This is her favorite cupboard to play in.

We decided to go up to Temple Square to see the lights on Saturday. It was a little nuts, since it was the 1st weekend that they were on, but it was still great to get out and see them. Sienna said she hadn't ever been there before, but it hasn't been that long! We are just making an effort to get out and enjoy all the wonderful things that are in this area, since we don't know how long we will be here. There are so many things that we have taken for granted.

1. My Savior, Jesus Christ, and through Him, the Church, my testimony, My loving Heavenly Father, the Prophet Joseph Smith and our living Prophet today, Thomas S. Monson.

2. My Husband. Who would have thought that the dumbest decision I have ever made could have also been the best. He strengthens me, he adores me, he makes me laugh, he helped me feel that I am lovable and that I am worthy of being loved. That has been a true gift to me.

3. My beautiful children. I am so grateful for them. I truly feel so thankful every day that the Lord has given these amazing little people and thinks that I will be able to be the mother that I want to be for them.

4. My trials. I know that may sound strange to some people, but I have grown the most in my life during the hardest times. They have strengthened my testimony, made me learn to rely on my Savior and are truly refining me into the person that I need and want to be.

5. My Family. They have helped shape me into who I am and I love them all so much. They are always willing to help, they make me laugh, and I just adore them.

6. My Friends. I am so blessed to have so many people around me that love me for who I am and put up with me. I don't feel alone while surrounded by so much love and friendship.

7. Our jobs, our home, food to eat, our health. There are so many little things that I don't want to bore anyone with, but I am so blessed, much more than I am sure I deserve. I am thankful for my Heavenly Father and his patience, kindness and long-suffering with me. I am thankful for my life.

Wow, that title is a tongue tangler! I know it's way late, but I talked about my Mom's Harry Potter party, and we just got pictures so I needed to post them. It was so fun to to dress up, play games, take quizzes, make our own potions and even make clay sculptures of a Harry Potter scene. I have to say thanks to my darling mother, who is so fun and creative, and also to my darling friend, Adria, who made amazing costumes and let us borrow them!

For most of those of you who know me, you know I adore Coldplay. I love their music and the fact they write all of it; Chris Martin is amazing on the piano and the guitar besides singing. I just LOVE them! Spencer, his sister Carrie, and her husband, Pablo, and I were all able to go on the 22nd.

Since life has been a little rough lately, this was exactly what I needed. I got out away from my kids with my hubby and our buddies, and I was able to truly let go and relax. There are not many things better for soothing the soul than a little singing and dancing to your favorite music. I am really able to not worry about what people think of my dancing or singing while I am there, which is normally hard for me to do. It's all about me enjoying the music. I still can't believe how great I feel after going. So any of you that don't know Coldplay or their music, I highly recommend them. They are even more amazing in concert.

On a side note...Am I nuts for thinking that it was a little rude for people behind me to ask me to sit down? Almost the entire arena was standing, but the people behind me wanted to sit so I had to too? Weird! It's like the time I went to Sarah McLachlan concert and some ladies next to us asked us to not sing, since they came to hear her. Remember that Janell? Ah fun times!

I am really late about posting this, but the Internet wasn't working for a little while so I have several posts. Sorry!

We had such a great Halloween this year. Aidan got to dress up for pre-school and after we went to see Sienna at her school's parade. I ran around trying to find a wig to make Spencer look like Snape, and then I couldn't find the amazing full length wool coat I made several years ago for him to wear. I was pretty heart-broken about that. It was my blood and sweat! But luckily, my amazing friend, Adria, who always does fantastic costumes let us borrow her Harry Potter and Ginny (or Hermione) costumes. My Mom had a Harry Potter themed party the next day and we needed to dress up. When I get the pictures from that I will post them. Spencer looked super cute as Harry.

We went trick-or-treating just around our little loop neighborhood and the next one down. The kids got plenty of candy and then we had our tradition of donuts, hot chocolate and a Halloween movie after. This year we watched "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." I love Halloween so much. It ranks just barely under Christmas for me. It is so much fun to dress up and celebrate the Fall season.

Me as a blonde GinnySienna as a witch, Aidan as Jack Sparrow, and Mad as Eeyore

My girlfriends and I have a tradition of going to Witches Night Out at Gardner Village. Sienna is getting so big and growing up so fast that I decided that I needed to bring her along for the fun. We get together with about a million other witches at Brick Oven and then head up for the festivites. It was pretty chilly, but we still had fun dancing and seeing all the other costumes. I am so grateful for my sweet little girl and the fun times that we have together.

Spencer has been hired to work in the Shock/Trauma ICU unit at Intermountain Medical Center at 5200 S. in Murray. It is a brand new hospital with a Level 1 trauma unit, which means that if you come in there, they have doctors in every kind of field that you might need, so you have access to treatment of any kind (I think that is pretty close, I might be slightly off). We are very excited about this. It will mean a commute, but we feel the benefits outweigh the negatives. This hospital is one of the best in the State for Spencer to get the experience he needs for Anesthetist school.

We were starting to get frustrated, after Spencer applied for two Critical Care jobs at Utah Valley, but did not get them for reasons we still do not know. The nurses that were hired were significantly less qualified than Spencer, who is a charge nurse and another charge nurse that works on his floor, who also applied. I know he felt bad about it even though he never really said so. But he went up for interviews on 2 different ICU units at I-Med (as it is referred to) and was offered a job in either floor. I think this boosted his confidence, that 2 different ICU Managers both wanted to hire him at a higher level of hospital.

One benefit about the new job is that he will work nights about 60% of the time and days 40% of the time. I know it will be a difficult transition, but since he is already switching from nights on and then other nights off, we are hopeful that it will not be more difficult than that. I am stoked to be able to have him here at night more often. I won't know what to do with myself, since he has worked only graveyard shifts for 6 years.

His commute would be to drive to a church by UVU and take a bus to the Trax station, which then stops directly across from the hospital. It is even closer than the parking lot. He will at least have some time to study for his GRE, CCRN, and O. Chem. and not take time away from the family when he is here. Sorry for rambling; we are just very excited to see that things are finally progressing in the way that we need them to. We truly feel that we have been guided by the Lord and know that this is where we need to be. After much searching and prayer, we both felt that it was right for Spencer to apply, interview and accept a job if it was offered, which was not a normal thing for us since commuting was not an ideal prospect. But here we are and we are extremely grateful that we have been led to this point. Wish us luck in our new adventure!

I am a wannabe photographer and since Fall is my favorite season, I decided to take the kids up Hobble Creek to take some pictures with the colors, (though Spencer says that is stupid since I am obsessed with Sepia and don't show the color in half of them). I am sorry for having so many pictures, but I had a hard time deciding which ones were my favorites.

Madelyn has just started to make these huge, cheesy smiles at us. They are so funny! I love this sweet little girl and her beautiful little personality.

1. I am neither a Republican or a Democrat, but I pay very close attention to the election and I do vote.
2. My very favorite movie of all time is Pride & Prejudice (the 5 hour A&E version only. I have tried to love the Kiera Knightly version, but I just can't!) It makes for a perfect movie to sew to.
3. I have completed 4 triathlons and will do another in November.
4. I love to read. I read all the time. There is nothing more fun to me than staying up all night reading a good book.
5. My favorite book is Pride & Prejudice (I know, I keep repeating myself), but I love all Jane Austen books.
6. I have read all of the Twilight books at least 2 times. I love to do that with books. I read so quickly the first time because I just have to find out what happens next, that I love to go back and enjoy it and savor it a little better. To give an example of how fast I read, I got Breaking Dawn at like 12:30, started reading about 2. I fell asleep from 4-7, woke up and finished the book at 2 pm, even with children interrupting me. So 7 hours.
7. I am obsessed with Colin Firth. It all goes back to my Pride & Prejudice love. I actually freaked Sienna out when she was 5 because I was watching the movie and said I wanted to marry him. She started bawling and said "what about Daddy?" That was fun, trying to explain that I didn't really want to marry him. I just loved how he acts in the movie.
8. One of my favorite TV shows is The Biggest Loser. I cry almost every episode. It is so motivational and inspiring, seeing these people work so hard to change their lives.
9. I love so many different kinds of music, but my faves are Coldplay (I get to go to their concert in November. Yay!), Sarah McLachlan, Muse, and Matchbox Twenty/Rob Thomas.
10. I love to do hair. Even when I sometimes work long hours and get tired, I so enjoy doing it and seeing the results.
11. I have Endometriosis and Poly-cystic Ovarian Syndrome, which make it very difficult to have babies, so I thank Heavenly Father for blessing me with them every day of my life.
12. I have had 3 miscarriages, so 6 pregnancies in all.
13. I got married in A Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas when I was 18. It was the dumbest and yet best thing I have ever done.
14. I love to cook and bake, but I absolutely hate to clean up after, so I rarely do it.
15. I love to scrapbook, but I rarely have the time (or I guess I don't make it a priority). I'll make up for lost time when I go to a scrapbooking weekend in January.
16. My birthday is February 19th, 1980
17. My birth father passed away when I was 17 months old. It has been a huge regret that I don't know him, but my Dad who raised me is amazing and I am so thankful to have had him as my dad.
18. I love to watch BYU football games almost as much as my hubby.
19. I have had a testimony of the church as long as I can remember. I never had a burning bosom or anything. It was always just there and has been a huge strength and blessing throughout my life.
20. I love to garden. There is something so relaxing and soothing about getting your hands in dirt and connecting with nature.
21. I hate, hate, hate all peppers, but especially green bell peppers. I also despise mustard. I refuse to eat anything that has them in them. I also don't really like mushrooms, olives, fresh tomatoes (but I love them cooked, how weird is that?), or mayonnaise (unless mixed up really well in things like tuna, chicken and potato salads.).
22. In High School I read my scriptures daily for 3 years, without missing a day. Too bad I have slacked since I became a mother, but I have been improving lately. That's what matters, right?
23. I can cry during movie previews or TV commercials, or even kids shows. I don't know why. I don't get that emotional about things in my personal life. But crying at the end of Camp Rock? What the heck?
24. I love to do crafty things like sew, paint, draw, refinish furniture, but I never stick to one thing for very long. I'm always moving on to something new and fun to try.
25. I have made a real quilt (mostly, it still needs to be bound) with actual quilting patterns, not just the squares together.
26. I have been known to read Spencer's school books for fun (like Microbiology). It's all so fascinating to me.
27. I plan to go back to school one day and become a Respiratory Therapist.
28. I go a little nuts if the walls of my home are white.
29. I am very handy. In our last home I basically finished the basement. I helped frame the walls, put in insulation, ran duct work, hung sheet rock, ran electrical with my Dad's help, taped and textured the walls, hung lights, put in baseboards and door casing and laid tile. It was exhausting, but very fulfilling.
30. I love to sing.
31. I have tried to learn to play the piano multiple times, but it just doesn't work. I am also very slow at typing. I think there is something wrong with my brain's communication to the hands.
32. I sort-of played the bass clarinet in High School, but I bet Spencer could play it better than I could, now.
33. I love to exercise, but I have especially grown to love biking.
34. I am a total night owl. I try and try to be a morning person, but I just can't get to bed very early, which then makes it harder to get up in the morning. It's a vicious cycle.
35. My nickname is Erbear (which is better than the alternative of Eringorn (as in Aragorn from Lord of the Rings,) as Spencer used to call me. It's so ugly.)
36. I used to be very extroverted, but I am now very content most of the time to be home and just hang out here.
37. I hate, hate, hate sharks but I am fascinated by them. I can watch shark specials and know what type of shark they are talking about very quickly. Did you know Bull Sharks are the most likely to attack people? And that they can swim in fresh water and have been found in the Mississippi River? Way worse than Great Whites!
38. I used to have nightmares as a kid of spiders crawling all over me. I never wanted to sleep.
39. I love to snorkel, but will never scuba dive because of my fear of sharks.
40. I love to swim. I feel so comfortable and natural in water (in a pool, not the ocean).
41. I have always wanted red hair, the coppery kind, but it looks terrible against my skin. So I guess I've settled for blond.
42. I used to pretend as a child that Karen Carpenter was my mom but had to give me up for adoption, because I thought my voice was amazing and my own mom's wasn't good enough to have come from hers. How sad! She really does have a nice voice.
43. I have broken my nose twice, a finger and a couple of toes.
44. I pretty much get strep throat twice a year and have my entire life. It sucks. I know right away what it is and sometimes the doctors will tell me I probably just have a bad virus until they get the positive test result. Duh! I wouldn't come in if I wasn't sure.
45. I like the idea of dogs, but not the reality. When our little Nala dies, our kids know there are no more pets!
46. I am addicted to flossing my teeth. They just feel so clean. I love it!
47. I dislike most barbecue sauces except for KC Masterpiece.
48. Cookies are my favorite food, especially home made ones, like my hubby is baking right now.
49. I am obsessed with fiber. I only buy cereals that have a ton of fiber, especially soluble fiber. We only have whole wheat bread and right now we have double fiber, which has 6 grams per slice. Hey, I figure it helps counteract the negative effects of my cookie addiction.
50. I make a mean cheesecake.
51. My TV show obsessions are The Office, Lost, Heroes, Biggest Loser and American Idol. I do try to not watch so much TV.
52. I am loving Jodi Picoult's books lately, with her ethical and moral dilemmas. What is right and what is wrong? It plays with my head and makes me think.
53. I could eat cereal any time of day. Breakfast is always so yummy.
54. I adore high heel shoes. I have to wear them even while doing hair, or I can't reach the top of clients' heads.
55. My favorite season is Fall. I almost get giddy, thinking about the weather and the leaves and the smells and the anticipation of the holidays coming up.
56. I am almost always cold. I sleep with socks on sometimes even in the summer, just to keep my feet warm.
57. I lost my real wedding ring over 2 1/2 years ago, so I buy a bunch of very real looking fake ones. I have tiny fingers (size 4 1/2) and they tend to spin, so I take them off all the time. I will never buy another real one because I am positive I would lose it so I would never waste the money.
58. I love learning how to be more responsible with money and love Suze Orman. She motivates me to be even better.
59. If I have a choice between buying cute clothes for me or my children, I will buy the clothes for them. Kids look cute in everything.
60. I have 20 pairs of shoes. You can never have enough, right?
61. I have had my hair almost every color it can be.
62. The shortest my hair has ever been was 3 inches long everywhere. It was so ugly. I don't think I could cut it shorter than my shoulders ever again.
63. I lived in Sacramento, California until I was 12, when we moved to Utah.
64. If I had the chance, I would move out of Utah in a heartbeat. I just feel antsy sometimes, thinking about living here forever. I need the adventure!
65. I think potty humor is hilarious. I know, pretty immature.
66. I love to take super hot baths.
67. I can't stand to write with a pencil that isn't super sharp.
68. I love collecting Box Tops to give to Sienna's school. I even tried to take some from my Grandpa's house when we were in California.
69. I can't stand when food on my plate touches each other.
70. Some of my favorite movies are 13 going on 30, The Notebook, Legally Blonde, and Notting Hill.
71. I hate Tom Cruise, because I have personally had post-partum depression and it sucks. It wasn't because I didn't take enough vitamins.
72. Some of my favorite books are anything by Jane Austen, Harry Potter books, Twilight series, The Book of Mormon, and the Da Vinci code and Angels and Demons. I also loved the Kite Runner and My Sister's Keeper.
73. I love going on cruises., The food, the sun, the relaxation. Ahhhhhhhhh.
74. I love Disneyland. It truly is the happiest place on earth.
75. I suck at french braiding, even though I am a hair dresser.
76. I love to buy the energy saver light bulbs and find other ways to conserve energy. I recently bought the reusable bags to use when grocery shopping. I had been thinking about it for a while, but I read about a friend who used them and I saw them for a good price so I succumbed.
77. I would love to learn to speak Spanish.
78. I read gossip magazines and use the excuse of buying them for my clients. Why do I care about them?
79. Some of my favorite actors are Christian Bale (so h-o-t, HOT!!!), Colin Firth, Denzel Washington, Hugh Grant, Drew Barrymore, Reese Witherspoon, and Adam Sandler.
80. I love to use a Scentsy warmer and make my house smell yummy.
81. My calling in our ward is to sing to the 3 Nurseries for 15 minutes each. They are so cute. I really actually love it.
82. My favorite flower is a tulip. I love, love, love it when I get to watch for them coming up in the spring. I go outside everyday to see how much farther they have come up from the ground.
83. I have wavy hair and I actually really like it now. I air dry it and mix in some anti-frizz product and gel and call it good. It's so easy and (I think) pretty cute.
84. I met one of my best friends while running in a 5K race.
85. I sucked my thumb until I was like 10 or something. I hid it really well from my parents. It scares me that Madelyn sucks her thumb, but it's a tough habit to break.
86. I am addicted to dairy foods, but slightly lactose intolerant. The Lactaid is pretty pricey, so it makes me cut back on the dairy. So sad.
87. I have to have bottled water when I travel. I get really, really sick if I drink culinary water in new places, as we have found out a few times going to Disneyland.
88. I tried to adopt a baby and had her for 5 months before her birth mother took her back. One of the worst times in my life.
89. I love my clients as friends. I don't think they honestly know how much they mean to me.
90. I talk to my kids about drugs already and have for a few years now. I would rather have them prepared and know about it from me than anyone else.
91. I am an angry driver sometimes. I don't know why, but I go through phases where people really make me mad.
92. I have never gotten a ticket or been in an accident.
93. I am a back seat driver big time with Spencer. I try not to be, but it happens.
94. I have had my belly button pierced, twice. (I know, so naughty!)
95. I have had white socks for my entire life until my birthday this year when my friends got me a bunch of cute and fun ones.
96. I refuse to wear pantyhose.
97. I guzzle water like nothing else. I love it!
98. I love to find good deals at D.I. I bought Aidan a backpack, me a pair of Diesel shoes (orange and so cute), Sienna a shirt, and Spencer a pair of biking cleats recently.
99. I eat M&M's or Reeces's Pieces all weird. I have to separate the colors and put an even number in my mouth at a time.
100. It takes me a long time to come up with a bunch of random info on myself.

Sienna and Mad just came back from the Dr., so I wanted to post their stats really quick.

Sienna is 51 3/4 in. tall and is in the 30th percentile in height.
Her weight is 55 lbs. and 20th percentile.
Her BMI is in the 5th percentile, which he said is fine as long as she is on the charts. They really only worry when they are on the other end of things.

Mad weighs 19 lbs. 15 oz and is in the 30th percentile.
She is 28 1/2 in. long, also 30th percentile.
And her head is 18 in. and 60th percentile (I guess she needs more room for her growing brain, right?)