Since that link doesn't want to work:


http://www.providentliving.org/ses/birthmother/searchprofiles/0,12268,2133-1,00.html

Go here instead.

Just do a search for SteveandJaylene (one word)

All I want for Christmas...

My lovely sis, Jay-meister and her adoring husband, Steve-o have been approved for adoption!!! They would be the most adoring, wonderful parents. And that child would be spoiled rotten by the coolest Aunt ever! I want for Christmas/Valentines/Independence Day/Thanksgiving is a little niece or nephew ankle-biter, people! Is that too much to ask? Anyway, since I have adoring fans and blog-stalkers that span the universe, (and really, I secretly wish I did) I thought I would post a link to their adoption site --Go ahead, spread the word... perhaps you know of someone who is looking for them!

Wonderful Scott Parents To-Be.

We must've been naughty this year...

Santa dropped off the devil's labrador early.

Halloweeeeeen.....

A little late, but still the pictures are so cute!  Not much to say about Halloween other than we had a great time!  It was fun getting to hang out with our Hadley the monkey and Kaden (a.k.a. Tony Stark)  Hadley looks more Lund-ish every day!  Josh was the Trojan Man and I was

 GiGi the kill for hire.  Thanks again to Steve and Kristi for their fun party!  Here are some pictures from the night -- I have more great ones but this is what you get.  

Seth and Brittney, you guys are one hot pirate couple!

Cynical in my old age, perhaps?...

I was reading through some old e-mails from my lovely younger sister and found this one she sent me over a year ago. Oh, what a sweet, sweet person Erica is! She always is positive and uplifting. Are we from the same parents? Really? My initial response to the e-mail was as posted below. (the original e-mail is in the regular type-- my responses are italicized and in green)

----- READ THIS VERY SLOWLY... IT'S PRETTY PROFOUND.Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine.

I got to thinking one day about all those people on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back. From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible.

Sometimes I get to think about all those people on the Titanic who ATE dessert, and when the Titanic hit the iceberg, all that jolting around made them really sea-sick. The movie doesn't depict all the dessert puke all over the boat, now does it...

How many women out there will eat at home because their husband didn't suggest going out to dinner until after something had been thawed? Does the word 'refrigeration' mean nothing to you?

If I had thawed something and was planning on cooking a delicious meal, and my husband looks in the kitchen, sees that I'm cooking and says "hey let's go out to eat" I'd be a little offended, since clearly he might be implying that my cooking sucks!!! Instead of this ingenious "refrigeration" word the author uses, I'd make my husband eat that thawed piece of meat, not cooked, just to show him how bad my 'cooking' can be.

How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while you watched 'Jeopardy' on television?

If my kids have dropped in to talk, I'm getting a little worried since I didn't think I had any. But even more worrisome would be if I was watching Jeopardy.

I cannot count the times I called my sister and said, 'How about going to lunch in a half hour?' She would gas up and stammer, 'I can't. I have clothes on the line. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known yesterday, I had a late breakfast, It looks like rain.' And my personal favorite: 'It's Monday.' She died a few years ago. We never did have lunch together.

We can't eat lunch if our hair is dirty, how unhealthy! How does she not know that?

Because we cram so much into their lives, we tend to schedule our headaches.. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the conditions are perfect!

I can't go to lunch next week, I've scheduled in a headache Friday between 11:30 and 7:30 -- sorry. Also, my hair will probably be dirty.

We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get Steve toilet-trained. We'll entertain when we replace the living-room carpet. We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college.

It's true, Steve really does need to learn that whole toilet training thing -- especially since he's done it so much on the living room carpet that we have to replace it. Who needs a second honeymoon when we can watch Jeopardy in silence with our kids anyway?

Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer. One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a lit any of 'I'm going to,' 'I plan on,' and 'Someday, when things are settled down a bit.'

Do you want to know what else usually accelerates near the end? A roller coaster. Which is unlike this person's life, who we'll call "Ms. Regret".

When anyone calls my 'seize the moment' friend, she is open to adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new ideas. Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five minutes, and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of Roller blades and skip an elevator for a bungee cord.

And also, Ms. "regretting not eating ice cream on the Titanic", skipping the elevator for the STAIRS is also not a bad choice.

My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. It's just that I might as well apply it directly to my stomach with a spatula and eliminate the digestive process. The other day, I stopped the car and bought a triple-decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy.

A triple-decker, really? One layer for each of your fat rolls?

Now..go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to......not something on your SHOULD DO list. If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting? Make sure you read this to the end; you will understand why I sent this to you.

Well I'm waiting because you have forced me to read this to the end to understand why you sent this to me. Is it for a guilt trip? Because I'M not the one feeling guilty that I just ate a TRIPLE DECKER IN THE CAR.

Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round or listened to the rain lapping on the ground? Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight or gazed at the sun into the fading night? Do you run through each day on the fly? When you ask 'How are you?' Do you hear the reply?

I tried to gaze at the sun once, and then I realized I went blind. What a stupid thing to do.

When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the next hundred chores running through your head? Ever told your child, 'We'll do it tomorrow.' And in your haste, not see his sorrow? Ever lost touch? Let a good friendship die? Just call to say 'Hi'?

I lost my sight, you idiot, not my touch. I can still touch.

When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift....Thrown away .. .. Life is not a race. Take it slower. Hear the music before the song is over.

What, our lives have theme music? I guess when the people on the Titanic were dying and throwing up, they got music. Man, they got dessert AND music too? Lucky.

Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND. If it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends.

OR you could send this to everyone you consider a LAZY SLOB who never calls you and you're bitter about it. Maybe they'll bring you ice cream later.

'Life may not be the party we hoped for... but while we are here we might as well dance!'

What kind of dance? Polka? Because I'd rather throw up on the Titanic.

I Heart Lazy Sundays!

If I could pick a day that it had to rain all day, it would be Sunday!  I've got to spend all day inside baking cookies and playing with Kona the Devil's Labrador, and even got a nap!  (but only until Kona decided to eat my arm and that woke me up... dang.)

I also played around on the computer a little, wishing I had a monitor to our old computer so I could get all the photos off there and play with them!  

Josh and I had a wonderful, busy Halloween -- pictures to come!  We want to thank Steve and Kristi for throwing such fun parties every year -- we wouldn't know what to do if we didn't have an excuse to dress up once a year.  Next year, our goal is to win best costume (most times we kind of put something together last minute, but I think we have next year planned.  Josh will actually let us dress up to match, how exciting!)

Here are some pictures to leave you with:

Who knew that a man-made lake could look good?  I snapped these photos while walking Kona at Daybreak Lake down the road a few days ago.

These are a few pictures from the family photo-shoot with the Atkinson family.  They make me look good!  

"Girls Never Listen"

I love spending time with my two favorite kids. Last Sunday we had a birthday dinner for both Heather and Josh at the in-laws home, and Kaden and Kaysee were having a great time playing with Kona. I, in my camera prowess, was able to catch this shot:

The dialogue that goes with this photo was as follows:

Kaysee: Hmmm, let me think. I think Kona wants to play with the fish in the pond.

Kaden: No, Kaycee, Josh and Becca said that Kona can't go in the pond.

Kaysee: Hmmm. Yes, I will let her play in the pond with the fishes.

Kaden: (Sighs) Ugh, girls never listen....

Happy Birthday To You...

This post is just a little late -- so what, I've been too busy to blog at home and upload pictures of this old man who also happens to be my husband. Ah, where do the years go?

Josh turned the big 2-7 on the 5th of October (which, f.y.i., is apparently the most common birthday in the world, who knew?) My parents and all the "illegal" sisters (that means anyone under 18, not illegal aliens, sheesh) came down to watch conference with us, and my mom made delicious lasagna for lunch/dinner. Next, the main food event: Josh's football birthday cake! I have been forced to cross off cake-decorating from my resume, because I am an awful cake decorator. It was a mess. But it was delicious and Josh gave me three points for cleverness.


Moving on -- I thought Josh's birthday post would be an excellent time to incorporate a tag I received from Sara. Many of you may not know my husband very well, so here are some funny quirks about him:

MY JOSH:

1. He will not wear shirts without a collar. True. He thinks he has a long giraffe neck, and will not wear a plain t-shirt. Who knew someone could be self concious about a NECK? Also, he has at least 10 blue polos. I think they are all the same color. He assures me they are completely different shades. If you think Josh keeps wearing the same shirt over and over again, he really doesn't. There are just 10 of them.

2. Josh will not swim in public pools -- for fear of floating poo (or "brown trout" as it is so affectionately called, sorry I know that is gross). Not even dip his toe in. Last summer when that whole crypto-thing came out Josh wore his "I told you so" face for at least 3 months. Along with his fear of public places -- his hatred for Disneyland. We went there on our honeymoon before our cruise and apparently his experience was so bad he will never return -- maybe he felt like he was babysitting the whole time, as I LOVE disneyland and was running and squealing everywhere? I actually forced him into going once after and he and his friend Jake literally whined the whole time... Really, he hates most public places, he's all phobic weird.

3. Josh is Uncle Sam? I have never met someone more patriotic! He really gets after me about my civic duties as a citizen-- yes I am voting next month --, wears his American flag tie on a regular basis and absolutely LOVES the 4th of July! Apparently we are naming all of our unborn children after Ulysses S. Grant -- as he is Josh's all-time hero (and to prove it, he bought a giant photo of him to hang in our house... ugh...)

4. Josh wears flip-flops at least 9 of the 12 months a year. He does not like shoes. To match his polos, he also has approximately 10 pair of the same flip-flop. I suspect he wears them to show off his freakishly long toes --he says they are his Polynesian heritage, made for walking in the sand-- even if it is 30 degrees outside. The only times he does not wear flip-flops is if it is raining or snowing heavily.

5. Another one of Josh's all-time heroes: Santa Claus. I must have had a bad experience as a child that I have blocked out of my memory because I find real-looking Santas creepy. Josh, however, is nuts about Christmas and Santa, cannot get enough of real-looking Santas, and even wishes we had a lifesize Santa decoration in our front entrance. (How creepy would that be? some fat bearded guy staring at me every time I come home?) We fight about this every year-- Santa vs. Snowmen. Josh insists that we send out Christmas Cards that look like this:





Hence, this is why no one gets Christmas cards from us, gross.

6. Josh watches cartoons every day. But not any cartoons, just old, "classic" cartoons. I wake up in the morning and turn on the TV to watch the local news (I should be informed says Josh) and it is always on some Cartoon channel -- apparently this is what he watches before he goes to bed. Our DVR is full of X-Men and Scooby-Doo re-runs. Every Christmas Eve (again, he really, really loves Christmas) we watch Yogi Bear's First Christmas and every October we start watching Scooby Doo Halloween specials. He may have just turned 7 and I mistakenly added a 2 in front of it? Oh, and also, he owns at least 10 Justice League action figures. And yes, we play with them.


7. I don't really know if this is a quirk, but it is something that cracks me up -- there is something about Josh that makes him incredibly attractive to other men. At any given time there are at least 3 guys out to make Josh their boyfriend. Several years ago some guy asked Josh to move in with him (the "perk" this guy used -- I have a shower for two!) Josh gets pretty uncomfortable when guys wink at him or make a go for his back side, but man, I crack up every time! Apparently, Josh is "pretty".


8. Josh talks in his sleep. And he is hi-larious (that is also one of Josh's things -- hi-larious is said just like that, with a pause in between the hi- and the -larious). My still all-time favorite, is when he told me so matter-of-fact-ly that aliens are more afraid of us than we are of them. Most of the time his sleep-talking comes with complimentary hand gestures.




I really lucked out. Josh also reminds me of that every day. How in the world did I end up with him? However it happened, it sure is entertaining every day! And for any of you who haven't had the chance to experience Josh in the full-extent of his funniness, COME ON OVER! If it's my cooking that scares you away, we'll order pizza.

The Trax Chronicles

(this post was actually written several months ago and I forgot about it until now -- I thought it was still funny/awkward so I thought I'd share my story)

Sometimes I feel a bit more humanitarian when I get to tell people I ride the train to work. What a great thing! Before we moved to our new house, we lived right by the trax station, and now that we live so far away from downtown, it's just easier to hop on and not have to think about traffic jams.

Sadly, not everyone shares my love for Trax. Josh, for example, won't ride anymore. We once rode the train to a conference session so we wouldn't have to try and find parking downtown, and some guy was touching his butt the whole time since it was so packed, and that was just a tad uncomfortable for him. I've never understood Josh's distaste for riding Trax, after all, I don't mind sitting uncomfortably close to someone I don't know, and most of the time I just bring a book or my i-pod and people leave me alone. Even the time when I rode with a mental case all the way home, who quoted bible passages and Geoffrey Chaucer the whole way, and also asked me to leave my husband and be with him -- that wasn't so bad. The time when a fellow from Atlanta commanded me to smile, and when I did, told me he was going to call all his friends in Atlanta and tell them to move out here so they could see my smile wasn't bad either. It was almost flattering, really. I really enjoyed the hospital patient who showed me his motorcycle accident skin grafts ALL THE WAY UP HIS LEG (yes I mean all the way). And also, the teenage boys who tried to rob me, and who were very, very unsuccessful, they just needed my cell phone to call their moms, it was alright.

HOWEVER... This morning, I think my comfort level with the whole riding with strangers thing was just a tad breached.

I was miraculously early in getting ready this morning, so I hopped the earlier train, eager to get to work and prepare for a client meeting. I was relieved to see that the train had a few empty seats, and I was lucky to get one of the last ones. I sat next down to a kid who was clearly on his way to school, and clearly must have stayed up late studying, (or something like that) since he was fast asleep. I thought great, sleeping seat buddies are always the best, that way they won't bother me. I thought wrong. I should've realized when I sat down and I could smell his morning breath, even though his mouth wasn't even open, that this was my cue to leave. But I felt guilty for rushing to the seat before everyone else could get to it, and decided I'd just have to bear it. Then, suddenly, his hand fell from his backpack, and dropped right on to my leg. I thought for sure he'd wake up when he realized his hand was on some lady's thigh, but he didn't. I tried to wriggle from under it, but it just followed my leg clear to the side of the seat. I then, gently, pushed it off with my purse. It laid to rest, still touching my leg, on my side of the bench. Phew, that wasn't so bad, I thought. I guess, subconciously, he thought it wasn't so bad either, since his head then switched drooping directions over my way and hovered about an inch over my shoulder. His morning breath was now unbearable. I tried breathing through my mouth, and that just made it worse. I wondered if I could hold my breath for the next 20 minutes, after all I'd seen a magician do it on television. I started to get nervous that a big drop of drool was going to land on my lap, or even worse, my arm. I kept inching away further to the side of the seat; only half of my one butt cheek remained on the seat at this point. Oh, but that kid just kept on sleeping, his body leaning more and more towards me. I wondered if everyone else noticed my level of uncomfort, but no one did. Everyone was too busy applying makeup, reading books, or staring blankly, straight ahead, to notice my unease. I thought, maybe if I think about it hard enough, his body will just sway the other way, and his head would just lay gently on the window. I even tried nudging his body so it would just fall that way, but it just would come back, this time even closer to me. I couldn't believe how slow time was moving.

FINALLY my train stop was next! I lept up from my seat, and watched the kid almost eat the ground when I moved. He awoke with a start, wiped up his drooly face, and looked up at me. I thought for sure he'd be super embarrassed and maybe apologize, since I was embarrassed for him. But he didn't. Instead he gave me this wide, cheesy grin, and then closed his eyes and laid against the window.

I am okay with standing up from now on.

My New "Skill"?

The Atkinsons spoiled Josh and I last weekend to dinner and play time, and let me use my new 50mm lens to take some family photos.  As I was playing around with their photos this week, I became super sad this week at my lack of computer skills doing the whole digital scrapbooking thing.  Any tutors available?  Anyway, I feel at least a little accomplished at what I've learned all by myself today.  

The Joy of Parenting!

Well maybe not "parenting".... but close enough.  Josh and I have expanded our family and now own a wonderful, crazy, very cute but mostly terrorizing 7-month old chocolate lab named Kona and we already love her VERY much --who knew it only took 2 days?  It's a lot of hard work, but it's about time I had some unconditional love around here!  

This picture cracks me up!  This is her favorite toy

Our Pretty Bedroom

Although I'm sure I'll change the room soon, here are the first ever pictures of inside our new home!  

OPTIMISM -- day dreamer more eloquently spelled

-- Mark Twain

I've had a fantastic week full of reflection and uplifting friends! On Wednesday I had the opportunity to go to the temple with a long-lost friend from college and we had such a wonderful time! She really helped me start putting things in perspective and realize all of the wonderful blessings my trials have been in disguise!

And first of all -- my wallet was found! I didn't write about this because I was waiting fore more people to feel sorry for me, hello!!!! A few days after it was stolen, (and after many, many prayers that God would just allow it to be sitting on my desk, unscathed...) I got a call from the bar down the street saying they had found my wallet in the trashcan of their bathroom! Gosh, I must have left it there after I got hammered... I am just so grateful that Heavenly Father does answer prayers! Hooray!

Anyway,

I have decided that although life really sucks sometimes, being optimistic about it maybe isn't that bad after all. My new goal in life is to turn all of those little "ick" moments into something good. For example:

THE BAD-- Josh hurt his GOOD KNEE! why, oh why. (let's pray for no surgery this time!)

THE GOOD -- Maybe I can beat him at tennis now that he can't run after the ball?

THE BAD-- Camera still gone, sniff.

THE GOOD-- If I have no camera to take pictures of, I can't have pictures to look bad in!!!

THE BAD-- Still not feeling great, doctors still can't pin it down.

THE GOOD-- "Mystery disease" can get me out of subbing in nursery.

THE BAD-- Have to go back to my second job next week.

THE GOOD-- Actually, it's not that bad. I secretly like having friends that are still in high school

THE BAD-- My house is a mess. How does that happen in just one week?

THE GOOD-- I've been practicing my manipulation skills all day -- Josh might just be tricked into wanting to clean it, even with only one leg.

THE BAD-- Someone, oh someone please help me decorate my house! I am a failure!

THE GOOD-- No one comes over to see it, I can keep my decorating failure to myself!

Actually, I finally got curtains for our bedroom! It is finished! I will take pictures (with my other camera, but keep that one a secret so it doesn't get stolen) and awe you with how good it looks despite my aesthetic ineptitude.

PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN

Josh and I are SO happy to announce the newest US Citizen: mom Mary Lund! We're so proud to call her our little Kiwi-American! Now if we could just convince her to vote this fall...

When it rains, it pours...

Today's rain seemed to be an echo of the way my heart has felt this last week.  However, I also feel that after the rain comes the blessings of the rain... Now I just have to wait for the blessings.

It is kind of ironic that I just blogged about Josh's crime-fighting abilities -- they really need to kick in now!  Friday while I was at work my office was ransacked and my wallet and camera were stolen!  I feel so violated!  What a pain it has been to cancel all my bank accounts and credit cards, not to mention I have to get new insurance cards, a new drivers license and library card!  Not to mention I was only 4 stamps away from getting a FREE MEAL at Cafe Rio!  So to whoever stole my life -- YOU JERK!

That being said, I'll move on.  Josh is thrilled, to say the least, that football season has arrived!

  Saturday we had some friends over to watch the Utah v. Michigan and BYU v. Northern Iowa games and we have started training Alondra at an early age where her allegiance should lie.  If she isn't the cutest thing...

I am DYING to blog about my cousin Cami's beautiful wedding, and especially my awesome, adventurous, oh so fun family vacation up to Park City this week, but first I need to take a nap, AND post some photos of my beautiful sister Carrie, who was a princess and let me take some 'Senior Photos' of her this weekend.  I know I've already dedicated a special post to her beautifulness, but honestly, I can't help myself -- she is so photogenic! Take a look for yourself:

My husband, the crime fighter!

Although I've had a great 2 weeks with loads of stuff I could blog about, I owe Josh a post from 3 weeks ago.  Josh absolutely HATES the fact that I blog (and we won't even mention that I have a facebook for the sake of our marriage...) and mentions it on a regular basis that I am a shame to the Lund family name.  But THEN, all of the sudden, 3 weeks ago Josh actually asked me (very politely even, it was impressive!) if I would commemorate a special post to his amazing skills.  I am sure many of you know by now that Josh is amazingly good looking (that one is quite obvious, especially to him!), can swing a golf club like he was born with it, has super-human strength, may even be immortal actually, knows everything about U.S. History and can even hold his own in a fierce political debate.  So I shouldn't have been surprised when Josh went and pulled off his crime-fighting stunt and, after much research and investigating (we're talking skills to impress C.S.I. here) he caught the guy who had stolen his $52!  "Jose", as we like to call him, has been severely reprimanded by the police and hopefully his criminal ways won't continue where he is now.  Josh has been feeling quite victorious about his snatch, even though he won't be getting his money back...

Josh, Mr. McGruff would be proud to give you an honorary crime fighting badge!

The "KIDS" Question

It seems that since we've been married more than 2 years now, have a place of our own (finally!)and even more especially since the birth of our cute niece Hadley, we can't avoid the "kids" question. "When are we going to see a little Josh walking around?" "So now that you have a house, you're making a nursery for your Jr. Becca, right?" Usually, people get the usual answers to these questions from Josh, such as "Oh, crap, honey, did you leave baby in the trunk again?", "Picturing Becca as fat, hormonal and pregnant makes me throw up", or "Didn't you know, we have a kid, he's just ugly so we leave him in the closet". Usually people quit asking us after a while.

So for all of you wondering why after 2 years we don't have kids (gasp!), I've come to the conclusion that we're scared to death, probably because of the usual reaction I get from a small child. Case in point:

I really am that upsetting!

(This one may be my favorite, as I am getting the world's worst crusty. Who knew i could be so disgusting to a one month old baby!)


Sadly, though, I am not alone in my quest to be hated by all children. Our dear friend Kaycee (pictured with Kaden below) really took the opportunity to tell Josh how she really felt a while ago. Conversation was as follows:
Josh: "Kaycee, do you like the fireworks?"
Kaycee: "Yeah. You're ugly"

Happy Birthday America!

Yes, the above photo is firework vomit.  No other place than Taylorsville Days puts on quite the display, the grand finale this year was quite powerful!  

I guess before I delve into my 4th of July weekend I have to report on the week before (Taylorsville Days).  Ever since Josh and I dated we've made it an event to go, and drag Jami along with us every year!  I love fireworks so, so much, and we had such a great time!  Here's a photo of our love triangle:

Moving on... I must've known what I was doing when I married Josh, since we both happen to share our favorite holiday -- the 4th!  There's not much I don't love about the 4th, one: it's in the summer, which is my favorite, two: you get the day off of work, which is also my favorite, and I love, love LOVE a good fireworks show!  Then there's that thing about it being the greatest country in the world's birthday and whatnot... 

This year we decided to really bring in the holiday with a BANG and spent the wee hours of the morning at the emergency room! I know, we really know how to party!  Poor Josh and his 65 year old insides, I hope that he will be able to get better soon and quit it with the whole internal bleeding bit...

That being said, as we got home from the hospital at about 5:30 a.m. and then had a brunch at his parent's home, we really slept away most of our 4th of July holiday.  And I'm not complaining one bit!  The rest of the weekend we were able to spend a lot of time with Josh's family, with his amazing sister Katie being in town, our niece Hadley being blessed, and Josh's mom's birthday.  Sunday brought yet another visit to the E.R. and really, at this point in our lives, I'm getting pretty used to it.  Here are some pictures from our [mostly] fun and always

 adventurous weekend!

The Lund kidlets.  I am aware that I look like I've gained 240 pounds in this picture, and I'll blame it on the camera lens, yet I am so self-assured that I posted it anyway.  I deserve a medal.  

Being so cute must be hard work.  Oh how I love her!

OUR NEW PLACE!!!

We did it! We are now looking forward to being house-poor! I think this might make us semi-grown-ups. Yeah, that's scary.

I know, I know, our apartment was just so great, how could we ever leave these things:

1. Moldy, rotting bathroom ceiling. It's all the rage these days, I know you wish you had one.

2. 400 pound 4 year old living upstairs. At least that's how large he sounds when he jumps off furniture and runs around at 1 in the morning.

3. Kids target-practicing their golf swing with our bedroom window.

4. Neighbor that parks WAY too close to Josh's car every day.

5. 2 minutes of hot water.

Call us crazy, but we're thinking this owning thing might be an improvement!
And because I knew you were all wondering, YES we will be having plenty of parties. But you only get invited if you come help us paint our giant, 2 story wall! (Josh's neck is ALMOST tall enough to reach, but just not quite!)

I've been tagged by a few people to do this and today I just feel like talking about Josh! Also, I am sad for him today, as while he is in charge of security at SLCC, he just so happened to get robbed there. Ironic? Maybe. Will he track down the guy and kill him over $52? Probably.

Anyway...

1. Who is your man? Joshua B

2. How long have you been married? After the first year is over, I think all the sudden it just feels like 80 years or so... At least that's what I think.

3. How long dated? A year

4. How old is your man? Outside, 26. Inside, probably 65.

5. Who eats more? How else would Josh keep his girlish figure if he actually ate? I eat for both of us, as well as our neighbors, our unborn children....

6. Who said "I love you" first? Actually, we've never said it to each other. Okay lie. He said it first, and he was gushing about it, too. How embarassing for him.

7. Who is taller? Josh is taller than me in his neck alone.

8. Who sings better? It's tough to tell when Josh gets his opera on during "happy birthday".

9. Who is smarter? Definitely Josh. He is a walking encyclopedia. Seriously, he knows everything. Go ahead, ask him.

10. Who's temper is worse? Mine, Josh doesn't have a temper. Unfortunately, when my temper rages, it does no good since he is bigger and can take me down anyway.

11. Who does the laundry? It's a collective effort, usually ending up in Josh finishing, or at least that's what I'll say so I can blame him on the missing socks.

12. Who does the dishes? Whoever doesn't cook. But since we both don't cook, I let it rest on Josh's shoulders. After all, I'm too busy playing mario kart to do the dishes, and he knows that.

13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Josh staked his territory the first night we were married and I'm pretty upset about it. So I try to sneak over there before he comes to bed, but then he just pushes me off. Darnit.

14. Who pays the bills? I usually write the checks, although Josh is the one who incurs them! Dang hospital bills!

15. Who has bigger feet? Josh's toes are bigger than my entire feet, probably. Which he says is genetic -- all those islanders have to have long toes for walking on the beach.

16. Who has longer hair? Me!

17. Who is better with the computer? Josh types with three fingers. That's all.

18. Who mows the lawn? Boo for not having a lawn! For sure we'd fight over it!

19. Who cooks dinner? Malt O' Meal. That's right, we're having chocolate marshmallow mateys for dinner tonight!

20. Who drives when you are together? Josh drives at night, I get too paranoid, even though he hates driving my car, since it feels like a hover craft. And also, he won't let me drive his car. Ever.

21. Who pays when you go out? We usually tell the waiter that the table next to us agreed to pick up our check and then we RUN out of there! Nah, I pay, my debit card is prettier and I like to show it off!

22. Who is most stubborn? Our donkey.

23. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Josh has never been wrong once in our marriage, true story. I've really got to work on my arguments.

24. Whose parents do you see the most? It's a toss-up, but probably his, as they live just right here.

25. Who kissed who first? After Josh gave some corny line about my eyes being so beautiful, he kissed me. I can't believe I let his line work! Man, I was a sucker...

26. Who asked who out? I tricked him in to asking me out. He felt bad for me, I was drugged!

27. Who proposed? My dad probably convinced Josh to propose to me. They love him more than me.

28. Who is more sensitive? Josh only cried when his dog Fozzie died. That was it, ever. I cried when I dropped the remote and was too tired to pick it up.

29. Who has more friends? Even for having social anxiety, Josh still manages to be loved by everyone. No fair.

30. Who has more siblings? ME!!! And I love them!

Happy Birthday To....

Apparently I'm a nerd and I can't stop theming my posts! This one is my birthday post! I first wanted to thank all my wonderful friends and family who wished me a happy birthday on the 22nd! It was a great day, and unlike last year, I was lucky to not spend it in the hospital!!! That's how much Josh loves me! Unfortunately I told Josh what I wanted to do for my birthday was go see Indiana Jones, and man was that stupid. So I guess it's my own fault for getting a stupid birthday wish. My favorite present, though, was that Josh actually let me take a picture of us! Enjoy. This is me at 24, don't look closely, I'm sure I'm getting wrinkles and saggy skin.

Next, we were ever so lucky to get invited by Seth and Brittney to go down and celebrate Brittney's big 2-3 on Monday (June 2nd)! We had a great time and really enjoyed the "Roberts" version of Happy Birthday. We fit right in, I think!

And it's true, I saved the best for last. I'm going to say this in big words hoping it can somehow convey my excitement in this statement:

I'm an AUNT!!!!

That font just wasn't big enough... "Largest?" Bah, I don't believe it.

I've been waiting probably 80 years for this moment to happen, and I didn't imagine it would be so wonderful! Jayson (Josh's brother) and Heather gave birth to a healthy, BEAUTIFUL baby girl, Hadley, on Monday (again the 2nd, she must've known it was a good day for birthdays!) and I can't even express how much I love her already! I know that is so corny! I am sure I'm the favorite aunt, after all, she did make a squeaky noise when I held her! Monday was just full of little miracles. One I'm glad I witnessed: Josh actually likes Hadley AND he wanted to hold her AND he didn't drop her! He deserves a medal, or maybe a trophy. Here is a picture of our beautiful niece -- I'll upload a few more maybe tomorrow. I can't wait to go visit her again!

DISCLAIMER:

Those not listed in the below post are still LOVED and FAVORITE. I just don't have any pictures with you from lately, which means we need to do something together SOON. (Hint, my birthday is next week and I love having visitors! I also bake cookies for people who come to visit!)

MY FAVORITES!

I have to admit, I get a little self-conscious trying to start a blog post, feeling a little like I'm back in 10th grade english and I can't figure out that perfect start to my essay! So pardon my inability to string a bunch of thoughts all together into one coherent "post"...

Anyway, I've been wanting to make a special post ever since it became my FAVORITE month of the year! Since it is my favorite month, I wanted to share with everyone some of my favorite people, who have brough sunshine into my life this last month!

• First on the list, in honor of my bro-in-law Jake graduating, I have to say he's one of my favorite people! I'm a big fan of his french toast! Here Jake is in all his splendor, in his coolest "shants" ever and his flame apron. What a stud!


• My family, of course, is always a FAVORITE! I've been able to travel up North quite often in the last little while, and I've been so grateful for the love and support they've been giving me! They even dare to be seen in public with me when I'm told I have a fat neck, now that's dedication! It feels great to always have best friends in my wonderful sisters. We've had some crazy and fun times lately! If only Jaylene was close to spend time with us too! We miss her oh so much.


(I'm like Nancy Kerrigan on the rollerblades, seriously!)

• I was so blessed in high school to have such good friends, and I'm so lucky that I am able to keep in contact with so many of them still! It's so great to get together and see the many accomplishments in their lives and be blessed with their friendship and laugther still! And sorry Brooke's head is chopped off -- that's what we get for putting the camera on the playground?


• Also my favorite, Erica's Farah Faucet hair! She is setting off fire alarms all over, baby, she's so HOT!



• You would also think that Josh would be on my list... Well, he's not. And that's only because he is really only my imaginary husband and I can't EVER get any pictures of him, nor does he dare be seen in public with me! I guess, he can still be a favorite...
  


• And lastly, my very favorite, is Evelyn, a.k.a. Deb. Here she is, slowly raising her fist to her chin, thinking of floating with seahorses.
  
  

The future Mr. and Mrs. Atkinson!!!

I have had my next post planned out since I got to see some of my best friends in the world this monday (I guess that makes me obsessed when I plan out days in advance what I'm going to post about) BUT I was just uploading some pictures from my camera when I came across these beauties and couldn't help myself and jumped ahead to post this. Lexi and Hayden have won my heart forever. Brooke and Sara, you girls are experts in the cute kid department!

Maybe in 20 years or so Hayden will have a Cousin Lund, eh?

THEY GROW UP SO FAST!!!

And why did she steal all the good looks?

I still remember when little "Carita" was a teensy toddler, dressing up like a princess, sippy cup in tow... And now she's all model-esque and grown up!!! Carrie, you make me proud.

Happy Spring!!!

I am probably the happiest girl alive now that it is officially SPRING! And I hadn't realized it had been a month already since I last posted. Here's a quick summary (since I know all two of my blog stalkers are really curious) of what's gone on in the last month: (more pictures to come)

* I survived a week without Josh! He went away for business (it makes him sound so important and professional) and I actually started to get used to sleeping by myself again -- don't tell him that, he'll get excited and think he's actually allowed to sleep on the couch!

* I took pictures of my first wedding! (maybe only wedding?) Candice and Zach (I did their engagements a while ago) got married the beginning of March and I was SO nervous, especially since the weather was quite grim that day, but things went okay and I hope they like the finished product. Here are a few previews:

* My little sisters are growing up! Carrie went to her junior prom and looked GORGEOUS -- I swear it was last year that I was in high school and she was like 9 or something. And Andie turned 10 on the 16th of March! We had a fun birthday party with all of her friends - she is a cutie patootie.

* I cooked a real meal for my in-laws and they didn't die! On Saturday night I came home and Josh informed me that he had invited his parents over for Easter dinner and that I would be cooking a pot roast -- I guess he figured it was easy and I couldn't mess up. I think I got so nervous it made me sick! I woke up violently ill yesterday morning but I still didn't get out of cooking. The fire alarms only went off once, and surprisingly the meal was good! It's true, I've let it all go to my head. Hopefully I only have a few ulcers from the stress.

* Josh and I have started a new game -- we like to make bets! Sadly, Josh is too smart and figured out that when I bet him outrageous sums of money (like $100 to eat a piece of pineapple) he wasn't really winning anything since I'd just tell him that it was in the bank and he could use it to pay our bills later, so now it's become fun to bet for other things. When I win my beach cruiser bike in May (and I KNOW I'll win) I'll let you know what I did to get it.

Now that it's springtime and I am officially done hibernating, I have a million and ten things I am sure I'll accomplish in the next little while. On the top of that list: Go Golfing! I know this sounds weird, seeing as I don't really even golf. Josh gave me a set of clubs for my wedding present and has taken me to the driving range a few times over the past two years, but I think he gets embarassed when I keep missing the ball. Honestly, who does that. But my goal this spring is to get good enough that I could play at least 9 holes with him!

What a Week!!

I wanted to make a special post about the past week in my life -- which would be titled something like that, "life". To celebrate new life, our good friends Kam and Rosie had their baby (although 7 weeks early) and Alondra is doing well! She is so tiny (just over 4 pounds) but oh so beautiful! I am absolutely in love with her.

And to cherish the life of one who has left us -- Josh's uncle Cory's wife, Aunt Layna, passed away last Friday, at the young age of 37.

She will be missed and we are keeping her two boys, Dylan and Jordan, in our prayers.

Our Valentines Day was pretty mellow (and I probably could dedicate an entire post on my feelings towards the dreaded commercial holiday) but Josh, even though I begged with him to not do anything, as usual, spoiled me and it was good to spend quality time with him. He also surprised me with calla lillies, which were absolutely beautiful. (I could also dedicate an entire post on my loathe for roses and my happiness that he remembers things like that!)

Besides these events, our lives (Josh and I) remain pretty usual and boring. I've been busy training two new paralegals at my office who I totally adore and am excited to work with people I can share common beliefs and values with for once! Josh is still on the hunt for a job (slowly but surely?) and SURPRISE, he actually cut all of his curly hair off, hoping it will help him in the search... I have never seen Josh with a short haircut since I've known him, so it is going to take some getting used to. Josh hates it though, so I doubt it will stay short for long. I'll try to get pictures while it lasts for those who want to see how handsome my hubby is! (Josh tends to shy away from the camera so it might be while he's sleeping or something...)

Also, we miss our friends! Please come play with us! Our wii is getting limited use right now and we still haven't had anyone besides our friend Jake enjoy a home cooked family meal on our nice new table! So come on by!