Praise to the Man. President Gordon B. Hinckley, Dies at 97

Our beloved Gordon B. Hinckley, President of The Church of Latter Days Saints, died tonight. He was 97 and died at his home in Salt Lake City of "old age". I love this man. He has been such a positive influence for good in this world and has been an amazing leader of our church. He will be missed by many, but I am happy for him to leave this world and join his wife and companion in life here after. I wonder what he is doing right now. I am sure he is finding ways to keep busy :)

If you want to read more of the full story... here is the link http://www.newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/beloved-church-president-gordon-b-hinckley-dies-at-97

Stop... Wedding time Part II

Lindsey and I had the honor of joining the girls the night before the wedding and the morning of, to help Laura get ready. With the help on some Ambien and Rochelle (hair and makeup girl)... Laura was a well rested, beautiful bride! I wouldn't expect anything less.
Here she is... all smiles! I failed to get a picture of her and Josh through out the whole wedding. If anyone got a shot of them... please send it my way.

The fab five back again. Gotta send this one to Mr. Boyd

I found this little angel under my table. Ben and Emily's daughter Charlotte is the cutest! The Davis Clan Couples (minus Dana and Chase :( )

Brad and Kori surprised our table with some big news! I am not going to mention it here... but will let Kori do the announcing. http://bradandkoridavis.blogspot.com/
They started it!

I did capture one of my favorite moments of the wedding. The mother-son dance. Laura and Conrad had a little moment together before she headed off for a week to Hawaii.


Once again... Haws was a dance machine and totally tuckered out by the time we left the wedding. Good thing Lindsey was my shotgun!

Wedding Time Part I

Oh yeah... it's wedding time! Since Christmas, we have had a wedding every weekend! It has been wedding madness! With all this madness though has come many opportunities to celebrate the joining of some of our favorite people as well as see many old friends and have a great time! I have been such a slacker about posting some of these events... I kept waiting until I got better shots to share, but this is all I got. I hope it represents well enough... but it was hard to capture the beauty of it all.

Chelcie and Bronson outside the Newport Temple. I love this picture because of the rays of light. Kind of appropriate for the event :)Brett with some of his beautiful daughters. Dana is pretty much part of the family. I loved the bridesmaid dresses! I think they are ones that will actually get some use out of them after the wedding.
Cutting up the rug! Haws really was a dance machine that night. I even had to take a break (after having my foot stepped on by a high heel) and leave him to dance alone. Nothing was going to stop him!

Set Free!!!

Our leading man has served his time and is out of jail. If only this writers strike would end. Then I would get Jack back on Monday nights. I truly miss those 24 parties and the weekly dose of Jack Bauer/Keifer. He is so bad... he must be good :) THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: January 22, 2008
Time’s up for Kiefer Sutherland. After 48 days Mr. Sutherland, the star of Fox television’s “24,” walked out of jail in Glendale, Calif., at 12:05 a.m. Monday, The Associated Press reported. He was sentenced to 30 days after he pleaded no contest in October to driving with a blood alcohol level above the legal limit, and 18 days were added for violating probation in connection with a drunken driving arrest in 2004. He spent his jail time on laundry duty, cleaning sheets, pillowcases and blankets. John Balian, a police officer, said: “He was very humble, never complained. He didn’t give us any problems at all.”

Family Addition

Congrats to Sarah and Jared! Their first born joined our family on Jan. 11th. They live out in Utah, so we are hoping to meet our newest nephew, Thor Wade in the coming months. He was a big boy... 8 lbs 14 oz and 22 inches long.

Way to go Sarah!

Breaking in the BBQ

Warning... viewers discretion is advised. Thanks to my husbands famous apron, you may want to prepare yourself for this one.

We tried out the new BBQ for the first time tonight. We decided on carne asada and chicken tacos/burritos along with salad, rice and all the fixins' and our neighbors brought lots of yummy brownie treats. It was a hit! The food was great and we were able to fit almost 20 people into our tiny apartment thanks to a table and chairs we borrowed from my parents. Of course we invited them over to witness the use of their gift and enjoy some of the "fruits" it produced.

The spread

Serving up
The Barbecue Master and ummm. Ya, I know. When Haws and I were dating he walked out wearing this apron he got straight from Italy. I can't even look at him directly when he has this things on. My mom really liked it... good thing we all have a good sense of humor.
The Boys
The Girls
Mom and Dana

No... Dana didn't move back although I wish she did! Just down for another weekend of weddings. Congrats Chelcie and Bronson!
Old friends, good times.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Ear Infections

It has been a little bit of a rough week for Haws and I. Nothing too bad... just a few set backs. First, Haws wasn't feeling too hot on New Years day. We just thought it was just him being a little run down and not looking forward to going back to work after the holidays. Turns out... he had an ear infection, went to the Doc and got some antibiotics. The next day when he was leaving for work he realized his breaks were not working and had to tow his car to work. Long story short... he car was fixed and tuned up for a nice price of course and his ear infection got worse. He had a different type of ear infection and had to go back to the Doc to get different meds. He was told he needed the brand name drugs... not cheap either. He is starting to feel better, but still a little out of it. In the mean time, I have been waking up for the past month with my hands a sleep and then tingling through out the day. So I went to the Doc to find out that first of all... I am not pregnant (not something I was expecting) but that I sleep in a way that cuts off my carpal nerve and may result in future carpal tunnel syndrome. To prevent the condition, I know get to sleep in these fancy wrist braces. This is what I look like getting ready to hit the sack. Notice the comfy looking "snuggle wrap" given to me by Taeler. It is super cuddly, but I need to ask Taeler how to put it on right. I accidentally tossed the directions and have just been using it as a blanket. Still... it is great!

That is it for our medical updates in case you were wondering :)

The New BBQ

For Christmas my parents gave us a new BBQ and it arrived this weekend. Brad was kind enough to deliver it to our apartment and with the help of Tom and Glenn, they were able to carry the beast out of the truck and into our home. Since we had no plans for the night... Haws went to work on the BBQ while I cleaned the house. I was awfully impressed by his handy work! Once the weather clears, we are excited to have many BBQ's.

Calling all Twilight Readers...

Like many of you... I got addicted to the Twilight series and read through all three of the books. Now I am waiting for the 4th book to hit the shelves to continue my constant nourishment of Edward, Jacob and Bella. It is raining and it puts me in the mood to cuddle up and read a good book. With out Edward to keep me company, I feel at a loss for what to read next. Any good suggestions to help fill the void? I know there are better things I can be doing with my time, but I need some good reading to take to the gym to tap into the creative/fantasy part of my brain. If you have found a good substitute until the next book comes out, will you please share here :)

Happy New Year... Bring it on!

I am posted this mainly so my dad does not have to look at Haws' facial hair in the sink every time he brings up my blog :)

Bringing in 2008 was a little different for me than the years past. First of all... I wasn't in Hawaii with my family like have been for most New Years since 2000. And second.. I am a married woman now. That makes a big difference when bringing in the New Year. I am so happy to start this on off with Haws as my partner in crime. I am still working on my resolutions, but for me, resolutions are something I have to make all through out the year... it is hard to list them all at once. I know one for sure is to get to bed earlier. I hope this doesn't effect my ability to blog. I do my best work late at night.

Our first New Years Eve as a married couple was pretty mellow. My two siblings, our significant others (Chase was there in spirit) and some friends crashed my parents house while they were chaperoning the youth dance. We had quite the spread of appetizers and treats and had a good time socializing, hot tubbing and playing games. When even made it to midnight!!! I was afraid the group might not last when I saw Kori dozing off around 1030... but they came through! Here are just a few pics to capture some of the moments.

Dana and Jenny digging in

Emme and Kori. Emme was a party animal and she lasted until midnight as well!
Cinnamon, Haws and his mustache. It looks like he is eating the flowers...
Me... this is what happens when you mix hummus with sparkling cider.
The night was complete with a visit from Anne and Danielle. I am glad they got booted out of their previous party and decided to join ours.

And that's it. Nothing too exciting, but I have a good feeling about 2008 :)