Zack and Ems

Caught in the Act!

2012-02-15T16:36:00.000-07:00

It was quiet the other morning so I went on a search for Miss Elise. Here's where I found her!

Needless to say, we have kept the bathroom door closed at all times! Love that little girl!

Be My Valentine

2012-02-14T10:09:00.000-07:00

For Zack,

"So won't you be my honey bee

giving me kisses all the time

be mine, be my Valentine"

XOXO

Wifey

Swinging in the Snow!

2012-01-27T16:26:00.000-07:00

I decided to take advantage of the nice winter day today and take Elise to the park!! We haven't been in such a long time and I knew that both of us would have so much fun :) Looks like I was right!

Here is my adorable little snow bunny!

Climbing all over!!

Mom and Elise

Last, here is a video of Elise in the swing just loving life! She is such a talker and loves to laugh! I hope that is a trait that will always continue!

My Guilty Pleasure....a little Japanese drama

2012-01-27T11:35:00.000-07:00

I have been sucked into watching a Japanese drama. It is called Hana Yori Dango which means Boys over Flowers. Sounds like a show you want to watch, right?! This was a very popular show while Zack served his mission in Japan and was able to finally see it when he got home. I was able to see the first two episodes of this show probably 10 times before I was able to see the entire show.

So here's what it is about- The main girl is named Makino Tsukushi (or is it Tsukushi Makino?). She comes from a poor family but goes to a very rich and ritzy high school. The school is ruled by a group of four senior boys who call themselves the F4. You don't want to mess with the F4. Each boy in the F4 comes from a very wealthy and powerful family. Through a series of events the leader of F4 begins to like Makino and the story begins to unfold with the following: love triangles, unapproving mothers, memory loss, and lots and lots of non-verbal communication which ruins everything.

It has been a lot of fun to watch these with Zack and hear all the Japanese and see how they interact. The Japanese people are always overly kind and seem to always skirt around the issues. They also rarely have much physical contact at all. Another thing they do is run the same songs over and over and over again. Every episode- same four songs. You can check out a few of them down below. Some are pretty catchy I must say!

Candles and Cake

2012-01-20T11:01:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was my 26th birthday. I can harldy believe it myself! Is it just me or does everyone always feel like they are a good 5 years younger than they really are? Granted the whole kid thing puts on a few years but generally I still feel like I'm only 21.

The day itself wasn't all that eventful. It was your typical day! That is the problem with getting older. Your mom doesn't get to come to school with treats for everyone, your friends don't decorate your locker, you don't get checked out of school to go to lunch. You don't skip all your college classes that day to sleep in until noon and do nothing. It's just not the same. That being said I wouldn't trade anything for where I am at in my life right now! I have a wonderful, hard working and most important- good looking husband and a baby that I couldn't love any more if I tried.

Zack took me shopping for some new birthday clothes and I'll have to show you those in another post later. We are also planning on going out to dinner tomorrow to celebrate again. All of Zack's friends at school offer to watch Elise all the time! They think she is the cutest baby- and who could argue? So we might take them up on it and enjoy some time just the two of us!

We finished off the night with this little beauty. It is a Chocolate Mousse Crunch Cake- recipe found here. I was quite proud of myself! I made the mousse from scratch as well as the ganache- that's right I made a ganache! It isn't very difficult either!

Paying Tribute

2012-01-19T15:25:00.000-07:00

My Grandpa Galbraith (96) passed away today. I have a thousand memories swirling around in my head of him. He will be greatly missed. I'm so grateful that I was able to see him one last time over Christmas. He has left a wonderful legacy for our family and we will miss him dearly! It is times like these that I am so thankful that families are forever. We love you Grandpa!

M1 Reception

2012-01-17T16:23:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was really fun! Friday night we got a babysitter for Miss Elise and we headed downtown to the University Club for a reception that was held in honor of all the M1 students. We were able to car pool with the Lindsays.

It was especially nice since it was free dinner and drinks! Other people were glad that we gave away our free drink tickets for the bar. We had a great time feeling like a 10-year-old's ordering things like a Shirley Temple (cherry sprite). I was excited to know that soda was totally free!! You better believe that put down several :) It was fun to have a date night out with Zack and to meet a lot of his school friends that I hadn't seen before.

Saturday Zack took me out shopping for my birthday! He was so great- he already knew what he wanted to get for me but he took me along to try things on for size so that I wouldn't have to exchange them later. I had a great time being spoiled- thanks babe!

Now if only the Packers had won it would have been a perfect weekend!

Elise's 1 year Stats!

2012-01-13T13:09:00.001-07:00

(Let's pretend that my arm is photoshopped out)

Elise had her 12 mos. check up! Here are her stats!

Weight: 19 lbs. 15.5 oz. (60%)

Length: 30 1/4 inches (80%)

We were also told that the poor girl has thrush and a yeast infection. I didn't know babies could get a yeast infection- but they can! We were given a special cream for the yeast infection. When the Doctor saw the thrush in her mouth he went to grab his 4 in. thick pediatritian book to show me that he wasn't lying about the treatment! Apparently to treat thrush in the mouth you are to take 1/2 tsp. of baking soda and mix that with 1-2 drops of liquid detergent (yes, soap!!) mix together and then put it on a cotton swab to rub around the inside of the child's mouth! Super weird! Anyone else have experience with thrush??

She also had to have 2 shots and then be tested for lead poisoning. Poor girl- she had to be poked at all day long!

Bath Time!

2012-01-13T12:04:00.001-07:00

While we were home in Utah I was able to break Elise free of her fear of the "big tub". Our bathtub here in Wisconsin doesn't have a plug and when I bought one of the rubber plugs from the hardware store she would figure out how to un-plug it! So until we were in Ut she kept having baths in her pink infant tub!

The first time I put her in the big tub she was very scared of all the space and freedom and just cried while I quickly washed her off. She normally loves bath time so I knew that it had to be the tub. After some cool toys and convincing from mom she came around and now loves to "swim" around and spash. We even had a pool party with her other cousins! What cute girls!

Elise turns 1!

2012-01-06T10:39:00.002-07:00

I can't believe that a year has passed since Elise was born! I know that everyone says it- but it is true! Our sweet daughter turned one on December 29th. It was so special for us to be in Utah with all of our family to celebrate with. Here are a few things that our one-year-old is up to lately:

-She climbs on everything! Loves to pull herself up to tables and slap her hands on them.
-Laughs when you cough or sneeze. She thinks it is hilarious!
-She LOVES other kids. Anytime she sees them she starts giggling and kicking her legs.
-Hasn't always been the best sleeper but has started to sleep through the night once again-hooray!
-Has 4 teeth with more working their way through.
-Still has lots of beautiful brown locks.
-Is quite the chatterbox. No real words yet except Mama and Dada but loves to just talk all day long.
-Likes music and enjoys bouncing up and down to it when she hears it playing.
-If I had to guess her favorite color, I would say yellow because she is always more drawn to those toys. Maybe because it is so bright?
-Loves to play peek-a-boo and clap her hands.
-She is a very social and happy girl. If we are in a big group and everyone else laughs, she will start to crack up with you too! It is so fun!

I don't have any of her yearly check-up stats since we haven't gone to the doctor because we are still in UT. When I get back to Wisconsin we will take her in to get all checked out!

We celebrated her birthday with my side of the family while we were away at a snowmobile trip up in Bear River, Utah. I had been planning the theme of her birthday-circus theme- for months and I couldn't wait to finally put the show on! We had a great time and I was surprised at how much I loved celebrating Elise! I was so excited to see her react to her gifts, how she would do with us singing to her, and how she would "attack" her cake! We had a great time and I think it's safe to say all the cousins did too!

Here is a view of the all the circus decor! I was quite proud of myself!
I got all of the decorations from Dimple Prints

Close up of the cake and cupcakes as well as some other party food. I made the cake and it is supposed to be a carousel. I used straws and then frosted some circus animal crackers to it with a colored plate as the top. That was a cake my mom made for me years ago, and I decided to replicate it.

We also had some jumbo gumballs on the table and it took Elise .03 seconds to find them and lodge them in her mouth. Is she not the cutest thing you have ever seen??

Our family with the birthday girl! She was given that outfit for Christmas. When I saw it I knew she HAD to have it. Or at least I did...

She opened some of her gifts too! Here she is with her new blocks!

When she opened her doll out of the box she grabbed it and put it up to her face all on her own! This is not a posed photo. It just melts my heart- I love it!

She got a darling book from Ryan and Becky- thanks guys!

And what birthday would be complete without cake?! We gave her a healthy helping of chocolate cake and she knew just what to do with it!

I can't believe how much our lives have changed in the past year and I wouldn't have traded it for anything! We love you so much Elise and look forward to the many more birthdays we will get to celebrate with you! Happy Birthday darling girl!

Christmas Morning

2011-12-29T10:48:00.000-07:00

Since we split up Christmas Eve and Christmas day, things get a bit tricky for our family. Especially this year because Christmas fell on a Sunday. We had to decide where to do stocking and Santa gifts, where to go to Church, and when we would re-unite with the rest of the Galbraith family.

We got up and got Elise ready for church and then opened our stockings. I laughed because this is probably the first and last time that Elise will be up and bathed and in a dress on Christmas morning. Either way she still looks adorable :) Here are some pictures from her first Christmas:

She seemed to think that all these items in a stocking were pretty cool! Her stocking was filled with toy keys, a ball, finger puppets, baby spoons, freeze dried apples, and an orange. It was so cute to see her face filled with wonder and confusion as to what to do with all of it and if it was hers!

Yes, I was also there. Zack didn't want any pictures taken of him but I was willing to act stupid and model my new sunglasses (4th pair this year!! I hope these last longer!). We both had a great Christmas morning! Everything changes when you have kids and celebrate the holidays. It changes in such a good way! We were so excited to see how Elise would react to everything. It was a great day!

Christmas Eve

2011-12-29T08:34:00.000-07:00

We spent Christmas Eve with Zack's family and we had a great time! One of my favorite traditions that they do on the Pugh side is to sing Christmas carols. Zack's mom plays the piano and we all gather round and sing so many fun songs!

Here is my MIL Linda at the piano surrounded by some of her granddaughters.

More candid snapshots of everyone singing.

Elise would get sick of all the singing and we would find her in the closet under the stairs. Here she is holding her own with the boys playing with the Lego's. (But more likely eating them.)

Here are Zack and I with our "sibling gifts" that we exchanged with Zack's brothers and sisters. Our niece got a little excited with Zack's present and decided she would help him open it!! We got some great things and had so much fun seeing what everyone else ended up with too! We had a wonderful dinner, singing, nativity and gift giving. It was the perfect way to spend Christmas Eve!

Home for the Holidays

2011-12-29T08:16:00.000-07:00

Sorry for my hiatus from the blogging world!! I kept thinking about posting but in the early weeks of December nothing was happening and then when I got to UT too much was going on! It will take several posts to catch you up with all of the fun we have been having-but here is the first!

It doesn't take long for Elise to find the stairs anywhere she goes! It is by far her favorite thing! She will be entertained for hours on here but that also means that I get my workout for the day! She knows how to go up but not down so I have to keep a close eye on her. She sure does love it!

She had a blast playing with ALL the toys at Grandma Galbraith's house! She loved the talking Winnie-the-Pooh phone. She laughed and giggled at it all day long.

She has had all sorts of junk food and treats that come with Christmastime!

We pulled out my old tickle me Elmo for Elise and she loved it! What a precious picture! I love this one!

Here she is trapping herself in small spaces. What a goof- we love this girl!

Told you she loved this phone! It is pretty great :) It is going to be so hard to go back to Wisconsin after all of the fun we have been having with family!

Christmas Day

2011-12-27T14:09:00.034-07:00

We were able to spend Christmas day with my family. We had a wonderful time opening gifts, eating yummy food, and playing games together. This is where Zack and I did most of our gift opening and we had to wait until about 2pm to do it! Even though I am not a kid anymore I was dying to get in there and open my presents!!! I still get excited :)

Here is our family by the tree! We were so excited! We decided to let Elise start us off and we had to let her open her biggest gift first. It turned out to be a new stroller since her other one was stolen!

For Zack this was his clothes Christmas! He already has everything he needs (we both do!) and so we decided to gear him up with lots and lots of warm clothes for him to walk back and forth from school in.

My big gift this year was the Kindle Fire. I have been wanting a kindle for years now but couldn't rationalize spending the money on one because I never buy books- I always check them out from the library. With the kindle fire you can check out ebooks and get apps, surf the web, play music, etc. I was sold!! I knew Zack was getting it for me so I couldn't wait until Christmas for me to get my new toy!! I am so glad I got it! I use it all the time- and it is awesome to use as my scriptures at church too.

One of my favorite things that Elise got was her "Birthday Girl" outfit. I know that it is something she really will only wear once, but I couldn't resist getting it for her. It is so cute!

Our whole family was able to be in town this year and it was so much fun to be together. My brother Ryan and his wife, Becky, are big time gamers! They brought a new game called Telestrations. It is a little bit like pictionary mixed with the telephone game. We had a lot of fun and laughed hard as we played. It was a great Christmas!

Thankful

2011-11-25T09:04:00.001-07:00

We were fortunate enough to have been invited to spend Thanksgiving with the Spencer family. Zack and Brian Spencer were roommates for 2 years at BYU. Brian lives in Iowa and we were able to meet in the middle at his parents home in Illinois.

We had a wonderful time eating a beautiful meal with all the usual trimmings. I even ate some Thanksgiving side dishes that I always thought I hated and surprise- I actually liked them! Who knew?! Guess I am growing up! We also had great company to visit with and wonderful toys for Elise to put in her mouth.

Elise spent most of the evening perfecting going up the stairs. She is a pro! Ask her to go down the stairs and you'll probably end up at the ER. We don't have any stairs in our apartment so we will have to work on that when we are home for Christmas!

Above all, Thanksgiving is a great time to be reminded of how blessed we truly are. We are so thankful, above all, for family; For our small family of 3 and for all our family members spread out across the country. We are grateful for Zack and all the hard HARD work he does in medical school. We are grateful for our health. We are grateful to have the knowledge of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Even when times our tough (and I could write a gripe post all about that!) it is always good to have an entire day to remind you of how lucky you are and all the many blessings we have been given. From the Pugh family to yours, we hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Holiday Prep!

2011-11-21T16:28:00.000-07:00

I have been getting things ready for the upcoming holidays! Here is some of the work I've been doing lately!

I found these stockings and the tutorial on (where else?!) Pinterest. I think they turned out very cute and I loved how easy and simple the tutorial was. I didn't even make a mistake...which for me is a miracle! If you need stockings this is a great way to go!

I also made this adorable little turkey onesie for Elise to wear! I was able to use all scraps from my quilt! I love that the colors are perfect for fall :) Can't wait for the holidays to be here!

One year older and wiser too!

2011-11-15T08:48:00.001-07:00

Zack turned 26 yesterday. We had a great time celebrating it with a few of his good friends from school.

Amy (holding Elise), Zack and Hemel

Zack was able to break away from his busy busy school schedule to come home a bit earlier and enjoy praises, food, and of course cake! I'm not sure what his wish was but he did get all the candles out in one shot- so it's bound to come true right?!

He is much wiser in the past year that has transpired! He has learned the following in his 25th year:

-how to get into medical school

-how to fill up gas in a u-haul truck

-that Wyoming, Nebraska and Iowa are not places he ever wants to live

-how to change poopy diapers

-how to make a girl laugh on cue

-how to be a wonderful father

-he became the Dominion master

-Washing off the cadaver smell is not always easy

-how to ace biochemistry and anatomy

-that cramming 8lbs. of food in your mouth at one time is possible

-Moving 2 times in one year is NO FUN

-being the head microscopist is tough work

-how to graduate in Physiology and Developmental Biology

-and best of all how to keep these two crazy girls just as in love with him as the day we met him :)

Confessions of a Craftaholic

2011-11-11T11:48:00.002-07:00

In my current thoughts of airplane travel I saw a tray table play mat on this blog here. I decided it was a wonderful idea! I took it and ran with it! I had all sorts of extra fabric and scraps lying around so I didn't even need to take a trip to the fabric store. I may be a bit biased, but I think I improved a bit on the original design I found. I am really happy with how things turned out!

I put little "taggies" along the sides for Elise to tug and play at. The white ribbon you see tied in a bow is so it will stay attached to the tray table. That side seam is left open so you can slide the cover on and then secure it with the ties. The pumpkin face and counting beads are the side you will see when the tray is in the "upright position". I realize that not every activity is something that Elise can really do right now, but give her two years and she'll be there!

I had a lot of fun with this project because other than the dimensions I got from the other blog, I had total creative liberty! I could pick the activities and the size and placement of everything. It took me most of yesterday but I did finish it in one day :) The above photo shows you the opening so it can fit around the tray. I put a small cookie sheet in it to test it out! I can't wait to try it out for real!

In other craft news; I also started working on the party favors for Elise's birthday. It will be a circus theme (I'm SO excited about it!!!). I found a candy mold with circus animals and then bought a big box of crayola crayons and melted them away until they turned into these awesome animal crayons! They aren't the colors I was hoping for, but I love them all the same! Can't wait to give them to the kiddos!

And finally this is my marble maze I am making in part of a busy bag swap. It was a simple project and I'm almost done with all of them to send away! I don't know if you can tell but in this picture the marble is in the bottom right corner and you move it along the sewed lines to get to the other side. Simple, easy! The best kind of craft!

Tots & Travel

2011-11-09T09:04:00.000-07:00

In a desperate attempt to not re-create this cartoon above, I'm here to ask for tips for traveling with an infant. We fly out to Utah (hooray!) in mid-December and I'm looking for any advice my fellow bloggers might have. Things I'm wondering now include: Elise doesn't actually have her own seat...how does that work? Do I bring her to the gate in her car seat? Does that count as luggage? What about a car seat base? Her stroller...do I have to pay to check that? It is just me and Elise on the flight, Zack will join us later. I will be bringing a busy bag full of activities to hopefully keep her occupied and entertained as well as food. I could bring a laptop with some Baby Einstein DVD's- is that a good idea? Let me know :) Thanks in advance for the help. Here's to a happy and safe holiday travel season!

Everyday Elise

2011-11-07T20:10:00.001-07:00

Here are a few random pictures of Elise in some funny and cute day to day experiences.

Her hair is getting so long! We have to put a bow in it everyday or it would get in her eyes! I had some fun during bath time and gave her a cute little mow hawk. She enjoyed it as well :)

I caught her smiling at herself in the mirror the other day. This made me smile. I hope she will always have good self esteem about her beauty- because she is beautiful.

Big smile behind the binkie as we played at the park.

We had stake conference yesterday and were (of course) late. We didn't even bother looking for seats since it was so packed and just hung out in the foyer listening. Elise loved having all the space to crawl and playing the other disruptive children.

Daddy was helping her steady her bottle. Had to snap a picture of how cute this was! And I promise we were listening to MOST of the conference!!!

In other news I realized I never post Elise's stats on here and thought I would for memorys sake-
Height: 29 1/4 inches 95% Who knew she was so tall?!
Weight: 18 lbs 10.5 oz. 60%
Head: 43 1/4 cm 25%

She is getting so big! I can't believe she'll be one before we know it!

Trick or Treat!

2011-11-07T19:58:00.000-07:00

Original title, I know. We were able to take Elise trick-or-treating at the medical college this year. All of the offices went all out in decorating to make it look great. It was fun to take her to a place that is warm and inside- I don't know if future years here will give us snow on Halloween but I'm happy to know that we can always have the school to go to :) Elise was a skeleton this year! I'm sorry to say we didn't dress up :( I was a party pooper! I normally like to but just didn't get around to it.

Zack would hold Elise and she'd reach into the candy bowl and grab some. She would always grab out 2 pieces of candy in one hand. We didn't even teach her to do that- we are so proud ha ha.

Taking in her spoils! It was a lot of fun to take her out and show her off. I know that holidays and traditions will only get more fun as she gets bigger. Happy Halloween everyone!

Boo at the Zoo!

2011-10-31T08:07:00.001-06:00

On Saturday I was invited to go to the zoo with some friends. The zoo was all decked out with lights and sounds for Halloween. They had several trick or treat spots along the way. It was a lot of fun to get out of the house and check out some spooky animals!

The Stroller gang! Melanie and Sadie, Necia and Ellie, Me and Elise. If you click on this picture you can see Elise and Ellie grabbing hands! So cute- I didn't notice until I uploaded the photo.

Many of the animals were given pumpkins inside of their cages. It was interesting to see which animals touched them, devoured them, and had nothing to do with them. Milwaukee Zoo has some great animals. Definitely a step up from Hogle Zoo. They have lion cubs right now too but they weren't out for display while we visited :(

Here are some fish from the Amazon!

Elise went in her pink skeleton Halloween costume. I didn't get a great picture of it on Saturday, but I will soon!! Happy haunting everyone!

Grandma Marie comes to visit!

2011-10-30T22:13:00.000-06:00

As seen in my other posts, my mom came to visit! One day we headed out to Lake Michigan to check out the beach and have a picnic lunch! It was a lot of fun.

I love this picture!! Elise is SO delighted. I'm not sure if it is my mom or the wind or what, but she was loving something. Cute!

Me and my best girl! Lake Michigan is the largest of the great lakes and man it is huge! If I didn't know any better I would have thought it was an ocean! We tested out the water and it was cold but I would have happily slapped on wet suit and jumped in if that meant I could have gone water skiing :)

Around dinner time we went to a family farm called Apple Holler. It is about 30 minutes south of Milwaukee. I had heard from many ward member that this is a great place to go, so we decided to check it out.

We had a fun time looking at all the baby animals. Elise really liked the baby goats. She laughed at them and was very intrigued by them.

Another great picture of Elise and Grandma Marie! Check out those cute pigs in the background :)

They had all sorts of fun activities for kids to do like hay bale maze, pony rides, apple picking, etc. It was fun but I think Elise would have enjoyed it more if she were a little bit older. We still had a great time. After walking around the farm we decided to eat there. Many of the dishes use things that are grown right there one the farm.

And to end on, our little flower Elise.

Busy Bags!

2011-10-27T19:25:00.000-06:00

Have you seen a busy bag? Essentially they are bags filled with all sorts of quick, small activities to keep your little ones entertained at home, church, travel, etc. Who wouldn't want one?! You can check out more ideas on Jens blog here. My cousin Erin is spearheading this busy bag swap. Hurry fast and get in on all the fun! Click this LINK if you are interested in signing up! You know you want to :)

A visit to Cedarburg

2011-10-24T11:29:00.001-06:00

When my mom was in town, we took a trip to visit Cedarburg. It is a town about 40 minutes from Milwaukee. If I had to describe it I would say it is a mix between Park City and Gardner Village. To be honest, it reminds me of Stars Hollow- if only I could have found Lorelai and Luke ;) We had a blast while there and were lucky enough to have a beautiful fall day.

Here is a picture of my Mom with Elise. They are standing in front of a mural of the town. You can see the cute old buildings, bridges, and churches.

Here we are on the Interurban bridge. You can read a little bit about the history on this plaque if you want.

We went to a fun store called Downtown Dough. They have over 1,600 different cookies cutters. I have just a few of them in this picture above! My Mom and I spent some time picking out just the right ones! I ended up getting a mold, not a cookie cutter. I'm going to use it for Elise's birthday :)

Here is a cute close up of my mom and Elise. She LOVED my mom's necklace as you can see...

They also have several fun places to eat! We had lunch at The Vintage Cafe and a treat from a restaurant called Cream and Crepe Cafe. They have entree or dessert crepes- we of course sprung for a dessert one! It is beautifully situated along the river and has antique quilts hanging on the wall. My mom loved that part!

Like I said, it was a beautiful fall day.

We did a lot of shopping while there!! They have several antique stores in town so we spent a lot of time at those. My mom found another antique pot holder for her collection and some other fun finds!

We left with a loaf of bread from a French bakery as well as a caramel dipped apple from Amy's. It was the perfect way to spend the day! If you ever are in Wisconsin, put this on your list of things to do! They also have a Winter Festival in February and it's safe to say I'll be back then!

What I love about this girl!

2011-10-24T08:40:00.000-06:00

She LOVES bath time! When I hold her to fill her tub, she kicks her legs and giggles she is so excited!

The fridge is her most favorite toy! I have to be quick when getting something or she'll be in there!

What, do I have something on my face?!

Look at the floor of this picture. What do you see?? Yes, FOUR binkies!! She takes her binkies and when she is upset that you haven't come to get her out of her crib the moment she wakes up she chuck's them out on the floor! So sometimes in the morning we have quite the collection!! So funny.

Love her so so much!

Craft Swap Show Off!

2011-10-21T12:03:00.003-06:00

Thanks so much to everyone who participated in the homemade craft swap! I can't speak for everyone, but I really had fun making my project and I hope it was well received :) I loved getting the emails from everyone with the pictures of their gift! They all turned out so well and I'm excited to share them now with everyone!!

These were made by Emily M. for my sister Natalie. She made a necklace pendant, re-usable sandwich wrapper as well as a skirt and headband. Arent' they darling strung up on a line?

Erin made these bow ties and bead and knot fabric necklaces for Shauna and her little boy. She didn't even need to do the bow ties, just threw them in because she is awesome like that. Wishing you participated yet??? ;)

Here is Shauna's craft she made for Becky. Becky said to make whatever Shauna felt like so she came up with this cute Halloween sign all on her own. I love how it turned out!

Here is what Anna made for Jet. They are tin can luminaria's that she personalized with Jet's last name. A very clever idea!! I love it :)

Nicole made this darling Halloween table runner for Anna. Can't you just picture some cute pumpkins in the middle of this?

Natalie made this darling Christmas tree for Erin. I love the colors that she chose and the red frame is a nice touch!

This two pictures are what I made for Emily M. I wasn't smart enough to take one picture with both of them in it, so now you get two. I made her a Thanksgiving table runner and some headbands for her girls.

Nicole was lucky enough to receive this beautiful jewelry hand made by my ultra talented SIL Becky. If you love what Nicole got there is more where that came from!! Check out their blog at: jujub.blogspot.com :) You won't be sad you checked it out!

And last but not least Jet made this burlap wreath for me! It was a wonderful surprise! I've been wanting an all purpose wreath for our door but I've been way to cheap to buy one!! I have loved coming home to see this on our door! Thanks Jet!

Everyone did such a great job and I definitely want to make a lot the the ideas that were shared! People that participated were scattered around the country. We had people in Maryland, Texas, Wisconsin, Utah, and Colorado. I hope everyone liked what they got! Thanks for playing :)

Great Grandpa

2011-10-15T10:08:00.000-06:00

I finally stole these pictures from my Mom of when she and I went to visit her father with Elise. I just think these photos are so sweet! My Grandpa (age 95) was delighted to see Elise. He kept laughing and told me she looked just like a little doll! He asked to hold her and we took these cute pictures.

It's pretty rare that a 95 year old sticks around long enough to see his 99th descendant! What a legacy!

The Taylor Girls

2011-10-15T10:00:00.000-06:00

One of my best friends happens to be my cousin, Holly. How lucky is that? Holly is one of the most talented people I know and very fun! Holly and her husband, Brad, are in medical school as well and it has been a lot of fun to talk with her about the whole process. They are a year ahead so it is great to talk to someone who has just been in my shoes and have someone to relate to. Her husband goes to Georgetown so they live far away but this summer before we moved, Holly was in town! We decided to have a Taylor/Galbraith girl get together! It was a lot of fun! Here are some pictures we took!

You may remember THIS post from a few months ago- look how much our babies have grown since then! Crazy! Here are Holly and I with our little girls. Me with Elise and Holly with Lilia. Holly and I are only a month apart (and a foot apparently!) so it is fun that we both have little girls!

Both of my sisters Nicole and Natalie were there, as well as Holly's sisters Wendy and Melissa. Here are all of us girls with some of our babies. It was a fun get together and I hope it isn't too long before we can do it again, even though we are scattered across the country. More Watkins to love right?!

Intramural Softball

2011-10-14T09:35:00.001-06:00

A few months ago a friend of Zack's asked if I would join their intramural team for the medical college. Really they asked me because they needed another girl for intramural rules to keep it even on girls and boys. I told her I hadn't played since I was in elementary school but sure, why not?! It ended up being a lot of fun. We made it to the playoffs where we played our best game ever and we SHOULD have won if the other team didn't cheat. Oh well, it was still a fun time!

Here is our team photo after our sad loss in the playoffs. Elise was our team mascot- they even got a shirt for her! Everyone on the team besides me is a medical student. I was surrounded by genius! They all adored Elise and anytime a softball (which are not soft for the record) got even the tiniest bit close to her they would all yell "Watch the baby! Be careful of the baby!". Don't worry, Zack had her safe and sound every time but it was cute to see how much they care about her.

Here is a family photo of us. You can see Elise's team shirt she is wearing. Our team name is Day Old Bread and Elise's says Hunny Bunny. Very cute. One of the team members made up our name. I guess it has something to do with the day old bread that Jimmy John's gives away at the end of the day that they can't use. Apparently it is better to use that bread after you have drank a lot of alcohol because it absorbs it better.....this teetotaler wouldn't know anything about that of course. But I thought you'd like an explanation about the different name. They are playing soccer now and Zack is the one in our jersey this time. He is doing a great job and has a lot of fun!

Lately...

2011-10-04T17:19:00.000-06:00

It has turned to fall in Wisconsin! It is absolutely beautiful! I do miss seeing the mountains in UT but I can't complain about fall here so far. We had rain almost everyday last week so the sunshine and warm weather is a welcomed surprise this week! Next week my mom is coming to visit and I have a lot of really fun things planned for us! I haven't done any of them either so she and I will get a real Wisconsin experience this time! I will have lots of stories and pictures to post from that soon!

Today Elise and I enjoyed the warm weather by heading out to the park. I know that winter is just around the corner and I have a feeling it will be BRUTAL so we are trying to get out a lot and enjoy this weather while we have it! I let her crawl around in the grass and pull it up and pick up leaves and branches- she loved it. She also loves to be pushed in the baby swings. It is a lot of fun!

During conference breaks Zack and Elise discovered a new game. It is called, "give your mom/wife a heart attack". He would let her crawl to the edge of the bed then catch her. She loved it and would giggle as he chased her to the edge and caught her.

I planned a fun date for Zack and I the other day. We haven't been on a date in sooo long and it was much needed. We don't have money for a sitter nor for eating out anymore so it was just a simple date at home. I have found a couple of fun dating websites that helped inspire this one. If you want to check it out, click THIS link :) Some of them are pretty cheesy but there are good ideas to be found or great ideas to get the ball rolling. Zack really enjoyed this one too! I made mozzarella sticks, chips and spinach dip and some very yummy mocktails for our food. I felt all cool because I even dipped the edges of our drinks in sugar with a lime on the edge- go me! It's the little things like that that help a person (Zack) feel extra special. We had a fun time!

I have been craving Cafe Rio for some time now and tonight I am making a copy cat recipe! I haven't tried mine yet, but this is the same recipe that we had at Elise's blessing but I didn't make any of the meat or anything so I'm not sure how mine will turn out! It smells delicious though so I am hoping for great results! The closest Cafe Rio to us is about 1,000 miles away, so it will have to do!

Interruptions

2011-09-29T08:32:00.001-06:00

"When you are exasperated by interruptions, try to remember that their very frequency may indicate the value of your life. Only people who are full of help and strength are burdened by other persons' needs. The interruptions which we chafe at are the credentials of our indispensability. The greatest condemnation that anybody could incur - and it is a danger to guard against - is to be so independent, so unhelpful, that nobody ever interrupts us, and we are left comfortably alone."

-Anonymous

from The Anglican Digest

My wonderful sister-in-law Mary had this up on her blog a few days ago and I love it! It certainly puts things into better perspective and helps me to remember the things that matter most! Thanks for sharing Mary!

Emily Pugh: Homemaker

2011-09-27T16:07:00.000-06:00

My mother and grandmother would be proud. Not only did I make my own jam, but I used containers that I saved and washed out. This time I used baby jars but I also find myself keeping the containers from butter, cottage cheese, sour cream, etc. My grandma Watkins was the QUEEN of saving everything and my mom told me it was because she grew up during the depression and was taught to save it all. Well I didn't grow up during the depression but I still would agree that Tupperware is expensive! I guess I'm making Mother Earth proud too :) At least me and my fellow homemakers don't have THESE expectations to live up to anymore! Although I'm sure if I did Zack wouldn't mind ;)

On the Move!

2011-09-17T15:23:00.000-06:00

She scoots, she's cute, she crawls! At least she is getting there. These are some videos (mainly for my family far far away) of Elise figuring out how to crawl. She has perfected the scoot and can crawl but doesn't do it all the time. She takes one or two then switches to scooting again. Either way, it is so cute to see her learn something new and how proud of herself she is when she has made it somewhere new all by herself! This top video is of her starting to crawl, the second is her scooting around. Enjoy our cute girl :)

Swap Party!

2011-09-12T09:46:00.001-06:00

I'm not sure what it is with me, September, and reaching out to my fellow crafters but something must always get me going! If you are a regular reader of my blog you probably remember this post from a year ago with the idea for a quiet book (Cousin Erin I just realized I never credited you for all the pictures from that post- SO sorry!! I'm awful!). This is not an idea for a quiet book but a swap of homemade goods! I've seen lots of ideas for things like this on Pinterest and thought it sounded like a very fun idea! Plus, getting a package in the mail with present inside?! What could be better? I know I have so many talented friends, sisters (yes Natalie that includes YOU), and extended family and readers I know we could make this good!

(Image taken from HERE)

So let's do it!! Let's swap!! If you would like to participate go ahead and "enter" by leaving a comment with your name and email address. Once sign-up's have ended you will receive an email from ME assigning you to a partner. Go ahead and email your partner and get to know them a little bit so you can make the gift more personal for them. You know stuff like their favorite color, favorite fabric line, do they want a gift for a child or do they need something for their wardrobe or kitchen?! That kind of stuff :) Sign-up's will END on FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 16TH.

Once again, the gifts MUST must MUST be home-made. I cannot say that enough! Obviously a part of it can be store bought but you get the general idea. No buying stuff from a craft store that is home made but you bought it, etc.

All gifts must be finished and post-marked by OCTOBER 15TH 2011. No ifs, and's or butt's about it! If you need ideas or inspiration check out some of these blogs:
-Craftaholics Anonymous
-Make it and Love it

And a thousand more websites for ideas. And if you are like me you probably already have an idea in your head!! Good luck, thanks for playing, and I can't WAIT to see what we all come up with! Happy Crafting!

Farmers Market

2011-09-09T08:52:00.000-06:00

Yesterday some friends invited me to come with them to the West Allis (pronounced Alice) farmers market. It is a neighboring city and they hold the farmers market every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. They had so much delicious and fresh produce there! I am fortunate enough to be on the WIC program (don't know what WIC is learn more here. It is amazing!).In Wisconsin in addition to the food vouchers for the grocery store they also give you vouchers for the farmers market. All of the food pictured above was 100% FREE for me. I feel like I am swimming in zucchini they gave me so so much! The woman I bought them from told me to grate them and freeze the grated zucchini so I can enjoy "fresh" zucchini bread all winter long too. I came home and was so excited with all of my new fresh produce I decided to make some zucchini muffins! Muffins are so much better than bread- no slicing, cooks faster and you can just grab them and go! Plus it is probably way more than a slice of bread but you can still tell yourself, "I only had one muffin. I'm totally healthy!" Here is the recipe if you want to make some too!

Zucchini Muffins

3 eggs                                            3 C. flour
2 C. sugar                                      1 t. baking soda
1C. oil                                           1/2 t. baking powder
1 T. vanilla                                     1 t. salt
2 C. zucchini (grated)                     1 T. cinnamon
1 C. chopped nuts (optional)

Mix ingredients together. Divide batter into greased muffin pans or with muffin liners. Fill 2/3 full. Bake at 350 degrees for twenty minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Makes about 24 muffins.
*If you want, you can make a somewhat healthy muffin totally unhealthy and add some chocolate chips to the batter as well. You won't be sorry if you do. Yum!

Projects

2011-09-07T11:23:00.000-06:00

I have had several projects waiting in the wings for months and months that I didn't want to do until we had moved and were settled in again! I finally got the motivation to do them on Labor Day. Here they are:

These birds go in Elise's room. The quilt that my mom made for her has cute birds that look just like this appliqued on it. So these are a perfect fit! All I did was paint them and modge podge on the fabric and voila!

Several months ago there was a groupon for this simple vinyl- I think it cost $1.00. I bought it and made a promise to buy a plate to put it on for our weekly dinner menu. I finally got around to buying a plate for it last week and put it together. It was super simple and I just use a dry erase marker to write our dinners up each week. I think it turned out pretty cute!

Tuesday night is pizza night!

2011-09-07T11:08:00.000-06:00

If you read my post on my meal plans, you will have seen that Tuesday's are pizza nights! I have been trying to get the perfect homemade pizza and tried several doughs and sauces and last night I hit the jack pot! I am so proud of myself I just had to blog about it. Ha ha. Zack doesn't get the thrill I get over making something from scratch that is perfect so I had to share it with all of you. You are all women who cook so I assume you get it.

Have you ever tried the Chicken Garlic Pizza from Papa Murphy's?? You should, it is delicious! It has been a family favorite for years and last night I tried to re-create it from scratch. Here is what I used to create this baby:
-This recipe for the alfredo sauce
-This recipe for the pizza dough (and there was enough left over for breadsticks!)
-Then I added green onions, tomatoes, chicken and this recipe sprinkled on top!
Are you sensing a theme here?! Thank you to Our Best Bites for making our life taste even better! Go ahead and try out this recipe if you want! You won't be sorry!

Little Lise

2011-09-07T10:39:00.000-06:00

Oh what to say about this cute little girl! I could go on for days about how cute she is. I haven't been the best Mom at writing down her accomplishments each month but I thought I would write down a few of the things she has been up to lately! (Oh and in case you wondered we pronounce Lise (short for Elise) like the word lease.....)
-She eats like a champ! She eats her fruits and veggies and loves to eat whatever we have as well! She has tried a pretty good variety of foods and I can't wait for her to be on them full time.
-When we feed her sometimes she will grab her binky and put it back in her mouth almost as if she is teasing us! Other times she will have it in to start with and when she see's food she likes she blows it out of her mouth and opens up. It is so funny.
-Still loves her bath time! I took her to a swimming pool the other day and played with her in the zero depth area and she kicked and giggled for hours.
-She is sleeping through the night!!!!! I usually put her down around 8:30 and she will sleep until about 8am- it is wonderful :)
-She is so aware of everything-still. She loves baby einstein movies now and laughs and gets excited to see the puppets.
-She is starting to not want her binky when she sleeps. I used to always nurse her then rock her to sleep and place her in her crib but now she gets tired but stays awake so I have to put her in the crib until she cries for a few minutes and falls to sleep on her own. I feel bad, but you gotta learn to fall asleep by yourself sometime, right?!
-She sits up and has for awhile now but isn't very trustworthy. She can push herself to sitting up and if she falls to the side she catches herself, but she also sits back which usually ends in disaster.
-She is so close to crawling!! She is quite the little scoot bug and gets herself a lot of places which usually is under a chair, table, or her feet wedged under the fridge.
-Still has ZERO teeth. I know some other babies who are only 5 months and have 8 teeth but she still has nothing. Which is fine with me! They will come eventually (I hope!).
-Is still the most beautiful child we have ever laid eyes on! We love her so so much!

Stress Free Meals

2011-09-05T12:55:00.002-06:00

I'm pretty sure that I have posted about this before, but one thing that I HATE and I mean really HATE is coming up with what to eat for dinner every night. Cooking it, even doing the dishes from it isn't as bad as coming up with the idea! I have had several people offer up great ideas for me and I sorta combined all of them into one plan that works for me! This is not some super magical idea that I came up with, but one that I like and saves me LOTS of time and thought...and negative thoughts about dinner ha ha. I thought I would share it with all of you!

(please excuse the weird screen shot I took to give you this photo)

It is probably hard to see from the picture, so go ahead and click on it to make it larger. I decided it is SO hard to come up with an idea since there are a million billion things I could make for dinner. So I decided to give each day a "theme" or style of food. Here is what I chose: Crock Pot, Mexican, Pizza, Italian, Asian, Breakfast, Soup/Sandwich. With these categories it narrows down the possibilities by a LOT. And if I made a calendar all I had to do was come up with four different entrees'. Simple as that! Dinner around here has been much more planned out, healthier, happier and stress free! Feel free to copy from me if you like! Thanks to my cousin Erin and friend Shantel for their ideas, inspiration and recipes that helped me make this! Happy eating to all!

Guilty Pleasures

2011-08-24T09:26:00.001-06:00

My good friends Shauna and Rachel did a post a few days ago about their guilty pleasures. Although they didn't "tag" anyone to do it back, I thought it would be fun to join in with a few of my own! With no further ado, here goes:

Cheddar goldfish crackers. Only cheddar. I can't wait until Elise can eat these because then I will have an excuse to buy the big bulk box from Costco and end up eating it all myself and blaming it on Elise :)

Buying swim suits. I don't know what it is. Do I swim a lot? No. I don't know what the fascination is, nor do I think I look awesome in a swim suit. Maybe that is why I keep buying them, I'm waiting to find one that makes me look like a size 2 ha ha.

Rolls. Mmm, warm butter rolls. At one of my bridal showers my friends had video taped Zack and asked him a bunch of questions about me. They asked him what my favorite food was and he said, "She probably wouldn't say this about herself but definitely rolls." Man was he right. Love love love them.

So far this show remains to be my favorite show of all time. I love it. I own the entire series on DVD and it still makes me laugh. It is great to pop in an episode while Elise takes a nap or to watch while I work on a project. I love how close they are to each other and their mother-daughter relationship. So fun. I wish Stars Hollow was real- I would go for a visit for sure. Where would I stay?! The Dragonfly Inn of course :)

Jamba Juice Caribbean Passion. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. The depressing part? I just googled location of Jamba Juice in Wisconsin and there is only ONE and it is in Madison :(

My go-to movie when I am sad, bored, need a pick me up, or inspiration to cook something I go here.

This stupid network sucks me in with just about every show it has to offer. I'm pathetic. Fortunately the one show I don't like on the channel is The Secret Life of the American Teenager. But just about anything else...

The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Bachelor Pad...you name it, I unfortunately watch it. I'm always still hoping that eventually someone that gets together because of this show HAS to get married. It's gotta happen at least once right?! And while we are one this, I like to read this blogs thoughts on each and every episode. Great commentary!

I thought to end this post I would put up a store that I always go into and buy something. I kept thinking of clothing stores but the truth is I don't have a particular store that I just love or have to always have their things. So I put up a fabric store. There is always cute fabric to be found, great projects just asking to be made!

So, what are YOUR guilty pleasures?! I'm not going to tag anyone, but I would love to read about yours!

White Coat Ceremony

2011-08-22T07:55:00.000-06:00

The White Coat Ceremony for MCW's class of 2015 was on Friday, August 12th. Both my parents and Zack's were able to fly out to be here for it. It was so fun to have them out here and definitely made the move/transition to Wisconsin a lot easier.

The ceremony was held downtown at the Pabst Theater. I reminded me a lot of the Capital Theater in SLC. It was very pretty inside with neat architecture and chandeliers and had that old-timey feeling. Here we are standing outside of the theater.

Here's the whole gang minus Zack's Dad, Evan, who opted to take the picture and not be in it. It was a nice program that lasted around an hour. The presenters talked about the history of the white coat, the importance and prestige of wearing it, as well as some funny other things related to it like TV doctors (J.D. from Scrubs, House, etc.) it was short and sweet. The perfect program!

Our family on stage after the ceremony. Doesn't he look so handsome in that coat?! I think so :)

Here is a quick shot of downtown near where the ceremony was held. It has a real Chicago feel to it we think. Downtown seems to be really neat, we can't wait to have more time to get out and explore it!

On Sunday Zack and his parents went on a walk to the medical campus and he showed them around. Elise was taking a nap so I decided to join her in that! Here is Zack and his parents in front of the main building of the medical college. It is really nice and new unlike a lot of the places he interviewed at.

Zack and his cute Mom on campus with all that beautiful green we get in Wisconsin. And no sprinklers!! Crazy, right?!

Our New Home

2011-08-15T13:52:00.001-06:00

I lied. I do have pictures. But only because my parents and in-laws brought their cameras with them and I stole the pictures before they left! Now to the real point of this post-

It took a week of settling in but we finally have turned our house into a home! I'm so incredibly grateful to my parents and Zack's parents for all of the help they gave to us to hang pictures, put things away, wash clothes and even dishes! A HUGE shout out to my mother for many MANY things to hang in our home that make it look so incredible. Mom, you never cease to amaze me! And now for the pictures!

Elise's room is my favorite in the whole house! I go in there all the time and just look around at it, really! It is all shabby chic- nothing matches exactly but it is all pink and green. I couldn't love it more. My Mom made so many things for the apartment including the curtains (with blackout fabric lining) as well as re-covering the ottoman to my rocker and she made the pillow for the rocker as well. She also made the darling quilt hanging on the wall. This room is so sweet and pretty, just like our Elise.

I really like our room as well. It is the biggest bedroom we have ever had as a married couple and the best part is that all of our clothes fit in our closets! It is a miracle! The funny thing about our room is that the wall above our bed is all brick or plaster so you can't nail anything into it! So that is why that wall looks so bare! I bought command strips but it says on the back to not hang things above beds, so I decided to heed that warning!

Next is the kitchen! I certainly don't have as much counter space or appliances that are as nice as our last place, but this kitchen had great cupboards! I was able to fit all of our dishes and appliances in them and (gasp!) I even had a drawer that would hold a utensil holder. Why my last apartment only had drawers that were 3.5 inches wide is beyond me.... My mother of course made the darling valance for the kitchen and even helped to purchase the cute decorations above my fridge. I was fine with putting the cereal up there but she told me no! We have to make it cute she said :) I love her.

I was excited that this is the first apartment we have lived in to not have stark white walls! All the rooms have a nice neutral beige color- except for the bathroom! The bathroom is a pretty red color! I saw that in the pictures the landlord sent me in Utah. I knew our current bathroom linens and shower curtain wouldn't match so I got this one to use! I think the bathroom looks cute, even if it is small.

The last room is our dining room and family room. We were able to fit a lot of stuff into this large room and we even were able to fit the couch up! We thought we were going to have to sell it or saw it in half (literally). Lucky for us there is a handy man in our ward! He took off the banister so we were able to get it through the door way then he hoisted up the whole couch basically by himself up to the second floor. What a lifesaver! Here is our fan club showing it off! The pillows on the couch were also made by amazing mother.

I LOVE all of the natural light in this apartment. We previously lived in a basement apartment so it was dark and dreary quite often! We also live across the street from the medical college/hospital so instead of having a building to look at we look across to a beautiful green lawn and trees from our front room.

To end, here is the front of our home. We live in the upper right side of the home. We are excited to finally be here and to start this new adventure! If any of you are ever in Wisconsin or Chicago (it's only 1 hr. 15 min. from us!) please give us a call! We'd love to have you over!

We have arrived!

2011-08-14T12:42:00.000-06:00

We made it to Wisconsin!! We took 2.5 days to drive by car and little Elise was the perfect baby! We arrived here last Saturday and so far so good!! I have lots of things to update all of you on but I did lose my camera- that story to come as well. So for the next few posts there won't be any new pictures :( But we are all settled into our apartment, the internet and cable has been installed, we have a washer/dryer (yay!!!!!!!!!!), and the ward and people going to school with Zack seem great! I enjoyed catching up on all 120 missed posts that were in my google reader! More to come!

The Hogle Zoo

2011-07-22T23:55:00.001-06:00

We decided to be spontaneous today and hit up the good old Hogle Zoo. For some reason having a child makes us feel like we need to do kid-oriented things even though our kid gets nothing out of it. Maybe it is just my excuse to do things that should only be acceptable for a child. Either way- it was fun!

Me and Elise in the 'classic' Hogle Zoo picture

Dave and Rachel were kind enough to come with us and even let us borrow a coupon for it! Her are Rachel and I in front of the elephants. They also have a baby elephant too!

The family with the Giraffes!

Lions and Tiger and Bears- Oh my! In this case, just a Tiger. Still neat!

Elise with the Gorilla. Clearly she was more entertained with her toy than the Gorilla. He seemed to like her though- he just stared away at her! So funny!

And to end this post, here is a video for your viewing pleasure. Or maybe it's not pleasure. Okay, it's just gross. But you want to watch it because it's like watching a train wreck. You just have to watch it.

Liberty Park Splash Pad!

2011-07-20T17:10:00.000-06:00

I have lived in Utah for 20 years and will be leaving in 2 weeks and until today I had never been to Liberty Park! I am now realizing what a tragedy that is because it is such a beautiful park with SO many things to do! This morning I was watching Studio 5 and they were talking about the best free splash pads in the state so I called up my sister Nicole to see if they wanted to make a day of it! We decided to have a picnic in the park and let the girls play! We had a blast!

Me with the girls at our picnic!

This is what the splash pad looks like! The girls were afraid still and Elise is too little so we didn't spend too much time in it, but it was fun to pass by it and cool off in the water!

They have about 3 different playgrounds surrounding the splash pad in the middle and here is one of them! I love Elise in her cute little purple hat! Somewhere my Grandma Watkins is smiling knowing that my baby is in a hat :)

One section of the play ground had all sorts of these metal pipes that you can use to make music on! Elise was pretty entertained watching me play them I even let her have the wand to hit it but she decided it was better used in her mouth, so we stopped that game.

Here's my favorite girl hanging out in the shade! Love her! It was a really fun afternoon! If you haven't been to Liberty Park- go! It was a great and free way to spend an afternoon!

I'll miss you Vicky!

2011-07-11T23:12:00.000-06:00

My car, Vicky, was sold last Friday! Zack has been bugging me to sell it for months now and out of boredom more than anything I put it up on ksl.com classifieds thinking it wouldn't sell from probably 30 days. I looked at other similar listings and I saw that they had been posted for about 23 days so I thought I had time. Luckily (or maybe not?!) 5 MINUTES after I posted the ad I got a phone call on it. I met the person that night, they test drove it and liked it. The next day they called telling me they wanted to purchase the car! It truly was a blessing being able to sell it so quickly. It also was a blessing for the price we sold it for! We got at least $400 dollars more than I thought we would :) Definitely a bonus!

Vicky was first my Grandpa Galbraith's car. I have a memory of him and my Grandma coming over to our house to show it off right after they bough it in 1994! I would have been 11 years old! I thought it was so cool how the speedometer would digitally show you the speed and I loved that there was an extra seat up front! Little did I know that this little beauty would be mine a few years later! I was lucky enough to inherit it for FREE from my Grandpa. He decided he probably wasn't safe behind the wheel anymore and so he offered it to his grandkids first. I am the youngest grandkid on that side of the family and most all of our other cousins were established and had cars of their own so I got it! Pretty sweet deal!

It is a Ford Crown Victoria, so because of that I nicknamed her Vicky for short! You certainly were a 'grandpa car' in every way, but you were great to me while you lasted! Be good to your new owner!

So proud of Daddy!

2011-07-11T22:56:00.000-06:00

Elise is so proud of her Papa! This is a picture with them holding Zack's acceptance letter to the Medical College of Wisconsin. His third acceptance to medical school, might I add. I know, I'm totally bragging but this man has worked so incredibly hard to get to the point he is at today and I could not be more proud of him, and judging by the look on her face, Elise couldn't love her Daddy more. I guess the third times a charm because in 3 weeks we'll be moving to Wisconsin! Congrats again Zack! You deserve it!

Real life baby doll

2011-07-11T21:33:00.000-06:00

Some of our family friends, the Mathews, gave this adorable little dress to our Elise! It took her a few months to grow into, but she sure looked darling in it! It came with some bloomers as well as a bonnet and I just had to take pictures of her in it! I think with the bonnet on she looks like a real life little doll, don't you?

First Haircut!

2011-07-11T21:27:00.000-06:00

Yes, there have been a lot of "first" for this little girl! Bear with us :) Elise was lucky to have been born with quite a bit of hair- and for the most part it didn't totally fall out! She always had this little patch of hair at the bottom of her head that is long and much darker than the rest of her hair! We decided to let Grandma Pugh cut it ever so slightly to even it off and make it look a lot less like a mullet. She's cute no matter what it looks like though!

Before! A little dark and a bit unruly. It also grows to the left.

What is going on?! Hold still? No way!!

LOVE her eyes in this one!! I love this girl so much!! She is darling!

The final result! A bit straighter :) Thanks Grandma!

Fun with Grandpa Pugh!

2011-07-11T21:20:00.000-06:00

We have been lucky enough this summer to be living with Zack parents. They have been very gracious to open their home to all of our stuff (which is a LOT) and to put up with us! Elise has been having a blast getting to see her Grandma and Grandpa every day! They love to hold her and play with her and 'talk' to her. She adores them as well!! These are some cute pictures I have taken of Elise and her Grandpa Pugh! So cute!

Wearing his baseball hat!

She may have a sassy look on her face but she was loving this! Outside rocking with Grandpa!

First Foods!

2011-07-11T17:38:00.000-06:00

I have a lot to update you on- not that it is anything super exciting has happened, but I need to post them for my journaling/memory sake! We gave Elise her first foods a few weeks ago right after she turned 6 months old! I can't believe it has already been 6 months- I know that is such a cliche' but I have to say I agree with it! We started her with rice cereal and she really really liked her first attempt at food and since then it has been so-so. She liked carrots and green beans are okay and thought the mixed veggies were just okay. It has been fun to have her be able to eat real food but definitely messy and time consuming!

Not sure if she wants to swallow...

She likes it!

We have to hold her back otherwise she leans forward and bends in half!!

When it rains, it pours!

2011-06-25T18:31:00.000-06:00

Boy are we true to this statement! I know that I blogged just days ago that we were going to be headed to St. Louis for medical school but the day after we heard from them, we also got a phone call from the Medical College of Wisconsin offering Zack a spot there!! We were really excited about this because Wisconsin is a higher ranked school than St. Louis and it is also a much safer community. They have been really great to work with so far. This is the only school that would tell you your spot on the wait list and the day Zack interviewed, his interviewer told Zack how impressed he was with his application. Looks like all of his hard work has finally paid off! We have talked a lot about the two schools and at least now our gut feeling is to go to Wisconsin. It sure is great to have options :) We have until Friday to get back to them, but I'm pretty confident in saying we'll be residents of that state real soon!

Meet Me in St. Louis!

2011-06-23T19:05:00.000-06:00

Today has been a bit of a whirlwind. This afternoon St. Louis University called Zack and offered him a spot in their Fall 2011 class. This was certainly unexpected. We were shocked, floored, surprised, and excited. Of course this happened AFTER we sent in our money to The American University of the Caribbean and put a deposit down on an apartment there AND even booked our flights..he even had a scholarship to AUC. Murphy's Law right?! They told Zack that he had until 5pm today St. Louis time to get back to them. He called about an hour later and told them YES. The shock is still setting in. In our minds we were so set and so ready to live in St. Maarten but we are thrilled that this opportunity has come about. Although St. Louis doesn't have perfect weather we are excited to live there. I was born in St. Louis and lived there until I was 5 so I am excited to get the chance to know my birth place a little bit better!Although we won't have a lagoon to wake up to, this view is still pretty great, right?!

Recent Craft Projects

2011-06-07T18:57:00.000-06:00

Since Elise has been born I have had a lot less time to sit around and make projects (big surprise!). Recently I found that I have been bit by the crafty bug again and made some cute projects that I wanted to share!

First off- the diaper clutch!

I made this to keep all her diapers and wipes coordinated in my diaper bag! Without the clutch, they seem to find their way to the bottom, and every time I go out I put more in it and I end up with 10 diapers in there! Now it is organized, and cute!

I made it with some of the left over fabric my mom had from making Elise's baby quilt.

Loaded up and ready to go! Next thing I made was a Snuggly Owl that I saw on the blog Make it and Love it. It was a lot of fun and super easy to make. Elise can't play with it too much yet, but I know she will love it one day! I brought it over to show my sister Nicole and her little girl Molly couldn't get enough of it- I think it's safe to say it was a success!

Who wouldn't want to snuggle up with this?!

Wheeler Farm

2011-06-07T18:47:00.000-06:00

Last Friday we had a fun evening planned with Shauna and Roger! We went out to dinner at Hires and after I thought it would be fun to take the kids over to Wheeler Farm! Bonus of that- it's free! We had a great time looking at the animals. I think even Elise was impressed. Here are some pictures we took at the farm!

Acceptance!

2011-06-03T12:51:00.000-06:00

This morning Zack got a phone call offering him a spot at The American University of the Caribbean! We are so happy/excited/anxious/relieved and just plain thrilled to have this news! Most of you reading this probably have never heard of this medical school and I'll tell you why.....it's in St. Maartin.

The main building on campus. Gorgeous right?!

Located at Cupecoy in St. Maartin is the beautiful campus of AUC . A student at AUC spends 2 years on the island completing coursework and the final 2 years of medical school are spent at one of AUCs sister school in the states and even in England. Who wouldn't want to go to school in paradise?! In case I haven't convinced you enough yet how does this all sound-

-Half the island is owned by the Netherlands, the other half by the French. We'll be so cultured!

-The Visa's we'll have most likely will make us leave the island every 90 days so we will have to travel to places like Anguilla, St. Kitts, etc.

-Beach front property
-Some of our good friends from BYU are headed there too!

-The typical weather is 80 degrees and NOT humid. Can we say YES!

-The pristine beaches, plentiful water sports and duty-free shopping...you are all welcome to visit us anytime!!!

We we we, we so excited!

(I hope you've all seen the music video I'm referencing)

Baby Poll

2011-05-23T11:58:00.000-06:00

1- With little kids/babies do you wake up before you think they will and get ready for the day or do you wait until their morning nap, or just find something to entertain them with while you get ready?

2- Did you sleep train your baby? What method did you use? At what age did you do it?

3- At what age did you introduce solid foods to your baby? My pediatrician says I can start now if I want but I don't think I want to. Did it help your baby sleep better at night eating solids?

Swim, Bike, Run

2011-05-22T14:12:00.000-06:00

Some of you may remember this post a few months ago and I am here to update you! Long story short- I did it!!!! My sisters Natalie and Nicole both ran it with me....and by with me, I mean 30 min. (at least) ahead of me. Since having little Elise I didn't have near as much time to train as I thought I would! So, I was quite the slacker when it came to practicing for the Tri, but I was determined to still compete. So after training probably 8 times prior, there I was with cap on my head ready to go! It ended up being a ton of fun and I'm really glad that I did it. Just think how much more fun it would have been if I had actually practiced?! Here are some photos from the event!

Here we are! Bright and early with our bodies marked!

Natalie, Nicole, and me

It started at the American Fork Rec Center pool. We were lucky to get such a beautiful day for the Tri considering all the rain we have had this past week! There were 1,000 women registered!

You lined up according to how fast you can swim 300 meters. I lined up at the very back since I hadn't swam since January thanks to my abscess. But after I swam it, I realized I should have lined up at a much faster time. Turns out I'm a pretty good swimmer! They let each racer in every 12 seconds into the pool. Sometimes it got a bit congested but that's all part of the fun I guess!

Next part was a 12.4 mile bike! This part was tough and certainly took the longest, but I really enjoy biking now! I'd like to be able to get out and ride more now that I know I can do it. I just used my good old mountain bike but put road tires on it and it worked great!

The last leg of the race was a 5K run. Switching from the bike to running was pretty hard for me. My legs felt like jello and it was hard to go from spinning wheels to picking my feet up and putting one in front of the other- but I still did it! My sisters were kind enough to run in the last 1/2 mile with me! My sister had the camera with her, so there are no pictures of me crossing the finish line, but I promise I did!

Here is my support team and the reason I ran the Tri! I hope Elise will be so proud of her Mama one day when she realizes what I did! People saw me carrying her around after and would say, "Wow! How old is she? Good for you!" It made me feel pretty tough, proud, and certainly like a Woman of Steel!!

Final race times:

Swim- 7 min. 47 sec.

Bike- 1 hr. 3 min. 12 sec.

Run- 35 min. 33 sec.

That makes for an overall time of: 1 hr. 52 min. and 38 seconds!

Either way, I can still say I'm a Triathele!!!

Thanks to Natalie for getting us all going, I might even do another one at the end of July!

Viva Las Vegas!

2011-05-13T17:10:00.000-06:00

Last Friday Zack came into our room begging me to drop everything (which, wasn't much...) and consider going on a road trip with some of his friends to Las Vegas! I caved of course and soon we were off! This was Elise's first trip anywhere and she was a great car traveler! Here is Zack telling Elise she is about to go to 'Sin City'. As you can see, she was excited ;)

It was a quick trip but a lot of fun! Friday night we had a barbeque at our friend David's house. It was delicious! David's Dad was also able to score us a room at the Rio Casino so we got to stay there in luxury!

Here is the view from our room out at all the other casinos. This next picture shows how Elise felt about all the crazy people in Vegas....

Ha ha ha. I love her cute little face! Everyone would stare at her as we walked through the casino (because there is no possible way to stay at those hotels without walking through the casino!).

Saturday we got dressed and ready to swim! Except that the water was FREEZING!!! But we had fun getting dressed up and pretty in our suits! Don't you love Elise's swim suit? Thanks for the hand me down Aunt Natalie!

Saturday night we went to a yummy buffet in a brand new casino called The Cosmopolitan which is right by the Bellagio and City Center of Vegas. The buffet is called The Wiked Spoon. If you have the chance to eat there, go! The dessert bar in particular was to die for! Yum!!

Here is the whole gang out to eat and gain 10 pounds. I'm pretty sure we all did too!

The Cosmopolitan had all sorts of weird art work. I thought it would only be proper for Elise and I to take a picture in the giant pink high heel, don't you?!

Here is the parking garage for The Cosmopolitan. Neat right?! It tells you how many spaces are available on each level- even handicapped spots! I don't know if you can see that little red light in the distance, but above every spot there was a light. If red, occupied by a car. If you saw a green light down the way, that meant that a spot was available. Cool right?! We thought so!

Sunday we woke up and went to Church and had some authentic Chinese cuisine prepared by David's grandma. It was great! We headed home after this! It was a fun trip while it lasted!

The Easter Bunny

2011-04-26T16:33:00.000-06:00

The Easter bunny came by to visit the Pugh family this year as I'm sure he did yours too!! We all got LOTS and LOTS of yummy treats as well as some other treasures too!

For Zack he brought some new t-shirts for spring. Emily got some new running shorts and sun glasses and Elise got a BYU t-shirt, Tangled, a binkie clip, and a new pink rattle!

As you can see, she really liked it! Thanks for stopping by!

Here she is reading the back of her Tangled DVD ;)

Zack's Graduation

2011-04-23T08:39:00.000-06:00

I think this picture turned out so neat! I didn't even try for it! There he is after receiving his diploma!

Zack's graduation from BYU took place this past Thursday and Friday. The fun began on Thursday with commencement. The speaker was Elder Richard G. Scott. He spoke to all of the students about taking what you have learned from the University and making their future better because of it.

My handsome graduate. Looks great in Cougar Blue!

Friday was Zack's convocation from the college of Life Science. His major is Physiology and Developmental Biology. Hard right?! I bet you couldn't do it! After listening to probably 800 students names (most from Exercise Science) it was finally Zack's turn! We are all so proud of him and the hard work he puts into every aspect of his life, and especially school. Zack is a great student and never settles for less than he deserves! I really admire that about him.

Zack and Elise with is research Professor Dr. Barrow

It was a beautiful day on Friday and many people from his family were able to be there to celebrate his achievement. His parents, mine, his three sisters and brother Brian and his wife Liz were all able to be as his fan club! After convocation we all left to eat some delicious food from Magleby's. It was a wonderful day! We are so proud of our Zacky!!!

Zack with his proud parents

Here he is with his fan club!

Zack with my parents

Zack with his long time best friend, Ben Ford

A Conversation with Elise

2011-04-13T22:07:00.000-06:00

Elise is quite the talker these days! Its pretty fun :) We can usually mimic her voice and she'll do it back to us and the conversation goes on and on. We love this girl!

Blessed

2011-04-04T10:01:00.000-06:00

Our beautiful daughter Elise was blessed on Sunday, March 13th 2011. We blessed her in my parents ward (my home ward growing up). Her Dad gave her a very special blessing. Some of the things I remember from it are:

-To know that her parents love her
-Good health and to be strong
-Have a strong testimony of the Gospel and a willingness to share it
-Have an outgoing personality and able to make friends easily
-With a quick mind and will be able to deal with school and other things
-To have good friends and good relationships with your family

Zack and I say each day how lucky we are to have Elise in our family. She is so special and fun and already has such a sweet and unique personality. Elise you have changed our life for the best and we can't wait to watch you grow up even more! We love you!

Daddy and his favorite girl

The men in the blessing circle. We were lucky to have our out of town brothers here for this as well! It was great to have the whole family together!

The Family

Pretty much in love with this little girl!

And now....THE DRESS!

My very talented mother made Elise's blessing dress and I could not have been happier with how it turned out. I told her the vision I had for it- I wanted it very simple but beautiful. She has such a great attention to detail and Elise looked so beautiful in it! Here are several photos to show you all the detail work she put into it! I am so happy that I will be able to have this for all my girls!

Here is the full dress.

Detail of the to p of the dress- my Dad INSISTED I pick these rose buttons. He loved them- so cute!

The lace and ribbon detail on the skirt of the dress. Thanks again Mom for making us such a timeless piece! She looked so beautiful in it!

Update on the Abscess

2011-04-01T11:18:00.000-06:00

A few people have asked so I thought since it has been a week since the surgery, I will update everyone.

I am healing just as I should be. I won't ever be stitched up like I originally thought. The hole that was made during surgery will produce body tissue to fill the cavity. It sure is amazing what the body can do! The doctor said that our bodies can make enough tissue to fill a hole 20 times the size of mine- crazy! I need to keep filling the cavity with iodine treated gauze each day and apply a dressing to it. I am totally fine to shower and even have shampoo and soap get in it, as long as I rinse it out. I trust him, but it still scares me to get those things in it more for the sting factor! I also have to fill it myself since Zack is usually gone at school- this is most certainly NOT my favorite part of the day.

I asked him how long it would be until I am "normal" again, and he said it would be months and that i will always have a scar :( These are things that I was pretty sure about already, but I was hoping for better results!! Bring on swim suit season, right?! But, the great news is that I hardly feel any pain at all, I am still breastfeeding Elise (which I think I deserve a medal for!!), and that the lump and all the pressure is gone! I'm just going to get out there and enjoy the warmest day of the year so far! And hey, I have an excuse to wear a sports bra for the next 3 months. Ha ha.

Some people get stickers or candy when they visit the doctor. I get these.

3 months and a photo shoot!

2011-03-31T17:50:00.000-06:00

Here's our beautiful Elise at 3 months old!! I stayed up at my parents house for a few days to recover from the horrible abscess and my sister Nicole decided to do another photo shoot with Elise. She was much more cooperative this time around! I think she did an amazing job and got some great shots of our little girl! I've added a few more below as well! Here are some things about Elise at 3 months:
-LOVES to eat her hands
-Is 'talking' a lot more
-Still isn't rolling over quite yet
-We predict she is going to be a thumb sucker, we've caught that in her mouth several times
-Smiles back at people
-She has become quite the drooler
-Is in-between sizes. Too big for her 0-3 months but WAY to small for her 3 month clothes. Hmm..it makes dressing her a big difficult!

Emily and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day

2011-03-27T00:07:00.000-06:00

** I want to tell you all right now that I will go into full on gross details in this upcoming story. So if blood and guts scare you- don't read on :)

This whole lovely ordeal started about a month ago. I noticed that I had a lump in my breast. I called and talk to my sisters about it and they told me I most likely had a plugged duct and to put warm compresses on it and to try to massage it out if possible. They also said to nurse Elise on that side first and always try to make sure that she emptied me out. I tried to follow their instructions but had no luck. The plugged duct turned into mastitis :( Another fun factor in this game is that currently I have no insurance. My brother in law is a doctor so he came to the rescue and prescribed and anti biotic for me. I started taking it and felt much much better. My energy level was back and I felt functional. The lump was still there. Everyone I talked to said to make sure to keep taking the anti-biotics until they were gone and the lump should go away. Well, it didn't. I kept hoping and hoping that it would work itself out, but of course it didn't. The pain and pressure and the sunburn it was giving me from the inside out eventually became too much to take so even with no insurance, I called the doctor and made an appointment. The night before the appointment it hurt so bad I hardly got any sleep at all. My appointment was with an NP. She took one look at it and went to get the doctor- it was THAT bad. I could even hear all of the nurses talking outside my door saying things like, "Did you see it?" "Oh that poor girl, its terrible" so on and so forth. I was the 'show' for the day. The NP even came in and asked if some of the workers that were nursing students could come in and see it- so I said sure, why not! The doctor thinks that it might even be MRSA but we won't know until Monday when my culture sample comes back. The doctor referred me to a general surgeon and I was to go to him in just 1 hour to have him drain the abscess drained. Here comes the gross part! I got to the surgeons office and got all checked in. He gave me some shots in my breast so it wouldn't hurt as bad, and made his incision. Yes, I could feel all sorts of puss or whatever it was run down and when he pulled out the abscess he showed it to me. It was about the size of a nickel, and round. He said that is pretty large as far as abscesses go I guess. It did feel nice to have all that pressure gone. The terrible part is that I didn't get instantly stitched up. Even as I type this I have an open wound filled with gauze. Zack and I have nick-named it my "gun shot wound" because that is what it looks like folks! I have an appointment on Monday to have the nurse look at it, and on Thursday the surgeon will stitch me up and hopefully then I will be on the road to a full recovery. Hooray for having a normal boob again!

If you made it this far, congratulations!! It was long and gross but I want to remember this so that one day if Elise is a snotty teenager (lets hope not!) that I can hold this over her head :) Another scar all in the sake of motherhood, right?!

On a happier note, but still boob related, check out this great song HERE. It's called The Boob Fairy and is an Oakcrest staff favorite. Its pretty funny- give it a listen!

Tummy Time

2011-03-23T10:02:00.000-06:00

Here is a little video of how Elise feels about tummy time. Needless to say, we don't do it too often. We are currently working on trying to get her to roll over. We'll see how training goes :) It's fun to hear her cute little voice in this video though!

Date Night!

2011-03-15T23:09:00.000-06:00

Zack, Elise and I with my spoils from the date!

This past Saturday my siblings and I had a fun date night! I found the idea on my cousins blog and adapted it to fit us better. Basically we sent the guys out on a scavenger hunt, complete with clues, and they went around town to buy us presents :) Who wouldn't like that?! At first guys weren't all that thrilled to be sent out on a man-date, but I think in the end they ended up having a great time too. The clues sent the boys to the following places:

-The kitchen table to make us a card
-Macey's grocery store for some candy
-See's Chocolate
-Claire's for some jewelry
-Bath and Body Works
-Deseret Book
-Back home again for the present reveal and some delicious banana splits!

The participants! Please excuse our matchy outfits- we had taken family pictures earlier that day! I bet the boys loved going to mall together in matching clothes :)

The girls all stayed home and watched the kiddos while the boys went out. It was fun to see what all the girls thought the boys would get us, and what they ended up buying. We were all very pleased with the results even if the boys did break a few of the rules. Thanks for playing along with us boys!! We love you and appreciate all you do!

Two Months

2011-03-02T10:07:00.000-07:00

I realize I'm biased but is this not the cutest little girl?!

I can't believe that it has already been 2 months since this cute girl came into our lives! She is so much fun and it is so amazing to get to see her everyday and see her change and grow so much.

Here are some things about Elise at 2 months:

Hated her binky until about 3 days ago

Loves to eat her hands

Arches her back

Loves to be swaddled

Her favorite place in our house is the changing table

Loves to take baths

Occasionally looks at her parents with a "what are you doing?!" expression

Is excellent at holding her head up

Loves mornings

Typically a good sleeper- usually only wakes up once

Is discovering her voice

We love you so much darling daughter!

F-R-I-E-N-D-S

2011-02-28T17:20:00.000-07:00

Emily and Elise, Shauna and Corbyn, Rachel and Jillian

It's crazy to think that a year ago this time that none of these cute little babies even existed! Well, Shauna's did but he was still in her belly :) Our good friend Rachel was in town this weekend and she stopped by for a visit and so we could all meet each others kids! It was fun to visit together and hear about how all our lives have changed so much! The good/bad thing about a student ward is that you meet such great people and we have so much in common with them but soon everyone moves away..... Thank goodness for the internet and blogs so we can all stay in touch! It was great to see you Rachel and to meet adorable Jilly! Until next time...

{Heirloon} Quilts

2011-02-28T09:10:00.000-07:00

If any of you know my mother, you know she is a QUILTER. She started about 15 years ago, and has been going strong ever since! She is one of the most talented women I know, and I look up to her so much! One thing my mom likes to do is to make each married couple a quilt, as well as a quilt for each grandchild. Today's post is to show those off!

I picked out the quilt I wanted my mom to make for Zack and I the summer before we were married. I saw it in a magazine and fell in love with it! The pattern was so neat- I love how it plays with your eyes. It looks like a kaleidoscope right? I asked my mom if that was an "ok" quilt for her to make and she gave it the go ahead! That being said, this was the hardest quilt my mom has ever made! It took many many hours of intricate cutting and piecing! She also had to add even more quilt blocks because the pattern for for a queen and we have a king size bed(I'll ask her how many blocks she had to make!). Well she finished it last November and just finished putting the binding on it. I love it- it couldn't be more perfect! It might be a little late but certainly worth the wait!

This is the quilt my mom made for Elise. I love the simplicity of this row quilt and especially the fabrics! My favorite thing on it are the appliqued' birds and the yo yo's she has sewn on. It was machine quilted and makes cute little flowers and vines across the quilt. It won't show in the picture- but it is great.

I'm so lucky to have such a wonderful and talented mother! Mom, these are certainly heirloom quilts that we will keep and cherish forever and will be passed down with love! Thanks again!

jujuB

2011-02-25T13:17:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to tell you about my sister's new business!! It is called jujuB! She has set it up with her good friend and they sell the most darling things! They love playing with fabric, paper, lace, buttons, sewing, you name it. It is EVERYTHING girlie- clothes, jewelry and fun accessories. Below I have some pictures of what they make/sell. Be sure to check their website out here. They also have an Etsy site if you are interested in purchasing any of their wonderful crafts! Feel free to 'follow' their blog and help them out as they get their business started. Share with your friends/family!

Darling right?!

Love Rocks

2011-02-14T10:45:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of my love! This is the Japanese Love Rock. Legend has it that if you can walk from one rock to the other rock with your eyes closed that you will find love soon and be lucky in it! I certainly am one lucky girl to have him come home to me everyday!

Happy Valentines Day!

XOXO

May 21st 2011

2011-02-04T20:26:00.000-07:00

This is the day that my sisters Natalie, Nicole and I will be competing in the Women of Steel Triathalon! We are really excited to do this together! Its going to be a great way for me to lose that last little bit of baby weight and get toned just in time for summer! Its not a full fledged tri- here is what the race includes: swim 300 meters, bike12.4 miles, run 3 miles. This is just the length that I think is do-able! Wish us luck! Hopefully baby girl will allow me enough time here and there to get into gear! Better start now! If you are interested you can find out more information here.

One Month

2011-01-31T10:48:00.000-07:00

I'm a few days late in posting this, but here is our pretty little girl at the age of one month!! She is getting so big! She already is up to 8 lbs. 4 oz! We love you Elise!

My Birthday {Twenty Five}

2011-01-29T14:36:00.000-07:00

It was my birthday last week (the 19th to be exact!) and I had a great time celebrating it! I certainly was spoiled rotten!

On my actual birthday, our good friends David and Rachel came over with this delicious cake they made for me! Thanks Rachel!

Zack came home and surprised me with this gorgeous bouquet of flowers! He also got me some new clothes (including jeans....SO nice to wear and BUY normal jeans again!), a gift certificate to get a mani pedi, some goldfish crackers, and a trip to Color Me Mine. I have been telling him that I've wanted to go there for a long time, and we finally got to go!

Here is Zack working on his mug! We were both surprised at how much we enjoyed it! We both thought it would be fun...we just didn't realize how much fun!!

Here we are with the finished product. I say finished because in this photo, they still had to be glazed. So, they are much brighter in their finished form than they appear here. I have always wanted a 'You are Special' plate so I decided to make it myself! Zack made a giant mug that says Papa Pugh! We LOVE how they turned out. It was a GREAT birthday! Thanks to everyone who helped make it so special for me!

The Latest of Elise...

2011-01-29T14:26:00.000-07:00

I haven't updated very much lately so here are a bunch of photos of our little girl and what she has been up to in her first month of life!

Here we are with my Grandpa Galbraith. He is 96 years old and going strong!

I laid her down on a blanket for a couple of minutes and I came back and she had fallen asleep in front of this space heater. She loves to be warm! So cute!

She loves her baths! During this bath she even put one of her feet down in the water because she liked it so much! Is this picture not the cutest thing? She even was modest all on her own...we didn't position her like that.

After the bath we were in a rush to find the binkie. She wanted something so bad she started to suck on Zack's finger.

We spent a few days up at my Mom's house while Zack was gone at an interview. Elise and her cousin Molly got to hang out a bit!

Just chilling in her bouncer!

Cousins!

2011-01-29T14:13:00.000-07:00

My cousin Holly and I are only 1 month apart! We grew up together with lots of play dates and were the best of cousins! I have many memories with her that include, but are not limited to: pranks, the castle plates, orange juice, the nutcracker, your pool, hogi yogi, ice chairs, sport court, fimo beads, pasting on my swimsuit, and many many more! Holly and her husband Brad moved to Washington D.C. this past August for Brad to start med school- so its been awhile since I've seen my favorite cousin! Fortunately her and her adorable daughter, Lillia, were out for a visit last week and we got together!

This coming week Zack has an interview at the same school Holly's husband goes to. Lets just say I'd LOVE it if we went there so I could hang out with these 2 awesome girls all the time! Thanks for vising Holly! (Oh, and Elise wasn't as mad as she looks in this picture!)

Bathing Beauty!

2011-01-08T17:54:00.000-07:00

My Mom has come down several times this week to help me out with Elise. Its been so great to have her help! We gave Elise her first bath on Wednesday. She didn't love it....but she didn't hate it either! Its a good thing that babies only need to bathed 2 times a week. I think she has forgot all about it- 'till next time!

Babies smell so good after baths! I love their shampoo and lotions! And those hooded towels are the best! Who doesn't look cute in those! I'd say bath #1 was a success!

Photo Shoot: Take One

2011-01-08T17:45:00.000-07:00

My sister Nicole is a budding photographer so she offered to take some newborn shots of little miss for free! Yay! Those words are music to my ears! She got some great shots and had some awesome ideas- its too bad that Elise wasn't in the mood to cooperate! Most newborns sleep all day long but of course, the 3 hours we tried to take pictures she was wide awake! We managed to get a few great ones still! Here are some of my favorites! Thanks again Nicole! We will try again soon!

We love you so much Elise!

Elise Noelle {The Birth Story}

2011-01-02T13:50:00.000-07:00

It began on Tuesday December 28^th. If you remember my due date was Dec. 27^th so we were a little sad that we went past the due date. I had a doctor’s appointment that afternoon at 1pm. We had a relaxing and easy morning and then drove to the appointment. They called me back and first thing they do at every appointment is take your blood pressure. Mine has been pretty high all of December but when they checked me on Tuesday it was as high as 160! The nurse said “you might be going to the hospital right now.” The doctor still came in and checked me to see how far progressed I was, but I was still only dilated to a 2 and only 75% effaced. The doctor told me I should get checked into the hospital as soon as possible. So, we left the appointment, ran home to grab my hospital bags and off we went!

We arrived at the hospital around 2pm and got checked in! I got dressed in my gown and waited for the nurse to come in. She told me that since I was still only at a 2, that the doctor recommended that before we start Pitocin, that I should try cytotec. That is a pill they put up me to make me cervix “ripen” if you will. Each pill takes about 3 hours. So, we waited. After the 3 hours, I had progress maybe a ½ so they tried another dose of cytotec. Around this time my mom came down to join the party and keep us company. After time had passed they checked me and still NOTHING! The nurse talked with the doctor and they decided that they wanted me to progress naturally and be to a 3 or 4 before they start Pitocin, so they said they were going to leave me to be and they would be in again around 4am to check me. This was at about 9:30pm on Tuesday night so I was not very happy to hear that I just had to wait around until 4. My mom starts to gather her things to leave since she figured it would be awhile when all of the sudden my water broke! It’s a good thing she didn’t leave yet! The nurse came in to verify that my water broke and sure enough it had! At this point I could start to feel some contractions. It wasn’t terrible pain, but I asked for my epidural at this time since why feel any pain if I don’t have to?!

Here we are! First Family Photo. This is right after Elise was born.

The anesthesiologist was brought in. Getting in the epidural was easy and pain free. Life was good and I was hoping to progress quickly at this point! Little did I know I was about to get all that I wished for and more! After the epidural had been in for about 10 minutes, every time I would have a contraction the baby’s heart rate would drop. I started to have a really bad contraction that lasted for about 10 minutes and at this point the nurses were very worried. Several more nurses came running in talking about calling this person, getting doctor so-and-so. They had me rolling over from one side to the other to see if that would bring her heart rate up but it didn’t work. They even had me get on my knees in praying position with my head to my chin- but that didn’t work either. It was at this point and when I was in this position that I was rolled out of the room, and into the operating room. I was scared as they wheeled me through the hall-not for me, but for Elise. But I knew everything was going to be ok. I was moved to the operating table, given some oxygen and the anesthesiologist checked to make sure I had no feeling. It was a good thing I got the epidural when I did! Zack got to come in and hold my hand and watch the surgery. It all went very fast! From the time the incision was made it was maybe 2 minutes until Elise was born. I was alert during the surgery but luckily had no feeling. There was a sheet under my head so I was not able to see her born, but Zack was able to watch. After she was born they took her away to clean her up and test her to make sure she was ok. I heard her crying and felt a wave of relief knowing my baby was ok. The first thing I heard someone say after she came out was a nurse saying, “She’s really pretty!” This gave me a big smile! After the C-section everything was good and normal. Zack was able to bring her to the side of my head to show her to me. I couldn’t hold her yet- I was still not stitched up from surgery and had NO feeling in my arms. But we were able to get some photos taken and I got to give her a little kiss. She was bright eyed and VERY awake! I was so happy to have her here and safe!

The proud Papa Pugh in his scrubs he got to put on to be in the OR while she was born. I love this picture!

Zack then left with Elise to the nursery where they gave her a bath and checked her. She was born on Wednesday December 29^th at 12:06am. She weighed 6 lbs. 5 oz. and was only 18 inches long. She is a very small baby, especially for going full term. They were worried that she might have diabetes so she had to have a blood sugar test every 6 hours for the first 24 hours but she passed that with flying colors! She also did great on her hearing test. The only thing they are worried about at this point is her weight. She has now lost 11% of body weight when most newborns only lost 7% so we are doing our best to feed this little girl whenever she wants- and lots of it! Nursing is hard and definitely something to work at but it’s getting better. We were able to come home yesterday (New Year’s Day) and couldn’t be happier to have this little girl at our home with us.

As you can see she was very alert after birth! We love her big dark eyes and especially all that hair!! We love her so much and are excited for all that lies ahead!

Announcing:

2010-12-29T07:58:00.000-07:00

Elise Noelle Pugh

December 29th 2010

12:06am

18 inches

6 pounds 5 ounces

Mother and Baby are doing well! Pictures and more info to come soon!

{2 Years}

2010-12-27T10:01:00.000-07:00

It's been 2 whole years since this wonderful day and I can't wait for the many more that we have yet to celebrate! I love you so much and I can't wait to see what the next year of our marriage will bring!

Happy Anniversary Zack!

BYU vs. UTEP

2010-12-24T11:55:00.000-07:00

Last night Zack and I had the chance to go to the BYU vs. UTEP basketball game! Thanks to the fact that it is Christmas break on campus, we were able to go early and get really REALLY great seats!

Here we are at the Marriott Center! We sat on the 4th row, center court!

The game started out a little scary....at one point I think it was 11 to 1 and we were getting a little worried on how this game was going to turn out! But the cougs had our backs and we were able to pull off a GREAT victory!

We pulled out a victory with a score of 89-68! The cougars hadn't played a home game in over a month- so this was a good way to welcome them back home :)

Thanks for a fun night Cougars!

Nursery Sneak Peak!

2010-12-24T11:46:00.000-07:00

I've been slowly working on getting Elise's nursery all put together and we are about 90% finished with the job at this point. There are a few things that still need fixing....like a drawer that broke in her dresser, and some storage boxes that I need to find another room for, but all in all, I think baby girl is safe to come home anytime!

And here is the missing drawer I was referring to! We were able to get our nursery furnished for a grand total of $45- big thanks to older siblings giving us free stuff and ksl.com. So, I can't be too upset that the screws in the drawer came lose! It will be fixed soon- nothing a little wood glue can't fix. The pink chair in the room actually belonged to my Grandma Galbraith! Don't you just love the color she chose to upholster it with?? I sure do! Now all we need is the baby, right?!

I'm planning on getting some curtains made for her as well as a quilt (its being made as we speak!) to hang on the wall to add a little more splash of color! I'll show you updated photos when it is complete!

An Ode...

2010-12-23T10:47:00.000-07:00

(Yes, this is my uncovered baby bump! Don't worry, this is the most you'll EVER see of it!)

to my belly button! One thing I was dreading (for no reason other than how vain I am) was the day that my belly button would pop out the opposite direction. Here I am at 39 and 3/7th of the way and the belly button remains in tact! I am so proud of it, and I think we have made it through the storm!

But really, I am so grateful for my body. Yes I am a girl so of course I have my "list" of things that that I would change or get rid of if I could, but my body has been so amazing this pregnancy. I have been SO very lucky to have had a very easy, and uncomplicated pregnancy. When I found out I was pregnant I didn't even get sick until weeks 13,14 and even then I think those were brought on by the cruise. I was rarely sick, I was able to still go to work and feel fine, I don't even have any stretch marks (thank you long torso!). I didn't ever have any weird or strange cravings and everything has been smooth! I have many pregnant friends who sadly have not been as fortunate, and I don't share this to rub it in, I really just wanted to say thank you! I don't know why I have been so lucky, but I grateful that I have been. I know girls who are sick 90% of their pregnancy and I take my hat off to you! I don't know how you do it, or how you would ever want to be pregnant again. Right now (pre-kids) Zack and I say that we still want about 5 kids(some of you may be laughing at us, which is fine)...with such an easy pregnancy that is looking more like a possibility! Thanks body! You have been wonderful! Now, lets get this baby out :)

Christmas Festivities

2010-12-22T10:43:00.000-07:00

On Monday night, my family got together to celebrate Christmas since many of them will be out of town. We had a great time together doing all of the usual traditions and meals.

Here is the beautiful table that my mom set. She always goes all out for the holidays and makes everything look and feel extra special.

My mom has had these Christmas plates for-I don't know how long! But it wouldn't be Christmas without them! We also used my Grandma's silverware, another special touch! Our Christmas Eve dinner always consists of a honey baked ham, twice baked potatoes, salad, rolls, and a yummy dessert. We were not disappointed this year either. It was great!

After dinner, we all exchanged some gifts. The grandkids all got a small gift from grandma and grandpa and the rest of us exchanged our sibling presents to each other! Todd had Zack and I and we got a gift card to Olive Garden-yum! We are very excited about it! Thanks Todd!

Here is perhaps one of the LAST photos you will see of our family only being the TWO of us! As you can see in the picture little Elise is fully grown and is hopefully ready to come and greet us! I feel like a ticking time bomb these days- I never know where I'll be or what I'll be doing when I go into labor or when my water might break! We are MORE than excited for her to be here. We really think at this point she will come on Christmas day because, well, because that would be our luck!!

I hope all of your holidays are going well and that you are enjoying time with friends and family!

The Meaning of Christmas

2010-12-19T16:40:00.000-07:00

At church today, this story was shared. I thought it was really sweet and was a good reminder that all the things we associate with Christmas and the decorations really do all point toward Christ. Here is the story (it's pretty long- but good!! Maybe read it at FHE?):

Last Monday night I had a strange visitor. This is how it happened...

I had just finished the household chores for the night and was preparing to go to bed when I heard a noise in the front of the house. I opened the door of the front room, and to my surprise, a special visitor stepped out from behind the Christmas tree. He placed his fingers over his lips so I would not cry out. "What are you doing?" I started to ask, but the words choked up in my throat as I saw that he had tears in his eyes. He then answered me with the simple statement of "Teach the children."

I was puzzled. What did he mean? He anticipated my question and with one quick movement, brought a miniature toy bag from behind the tree. As I stood there in my night shirt bewildered, the visitor said again, "Teach the children."

My perplexed expression still showed in the near darkness. "Teach them the old meaning of Christmas --- the meaning that Christmas nowadays has forgotten."

I started to say, "How can I?" when the visitor reached into the toy bag and pulled out a brilliant shiny star.

"Teach the children the star was the heavenly sign of promise long ago. God promised a Savior for the world and a sign of the fulfillment of his promise. The countless shining stars at night --- one for each man --- now show the burning hope of all mankind."

The visitor gently laid the star upon the fireplace mantle and drew forth from the bag a glittering red Christmas ornament.

"Teach the children red is the first color of Christmas. It was first used by the faithful people to remind them of the blood which was shed for all people by the Savior. Christ gave his life and shed his blood that every man might have God's gift to all-eternal life. Red is deep, intense, vivid --- it is the greatest color of all. It is the symbol of the gift of God."

As the visitor was twisting and pulling another object out of his bag, I heard the kitchen clock begin to strike twelve. I wanted to say something but he went right on.

"Teach the children," he said, as the twisting and pulling suddenly dislodged a small Christmas tree from the depths of the toy bag. He placed it before the mantel and gently hung the red ornament.

Here was the second color of Christmas. "The pure color of the stately fir tree remains green all year round," he said. "This depicts the everlasting hope of mankind. Green is the youthful, hopeful, abundant color of nature. All the needles point heavenward --- symbolic of man's returning thoughts toward heaven. The great, green tree has been man's best friend. It has sheltered him, warmed him, made beauty for him, formed his furniture."

The visitor's eyes were beginning to twinkle now as he stood there. Suddenly I heard a soft tinkling sound. As it grew louder, it seemed like the sound of long ago.

"Teach the children, that as the lost sheep are found by the sound of the bell, so should it ring for man to return to the fold --- it means guidance and return. It further signifies that all are precious in the eyes of the Lord. Who is there among you if his son asks for bread would give him a stone?"

As the soft sharp sound of the bell faded into the night, the visitor drew forth a candle. He placed it on the mantle and the soft glow from its tiny flame cast an eerie glow about the darkened room. Odd shapes in the room slowly danced and weaved upon the walls.

"Teach the children," whispered the visitor, "that the candle shows man's thanks for the star of long ago; it's small light is the mirror of the star light." "At first candles were placed on the Christmas tree --- they were like many glowing stars shining against the dark green. Safety now has removed the candles from the tree and the colored lights have taken over in that remembrance."

The visitor now had turned the small Christmas tree lights on and picked up a gift from under the tree.

He pointed to the large bow ribbon and said, "A bow is placed on a present to remind us of the spirit of the brotherhood of man. We should remember that the bow is tied as man should be tied --- all of us together, with the bonds of good will toward each other. Good will forever is the message of the bow."

Now my mind began to wonder what else the visitor might have in his bag. Instead of reaching in his bag, he slung it over his shoulder and began to reach up on the Christmas tree. I thought he was hungry as he reached for a candy cane purposely placed high on the tree. He unfastened it and reached out toward me with it.

"Teach the children that the candy cane represents the shepherd's crook. The crook on the staff helps bring back the strayed sheep of the fold. The candy cane is the symbol that we are our brother's keepers."

The visitor then paused. He seemed to realize that he should be on his way. As he looked about the room a feeling of satisfaction shined on his face. He read wonderment in my eyes and I am sure he sensed my admiration for this night. He was his old self as he approached the front door. The twinkle in his eyes gave the visitor away. I knew he wasn't through yet. He reached into his bag and brought forth a large holly wreath. He placed it at the door and said,

"Please teach the children the wreath symbolizes the eternal nature of love; it never ceases, stops, or ends. It is one continuous round of affection." "The wreath does double duty. It is made of many things and in many colors. It should remind us of many things of Christmas." "Please teach the children."

I pondered and wondered and thrilled with delight as I sat and viewed all those symbols that night. And my thoughts were of the visitor and all he made right.

To give and to help, to love and to serve, are the best things of life, all men can deserve. Jesus the Christ Child as small as an elf, is the very best symbol of Christmas itself.

He's the sign of the gift of love and of life, the ending of evil, the ceasing of strife.The message to me on this pre-Christmas night has opened a treasure of deepest insight.

The one thing on earth we all ought to do, is the teaching of children the right and the true.

Update!

2010-12-17T19:01:00.000-07:00

This is more for me and my remembrance than anything, but you all are welcome to read!

I went to the doctor today and here is the latest update:First of all, she is still head down and in the right position. Good and strong heart beat. He also said right now she weighs around 7-7.5 lbs and most likely won't get any bigger than that. I think that will be the perfect size :) I am dilated to a 2 and am 75% effaced. Now, while this isn't wonderful- it is progress. I have improved since last week so progress is progress. The doctor also stripped my membrane. He said he wasn't able to get as much as he would have liked, but got about 75% of it stripped. So, that may or may not help. He said that since I am 4 days away from being 39 weeks, that we can talk about inducing me :) Music to my ears! He also said that he was going to try his best to make sure I get the tax cut by having her by the end of the year. We made an appointment for next Tuesday, December 21st, and said that if I am to an 8 on what he said is the "bishops scale" we can set up a time to induce me!! Right now I am to a 4 on the scale, so everyone cross your fingers that I move up to an 8 so I am a good candidate!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

2010-12-12T19:19:00.000-07:00

As promised, here are some photos of the decor at the Pugh house this month. I know, it isn't a whole lot but I've only just begun my collection, and we live in a small place! I still love it though. It makes me smile every time I walk in the door.

We don't have a chimney so our stockings are hung on the table with care :) I love our tree!! We inherited it from my parents who had this artificial tree for years and never used it. It is the perfect size for our place!

Someone was kind enough to give me a poinsetta plant this year as a gift and I love it! If only I would remember to water it so it will stay alive!! I made the noel blocks last year with some friends.

And last, my corner of what Christmas is really all about. Here is my nativity and the star and best of all, the many names of our Savior Jesus Christ. We have talked a lot this December about the true meaning of Christmas and trying to make sure that Christ is the real center of this holiday. Zack and I were talking about this and he pointed out that many of our traditions like the candy cane, Christmas trees, and even a wreath all do have roots back to the Savior and we need to always remember that! I love this time of year! I hope all of you do too and are enjoying it with your families!

Sneak Peak

2010-12-09T21:02:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of me at 37 weeks. Sorry, not much is happening around the Pugh house, so you get to deal with regular picture updates of me and my belly! What is the sneak peak of? Our Christmas decorations around the home. Another blog post will be coming soon to showcase those. But, I love having the tree up in our home!

Emily: I have been trying to get everything ready for our little girl to join us! Every day I try to do a little more to get her nursery ready! As far as work is concerned, I have been getting all of my classes and lesson plans ready for my substitute to take over in January. I do not plan on going back to work after I have the baby. I am assuming that baby girl will come sometime over Christmas break- so I am planning lessons for the first 2 weeks back in January for the substitute and my last official day of teaching will be January 14th.

Zack: He has been working very hard this semester! It has been one of his toughest class loads he has ever taken and he is still doing very well. I am so proud of him for making it through. We will both be very excited when this is all over! Today is the last day of classes for BYU and next week is finals week- wish him luck!

We are both looking forward to relaxing (for me the relaxing will be before the baby comes!) over the Christmas break and spending some time together as the 2 of us for the last time! Most of our holiday plans are contingent upon when Elise decides to come! We are so excited to have this little girl come! Everyday Zack says to me "Can't she just be here?" He is going to be the best Dad! Thats it for now!

From the Mouth of a High School Student

2010-11-30T13:02:00.000-07:00

One of the classes I teach is Financial Literacy. I really enjoy the students in this class. It is filled mostly with juniors in high school and I have a pretty great mix of kids. The other day in class we watched the movie '30 Days'. It is made by the same man who did 'Super Size Me'. This time he lives on minimum wage for 30 days. The kids seemed to really enjoy this video and it definitely opened their eyes. After watching the movie, they were assigned to write a half page reflection on the video. I asked if they would do anything differently, how they could have been better at saving money, etc. While grading those papers today, I came across this little gem:

"Well, congratulations you proved some people are poor. The minimum wage has been raised since then and for an obvious reason. I am now filling space. The rest of this is nothing. If you read this sentence I will buy you a Dr. Pepper."

This student did go on to say a few more things that were actually relevant to the assignment, but I couldn't help but laugh so hard! I'm not even mad he said that. THIS IS WHY I LOVE HIGH SCHOOL. These kids are hilarious and keep me laughing everyday.

I underlined his Dr. Pepper sentence and added that I will need him to change that to a Sprite. His paper is now on top of the grading pile. I sure can't wait for class tomorrow :)

Quiet Book Reveal!

2010-11-29T16:03:00.000-07:00

The quiet book is FINISHED! I am so very pleased with how it turned out! This was SUCH a fun project. A big THANK YOU to all of those who participated in it with me, and for your hard work. I hope you all enjoy the pages that were made. I'm so impressed! So, without further ado:

Here it is from the front cover! They were all bound with different colors of bias tape!

The first four pages: hair braiding, letter writing, matching colors/doing buttons/stop light & matching!

Apple tree- use snap them on and off! Matching shapes/colors, get me dressed, telling time!

Here we have a pea pod (you un-zip it to find 3 little stuffed peas, so cute!), fish bowl, tie the bears bow, slide the car across the road.

The last pages- gumball machine where you count them all up, and a little note card that is all about the authors of this fabulous book! Thanks everyone for such a job well done!

35 Weeks!

2010-11-23T15:50:00.000-07:00

Only 5 more weeks to go- CrAzY!!

Baby Showers!

2010-11-20T22:31:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I was very spoiled! I had two showers in one day! It was a lot of fun :) One was a family shower, the other was with some of my girlfriends. It was so fun to see all my friends and family that I don't see often and to visit with them. Here are some photos from the day!

Here I am with my mom, sisters Nicole and Natalie, and their adorable little girls Ali and Emery. My mom hosted the shower at her house and put it all together! She did such a great job!

Here is a picture of the 'spread'. My mom had the shower be similar to a little girls tea party! Of course there was pink everywhere, and we even got to eat on glass plates with little glass teacups. She set out all of her antique dolls on the table too. The food was delicious of course!

All of the Pugh ladies were able to come as well! It was fun to have just the girls from the Pugh side since we rarely see each other without their husbands and kids! They certainly spoiled our little girl and I was happy they could all come!

Here I am with my Aunt Denise (who I am named after) and my cute grandpa Watkins at the young age of 94! He was so excited to come to the shower :) He told all his friends at his assisted living center that he was going to a shower that day! I'm glad he was able to be there. There were MANY more people that came, but for picture overload sake, I won't post them. But a big THANK YOU to everyone who was able to come. We are so blessed to have this baby girl in our family and appreciate your friendship and generosity to us!

After my family shower, some of my girlfriends (Shauna, Janae, and Lacy) threw me a shower. Kristen was kind enough to host it at her home. I got to see a lot of friends I hadn't seen in a while like old roommates and high school friends. We had a great time just visiting and catching up.

Instead of playing games, Shauna instructed everyone in how to make these darling appliqued' onesies! They all turned out so well and will definitely a more personal gift from all the girls. I love how they turned out. It was a great day and me and and Elise are some very spoiled and lucky ladies! I feel much more prepared for her to join our family!

Happy Zacky Day!

2010-11-20T14:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to this guy!! This is one of my favorite pictures of him. This was taken in summer 2009 on the streets of Hong Kong somewhere. Doesn't that meat look delicious?

Zack's birthday was on November 14th and we had a great time spreading the celebration out for a week.

The festivities began on his birthday this past Sunday. With his calling he had the pleasure of getting up early and go to 5 hours of meetings even BEFORE our 3 hour block of church started :) After church, we headed up to Sandy to celebrate with his whole family. We ate one of his favorites- chimichangas! His parents and siblings spoiled him with some great gifts! My parents and Zack's parent and me all pitched in and bought Zack the new iPod touch. Unfortunately it was still en route from China, so he didn't get it on his actual birthday but he surely LOVES his present! He's hardly been able to put it down since he got it. Here he is opening the gift when it finally came in the mail!

He was definitely putting on some great faces for the camera. Even though he is acting here, I swear he really was that excited to finally have his present here.

Ah, sweet bliss! It finally came :) Zack, I sure do love you!! We have the best times together and I am so happy to be married to my best friend, even if we do finish each others sentences! I hope you had a fabulous 25th Birthday!! I hope we have another 65 birthdays left in store to celebrate!

I miss you....

2010-11-10T13:21:00.000-07:00

See how relaxed this woman looks? I really miss sleeping on my stomach. We had a good time. Wonderful dreams were had, relaxation occurred. Until we meet again in January!

What did you miss a lot while you were pregnant?

Anna's Little Pumpkin

2010-11-09T16:56:00.000-07:00

Among other things this weekend, I was able to co-host a baby shower for my good friend Anna. I met Anna when I moved into my ward about a year and a half ago. She has been nothing but fun and friendly from the get go! Anna is due Jan. 3rd so it has been fun to talk and compare pregnancy stories with each other and have a buddy to go through all of this with!

We decided to throw her a "little pumpkin" shower since it is fall now. We had a fun time preparing delicious food like Autumn soup, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin chocolate chip bread, wassail, and gingerbread cookies cut into pumpkins and dipped in chocolate! I think its safe to say we feasted well! Here are some photos from the event!

Here are all of the trimmings!

A lot of Anna's friends were able to be there! We had a good time visiting, sharing pregnancy stories, and making her some adorable hand appliqued onesies!

Shauna, the guest of honor and her "pumpkin", and Mackenzie
Can't wait to meet your little one Anna! Lets keep our fingers crossed that BOTH these little girls come in December for the tax break :)

Happy Halloween!

2010-11-02T19:22:00.000-06:00

Halloween is definitely one of my favorite holidays and this years did not disappoint! At school we could dress up on Friday so it was fun to see many of my students in costume! I love how creative they can be. Saturday morning was the annual Pugh Halloween Party. We all got together for pass the broomstick, pumpkin walk, great food, and of course a donut on a string eating contest! It was so much fun! This year Zack and I dressed up at Thing 1 and Thing 2 from Dr. Seuss!

Later that night we got together with the Phillips for our Ghoulish Feast! It was delicious! The menu consisted of Haunted Tostadas, blood for punch, eye ball dip, pumpkin cake pops, wormy jello, and scary cookies!

After stuffing ourselves, we watched the classic Garfield's Halloween and Coraline. Thanks for hosting us Phillips- we had a great time!