Finally...Changes...

25 April 1998

On this day 10 years ago, we had our first of two wedding receptions, this one was at the ward building, and we called it an "open house". It was really nice, and we had a ton of people show up, many who I barely knew from Dana's parents friends. They were so generous, and now I know all of them, and can remember them from that day.
A funny thing about that day, is that we had our invitations printed up a month and a half before, you know, ready to send out, and then we found out that President Hinckley was coming here to announce a Temple- on the same day and time as our Open House!! Quick, print up a change in time sticker for the beautiful invite card and insert before sending them out! That is what I did for over 200 invitations! We just changed the time to the evening, so everyone could go see our beloved Prophet. It was an amazing day! I loved seeing him, and then going to our celebration all dressed in my dress again! I loved it, and this time my hair is up- thanks, Renee, and Jen for letting me borrow her head piece! Here are a few pictures, and also pictures from our second reception on 2 May 1998. This one was held at the Catholic Church we went to when I was a kid- they have a huge hall that we went and decorated and had one terrific party! It was a total blast, and I will never forget it! My parents out did themselves and we had such fun!

This cake was the cake from the Open House, and now, thinking about it, I wouldn't choose to put such a huge temple on top, but we didn't have anything else that week. After that, Dana's sister, Esther and her husband, Jeremy bought us the glass version, which went on our cake for the reception. We love it! OH, and Dana smeared the cake in my face, both times! I didn't get a chance to get him- he thought this was hilarious, and I did not! I was not happy with him, but I did get over it, and trust me, if it were today, he would've never gotten away with that!

This the second cake, (I totally loved designing 2 different cakes- so lucky!) is more formal, I think, and more elegant, you can't see the pearls cascading around, but they were so beautiful- and the cake was yummy! It wasn't a year later, when we attempted to eat it- and I would not recommend trying it to newlyweds, either! Our cake lady even wrapped it up for us, swearing it would be delicious, but she was wrong, it was no where near edible! Still, I love this picture.

Okay, let me explain this photo...when I was growing up, my dad had a jukebox in our basement (he still does), and C3 on it was "Paradise by the Dashboard Lights" ,by Meatloaf, and I used to love to sing that! Okay, up until a few years ago, yes, not too long ago, I didn't know what the song was about! Okay, I get it, I am naive, but I seriously didn't! It was just fun to sing, and so my dad and I used to sing it for fun! Well, the DJ turned this on, and the show began! We sang our hearts out and people are still talking about it today! It was great, and my dad was fabulous! People were crying, one because it was hilarious, and two because it was a father/daughter moment that will never be relived- it couldn't have been better. I cherish this picture and remember that song from good old childhood days, before I knew how it totally isn't a father/daughter song!! Oh well, it was still worth it!

Dana was "dancing crazy man" at our reception- and people totally thought he had been drinking! It was a tad embarrassing, I must say, but he remembers it as a great time! Check out Es dancing along too- it must run in the family!!

I love this picture, and it is framed in our living room. It was our first dance, to Celine's "Because you loved me", and I still love looking at it.

Okay, no more wedding posts, I promise! Just wanted those for posterity! Hope you got a good laugh!

One Heck of a Hair Day- the Good, the Bad and the Ugly!

Today started out great!! I was so excited for the afternoon when Celeste got her first haircut! Here is the before, and you see why it needed a fresh cut...the curls are darling, I admit, but it was growing in a V shape and therefore needed a straight cut so it will grow together...so here is the after too...Here are the during shots too...she was so cute and so patient- she never whined or complained or even made yucky faces! I was so proud of her!



Add to top off this great haircut- SHE WENT POTTY TOO!! Yep, that's right, she actually went by herself in the potty! Talk about exciting! So much so, that I forgot to take a picture, but don't worry, I won't forget tomorrow when we hopefully continue on this remarkable path of potty success!

Okay, so onto the bad....oh, the bad....it is sooooo bad....you still want to know?! Really? I don't think you do...it is yucky bad...so gross bad...it's LICE!! Yes, yes, yes, it is lice, Leah has lice! I am not kidding, and tears are welling up, so yes, I am serious! I can hardly believe it has happened to us- she is such a little girl to have to deal with lice! A letter came home a couple of weeks ago from the nurse that someone in her class had it, but I really didn't even know what to look for, since her hair is so light colored. I seriously would not have known had we not gone to Renee's to get her hair cut today- she noticed the nits (I know, so disgusting), and right away and helped me cope for the next several hours as this unfolded into reality for me! I was horrified, and still am in shock, but what can I do? Well, we got the lice medication and did the 3 step treatment that took over 2 hours! Here is my sweet little Leah being so patient and wonderful as I raked this tiny comb through every single follicle of her head. It was not fun for her, but she knew it was necessary. I love that little girl- she was just terrific, and knows that next week we will have to repeat it all- yes, that's right, we have to do this all over AGAIN! After a final rinse, my baby went to bed, and we will check her in the morning- say a little prayer that it is over- I know I am! I was so wrapped up in the moment of disgust, that I forgot to take a photo of Leah's new haircut too, but you know that it is adorable!

In the morning, I get the great joy of calling the school to say that it is MY daughter that has lice! Lucky me! I tried to do a little damage control tonight by calling those I knew she had been around recently- that was fun, too- what stinks is that we shower her everyday, and yet we get the nasty buys infesting our house....remember the fleas...it is that and then some...will it ever end?! I can't take much more of this, I am losing what little is left of my mind!

Is your head itching, because mine is!

More Pasta, Please...

I am not a short order cook! I make dinner, and that is dinner! On exception, if I make soup, I do make something else for the children, but other than that, nope. Things have been that way forever...so, along comes a picky toddler- who knew?! This sweet, darling, fun-loving, superman singing two year old is only in love with pasta! She hardly consumes any dinner unless it involves some type of noodle-preferrably with red sauce-great! As if she is wasting away to nothing, (she's not), these are some pics of her with her favorite food...oh, and we seriously only have pasta 1 to 2 max nights a week, so the little darling is otherwise starving- can't you tell?!

Or here with Mac and Cheese, a second favorite...




Try not to pay attention to the crazy hair- she had pulled her pretties out after her nap, and would not let me put them back in! She is getting her first haircut tomorrow!! I will post some before and afters- I am sooo excited!!

An Awesome Anniversary!

So, for our Anniversary, Dana surprised me (I sort of knew there would be some covert operation involved, since he had a baseball game that day on the other side of town!), with several unexpected things...

for one, he bought me a new camera!! Yah!! I was so excited (he actually gave it to me earlier in the week), because since I dropped ours, it hasn't worked that well..it still took pictures, but without zoom, or being able to use any features, including viewing them! I thought it would hold out for a while, but I am so happy that he seized the opportunity to buy me a new one! And all the next pictures are from the new camera, and I am seriously amazed at the difference!

second, he got me an hour LaStone Massage from Kenneth's! I am really excited about this one! I love going to the spa, but it is so expensive, so I don't get them that often...sad, huh? Well, I have always wanted to try the stones, so he again, took it upon himself to get me that, too! He is going to take a day off in May so I can go...for sure I will post about that!

third, he arranged for my mom to take ALL 3 kids for the ENTIRE NIGHT and book us a suite at the Hampton! Are you kidding? Time alone from all 3 kids? What on earth will we do?! Well, it was great! We realized we had not stayed alone from all three kids in a hotel since we were married! We once stayed away when Alex was 18 months in Palmyra, but that hardly counts... We first went to dinner at Cheeseburger in Paradise, so fun, and check out the yummy sweet potato chips we got! Here we are at dinner...

Delicious, and we ate the entire basket!

After dinner we checked into our suite, which my mom had so sweetly put this out for us before we got there... she is so thoughtful!

Since no one was at the pool and hot tub, we went there first...and since we were alone, the rest of the pictures are one-armed...and they remind me of ones we took when we were first dating...kind of funny!

Okay, after that, since it was 10 o'clock and we were childless, we left the hotel!! That's right- we left and went to get ice cream! Come on- when do you ever get to leave the house at 10pm with your spouse?! This never happens, so we took advantage! Here we are at UDF with our yummy dessert! One armed shots can be interesting...

I didn't get a picture of the free continental breakfast that we had, but it was fantastic! I have never seen such a spread of food for free! Dana brought back 2 full plates of things to choose from! It was good, too. After we checked out, we went to the mall and did some shopping for ourselves! We didn't even go into the children's sections! Amazing for me! I got new sunglasses and a shirt, and sadly, Dana found nothing, but it was fun to be at the mall without our kids, too! That too, never happens for us! It overall was a super anniversary, and it was so nice to be just us- don't get me wrong, I missed the kids and wanted to call and check on them...it was the first time we have left Celeste overnight! She did amazing, since it was Grandma, of course! We picked them up after lunch, and they were so exhausted that they crashed in the van on the drive home! Now that made it even better!

Are you wondering what I got Dana for our Anniversary? Well, if you are married, you know husbands are easy...it doesn't take much! Actually I think he is going to get golf lessons this summer, so he has something tangible too! He was happy nonetheless!

One Fine Day!

10 years today! Wow, I am having a hard time comprehending that life can really pass by that quickly! It's a good thing I have stopped and smelled the tulips-I see the beauty in life through this journey Dana and I are taking together and with our three beautiful children.
We are so blessed...here was our 1st blessed day together, 18 April 1998.

We were married at 10am- yes, 10am- who does that?! You guessed it, Dana picked the time!

The flowers were so gorgeous that day! I remember that we went back to DC for our 1st anniversary the following year, and the flowers weren't even half as beautiful!

I loved my dress- the back was my very favorite part- I always wanted a long train, and it was so beautiful to me...when it was bustled, it was also very nice- I really loved being the center of attention!

The embellishments on the pictures are because I scanned them from my scrapbook...so they look more appropriate in the book. You can't see it well in this picture, but our family blew bubbles during these shots...and the credit for all the photos goes to Keith, the fabulous husband of my best friend, Jen- they traveled with us and took them for us for free! We so love them!

I find myself drawn to this picture, because I remember looking and smiling the whole time we were there, and when I saw this, I thought it summed up my feeling from that moment. I love that boy!

After you think to yourself how young we look, you can focus on the image of the temple in the background...this is a remote spot off to the side of the path, where a bench is that a man had placed there after his wife passed away- they used to visit this spot all the time-it is a sacred, sweet place that not many people know about- but some of our best shots we took here. The funny side of this,is that Dana's sister, Annie is graciously on her knees, hiding behind us, holding up my train so it didn't get dirty- thank you, Annie!

With our loving parents who sacrificed tremendously for us- not just for that day, but throughout our lives- we are very grateful.

I was and still am "Daddy's Girl"- and I love that relationship more than I can say.

We had so many friends and family travel with us for our wedding in DC- my future Sister-in-law, Stephanie, my friends Alicia and Tina, Cassandra, Mary and Scott, Tish and Abe, Jen and Keith- it was truly a day to remember and certainly ONE FINE DAY!

The beginning of forever for us!

How I Met Your Father...

Okay, so our 10 year Anniversary is Friday, but before I post about that, I thought I would give you a little background of how we came to be....

I had just finished my Freshman year at OSU, (remember my list of random things, #13?, well, let's just say, it was great that part of the year was over!). I moved home for the summer, and began looking for a job. I needed to save money up so I could pay rent, now that I was to be living off-campus in an apartment with my best friend Jen. My childhood friend, Stephanie was working at Cracker Barrel, not too far away, and suggested I get a job there. I was working part-time at Record Town at the mall, but needed more hours, so I applied at CB (affectionately called "the Crack House"). I was hired to be a cashier for $5.75 an hour- this was a huge increase from my RT job, which paid only $5 per hour! I eventually got more hours at the CB, so I left Rt- not that important, but thought I would mention anyway.

I was working the early morning shift (why, I have no idea, I am not a morning person,), but I had to be there at 5:45 and work until 2pm! This went on for a few weeks, and eventually I got to work afternoons and evenings, which was the beginning of the end...just kidding!

One day I was working an evening shift and noticed that some food checks were coming up with a signature of "Dana" on the back (servers sign each one!), and so I asked one of my co-workers who "Dana" was, (thinking it was a girl, of course, but seeing a male's handwriting). She said, "oh, he is a night server". Okay, that's all? Well, I never really saw him that day, since servers don't always come to the front of the store where cashiers are, so I kind of forgot about him. I found a friend, Dave who was a server and a host, who was also cute, in a goofy sort of way- so I started hanging out with him...but soon found out he was just a partier, but fun nonetheless-(we remained friends for a long time- he was a great guy). At the same time, I started only working nights, so eventually, I saw "Dana" for the first time, and I thought , "man, he is really cute!" He had this blonde, blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes...he was always smiling and laughing, and was a really good server. He noticed me too, and so began this awkward, "hi, how are you" kind of conversation you have when you first meet someone. Weird!

My friend, Stephanie, who got me the job was also dating a co-worker, Karl, and they were going over to Steve's (another server) apartment after work August 3, 1994 to hang out. It was late already when the party would begin- CB closed at 11pm! This was going to be a late evening. I didn't have a car, so I relied on Stephanie to drive me to and from work (she was great), and since she was leaving with Karl, I needed a ride- so, since Karl and Steve knew (thanks to Stephanie) that I thought Dana was "cute", they told Dana that I needed a ride home (remember that we have only spoken one time), so he came and asked me if I needed a ride. I politely said, "no, I am okay". I was NOT okay, but how could I accept a ride from a perfectly cute stranger (I have said yes before...remember #13)...so I declined, so I drove home Stephanie's car to my parents house. Let me back up...Steve, our fixer-upper friend, told Dana I asked for his phone number (I did NOT), so he handed that to me before I left. When I got home, I told my parents I was going out- this did not make them that happy, remember I said it was late...well, I picked up the phone, and dialed Dana's number. I quickly hung up. I dialed again, and his little sister, Annie picked up the other end. I asked if Dana was there. She said, "Dana, phone, it's a girl!" He said, "hello", I said, "hey, it's Kelly, from CB". He said, "hey". I nonchalantly asked him if he was going to Steve's tonight. He said he was (though now he says he only went because I called him-) again, the beginning of the end...

I got there and everyone from work had gone there- he lived up north of campus, and his apartment had a nice outside area (though now I would never set foot there, too scary, but that is where Dana proposed, awwwww)....anyway, I just kind of chit-chatted with others from work, while Dana didn't approach me at all! I told Steve that I thought Dana was being rude not talking to me, so he said I should just start talking to him...sooooooo, I did, and we talked for a long, long time. It was 3am when we left Steve's apartment! Late, late, far too late! But we had a good time, and though I have no idea what we talked about, I remember feeling something different with him than any other guy I had ever spent time with. He followed me home, getting terribly lost in not a good area of town, until we reached my parents. He said he would call me the next day, and to be honest, I didn't think he would follow through, BUT...

He did, and we spent the next days and weeks and months together....

He asked me to marry him in September 1995, and then in March 1996, he left for 2 years in Chile, got home 18 February 1998, and we were married 18 April 1998.

That was then... This is now... We've come a long way!

Friend or Foe Revisited...

Okay, so I have been tracking my body fat count for 3 months now, keeping a tally on the right hand side of the page, under "countdown". Well, I have been trying to lower it, by exercising regularly, and eating less fat. If you have been following, or can see from the list, it has not been working! The scale instructions say you can lose 10% in 3 months by doing these two things! I was very excited, since I started at a whopping 30%!! I know, it doesn't make much sense, but the numbers have been very consistent, and I have NOT dropped 10%! After running this morning, I weighed in and checked the body fat, and it said 27.8%! That calculates to less than 3% in 3 months! I am disillusioned! Oh well, I guess I will stop torturing myself by checking all the time- it hasn't made much difference so far! I am gearing up for my first 5K in May, so I am running more and doing more strength training...we'll see in a month or so if it has made any difference! No worries either way, I am not using it as a tool to help me feel or look healthy- rest assured, but I have to admit that I was hoping it would be more...oh well...

Chapter 38

I found a few more pictures from our Spring Break with Popi that I wanted to post about. The pictures from the park are from Thursday, and check out what the men are doing...they do this more often than you think! The kids, of course, love the park and we had fun!

Here are a few pictures of the boys playing some basketball in our driveway this week too! I think they had fun, but Popi had a little too much, because he hurt his knee and couldn't golf the next day!! He did recover, because he and Dana golfed the day after that! Still, fun times...