50 Nifty United States

With such a blah winter/spring and being locked up inside for three plus months of it, I decided enough was enough and invited Leilani and myself along on my parent's road trip to Kentucky. We drove for 4 days straight through southern Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, and finally Kentucky!! Leilani was the best road buddy I could ask for!!
We stopped each night at a KOA and set up kamp in my Mom and Dad's fifth wheel. (That's the only way to travel, I tell you what!) Leilani brought her own bed with her and slept soundly every night.

I loved passing through the different states and scenery. Each one is unique. Sorry, New Mexico, there's not a whole lot in the category of "scenery" in that state. This was our "scenic detour" which really turned out to be disappointing to say the least. When we finally made it to Kentucky we spent 4 lovely days with my sister, Tara, and her family. It was so fun to spend time with them! Since they live so far away we don't get to see them as often and their kids grow up so fast. It was fun to get to know them again in the stages they are in now.

Carson is 14 and is just an awesome teenager. He, of course, is a teenager and answers questions with "ya" "uh hu" and "I don't know" but he loves his family very much:) He and I used to be the best of buds but since we've "grown up" it's been hard to stay close. But, I could still feel our Aunt Bud-Carson connection!

Jonah is 11 and quickly on his way to being a teenager. He enjoys sports and spent a WHOLE day playing crocket with my Dad. Luckily my Dad was quite a competitor and gave Jonah a run for his money. I think they both won a couple times though:) Sabey is 6 and this picture pretty much explains everything She loves anything pink and princessy and it's even better if the princesses are wearing pink! She is one of my neices that I haven't gotten to know very well because when she was born I started getting older and stopped being considered the "cool aunt" But she has the cutest little 6 year old personality. She's pretty sure that being 6 is the best thing in the world because when you're 6 you can do anything!! She can spell and read any word you can throw at her. She can pump herself really high on the swing set, jump really high on the trampoline and do cartwheels, toe touches, and summersaults. I tried to teach her how to do a backhandspring on the tramp. And even after having a baby I could still do a few tricks myself:) Tara recently decorated Sabey's room Pink and Princessy (what else?) and she so kindly gave up her castle of a bedroom and slept on the couch while Leilani and I stayed in her room. I thought that was very big for a 6 year old. But what am I thinking, 6 year olds can do anything!

Tyler is the younest at 3. He's another nephew I haven't gotten to know very well, and boy have I been missing out! Tara says with Tyler you are either laughing your head off or pulling your hair out:) This story cracks me up and sums up a lot of his personality.

Since he is the youngest he hasn't been around a nursing mom, so everytime I would feed Leilani it was a huge mystery to him that he really wanted to figure out. We would tell him that she was eating, but he would just look at us like we were crazy. How could a child be eating underneath a blanket? After a few days he asked his Mom if he could see Leilani's food. She said Leilani didn't have food, she drank. He thought for a second then said, "I want to see her cup." Tara replide, "She doesn't have a cup." He thought for just a second longer then with realization in his voice he said, "well is she using MY cup!" We laughed the whole car ride home. We went down to Nashville, Tennessee Friday. It was a beautiful day! We stopped at Andrew Jackson’s plantation, The Hermitage, and found out that Jackson wasn’t really that noble of a man. He treated his slaves poorly and his family later went bankrupt and lost the land. But the grounds were beautiful and it was nice just to be out in the warm sun for a change. We ate lunch at the Rainforest Café at the Opry Mills Mall. They had huge fishtanks all over the entire restaurant filled with beautiful fish and Leilani was mezmorized the entire time. Perhaps we need to invest in some tropical fish.

After lunch, we walked around the Opry Mill Hotel. It was probably the most beautiful building I have ever seen. You walk into the hotel and then it just opens up into a huge sky light with plants and fountains and restaurants. It feels like a river walk but you are inside. We thoroughly enjoyed just walking around admiring the landscape and of course stopped by some shops and sampled some chocolates and ice cream...mmmm:) Here are some pictures of the hotel the Friday we were there. Hopefully it gives an idea of how beautiful it was.

Now here are some pictures just two days after our visit...

Because that night it started raining, and it rained and rained and rained and rained. I've never seen that much water fall from the sky before. The entire city of Nashville (and most of the surrounding cities) were under water. But the amazing thing is while thousands of people were suffering from so much devistation and loss, we were doing this...

It was amazing! Tara's house recieved no reprocusions from the rain. I told Tara they must be doing something right:)

It was a wonderful trip I am so glad I was able to take with my Mom and Dad. I think we may have foiled some of their plans to see the country on the drive to and from Kentucky, but I'm grateful for their sacrifice to let us tag a long.

"A Familiar Spirit"

Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said this in General Conference last Sunday...
"The Book of Mormon contains the fulness of the Savior’s gospel and is the only book the Lord Himself has testified to be true. Indeed, the Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion.
The convincing and converting powers of the Book of Mormon come from both a central focus upon the Lord Jesus Christ and the inspired plainness and clarity of its teachings.
The Book of Mormon is the most correct of any book on earth because it centers upon the Truth, even Jesus Christ, and restores the plain and precious things that have been taken away from the true gospel. The unique combination of these two factors—a focus on the Savior and the plainness of the teachings—powerfully invites the confirming witness of the third member of the Godhead, even the Holy Ghost. Consequently, the Book of Mormon speaks to the spirit and to the heart of the reader like no other volume of scripture.
The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that abiding by the precepts found in the Book of Mormon would help us “get nearer to God” than any other book. Regular reading of and talking about the Book of Mormon invite the power to resist temptation and to produce feelings of love within our families. And discussions about the doctrines and principles in the Book of Mormon provide opportunities for parents to observe their children, to listen to them, to learn from them, and to teach them.
Youth of all ages, even infants, can and do respond to the distinctive spirit of the Book of Mormon. Children may not understand all of the words and stories, but they certainly can feel the “familiar spirit” described by Isaiah."

I've been reading the Book of Mormon to Leilani every day now and this is our what has happened:).....

Well, sorry, that was a little anti-climactic, but I've been trying to upload this video for a week and can't get it to load. But, she just loves it when I read the Book of Mormon to her. She gets so happy and giggles and talks right along with me. It is so fun to see her reaction to that familiar spirit.

Are you crafty? Cuz I'm crafty:)

Being a stay at home mom has been a whole new adventure for me. My entire life I have been going to school or working or just...out! I love being a Mom but staying inside all day long by yourself can be pretty tough (and snow in April doesn't help). I asked my amazing mother how she raised seven girls and she responded, "I had hobbies." So it is now my quest to find my hobbies (without cutting into our budget:)

I enjoy making things so I walked around quilt shops and craft stores only to be sorely disappointed by the price tags. While looking through a darling baby quilt book I had an idea. I would make Leilani a quilt that she could look at, touch, and play with. I asked my mom if I could raid her fabric scraps and went to work. I designed the whole thing and am utterly tickled at the finished project.

Each block has a different purpose at different stages in her life. The black and white one and the striped one are her favorite right now. The upper right corner is a mirror. She absolutely loves mirrors. She smiles and flirts at herself and just thinks she's the cutest thing on the block. The top middle and bottom left have different feeling fabrics and beads to play with and the bottom middle has a zipper and buttons when she starts using her fine motor skills. Pretty cool huh! Well, I thought so anyway:)

Bows for little girls are quite the fad right now, but I was also disappointed that most of the bows in the store are ridiculously priced. So, I also have a friend who is an incredible mother of three girls and quite crafty. She showed me how to make bows. All you need is ribbon and a hair clip. Here are a couple I've made, but I'm sure there will be more to come.

So, if you have any more ideas of fun things I can do to expand my hobby repertoire. Please let me know:)

Family Fun

My sister Callie and her four kids just visited from California for their spring break. I was very grateful for their trip because it gave me something to do almost every day:) And it helped me start taking Leilani out a little at a time. Because of the RSV season and other illnesses going around, I've kept Leilani fairly isolated for the past 10 weeks. I know it sounds like I am an over protective first mom, but I’m also an over anxious first mom and have not been too eager to take my fussy baby into public. The first place I took her was my nephew’s baptism and I had to take her in the hall the entire time because she wouldn’t stop fussing. I’ve never been bothered by finicky infant’s myself so I don’t know why I think others are, but that has also been a reason to keep me away from large groups of people. But this week Leilani has proved she is growing up:) I took her bowling…she slept the whole time :) I took her out to eat… she slept the whole time :) I took her to the train museum… she slept the whole time :) Basically she likes her stroller! But, even the times she was awake she was very pleasant and had lots of fun with her cousins. And of course free entertainment (those kids crack me up!) for me almost on a daily basis!
Abby and Leilani

Carter the rocking chair

The Union Pacific Train Station is actually pretty cool. We spent a good 3 hours there.

Yes those are my nephews up there

My sister Callie, my Mom, Me, my sister Tiffany. This is how we explored the trains:)

Aunt Callie giving Leilani a work out.

And my personal favorite. Grampa had the magic shoulder.

And in case you were still wondering...March Mustache Month is not over yet...

March Mustache Month

The madness of March brings more than just college basketball tournaments, apparently it also brings mustache folly. Over the years Targhee has had quite an array of goatees, mustaches, straps, you name it, but I think this time he's really outdone himself. I call this one the Red Neck Handle Bar.

I'd also like you to take notice of the Simpson's Old School hat. I think it just adds to the class of the look.

Way to go Targhee!!! I love you!!

The Blessing Day

We had Leilani blessed Sunday March 7, 2010. We have been anticipating this day for two months now:) It was Targhee's first blessing, so he was slightly nervous. He had been looking up talks and scriptures all week on baby blessings. He even gave our family home evening lesson on baby blessings:) He has given me many blessings and they have always been exactly what I needed to hear, so I knew he would be fine. The biggest thing I had to worry about was when to feed her so she would be happy, but not so soon that she would spit up all over the dress and how to get her to go to sleep so she wouldn't cry through the whole thing. Well, it turned out just perfect. She looked beautiful and slept through most of the blessing. I was surprised when Targhee held her up that her eyes were open, but she wasn't crying. She must have felt the importance of the day because she didn't cry the rest of sacrament meeting. It was amazing. It was a beautiful blessing that I knew came from our Heavenly Father. It always amazes me how well He knows each one of us, especially the little spirits that we are just getting to know ourselves. It definitely left a very peaceful spirit throughout the rest of the day.

Getting ready...


I kept her up longer so she would be tired during the meeting...but she was too tired for pictures too:) oops!




Leilani's Fan club

So I pretty much have avoided blogs, but since I've had my baby I can see the value in writing down simple events from day to day to help me remember. She is changing so fast and I want to have a place I can return to and read the good and bad days of my parenting experiences. In just two months she has gone from this...

to this...

I've honestly been suprized by how fast it has gone. Everyone always tells you that, but who ever believes what people tell them?

Parenting has been a whole new level for me. I am the youngest of seven girls and have always been around neices and nephews (I currently have 22 ranging from ages 17 to 7 months) so I thought, "How hard can it be?" I couldn't have been more wrong:) When you have a job, you go to work and then you come home from work...parenting is definitely not like that, it's nonstop work 24/7 with it's own challenges and joys that can only be understood by those who have experienced them on their own.

When I was a missionary I could feel myself learning and growing constantly. I missed that when I came home. I knew I was still learning and growing it just didn't feel it as rapid. I am finally feeling that rapid growth again. I can't believe how much I have learned. I didn't even know, I didn't know:) There is wisdom in the great plan of our Supreme Creator and great happiness when we know we are following that plan.