BABY NEWS/GRADUATION!

IT'S A GIRL! Yes, Ty and I are going to be having a little girl, Bristol Larue! We are so excited! Over Thanksgiving break we went in for an ultrasound and were able to check her little body out and watch her for about a half hour. It was so precious. Bristol was very active, so it was fun to see her stretch, twist and turn, yawn, and even hiccup. She is darling!

On the 13th of December I graduated! The day was quite eventful. I woke up in the morning to a white out in Logan. This would have been no big deal, but you see... USU has some crazy tradition which I'm sure is a blast in the spring, but in December it was the dumbest thing that I have ever done. I guess that it will make for good memories. The graduates, in cap and gown, walk for the Fieldhouse to the Spectrum...about a 5-7 minute walk. There was quite a bit of snow outside, it was still snowing hard, and the wind was blowing. (So much for curling my hair!) Luckily I had two steady companions to keep me from slipping down the hill on the snow. Thanks Val and Josh! My whole family, Ty, and my in-laws were there cheering me on which made it fun! I had to focus though so as not to slip down the ramp while getting my diploma, i've become quite clumsy with my center of gravity changing. Some say that it is stupid to "walk," but I must say that it made for great memories. After the ceremony we all went to lunch, and for graduation my parents gave me a banjo!!!! YES! I was so excited! Best graduation ever! Thanks to all of my study buddies and friends for getting me through these 4 years of college! The support was greatly appreciated!

P.S. I have some great pics, but I'll get those out later!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

TyRell and I gathered with his side of the family at Kent and Sheri's (Ty's aunt and uncle). There were about 30 of us there, but there wasn't too much noise or commotion when the food was served! The turkey and mashed potatoes were awesome, and of course the pies were delicious! Don't worry, even being pregnant and hungry all of the time, I'm not just thankful for food! Life wouldn't be life at all without my Ty, I am so thankful for him and all he does! He will make an awesome daddy and we are both so grateful to be blessed with being able to start our family. (Which reminds me that we will be finding out what "baby" is tomorrow thanks to Raychel, Ty's cousin, who does ultra sounds for work!) We hope everyone had an awesome Thanksgiving feast!

Thanksgiving Preparations

Ty and I spent Thanksgiving in Oakley this year, which meant a ton of pie baking. I've never really done too much pie baking, so it was good to get some experience under my belt! These are a couple of the many! I must say however that I can't really take any credit for these pies...I just put them in the oven. But I really did make some others!



These are some place settings that we made. They turned out so cute!

Nauvoo Reunion!

I am so excited because tomorrow I am going to a Nauvoo Reunion! In the Fall of 2005 we all met in Nauvoo, Il. to study Church History. I am so excited to see all of my beloved friends again! It has been a long time since I have seen many of them, and there are too many changes happening in every one's lives to keep track of. There are tons of guys and gals who have gone on missions, tons of marriages, and a few kids too! Time sure does fly!

# 8 Tag: Thanks Janalyn

8 THINGS I'M PASSIONATE ABOUT:
1.The Gospel 2.My husband 3.My baby 4.My family 5.waterskiing 6.playing the violin
7.dancing 8.taking pictures!

8 WORDS OR PHRASES I SAY OFTEN
1.I love you 2.Thanks honey, I really appreciate it 3.I don't feel so good 4.ah crap
5.dang 6.laugh...does laughing count? I love to laugh 7.love you too 8.good luck!

8 THINGS I WANT TO DO BEFORE I DIE
1.see the 7 wonders of the world 2.see my children grow up and marry and have kids
3.go to Carnegie Hall 4.watch professional waterskiers compete 5.meet Andy Mapple (pro skier) 6.travel to beautiful destinations with my husband 7.sky dive 8.watch a sappy movie without crying

8 THINGS I'VE LEARNED FROM MY PAST
1.always prepare for the future 2.learn from others' mistakes, not just your own
3.seek advice from those older than you, they are wise 4.my parents do know just about everything 5.it's ok to mess up 6.live and let live 7.pray 8.usually your first instinct is right

8 PLACES I WOULD LOVE TO GO OR SEE
1.seven wonders of the world 2.Tahiti 3.Africa 4.Jerusalem 5.Egypt 6.Israel 7.New York City 8.Whales

8 THINGS I CURRENTLY NEED OR WANT
1.a new outfit (with shoes and a purse) 2.a cure-all medicine! 3.to know what my baby is 4.new running shoes 5.a completed portfolio 6.Christmas! I can't wait! 7.new eye shadow 8.a set of scriptures with my married name on them!

8 PEOPLE I TAG
1-8. YOU!

We Are Back!

Well, I'm sorry to say that with moving back to Logan, school starting and not having the internet at our apartment, I have gotten pretty lazy at posting! I'm sorry! So, here is what's up! Ty has a pretty rough schedule continuing with his accounting program, although none of his classes start until about two hours after I have left for school! He has been getting some fishing in which makes up for the hard classes. I am doing my student teaching at Millville Elementary in the Life Skills (SpEd) classroom, which has been a lot of fun. We bought new furniture! We LOVE it to death! The couches are perfect for my afternoon naps, and Ty can't seem to get away from the recliner...men....! Well, thats all for now, more later!

TyRell's Mission in Mexico! SURPRISE!

TyRell surprised me with a trip to Mexico to see his mission. I thought that we were going to a resort up in the mountains, but figured it out about 10 minutes before we crossed the border where we were going....there were no mountains around! It was ssssooooo hot there! But so much fun. I loved seeing parts of his mission and meeting a couple of the families. Here are some pics. More later!

This is the first family that we visited, the Zuno family. Graciella and I would sit and chat what we could, and Ty would talk to the whole family and translate for me. They are a great family. Brother Zuno is the 1st counselor in the bishopbric, and Graciella was just released as Relief Society President. They attend the temple once a month. They have four sons, three which Ty baptized also. Their youngest goes to the temple once a week to do baptisms. I couldn't always understand what they were talking about, but my eyes were wet the whole time because I could tell that they were talking about the gospel. The spirit was so strong!

This is a family that TyRell baptized on his mission. They live in Mexicali. It took Ty about 8 months to baptize Guadelupe, the mom, and Jorje the son. The daughter was not old enough, so she was baptized later. I love them!

A home near Ty's apartment in Tijuana. This home is actually larger than most there, but they pretty much look this way. Very humbling.

This is the view from our hotel in Rosarito. It was beautiful. The swimming pool sat right on the cliff side, and the restaraunt that we ate by canlde light at sat rigth on the ocean as well. It was beautiful!

TyRell and I at the "La Bufadora" on a penninsula in Mexico. La Bufadora means "Sea Blowhole." The water would shoot up between a crack in the cliffside and shoot the water in the air! It was beautiful!

Main Salmon River Fun!

It has been a while since I've gotten on here, and these next few posts will be a little out of order, but here is the new news! Every year my family goes on a week long river trip with our cousins, the Laws, and some family friends and my sisters in-laws the Hughes. It is great fun, and we all look forward to it so much! TyRell couldn't come because of some work committments, so I flew to Boise on my own and packed for the trip while my dad was in Canada. On Sunday the 27th of August we piled in the cars and drove seven hours to North Fork Idaho, and on the 28th put on the river for the next six days! We had so much fun! There were a few bumps in the road...literally....so much that there were two flat tires, a few mishaps in some of the rapids, but overall we were really blessed with our safety. There were six rafts, two katarafts, and nine rubber duckies. We took up a long portion of the river! The sandy beach campsights were beautiful and relaxing! Here are some pictures from along the way!

These are all of the rafts gathering after going through the rapid "Salmon Falls." It was awesome! I love the white water!

This is the whole family minus Ty.

This is Annie and I on our second to last day on the river....just before I threw her in the river!

Ode to Pioneers!

I have often been told to "Learn from the past, live in the present, and prepare for the future." After spending a semester in Nauvoo increasing my testimony of our pioneer heritage, and learning all that I could about the Prophet Joseph Smith and the early Saints, I take a quick moment to pause and thank those who paved the way for my family, and many others as members of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints. After being forced out of many cities, losing our prophet, and suffering much pain for the Church, the saints walked through Nauvoo toward the Mississippi River on the Trail of Tears, or what I call the Trail of Hope, toward Utah. Upon reaching Utah, Brigham Young exclaimed "This is the place." Since then, the Gospel has reached the ends of the Earth. I owe so much to the pioneers, and will be ever grateful for their example of courageous righteousness.

Water Ski Fever

Here is a picture of my dad and I from my trip to Boise. My family and I went up to our cabin in McCall. I hadn't been able to ski on my new ski that often, so I was dying to do so! My new ski is the HO Phantom 8. I absolutely love it. I literally skied until my arms fell off,and I had bruises on my schin from my bindings. Totally worth it though! We played on the water like crazy, and did some packing for the river trip too, (the real purpose of the trip). Great fun! Can't wait to get on the river in a week!

Roses Are Red!

The other night when Ty got home from work he had some roses for me! I love roses, and these were beautiful! He is so thoughtful! I was leaving to go on a trip to Boise though, so I took a picture of them so that I could enjoy them longer!

Cookie Anyone?

Every week the guys out here have the chance to hit their "dinner goal" by reaching their weekly goal of installations. This week the guys made it, so we went to dinner on the company! Yay! We went to this restaraunt called "The Elephant Bar" where the food is okay, but the dessert is awesome! Ty and I ordered this giant ice cream cookie! It was so good!

Boogie Boarding

SO, after showing TyRell the blog, he asked where all of the cool pictures were of him boogie boarding, so here is one! This is at Huntington Beach, surfing capital of California! Ty does really well on the big waves, where as I get smashed by the waves becaused I usually can't touch! But it is tons of fun! Some of the trips have been pretty chilly, so we take the blankies, have some fun, and then try to get warm!

Beach Fun

To keep from spending too much money, we have been visiting the beaches in California regularly. Our favorite is Huntington beach, where the waves are big, the beach is nice, and the sun is bright! Our institute teacher here in Ca. lent us a large sun shade, so it was nice to have something to claim our spot and keep the sun off of our faces!

CALIFORNIA SALES

We have been living in Riverside, California for the summer. Ty moved here in the beginning of May to begin selling security systems and managing the office here. Steph moved at the beginning of Jume after finishing work helping out in a High School Special Education classroom. We love visiting for the summer, and have been doing some fun activities while we have been out here. A couple of weeks ago we went to Disney Land and California Adventure! It was a ton of fun! It was a full day in the sun, but we ran into too many fun characters, and rode all of the fun rides!

TyRell and Stephanie Stevens!
Married December 28, 2006 in the Boise, Id Temple. The day was cold, but beautiful! Following the ceremony and PARTY!, we enjoyed an awesome honeymoon in Whistler, Canada tearing it up on the ski hill ( more like gigantic ski mountains)! We love married life!

We are here!

Hello bloggers. Yes, we are a little bit behind everyone, but this will be great fun!