9 YEARS...AND COUNTING....

WOW! 9 years have already gone by that I have been married to the most AMAZING MAN IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD ! There is NO ONE that I would rather spend eternity with than with the man I have been so lucky enough to have married. Every time I think of Mark, I just can't believe that he chose me to be his wife. He was such an "eligible bachelor" and I was just some young, 19 year old sophomore at BYU--he could have chosen anyone to be his bride, but he chose me, and for that I am eternally grateful and feel so amazingly blessed!! Happy 9th anniversary babe! I LOVE YOU!!

This was our engagement picture--WOW! We were sooo young weren't we?

Did this adorable young couple have any idea of what life had in store for them??? Did they know that 9 years later, they would have graduated together from BYU, moved 8 times (and ended up living where they honeymooned), traveled a ton, had 2 of the most adorable daughters ever, faced some of the most difficult challenges they'd ever faced, enjoyed the happiest moments of their lives, and 9 years later would still be sharing the most amazing life together??

BOY WERE WE LUCKY!!

Mark, the stud--on our wedding day!

In honor of our 9 year anniversary, here is my top 9 reasons

Why the Sparks Keep On Sparkin'....

(in no particular order...)

9. You help me out with the chores around the house (cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc...)--even after a long day at the office--and NEVER complain! You tell me to leave the dishes for you to do, because "I like to do them--they help me unwind." You always iron your own clothes and you never make me do it because you know how much I detest it (and iron for me and the girls when needed)! And you put up with me even though I am not the cleanest or most organized or best cook--You love me for who I am, flaws and all.

8. Your daughters ADORE you! You are seriously THE BEST dad in the world! (How many guys do you know that grew up the youngest of 4 boys and play "Pretty, Pretty Princess", Cinderella, Barbies, etc... just because their daughters ask them to?!) They seriously have daddy wrapped around their little fingers!

7. You call me at least once everyday from the office "just to see how your girls are doing."

6. You take the girls in the morning and get them breakfast so that I can sleep in a little extra :)

5. You really take an interest in my hobbies (probably one of the only men I know who can set a mean eyelet and take their wives shopping and will sit with the girls while I run into a store!) and you actually encourage me to have a "girl's night out" from time to time and don't bug me when I am out until 3 am.

4. You let me talk and air my frustrations for hours on end--and honestly listen. We have very good and open communication skills.

3. You love to travel as much as I do and are always up for a fun adventure.

2. You are very driven and determined to succeed at whatever you do. You don't like to take on a job unless you can give it your full and complete attention.

AND...The number one reason I love my husband so much?! Besides that you are so danged funny, smart, considerate, a great diaper changer, never-in-9-years-left-the-toilet-seat-up stud muffin, making me feel special everyday, are thoughtful, caring, honest, selfless, romantic, etc...?

1. Simple--YOU ARE HOT!!!

This picture was taken right after coming out of the SLC temple. One of the happiest days of my life! (The picture was taken in the "Sweetheart tree", which unfortunately, was destroyed by the freak SLC tornado less than 2 weeks later!)

Some random shots of us over the years. I think for next year's anniversary, I am requesting some nice portraits of just the 2 of us! :)

I LOVE YOU MARK!!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

Fellow Californians...HAVE YOU HEARD THE EXCITING NEWS??

Why am I so excited?! Click on the link below and find out for yourself!!! "COMING SEPTEMBER 2008"--What a great birthday surprise that will be!!

http://www.taipantrading.com/index.html

Newport Beach Family Reunion!!

Mark's family came out last week to Newport Beach for a week of

F-U-N!! We went to the beach numerous times, the Irvine Spectrum, hung out at the pool, shopped, played games, relaxed, slept in, the boys golfed--twice!, ate lots of yummy things, went to the OC fair, and even got to go and see WICKED again in Hollywood!! We all had a fabulous time and the girls were spoiled rotten by everyone! Thanks for all the fun times!!

Meet me at the FAIR!!!

Meet me in Orange County, County.

Meet me at the fair.

Don't tell me the lights are shining

Any place but there.

We will dance the hoochie coochie.

I will be your tootsie wootsie

If you will meet me in Orange County, County.

Meet me at the fair.

Check out all the "yummy" things they were deep frying at the fair...deep-fried frog legs anyone??!! Or how about deep fried SPAM?!

We took the girls to the OC Fair while we were staying at Newport Beach. We had a blast--playing games, winning prizes, riding rides, eating JUNK food (the deep-fried Oreos were as DELICIOUS as I remembered and Mark likes the giant turkey legs! The deep fried Snickers bar and Reece's weren't bad either though!), visiting the petting zoo, seeing the fair animals (brand new baby piglets!), and we even got to ride on an elephant!

Who doesn't just love a good day at the fair?!

Sew, very old one! Sew like the wind!

Recently, I signed up to take a beginning sewing class. YES, ME--SEWING!!

(YES--The same girl, who in the 8th grade had taken a mandatory sewing class, but actually paid a friend to finish all of her sewing projects so that she could flirt with this cute boy in the class (spray bottle fights over the ironing board anyone?!) And also, the same girl, who on a number of occasions has had her mom try to teach her to sew (mom is AMAZING!), but somehow, is always able to talk her mom in to doing it for her ("Mom, you sew, I'll cut. You are WAY better and faster at this...that's exactly how "we" made the girls' quilt)

So, I decided that I finally needed--and WANTED-- to learn for myself (and quit taking an extra suitcase to Utah full of clothes to be mended by mom every time we went out there!)

My goals for taking the course were: to be able to hem pants/skirts, sew cute, easy dresses/skirts for my girls, and to make Halloween costumes for my kids like my mom used to make us when we were little. Well, let's just say that really none of those goals were met (could have been because there were 9 of us women with only one teacher?!), but after the 5 week course, I finished this little beauty! I am actually quite proud of myself--(because you all know me--always starting projects, but never finishing them!) But this class really made me more confident in my sewing skills and I have many more sewing projects on my table.

Next up: My neighbor brought over a huge bag of cute material, which I plan to make matching ruffled skirts for the girls.

Now, the only problem with having a cute apron is, is that I have to learn to cook!! Maybe that will be my next class...

He's here!!

My sister had her baby yesterday evening!! What a cutie pie! He was 9 pounds, 8 oz and 21 inches long! (Good thing they took him early, or she would have had another 10 lbs, 3 oz baby like her first!!) She had some pretty extensive bleeding and 14 hours later she is still in labor and delivery, with the doctors still considering surgery, but look at this cute healthy baby boy! (Who bytheway still doesn't have a name ... ) CONGRATS Angie, Gerrit and Ryker!!! We love you and can't wait to meet the newest addition to the family!!

Utah

We flew out to Utah for a quick trip to visit with my Grandma Amy who is not doing so well. As many of you know, she has had Alzheimer's for a number of years and about 3 weeks ago, they found out she has pneumonia. They give her about a month to live, and I knew we needed to get out there to say our final goodbyes. So I packed up myself and the girls and we flew out to Utah for 5 days to stay with my family. My in-laws were so wonderful to let us drive home with them to Cali and we got to meet up with my mom in St. George and do some shopping. We had a very short stay in Sugar House, but still got to do many fun things--shopping (Tai Pan!!), crafts, visit the Hogle Zoo, celebrate the 4th of July and visiting with family of course. Thanks to our families for taking such good care of us (and sorry to those we didn't get a chance to visit with--next time I promise!)

This is my niece Lily! How cute is she?!

Aunt Judy and Ellie making cookie dough to eat!! (Way better than baking the cookies.)

Aunt Mandy, Ellie and Maddy at Sugar House park--just down the street from Grandma's

Ellie with two of her grandmas!

Our All-American Girls!

For the 4th, my sister and I took the girls to Sugar House park and walked around, fed the ducks, played at the playground, enjoyed the beautiful Utah day and watched all the preparations for the big festivites that night. Later on, we had some yummy dutch oven BBQ chicken at grandma and Aunt Judy's house. After the girls were asleep we watched the Sugar House fireworks from the comfort of the driveway. A pretty nice, low-key 4th of July.

(We couldn't get enough of Maddy in her little "Apple Dumpling" outfit--it was vintage 2004 from Ellie!)

Utah's Hogle Zoo

While we were in Utah, my sister and I took our kids to the Hogle Zoo. We had a great time (even if it was 102 outside!). We were delighted to find out that the white alligator was still there and we got to ride the new carousel. The bird show is always fun to attend and the train is still the same as I remembered it being as a kid. The important thing was, that the girls all had a great time together and they made some wonderful cousin memories!