I LOVE SUMMER!!!

12 ReAsOnS WhY SumMeR iS thE bEsT!

1. You get to wear flip-flops everywhere.
2. You get TAN!! No more pasty winter white.
3. You can play in the water, and soak up the sun!
4. You can have picnics in the mountains.
5. You can go camping, and fourwheeling and take long summer drives with the windows down.
6. Everyone is HAPPIER. For some reason, people seem happier when the sun is shining.
7. You can have BBQS, bonfires, nightgames, and parties all night long outside! I love summer nights.
8. Whats better than flip-flops? Being barefoot!
9. Everthing is green, alive and colorful.
10. You can be lazy. Sleep all day and play all night. No school and not a care in the world! (this mostly applies to those without children.)
11. Slushies, icecream, cotton candy, and snow cones!
12. Carnivals, rodeos, derbys, and fairs!

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE SUMMER!!!!! YAY FOR SUMMER!

Were There!!

Yes, in case you were wondering, we have finally arrived in Utah. The 27 hour drive was all sorts of fun. But not really. By this point, we were so stinkin sick of taking long trips across the country. Jaxon was not impressed with having to stare at the back of the seat while not being able to move an inch the whole way. We sure were happy to get the heck out of Memphis, though. We made it in 2 days! Only 1 night in a motel! The last day, we drove for 16 hours. I don't recommend doing that with small children in the car. But there was nowhere to say in Colorado under $100. so... we kept on driving straight through to Richfield. We finally got there at 1 am. I felt a little like Lloyd and Harry on Dumb & Dumber at times...the long cross country trip, making up stupid songs in the car ("radio, who needs a radio?) going through the Rockies thinking "that John Denver is full of....well you know", AND I was even tempted to pee in a bottle at times. Although really it would be physically impossible for me to do that. We kept quoting Dumb and Dumber at times. I love the part when they finally get to Aspen. They both have snot running out of their noses, and Lloyd stands up with Harry attached to his back because he got stuck that way from peeing on him, and he says "WE'RE THERE!" If you haven't seen it, then you have no idea what I am talking about. And I suggest you see it because it is the best movie probably ever, and you'll never travel the same way again.

Our days in Tennessee

Here are some cute pictures taken in Tennessee. They are sort of random....

Fun with Bubbles! We discovered a new way to entertain Jaxon.

He couldn't quite figure this out! He wanted to grab the bubbles but couldn't! So cute.

Jax was out cold! He's such a light sleeper that you know he's in a deep sleep when this happens...


Look at these cute little stinky babies. Jax and Emrie. Jaxon is so inthralled with Emrie. They are so cute with eachother. We are gonna miss this cute little thing!





Jaxon is soooo flexible. He can practically do the splits. He can bend and stretch his body in all sorts of crazy positions. I have no idea who he got this from. Certainly not me!



Okay, the whole box thing, I don't really know what came over me to do this. I think it was the intense boredom mixed with insane heat that made me do it. Andrew thinks I am a weirdo for sticking him in a box. But it was fun, and really that's all that mattered! The pictures came out cute, at least I think so! And Jaxon had a blast in the box!





This is what happens when in Tennessee when you give a really bored girl a camera and a cute baby....This was in our backyard. Just a bunch of green stuff. Being the very smart girl I am, I discovered later that I had put my nearly naked baby in a garden of poison ivy. Luckily, he came out of it with NO RASH , but I think I got a little on my hand. I have no idea how that happened!

Andrew is 25!

Andrew is 25! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDREW!!!

Here are 25 interesting things about Andrew:

1. Andrew LOVES holidays. Especially Christmas. He is so festive, I love it. This is the only time of year when he doesn't get that mad at me when I buy decorations. He loves to decorate with me!!

2. He loves LOVES loves movies. Need I say more?

3. He really likes fruity things. I call him my fruit basket. He never wants chocolate (the good stuff) It's always fruity.

4. He can solve the rubiks cube. His fastest time is 51 seconds!

5. Andrew plays the piano. Yeah, I'm serious. I think that is amazing. He just doesn't look like the kind of guy who would play the piano!

6. Andrew has many nicknames....Poe, George, Henry, Doug, Rooster, Wing Ding, Big A, Schmuck, Mclovin. (the last one is from me)

7. Andrew wins at every game he plays. I'm serious. Ok, not every game, but geez, he sure is good at a lot of games. Especially sports, I swear he doesn't even have to practice!

8. Andrew LOVES tennis. He also doesn't look like a tennis sort of guy either, well he is.

9. Andrew is very smart. Well I think he is. He is really good at word games. He loves to play boggle and scrabble with me.

10. Andrew is a very fast learner. He can pick things up very quick. He learned how to install security systems, and become the fastest out of the rest within a couple weeks.

11. Andrew is secretly a huge geek. No one knows it, but at home he lets it all out. I wish I could tape him. I love it!!

12. Andrew got mono from kissing too many girls. Ok, only the first part is true. But he did have mono, and he got it on his mission, and had to go home because of it. But he did end up going back out to finish his mission.

13. Andrew went to Nashville, Tennessee on his mission. (Hey that's kind of cool. We're in Tennessee right now!)

14. Andrew knows sign language. Ok, he used to. Thats actually where we met: sign language class in college. I think he was too busy focusing on me to learn very much! :)

15. Andrew is the youngest of 7 kids. Yes, I married the baby...

16. Andrew is probably to most indecisive person you will ever meet. I finally had to decide that for him.

17. Andrew hates feet. He hates all feet. He is disgusted by them. He refuses to touch mine.

18. Andrew collected the first 41 goosebump books.

19. Andrew mutilates toothbrushes after about 2 weeks. Seriously, after he's done with them, the bristles are EVERYWHERE. It looks like he's had the same toothbrush for 10 years.

20. Andrew is the biggest STAR WARS geek. No, not the biggest, that would be his brother. But he really does love star wars.

21. Andrew is VERY allergic to cats. Seriously, it's actually dangerous. If he is in a house with cats, he gets really wheezy and has a hard time breathing, like asthma.

22. Andrew gets really bad road rage. He is SOOOO impatient with people when he's driving. And he has zero tolerance for traffic jams.

23. Andrew hates being late, and when things go overtime. If he's told a time, it's very important that people stick to that time. He's not impr essed about my habit of being fashionably late.

24. Andrew's first white Christmas was with me, last year in Logan, UT. He grew up in St. George, so this was very cool to him!!

25. Andrew is SUCH a good Dad. And I'm not just saying that to be nice, I am not like that. He really is. He does just as much for Jaxon as I do, I am not even kidding. Older old-fashioned people really despise of this idea, but it totally works great for me! Jaxon could not have a better Dad. And I could not have a better husband!

I'm sure this list could go on, but we're at 25. So, that's Andrew. And if you see him, wish him a Happy Birthday!!! We love you Andrew!!

A crazy thing called LIFE

Warning: this is the longest post ever. I have to get it all out some way....so here it goes.


If any of you know us well, you know that things are prone to change with us quite frequently. Nothing ever really stays the same for too long. We try to avoid monotony at all costs. And for the most part, that's how I prefer it. BUT this summer has been a little TOO much, even for me, queen of change. It might have something to do with how truly indecisive we both are. It is a disease. It's never helpful in any way. There are too many serious and complex choices when you grow up, and if you don't choose the right one, it's kind of a really big deal. This summer has been full of never ending questions. We have done what we thought was right, but none of it has turned out. (Except my goal of wanting to see the country. I've seen 10 new states so far.)

We are having to leave Tennessee now. There is not enough work for Andrew. The Sales reps aren't doing too hot, meaning less installs for Andrew. He usually sits home mostly all day waiting for a call. We can't ever really plan to go anywhere, cause he might get a call, but usually doesn't for a long time. He needs to get 2 a day to even pay the bills, let alone pay off any debt (which was the whole reason we came out here). Some days he only gets 1 install. That's just not enough. And it is so sad, because he is doing so well, he is getting really fast at installing. So....now what?

Well, they are looking for volunteers to go home. We can't afford to stay out here and see if it picks up, giving him enough to meet his goal that we HAVE to have because it pays half the rent, and gives us a bonus that we would get at the end of the summer. They are willing to give us our bonus if we volunteer now($35 extra per install. Normally, you have to hit the goal which is 150 installs to get this bonus, but since they are needing people to leave early, they'll give it to us, which is good.) So, yeah. As of 2 days ago, we decided we need to leave. Our decision hasn't changed so far. But, it very well could.

I am glad and sad but mostly glad to leave. The only thing I like about life out here in the south are my new friends Noelle and Tiffany. Man, I'll miss them! Oh and the pool and tanning bed. Free internet is a plus. But other than that, it's safe to say I'd be okay with never seeing this particular part of the country again. Oh, that's kind of sad. The only reason I would ever wanna come back here would be because we do have memories here. But as for anything else, I'm sorry to say, but the west beats it all!

If nothing else, we sure got an adventure out of this. And that's what I secretly wanted. Heaping mounds of money wouldn't have been bad, either. But the adventure was great. I needed to appreciate Utah, and this did it. For so long, I have wanted to get out and see if there really was life out of Utah, and what it was like. Now, I can say that I have. And Jaxon can too. That kid will have been in 17 states and not remember a thing! Now, that's impressive. We have: driven through snowstorms & windstorms in Wyoming, battled against the rain destroying our stuff. We've seen the flat flat nothingness of Nebraska, witnessed tornado warnings in Iowa, had to stop in very scary neighborhoods with bars on the windows in Indiana, saw The Mississippi river in Illinois and now Tennessee. There were toll roads and cherry blossoms in Ohio, miles and miles of rolling green hills in Pennslyvania and Virginia. We've seen Washington DC historical sites, ridden on a metro, walked past homeless people living in the streets, been lost in the city, seen every flower in every color blooming in Maryland, saw the DC temple, moved our stuff 3 seperate times to finally get into an apartment that had hot water & electricity, we have filled out 4 different change of address forms, dipped our feet in the ocean at the east coast, saw the appalachian "mountains" in Tennessee, experienced what it was like to be the only white people in several places, heard different accents and barely understanding a word of it. We've been amused by the numerous different churches, some with very unique names. We've sailed the great Mississippi, and gazed up at fireworks there too. We've tried hush puppies, and had fantastic southeren BBQ pork. We've almost stepped on frogs on the grass, and have seen them jump in the pool with us. We've caught fireflies, been scared by snakes on the ground, pointed to turtles in the ponds, and have smashed some very large beetles. We have been frusturated beyond tears, been at the end of our ropes multiple times, felt so incredibly stressed, we have cried together, we've been tired and mad and sad, we have felt overwhelmingly excited, we have laughed and been giddy together. Most importantly, we survived like 30 hours of being stuck in a car together. Yes, we have done and felt it all within 3 months. It's been a rollercoaster in every sense of the word. How we are still married, let alone still sane is a miracle.

And life still goes on....we can't wait to see what's in store next!

All I can say, is I sure am ready for Utah now! Bring on the monotony. I want to settle down and breathe for a while. Lets just be normal now.

Wow, okay I feel better now that I got that all out.



to be totally off the subject, I thought this was amusing:
this is actually a store here. SO cute! They don't have souveneirs there unfortunately. Just groceries.

Jaxon is crawling. No, he's "scooting". There is no leg usage here at all. Still, it's sort of exciting. He's a little bit of a late bloomer, but that's okay. I'm not really ready to chase him around the house yet! press play!

Oh yeah, and in case you forgot......IT'S ANDREW'S BIRTHDAY tomorrow!!

Jaxon's first 4th!

This was Jax's very 1st 4th of July! I think were more excited for him than he was. Considering that Andrew had to work part of the day, I'd say we had a pretty good day, and we made the most of it. We started by going to the parade in Cordova. The parade was short and sweet with mainly cars, horses, and kids riding bikes. But, they did throw out candy! Even though it wasn't really what we expected, at least we made it to a parade! Jax was entertained by it all, of course. It was fun to see how he reacted to all of it. We caught a flag for him, but he mostly just wanted to eat it. Oh and yeah, do you like our matching shirts? We are such a cheesy happy little family, but at least we're being true to the red white & blue! (Duh, that's all Andrew!) We noticed that no one else was reallly wearing red, white or blue today. So sad.





These were some of the cute things at the parade. I loved the old man on the horse! And of course, look at that BEAUTIFUL car!





Here is my all-american baby. Of course we had to have some picture time on the 4th of July. He looked so cute in this outfit! By the way, he is exactly 8 months old now!




The APX group had a BBQ at the park. The guys played kickball and had a water balloon fight. The food was so yummy (Thanks to Noelle and Tiffany!). Jaxon loved the jello fruit salad.

"The Girls" (well, and one stinky Jax) These are my friends Noelle, Tiffany, and baby Emrie! And that freakishly tall person, yeah that's me! These girls are great and I love em!

( I don't know why this writing is so big, it won't let me fix it!)

Fireworks! So this is where it is happening in Memphis at night on the 4th! EVERYONE was here. There were soooo many people. It took forever to find a place to park, and when we finally did, we saw that we were on Talbot Avenue! how cool! We found the perfect seats, and we have no idea how we did it. It was so packed with people. We were sitting right in front of the Mississippi River, and exactly straight across from us, on the island on the Mississippi, they were lighting them. So we really did get a perfect view! We expected Jaxon to be scared senseless, and thought we would have to cuddle him close to stop his crying, but that wasn't the case. Jax didn't seem happy, sad or scared about the fireworks. They were SO loud and he only stared up at them with this face. Then when it was almost over, he yawned, clearly not affected, and almost a little bored with the fireworks! That's Jaxon for ya! Things that should scare him don't, but weird random things make him very mad and sad. Silly kid!

Fourth of July Memories

Graphics and Myspace Layouts at pYzam.com

Happy 4th of July everyone! Since Andrew has to work this 4th, we got to reminiscing about past 4th of Julys, and why we love this holiday. Here is what comes to mind when I think of the 4th of July...

1. Going to Grandma's House (Richfield). Before my family moved to Richfield, back when I was a kid and we lived in Salt Lake, we would spend a lot of 4ths at my Grandma Hansen's house. The best part of going to Grandma's house was seeing my uncles, Kellon & Kevin. They are only a few years older than me, so they were like cousins to my brother Carson, and I. Everytime we were almost to Richfield, I would get butterflies in my stomach because I was so excited to see Kellon & Kevin, I could hardly contain myself. Kellon & Kevin were ALWAYS fun. We were never bored as long as we were around them.

2. Marching bands. Everytime I hear a marching band, I think of the 4th of July. Some years when we would stay at my Grandma's house, Me, Carson, Kellon & Kevin, would sleep in the front room or outside on the trampoline. On the morning of the 4th of July, we would wake up to Richfield High School's marching band marching down 4th west (the street my grandma lived on), blaring their instruments as loud as possible. It was always at 6:00 AM and never a minute later. Groggy as I was from no sleep, I was always a little excited to hear the band greet us, saying "wake up, it's the 4th of July!"

3. The smell of Fireworks. I love the smell of fireworks. We would always light our own fireworks on my Grandma's driveway. We would all sit on lawn chairs and watch them. I remember when the flashy ones were lit, we would get up and dance weird dances to watch how eachother looked with the weird light flashing on us.

4. The Parade. In Richfield, and to my family, the parade is a big deal. We would ALWAYS go to the parade. We would find a spot on main street, lay down our blanket and sit in the hot sun. My Grandpa, and his brothers own a bunch of John Deere tractors, and every year they show them off in the parade. My Mom and Brother now also drive a tractor in the parade. My Grandpa made a little train that he pulls behind the tractor. It has like 8 seperate cars on it that usually my cousins sit in during the parade. My Grandpa also built a "Pent-a-wheel" It a big round thing that you strap two people into and push them around and around. One year, I rode on that with a friend while it was being pulled behind a tractor in the parade! FUN! I love parades, and the candy they throw out, and all the cool floats to see. Every 4th, no matter where I live, I will make sure we go to a parade!

5. The City Park. After the parade, the fun continues at the City park in Richfield. There is food, games, and rides. My Grandpa does train and pent-a-wheel rides for real cheap. All the kids in town will be waiting in one of these lines. Snocones. Hot dogs. fish ponds. Relay races. Talent shows. Crowds and crowds of people.

6. Red, White & Blue. Every year, probably since I was able to dress myself, I made sure that I was properly attired in either red, white or blue. If I was really good, I could manage to work in all 3 colors. I think it is very important that these colors are worn. It is so lame to see someone in an orange shirt on this day. Is it so hard to be festive? No, your day will not be the same if you are not wearing one of these colors. It is extra fun to go to Old Navy and getting matching flag shirts for the whole family. I will ALWAYS make sure my husband and kids are decked out in these colors on the 4th of July.

7. The BIG Fireworks. Once again, this memory is the best in Richfield. Although I have watched fireworks other places. I use to always look forward to the end of the day and the heat, when dusk would come and the mosquitos started biting. This meant it was time to head down to the lions park with our huge red blanket. We would then have to look for a spot to sit, Everyone comes here to watch the fireworks . We would scout out our piece of grass, and go sit and wait for it to get all the way dark. As time would pass, we would grow more anxious to see that first flash of light and the thunderous boom. These fireworks would usually last awhile. My brothers, Kellon, Kevin, and I would like to guess which color each firework would be before it went off. Red. Green. Purple. Blue. Orange. The grand finale was always something to look forward to, the sky would be so bright with tons and tons of fireworks going off at once. Sometimes they would have fireworks that would spell out things like "Happy 4th of July". The fireworks were so close to us, that sometimes ashes would fall on our heads.

8. Punchbags. Ok, these I think are only a Richfield-ism. No one else I talk to has ever heard of these. They are just little bags of punch. You can buy them at the Ideal Dairy in Richfield. You can buy huge boxes of em, and that's what my Grandparents would usually do. They would freeze them, because they are a lot better that way. You are supposed to poke a little straw in it and drink it, but we would always bite into it and drink it that way. There were always tons and tons of them and we'd drink them all day.

9. This is my last one, even though I could go on and on about the 4th. The Mountains. After we did the parade, and our thing at the park, my Dad always insisted that we get away from it all. Somewhere quiet, cooler, and clear of people. Somewhere out of the heat and noise. I always liked to be around the crowds on the 4th, I felt like that's where everything was going on, and we were just gonna miss it all if we left. But now, that I am away from Richfield, Utah, my home, I miss the mountains and the simplicity of it. It really was peaceful to take a drive up the canyon and have a picnic at a little lake we found along the way. It was nice to feel the cooler summer air and be out and away from people being so busy and loud. I have never missed or appreciated a 4th of July in Richfield doing the "same old thing" every year, as I do now. (Sniff, Sniff)

Okay, so there are my thoughts on the 4th of July. It's kind of fun to think back to the good old days. When Andrew gets home, I will make him write his too....

Alecia wants me to put in some of my 4th of July memories. So a little awkward but...... Anyway I remember when I was a kid we usually went to the Hurricane parade in the morning and the usually games and activites afterward at the park. Sometimes we might go out in the hills, I also remember some water fights and just playing around at home. Then at night we would go see city fireworks. Usually in Hurricane, sometimes St. George. I remember being terrified at first when the big fireworks in the sky would crack. What was most fun to me is lighting our own fireworks either at home or at my grandparnets house. One of my favorites was the little tanks. We used to point the tanks at each other and have a tank war, and with me being the youngest it was always an exciting privlidge to be able to light one of the fountains or other fireworks. We would always save the biggest fountain for last. At my grandparents my uncle Kory usually had some m80's or bottlerockets that he would have fun with, while a lot of us cousins were throwing snaps at each other. Just like every other kid I always remember lighting the handheld sparklers. I can remember what it looked like to have 7 kids running around with sparklers a lot of the time in both hands.