7 Years

7 years ago today I quite literally married the man of my dreams:

A couple of years later we decided to add a sweet and sassy little girl to our family:

Following Whit, we experimented for a few years Danny's hobbies with chickens and turtles:

And then added another little one, handsome Hank:

7 years later, Danny still makes me laugh every day, sometimes makes me so mad I don’t know what to do with my self, is a FABULOUS father and still gives me the butterflies. I love him more and more every day. Happy Anniversary Danny!

 

Decorating the House

Whit loves to re-arrange and "decorate" her toys/trinkets all over the house.

Every day she is "organizing" something.

Her are a few of her latest creations:

After she is finished with her decorating she goes around and takes pictures of everything she has done:

Silly girl. :)

Temple Square

We Chopped It!

My cousin, Ali Gleason, is a fabulous hair dresser and cut Whit's hair for me. I was nervous to chop it, but I absolutely LOVE it and it's 100 times easier to do!!

Hank did not get a hair cut but every time I take out my camera he comes running to me and says, "cheese." So I had to post some pic's of him too.

The Tebow Fever-- We've Caught It!

A couple of weeks ago Danny asked me the following question: “Are you the happiest you have ever been?” I said, “yes” but thought what a weird question to ask me. So I asked him, “Are you the happiest you have ever been?” He responded, “Yes, because of Tim Tebow and the Broncos.” That’s awesome. He’s not the happiest because of me or the kids or a good job but the Bronco’s make him the happiest.

I knew what I was getting into when I married Danny and all of his Bronco craziness. We have an entire house filled with Bronco paraphernalia including but not excluding: blankets, sweatshirts, ties, shoes, hats, binkies, cups, snuggies, baby mobiles, posters, jersey’s, party supply stuff, chairs.. and that is just the tip of the ice berg. BUT, now that the Broncos have the “Chosen One” – as they call him—the Bronco fever has gone to a whole new level.

I have always enjoyed watching football but I would call myself a bandwagon fan. I really love to love any football player who is dating someone famous. I loved when Reggie dated Kim. It broke my heart when Tony broke up with cute Jess. And Tom and Giselle still seem to be going strong.. Tom seems to have some anger issue’s (I wouldn’t want to get on his bad side) but he is still fun to look at.

I also like to push my limits with Danny. See how far I can go. A couple of years ago, I jumped on the Drew Brees/ Saints bandwagon and really wanted a Saints sweatshirt. Danny got very mad and said that if there was anything in our house other than Bronco gear, he would throw it away. Totally rude, right?! Why can’t I support a different team? We don’t have to have the same teams.. but according to Danny we need to be united as a family.. whatever!

Even when the Broncos were terrible Danny was still loyal. He would try and convince me that Jay Cutler (who has recently been tied to Kristin Cavallari) was the best quarterback in the NFL … uh ok Danny. Sometimes your vision can become blinded when you love a team so much! Such was/is the case with him.

This season Danny bought Tim Tebow’s new book and has recommended that I read it. We have watched every Bronco game and every Tim Tebow documentary on TV.. together because we needed to be “united”, right. AND… I am finally sold. I love Tim Tebow. I love the Broncos this year and I’m about as crazy as Danny is. I have also reached a new low.. I watch Sportscenter all morning yesterday just to catch highlights and commentary on Tim Tebow and Danny wasn’t even home. What is wrong with me??? He has got me in some sort of trance. I love him! I love that he wears his religion on his sleeve. I love that he thanks “his Savior and Lord Jesus Christ” after every football game. I think it is awesome!! Way to stand up for what you believe despite what others will think. We need more of that!

So after reflecting on my 26 years of life, I do have to agree with Danny. I am the happiest I have ever been, in part, thanks to Tim Tebow and the Broncos. We have got the Tebow fever. Go Broncos and bring on the Patriots this week!!

Girls Nights..

.. Are the best!

Shante hosted this month and we had a fun hot chocolate/ pajama party.

Love these girls!

My loonnggg dilemma

Does this happen to anybody else or is it just me? My long toes have caused a lot disorder in my life, not to mention many self esteem issues. My second toe is a gazillion times longer than my first and my 3rd toe is about the same length as the second. Long skinny nasty things.

Which brings me to my issues:
1. I go through socks at a rapid pace because my second toe is constantly pushing its way out creating lovely holes hence the picture above.
2. I can't wear high heeled shoes with open toes. My second toe curls over the edge of the shoe which, really, isn’t very cute. Also, I get ridiculed often from the husband (and others..cousins) about the beautiful feet that I have.. especially when I am wearing high heeled shoes with open toes.

My solutions:
1. I tried wearing Danny’s socks for awhile. They are bigger so I don’t get the holes, but they do crunch up.. which I could get use too.. but Danny has now forbade me from wearing his socks. He doesn’t like me wearing them for whatever reason, I don’t know.
2. Opened toed high heeled shoes are dang cute, but I have just come to realize they probably are not in the cards for me. (Which doesn't mean that I don't own any and that I don't try to wear them.. I still do, they just don't look good.)
3.** I like this one the best** cosmetic surgery on my toes. What do ya think? No more holes, no more ‘make fun of Mindi’s feet parties’ and I could flaunt them all day long!!

Whit's Dance Performance

Whitney had her first dance performance at the Festival of Tree's and she did a great job!

She insisted on putting on her own make up.. She did her own eye shadow, mas sacra and lots of red lipstick. I mean lots of lipstick!!

Danny looks thrilled..:)

Oh Christmas Tree

One of our family traditions each year is to buy a real Christmas tree.

I love real tree's!!

This year Danny picked a huge one (go big or go home, right??--Danny's motto) but the tree has a blueish tint to it and smells sooo yummy!

Whit was a great helper in putting up the decorations.

I also have already had to rearrange some things. The bottom half of the tree is now void of all ornaments because the cute toe-headed toddler thought they were balls and chucked them all. ;)

Thanksgiving

We enjoy lots of turkey feasts every year..

We started out with the Hart Thanksgiving on the Saturday before Thanksgiving hosted by Scott and Lori:

The following day we had a Thanksgiving dinner with Danny's family:

And the actual day of Thanksgiving we split it up. This year we went up to my dad's sister's in Heber:

...And then ended at Vicki and Harold's.

You would think 4 meals would be plenty ... but every year on the following Sunday we have a Thanksgiving dinner at my parents:

Soo, 5 Thanksgiving dinners later, our family always comes out a little bit more plump. Just bulking up for the cold winter. :)

Sleep Beauties

Whitney likes to put the house to sleep. She wants to make sure everyone is comfortable and cozy.. including the dogs.

She also likes to dictate where she would like to sleep and sometimes I let her get away with it. A couple of weekends ago, this is where she decided to sleep:

On the kitchen floor. She set up her own bed and eventually fell asleep.

Kids

This week I have had such an intense love for my kids. You always love your kids, but for some reason it has been all consuming to the point that I want to wake up Hank from his naps to play with him or let Whit stay up real late just to spend time with her.

I just finished my 8 hour work shift today and had aching pains because I missed my kids so bad. Every time I get home from work I drill Danny with the 20 questions. How were the kids? Did Hank do anything funny? What time did he go to sleep? Did Whitney eat a good dinner? Tell me everything... You can imagine Danny. He just loves my annoying questions.

My work has a gym that I go to after and as I was on my way I called Danny and cute Whitney answered the phone (she should have been asleep) but she said, "Mommy, I want you to come home." in thee sweetest voice possible! So I rushed home just so I could spend 5 minutes with her before she fell asleep. A work out can wait..

We have finally come up with a good bedtime routine with Whitney (that doesn't take 3 hours long) and I am so excited about it! We have been using some Love and Logic techniques and they have been working beautifully! We will read a couple of chapters from her kid BOM. I do still have to lay with her until she falls asleep, but she likes me to read whatever book I'm reading out loud. She just likes to hear my voice, I guess. But she usually falls asleep within 5 to 1o minutes which is soo much better than the 1 hour +. So I'm grateful for that!

Now Hank.. He is the funniest goofiest kid alive. I'm obsessed with his sweetness. He is constantly making us laugh by the goofy things that he does. Sometimes, Whit and I get laughing so hard at Hank that he starts laughing and it just cycles. He keeps doing whatever goofy thing he is doing.. whether it be dancing, funny faces, glares/squints. He just wants to make us laugh.. He is just like his daddy in that regard.

Kids are so fun. They make life so much more meaningful. I love my 2 little crazies and am so grateful for them!

Look how cute Zoe is. My kids LOVE their new baby cousin!!

Well

I guess there is 1 perk about Danny playing on the Xbox at night.. I have lots of time to blog.

Today, I went to Costco. Big mistake. I think the whole valley was there getting last minute Thanksgiving items. Besides the fact that they didn't even have what I was wanting, I couldn't find my Costco card. So, I waited for 10 minutes to get a temporary card and when I was finally summoned up by one of the workers we had the following conversation:

The Costco worker (didn't even look at me) says: "Your hair looks nice today."

I laughed because I hadn't even touched my hair and had just gotten done working out so I said: "Are you being serious?"

The Costco worker.. actually looks at me this time and says, "Ya, your right. It doesn't look that good."

At least he was honest. It didn't look good. And to tell you the truth, I hadn't even brushed my teeth yet.. so gross, I know. I should've gotten real close to the worker so he could smell my breath.. That might have put him over the edge. ;) I got home and took a picture so the whole wide web could see just what the Costco worker saw:

And he was right. It doesn't really look great, and I probably shouldn't go out in public looking like that, but sometimes I just don't have the time to care.

A Few Things

Thanksgiving is only a couple of days away and I ran out of time..

I am thankful for my family. They are so supportive and helpful. Thanks Jessie, you are the ultimate babysitter while I am working. I really couldn’t do it without ya!

I am thankful for eternal families and temples.

I am thankful for beautiful sunsets.

I am thankful for my job. Really. I love it! They have been so great about my schedule and are super flexible.. It is the perfect part time job for our family and a great outlet for me.

I am thankful for repentance. I fail as a mom 6 days out of the week and I am grateful that I am able to get on my knee’s and ask for forgiveness and help for a better tomorrow.

I am grateful for the power of prayer and the spirit.

I am grateful for a husband who dreams big and then makes it happen.

I am grateful for my calling.. that I am able to learn from the beautiful young women and their great examples every week.

I am grateful for good friends and girl’s nights. I need them.

Last but not least, I am grateful for my Savior, His sacrifice for me and the example He set.

HaPpY TuRkEy DaY EvErYoNe!

Disney on Ice...

... was FANTASTIC!

We loved every second of it.

During the scary parts Whit would pretend to cover her eyes, but she made sure she always had 1 eye poking out to make sure she didn't miss anything.

We love princesses!