A Love Story

I'm having an affair.

Even before we met, I knew it was love.

I'm in love.....with a new (used) car.

*Tears of joy stream down my face*

I say WE got the car...but really I call it "MY car."

You see, this isn't any old car. Its a Toyota Corolla. Ever since Tyson has known me I've wanted a Corolla. We would dream about "if we had money..." and he'd talk about his Volvo and I'd talk about my Corolla (yeah...we're BIG dreamers...haha). But little could I have imagined my dream would come true so quickly.

"But why a Corolla?" You ask?

I used to have a Corolla (technically it was owned by my parents and I drove it everyday to and from school). It was a blueish greenish color. And I loved that car. Then a fateful event occurred where a driver, that wasn't me and shall remain unnamed, ran my dear Corolla into several trees...killing my beautiful car.

*Moment of silence*

Then I met Tyson. And I met Tyson's Volkswagon Jetta.

(Side note: The first time I met the Jetta I thought "oh no, maybe he's a car guy...its a pretty car, leather interior, with seat warmers....SEAT WARMERS" I almost scratched Tyson off my prospects list right then and there. In my list of "no no's" while dating were "not an unnecessary spender" and "doesn't feel the need for speed" which equals..."not a car guy". Until I found out he simply bought it from a good family friend who was just getting rid of it and gave it to him at a ridiculously low price.)

Then I fell in love with the Jetta. OK, mostly I fell in love with the seat warmers in the Jetta. After all, I met Tyson in the winter.

The Jetta's been good to us....until recently.

Leaking oil....once....

Twice....

THREE TIMES.

Within the year. And all mechanics seem confused as to what the problem could be other than "a crack in the pipe". So, Tyson and I decided it was time to get a new car.

And we found the Corolla....MY Corolla.

As I drove it home (we bought it in Des Moines..so it was a 3 hour drive) I couldn't help thinking "This is my old Corolla's reincarnate. He came back to life a decade newer and in the color red." And I smiled.

For three hours I went back in time. I even found a station that played the music I would have listened to in my old Corolla. And I could sing all to all the lyrics.

*Sigh*

While this purchased put a little dent in us financially...Tyson's glad that he's found something that has made me so happy.

I'm not a car person.

But I am a Corolla person....obviously.

(Oh...I feel silly. Most of you are probably thinking, "she's nuts...." And if you saw it...its definitely nothing to be BRAGGING about. But I still love it. Don't mock me...)

Happy Thanksgiving

A little turkey activity to get this Thanksgiving started!

Eden's job...put marshmallows on toothpicks.

Leila's job. Find something to stick in mouth.

At the end: Cheesy smiles and a happy turkey.

Then eat the turkey! Notice the sticky toothpicks stuck to Eden's belly. Tee Hee.

Things I'm thankful for:

1. A wonderful husband who always inspires me to become a better person through his example.
2. Two wonderful little girls who make me smile and laugh and are just cuter than any two little girls could ever be.
3. Family. Its easy to remember and miss family on holidays...I can't wait until I get to go back to Utah to visit.
4. Friends. Its so nice to have some friends close by so share this Thanksgiving and spend time with.
5. Med school. While at times it seems hard to have no income and no husband, I truly am grateful that Tyson has the chance to really do what he loves.
6. The gospel. I can't explain how happy it makes me to have guidance in my life along with the knowledge of what's truly important for now and in my life to come.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Eden and Leila

"Quiet Mom, we're trying to read."

Its days like this that make me thank Heavenly Father for such a wonderful family.

Autumn Time

Oh the joys of autumn. Eden's loving all the leaves.

(And please excuse the jacket that's a bit on the small side. She insisted on wearing it.)

Eden bullying Leila by dropping leaves on her while I was trying to snap some pictures of her.

"Eden's a bully" face.

Eden also insisted that she wanted to climb a tree.

Halloween

All I have to say is...Halloween is MUCH more fun with kids (in my humble opinion).

I mean, look at how cute my kids are!

But beyond dressing them up in costumes and watching Eden's face light up while trick or treating, I was also able to have fun making Halloween treats like mummy hot dogs, ghost rice crispy treats, soup with pieces of cheese on top cut out like bats, and monster apples.

Eden LOVED it all.

At our ward Trunk or Treat, Eden's favorite part (besides getting candy) was definitely "fishing in the cauldron". This is her and her little friend, Benjamin, fishing and getting their lines tangled.

There were also ping pong balls made like eyeballs that you were supposed to throw into pumpkin buckets....but she found it more entertaining to just play with the eyeballs.
Eden even got a balloon animal from one of the girls in the ward dressed as a clown.

Then of course, trick or treating with dad ROCKED.
And mommy stayed to pass out treats with the little chubby bunny.
By the looks on Leila's face....Leila obviously didn't appreciate Halloween like Eden did. But overall it was a really fun weekend.

p.s. What an awful wife I am....Tyson's birthday was on the 23rd and I didn't post any lovey-dovey my-husband-rocks-my-socks blog about him. But in my defense, he probably liked it better that way. Happy Birthday my love!

"One of THOSE Days"

To start, I love this picture....this picture describes perfectly how I feel on "one of THOSE days".

Do you know those days? The ones where everything going on around you is a blur and you just want to sit in stunned silence staring at nothing with your mouth gapping open just waiting and hoping for time to pass quicker than it is while letting your child run around naked because you don't have the energy to start the "you should put some clothes on" lecture?

Hmm....hope I'm not the only one.

Speaking of "THOSE days", I've had a few of them recently. No fun. Lots of unhappy children, sleep deprivation, and lack of cleanliness found throughout the home.

And people lately keep commenting to me how I have such a happy baby. And I keep thinking, "that's cause I only post the happy pictures." But I must say, Leila is even cute when she's sad. Look at that pout-y lip of hers!

And then it turns to a scream.....which isn't nearly as fun or pretty to watch.
p.s. Sorry the pictures are all blurry. My camera was on its last leg of battery life (so don't expect any new pictures until I can find my camera battery charger) and it wouldn't take pictures unless there was no flash, cause flash took too much battery. She was probably too close for the flash to have worked anyway.

Lake of the Ozarks

For the long weekend and Tyson's birthday, my mom gave us a vacation to Lake of the Ozarks (about 3 1/2 hours away from Kansas City) at their time share. It was AWESOME! Thanks mom!

My camera was just about dead and I couldn't find the charger...so here are a few pictures I was able to snap...

When we got there we ate at Steak n' Shake (which I love and is really cheap). Plus they gave Eden a Steak n' Shake hat and paper car. Eden played with it all night taking her snake and elephant for a ride.

It was WONDERFUL weather. So we went swimming.
Eden was VERY excited to swim.
This was the view from the time share. AMAZING. Right off the lake.
We also went on a short hike. Eden only liked it when she was carried...But it was beautiful and the leaves were all starting to change color and fall off the trees.
We also went to the beach. Although, it was really rocky and not a lot of fun to play in. But Eden loved it and cried when she had to leave.
We also spent a lot of time at the HUGE outlet mall there. It was a bitter sweet experience because we're poor med students. I could have spent LOTS of money there if I could have. :) But we did get a few things we needed (clothes for us and kids).

And of course, while at the condo we enjoyed having cable TV which we normally don't have. Tyson and I have an addiction to HGTV. I admit it.

Thanks again mom!

The only bad part about the vacation was coming home to 'real life' so soon.