The hair cut

BEFORE
AFTERGOOD-BYE, HAIR!

Taylor really wanted to cut her hair short, so I did. I prefer long hair, however it is easier to do this way. Afterall, look at how happy she looks with her new hair-do.

a new photographer on the rise

Taylor dressed herself on this day. At least we are dealing with pink and white stripes. It sort of goes together. Don't mind the fact that they are three very different shades of pink.



Taylor got a hold of the camera and told me that she was going to take pictures of everything in our house. I wanted to share a few of the objects that she took pictures of.


My deformed feet. I don't know why my toes curl under, but they do.

A large portion of her bicycle.
Maren's bouncy seat (Did you notice the camera strap in the picture?).
The Wall!!the concrete! (and more camera strap!)
I thought the cactus shot was pretty good. She's getting better.She did pretty good on this shot, too...after several unsuccessful attempts.

Coo-coo Bird Video

OK, it is super easy to put a video on my blog. I assumed it would be complicated. I'm FINALLY getting around to putting one on! The only thing I hate about all the videos I have is my voice. I sound so stupid and annoying. You'll see in future videos. My talking in this particular video isn't that bad from what I can remember.

I was going through my old videos of Taylor and I found this one. It's my favorite!! She is two and a half in the video. Her hysterical personality shines.

100th Post!

One Hundred Random Facts about Me—Are you ready for this?

1. I eat kiwis with the skin on. You should try it.

A tornado hit my neighborhood in Virginia when I was eight years old. Thankfully, my house wasn’t damaged.

I am ambidextrous.

I was 18 when I got my first kiss.

I love onions. Just love them. On salads, on baked potatoes…I put them in/on almost every dish I make.

Spencer and I went on two honeymoons. First, on the California coast. Four months later we went to Hawaii.

I have never had a pedicure. Someday….

Smells are a big deal to me.

In college I got a telemarketing job. After ten minutes on the job, I quit.

I am not a morning person. I am not a night person. I am a person who likes to get lots of sleep.
I’m a bit grouchy if I don’t get my sleep. Ask Spencer.

I have never broken a bone (knock on wood).

I am a second child of five. The oldest girl.

I have had two surgeries—a C-section and my wisdom teeth yanked out.

I don’t like soda.

I would do anything to brush my teeth at least twice a day.

I have Icelandic ancestry.

I’m a BYU baby.

I really enjoy watching Friends. I think it’s hilarious. Monica and Chandler are the best! Right now I’m into Lost.

Before Spencer came along, I didn’t enjoy chocolate, steak, or applesauce on pork. I love them all now. Spencer’s mad because now when people give me chocolate, I don’t pass it on to him anymore—I hide it from him.

My favorite card game is Spades.

I was called on a mission to Utica, New York. Someday I’d like to visit and see what I missed out on. Spencer owes me big for keeping me from the mission.

I like memorization.

I dislike Halloween. It is a meaningless holiday that loads me and my children with glucose.

I’ve never been to a Broadway musical. I’m dying to go!

I love avocados and I love fish. (not together)

I don’t wear earrings.

Spencer and I have only missed Family Night a handful of times in our marriage.

I’d love to dye my hair, but I’m too chicken to do it.

I have been snow skiing twice in my life…I didn’t really enjoy it. (See #30.)

I am scared of heights.

My shoe size is 6 and a half.

Before I had any children, I wanted twelve kids. I don’t know why I chose such a high number.

Now I’d be happy with significantly less.

I HATE wassabi.

I don’t like to shop with anyone.

I don’t cry much. I hate crying in public. I’m even embarrassed when my husband sees me cry.

I worked at the testing center at BYU for a year. I just passed out the tests…pretty easy.
People always asked me, “How can you work in the testing center”? It wasn’t that bad.

I am not a dark chocolate gal.

I’m not a big fan of medicine unless I’m in lots of pain or severely ill.

I like speaking in church with a very prepared talk in my hand. I don’t do well with impromptu—I get too nervous.

One time I gave Spencer a chocolate bar for Valentines Day and ate more than half of it. Spencer was upset (sorry Honey).

I’m an animal person… If my husband weren’t allergic…

Being a leader doesn’t come naturally to me.

I want to visit these top three places for a long, long stay someday: Alaska, Europe, and Jerusalem.

When Spencer leaves me on business or on a camp-out with the scouts, I don’t sleep well. I traditionally watch A&E’s Pride and Prejudice. I love that movie.

One book that I highly recommend you reading is Corrie TenBoom’s The Hiding Place.

I like garlic.

I know sign language.

I don’t have any professional sports teams that I am remotely interested in.

I worked at the Bean Life Science Museum. I was the front office receptionist and I did reptile shows for school groups. Holding snakes wasn’t my favorite part of the job, but I tolerated it.

I enjoy cooking.

When I was little I would put beetles in jars. My brothers and I would tie strings to their legs and fly them like kites. It was fun. I was a bug girl.

I enjoy classical music.

I’m not very crafty.

I have an unhealthy fear of poisonous spiders.

I wish I were a better gift-giver. I’m a great gift-receiver. :D

In Junior High I got a teacher to write me a detention for making-out in the halls. It was April Fools Day. The joke didn’t work. My mom didn’t believe it.

I have never been fishing or hunting.

My idea of scrapbooking is putting my pictures in picture albums.

I put chopped celery, onion, and dill pickles on my tuna sandwiches.

When I was ten or eleven, some punk teenager held a gun up to my head on Halloween and told me to give him my pillowcase full of candy. I froze for a few seconds, and then gave it to him. He ran across the street, then came back laughing, telling me he was just kidding…. um…traumatic.

I have NO allergies.

I’d like to learn how to do flower arrangements.

I tolerate hot weather more than cold.

My least favorite chore is laundry.

I had an abusive Kindergarten teacher. She got fired.

I like to sing.

My favorite colors to wear are greens and blues, and black and white.

I spelt the word “COLUMN” wrong on my third-grade spelling bee contest.

I like soccer. I played soccer in college on an intramural team.

I’ve never been horseback riding, but I’d like to.

I’m not a big magazine or newspaper person.

My favorite ice-cream flavor is Dreyer’s Rocky road. Yum. It’s all about the nuts.

I get irritated when people chew loud or slurp.

I prefer driving to being driven.

I am not an artist. You should see my horse, and my self-portrait. Yikes.

If I had to choose between mountains and beach, I’d choose mountains.

My favorite color in nature is purple.

I don’t like yardwork.

I like hats.

My dinner plates are white with gold trim. We also have some cobalt blue plates. Yay for wedding gifts!

I’m not a germ freak.

I think my eyes are dark gray/blue with a golden ring around the pupil. Spencer calls them “mud eyes”. I tell people my eye color is hazel. It’s easier.

I don’t like to talk about my experience with Taylor being born three months early. It’s not a fun memory. Don’t ask.

I invite the missionaries over to my house for dinner every month on the 17th. Bizarre isn’t it?

I prefer to write in cursive.

I look silly in sunglasses…kind of like a bug. My face is too narrow.

I have extremely oily hair, unfortunately.

My blood type is A+.

I am sick for the first half of my pregnancy. I throw up every day for those few months.

I’m not a career person. I have no desires to have a profession…ever. I just want to be home with my kids and family…. kind of like Beth in Little Women. Good book.

Spencer and I are planning on going to see Wicked.

I want to take a public speaking class.

I am picky about what movies I like.

I still get acne, dang it!

If I had a choice, I would want my next child to be male.

We go to the library every week for story time with Miss Donna.

I was “Constance” (from Forgotten Carols) in a stake play four years ago. Spencer was “John”.

We want a home in the country someday.

Spencer and I want to take a ballroom dance class together.

100. It was really hard for me to come up with all of this randomness.

5 things...

5 Things I was Doing 10 Years Ago:

1) Living in Provo, UT
2) Trying to focus on my studies at BYU but not doing such a great job
3) Working PT in the Cannon Center Cafeteria (I didn’t enjoy this at all)
4) Dating and playing a bit too much
5) Being silly and having fun with my roommates


5 Things on my To-Do List:

1) Go visiting teaching!
2) Finish reading my book, John Adams
3) Buy a new pair of jeans
4) Teach Maren how to take a bottle
5) Find a new rental home (we, unfortunately, have to move because the people that own our rental home are foreclosing in a few months!)


5 Things I Would Do If I Were A Millionaire:

1) First, we would save it (technically, the first thing we would do would be to pay tithing)
2) Second, invest it
3) Hopefully not cling to it too tightly, but share it with those who need
4) Pay off house debt
5) Try not to be too “showy” about it

5 Things I Would Never Wear Again:

1) a diaper (I hope)
2) press-on nails. I’m not a fan.
3) a thong. Not for me.
4) a “mullet” hair-do
5) my bangs ten feet high with too much hair spray


5 Favorite things I do for fun:
1) Read
2) Cook & Eat
3) Show the beautiful world to my children
4) Sing
5) Outdoor activities (running, hiking, swimming, sports, etc)

Hyer Cousin Pictures

Dylan -3 yrs. old & Kadee -2 yrs. old (Christian & Stephanie's children)

Hayden Marcus Hyer: 2 months (Davido & Rachelle's babe)

We surprised Grandma DeLane and gave her this picture of all of her grandchildren together!

Taylor 4, McKay 2, & Maren 8 months.

And another shot of all the cousins together. A miracle that all 6 of the children, 4 yrs. and younger, were cooperating!!

I looked out the window and...

Yay for blossoms on my tree!!
And blossoms on all the almond tree orchards!

And bright orange poppies (at least I think they are poppies) on the sides of the freeway!

I LOVE SPRING! What a great time of year to celebrate new life, and most especially the Resurrection of our Savior.

Utah Trip February 08

I did a HORRIBLE job taking pictures on our Utah trip. I took ZERO pictures of the cousins that Taylor and McKay had a blast with. I didn't even get a picture of the bride & groom! This is what I did get...Lani's shower. I had fun making the invitations and planning the games! Our family at the Salt Lake Temple. It was a cold, rainy, happy day. We had a great time at the wedding and reception. It was great spending time with family--playing games, laughing, eating, and watching the cousins play together. We had a wonderful trip.




However, traveling home was the trip from HELL!! Really. Imagine all the horrific possibilities on a twelve hour drive and they most likely happened.

The first seven hours of the trip were OK. We made great time. The kids were tired and out-of-it, so we didn't stop much, we just drove on. We made it from Orem, UT to Barstow, CA in 7 and a half hours driving at about 85 MPH.

Just before we reached Barstow, one of our wheels started making this funny sound. A few seconds later something happened. We thought the tire had blown. Turns out that the tread on the tire had fallen off. So we stopped at Burger King, which happened to be the nearest fast food restaurant, to quickly eat and change the tire as fast as possible. The kids didn't eat well.







We were on our way again, ready to continue our trip with a spare tire. I mean, come on, we have three children, we wanted the car ride to be done with.

Right after we drove through Barstow, Taylor threw up all over the car and it reeked. So of course we have to pull off again, change Taylor's clothes, wipe down the car, bag the stinky clothes, chuck the car-seat cover, etc.

Then we showed Taylor how to vomit in a Ziploc bag. We practiced with her. We had a little drill. "Oh no, Taylor! You have to throw up! What do you do?" She did it perfectly well... in the drill.

A few minutes--that's right, minutes--later on our trip she vomited, again. We stopped at a gas station this time. We got paper towels. Spencer got a great idea. (In truth, I think he was really tired of being the one to clean up!) He cut up a plastic grocery bag with his Leatherman to make a "bib". He tied it around Taylor's neck. That bag was a life-saver! It worked! Vomit #3 and #4 went right in the bag. Poor Taylor.

(notice the corner of the bag weighing down...gross!)

To top it all off, I got a ticket on our home stretch, coming into Fresno going 80mph in a 70mph-zone. I couldn't even explain to the cop what we had just been through. Would he have believed me? Is it a good enough excuse to be speeding on our last leg of our awful trip? Do you feel sorry for any of us? Yeah, it was pretty much the worst trip ever. Why don't you make up scenarios for me that could be worse? That might make me feel better!

ABC Post

I saw this on Agnes's (is that how you write that?) blog and I thought it was fun. I thought I'd do it too, even though I wasn't officially "tagged".

A-Attached or Single? Totally Attached and madly in love

B- Best Friend? I’m more of a be-friends-with-everyone type
(but Emillie D. was my childhood and adolescent "bff")

C- Cake or pie? German Chocolate Cake

D- Day of choice? Sunday

E- Essential Item? WATER, I drink more than 10 cups a day.

F- Favorite Color? Green, and Blue

G- Gummy Bears or Worms? Cinnamon Gummy Bears

H- Home town? T-town (Turlock, CA)

I- Favorite Indulgence? Rocky Road Ice-cream & Cinnamon Toast

J- January or July? July all the way--I would be just fine hibernating through the winter...Ok, not really

K- Kids? 3 very energetic ones

L- Life isn't complete without? A good book & Family

M- Marriage date? December 29, 2001

N- Number of brothers and sisters? 2 bros, 2 sisters, 6 sis-in-laws, 5 bros-in-law

O- Oranges or Apples? Oranges

P- Phobia and fears? Speaking in public

Q- Quote? I can’t find it, but it’s about wanting to “pull up to” heaven in a station wagon with your hair pulled back, with your Peanut Butter-stained shirt or something to that affect by Margie Pay Hinckley.

R- Reason to smile? LOVE & A better world waiting for us

S- Season of choice? Spring…and Summer

T- Tag three people? Suzy, Lani, Rachelle, Stephanie, AJ, whoever else wants to be tagged

U- Unknown fact about me? I like to speed (about 9 miles over the speed limit, pretty consistently)

V- Vegetable? Spinach salad

W- Worst habit? Sleeping in—I don’t have the gumption to stop that one

X-Ray or Ultrasound? Neither?

Y- Your favorite food? Mexican—probably burritos. Café Rio. YYYUUUMM!

Z- Zodiac sign? Cancer

Swinging in the Park

We went to "Oso de Oro" (Golden Bear) Park recently and Maren got to try the swings for her first time. She's not a big fan.

I tried to get her to smile, but she wouldn't. Oh well. Maybe she'll like it in a few months.