Spudman

It's official: I am married to a triathlete! I can't believe JD can check "participating in a triathlon" off his bucket list. It just seems like such a hard, unattainable accomplishment. . . but, he rocked that thing like a champ and had a fun time with his cousins, brother, and uncles. Go, JD, go!!

Whirlwind trip

Remember that one time we took a whirlwind trip to California to be on Ellen?! JD got there several hours before I did and rented a 2014 Mustang convertible to drive around town. Haha. . . we sure felt like celebrities zipping around in that baby! 

Man, those two weeks of intense "baby booty bump" fame were crazy, fun, and definitely unforgettable. I can't believe I ended up going to Universal City, California because of that video. What a memory!

Camping season

The weather is warming up and it's camping season again! I never knew I'd fall in love with camping quite the way I have. Perhaps, I should've seen it coming. . . an affection for the crisp mountain air runs in my blood. My dad is definitely a camping man. However, the Texas heat doesn't really lend itself to an enjoyable camping experience, so we didn't go much at all while I was growing up. Things have changed. JD's a pro at this camping business and makes it a point to go regularly with our little fam. We've camped in the snow, camped with friends, camped with family, camped with just the stuff off our backs, camped in our living room, and camped with a baby. Basically, I feel like I've done it all ;)  

We'll be camping again this weekend with JD's family. It's a fun tradition and I love spending time with them around the camp site. In anticipation of the upcoming trip, I uploaded a few scrapbook layouts from some of last year's camping adventures.

5 "Baby booty bump" Lessons

The last few weeks have been a little surreal. On Sunday April 27, I entered an Instagram dance-off for moms hosted by The Alison Show in hopes of winning a $250 gift card to The Land of Nod. I had two entries: (1) the original clip of me dancing and (2) an "outtake" clip of me dancing and knocking my daughter to the ground with my bum. The latter clip was hilariously accidental and just too funny not to share. On Monday April 28, I sheepishly posted it to Facebook knowing it would surely brighten a few peoples' days. The response was overwhelmingly positive and many people shared, liked, and laughed at the video. I posted it on YouTube that night and sent it to The Ellen Degeneres Show via her website. On Tuesday April 29, I woke up with 700 views on YouTube and thought: "That's crazy! So cool." By the time I went to bed, I had 14,890 hits and I thought: "How did that happen?!" In the first 24 hours, I was contacted by several agencies asking for the rights to the video, but I ended up partnering with Storyful. And, boy, am I glad I did! Over the next few days, SO MANY people e-mailed, called, and messaged me about use of the video and I just directed everyone to Storyful. It has been such a blessing to delegate all that stress and headache to them. By Thursday May 1, my "baby booty bump" video hit one million views and had been shared by countless news and radio stations across the country. It was all over the Internet and television: CNN, The Today Show, E! News, ESPN2, the iFunny app, AOL, Time. You name it: I was probably there. It was totally overwhelming and time-consuming to keep up with all the hype! On Wednesday May 7, I was in the audience of The Ellen Degeneres Show and had to pinch myself as I heard Ellen discuss the powerful "thrust to my daughter's face." On May 8, my little snippet aired on Ellen. As of today, May 13, the video has 2,350,583 views on YouTube. I still can't believe it.

I've learned a lot from having my video "go viral." Some things are personal and/or confidential, but here's what I want the world to know.

Gay, innocent, and heartless.

I mentioned before that I recently read J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan. The characters must have been on my mind a lot because they seemed like the only suitable thing we could be for Halloween. With less coaxing than I first anticipated I would need, I easily convinced JD to don green tights as part of his Peter costume (he loves Halloween. . .) And then, obviously, Tenley was Tinkerbell and I was Wendy. 

Here's a few darling pictures paired with some of my favorite quotes from the book. 

(Sorry the photos are terribly grainy and low quality. I can't seem to figure out why!)

"When the first baby laughed for the first time, its laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies." -Peter

 "A cradle is such a nice homely thing to have about a house." -Wendy

"There is nothing more pleasant of an evening for you and me when the day's toil is over than to rest by the fire with the little ones near by." -Peter to Wendy

Fall in Utah.

Last Friday evening, my family drove up a canyon near our home. . . and oh. my. gosh. the sights were breathtakingly beautiful. The fall in Utah is so pretty! I'll go ahead and add "autumn" to the list of things I'll miss when we leave. 

Being up there reminded me of all the beauty that surrounds me and how much I have to be grateful for. The last week or so has been a bit rough for me. I've been discouraged by the government shutdown in the US, overwhelmed by the unknowns of the future, crestfallen by my husband's rejection letters from P.A. schools, disheartened by all the negative, horrible things happening on the news, and feeling mostly just low-spirited in general. I sometimes get this way. I'm one who feels things deeply and, on occasion, the sadness of the world just sits heavy on my heart. That's why I need nights in the canyon :) To be reminded of the earth's beauty. To remember the joy that can be found in the little things. To feel God close to me. 

(It also helps to have a dashingly attractive man and sweet-spirited babe around to ease my troubled heart!)

Nourishing.

I've been thinking lately about values and how I can better orient the youth I work with to what their values are. I've read through some online lesson outlines and group protocols centered on teaching children and adults about values. This compilation includes several interventions for clarifying personal beliefs and values- I went through them and completed some of the exercises in regards to my own life. One of the activities directs participants to list three of the "most nourishing people in their lives." Nourishing. . . that word has stuck out to me so much in my mind over the past week. I looked up the meaning. Who sustains me? Who strengthens me, builds me up, and promotes me? Who gives me life, health, and growth?

Easily, the first person I thought of was my husband. He compliments me often, pushes me to develop my talents, and is my biggest supporter. He wants to see me succeed (especially in my business) and does a lot of behind the scenes work to help me (painting base coats of canvases, preparing packages, dropping orders off at the post office, caring for Tenley while I work, etc., etc.) I feel so, so blessed to have him  as my life partner. In so many ways, he nourishes me.

Taylorsville Dayzz

JD and I have been playing a "game" recently where we've tried to tell the other person every thing we know about them (we mostly do this when we are riding in the car and are bored of the radio. . .) Obviously, we know each other pretty well, but it's kind of fun and surprising to hear what the other person comes up with. Some things are basics: you wear this size shoe, this size shirt, this size hat.  You like this food, but hate that one. Other things are more deep: this was a spiritual experience you had as a teenager, this was something you wish you could do again, this was a time you were hurt by a friend. 

I like telling JD what I know about him and listening to him add on about the different stories of his life.   One iconic event of his youth that I had yet to experience was the magic of Taylorsville Dayzz (if you're wondering about the "zz" at the end of days, as I was. . . they apparently did that to match up with the Utah Ja"zz"). JD grew up in Taylorsville, where they put on a killer firework show every year. Last weekend, JD planned a BBQ with some of his high school friends and we met up to go to the big show. 

I Want to Remember.

One night last week JD and I traveled up the canyon near our home to cook hamburgers for dinner. The babe fell asleep on the way and slept the whole time we were gone. . . so it was practically  like we were on a date alone together! The mountain air was refreshing, the food was tasty, and the company was pleasant. While JD was preparing our burgers, I wandered over to a nearby stream. In my few moments of reflection, I kept thinking, "I want to remember."   

I want to remember nights like this one. I want to remember the evenings we spent together, intentionally trying to connect and build our relationship. I want to remember the exhilarating rush of still being so in love with my husband. 

Study breaks.

Over the last few weeks, JD has needed a few "study breaks." He's been majorly bogged down with schoolwork- preparing for (and taking!) the GRE, trying to figure out Organic Chemistry, and prepping for his final exams. The most memorable "study break" we've had so far was taking Tenley to meet the horses in our neighborhood. 

Pancake breakfast.

This morning was one of those lucky ones when all of our family was home and awake at the same time. JD didn't have to go to school to study, I didn't have to go into work, and Tenley was in an alert, playful mood. So. . . we decided to celebrate Thursday morning with pancakes! We even went a little crazy and threw some peanut butter M&Ms in the mix.  Sure love this cute little family of mine.

Zion National Park Day 2

More beautiful landscapes. More cute, curious looks on Tenley's face. More family time together. More wonders of the earth. More sounds of rushing water. More special moments. More green plants against red rock. More snapshots. More baby-carrying. More happy-faced husbands. Oh, and definitely more slobbery kisses. 

Zion National Park

A few weekends ago JD, Tenley, and I roadtripped down to Saint George, Utah for a little vacay. It was totally last minute and spontaneous, but definitely a much needed break. While we were in the area, we spent a few days hiking in Zion National Park. Talk about some gorgeous views! It's hard to really capture in words or pictures the awe-inspiring, breathtaking majesty of those mountains. Tenley loved being outside and looking around at all there was to see. We loved being with her to experience her first taste of the mountains (With JD as her Pops, I'm sure there will be many more mountain memories in her future!) On the first day, we hiked up the Lower Emerald Pool Trail and our reward at the end was a pretty little waterfall. So lovely! But aside from the natural landscapes we enjoyed, we also got to look at this cute baby in her precious hiking hat. . . which, admittedly, may have been my favorite part ;)

Thursday night family night.

Last Thursday night, on a whim, JD and I decided to go bowling. His favorite place to go is Bonwood Bowl, the old-school alley he grew up bowling at. He swears he bowls better there and, even though I tease him for his irrationality, there might be some truth to his way of thinking- I bowled a 124, the best game I can remember! To continue with the spontaneity of the evening, we called his parents and little brother and invited them to come. Luckily, they didn't have anything going on and met up with us at the alley. We had such an enjoyable evening at the lanes with his family. Can't beat their weeknight deal of three games + shoe rental for seven bucks! We thought it might be hard with the munchkin. . . but she loved all the noise, motion, and attention. It was a good night.

Saturday morning.

Recently, JD requested to switch from evening to morning work shifts on the weekends. The morning shift is from 6am-2pm and the evening one is from 2pm-10pm. He was willing to sacrifice sleeping in and snuggling for afternoon daddy-daughter bonding and a few more nights out on the town with me.  For the most part, he was scheduled for morning shifts this month just like he wanted. His alarm went off this morning at 5:15am and he got up and dressed and out the door. As he was driving, he started thinking and realized he was scheduled for the evening shift today. Luckily, he remembered before he made it all the way there! He came home, crawled back into bed (totally freaked me out!), and we slept and cuddled for a few more hours. Then, because we were planning on going out tonight, we moved our date up a few hours. We made a trip to Station 13 in American Fork. I mean, a girl's gotta get her donut fix every now and then, right?? Ha! Even though I didn't plan to, I loved getting to spend the morning with my two favorites. 

Live nativity

Our family was lucky enough to participate in a live nativity this week. A family in our neighborhood puts on the nativity every year in memory of the woman's mother, who died of cancer. All profits go to cancer research and other charities. They re-create the ancient city with Roman soldiers, donkeys, llamas, bread makers, basket weavers, and lots of games and noise and commotion. Then, guests travel down a path to a separate stable where Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus are sitting quietly. JD and I played Mary and Joseph and our sweet girl got to be the part of our Savior. We sat in the stable for an hour and a half and pretended like we were the parents of Jesus Christ. Humbling, to say the least. Tenley wasn't perfect the whole time. There were crowds who saw her crying and being soothed by a bright green pacifier. . . but there were other times when she stared up at the people in wide-eyed wonder and the Spirit was so strong. I loved the reactions of young children- "Look, Baby Jesus!" "It's a real baby." "Jesus was such a cute baby." "I love Jesus." 

Knowing we were going to be in the nativity, I've been thinking all week about Mary and Jesus and the real reasons I celebrate Christmas. It's been good to have those thoughts in the back of my mind as we've pulled out all the red and green decor, set up our tree, and hung up our lights. This season, as always, I hope my choices reflect my belief in and love for the Savior. 

Favorite turkeys.

My best part of Thanksgiving week was JD's break from school. He didn't have classes on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday and we mostly just lounged around at home. Tenley and I were so happy to see so much of Daddy! We played and snuggled and cooed and smiled to our hearts' content. 

Those two. . . they're definitely my favorite turkeys around ;)

(And oh.my.gosh. look at her holding that head up! So strong! So big! So beautiful!)