HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Here is Lois Ada's debut as the world's cutest monster!   I mean, come on, how cute is she?!?? 

The residents from Jason's program had a little Halloween party - as a chance to bring all the kids all dressed up.  One of the things I miss most about Halloween is having a house that kids trick-or-treat at.  I love seeing all the fun costumes!  It really is a fun holiday for children and adults alike.  Who doesn't like dressing up for fun?  I've liked dressing up since I was old enough to stand!  :-)

This is Lois and Aneesha.  Aneesha was born about a week before Lois - but only weighed about four pounds.  Needless to say, Lois is a giant next to her!  

This is Sasanka, Aneesha's mom...she's the coolest person ever and is one of Jason's favorite people to work with.  Sasanka is from Sri Lanka and really, the nicest person ever.  We're excited for our little girls to be able to play together when they get a little older!

This is who we thought Lois kind of looked like - Boo from Monsters, Inc.  What do you think?

Seriously?!???

In our apartment complex there are a ton of dog owners.  The grassy areas are usually sprinkled with doggy surprises - which I usually curse as I'm trying to walk across a section of grass to get to my mailbox.  I know that for people who actually have children that are old enough to run around go crazy too.  Because here in Tucson, grass is definitely a rare commodity and people with kids and people with dogs, I guess, have to duke it out for the space.  Monthly, we get "friendly reminders" to clean up after our pets and a $50 fine will be enforced for not doing so.  If only they actually enforced this - we might make some progress.

Within our little cove of apartments, we apparently didn't get the memo that dogs are a must because we have dogs on all sides of us.  Our next door neighbor to the right has two dogs - a great dane and a weiner dog - both that bark like mad because the man is gone all day long.  (I don't even want to know what his apartment looks like - and the fact that he only takes them out once a day for like two minutes each is a bit concerning to me.)  The guy to our upper left has a huge black dog, not sure the kind, but he's big.  The people below us to the right have a Rottweiler and just got another puppy.  The people below us to the left have two Boxers...I'll get back to them in a minute.

And us?  Well, we decided to get a human!  Yay!  Lois is so much better.  Maybe I should send a memo out to our neighbors telling them how cool she is.

So yeah.  Those people with the two Boxers?  Nearly everyday, I go out of our apartment, walk down our stairs and am greeted by nice little surprises by their door...BAGS OF DOGGY DOO-DOO!!  I took some pictures on two separate occasions, flabbergasted that they just let it sit out there and collect.  I don't think I have to mention that we have a huge dumpster less than 50 feet away from where you see those bags sitting.  Seriously, peeps??  Aside from this fact, I find another thing very disturbing about this.   Imagine you are out walking your dog(s), the dogs do their business - you clean it up, you would immediately throw it into the nearest trash, right?!?  So why, OH WHY, do they bring it back to their apartment just to sit right by their front door to bake in the hot sun and stink?

...Unless they are doing it inside the apartment.  You know, pooping.  Come to think of it, I have never seen them walk these dogs.  I'm suspicious and I think I'm gonna throw up.

Maybe to feel like part of the group, I can start putting Lois' dirty diapers right outside my front door.  Or even better, I could just add to their pile.  

I suppose I should look at the bright side and be grateful that I'm not having to dodge additional piles of poop on our grassy areas.  But seriously?  I'm totally grossed out.  And I couldn't help from sharing my disgust with all of you.  

Can any of you think of any other reasons why they let poop collect outside their door?  I'm curious to see what you all think about this disturbing scenario...

Salut!  Comment t'allez vous?

These pictures are for my Aunt Lana - she bought Lois this French inspired outfit.  Doesn't she look cute in her little beret?  

A BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE for the hubby

Today is Jason's 31st birthday.  I just wanted to wish him a happy birthday and let him know how much I love and appreciate him!  There are so many reasons why I love him - too many to count - but I just wanted to share a few reasons he makes my life so awesome.

He did this to me - and *helped* give me one of the most beautiful gifts...our beautiful daughter, Lois Ada.  I was happy that he made me pregnant!  :-) (This pictures was taken a day before Lois was born.)

He is my absolute best friend and companion and we have a great time together. And as you can see from this picture above, he appeases me and my craziness - this time a request to put nylons on our faces.  Needless to say, we couldn't stop laughing.  Good times.  Most recently, he was the only person that made me feel better when I was suffering from some serious baby blues.  He sat and hugged me and let me cry in his arms - sometimes for up to an hour - on numerous occasions.  And he didn't ever try to slip away.  He was just there for me.  Now that's true love.

He's a Cougar - through and through.  I don't know if I could share my life with someone who didn't love BYU as much as I do.  But he does, so it is totally awesome.

He is the most amazing father.  I feel so blessed everyday to know that Lois has such an awesome father.  She loves him so much and both Lois and I don't know what we'd do without him!

 

...because he looks this cute as a ghost.

I love Jason because of the little kid that still lives inside of him.  Whenever we watch movies like Transformers, Superman, Spiderman, Ironman (you get the picture), he reverts back to being a six-year-old kid, beams with excitement and imagines himself as that superhero.  Like Seinfeld has stated - these aren't dreams, these are OPTIONS.  I LOVE this.  It makes me love him even more, if that's possible.  

...because he makes cool faces like this.  Gotta love that!

Jason is a righteous man and a worthy priesthood holder.  I can't imagine a better blessing in my life.  I'm so grateful for this and grateful for his leadership in our home.   I want to be more like him in this respect, and it was one of the first things that attracted me to him.   

He's a romantic.  He flew all the way to New Orleans to propose to me on my 22nd birthday.  It was the best engagement, perfectly orchestrated and romantic.  I couldn't have written it better.  It was straight out of a storybook.

He buys me flowers and writes me sweet cards all the time.  And for no special occasions...just because he loves me.

He loves country music.

He is a wonderful provider and is good at what he does.  I'm so grateful that he works so hard so that I can be home with Lois.  He's a great and caring doctor and his patients love him.

Okay, so now that I've inundated you with all this goosh, I just want to say Happy Birthday, babe.  I love you and am so glad you were born!!  Here's to many, many more birthdays together!

Jordan & Kelly are married!

When Lois and I flew into Seattle on Thursday, it was a very typical Seattle day.  Overcast and a little drizzly.  Friday, the same deal.  Saturday?  A perfect day with (gasp) sun!  AMAZING! While it was a little chilly, it was a beautiful day.  We were surrounded by an array of autumn colors on the trees and bushes.  After Jordan and Kelly's sealing, we headed over to her parents house for a wedding luncheon which was delicious!  Then at 7pm, they had a dessert and dancing reception.  They put up this beautiful white tent in the backyard with twinkle lights all over.  It reminded me of the movie Father of the Bride.  It was a great day.  We love you Jordan and Kelly!!  Congratulations.

Finally, another sister!  Hooray!

The beautiful bride

Stella enamored by the bride!

The dancing couple...

Raleigh, my mom, her sister Lana and Stella - waiting for the couple to come out of the temple.

Lois and me - oh man, isn't she the cutest??

Stella and Lois had matching dresses for the grand occasion.

Lois staring at her grandpa at the wedding dinner.  

Lois and daddy

Stella and Tandi

I love this picture of Stella.  Hey!  What is that?!?

Newly married - coming out of the temple.  

The happy couple!!  Don't they look great together? 

Fun in Seattle

My brother, Jordan, got married this weekend in Seattle.  We were lucky enough to fly to Seattle for a few days to join in on the fun.  It was a whirlwind weekend - short and fast - but we had a great time!  It was so great to be back with family and to celebrate with the awesome couple. 

Tandi and the cute cousins - Stella and Lois

Lois hanging out in her car seat.  It was cold!

Preston and Stella on Alki Beach

Raleigh, Preston and Stella

Mom and Lois at the delicious Pegasus Pizza on Alki Beach in West Seattle - a definite family favorite!

  

Puget Sound and the fam!

Mom and Dad  -  Thanks for a great weekend!

Laughing Lois

Here's some fun video of Lois laughing when we were tickling her.  We especially love the grunt at the end of the video.  She's laughing more and more these days.  She's seriously the best!!  We love this little munchkin.