Superstar

So I just want to share what a superstar my husband is! After many nights in a row of not enough sleep for either of us, he still takes over a 1am feeding, just so I can get more rest. Then last night, being as exhausted as he was; he dropped everything just to give me a blessing because I've been having a hard time with something. THEN this morning as I was stepping out of the shower, he personal...ly delivers a warm fresh baked biscuit to me, because he's awesome like that and had the rare chance to bake on his day off :) On top of it all, he never fails to take an opportunity to express appreciation and love for each of us, and takes the time to say that he notices the little things. Is he the most amazing husband & daddy on the planet? Yes, yes he is...

Valentine's Day fun with Mr. Martindale...

So a friend of ours who's an amazing photographer (Kristen Moss Photography) had a great deal going on fun couples photos for Valentine's Day. She was great! She took care of the chocolate covered strawberries (and other yummy romantic desserts), the long stem glasses, the location, and some amazingly romantic photos :) We had a blast-and between her efforts, and some smooth moves on Sean's part; it was the best Valentine's Day we've had since we got married! Here are some of the photos:

Let's Talk Turkey...

We had such a fantastic Thanksgiving this year! It was special, because it was our very first time making our own thanksgiving dinner; and it turned out great! We were going to have our good friend Rachel and her kiddos over to join us, but unfortunately they all ended up being too sick to come. So it was the three of us, and we had a blast! Sean and Tara watched part of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and Tara loved it :) She got really excited about the floats, and the songs, and the dancing. Then later in the day, the house filled with the smell of turkey...Mmm. About a week ago, Sean was expressing to me how excited he was to finally be able to cook us a thanksgiving dinner; and he did an amazing job! It was such a sensory experience...when Sean pulled the turkey out of the oven, and popped the rolls in; the house filled with the incredible aroma of home made dinner rolls. Then when they were done, and and put the yams in to cook; the house smelled like sugar cookies for some reason! I think it was the marshmallows...hehe. But we ended up making the turkey, and ALL the fixings! I made a couple of favorite dishes, Sean did the bulk of the cooking though-and all credit must go to him :) He did the turkey, potatoes, stuffing, yams, gravy, potatoes, rolls, etc. I informed him that he's in charge of doing the turkey every year, and that his candied yams were the best I'd ever had (he threw in a secret ingredient that I never would have though of-it makes all the difference!) But we thoroughly enjoyed the day as a family, and had so much fun with each other. Seeing Tara enjoy it all was so rewarding. We ended up eating a bit later than we had planned, so by the time we were ready to eat, Tara was famished! We set the basket of rolls on the table, and went into the kitchen to get the rest of the food, and by the time we walked back in; Tara was already halfway through devouring a homemade roll :) And she apparently LOVES cranberry sauce! We served her some, and before we could pray, she had reached over and served herself another big spoonful! Then during the prayer, I saw her sneak yet another heaping spoonful of it, and I heard her say "Mmm!" lol What a funny girl...So all in all, it was a wonderful thanksgiving; and we're already looking forward to next year-and anticipating how things will go with Tara being three and a half, and our new baby being a whopping 8 months old at that point! But I believe we'll be making the parade a family tradition :)

Such a sweet surprise!

So on sunday mornings I'm usually the first one up. I grab breakfast, shower, and then get the rest of the family going. Yesterday when I walked into the bathroom, I came upon such a SWEET surprise...











The day before, amongst our saturday activities; we made a stop at the store to pick up some items we needed. Tara was asleep in the carseat, so I stayed in the car with her while Sean ran into the store. When he came back, he was showing me how amongst everything, he came across a couple of items he couldn't resist getting for Tara. One was a little toy pony, that he thought she'd love; since she adores her My Little Pony collection. Another was this little mini Disney chalkboard, and chalk. He thought she'd have a blast drawing on it, and maybe practicing her alphabet. Sunday morning though-I discovered that Sean had written a sweet note on it for me the night before, for me to find in the morning. What a guy...It just warmed my heart :)

Birthday...

So my birthday was on the 23rd of August, and I got to start my day with the cutest little girl in the world asking to sit and watch "Cat in the Hat" with all and I mean ALL her stuffed animals and babies sitting with her. Sean and I got a kick out of it. What a fun way to start the day. It was a good day though, for the most part. Glad I got to share it with Rachel and the kids, Rachel and I are birthday buddies-only 12 hours apart. Her birthday's the 24th, but we celebrated together this year ;) In the couple weeks leading up to my birthday, Sean bought me a beautiful plant for our patio, and a book he knew I'd love; amongst some other things. What a sweet guy...He made it more of a birthday month for me :) Gotta keep him around...

Saturday Fun

So Tara loves trains. She calls fire trucks "train!" A few weeks ago we had a chance to spend some time at a local fire station. I thought it was a great opportunity for her to see how things go when they get a call, and start up the trucks and leave. She heard the message come through, she heard the alarm, and she got to see two fire trucks peel out of the station. As they left-she was saying "Bye Train!!!" So...needless to say, I wanted to take her to the train station to see what a real live train looks like! So this last saturday, we took her down to see a train. She loved it! And mommy loved it too...[Ever since I was little, up until now; I get a thrill from seeing a train!] lol So it was fun for all :) Here are some photos~










Waiting for the train to arrive...















We were all captivated by the train as it pulled into the station :)







The train station is also a special place for Sean and I, because it's where we met in person for the first time. He and I had met online, an LDS website; and a few months after meeting online, he hopped a train to Eugene to meet me in person. So we have very special memories of that first hug, first kiss, first time we got to hold hands, look in each others eyes...Kinda sappy when we go back to the train station. So we got to explain to Tara why it's such a special place to us :)


After we took her to see the trains, we had lunch; and headed off for a local park to play. We were trying to teach her how to roll down a hill, but she never took to it. She preferred to run at breakneck speed right into daddy's arms! It was such beautiful weather, we couldn't have asked for better. Here are some photos from playing on the hill~



See her pigtails flying behind her? She was bolting down that hill as I took the photo!



Peek-a-boo!



There go those pigtails again!







"I'm having SO MUCH FUN guys!"

The love of my life

So I'm always blogging about how cute our little girl is, but I've neglected to declare how much I adore my husband. He is the most amazing man I've ever met, and he deserves the world on a silver platter! I understand perfectly that desire to shout from the rooftops that you're head over heels for your dream guy. I think that unfortunately sometimes in life, even if you don't mean to; you get to a point where you start taking your circumstances, and your loved ones for granted. Of course in the beginning, there's constant sparks, and you feel like your romance is movie-worthy. But I can guarantee that if you've found the right partner, you'll keep having amazing experiences that make you feel like you never left that place...(you know the place I'm talking about-where you make your friends gag with how lovey-dovey you and your mate can get). Well Sean has made our life full of those moments, and sometimes my heart is so full-I can't contain the emotions. Right now, I'm overwhelmed, as I think of how amazing he's always been. He's been a constant in my life, he's my best friend, my sweetheart, my comfort, my personal comedian, daddy to our little girl, and the love of my life. He brings so much richness to everyday experiences, and there's never a dull moment when he's around. I can't begin to put into words how incredible this man is. He's the one who'd hand I love holding through good times, and bad. He's the one who's jokes can make me laugh so hard I can't breathe. I still think his touch is the most amazing thing on this planet, and love that he's the one I get to spend eternity with. I'm so excited that we share our life together, and that we have such an amazing family together. Our little Tara is the light of our lives, and our little angel. We're so excited to meet this new baby also, and to have our lives enriched even more by this new little spirit. I love my family, and am so lucky to have found a guy like Sean! I love you baby...

Idaho Trip-Part 2: Yellowstone (Day 2)

More pictures, and OLD FAITHFUL!!! So beautiful...






Lot's of sleeping in the car









Breathtaking!




We saw a couple of people flyfishing





Old Faithful




A beautiful waterfall in the canyon





The only bison I saw





After the four hour car trip back to Burley, this is how we found our daughter...I couldn't help but take a photo :)

Idaho Trip-Part 2: Yellowstone (Day 1)

So after the reunion on friday, we drove to Burley, where Sean's parents live. We got in late, and had to leave early the next morning, to head to Yellowstone. On the trip up, we weren't an hour into the drive, and I started to have severe pelvic pain, and I got hot, dizzy, and naseous. I was also scared, and we didn't know what was going on. The pelvic pain was so bad, that I couldn't sit still in the car. Sean pulled over at the next rest stop, and wanted me to walk with him for a bit. I could barely move, but he managed to get me to a secluded area, and gave me a blessing. Sean's dad was waiting in the car with Tara, while we did this. Sean had a feeling that everything was okay, and that it was partially a blood sugar thing. Especially when I was visibly shaking. I got to a point where it was all too much...the nausea, the pelvic pain, the dizziness-the constant feeling that I was going to pass out. I remember standing in the building at the rest stop, thinking that I did not want to be conscious for even one more second: I felt I just couldn't handle it anymore. Sean was smart enough to force me to eat a few grapes that we had in the car, and between that, and the air conditioner blasting, I began to feel better as we drove on. However-although the sypmtoms had subsided for the most part, I still had some pelvic pressure that didn't feel right, and it lasted the rest of the day. Even once we arrived at our lodge at Yellowstone, and after an afternoon of seeing certain parts of Montana, and some beautiful sights-I didn't feel quite right. So later that evening, after trying to rest for a bit; Sean asked me to call my doctor, just to see what the source of it all was. I spoke to the doctor filling in for mine, and after describing everything that had happened that day, and answering a bunch of her questions, she said I need to get to the nearest ER, and quickly. She was concerned about it being an ectopic pregnancy, and didn't want to chance it. I tried to stay calm, and asked her what the odds are it was something else. She said with what I described, and the fact that I was only 6 weeks pregnant-the odds were high enough, and she didn't want to risk it. So after I hung up with the doctor, I fell apart. I managed to explain to Sean what she had said, and he and my mother in law rushed me to Madison Memorial Hospital in Rexburg. It was the closest hospital, and took just over half an hour to get to. After a long wait, the ER doctor who was also an OB/GYN came in. He explained that they couldn't do any testing, because I wasn't far enough along; and that we pretty much had to wait it out. He said that if I miscarry, it wouldn't be through any fault of my own. He said that all we could do was wait. One comforting thing he said though is that he didn't think it was an ectopic, because of the location of the pain. The baby had just implanted low, and he said that with an ectopic, I'd feel sharp pain on the left or right side, or both. After explaining some more things in detail, he wrote a doctors note to take it easy, and rest often. So we headed back to the lodge, and went to bed.

The next day, we saw plenty of beautiful sights, and so many amazing things at Yellowstone. We didn't see as many animals as we thought, because it was the 4th of July weekend, and it was overcrowded with people. But we had fun, and got to see Old Faithful, and awesome things like that.









This photo was hanging on the wall in the front of the lodge, as you walk in. I thought it was so fascinating, having a piece of history on the wall.











Tara dancing on the windowsill in our room at the lodge!









The water is SO CLEAR!!!

















Eating ice cream in Montana....







I thought this t-shirt was hilarious, until a few days after we left; some guy was killed by a bear outside Canyon Village. Now I think it's in poor taste...








This is what we found in our bed at the end of the day-so darling...

Idaho Trip-Part 1: The Reunion

So our most recent trip to Idaho was an eventful one, to say the least. There were lots of fun things planned, lots of time in the sun, tons of playing in the water; and too many fun pictures to count. I'll give you the highlights...

To begin-the day before we left for Idaho, I found out we are going to have another baby. So we were on cloud nine to start :) We had flown out on June 30th, and stayed the night in Boise with Sean's sister. His family was so excited, and Tara's cousin Rylee was already suggesting that if it's a girl, we name her Lily! She's so cute...

Then on July 1st, we had an early birthday surprise for Sean. His birthday is in November, so you can tell how surprised he was to receive his surprise months early. Since we were dating, I've heard so many stories about his college days, and how much he misses all his buddies. So when I found out that the majority of them would be in Boise this summer, with the exception of a couple of them; I figured I'd gather them all together in a local park in Boise to surprise Sean. The couple that wouldn't be in Boise already, said it wouldn't be a problem to purchase tickets for the event. (Thanks again Mike and Laurel!) All his friends and family were in on it, and Sean was clueless as to what was coming. I had spent a few months planning, and gathering everyone from New York, Reno, D.C., Nampa, Boise, etc. to be there for Sean. So when we arrived at Julia-Davis Park on Friday, he spotted all his friends and was completely bowled over. And though admittedly he regretted not having more than a few hours to visit with them all, he was so glad I had gone to the trouble. So that was fun to see :)



How Sean and Laurel spent much of their time in college...haha


When no one was looking, Tara snatched Evan's soda-she had her second sip of soda that day, before we took it away :)


She loves her Uncle Jake...




I love how Tara and her cousin Rylee are smiling as they go through photos together-ones that Rylee took :)



Hilary and Jesse's little girl Olivia, is so adorable! Her and Tara became fast friends...They played together almost the whole time.





The whole crew: Sean and all his college buddies, including the newest generation :)