Mike's Book Award Night!

Mike accepting his award, with Rylie in hand (puking on him at the same time)!
Mike, after he received his award.

Justin, Zoey, Mike, Rylie

Mike received a Book Award last term for one of his classes. A Book Award is received if you earn the highest grade in your class! I am so dang proud of my hubby! It would kill me if he knew I was posting this but I can't help it! I don't give him the praise he deserves! He works so hard in school! It doesn't come easy for him but, he is dedicated and committed to doing a good job! I know he is doing his very best! I'm so lucky that he's mine! The awards night wasn't too bad because not a ton of people were there. It was fun though because the Call's were there too because Justin had received a couple awards too. Then, they served some refreshments that were pretty yummy!!! It was a great night to honor Mike! GO MIKE GO!!!!

Abby Taylor's Birthday Party

Sundance Riding Stable

Connor loves to ride horses and has since he was little. The first time he ever rode a horse was while we were visiting some friends in Mountain Home, ID. He instantly loved it and has loved horses! We discovered the Sundance Riding Stables last year and have wanted to take Connor riding. This year we finally buckled down and have taken him. The first time we took him he rode a horse named Barney. This horse (shetland pony) was a stubborn little thing, much like Connor. That's why I think Connor loved him so much! Anyway, ever since then, any horse he sees or rides is named "Barney". If it's a black horse then it's "Black Barney". If it's a brown horse then it's "Brown Barney" and so on. It's so funny! Well, as you all know, we've been trying to get rid of his stinkin' binky!!!! We found this to be the perfect motivation for him!!!! We first told him that if he went 3 days without a binky then he could go ride horses! It worked! Then we stretched it out to 5 days! It worked again and is still working! Yay for Sundance Riding Stables! You should all check it out!

YUMMY RECIPES!!!!

Hey Everyone!

Recently I came across a website that has a ton of recipes on it. The link is: http://www.sugardoodle.net/melsrecipes/. So, I tried the Banana Bread, Breakfast Pull-Aparts, and the Macaroni Casserole. They were all DANG GOOD!!!! I totally recommend this website! It's been delicious so far and very easy! I even found a recipe for a crockpot dessert that looks like it will taste like my dutch oven cherry-chocolate cobbler! MMMMM!

I LOVE SURPRISES!!!!!

Today I went to get the mail, like I always do! I LOVE to get the mail and today reaffirmed why! I was going through our mail and came across an enveloped addressed to Mike with the return address being from the Wharton Center! HELLO!!!! Only one main thing is going on at the Wharton Center! I got home as fast as I could and excitedly asked Mike if he got Wicked tickets for my birthday!!!! HE DID!!!!! He was so disappointed though because I guess he had a plan. He was going to make Sunday, the 27th(my b-day) boring so I would think he didn't really care. Then he was gonna' surprise me by taking me to Wicked on Wednesday, the 30th. He had even set up babysitters. Well, the ticket office was supposed to hold the tickets until that night. Instead they mailed them to him. If he had known then he would've got the mail because he knows that's my routine thing to do everyday. I don't care though! I am so dang excited and can't wait to go see Wicked! It's one of my top 3 musicals and have been dying to see it!!! We're going July 30th! My husband is freakin' awesome and is so thoughtful and sweet to get these tickets! Thanks soooooooooooooo much Mike!!!!

4th of July!!!!

Cedar City, Here We Come!

I was talking to a friend today and realized I haven't offically told people where we're going for our externship! Silly me! So, after much decision making, and all that goes with it, we came to a decision on where Mike will do his externship! We'll be heading to Cedar City, UT! We lived there for the 1st year of our marriage and really enjoyed it! In fact, we lived in Ann Overson's home ward! Isn't that funny? Anyway, we're moving from Lansing on August 20th. I can't believe how soon it's coming! AAAAAGH! I HATE PACKING WITH A PASSION!!!!!! Anyway, now everyone is in the know!

Has It Begun?!?!?!?!?!

I think Rylie may be teething ALREADY!!!! Connor didn't get his first tooth until he was 10 months old so, it hasn't even crossed my mind that it might be much more different for Rylie. Well, lately she has been chewing and biting on anything in sight. It's a ferocious type of gnawing and she slobbers like crazy when she does it. She can't go 5 minutes without shoving her fingers, a blanket, or something else into her mouth to bite. Rylie has also been a lot more fussy than normal and doesn't sleep as well as she usually does! I'm thinking she's teething???? Only time will tell!

Delta Township Fireworks

Boooooooooo!

I am so bummed that DeAnna chose Jesse! We all seemed to know that it was going to happen but I was hoping & crossing my fingers that I was wrong. Grrrrr! Jesse is so weird and gives me the willies! Now Jason, he's just awesome! He seems like such a great, sweet, and loving person! GOSH!!!! I hate it when it turns out this way!

VENT MOMENT!

Have you ever seen someone you know and they know you? Then they look right at you and you say "Hey, so and so!" but they just blow you off and walk away? RUDE! RUDE! RUDE! Ok, I'm done. :)

Rylie's First 4th of July!

Rylie experienced her first 4th of July this past weekend! I think she had a good time and didn't even seem bothered by the sound of the fireworks or all the running around we did. It was so fun to have her here with us this year!

She's Got the Touch!

Since Rylie was born she has always been so happy and relaxed the second she sees Tiffany or is held by Tiffany. Tiffany has definitely got the touch with her, for sure! These two are bonded for life!

Goodbye, Graduates!!!!

(Mike, Trevor, Jim, Justin, Janee)
On June 27th, Janee threw a really fun party for the people graduating and leaving next month. I think it was so awesome of Janee to come up with that and for all the time and effort she put into it. She worked really hard, and I'm sure Dan helped out a lot too! We first had a yummy dinner with pasta bake and various salads, rolls, and other yummy treats. My personal favorites were the pasta bake, Alyson's rolls, Megan's salad, and the chocolate-dipped strawberries (bless whoever brought those). Of course, the frosting on the cake was DELICIOUS!!!! Afterwards, a few of us (Mike, myself, Scott Morgan, Sarah Betzold, and Neal Barncard) played a couple games of P-I-G & H-O-R-S-E with the basketball. It was fun to hang out with everyone, including the others who came to show support for all of us. THANKS JANEE!!!!

I can't believe that our time here is almost finished! I'll try not to get too sappy here but I just have a lot of mixed emotions with all of this! I'm very excited to be closer to family again! That will be great!!!! It will be great once we can get a job and be done with the many adventures in school. However, I have really grown to love my life here! I love where we live. I love the things there are to do. I love my routines I have everyday. I enjoy all the many friends I have come to love so much! They've become my family! No other time in our lives will we have so many people going through almost the exact same things and being able to be so supportive and understanding. It has been a GREAT experience being here and I will miss everyone dearly!

The people graduating and leaving are us, Call's, Pousson's, Terry's, Betzold's, and the Misseldine's. The funny thing is that 4 of us are all leaving basically the same day(August 20th)! We are going to UT, somewhere. The Call's are going to SLC, UT. The Pousson's are going to Arizona. The Terry's are going to Washington. The Misseldine's are going to Idaho. The Betzold's are going to Grand Rapids, I believe.

3 MONTHS OLD!!!

On June 17th, Rylie turned 3 months old!!! Time has really been flying by with her! With Connor, I can remember thinking how slowly time went by I couldn't wait for him to grow up! With Rylie it has been the exacty opposite! I love the stage she is in right now. She gets so excited when we talk to her. She starts to breathe really fast and gets a huge grin on her face, which makes her eyes just sparkle! I love her so very much! She really has brought so much fun, love, and happiness into our lives!

Congratulations David & Tiffany!!!!!!

Today my friend, Tiffany Hanks, married David Arrington! They got married in the Nauvoo Temple at 3:00pm!!! The other really neat thing that happened was Tiffany's son, Sky, was sealed to the two of them! I am so happy and excited for them!!!! I wish I could have been there to witness this special time for them. However, I hope they know I was thinking of them all day and am so proud of them both! They've really overcome a ton to get where they are today! Just a tid bit on them both: David is from Ogden, UT and has 2 kids (Cassandra & Joseph), and a really SWEET new Ford Mustang GT!!! Tiffany is from Grand Ledge and her son is Sky. They met last year and have been together ever since!!!! Tiffany really has changed for the better and has become such an amazing person since meeting David! LOVE YOUR GUTS!!!!

Day With Dad!!!

This particular day ending up being a day with dad, for Connor. They started out going swimming later in the morning. After that Mike decided to take Connor to school with him to do some office hours. So, Mike loaded up some books, crayons & paper, and some movies. Connor had a great time and really enjoyed himself. Not to mention it gave me a much needed break!

Irish Outfit!

I had to post a picture of Rylie in this cute, adorable outfit! This is one of the MANY fun outfits that Tiffany gave Rylie, after she was born! Unfortunately, this was the last time she'd be wearing it because she had grown out of it! We loved it because it was Irish and looked so cute on her! Luckily we still have another Irish outfit for her to wear.

Damage from the recent storms!

My New Do!

Thursday I got my hair colored and cut by Kim. She did an awesome job!!!! I was so nervous about the color and really wasn't sure what to do so I just looked at one, grabbed it, and we slapped it on(along w/ the blonde). I'm really excited about it and am having fun with it. Thanks Kim and sorry I was so picky and obnoxious!!!! You did an AMAZING JOB!!!!!!

Visit from "Cousin It"!!!!

I wanted to all let you know that "Cousin It" now has contacts instead of glasses. Doesn't he look great?!?!?!? Actually, it has been a major hair cutting week. This week I cut off Megan's hair, Amy's hair, and my own. The top picture is from Megan's hair, and that's not even all of what we cut off!!! The bottom picture is from Amy's head! New hair-do's are so fun!!!!! Amy and Megan both look so cute with their new hair!

Girl's Night Out!!!

A few weeks ago we had such a fun, fun girl's night out!!!! First, we went to "Oodle of Noodles" on the MSU campus. YUMMY! Then we went over to Aubrey's house for a little "Guitar Hero" and a bonfire. I had never played anything on the Wii before so I wasn't sure how it'd be. Let me just say that I AM ADDICTED!!!! It was so much fun that I didn't want to stop! The bonfire was so dang fun, yummy, and every enlightening (you girls all know what I mean)! I had such a great time!!!!! Even the ending was eventful with the cops stopping by, asking if we were sober enough to move our cars, and also by being attacked by mosquitoes.

....and then there was light!!!!!

I would like to report that at approximately 2:00am on Thursday our power was restored to us!!!! Hey! It only took them 99 hours!!! Not bad if you ask me(sarcasm, sarcasm, sarcasm)! Of course I threw out ALL OF OUR FOOD today!!!! However, I am very, very grateful to have power once again!!!

To Be Continued......

I just wanted to let everyone know that we haven't fallen off the face of the blog-earth! Due to recent storms (I sound like the telephone recording on Lansing Board of Water & Light's phone) we (us and the Call's)have been out of power since 11:00pm on Saturday. That's a totall of 73 hours and 11 minutes without electricity!!!! Holy cow!!! We've lost all the food in our refrigerator and freezer. It could be worse though! We still have gas so we have hot water and can still cook things on the stove if we light it ourselves. We've got some awesome pictures of the damage around us that I will post later on, when we have actual electricity. Luckily, we have awesome people around us who have been watching out for us, making sure that we have food, cool air to sit in, a place to do laundry, or any other needs met. We've even had a family bring us back batteries, every day, to keep the fan or fridge powered, if we need it. THANKS EVERYONE!!!! So, now we are just hoping and praying that the electricity will come on soon! TO BE CONTINUED.......

I NEED HAIR IDEAS HELP!!!!

Things have finally, somewhat, calmed down since Kim & I have had our babies. So, the time has come to beautify ourselves! The question is.....what to do with my hair???? I'm debating with the following ideas:

#1: Putting blonde highlights in again.

#2: Putting blonde highlights with a few red streaks in it.

#3: Putting blonde highlights with a few red/violet streaks in it.

#4: Just going back to dark again.

What does everyone think? Help!!! Although I'd like to cut my hair into another A-line, but more drastic, I'm thinking of just trimming it right now so I can ponytail my hair for the summer since it gets so hot. So, that's the other dilema. Should I?:

A: Trim it only

B: Go back to a shorter A-line

If everyone could give me their thoughts or any other ideas then that would be AWESOME!!!!