Happy 9th Birthday to my Banana-rama!

Today my Ridge turned 9 years old. He was born at 4:40am on a wonderful Spring morning in American Fork, Utah.

9 Things I love about Ridge:

1. He is very sensitive to his parents feelings.
2. He is wonderful with babies. Loves them.
3. He loves Dinosaurs. In fact, it borders on obsession. ;)
4. He wants to be a Paleontologist when he grows up.
5. He is very smart. He receive an award from the Principal for scoring in the top 10% of the Nation in the Iowa State Tests in Science.
6. He is artistically gifted as well. He wanted Dinosaur stuff and art supplies for his birthday.
7. He loves nature and is very into the environment. He is my Greenie. :)
8. He has an interest in all things animals.
9. He makes friends very easily. People are drawn to Ridge. And the funny thing is, he is completely content to play alone without friends....LOL!

Aaron and I took Ridge to a fun little cafe and bakery in American Fork called Flour Girls and Dough Boys for lunch.

Then we spent the evening is Odgen as my niece was baptized today. My parents and my sister Doree were visiting from Arizona.





All in all it was a wonderful day for Ridge.

We love you Ridgey. Hope your day was wonderful!

Time Flies....

I have been trying to be better about updating my blog. It is amazing how a week can fly by but then seem to just drag on....LOL!

Over the weekend we had my brother and his family up to see us. That was enjoyable for us. We took them to our new favorite restaurant in Utah County and they were in heaven. The restaurants in our home town don't even come CLOSE! And FINALLY something good in the valley.

Logan and Ridge had their first soccer game of the Spring season and boy, oh boy. My Logan can play soccer! I am just SO proud of him. His favorite position is defender and he plays it well. It is exciting to see him progress and get better with each passing year.

My parents and one of my sisters are coming into town late this evening for my niece's baptism. I have one sister who lives here in Utah besides me. All the rest of my siblings live in AZ. Ridge's birthday is this weekend as well so it will be fun for him to share it with his grandparents.

Wasn't General Conference this last weekend just outstanding! I enjoyed every single talk I heard. I do have to say though that President Hinckley was sorely missed by me. I cried a tear or two because I just miss his presence. I am sure I will grow to love President Monson as much but I think that Gordon B. Hinckley will always be my fave. ;)

This is how we found Quincy a couple of nights ago in her high chair. And I just walked into the kitchen and she is the same way now. Mommy better come to the rescue....LOL!

Savior

This has touched me like nothing has in a long time.

How can I ever thank Him enough for what He has done for me...

*My* 10 Hour Marathon

I was running on the treadmill tonight at a constant rate of 4.5 miles per hour at a 5% incline when I began to think about Kristi's husbands marathon.

I started crying because I wondered how on earth I was ever going to push myself to the brink of my ability. 5 plus hours and over 26 miles of running just seems like an insurmountable goal to me.

I was especially touched by the picture where Jeff's knees gave way and Kristi was there to hold him up.

But as I continued to run, it dawned on me that I *have* pushed my body to the brink before.

December 2nd, 2006 at 8pm my water broke with my daughter. So started *my* marathon.

I labored on my feet, unmedicated, for 6 hours. At which point, that is when my knees gave way and Aaron was there to hold me up.
I climbed in to bed and labored hard, unmedicated, for another 4 hours at which time Quincy Noelle was born.

My muscles quaked and ached. I cried. I moaned. I sweated. I questioned. I nearly gave up.

But....then I laughed. I squealed with delight. I cheered and I felt myself victorious. I had just labored, fought and endured to bring my baby girl into this world.

I was a winner.

~*~Adventure Photo Contest~*~

So, I love pictures. I am such a visual person and photography always inspires me.

I thought it would be fun to have a little photography contest. The winner will receive a piece of jewelry from my store! :)

The theme for this contest is this....

Take a picture of something, someone, some place, somewhere, etc that invokes the feeling of ADVENTURE within you.

I will end the contest this time next week. Tell your friends, loved ones, etc that love to take pictures. Anyone can enter. Post about this contest on your blog. This will be fun!~

As I receive the pictures, I will post them here with the photographers name. I will choose the winner based on what speaks to my heart the most. My contest, my rules....ROFL! :P

charmeddesigns at gmail dot com

Have Fun!~

I've been Tagged!

Here are the rules:

The Rules (whatever that may mean to you!)
Write your own six word memoir.
Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like.
Then tag whomever you want.

WHOEVER reads this is TAGGED! Make sure let me know you have done it though. :)

So 6 words that describe me with accompanying pictures...hmmm...

Ok here we go.

Wife.

Aaron and I in Hawaii 2007

Creative.



Adventurous.


Foodie.


Reader.


Mom

Trip to the Grand Canyon 2007

In stark contrast to yesterday....

Look at what we woke up to this morning....

Is the bloody sun ever going to shine in this crazy state? LOL! :P

Well, well, well... Will you look at that!

Lilac Bush

Tickseed

Butterfly Bush

Ornamental Cherry Tree

Rose Bush

Hedge

Spring really IS coming! Walking around my yard this afternoon I wondered whether Spring planned to show her head at all this year. And much to delight, I found evidence of it all over the place!




Spring has already sprung in San Francisco. I took these pictures as we walked along a residential street near Lombard Street. I love color!

Just some random thoughts....

In no real order, here are just some things I have been thinking about; stream of consciousness style....

...Aaron wants 2 more kids.

....I want one more.

....I think it will be a girl. And I think her name will be Poet Annaleah.

....I am worried about Aaron's job.

... I daydream about my Europe trip next spring.

... I hope it all works out with Aaron's work and school schedule.

...My parents are getting older.

....They won't live forever.

...I am not a good mother.

....My kids need more of my time.

....I have so much work to do.

... I don't balance it all very well.

....Will Aaron get A's in his classes this semester?

...He has to. Or no medical school.

...We are so old to be starting this.

... It is Aaron's dream. How can I not comply?

... He will be a fantastic doctor.

.... How will we afford to fly him to all his interviews?

...I am excited to work in the yard this spring.

... When is it going to warm up?

... I have decided I need to live somewhere where the sun shines more during the winter.

... I wonder why Quincy was throwing up this afternoon?

... I feel so good when I run.

...I need to get back into the habit.

... I am thinking running a marathon this year is out.

.... I need to find a way to stick to the goals I make.

... Why is that so bloody hard for me?

...I am tired of Aaron's work and school schedule.

...Single parenting is for the flippin' birds.

Boy, that feels much better!~

Our San Francisco Treat

Click each pic to enlarge

Whenever Aaron and I travel we always have a contest between us as to who is the better photog...LOL! I will shoot a shot and then he will shoot the same object but in his own way. It has been a really fun thing that we do. I am starting to think we both need our own cameras though because we both like to take pictures. :)

This trip was a much needed getaway for recharging our batteries and for spending some quality time with 2 of our favorite people. Aaron and I had planned to go to San Fran in June but as it turned out Victoria and Scott were planning to go this month and invited us along on their getaway. We wholeheartedly accepted.

We all laughed until our sides ached and walked until we had blisters. We saw a drug deal go down, MANY homeless people, the next Jay Leno from Russia (:P), an Obama hating racist walking his dog, lots of couples with an alternative lifestyle and plenty of Michael Jackson wannabe's trying to earn a buck or two. We were nearly killed with each and every taxi cab ride we took. Ate pizza in our bed while watching a poker tournament, experienced a trolley ride and saw a man dressed in drag.

Being with Aaron on any adventure is the best part of my life. But being with Scott and Vic, comes pretty darn close!

Sugahlicious

I haven't posted any pictures of Quincy in awhile so I thought I would throw some recent ones out there. :)

I've been Tagged!

5 Things on my list of things to do today:

*Work
*Call a babysitter for Saturday night
*Go to the post office, bank and grocery store.
*Clean the kitchen
*Take Sawyer to and from preschool
*Make dinner and get kids in bed


Things I would do if I suddenly was a Billionaire:

* I would get us out of debt. Get Aaron's parents and my parents out of debt. Pay cash for Aaron to go to medical school. Travel like crazy and then invest, invest, invest.

3 of my bad habits:

*Occasionally bite my fingernails
*Expect perfection when it is not possible
*I am hard on myself with my imperfections. I need to get over that.

Places I have lived:

*Arizona
*Colorado
*Utah

Jobs I have had:

*Movie Theater Concessions
*Retail
*Dental Assistant
*Jewelry Designer

Things most people don't know about me:

*I cannot handle the feel of cotton balls.
*I always wanted to work in medicine.
*When I was a girl, I also wanted to be a Fashion Designer
*I love Escargot

Our Beloved Prophet

Aaron and I heard the news from his brother, who lives in Arizona, around 8:30 last night.

President Hinckley was so beloved. By me and my family and millions of others. Our hearts broke when we heard the news. Logan and Ridge were saddened when I told them this morning.

What a joyous reunion will be had between him and his beloved Marjorie Pay.





He was a valiant warrior for the Lord and a stalwart leader.


I will never forget President Hinckley and the love I have for him as long as I live.

Thank you Heavenly Father for letting me live during President Hinckley's reign as Prophet.

A girl that loves her food :)

A girl after my own heart! :P

This is fun! Everyone do it! :P

January---------I kicked
February-------I loved
March----------I karate chopped
April-----------I licked
May------------I jumped on
June------------I smelled
July------------I did the Macarena with
August---------I had lunch with
September-----I danced with
October------- -I sang to
November------I yelled at
December------I ran over

Pick the day (number) you were born on:

1--------a birdbath
2--------a monster
3--------a phone
4--------a fork
5--------a snowman
6--------a gangster
7--------my cell phone
8--------my dog
9--------my best frien ds' boyfriend
10---- ---my neighbor
11-------my science teacher
12-------a banana
13-------a fireman
14-------a stuffed animal
15-------a goat
16-------a pickle
17-------your mom
18-------a spoon
19-------a smurf
20-------a baseball bat
21-------a ninja
22-------Chuck Norris
23-------a noodle
24-------a squirrel
25---- ---a football player
26-------my sister
27-------my brother
28-------an ipod
29-------a surfer
30-------a llama
31-------A homeless guy

Pick the color of shirt you are wearing:

White--------because I'm cool like that.
Black---------because that's how I roll.
Pink----------because I'm NOT crazy.
Red----------because the voices told me to.
Blue----------because I'm sexy and I do what I want.
Green---------because I think I need some serious help.
Purple--------because I'm AWESOME!
Gray----------because Big Bird said to and he's my leader.
Yellow--------be cause someo ne offered me 1,000,000 dollars.
Orange -------because my family thinks I'm stupid anyway.
Brown--------because I can.
Other---------because I'm a Ninja!
None----------because I can't control myself

Now type out the sentence you made, in the comments! :)