rest... but hey. That's what campings all about, right? I don't even think he pulled his camera out... so sorry. No pics or at least none I'm aware of.

Meanwhile........ we girls decided that if they were going to go have fun without us.. We'd have some fun of our own. And oh, baby, we certainly did!
We spent Saturday in Salt Lake at the Hogle Zoo. It was so fun and SOOOOO busy. Apparently the busiest day of the year. It didn't hinder our animal observing too much though. Tianna an Aden had a blast and we saw some pretty amazing animals.






Afterwards we ate downtown at Ramano's Macaroni Grill--- YUM!!! Then headed off to our hotel. (Thanks Laura for getting us the awesome deal) At the hotel we treated ourselves to a spa day ... er.. night. We swam and took advantage of the hot tub then tried to get our wild children asleep. In the midst of that goal we even used face masks. It was hilarious-- Tianna was laying in her bed while I did my mask. She looks at me, giggles and says "Face funny, mom." Yes, yes, it is.

On Sunday we went to my brother, James' ward before heading home.
Monday we did power quilting... I had to borrow quilt stands and frames to do Tianna'a quilt and since we didn't have the whole weekend like I had kind of expected, we had to sew like mad! We did however finish (at 9 pm) and still had to get back to Logan.. which we didn't get home until 2 am. But I owe a HUGE THANK YOU to Grandma Peacock, Belinda, Monica, Courtney, and Luke. And thank you Bert and Chris for helping to wrangle the kids so that we could quilt! As soon as it's bound, I'll post the final outcome.

(Here's a slide show of all our zoo pics. I have both because I'm going to print out our blog pages and I don't know how slide shows will work. so.. if you want to check it out go a head. Some pictures will be repeats.)

A Congratulations, a Quilt, and a Couch Potato

Here's another shout-out to my sweet hubby! I'm so proud of him! He has been working at a place called Juniper Systems since June. He was an intern and they just offered him to stay on as a student engineer through the school year. He'll becme part-time and it should work really well with his schedule. He's really excited because he loves him new job (and although Home Depot was exhilarating...he'd much prefer to stay at Juniper than go back and do night freight. ) So I just wanted to congratulate him and tell him that I love him! :)

If you are interested in what he does at his job check out their website. http://www.junipersys.com/main.php

Basically, they build really rugged PDA's that you can practically throw off a cliff and they will still work. They are used by surveyors, sheep herders, etc. He even gets to borrow an Archer and thinks it's pretty dang awesome!

I told you in my last post that I would show pictures of Tianna's quilt that I've been working on. It started out as just the crib blanket that I bought for her when she was a baby. I'm trying to turn it into a twin sized quilt. I've only finished the top layer, but I'll post again when it's finished!


As for Tianna.... I regret to say it, but she's been a couch potato this week. This sewing project has occupied a LOT of my time and she's filled hers by watching Cinderella. She's obsessed... and so far today, she's watched it Twice. I started it this morning while I got ready and when it rewound, she started it over. Yes, SHE started it over. Since my visiting teachers were here I just let her go ahead. Maybe I should stop blogging and take her jogging! Hahah..

Summer- Going Out with A Bang!

On Tuesday Luke headed down to Price because bright and early the next morning he, my dad, and my brother, Jason, and brother-in-law, Casey, went to the Uintah Mountains on a horse-pack trip. They had such a great time! They conquered the roughest terrain Luke had ever ridden horses on, caught tons of fish, ate the best camping food he's ever had, and... basically had a wonderful time. They came home Saturday and are already talking about when they can go back.

Meanwhile, my sister, Jana, and her daughters, Nati, Payton, and Harley came to visit Tianna and I. We also had a really really good time. We shopped and shopped, went on a walk at the Logan River Trail, went to the Logan Aquatic Center, Willow Park Zoo, and drove up the canyon for a picnic and for her to take her girl's pictures.
She also helped me start a quilt for Tianna's big girl bed that she will be receiving for her birthday. We are transforming her crib quilt into a twin-size. (It's turning out super cute so I'll have to post pictures of that later. )

Then.... Jana talked me into going back to Price with her so that on Sunday we could ride back up with Luke. I'm glad I decided to go down. It was my mom's birthday so we were able to celebrate with her and eat really yummy food! :) And of course, spend time with our loved ones. Happy Birthday Wombat!

Tianna looooooooved playing with her cousin's and she's been breaking my heart today by asking for each of them by name. She looks so disappointed when I try to explain that we won't see them for a long time. Luke starts school next week and then we'll be back into a more regular routine, which unfortunately doesn't include as many family visits. This summer has been full of family and fun and it's sad to have it all but over.