aaargh!

I just got home from class tonight and am feeling so frustrated! I've never gone to school during the summer, but don't really have a choice with my master's program and am finding it rather laborious and taxing already. I was okay for the first 3 hours tonight, but the last hour was a killer! It was like everyone in my class started speaking Japanese and I was completely lost! The professer was throwing out terms and theories left and right, and everyone was nodding their heads in agreement and I had no idea what they were talking about! I physically felt my brain shut down and my eyes glaze over. This is definately going to be a good experience and trial for me to test my dedication, organization, and focus. I'm really, really, really looking forward to Powell now! :)

tutu

yesterday mom, em and eden came over for dinner after we went to my cousin's mission farewell (good luck in germany, chris!) and i made eden this little tutu (thanks to amy for the directions). she kept calling it her "ballerina" and loved jumping on the tramp with it. she loved it even more when jon and i put it on and did our flips!

love these little people!

They're here! Em and Eden flew in yesterday afternoon and I got to pick them up at the airport. I expected Eden to be a little shy and unsure, but she jumped right into my arms and gave me a HUGE hug! Em looks so cute with her prego belly sticking out. Eden came up with the funniest things as we were driving around. I opened up the sunroof for some fresh air and heard her little voice say "Oh, thanks, Aly" from the back seat. We went and saw Jon at his office after picking up some McDonald's for lunch. Eden loves it when uncle Jon talks in his donald duck voice and just giggled and followed him around the whole time. As we were leaving the office the printer started kicking out some papers and she hurried as turned around, looked at us and said "Uh-Oh, the papers are coming out of there" with sincere worry for the poor machine. Anyway, she cracked us up all night and had so much fun surprising grandma and grandpa Storey at their house. I'm so excited that they are here and can't wait to play somemore with them!

I got to play with these little guys yesterday morning and had so much fun! As I dressed Parker he was so giggly and smiley and Luke was just so excited to have me there. He kept giving me hugs and telling me he loves me. Such sweet words to my ears! I sure do love these boys!

I absolutely adore all of my neices and nephews!

they did it!

Congratulations to the Highland Rugby boys! Yesterday they won the High School Rugby National Championship. They rolled over (physically they hit and tackled so hard, it was awesome!!! the other teams were running scared!) their rivals, Jesuit of Sacramento, with a score of 24-8. This was Jon's 5th and final season coaching the backs and he has done an amazing job with the boys. Our association with Highland has opened many doors and introduced us to many new friends. I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to be involved with such a great team and great cause. I'm excited for all of the new ventures we're embarking on with rugby now. Jon has been invited to coach the Utah U-19 all star team and we will be traveling to Denver in June for a tournament. He really is a great coach and has been receiving all sorts of praise and accolaides from the rugby community. The highland boys love him and will miss him, I'm sure. Deep down, I'm secretly hoping that we'll move to New Zealand for a couple of years to do some rugby stuff there. I don't really know what, but I think it would be fun! I figure now would be as good a time as ever, especially since we don't have kids. I do want to raise our family in Utah but it would also be cool to raise them somewhere sweet like New Zealand too...just dreaming, I guess.

Anyway, congratulations to the boys and the coaches. They worked very hard and deserved it!

ballllerria! ballllerria!

that's what luke sings as he twirls around with his hand above his head. but this is actually chelsea at her dance class this morning. i got to take her today and it was so fun to watch her prance around. she is such a cheese and LOVES the camera! she is all girl and all about the leotards, pink tights, skirt. now i just need to have amy teach me how to make those adorable tutus she does for estee.

racin'

pre-race

it was a little early for a Saturday morning for me!


There were tables all around with these signs so people could dedicate their race. Some were funny, some were touching (I like that on this one she calls her "my mommy",) and others were pretty bold. There were also whole teams who made their own t-shirts. Here are my favorites:

"We're walkers for Lori's knockers."
"Save Sue's Boobs" and
"Save the hoo-has" (from the U fraternity!)


whew! i made it!


jon was so proud of me...so was I!

these pumas were made for walkin'

Tomorrow I'll be a first time participant in the annual Race for the Cure here in Salt Lake. I'm nervous that my body will go into complete shock with heightened activity, even though I'm just doing the 5K walk with my mother- and sisters-in-law. I'm very excited to be involved in a good cause and I'm sure it will be a very touching experience to see so many survivors, family members, and friends. My cute neighbor is currently battling the devestating aftermath of cancer and even though I haven't really told her, I'd like to walk in her honor. She is an amazing woman with a strong spirit and zeal for life. As my networking expands I'm realizing now just how many people breast cancer has touched. I pray that I might never experience it first hand and pray that I can be more empathetic and stronger for those who do.

Wish me luck!

cute jeff

This is my cute cousin Jeff. He is graduating from Ogden High at the end of the month and they asked me to take his graduation photos. It was perfect lighting yesterday and we had such a blast! Thanks Jeff, Carly, and Ruthie for all of your help!

happy cinco de mayo!

Thanks everyone for viewing my little movie and for your nice comments. One of those comments referenced my gratitude journal and asked for an explanation of parenting styles. So Ang, this is for you:

There are 4 styles: Authoritative (which is the best), Authoritarian, Permissive, and Neglecting/Rejecting or Uninvolved.

Authoritative is based on a balance of warmth and control. These parents use love and logic, are child-centered, make age-appropriate expectations and then teach their child how to meet those expectations. They also teach the child to recognize how their behavior affects others. By the time these kids are teenagers, they have a better understanding of their parent's values and are less likely to engage in inappropriate activities. They do better in school and overall development is better. I think this style is most aligned with Gospel teachings of love and patience given in the proclamation to the family.

Authoritarian parents are low on warmth and high on control. "My way or the highway" or "because I said so" are popular phrases with them. They demand, threaten and expect withouth teaching. These kids don't do as well in school or social situations. They are often hostile and aggressive.

Permissive parents are high on warmth and low on control. "don't know, don't care" where their children are or what they are doing. These kids engage in risky behaviors early and don't do well in school or social situations either.

Neglecting/Rejecting parents are low on warmth and low on control. They actively reject or neglect their child and simply fail in their parental responsibilities. This can be for a number of reasons (depression, not committed, too busy working, drugs, etc.) but the effects are devestating. These children fare the worst in all aspects of development - social, emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual.

So there's my mini-paper if any of you were interested. I love learning this stuff and am so excited to integrate it into my career and into parenting. I hope you're all having a good weekend!

i give up!

Okay, I've been trying to embed this video right onto my blog, but just can't seem to get it to work. so this is the mini movie I made of Eden. Enjoy!

http://uncutvideo.aol.com/users/alygal23@gmail.com/3a8941fdc18c27988b06e4135062c7a8?index=0

crazy day

we have had beautiful weather today and i'm so glad! i decided to walk over to jen's house to interview jessica for one of my school projects. it was very interesting to get a 7 year old's perspective on popularity.

**i'd like to ask...did anyone think they were popular when they were a kid? my thought is this - i had popular friends, but never thought i was popular. now that i look back, i'm not sure anyone would really consider themselves "popular" in elementary school. i think our media feeds us so much information about what we have not being enough that as kids we don't think we have enough or deserve to be liked. does anyone agree, or am i way off base?

anyway, then we got this crazy wind storm that blows up a bunch of dust from all the construction around here. not fun, seeing as how i was walking home in it! nothing like a mouth full of grit and sand. and to top that off, another visit from aunt flo confirmed my suspicions that the horrible cramping this month meant my body just doesn't want to be pregnant right now. :)

on a much lighter note, my great friend erin just posted all of her pictures from their trip to south africa. click here. they're incredible!