A Dose of Dani

Emery Lyn

2012-01-07T17:22:00.000-08:00

So my last post was Valentines Day of Last year, shortly thereafter I went from feeling like this

to this! I'm pretty sure I'm allergic to pregnancy!

And at one point I had grand plans of documenting my pregnancy with a monthly photo to show the growth of my belly, and instead I spent most of my time on the couch with a bowl. Though it's probably a good thing that stories of my pregnancy are not forever documented, as forgetting them is Emery's best chance at getting siblings! :) And now that its been 8 weeks since Emery was born I feel I need to at least forever document her birth story, so here goes!

As you know, Emery was forecasted to grace our presence on 11/11/11, which in our opinion, was to be the coolest birthday ever! So as that date approached, everything looked on track to deliver that day or very close to it. We were ecstatic, and really hoping it would work out. So on the 9th, at my last office visit, I was dilated to a 2 and 75% effaced. Consequently, Dr. Mayuga (who's mom delivered me! And who also happens to be our neighbor!) said I was a perfect candidate for being induced and asked how I felt about that. Wonderful, that's how I felt! So she scheduled us to go in the next day at noon to slowly start the induction process. We were outrageously giddy with anticipation, constantly reminding each other that we were going to be parents in a few short hours!!!
12 o clock finally rolled around, and we were dying to get this process started! We grabbed our bags and headed out. Upon arriving at the hospital, we went to check in only to be told that our induction had not been scheduled. I however knew this couldn't be, because I was there when the Doctor called it in. So the receptionist looked again in the planner, and lifted up the sticky note on 11/10/11 and lo and behold, there was our name! Lame. In the end, they made us come back at 5:00pm.
5 o clock finally rolled around and we made our way back to the hospital and were welcomed to room 1110. We settled in and the process began! I got all strapped up with the heart monitor and could see that I was already having contractions, though I couldn't feel them yet. By 2:00am I was ready for Pitocin. Slowly but surely the contractions got stronger and stronger but nothing too bad yet. So I spent the early morning watching Pride and Prejudice on Lifetime with our fabulous nurse Olivia. We were her only room that day, so she paid us a lot of extra attention. She was lovely.
Shortly after my favorite movie ended, the anesthesiologist came in and asked when I was planning on getting an epidural. I told him the Dr. was coming to break my water soon, so anytime before that. My contractions were pretty strong at this point. To which he says, "Why wait?" Touche, he had a point. I got the epidural right then and there and it was wonderful. I could still move my legs and could still tell when I was having a contraction, but magically, the pain was gone! FABULOUS.
After awhile it was time for me to start pushing. At this point it was just the 3 of us in the room, Dennis, Olivia and I. She began talking me through the process and then the nausea kicked in....of course. As the nurse handed me the all too familiar little blue bag, we joked about how it wouldn't be me if there wasn't some puking involved which happens to be exactly what the Dr. said as she was told briefed on my condition. :)
The whole thing was just the most calm, tranquil birth experience I could have possibly imagined. We joked and pushed, puked then pushed, joked some more. At one point Emery decided she wanted to help us out a little and began kicking the baby heart rate monitor. And every time she kicked her head popped out a little! The nurse and Dr. kept saying how hilarious it was and that they needed to remember to tell the other Doctors about it. She's not even born and people are already talking about how AMAZING she is! ;)
After a bit I got a huge urge to push and then BAM, her head was out and BAM, she was crying! Yes, she started crying with just her little head out. Once again, the Nurse and Doc were flabbergasted as they had never seen that before. Need I say it again, she is AMAZING! :)
Once she was born Dr. Mayuga put her right on my chest. There were no words. All I could do was smile as tears rolled out of my eyes. A misty eyed Dennis came and kissed his new little family and there we had it, we were parents. And we couldn't be happier.

To My Sweetie Maleetie

2011-02-14T14:59:00.000-08:00

If you weren't convinced I was head over heels before, just read this post. He's a real keeper.

The Little Things I Adore

1. I may be the most fidgety person in the whole wide world. It seriously takes me at LEAST 5 minutes of wiggling before I get comfy, and even then, that doesn't last long before I need to scratch an itch, re-position my clothes, move my legs, etc... You'd think laying in the same bed as an intermittent human earthquake would be outrageously annoying, (I often annoy myself) but not to Dennis! After so long, it seems he hardly even notices! I lucked out on that one.

2. Even though Dennis works in Kennewick, and I work all the way over the big river, he still goes out of his way to take me out on weekly lunch dates. I love that mid-day hour with my hubby.

3. Dennis and I currently team teach Sunday School at church, and I gotta say, I LOVE his lessons and the kids love them too. He wins.

4. I love, love, love, love watching him with the babies in our life. I think most of them prefer him to me! Well, the nephews at least. Delmer can't get enough of him, and snuggles with him every time he comes over.

5. He is a go getter. This may not seem like a big deal, but I LOVE how he's not afraid to call people that he doesn't know and make contact with strangers and figure out crazy business stuff and all that businessy type stuff that overwhelms my mind.

6. I adore how everyday, before he comes home, he calls me to let me know he's coming home. Ok, see ya in 5 minutes. SOOOoooo cute.

7. Dennis and I often get ready at the same time in the morning. And let me tell you, those mornings are the best because they are usually accompanied by Dennis getting down to classic 90's Rap Songs. Boom I got your Boyfriend.

8. He will be the best daddy ever. Please don't read to much into this, I'm not pregnant, I'm just saying that he will be amazing and can't wait to see him hold our little ones in his rippling biceps! ;)

9. He's musical!! Every week he not only sings in Church, but attends Ward Choir with me. Now if that isn't love, I dont' know what is!

10. He may not eat leftovers, but at least he's adventurous enough to try new places, though they may not always be the best choice.

I love you babe, always and forever.

Feliz Día de San Valentín!

We are Chiawana

2010-11-14T20:55:00.000-08:00

It's official. Your children's futures are in my hands, hence my hiatus from blogging. All of my creative brain power has been used up masterminding finely tuned Spanish Lessons until this WONDERFUL 4 day weekend. I have finally found a few moments to update you all on my/our lives (teaching is in no way a one person gig, Dennis is just as invested as I am! Thanks for listening to hours of teacher talk every night sweetheart, love you!)

Well, what can I say? Teaching is everything I hoped it would be and more. I am 100% convinced that I was sent to this earth to be a teacher. I absolutely ADORE it. Now don't get me wrong, I have my moments where I wish I could just sleep in instead of heading out at the crack of dawn, but other than being the exact opposite of a morning person, life is bliss. And now that I'm the actual legitimate teacher, and not just a student teacher or para educator, I have felt this overwhelming need to be in tune with the Holy Ghost. Sorry, but I'm going to get all sappy spiritual on you here for a minute. I have the privilege of working with some really special kids (and by special I mean awesome) who have come from some amazingly heartbreaking situations. And in my short time at the school, many of them have opened up and shared tear-jerking details of their lives. A lot of them are simply looking for a listening ear, while others are desperate for advice. I feel like in my 25 years, I've been through some rough patches, but nothing like what these kids go through everyday, and so I find myself thinking, "What in the world am I going to tell this kid!" I don't know how often I've had to say a prayer in my heart asking for Heavenly Father's guidance on what to say and how to react. I suppose I'm feeling a little of what a parent feels. But for the first time I feel like I need to have the Spirit with me, not just so that I feel all warm and fuzzy inside, but because I absolutely NEED it in order to best serve my little niños! Anyhow, life is great. We are blessed.

Wedding Decor

2010-08-09T17:56:00.000-07:00

When planning this wedding, we really wanted our families to be involved, the cost to be kept way down, and for it to look BEAUTIFUL! In my opinion, we were very successful! Instead of having the same centerpiece on every table, my mom and I went around and collected a variety of pretty, vintage looking things to arrange on each table. Here is a dose of our DIY Vintage Wedding Decor!

We wanted to make sure that our guests had fun, so we provided lot's of games. There were fancily wrapped card games on every table, croquet, a bubble table and horse shoes!

VEGAS RECEPTION

For our guest book, we had people put their thumb prints on a tree and sign their names! It will soon be hanging on our wall.

"A boring reception is such a shame

So we provided some awesome games

On each table the games begin

With Uno, Skipbo and Phase Ten

You'll find more games across the way

With horse shoes, bubbles and croquet!"

For the food, we wanted to mix the Argentinean culture and American, so we served emapanadas and alfajores, as well as Hot Dogs, Popcorn, and Candy. It turned out absolutely delicious and very esthetically pleasing!

WASHINGTON RECEPTION

Here's a pic of the cute popcorn bags! We took white paper bags and fancied up the top with a decorative paper punch.

The Photo Wall

2010-08-01T14:16:00.000-07:00

It's been almost 4 months now since we got married. So I figured it's probably about time to post the wedding pics! We were so pleased with how they turned out, thanks to our awesome photographer and friend, Tiffany Parrish. You win Tiffany. These rock.

I decided to start off with what are in my opinion, the most fun; The Picture Wall (which was so amazingly handcrafted by my Father in law David!). So scroll through them and check them out. If you came to our wedding, chances are you are in one of these pics!

PS: the people in the real frames are some of Dennis' Grandparents, so cool huh?!

Ruffles and Rubies

2010-07-14T22:52:00.000-07:00

In light of all of my friends being pregnant, I have decided to do some birthing of my own. I have birthed a new blog. A dose of dani will now be mostly updates about our life and such. And my new blog ruffles and rubies will feature all of my crafts and wedding creations! Check it out and add it to your google reader!

The Honeymoon. A Collection of Collages. Round 1.

2010-07-07T15:14:00.000-07:00

We've been married for almost 3 months now. TIME IS FLYING!!!!! And after moving to Washington, getting new jobs, and helping out the fam, I have finally sat down to do a new post! The following is round one of our week long honeymoon adventure in Dennis' old stomping grounds of Oahu, Hawaii. And what an adventure it was. We decided we weren't going to spend a lot of money while there and we stayed true to our word. The first day, we headed to Waikiki so we could pick up some groceries at Target with the many gift cards we received. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cereal and granola bars were our best friends as we only went out to eat for one meal a day. And since Dennis went to school in Hawaii, we spent a week stomping through the island, having the most awesome adventures, without spending a dime. Oh how we love you dear Hawaii. As you can see, we had a blast! I wouldn't have done it any other way.

This place is said to be a temple where they made human sacrifices. Creepily interesting! People still leave offerings to the gods there. Hence the decorated tree and the rocks wrapped in leaves. While hiking around, Dennis kept throwing rocks into the bush to freak me out. He was not successful. I wish you better luck next time we visit a sacrificial temple dearest Dennis! :)

Oh.My.Word. Have you seen cooler trees?! I have not. PLUS, Dennis and I went through a serious Lost phase, so we were very excited to find these Lost-esque trees. In fact, after talking to some friends, we're pretty sure they filmed part of the show here. Don't worry, there will be more Lost locations coming soon!

The view of Waimea Bay from the peak of the Pupukea Ruins. Loved it.

For those of you who have eaten Acai Bowls at Kava Roots, you will understand our obsession. This little $7 concoction was a little piece of heaven. Yes, we splurged and spent $14 on breakfast. They were BY FAR the best acai bowls we had. Thank you Kava Roots. We hope to visit you again soon.

Round 2 of Honeymoon adventures should be up soon!

Cakes x 2

2010-05-19T17:07:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, I know...I'm nuts. Regardless of how many times I was told this, I still decided to make my wedding cakes for the 2 receptions we had. It was a large task, but it was super fun....and yummy! Plus I got a lot of help on the first one (thanks Mom, Huenu, Lidia and Sole!), which was good because Dennis and I had crazy trip to Vegas the day before the wedding. We got no sleep that night. Due to some serious car issues, we took 12 hours to get to Vegas instead of 5. I'll blog about that story soon. It's a doozy. Enjoy!

Finally

2010-05-12T15:34:00.000-07:00

So.... back in 2003 I started college. It's been a rough, really long road of working full-time and taking necessary breaks. But believe it or not, after spending several years as a super super super senior, I have finally graduated! My parents were pretty stoked about it too (if you can't tell from the picture!).

Vintage Bridals

2010-04-17T18:59:00.001-07:00

HOORAY!! We're finally hitched and enjoying a lovely week in Oahu. Now that all is said and done, there is so much to blog about! I think Bridals would be the best place to start, seeing as thought they're the only pics I have access to right now.

So I was lucky enough to have the talented Laurie Hite take my bridals. We went all over Provo searching for cool spots and even recruited Kaitlin's help in order to get "natural laughing" pictures. She was cracking me up as only Kaitlin can. I LOVE how they turned out and can't wait to see more of them. Here's what she's given me so far.

The Final Product

2010-03-11T14:50:00.000-08:00

So I had someone ask how I finished the bottom half of my bouquet. I wish I had taken more pictures of the process, but hopefully this explanation will suffice!

When putting the stemmed brooches in the foam ball, I pulled them about a 1/2 inch away from the foam. I covered it with enough brooches that you couldn't see the green foam underneath, but if you don't have enough brooches to do that, try covering the foam with some pretty fabric first, then putting the wire through that.

Once I had all of the brooches in place, I shaved off the excess foam that was left around the edges. Then I took strips of ribbon, folded them in half, and pinned the folded edge, just up underneath the flower-line. I kept doing that until the whole base was covered, then I just wrapped the rest of the stem like you would any other bouquet, pinning it each time I wrapped it.

Here's some pictures of my shoes as well. They originally came with skinny, very unattractive bows on the front, so I clipped those off, and bought two more of one of my favorite brooches from my bouquet and sewed them on instead. I think they're perfect for my dress, which I was able to finally bring home Tuesday night!

Invitation Pic

2010-03-06T21:54:00.000-08:00

So we are trying to decide which picture to use for our invitations and we need your help. Check out Dennis' blog here and my last three posts and let us know which pic you like best. Many thanks.

Bloopers

2010-03-02T20:19:00.001-08:00

I just had to.

More Engagements

2010-03-02T19:32:00.000-08:00

Wedding Update!

2010-02-27T21:43:00.001-08:00

Here's a bouquet update! It's almost done. I just have to finish the bottom.

Here's a taste of our attempt at a vintage engagement shoot with the fabulous hat given to me by my amazing cousin Rachael. Thanks Rachie!

The Bouquet

2010-02-08T17:21:00.000-08:00

So here’s the gist of how I’m attempting to create a vintage brooch bouquet.

First, Dennis and I had a blast collecting the flowers, well maybe I had a blast and he willingly supported me! We rummaged through hordes of jewelry, searching for any piece that had a usable flower on it. In addition to some lovely brooches, I ended up taking apart necklaces, bracelets and rings to complete the collection.

This spread is only a small part of the compilation, but you get the picture.

Next I attached wire to each flower to create a stem of sorts. This picture shows my first attempt with some pretty thick wire. I later switched them all to a thinner floral wire, which was much easier to work with and created a tighter stem that didn’t allow the flower to move around.

I have almost finished wiring all of the flowers and have started sticking them in a foam ball to begin playing around with different arrangements.

I’ve done so much since I have taken these pictures that I really should repost an update soon, but at least this is a start!

Livin La Vida Loca....Literally

2010-02-01T17:27:00.000-08:00

Holy Guacamole! It has been far too long since I have last blogged! Life as of late has literally been INSANE!! Between working 3 jobs, trying to magnify my rather large Church calling and planning a wedding, blogging opportunities have become rather sparse. But other than life being outrageously occupied, it is wonderful and of course Dennis has been a gem, as usual. There has not been any toilet seat blow drying, but there have been plenty of other amazingly generous acts! So here's the run down. I am doing my student teaching this semester, yes, the day has finally come and it has been amazing so far! I could not have been more blessed in my placement with my Mentor Teacher, she is wonderful and we get along great. I am teaching Junior High (7th-9th grade) Spanish and I seriously adore it. I could not be more sure that I was predestined to be a teacher. I have sooo much fun with the kids. They make me laugh all the time. Though those of you who know me well, you will understand the serious hardship I'm having with this whole student teaching thing when I say, that I have to leave my house at 6:50am every morning. I AM NOT A MORNING PERSON! I despise it. But once I've breached the arduous hurdle of actually getting out of bed, it's pretty smooth sailing from there on out.

So once I get done with Student Teaching around 3:00pm, its time to head from the job I get to pay BYU to do, to my money making job in athletics. I was working that job till 9:00pm everynight... but that only lasted 3 weeks when I realized I was going to shoot someone if I didn't get more sleep. Now I only stay until 7:00pm, which has made a world of difference.

Then after that, I have been working for the Chinese Department again! At the beginning of the semester, the Professor who I worked with over the summer contacted me about doing some more work on his Cantonese book. His publishers liked the book so much they wanted to make a tapescript of it so they could create an audio version. And I was the lucky winner for that job! It's actually super interesting to me, and I was glad they thought of me to do, I can always use more money. Though Dennis ended up helping me a ton since I was so overwhelmed with everything else! We finished the whole book last week and it felt amazing to turn it all in. And now that that project is done, they have asked me to make an index for the book. Which is perfect timing since I only working till 7:00 now.

In addition to that, I have been doing a little bit of wedding planning here and there...well, I take that back, I have been doing A LOT of wedding planning. I think we pretty much have a plan for everything, now we just need to put those plans into action. The first project I have decided to tackle is my bouquet. Instead of doing real flowers, I am doing flower brooches and rings and such. This was my inspiration. I think I have finally collected all of the flowers, and have started putting it all together. I will post a DIY blog about that soon with other wedding details as well! So stay tuned, I am officially back into the blogging world!

Yes, yes, and yes again!

2009-12-15T10:18:00.000-08:00

It's official! As of the evening of 12/12/09 Dennis and I are engaged and I could not be happier and more sure that he is the man for me!

So here's the story. After Dennis and I had finished doing Sealings at the temple, I came out to find Dennis waiting for me in the first lobby, which is unusual because I am ALWAYS ready before he is. He was sitting there looking at some of the paintings on the wall and asked me to come sit with him. As I sat down he asked me, "So how did you feel about us while we were in the temple?" To which I hesitantly responded, "uh....good".
We've been dating for 9 months, we know how we feel about one another, so I found the question a little odd.
Then he solemnly proceeds to ask if I have any reservations or concerns about us. At this point I'm starting to freak out a little, but respond with an, "uh......no, why?" He starts to tell me that there has just been so much going on lately, and that I'm the most amazing girl he's ever dated, but....this is going to be really hard for me to say. By now, my eyes are watering and I'm preparing to be crushed. Then he repeats him self and says, this is really hard for me to say, but..... then gets down on one knee and says, "Danielle, will you marry me!"
YES YES YES!!!
I burst into full on tears, "Of course I will!!!"
Now you may think this was very cruel of him to make me think he was breaking up with me, which let's me honest, it kind of was! But the only thing I asked of him for the proposal was that I be surprised. If he had taken me to some nice restaurant, or on a walk in the forest, I would have know. But this TOTALLY threw me off! I had NO idea he even had the ring yet! I loved it. And I love him.

Why I said Yes
*He has done my laundry for me for the last 5 months or so
*After the first snow, I went out to clean off my car only to find that Dennis had already done it on his way to work at 5:30am!
*He makes me laugh everyday
*He not only helps me make sugar cookies, he'll decorate them with me, and help me deliver them
*He makes scary phone calls for me and gets WAY more accomplished on one of those phone calls than I have making those same calls for over a year!
*He can drive REALLY well with one hand, leaving the other hand free to hold mine
*He plays Barbies with his nieces and will dress up like a dragon for their princess birthday party
*He is just plain kind.
*The list really goes on and on. He is the sweetest man I have ever met, and now he is officially all mine! WOohoo!

Best Sunday Ever

2009-12-07T09:00:00.000-08:00

At the risk of sounding a little cheesy, I just have to tell you all about the most wonderfully special Sunday ever. The day started out great. I got to my meetings early and had the chance to play Christmas songs on the piano for awhile before we got started. Then Fast and Testimony meeting was incredible. I felt like everyone focused on the Atonement and it just filled my heart with happiness! And then there was our amazing Relief Society Lesson about the miracles of Christ (favorite quote from the lesson: "In the absence of any other proof, the thumb alone would convince me of God's existence." - Isaac Newton).
After church Dennis told me that his friend from work had some extra tickets to the Christmas Devotional in Salt Lake. I'm not usually too keen on going to the conference center because you end up sitting so far away that you end up watching it on the big screens anyway, and you have to deal with all the traffic, parking, and freezing-ness of Salt Lake in December. But we decided to go anyways.
We agreed to meet Dennis' co-worker at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building at 5:30 for the Devotional that started at 6:00. We got there at about 5:25 and found that the JSMB was closed....and it was absolutely frigid outside! I mean bitter cold. So we walked over to the Conference Center to wait outside our assigned door. I was dying to go inside, but we had to wait for our friend because he had the tickets. So we waited... and waited... 5:40pm rolled around, then 5:50pm and Dennis' friend still hadn't showed up. By this point, I can't feel my toes or ears and a positive attitude was hard to maintain. Then it was 5:51, 2, 3, 4, 5, they announce that they will be closing the doors. 5:56, the doors start closing, 5:57, all doors are closed but one, and then....our friends come running around the corner with our tickets. We quickly ran into the one door that was still open and proceeded through the metal detectors, only to get beeped and have to go get scanned again in another scanner on the side.
Since these events are first come first serve as far as seating is concerned, we figure we'd be in the very back of the balcony, and that we probably wouldn't get to sit together. Then as I was being checked in the second metal detector, one of those cute little old-man ushers, came and asked if we wanted good seats....Umm.....YES PLEASE!! We're thinking, "Yes! We won't be in the balcony!" But to our surprise, he lead us all the way down to section B. That is SEVEN, yes SEVEN rows from the prophet!! The whole first presidency was right there in front of us, they could look into our faces we were that close! We felt like a million bucks walking down to those seats.
Needless to say we were ecstatic. We spent the next hour in utter awe as we listened to the messages given and were overwhelmed with the Spirit as the choir sang the most moving songs. I just couldn't get over how amazing it was to hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir live, singing Handel's Messiah, For unto us a child is born. It literally took my breath away. I got chills every time they sang, "Wonderful, Counselor!"
When the meeting was over, we all stood up, ready to start our long journey back up the stairs to the main exits, as we began to realize that we were surrounded by general authorities! There was Sister Allred, Elder Cook, the Young Women's Presidency. Some of them were even sitting BEHIND us! Again, we were in awe! Dennis' shook some of their hands and I greeted them.
And THEN... because of where we were sitting, they began ushering us out the front of the conference center into the tunnels! We kept looking at each other like, Is this for real! So there were were, walking shoulder to shoulder with ALL of the Apostles and other general authorities! It was nuts! The apostles were picked up in little golf carts and slowly drove 2 feet away from us as they were escorted out, they waved at us and smiled and said hello, but several of the other general authorities walked with us through the long winding tunnel that lead us under the conference center, under the street, then under the temple, where we finally ended up coming out at the Church Office Building.
It was the most special night ever. Dennis and I couldn't stop smiling. It was the perfect finish to a perfect day.

Tru Wuv

2009-12-05T07:45:00.000-08:00

Normally when I leave my apartment, even though it's winter, I turn off the heat to try and save a few dollars. This means, that when I come home, my humble little abode is pretty darn cold and takes a while to warm up. Yesterday was no exception, except this time when Dennis and I got there, I had to "use the potty". Needless to say I was trying to avoid having to, because I knew the toilet seat would be FREEZING! So after awkwardly dancing around the apartment for a bit, Dennis asked what in the world I was doing and I filled him in on the frozen toilet dilemma, then when about straightening the kitchen. Moments later I came back into the other room to find Dennis blow drying my toilet seat. If that isn't love, I don't know what is!

Fall Festivities Round #4

2009-11-15T11:01:00.000-08:00

Most of you have probably already seen these pics on my facebook page, but I just couldn't resist putting them up here too.

I've never had the chance to do the whole "dress up as a couple" thing at Halloween, so when I asked Dennis if he'd like to go out all with a costume, and he whole heartedly said yes, I was pretty excited.

This is what we came up with. We were pretty proud of how realistic they turned out. We even had several people ask to take their picture with us that night, and heard lot's of great comments like "Wow, he even has the CHIN to be popeye!". When we finally got home, we felt fully prepared for a career at Disney.

Fall Festivities Round #3

2009-11-02T19:24:00.000-08:00

So there is this photo editing site called Picnik that I love! It has a ton of free tools that you can use, and a ton of amazingly awesome tools you can use if you pay $24 a year. I am poor, so I have just been using the free basics. But a few days ago I got a lovely email from picnik saying thank you for purchasing a year long subscription. Yes, you guessed it, Dennis bought it for me. Bless him. The following is a taste of it's Halloween Features, Bwa Ha Ha Ha!!!!!!

Fall Festivities Round #2

2009-11-02T10:50:00.000-08:00

While in Vegas, waiting in the parking lot of In & Out Burger, I got a phone call from my mom telling me that they had decided on a date for the Infamous, Kessie Family Pumpkin Party. October 24th. A conversation about the details and my sadness at not being able to attend commenced. When I hung up the phone, I turned to Dennis, and expressed my dismay. His response to my General Hospital-ness?

We should go!

Wait....WHAT?! You wanna go to Washington to carve pumpkins?! Yes, he did. So we called Kaitlin, and asked her if she wanted to drive home that weekend too. She started crying exclaiming, YES OF COURSE I DO!!! The decision had been made. So on Oct. 22nd at 8:30pm, after work and many setbacks to our schedule, we pulled out of Salt Lake with Kaitlin, and her friend Taylor from home in the back seat. We were off, and no one in Kennewick had any idea we were coming.
Now if you are wondering if you read that whole leaving at 8:30pm thing right...you did. Dennis, like the trooper that he is, drove through the night from SLC to Kennewick. It was pure torture, but well worth it. While on the drive, I called Jared and broke the news to him while he was at work and asked him to just leave the back door unlocked so we could sneak in and fall asleep in the family room. Which at 5:00am is exactly what we did. Kaitlin snuck up to her room and fell asleep, and Dennis and I took the couch and big chair in the Family Room. Two hours later my dad came walking down the stairs, saw us and prepared to freak out. I shushed him, gave him a HUGE hug and asked him to figure out a way to get mom down stairs.
Dad: "Pat! You need to come down here! There is a HUGE stain on the carpet!"
Mom: "Steve, are you sure I need to come down"
Dad: "Yes, I don't even know what this is!"
She reluctantly came down stairs, saw us and started screaming, hugging, and screaming some more. Pure Bliss.
The rest of the weekend was filled with fun. It was so good to see the fam and be home with all of my siblings. That doesn't happen very often. Just wish I could have seen more of the cousins!

I must say, I was thoroughly impressed with Dennis Pumpkin Carving abilities. It was his first attempt and he pulled out the headless horseman.

Fall Festivities Round #1

2009-11-01T10:47:00.000-08:00

Here are some "just for fun" pics of us. We wanted to take advantage of the beautiful fall weather we were having and the gorgeous location we found. The following is what we were able to get; a lot of pictures of exactly how the afternoon went. Laughing, being nerds, laughing some more, being even more nerdy, followed by a lot more laughing....typical.

Viva Las Vegas

2009-10-15T10:02:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Dennis and I took a much needed trip to Vegas! And no it wasn't for the BYU vs. UNLV game. We actually went to visit his family. Yes, Dennis grew up in Sin City, Henderson to be exact. While there we spent some quality time with his parents and sister and her adorable family, watching Alexis' soccer game, playing puzzles, and rockin' out to Rock Band for several hours...

We also took a quick trip down to the strip to check out the Bellagio Gardens and watch one of these shows.

Bellagio Conservatory

I also got the chance to learn a lot about baby/adolescent Dennis. I learned that he is an Eagle Scout, that he graduated with honors from Green Valley High and that he looked like the kid from the wonder years when he was little. Needless to say I got to see a lot of pictures like these ones, and I got to hear lot's of hilarious stories. Good Times. Loved it.

Just one of the many reasons I love Dennis

2009-09-27T21:08:00.000-07:00

Life as of late has been great, but busy to say the least and Saturdays are my only day to play catch up at home. Yesterday was no exception to this as I had a HUGE list of things I wanted to get done that was triple the size of what was humanly possible.
So Dennis and I went through the day trying to get as much done as possible but then 6:00 rolled around, which meant time for the General Relief Society Broadcast, and I still had a giant list of things I wanted to get done. But alas, some Spiritual nourishment was more important and so off I went with no hope of catching up. Less than 2 hours later I headed home on a Spiritual high to find that Dennis had...
Finished prepping and painting my door
Put together all 4 of my new IKEA boxes
Vacuumed my apartment
Washed and cleaned out the car
Done my dishes (I don't have a dishwasher either!)
AND
Washed and dried all my laundry!
He was sweaty from trying to get it all done before I got home, and I was almost moved to tears. So so so so so sweet. Thanks Dennis. You are the best (to be read with a Nacho Libre accent for emphasis).

My Casa!

2009-09-20T17:09:00.000-07:00

So here is a little taste of what my studio apartments looks like.

This is the outside of it. Charming right? Word on the street is that it was a polygamist's house. I'm not sure if that's valid cause the dates don't seem to jive, but it would make sense structurally. It looks like a normal house from the outside, and the bottom floor is like a normal home, but the side and upstairs have little studio apartments in them with their own kitchens and bathrooms. Mine is the smallest, so I guess that makes me the newest, least preferred wife :)

So speaking of the bathroom.... Did I mention it's microscopic? Please see pic below.

I think the picture speaks for itself. Needless to say, we sit sideways.

Life Update

2009-09-15T18:26:00.000-07:00

It's been forever since I last blogged, and a lot has happened. So I'm just going to take a moment to update you all on my life.

First of all, things with Denicito are still going absolutely marvelously. We're going on 6 months now! Love his freaking guts.

Secondly, I quit my job in the Chinese Department. Though I was loving the work I was doing there, I actually got recruited back to my old job in the athletics department. Going back to work there felt like going home. It really is so great to be working there again. So Blessed.

Third, I moved out of my apartment and into a studio apartment all by my little lonesome and I freaking love it. And it is sooooo darn cute (not to worry, there will be pictures soon). It's tiny, but I have made it into my own little haven and I adore it. Coming soon is a post about the size of the bathroom, so be prepared for shock and awe.

Fourth, I got a new calling in my ward. Yes, you guessed it, Relief Society President! I'm actually really excited and grateful for this calling. I've been feeling like I need some extra strength and guidance right now as I'm in a new phase of life trying to figure out where I'm going and then BAM! The Lord gives me this calling that is accompanied with billions of blessings. It's a win win.

So that's it for now, but I will soon be adding a post dedicated solely to the studio. Its worth the wait. I promise.

The 4th of Julio

2009-08-07T19:18:00.000-07:00

My 4th of July cake. I need to stop taking the easy cheap way out and use butter cream frosting instead of Better Crocker, and thicker fondant so that it lays smoother on the cake. But by the time I've colored all the fondant and all that, who wants to make butter cream frosting!

And these are the wonderful people I got to spend the 4th with. Dennis' sister in law's family. They rock the house. It really was so much fun watching all the little kids get closer and closer as all the dads showed off their lighter skils. It reminded me of my favorite 4th ever when we lit all of our own fireworks in the street at the Goude's house in Grandview. Those were the days. I just sat there all night feeling like I was living a scene out of the Sandlot. Priceless.

This is Dennis right before he danced in the street for all of us with 6 sparklers between his fingers. Another Wolverine attempt? Probably.

A bit of Bear & Bloomington Lake

2009-08-06T20:37:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's already been over a month since I lasted posted. This month has truly been busy. I now have two jobs. I work in the Chinese Language Flagship Program at BYU AND in a crazy turn of events, I got my old job back as the Administrative Assistant in the Student Athlete Academic Center in BYU Athletics. In addition to working two jobs, I am also going to school full-time. So it has been an insane, yet awesome summer. The following is one of the many highlights of July.

Dennis' roommate Andy invited us to stay at his friends cabin up in Bear Lake, so Dennis' roommates and my roommate Mikell and I all piled into the Trailblazer and headed to Idaho. The cabin was beautiful, the weather was perfect and the company was unbeatable. We had a freaking blast. But we didn't just go to Bear Lake, no that would no suffice, we also went to Bloomington Lake which took an hour or so of us driving on an extremly rocky dirt path, then a 10 minute hike to get there. But as you can see from the pictures, our drive to the glacial lake was well worth it.

Mikell and Andy making a Sand Drip Castle

This was not meant to look this awkward... but because it did, I feel bound by my honor code of hilarium to post it.

The whole crew. At this very moment all of our skin was being crispified like Kentucky Fried Chicken. Aloe vera here we come.

Mikell braving the Rope swing

The cliff from which we jumped. The water looks kind of green in these pics, but really it was a turqouise color. gArgeous.

Yes, that is snow, and yes we swam in it, and yes, it took about 20 minutes to get used to swimming in it without feeling like you were going to hyperventilate and drown.

This is what surrounded the Lake to the east, yellow and blue wildflowers. Unreal.

We were sooooooooooo beat after a weekend in the sun, but it was well worth it.

Reoccurring Theme??

2009-06-29T23:00:00.000-07:00

As many of you have probably noticed by now, there seems to be a reoccurring theme with my blog entries. They seem to almost always consist of me taking pictures of Dennis looking ridiculous and then posting them online for all to see. Fear not, for today will not be an exception to that rule. So this coming weekend is the very lovely Jade's 5 year old princess birthday party, for which I will be doing facing painting. I am overly excited about the whole thing to the point that I wanted to practice beforehand. And like the sport that Dennis is, he volunteered to be my palate. The whole apartment was entertained by our proceedings.

And In response to Rachael's comment:
See!!! Totally, NOT serious.

ngóh syū

2009-06-24T17:13:00.000-07:00

So at my totally awesome new job, one of my responsibilities is to edited this book...

... which basically means I am getting paid to learn Cantonese. Life = Rad.

Details about Dad

2009-06-21T14:36:00.000-07:00

1 - No one can pat my back better than he can when I have a cold... thanks for loosening it up dad
2 - He assured that I always had the best science projects in the class
3 - He never let me be confined by the stereotypes of being a "girl" yet always expected me to be lady like...it's a winning combo.
4 - He can river dance like nobody's business...seriously.
5 - He has an amazing Spanish accent.
6 - I can always count on him to eat everything I cook with a willing heart.
7 - He is absolute most effective person when it comes to waking me up in the morning, (monotone voice) Danielle, Danielle, Danielle, Danielle, Danielle, Danielle, Danielle, Danielle, Danielle, Danielle, Danielle, Danielle, Danielle, Danielle, Danielle, Danielle, Danielle, Danielle, Danielle, Danielle, Danielle, Danielle, Danielle, Danielle.... OK I'M AWAKE!!!!
8 - He'll watch chick flicks with me, like Ever After.
9 - He is my walking step by step encyclopedia. Dad, my car is doing this, what's wrong with it? Dad, how do I do my taxes? Dad, can you talk me through lighting my pilot light? Dad, I can't prime the pump, what do I do? etc...
10 - He works harder than anyone I know. He sets the standard.

I love you with my whole heart and soul Dad. Happy Fathers Day!!
Love,
Sis

Random Happenings

2009-06-19T16:40:00.000-07:00

So the other day, I came home to this...

An AMAZING full double rainbow...

...and Dennis pretending to be Wolverine. I almost peed my pants.

Deseret Industries, you have done me well.

2009-06-19T16:30:00.001-07:00

So we went to the DI a few days ago and had enormous amounts of fun, especially in the glasses section. I think the pictures pretty much speak for themselves.

Grandma Goude?

If this doesn't scream "How to catch a predator" I don't know what does.

Though while there, we not only had fun, but made some great finds as well. the following is the $2 purse that Dennis happened upon, that happens to perfectly match the shoes Kaitlin got me for X-mas, as well as the $5 skirt I got that has the most BEAUTIFUL silk lining. Success was had by all.

Mi Bicicleta

2009-05-27T21:11:00.000-07:00

So most of you know that when I left Provo over a year ago, I left almost everything here in an effort to make a quick getaway. Included in those dismissed possessions was my beloved baby blue bike. It was left here, exposed to 4 seasons worth of elements, lonesomely chained to the stairs at Josh's old apartment complex. When I returned to Provo last month, much to my surprise, I found that my bike was still there, shackled to that iron railing. Needless to say, it was in a pretty pathetic state, covered in rust with worn out tires and disintegrating handle bar pads.
Regardless of it's conditions, one Wednesday I brought the bike to my new apartment and showed it to Dennis. He talked of grand plans to fix it up and restore it to it's original beauty. I thought that was a lovely idea, but really didn't think it would happen, at least not any time soon. The next day Dennis came over as usual, but this day he kept talking about how he needed to head back to Salt Lake early because he wasn't feeling well and really wanted a good nights sleep. So we watched Return To Me and he headed home around 10:00. The next day (Friday) after class I headed down to Salt Lake to go to a work party/movie with Dennis, but upon arrival he suggested we stop by his brother's house first because there was something he wanted to show him before the movie. So we pulled into his brother's, walked inside and headed over to garage at which point Dennis put his hands over my eyes and told me he had something to show ME...Not his brother. I hesitantly took blind steps into the dark garage, followed closely by Jade and Brinley (Dennis' little nieces) when Dennis took his hand off my eyes and this is what I saw!

A beautifully restored bike with a bell just like on Return To Me. I was SOOOO surprised, I turned and gave him a huge hug as his nieces exclaimed "She likes it! She likes it!"
Apparently Dennis had stolen my bike without me realizing it the night before, telling me he wanted to go home early cause he "wasn't feeling well" but really he stayed up until 4:00 in the morning beautifying my bike, then got up 2 hours later and went to work.... He's the freaking best. Thanks Dennis, you rock.

(Please excuse the sister missionary outfit, I had an interview at the MTC that day!)

(Apparently this bike also has magical powers that force us to make fools of ourselves whenever we get on it)

Stewart Falls.... yes, another Hike

2009-05-17T15:30:00.000-07:00

Yes, we went again. But this time it was a real hike, not a nature walk. By the end of the summer we hope to hit up all of these http://www.utah.com/provo/hiking_trails.htm

So yesterday's hike started out like any other, but ended with much different results.

We hiked along an absolutely BEAUTIFUL trail for a couple of hours, until we finally arrived at Stewart Falls.

At which point we took a bunch of pictures...

Then we noticed that to the east of the falls, back around the corner, on top of a snowy mountainside, there was yet another gorgeous cascade. And of course, we decided to climb up the slushy precipice.

It was tough going all the way up. We had to dig our feet and hands deep into the snow so that we didn't slide right back down to where we came from. My hands were FREEZING! But with much effort we finally made it to the top. And it was totally worth it, especially to see how the water from the falls was flowing underneath the 5 or so feet of snow. Gorgeous.

Now everything up to this point was just peachy, but then we decided it was time to start heading back. Now earlier we had seen another guy up on the blanket of snow that just slid on hit butt back down down to the trail. We figured we would do the same. Unfortunately we didn't factor in the fact that he had started sliding down at a much lower point on the incline than we did. Slippery wet snow, high incline, and traction-less shoes = UNHEALTHY...again!

Once we got sliding, there was no turning back, and with every second we gained momentum. We started going faster and faster and faster! My life flashed before my eyes as Dennis was FRANTICALLY yelling at me, "DIG YOUR HEELS IN, DIG YOUR HEELS IN!!" We were trying desperatly to wedge our hands and/or heels far enough into the snow to slow us down, but instead of decreasing our speed, our hands were just shredded with pinecones and rocks.

A million ideas rushed through my head as I was trying to figure out how I was going to stop before I hit the tree bank, and then I saw a large rock ahead and I thought if I can just get my feet to hit that rock, it should slow me down enough to use my hands to stop. As the rock fast approached I put my feet out, and BAM! my knees buckled, and the rock went right underneath me slashing and bruising my leg. I was still going just as fast as ever. At that point I looked up and saw that Dennis had successfully slowed himself down, but I still had no hope, I toppled right over the top of him and was only able to finally come to a stop by grabbing on to a large log, right before the tree bank. In the end we both survived. Scary but Fun. Totally worth it.

The Bean Museum

2009-05-15T22:12:00.001-07:00

Tonight we experienced BYU's Monte L. Bean Museum. I can't believe I have been at BYU for almost 12 years now and just now visited this place for the first time. I was astounded by what I saw.

First of all.... What the HECK is this! Apparently Toucan Sam was eaten by a unicorn.

Secondly.... what kind of sick motivation was used for this little display, "Come on guys, I need a little more sadistic revenge in his eyes."

The evening continued with Dennis and I making fools of ourselves as usual...

...and concluded with me finding a replacement baby "Joey"...

...and playing with a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach.

We even got to take a special trip to the basement to hold an 8 ft. long boa constrictor.
Needless to say, the night was a success. Thanks Monte.

Bridal Veil Falls

2009-05-10T20:15:00.000-07:00

Dennis and I went "hiking/nature walking" yesterday to Bridal Veil Falls in Provo Canyon. When we made it to the waterfall, we saw that there were a few people that had hiked up pretty high on the falls, so we were like, if they can do it, we can do it. So we started off, hiking right along the water, in slippery, sandy, not stable dirt. I almost died at least 3 times... Needless to say, we finally made it to the top and upon arrival, we looked to our left and lo and behold, there was a well beaten path leading all the way up to the top. We took the road less traveled by and have battle wounds to prove it.
We followed our hike with a bike ride accompanied by Dennis' adorable nieces on my AMAZINGLY refurbished bike (check back soon for a post about that!) and then decided to get dinner. Now Dennis has never been to Red Robin before, which is pure blasphemy so we looked up the nearest restaurant online and set off to find it.... Our plan was foiled. Instead of finding Red Robin we spent a half hour in the car, lost, rocking out full voiced to the radio. At which point we decided we were soooo hungry that instead of Red Robin, we were craving Chuck A Rama, and we were craving it something bad. So plans changed and the first Chuck A Rama we saw was to be our final destination. Another half hour goes by and all we've seen is Robertos Taqueria, Martas Taco Shop, and Betos Fine Mexican Dining. We were getting desperate. Lost on empty stomachs = Unhealthy. Then finally after an hour of driving around West Valley or better said La Valle del Oeste, we go through a stop light and in the distance we can see the neon red light circling the hunter green roof.... IT WAS A CHUCK A RAMA!! Dennis is thrown into Hysterics, literally. Shrill shrieking squills pierced my ears as he expressed his overwhelming joy to have found our favorite High Quality Buffet. It was well worth the wait.

The Good Weird Bad

2009-05-10T15:33:00.000-07:00

I'm officially back in Utah... it has been weird, but good.
Weird:
-My favorite Mexican Restaurant (Las Torascas) has been changed to "NOW Nails!"
- At any hour of the day you will see slews of people running...
- We have no TV
- I'm now BFF's with the ex's brothers' ex.... which really deserves a post all it's own

Good:
-Roommates are awesome, they are clean and love Gilly just as much as I do!
- Dennis is here to keep me company and take me on adventures
- School is easy.

Bad:
- I DON'T HAVE A JOB!!!!