THE LOWE LOUNGE

Lowe Family

2011-07-06T14:20:00.000-07:00

i figured after a year without posting, I could give you a little update. I passed my RN boards in June, Dan got promoted to the ConAgra corporate office that now gave him the ideal Monday - Friday 9-5 schedule and we got ready for the move. We put our home on the market in Twin Falls, packed up, and moved to Kennewick, WA (Tri-cities). Dan started work in July and we lived apart for 2 months while I tied up the loose ends in Twin, packed, and he drove home home every weekend to see us.....6 hours each way. Hallie was just a few months old and he couldn't stay away from his girls! :)

We moved into an apartment, I got 2 greats job, working as a RN in a cardiologists office and then also in the Cardiac Cath Lab at the hospital doing heart caths, pacemakers, etc. and I am really enjoying it. Bella just finished her first semester of Ballet and is getting ready to start Kindergarten in the fall. Hallie Beth turned 1 in March and she is our little cupcake. She is talking and loves having a big sister. We just recently moved into a house...our 9th move since Dan and I were married in Feb. 2005...we are now pros! We love living in a house again. We have a big fenced backyard so the girls are having a great summer too! We just had a few friends and their families over for the 4th of July, put up tons of water toys, pool, slip and slide, etc, had a BBQ and watched the fireworks and had a great night. I will try to update more! XOXO

Going Private!

2010-06-21T14:58:00.001-07:00

Well, we are going private! There are some really cute pictures that I want to post of my girls, and after hearing some stories from some friends of weirdos taking there pictures, I think it is the best thing to do. So I am giving anyone 2 weeks...if you follow our blog and want to stay in touch, just send me your email on the comments or on facebook. Thanks everyone!

Catching up...

2010-05-08T12:53:00.001-07:00

Since my last posting, here is what has happened to our family......

1. Bella turned 4 on December 14 and had a Tinkerbell/bowling party with our family and friends...she is growing up so fast and is getting tall!

The gifts, pizza, bowling, and a Tinkerbell ice cream cake from ColdStone...Great Birthday!!!

My mom's ballerina way of bowling

2. My parents bought me a piano for graduation...that has been great to have in our house. I have missed playing!

3. Had Christmas in our own home for the first time and started our own traditions.

Bella's sassy robe and Dan finally got Arrested Development on DVD....get it on Netflix if you have yet to see this amazing show.

4. Spent New Year's at my parents home in Lewisville and celebrated my Dad's birthday

5. My mom came for a weekend and helped me paint the master bedroom....blue was the color of choice and it turned out awesome!

6. I continued to get bigger and bigger, but still feeling good.

7. Dan and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary on Feb. 18 and we were able to repeat our first date in Rexburg...dinner at Gringos and a late movie at the dollar theatre. We also got chocolate dipped strawberries like we do every year for our anniversay and a massage.

8. March was spent with my family while Dan drove back and forth waiting for my phone call to tell him it was time to meet our baby girl. We had our baby in Idaho Falls because my doctor there is the only one that I trust.

9. We made a big purchase. Besides our house that we bought almost 3 years ago, we decided that we now needed driving room with a new addition coming. Dan and I both had cars that are 1995 and were starting to show it. So meet our upgrade....a silver 2006 Nissan Murano and we love it.

10. March 27, 2010 our little girl HALLIE BETH was born and we now says KIDS instead of kid. That is weird!

Bella is now a big sister and is loving this new role. Except when you ask Bella what she thinks of Hallie, she says, "She's alright."

11. Hallie was blessed May 2, 2010. It was a special day that reminded me how lucky I am to be a Mom and that I married a man that can bless my children and all of the blessings and emotions that go along with that. We were able to be surrounded by our family and friends with a few exception. Corrine, Andrew, and Seth....I missed you!

What's Arriving in March?.....

2009-12-10T12:20:00.000-08:00

So before a great Thankgiving started, we had just one thing to do before....find out what we are having. Dan made the tech check 3 times with 3 different angles just to be sure.....and after all of that we found out that IT'S A...............................

GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just look at the cute little nose.

Dan was just sure that it was a boy, Bella always said it was a girl, and I had no clue either way. Dan is excited to have another little girl....I told him that he is meant to be surrounded by beautiful women his whole life. He was just hoping that it was a boy so that we could be done. When we told Bella that it was a girl, she said "I told you all along Daddy!" We are excited for Bella to have a baby sister....now if we can only decide on a name. Any suggestions?

25 weeks.....15 more to go

Thanksgiving and Games

2009-12-01T12:09:00.000-08:00

Games have always been the theme of my family. We get together with as much family as we can to have game night. This Thanksgiving, we went to my parents place and had my family, my Aunt, Uncle, and some cousins. Bella gets a chance to play with her cousins and we just had a great time. Lately, Bella loves to play Candyland and Chutes and Ladders. Well normally, my Dad would rather watch TV then play games, but he just can't resist Bella tilting her head and saying "Please Grandpa".

Bella beating Grandpa (I think he might have let her win)

Playing 5 crowns with the rest of the family left to play

Bella getting her bedtime story....SO CUTE!!!

Princess Bella

2009-10-30T11:58:00.000-07:00

After Bella telling me that she wanted to be a different princess every week, then be a ladybug, then back to Tinkerbell, Snow White, and an animal, she finally decided that she wanted to be Cinderella for Halloween. We got her all dressed up to go to the ward party and see all of her other friends that would no doubt be princesses as well. She was so excited that she got to wear make-up. She has been asking to wear some every single day since then. She loves blush and lip gloss. So cute! We of course couldn't forget about her Prince Charming!

Bella and her Prince Charming

Pumpkins and Snow

2009-10-18T11:39:00.000-07:00

I guess that it is time that I finally catch up on the life of the Lowe's, so here it goes.... Here is a picture of the first snow fall of the year(Oct - conference weekend) It was so funny because Bella couldn't wait to get her snow gear on and go outside. I talked Dan into getting his stuff on and help her build a snoman. She said she wanted one as tall as her. The funny thing was that all the snow melted the next day, but we had a snowman slowly melting for another week. I was telling Dan that growing up, there were very few Halloweens that I didn't have sweats, gloves, and boots that went under my costume.
After the snow melted and the house was decorated for Halloween, we went out to get pumpkins. Bella's job was helping to clean the pumpkins....she loved it, can't you tell.

ER visit...

2009-09-22T21:59:00.000-07:00

Sicily...this post is for you. Now that I am finally able to get out of bed I will let you know all about my exciting last weekend. Last Wednesday, I was feeling nauseous but just thought pregnancy and nothing else. Then Thursday I woke up puking...still thinking pregnancy...then when everything started working, I knew that this was stomach flu and not pregnancy. I was sick all day and night and also Friday. I couldn't keep anything down. I called Craig and he said that if I was still losing lots of fluids on Saturday, that I needed to go into the hospital and get an IV. He talked about me going to Idaho Falls and he would check me into the hospital there overnight. After having only 5 saltines, 10 ounces of water in 3 days, and being 13 weeks pregnant, I went into the ER Saturday afternoon. We finally got called back after 2 hours, the doctor took one look and at me and said, "Let's get this girl an IV." They did blood work and all that stuff. They tried 3 times before they finally got an IV in (mom asked why I didn't just do it myself :) ) and got me started on some fluids. Then they gave me some zofran so I would stop throwing up and some potassium since it was so low in my blood. Then the potassium made me sick......MORE ZOFRAN PLEASE! The doctor wanted to be generous with my pregnancy so he gave me some more fluids. While they switched from the 2 bag to the 3rd, my IV blew and I needed another one. So 4 IVS later, 3 Liters of fluids, zofran(which makes you sleepy too) I was finally discharged to go at midnight. Luckily Dan had sun, mon, and tues off of work, so I was able to rest and recover. So today was my first good day. I actually got out of bed! Anyway, that is the story of the never ending stomach flu....I hope I never have to have this story again! :)

Made one past the goalie!

2009-09-22T21:52:00.000-07:00

So for those of you that don't know...or having nothing to do with facebook, then you might have missed this information

WE'RE EXPECTING!!! March 24 is the magic date for this little one which is nice because I get to be pregnant during the winter, there is no one on my side of the family with a birthday in March...but March is a busy one for Dan's side. We are very excited and have been waiting to add a new little one to our family for a while. It is finally time.....which is great since Bella will be 4 this December!...Bella will be a great big sister and already talks to my belly and asks if the baby is happy. Looking forward to another adventure in our family!

John Deere for Life!

2009-07-14T12:36:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know, I was born and raised on a farm and we saw "green" no matter where we were at. We had a little John Deere tractor that we would even ride around. I actually think it was ran over a couple of times. :) So my Dad had it restored for the next generation. Since Bella was really little, my Dad, (Grandpa Ellsworth) has bought Bella pink John Deere things...hats, shirts....but this time he took it to the next level. As Bella gets older, now 3 1/2, she was ready for a real bike. Dan and I had been looking at a few and then a couple of weeks ago, my Dad calls after leaving the JD plant and says, "Hey, don't get Bella a bike. I was just at John Deere and they had a pink and white JD bike that I got for her while I was there." I think that it got thrown into the mix or given the " G. Ellsworth discount". So when we went to go and visit the family over the 4th, there was her pretty JD bike ready for her to ride. She LOVES it! and was really excited to ride it.....Can you tell?

"For me?"

Grandpa and Bella....THANK YOU PAPA! XOXO

It even has a little John Deere purse

"NOTHING RUNS LIKE A DEERE.....OR A BELLA"

BellA the WAter BabY

2009-07-13T17:05:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of the summer, we asked Bella what she would like to do...dance classes, swim classes, whatever sounded fun. She of course chose swimming because she can't get enough of it. First time swimming at 5 months

She just finished her first session and is starting her second. She went from being a Pike to an Eel. She is doing so great. At the end of the first session she even went off the diving board. Some encouragement was needed though. :)
Kickin it poolside

"Monkey, Airplane, Soldier, Monkey, Airplane, Soldier"

"MOM, watch me!"

Her favorite...the slide

Not quite jumping off the diving board XOXO

OUr GarDen

2009-06-30T16:42:00.000-07:00

I really wanted to do a garden this year because I actually miss having one. Dan and I both had gardens growing up...although I don't miss picking 4 long rows of beans, picking raspberries at 8 am, and weeding to earn money. So we went with the square foot gardening. Dan and I built 2 4x4 boxes, got the compost mixtures and started planting. There is no weeding, little maitenance, and easy to do. Bella loves to go out and water the garden and flowers every day. So far so good....I plan on canning some pickles, and doing a lot of food saver stuff. Summer veggies year round!
Week 1

Week 2

Week 4

Week 4 - Bella is so proud

Washington Trip

2009-05-13T16:29:00.000-07:00

Dan had to go to Tri-Cities Washington for some work meeting and it just so happened that we were able to go along. The company rented us an SUV, paid for our expenses, so all we had to do was drive. Bella did awesome in the 7 hour car ride. We got to stay at a hotel on the river, had some italian dinner in an old trolley car, and lounged and swam at the hotel. It was a short trip, but it was fun to get away.

Easter Traditions

2009-04-13T15:58:00.000-07:00

One of the greatest things about having your own family is being able to start your own traditions and to carry on other family traditions. Ever since I was little, I remember my Mom sewing our easter dresses. One year she even did sunflower dresses for my sister and I. We had the same pattern, just different colors. Sometimes we even had an easter hat to go with it. As we got older, we could pick out our easter outfit. This is one tradition that I have carried on with Bella.
Dan was so funny and played along great. I woke up and put the basket in Bella's room...then I asked Dan if he saw something white and fluffy just run outside. Bella got all excited started running around the house to find her easter basket. She LOVES the Easter Bunny for all of the stuff that she got.

EAster Egg Hunting

AFter church...

The other tradition that we have was started by my Grandma Kohntopp. We would come and stay Easter Weekend...the easter bunny would follow...plastic eggs filled with change and candy...and our favorite part.....the KITES! She always got us a kite and true to Idaho weather, it was always windy enough to fly them. Usually we got them stuck in the tree about 10 minutes in, but we still looked forward to it.
Here is Bella trying to get her kite up in the air. She finally just started chasing the dog Harley...

Easter Eggs

2009-04-11T22:30:00.000-07:00

So I had been promising Bella that when Dan's parents came into town, that we would finally dye easter eggs. She had the best time. I got the easiest kit ever! It is a tie dye kit that comes with little pouches of dye and little plastic bags. You put a few drops of the colors you want into the bag, add the egg, swirl it around, and put it on the rack to dry. All of the mess was so easy to clean up and best of all....the dye got only on the eggs and not on our clothes or hands. Good Job Bella!

I couldn't resist taking this picture of her model pose...GAP...here we come.

Sweet Bella

Mommy always there to help

Pretty good...don't you think?

Finally...the end of Disneyland

2009-03-31T22:55:00.000-07:00

Bella is STILL talking about Disneyland. I think I am going to have to make her a book that has everything from California. Here were just a few pictures that we had left to take in the park on our last day. BElla had to do a few more rides....carousel, Dumbo, tea cups...you know the favorites. Aunt Jackie got to join in on a few of them. WE also couldn't leave without get her face painted to go and see Tinkerbell. It then started to rain a few hours afterward, so that didn't last very long! And also the token pictures....Mickey MOuse, Goofy, and Donald. We couldn't have asked for a better trip! Thank you Gma and Gpa Lowe for the amazing stay and thank you to Mama and Papa Ellsworth for helping to make this trip the memory that is still being talked about today. We love you! XOXO

Princess Lunch XOXO

2009-03-31T22:43:00.000-07:00

SO I guess with all this extra time on my hands while Dan is away to Washington for the week, that I can finally finish blogging about our California trip that happened in February!!! I'm a slacker....I know. Bella had so much for the lunch. Grandpa Ellsworth paid for us to go and have Bella feel like a princess for the day. She got to wear her Tinkerbell costume and a little crown. It was a great way to meet the Disney Princesses instead of waiting in line for them, they came to our table. Here is how we spent the day....

California Adventure

2009-03-31T22:17:00.000-07:00

We had soooo much fun on this trip...it has been 3 months since we went and Bella still talks about it as if we went yesterday. We did the whole park in one day(not that hard to do for this park) and we were so glad that we had some people to help watch Bella so that Dan and I could ride the 'grown-up' rides. But first stop... Playhouse Disney. They have large puppets act out a skit that involves all of the shows from Playhouse Disney. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Pooh and Friends, Little Einsteins, and Handy Manny. They did cute things with leaves falling from the ceiling, bubbles, and audience dancing and stuff. Bella loved it as you can tell.

Then we went on some rides...cars at a Bug's Life, jungle gym stuff, and a few more rides that Bella could do. Then we took in another movie. Admit it...we look smokin!
Before 3D movie Bug's Life...Bella took her glasses off after the first few seconds.

The Aladdin Musical
Bella fell asleep about half way through it, but she woke up for Muppets 3D. :)

The rollercoaster...we rode it quite a few times!

Day complete....things to look forward to...PRINCESS LUNCH!!!

Celebrity sighting...

2009-03-30T21:05:00.000-07:00

Of course no trip to California would be complete without sighting a celebrity. We were just lucky enough to see a whole family...including nannies, body guards, etc.

Heidi Klum, SEAL, and family...we just had to tell her that we are huge fans of Project Runway. :)

Character Breakfast! - Day 3

2009-03-17T10:44:00.000-07:00

When I found out that we were really going to Disneyland, I researched like crazy and I want all of us to have a great time. This included a character breakfast with Minnie Mouse in the Park and we had so much fun. We bought Bella her Minnie ears the day before with her name on the back and an autograph book. Everyone was soooo cute with her. Minnie Mouse wrote "To Princess Bella with the lovely eyes, much love, Minnie Mouse." They were all just so cute. She saw Captain Hook and said, "You a bad guy!. Daddy, you can take a picture with him." We had Mickey mouse waffles and a huge breakfast buffet. Dan and I were just as excited as Bella was to see all of the characters. It's true...you really do feel like a kid again at Disneyland! This was definitely one of our favorite things we did that whole trip!

After the breakfast, there was plenty more to ride, see, and do. Bella's 1st ride of choice for the day...TEA CUPS!

Then or course Dumbo for the 10th time :) The Princess castle and her 1st 3D experience...Honey I shrunk the audience.

WE were so lucky to be with family because this gave Dan and I a chance to have his parents watch Bella for a ride or 2 so we could go on Space Mountain. WE of course did the rest of Tomorrowland.

A little Toontown....meeting Mickey!

A PERFECT DAY!!!

Day 2

2009-03-16T23:40:00.000-07:00

DISNEYLAND!!! WE are finally here! Bella was so excited. She got a first visit button every day we were there and she was treated like a princess. We had a lot in store for those 5 days. WE had checked the weather...rain expected so we went with rain coats, sweaters, and umbrellas. Of course that wasn't enough so we ended up getting ponchos for us so that we could last out the day mostly dry. Since is was raining, we had to to a lot of indoor rides. The first one we did was Pirates ride...a little bit different than what I remember. I haven't been for 10 years and Dan hasn't been for almost 15 so it was new to us all over again. They added little drops in the ride which scared Bella, but she did great and wanted more. Kathy(Dan's mom) got a scooter to save her knees for the trip, so Bella got a ride too. :)

One of her favorite rides....the carousel!

We did almost all of Fantasy land, minus the tea cups...they didn't work the rest of the day. But we did get to ride Dumbo! :)

Bella controlling Dumbo's flying!

Back at the Condo...coloring and getting warm.

DISNEYLAND - Day 1

2009-03-16T23:20:00.000-07:00

I know that it has taken me forever to blog about our fabulous trip to Disneyland, so here it is finally. We have been planning for this trip since last summer as a whole Lowe family. Us, Dan's parents, his brother James and family, and his sister Jackie(Vince we missed you buddy). We sacrificed and saved so that we could make this a great trip for our little family. We were so excited when we got cheap tickets from Boise to Orange County. It would have been interesting to have Bella in a car seat for 14-16 hours. :) So we were able to fly and Bella thought that was just part of going to Disneyland. She was so excited!

Dan's parents have membership with a time share, so we were able to all stay in this awesome new condo, that has only been open 3 months, and just a block away from Disneyland. It was a cooking condo too so that helped with saving money on dinner...which is great when you could easily spend $30 on lunch everyday. There was lots of swimming to do and sites to see. We got there on Sunday and couldn't wait for the fun to begin at Disneyland the next day. We had 5 day hopper passes and we planned to use them.

All the cousins, ready to go!

Bella and her cousin Grace...Bella wanted to live in that Tinkerbell costume

2009-02-20T17:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Love Week!

2009-02-18T16:12:00.000-08:00

After an exciting trip to Disneyland for a week, it was time for us to come back home to reality. Since we flew home on Valentine's Day, we didn't really do much to celebrate, but we never really do since our anniversary is on the 18th. Today is year number 4 for us and I can't believe it. WE have done so much in those for years....We have moved 6 times, had one child, graduated from college together, been on a few great vacations together, bought our first home, new jobs, and lots of laughs and smiles with eachother and our daughter. I can't imagine my life being any better than it is right now. God sures knows what he is doing. :)
Well, Dan and I started a tradition when we were dating and then when we got married to celebrate these love days. On Valentine's, a few days before we got married, Dan brought me some chocolate covered strawberries. Then we had them again on our honeymoon. This quickly became our tradition. I go and get strawberries and dipping chocolates, and we make them together...that is for Valentine's. Then for our anniversary, we always go and get a couples massage.(I think we should do this more than just one a year) It is a way that we get to be together and both relax...something that doesn't happen that often. Happy Anniversary Dan...I look forward to many more trips, laughs, and triumphs together. XOXO

Bella turns 3!!!

2009-02-06T21:15:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it...my baby is already 3!

Bella had a birthday party on her birthday in December. I finally found my camera cord so that I could show the pictures to all of you that couldn't be there. Everything was monkey themed because Dan and I have called her our little monkey since she was born. Little did we know that she would be able to climb and move like a monkey. My brother Seth says that he would love to take her rock climbing. Anyway, I made cute monkey invites that said, "Come and monkey around with us Bella is turning 3!" We had a party here at our home with family and friends. Dan's parents came the day before, and good thing because my parents came on Saturday, and they fought the icy roads the whole way here. They were only here for a few hours and then left so that they could get back home before it was dark. We had a bunch of food and cake of course. We had Monkey Mac and Cheese, Safari veggies, Jungle juice, and Monkey munch. All of the kids got these cute monkey mugs and little banana candies to take home with them.

Some of Bella's friends and cousins. Check out the cups.

The monkey cupcakes and the monkey cake that I made. Bella loved it!

Dan's parents and my Uncle Jim and my cousin Angie.

Dan and my cousins Mike and Shanna

Bella opening her gifts. She got way too much for a 3 year old, but she does enjoy all of it. She got tons of coloring books and sticker books because she likes to color every day. She also got a few games like Cooties and Monkeys jumping on the bed.

The grandparents spoiled her the most...here is a drawing desk from my parents.

Here is the rocking horse which Bella named "Poky" that she got from Dan's parents.

We got her games, the outfit she is wearing, snow stuff, clothes, and a jumpin' party.

This is how the kids ended the party...by going outside and playing in the fresh snow(the first that we had in the winter season.) Thanks to all of our family and friends for coming. It isn't a party without you. The Haws...you were exempt for this party, but you better be here for the next. :)

2009-01-14T21:54:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! I am horrible at blogging when I am going through school, life, and a busy girl like Bella. :) Well, my baby girl turned 3 on Dec. 14 and had a huge monkey party that was decorated from head to toe. I would love to post pictures, but I still can't find my camera cord! Dan, Bella, and I had a 2 week vacation which was spent at my parents for 4 days, getting a major head cold and traveling to Utah to Dan's parents for 5 days, Dan becomes allergic to his parents, and we head back to my parents home for 4 days to celebrate New Years, and my Dad's 55th birthday. Dan and I have decided next year, we might just stay at home. :) More info and pictures to follow soon.

She did it!

2008-08-24T21:23:00.000-07:00

So I thought that I should try to get a post in before I start the last first day of school tomorrow. I am nervous and excited. I am looking forward to being done. After a fun summer filled with a trip to Utah for the 4th, a trip to Vegas, shows, concerts, girl parties, birthday parties, painting and decorating the house, and spending time with family, I had just one thing left to accomplish...Getting Bella potty trained before I went back to school. I took Bella to go shopping for new underwear and told her that she would be wearing only underwear from now on. She was really excited to get Hello Kitty underwear. I veto the Dora underwear first. :) I told her that she couldn't get the kitties wet....and it worked. She has been doing great for almost 3 weeks now and I couldn't be happier. NO MORE DIAPERS!!!

Entertainment Anyone?

2008-07-24T14:41:00.000-07:00

Card of the Day....Dinner and a Show

Then Magic by Penn & Teller

But First, we needed to eat...so what better place to eat then at the Bellagio at OLIVES, Todd English's restaurant. The food was amazing and the view was even better. We could see the water show from our balcony seats. The other thing I loved was the design of his restaurant. Black, orange, browns and coppers. Dan & I decided that we are doing our home office like OLIVES.

The water show set to music....B-E-A-utiful!

We did some more sight-seeing and then headed back to the Venetian for a gongola ride. Romantic XOXO

Our personal love song through the tunnel of love. WE were told to kiss under the tunnel of love and then we would be together forever. We kissed a few times. =)

Then off to Excaliber for our dinner and a show...THE TOURNMENT OF KINGS!!! While we were waiting for the show to open, they had these old school arcade games that we decided to spend a few dollars on. We did some ski ball, the watergun in the hole to make our horses race across. I won a small giraffe. Then we went to do the ring toss. The prizes were crazy...ipods, digital cameras, guitars, crazy stuff. So Dan bought a buckle of rings, 72. Well after his 3rd ring toss, he got a bottle, and won me my very own 1G ipod. Very cool. Then I just threw the rings to get rid of them since Dan wasn't allowed to throw any more. Now...

Let the show begin. We sat in the Russia section, the herald announced..."We have a special announcement, sitting in Russia, Happy 30th Birthday to Daniel!" He was soooo embarrassed. FUN! So we had the King of Russia. We ate with our hands and enjoyed the show. HAZA!!!

Jousting...I had to sneak pictures so the other jouster is behind my Diet Pepsi.

THE KINGS! Ours was 2nd from the right

Very entertaining!

Then we were off to see the magic of Penn & Teller.

The show was very cool. They showed us how they do some tricks and then while they were showing you how, they would do something that would make you say "How'd they do that?"

Exhibit A - this woman was real and then they sawed her in half, blood splattered, and she turned into plastic. CRAZY!

They stood around after the show, took pictures, and signed autographs.

Penn is 6'7" - I was on my tippy-toes

A very happy birthday boy...see honey, turning 30 isn't so bad as long as you do it in style.

Vegas Baby Yeah!

2008-07-23T16:33:00.000-07:00

In morning, we were able to both sleep in, which hasn't happened in a long time. Dan & I usually take turns getting up with Bella so we knew this trip was going to be different for sure. 3 days of pure fun. I handed Dan his card that let him know what shows that we were going to be seeing that night.

We looked at the things that we wanted to do that say and where we wanted to go first. So we were off to Caesar's Palace to eat at our best friend, Bobby Flay's restaurant, MESA grill. It was sooooo good.

BIG TUNA

We did some sight seeing of the different hotels and then we took the Monorail to the MGM grand where we saw the Lion Habitat and walked around the block to go to M&M World. 4 floors m&ms chocolate, in every color, and tons of souvenirs. We got Bella a cute little pink backpack, a cup, and some ornaments for our awesome friends.

It was time for us to get going to our first show...THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA.

Dan had seen the production before a few times in San Fransisco, but I never had so we had to see it. Which I'm glad we did because Dan said it was the best Phantom he has ever seen. They have this show in The Venetian where they built a $40 million opera house that is staged just for this show. AMAZING!!!

The Phantom's Box

All of these people were wax!

After the show we walked around The Venetian...

got some gelato, very good by the way, and got ready for our next show...sitting in the poncho section for the BLUE MAN GROUP!!!

This was an awesome show. Dan was hit with jello and some banana. Then he was also spotlighted to sing the National Anthem at the beginning of the show. Just a bit they like to do. =)

We got to meet them after the show and also some of the band.

The day was ended by getting room service, TV, and sudoku....good day!

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas...unless you have a blog!

2008-07-22T14:12:00.000-07:00

While trying to figure out how to tell Dan all of the stuff that I had planned for us to do in Vegas, I came up with the idea of making 1 card for each day that would tell him what we were doing or seeing for the day. Dan has never been to Vegas so I thought this was a good way for him to not have to worry about what we need to do next or where we need to go. I printed off maps of the strip, the monorail stops, what stuff was located in which hotel and so on. It helped us decided what we wanted to do during the day since I had our night pretty well booked.

The first card I handed to Dan while on the airplane telling him where we were staying in Vegas...

THE PARIS

CHECK-IN

THE ARCH

WHICH ONE DO I USE?

Because they had no non-smoking rooms left, they upgraded us to their luxury suite. This room normally goes for $600 a night! The bathroom was as big as the room. We had a quick bite at Le Cafe, got some sleep and got ready for the next day.

Let the Vacation Begin!

2008-07-21T14:02:00.000-07:00

After Dan's party, my parents took Bella home with them so that Dan and I could go on our trip to Vegas. I was emotional because Bella has only ever stayed one night away from me and that was back in September. It was hard to leave her (that's what she said) but I knew that we were also going to have a lot of fun. So we went to Utah, saw an amazing 4 hour set of Bret Dennen, Colbie Calliet, and JOHN MAYER at Usana Ampitheatre. That was Dan and I's birthday gift to each other... Or so he thought until his birthday card.

Dan's Birthday book that is family did...

After cheering for John Mayer!
The place was packed and it took us almost an hour to get out of the parking lot!

This was the perfect way to start our trip out right. This was only the first of many shows to come.... =)

Surprise Daniel !!!

2008-07-19T21:23:00.000-07:00

HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY DANIEL !!!

The Surprise!

Daniel turns the big 3-0 on July 25th and I just couldn't let it go by without doing something big! So after 5 weeks of planning, getting family involved, printing invititations and hiding them until I got the envelopes I needed, and trying to cover it up when his Mom called and said that they were coming for his birthday party on the 19th...it was finally the day of surprise.

My Mom and Dad, Aunt Janet & Uncle Jim, Heather and Aaron, Scott and Sarah, and Spencer all helped pitch in to make this surprise party a success and I thank you all right now for that!

The plan....get Dan out of house by 4:30 pm

Have help arrive at 5 pm to help set up tables and finish some of the prep for the food

Keep Dan distracted at mall and Target while the party is getting set up

Arrive back to house at 6:20 pm and have Dan greeted by a display of decorated tables, balloons, food and friends as we pull up to our house!

We had a ton of food...with the help of our guests and myself...Dad & Uncle Jim were in charge of the grill...

Scott, Sarah, & baby Dallas, Aunt Janet

Food, friends, and family

The fabulous wife that planned it all :)

The cake...the gifts, and one more surprise!!!

The card said...Today you are here...but on JUly 22 you will be here...VEGAS!!!

Vegas fun to follow...

Utah's Hogle Zoo - Happy 4th!

2008-07-04T13:20:00.000-07:00

After packing our day bags full of snacks and water, getting lost on our way to the zoo, thanks a lot MapQuest for your crappy directions, we finally got to the famous Hogle Zoo for the 4th of July. We really wanted to make it a family weekend and that is exactly what we did. It was fun to see Bella react to all the different animals. Here is just a taste of what we did...

A rare white alligator...the first animal of the day.

Bella's life size Ellie the Elephant

Picture perfect Zebras :)

My favorite animal in the whole world!

Look how close they got to us!

A Meerkat staring right at Bella...she would follow the glass up and down when it moved up and down.

The carousel...Bella wanted a bench, not an animal.

The last thing to do...the train ride.

The Beginning of the Day...............The End of the Day

The girls were awesome, we loved the whole day. The only thing left to do was naps and fireworks!

Build A Bear or Bust!

2008-07-03T15:09:00.000-07:00

We were extremely blessed to have the company of our best friends for the 4th of July weekend. Heather, Aaron, and their daughter Lilly went with us to Utah for the weekend for a family fun weekend. After staying Wednesday night at their house in Pocatello, we left Thursday morning to start our family fun in Utah. After almost 3 hours of driving, we went to the Gateway outdoor mall to have our daughters create an animal to remember the whole weekend that we had together. After getting to Build-A-Bear, Bella changed her mind 3 different times on which animal she wanted. She finally decided on an elephant. It was fun to see how Bella reacted to the first day of fun! :)

After Ellie the Elephant was filled up

Daniel helping Bella give her new elephant, ELLIE, a bath. So cute!

Picking out an outfit for Ellie...a white and pink sparkle top, pink shorts, and pink bows.

After Ellie was dressed, we got a birth certificate for Ellie who was 16 inches and 11 oz. :)

Storytime Pottery

2008-06-08T14:55:00.000-07:00

So I was trying to think of things that Bella and I could do together during this summer since I finally had the time off from school. The community had a storytime pottery class at the local pottery shop called 'Hands on' once a month. In May we did "Ten Little Lady Bugs" and then we got to paint a ladybug after they read the story. My mom just happened to be in town that weekend, so she went with us, and then Bella wanted to give my mom the ladybug that they painted together for Mother's Day. It turned out really cute. Then in June, we did "Grow Flower Grow" and after the story we got to paint a flower pot. Dan was able to go with us this morning to help. It turned out soooo cute. When we got the pot home, Bella picked out the flower that she wanted to pot. What do you think?

Bella's homework

2008-05-24T21:41:00.000-07:00

Dan is always saying that Bella is a little miniature me. I would just laugh at her every time I would see her grab her little purse, but on her dress-up high heels, blow kisses and try to leave the house. I realized that she notices everything when the other day, on my last day of school, she decided that she needed to do homework too...of course she needs that supermodel pose to go with it. :)

Guitar Hero...round 2

2008-05-24T21:31:00.000-07:00

Alright....so we all know that Guitar Hero is one of our favorite games lately. Well Dan decided that it was time to get my mother hooked on it as well.....

She would say "my hand is starting to hurt"...Dan said "You want to stop?" "No, let's do one more song." This went on for 30 minutes or so. We have now been told that we need to bring this to all family functions from now on. BIG HIT~~~

Brunch and Bunnies

2008-04-11T21:25:00.001-07:00

Easter weekend was great. I had that whole week off for spring break and I took that time to finish the final touches on my gorgeous sister Corrine's bridal shower that I was hosting at my home. The theme was "Lemons" since it was her project Lemonland that took her to London in the first place where she met the man of her dreams. I spent weeks planning this shower and couldn't wait to finally see it all come together. The day was perfect, the food was great, and it was so nice to see all of our family together...it has been awhile. We had a full house, and played a game to see how well Corrine knew Andrew...By the way Corri, the score was Andrew 15, you 4. :)

Easter came, the Bunny left his tracks, and Bella was definantly going to have a sugar high. :) She got some cute things, was able to spend the day with her cousins, and then have Easter dinner at my Aunt Janet's house. Easter...lots of family...lots of love...lots of fun.

Bella, Eddie, & Nathan...mmmmm, candy! CHEEEEESE!!!

Dress up

2008-03-06T19:03:00.000-08:00

So as some of you know, Bella got a ton of dress-up clothes for Christmas, and she can't leave them alone. This is one of her latest outfits...I think that she is warming up for Disneyland that is a year away. One of the many times that Bella is too cute for words.

Also, like many others, Guitar Hero has become a favorite game is this house...Heather and Aaron, we challenge you 2 to a duel the next time you are in town. :) Bella of course had to be a part of the action.

Anniversary

2008-02-24T16:45:00.000-08:00

Well, as some of you know, Daniel and I have now been married for 3 years (Feb. 18) and I still can't believe it. It has gone by quickly. Of course having a 2 month old at your first anniversary can do that to you. :) So, after having a weekend planned, the weather ruined it, then we had a night out planned and of course, that is the day that Dan's work decides to send him to Washington for a week for more job training. Hopefully we can do something over my spring break, unless he goes somewhere for work again. :)
With me still in nursing school, I needed the help of my awesome babysitter this last week. After already running behind, I get a flat tire on the way to school, have a double kidney infection, and it feels like the drama is building. After a day of school, I came home, made dinner, and my heart melted when Bella folded her arms at the dinner table and said, "I do it!" Bella has been wanting to say prayers ever since. She is growing up soooo fast. She just started counting to 10 and then claps when she does it. This girl is definantly going places. :) School is going well and it is nice to know that I only have about 9 weeks left of the semester. Dan is continuing to stick out at work in a good way. He has been asking to go on recruiting trips and special training. They also want him to get his PQ (specific training that helps him to advance in the company quicker) by June and then I think that there will be no stopping him. Moving to Twin Falls turned out to be a great move for all of us. I know that Dan's career with ConAgra will only continue to get better.
We have been pretty lucky so far this season with all of the illness going around. I have turned into a Clorox freak! But I guess that isn't so bad. Well, I hope that everyone is doing well and we hope to hear from you all soon.

Happy New Year!!!

2008-01-24T12:08:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends and Family...since it is a new year, we needed a new blog. I made the site easier to remember for all of you. Since it is our names and all. Well, a lot has been going on in the last little while. My brother Seth left on his mission for France, my sister got engaged! and is planning a wedding for April. I started school again on the 14th and will finally graduate in December 08' with my RN degree. I am really excited. I have family pictures to post that I will do soon and I can't wait to hear from all of you. Happy New Year everyone!