Winter Fun!

Aurora's grandpa came to visit us. I was a great week but very stressful (finals!) we had fun with Randy but not so much fun with those finals. Aurora warmed up pretty quickly to her grandpa and was giving him kisses by the end of the week. We went out to eat and we went shopping and we got to hang out. It was very short but a good visit.

I think she looks so cute in this picture.

Our Christmas tree with our ribbon on it. Aurora doesn't even try to mess with the ribbon. I have our presents on the top shelves in our place and I will put them under the tree on Christmas eve. I am so excited for Aurora.
So on thursday we had our friend Whitney take our family photos. We had planned taking these pictures in October and we waited for snow and it didn't come until last week and now it hasn't stopped snowing. So PJ and grandpa came and held the cameras. it took a little while to get Aurora to smile but I think it went great. We wanted to send out photo Christmas cards so Whitney got us three digital photos the next day to use so I sent them out today. 
If you want to check out Whitney's blog its on my blog list "Hardie Photography" and she will post the rest of the photos after she edits them.

In 2 weeks it will be Christmas!

This is our Christmas tree, I will take a full shot later but Aurora has successfully removed all (shatterproof) ornaments within her reach so I need to make it pretty again and I also need to add the ribbon it got for it. But we just love Christmas and are excited to get to see Gerald's dad the week before. It good to have family around but we are excited to have have our first Christmas by ourselves too. We are hoping for a white Christmas but we'll see.

Pound It!

Aurora's uncle Pj taught her the fist bump or how we say "pound it" it is so freaking cute. She tries and learns so many many things everyday its amazing!

You can pick your nose you can pick your friends...

So Aurora ate a gigantic booger today...I threw up a little in my mouth.

Thanksgiving

Aurora helping eat butter...my floral arrangement (i.e. extra credit)

So Thanksgiving was wonderful, even though we were away from home and our family. We first had a Thanksgiving at Ali and Bryce's it was perfect I was so full afterward. (every time I eat at Ali's house the food is amazing and I eat too much but then I go home wishing I had eaten more it is so delicious) It had been a while since Aurora had been over there so she had fun chasing the cats and trying to eat their food. After lunch we searched the news paper for the deals and mapped out our plan of attack on Black Friday. 

Then we went home to prepare for our next Thanksgiving and get our little baby to take a nap. That nap lasted less than an 1hr. sad. We spent time with Rachael and Warren our extended family out here. And our little Pj was also with us. The boys watched the A&M vs. UT game sadly A&M lost. After cleaning up Rachael and I came up with the plan to see Twilight and we did and I went to bed at 1am only to wake up at 3:30am to hit up the sales. Totally worth it.

Devotional?

Let me start by saying I understand that I attend a private college supplemented by the Church of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints. But what I don't understand is how my choice to attend BYU takes away my other choices. Some of you know BYU has forums or devotionals every Tuesday at 11am even during the spring and summer terms. Well I have no problem with that. I think it's great. I went to a lot of them during freshman year and I watch them occasionally on BYU TV. But it gets to be too much that BYU will shut everything down for an hour and a half. This may not seem like a lot of time once a week but it can be on a week when you have 4 tests in the testing center (while still having to attending 16 credit hours of class), Gerald has 14 hours and tests too and someone needs to be watching Aurora during all these times. That hour and a half could be one test down, having lunch, or picking up a prescription at the health center(which closes down too). 

 The book store doesn't close for Saturday conference but it closes for forums and devotionals? Are forums and devotionals more important? Classes aren't held on Tuesdays during this time as well... some people need to have all of their classes done early so they can get to work but that can't always happen. The thing that doesn't make sense is that if you are in line at the testing center *not owned by BYU* and you get in there with your test before 10:45 you get to take your test...but you're not watching devotional, you're taking a test and someone still has to work at the testing center and the people who don't make it in time sit in the testing center in line and study...still not watching devotional. So what is the point? If they want everyone to watch it, broadcast it on TVs around campus in lines, in the book store, at the health center. Just because everything shuts down doesn't mean I'm going to watch a forum that doesn't relate to my major or a devotional that is going to be on BYU TV five times in the next week. I'm going to go get some McDonalds, mm-kay?

My baby on the phone

She cracks me up! She did this all afternoon picking up the phone and answering it with a hello. I couldn't get a video of it but I would catch her laughing into the phone.

Super Saturday!

So I went to super Saturday last week and I made these vinyl print tile things the first one has some little bubbles but the SMITH one turned out beautifully. I can't wait to put them up in our home.

Halloween!

This is a pumpkin floral arrangement I made. it was so much fun making it. it had a bird of paradise, roses, carnations, a purple died sunflower (red petals), lilies, button mums, spray mums, curly willow, preserved leaves and others. I put it in the Apartment office and had it in our house for the rest of Hallloween.

 Aurora and Gerald

Princess Aurora knocking on our door

So we did our Halloween the night before at school there was this whole event planned for the children of students and grandchildren of professors. We walk in and Aurora is stunned she can't move she kept whispering "wow". Eventually she loosened up and started wandering around, poking other children in the eyes and stealing candy from those children.... very standard for Aurora. Gerald had left pretty quickly so he could go to class so it was very hard and we left I had to wrestle her into the stroller not a pretty site. but going home she was happy after a stop off at cousin Warren and Rachael's for some winter soup and spinach and cheese bread for great harvest (they only make it on mondays and thursdays). Aurora slept very well that night. We only got two pieces of candy...maybe next year she will be ready for it, but for now she has a new princess dress for dress up. 

Tagged "8 is Great"

I've Been Tagged! "8 is Great"

I was tagged by Kat so here it is, try not to fall asleep...

8 TV shows I love to watch:
1. The office
2. Pushing Daisies

3.  Big Bang theory 

4. What Not To Wear
5. The soup
6. Two and a half men
7. girls next door
8.  How i met your mother

8 Things that Happened to me Yesterday:
1. worked
2. did homework
3. laundry 
4. ate cookies
5. grocery shopping
6. toured American Stone
7. got my pay checks from Pier one
8. Went to wendys at 1 am with rachael

8 Favorite Places to Eat:
1. Sensuous Sandwich
2. McDonalds
3. Melting Pot
4. TGI Fridays 
5. The great china
6. Kneaders
7. BJ's
8. Joes BBQ In Alvin,TX

8 Things I am looking forward to:
1. the end of this semester! ( i agree with Kat)
2. Halloween! Aurora is going to be a princess 
3. Thanksgiving! first break from school this semester
4. Family portraits, Whitney is taking them so excited!
5. the clothes I am buying for those family portraits 
6. Christmas!!!
7. Student Career Days in California this spring.
8. Pay day

8 Things on my wish list:
1. Visit Home
2. Graduate
3. Vacation somewhere fancy
4. A house 
5. another kid...maybe
6. That Gerald would do the dishes forever and I would never have to do them again
7. Clothes
8. a new car

8 People I Tag:
1. Ali
2. Natalie 
3. Holly 
4. Caleb
5. Dee
6. Cherise 
7. Chelsea
8. Michelle

Active again

So we went to Church this Sunday we have had a hard time going, well staying all 3 hours, since we have moved. We have all sorts of excuses We both work 10 hours saturday and ten hours sunday so getting up isn't easy, its a new ward an hour earlier, we are lazy, but mostly AURORA IS CRAZY. well Aurora is 18 months old now so we went and we stuck her in nursery. First hour was difficult but the second and third were great first time in months i actually heard the lesson. Aurora did really well for the most part she's a climber so I guess they had some problems with that but she didn't miss us at all.

In Relief society I sat next to my friend Kim and I am always looking for a good book to read so she is having book club at her place this month so I checked out the book and read it that day while I was at work and loved every bit of it. Its called The Lightning Thief  its ages 10+ literature but it is so cute full of greek mythology and adventures. Its a series so I have a few more books to read. 

So back to church later sunday night gerald gets a call from the primary president and she was trying to tell him, Aurora's father that Aurora isn't old enough but it was okay this week. Gerald tells her Aurora turned 18 months two weeks ago. So she said "oh I didn't realize that but she went to the wrong nursery" (there are 2) How are we supposed to know which one she is supposed to be in if she didn't even know Aurora was old enough? Oh well I am just happy Aurora is old enough to go and I can enjoy church again. 

"what'chu talkin' 'bout, Willis?"

So there I was with my brother-in-law pj in the ten items or less line at Macey's grocery store and in front of us stands Gary Coleman himself. Well we thought it was him but what would he be doing in Provo, Utah? SO we weren't sure but then on the TV today we saw that he has/had a court appearance this week you can check it out his wikipedia the disorderly conduct section  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Coleman 

it confirms his existence in Provo, Utah.  well thats my celebrity siting. 

Dancing baby

Aurora dancing a little bit while her dad sings the malcolm in the middle theme song to the office theme song. and i let her have the empty jar of peanut butter...

I like to build Aurora little forts she likes it too. It is how I distract her when I really need to do homework.

How you like them Tomatoes?

This happened a few weeks ago... My friend Eric and his wife Wendy have a nice little garden full of tomatoes and zucchinis so one week they gave me 7lbs of tomatoes. I had those tomatoes sitting on our kitchen table. That table being the one Aurora is tall enough to reach now. Well she grabbed two tomatoes and started eating them like apples, she finished one in 5 minutes and started work on another I had to stop her. I only stopped her after calling my mom and asking if its bad for her to eat lots of tomatoes. She said it might not feel so good when it comes out the end. but i got a few pictures of the event. 

Aurora is a scavenger she could have just eaten a ton of food but if she sees someone eating she will make a bee line for them and plop right down next to them and hold out her hands. its embarrassing...

Vegas (august 14-16)

Well our trip to Vegas was not a normal "Vegas" trip we went there for gerald's brother Kevin's wedding. We drove up with Gerald's grandpa Duane and grandma Peggy. Aurora did very well on the drive. We got to eat at all our favorite places that aren't found throughout Utah such as JACK IN THE BOX, oh how I missed 2 for $.99 tacos. We ate a lot of fast food over those 3 days Gerald gained 3lbs and kept them which is monumental. *side note Gerald has maintained the same weight or lower in our three years of marriage. I wont say how much I gained on this 3 day trip lets just say I need to go running

We stayed at a nice casino hotel, Sunset Station, with a window view of how gerald says "suburban sprawling americana". We reunited with Gerald's mom, brothers, aunt Heidi and cousin Brittany. We ate some more the classic In N' Out.

Friday August 15th the wedding day! Well it took everyone a little it longer to get ready so we ate breakfast at the McDonalds in the walmart...in our church dress. it was a little awkward. I should state now that i hate Vegas it is ridiculously hot there and "dry heat" means NOTHING when it is 117+ degrees outside. The ceremony was very nice the couple (Kevin and Valerie) very lovely and happy. 

The newly weds

Aurora and I took pictures in the garden/pond area before, she did so well it was so hot that day and everyday we were there!

We didn't gamble I wanted to just to do it, I'm old enough you know. Gerald didn't want to so we didn't.

there are more pictures on facebook.

How Kileen got her ring back...

So Beto the maintenance man retrieved my ring from the stinky drain! It smelt really bad so I didn't want to wear it. Ali was sweet and took it to a jeweler and got it cleaned for me it is so shiny now and it doesn't smell and the jewelry store said they would tighten the prongs for free so I am thrilled to go and have that done.

My Precious

So my bathroom sink doesn't have little cross bars to keep things from falling in so I have a little rubber plug to stop it up. (it wasn't in the sink at the time) Well I was about to wash my hands so I put my wedding rings in there little ring box. While doing that I knocked my ring into the sink I tried to fetch it out with a bent wire hanger and knocked it further down so I tried harder to get it out I found lots of hair that didn't belong to us but to the people that live there before us. It smelt like what I think the bog of eternal stench smells like. Gerald is very calm about this we should be able to have the maintenance man Beto get it out on monday i can only imagine what its going to look and smell like when i get it back but i don't care i just want it back.

Fear the Mullet...

My brother had a shirt that he bought from a thrift store that read fear the mullet and it looked like this...

So as so many already know Aurora was born with a mullet and i never cut it thinking it would fall out or grow out. Well it didn't and after a while she started looking like Terry Bradshaw. Well I decided after her bath one day to just cut it off, so i set her in a chair, strapped her in and began the trimming it was a little choppy i can't imagine a child's first hair cut being easy or perfect but she looks adorable. i don't think this picture does her little hair cut justice.

well I had Michelle dye my hair my idea of auburn, and it turned out wonderful I absolutely love it. So Michelle and I were wondering what Gerald's reaction would be so she came in with me when I showed him my new hair. We started giggling and he wondered why I said we want to see/hear a reaction he says "you look the same"...men. My brother-in-law David thinks I look a lot more like my mama which I would agree with, I took other pictures where I really look like my mom but have not posted them. 

 I cut Gerald's hair too but I don't think I cut his hair well so I will not be posting a picture of that today.

Summer Time

So about a month ago we bought Aurora a front loading car seat which she loves and when it isn't in the car she sits in it like its her own little lounger.
But i think she like the box much better...
It has been a good summer full of moving, crafting, working, two year old birthday parties and my best friends wedding more to come on that...  but I love this picture of Aurora (it was at the summer social thing for the Crestwood where we are the on-sites) she will eat a water melon down the the rind and then she will continue to eat it

We are moved in to our new place just not unpacked all the way but it is progressing nicely. We are also looking forward to our trip to vegas for our brother Kevin's wedding in August. It will be so nice to get out of Utah for a few days before school starts again.

Weekend Update

So this weekend I went to a bridal shower for my friend Heather where there was an amazing chicken spinach pasta salad. I will be attempting to make it next month. we shall see how it goes. when I came home Gerald and I (& Aurora) went to redbox and rented Shrek the Third, we are catching up on the movies that came out right after Aurora was born.

Saturday we went to our old apartments ward breakfast, It was delicious. It sad to see how much Aurora misses the quad and the little playground and all the other children. I am going to start taking her swimming, maybe it will help her not get so stir crazy with me in the apartment. We took a few things over to our new place and will rent a truck this Friday and get the rest of our things. I then went to work where I had nothing to do, I have packed all of our books and didn't have anything to do for 10 hours.

Sunday Aurora woke up at  6:40am which is a big difference compared to 8 am after going to bed at 1am, gerald was kind enough to get up with her and let me sleep a little. Aurora made it through only a half an hour of church so I took her to our old apartment and she took a short nap. But I noticed a little white thing in her mouth Aurora is getting one little molar on the left side of her mouth, that could explain the attitude lately. Then I went to work and again had nothing to do next week I will be better prepared to do something to occupy my time.

well that was the weekend.

address

so at our old apartment the mail box says vacant... which isn't completely true. I requested the mail be forwarded on the 15th of July, so thats how it should be...but it isn't so our new address is

The Smiths

1800 N. State Street #121

Provo, UT 84604

recent obsession

So my most consuming obsession right now is the twilight series. I borrowed the first 3 books (4th being released on August 2nd) from Michelle last night, she told gerald not to be surprised if  it felt like I wasn't there because I would be so consumed in reading. true story... I started reading about 10:30 pm on monday am and I am already finished with the 2nd book New Moon and can't wait to wake up tomorrow and read the 3rd. It has filled the void that the ending of the Harry Potter series left. I have read many books since the 7th HP book but none that keep my attention so well that I fight to put the book down.

I think about the characters constantly when I do put the book down and I dream about them.

I also have the tendency to pick up on the style of writing......by that I mean I start to think and sometimes speak in a way that it would be written in the book. its silly.

I think everyone especially Diana should read them so we can discuss the books at length.

I just saw a bug i think a moth and it scared the hell out of me!.. I'm off to bed

Elmo's world

so Aurora can say Elmo, well she typically whispers it. it was so exciting the first time.

She still gets very excited to see him on TV or at the store and she gives her Elmo doll more hugs than she has ever given her parents.

I wonder how long this love of Elmo will last.

movin' on up

So we are, well i am, packing for the move this week and next. Its going pretty well, better than any other move we have been through. I have lots of boxes thanks to the HFAC and diapers. People in our ward have been very helpful with watching Aurora so I can actually get things done, and people offering to help move our stuff. 

We are excited to get to our new place probably staying over there tonight, we have already begun taking calls overnight so far dealt with a gas leak, one lock out and gerald has been doing the rounds at night (which will be a lot easier once we move in).

other news we got our car running... for now. It needs some more work but we need to save up and thanks to our new rent free apartment we should be able to take care of it soon. Gerald said he doesn't want to teach me to drive stick now because the transmission will be going out soon according to the mechanic. what gerald should be worried about the clutch and not even that much  because he's the one that rides the clutch when he drives. so i don't want to hear any complaints when i need a ride somewhere and can't take myself.

Some pictures from last night

gerald in the car
Bryce copping-his-own-feel.

Happy Anniversary!

Wednesday June 25th was our three year wedding anniversary. we went all out with a baby-sitter and everything. I didn't see gerald all day he left for work at 4:20 am and finished with classes and got home at 5:15 pm, just enough time for him to take out the trash and shower before it was time to leave. Bryce and Ali were kind enough to hang out with us and drive us to Texas Road House (in Draper?) its kind  of a drive. We had a good time; with good food, good company, and a nice break from the baby. 

Its hard to believe we have been married for 3 years and that we met 8 years ago.  Its been a hard three years but they have been totally worth it, we have a beautiful baby and we have grown so close to each other, I am excited for our four year anniversary and each after that... cheesy?

Catching up

So we have been married almost three years so there is much to catch up on..I don't want to bore anyone so here is what has happened since January 2008

• moved to Provo, UT
• Both going to school full time/working part-time.... making good grades and going broke
• Kileen has a rare gem of a job at BYU that works perfectly for our schedule and pays well(BYU standards)
• our car broke the day before Aurora's 1st birthday... still broken
• Aurora is almost 15 months old
• Both of My (Kileen's) parents have cancer.
• Aurora walks and have conversations with us... we can't really understand but getting close
• becoming on-site managers at a beautiful complex where we wont pay rent and will live close to Gerald's little bro. Pj
• Kileen scrapbooks lots now with Ali
• Kileen's Mom and dad came for a short but wonderful visit
• Wednesday June 25th is our 3 year anniversary
• gerald is getting more opportunities to play sports.

More has happened but I feel I hit the main things...

And so it begins

I guess i'm blogging now...

I just finished spring term...it was amazing and stressful..But I now have a lot more free time to blog... when I should be packing for the upcoming move.