HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!




We love you Daddy!!

From the mouth of babes

Here are a few of the funny things Zoee has said lately.

*We went to the park to feed the ducks which she loved. We feed them all the bread we had, all the treats we had in the diaper bag and a box of crackers that we found in the car. After we were done feeding them she found a bottle of water in the stroller. She told me that the ducks were thirsty and needed a drink of water. She then proceeded to dumb the bottle of water into the giant pond the ducks were swimming in. What a thoughtful girl.


*We walked to the park the other day only to find that it was closed for maintenance. There was a chain link fence around it so we could not get in. I told her it was locked and that we could not get in. She told me to get the keys and open it. I told her we didn't have any keys to open the gate. She then said, "how about we use scissors?"

*Today she said something funny and I told her she was funny. She said, "Mom, I am not funny...I am crazy!"

What a mess!

The other day I woke up with a pretty bad headache. I got up with the kids and just didn't feel well so when Gus went down for his morning nap, I decided to go with him. I tried to convince Zoee to come lay down with us but that wasn't going to happen so I turned on a movie for her, took some Tylenol and went down for nap with baby Gus. I woke up about an hour later to find this.





Luckily after about an hour in the bathtub it came off and my headache went away.

(Notice the carefully colored in toenails)

Academy Update:

OC Spray today.
Burns pretty bad.
Still.
Sucks to be the idiot inmate who won't do what they're told.
I just sayin'....

Easter

We have had a good week celebrating Easter. I tried to take Zoee to a few different things this week so she could really enjoy the holiday and it gave us something to do.

On Wednesday we went to an Easter egg hunt that someone in the ward hosted. It was fun. We got together and had lunch and let the kids play and then we had an egg hunt.


On Saturday we went to another egg hunt at Town Square but it was really stupid and there were SO many people so I didn't get any pictures of that hunt. I had my friend Clark with me and she braved the crowd of kids and crazy parents to try and squeeze in there and get Zoee a few eggs that in ended up being EMPTY. Lame.

We dyed eggs on Saturday night and that was really fun.

We had a hard time getting Zoee to bed Saturday night because she wanted to stay awake because the Easter bunny was "coming home." I don't think she really understood what we meant when we told her the Easter bunny was coming to our house tonight. She was excited this morning to see her basket full of fun treats and her new clothes.

Modeling her new pink tutu and her bunny jewelery.

Trying on her new Easter dress and spinning around.


Breakfast. A chocolate bunny.

We got together after church and had lunch and an egg hunt with the family. It was lots of fun too.

All the grandkids.

I thought this one was funny of the girls. Silly girls.

It was a good day. Happy Easter everyone!

p.s. We did get some stuff for Gus and did take some pictures but not that many. I feel bad now but how exciting is Easter for a baby?!

For Greema Layton

My mom called tonight and wanted some pictures of Baby Gus so here you go Momma.

Thanks again for the Easter package and for all you do for us! We love and miss you!

Zoee the makeup artist

Like every little girl, Zoee has really started to have an interest in makeup. I sometimes let her put it on and it is really funny. Here are a few pictures from her most recent makeovers.

I hate people.

OK, not all people just the really stupid ones.

I just got home from Walmart. I should have known that Walmart on the Friday night before Easter would be horrible but I went anyways because I needed to get out Easter stuff. It was pretty busy with everyone trying to finish up buying chocolate bunnies and jelly beans. I was AMAZED at how many parents were there with their small children. I could not believe it. I totally understand that there are times when you have to take your kids to the store late but I don't think it was one of those times for these people. (because shopping for Easter candy is NOT that important) Keep in mind that it was midnight. Kids should be in bed at midnight...not at the store. So here is the conversation that I heard between a raunchy mom and her little girl who was about three. It made me so mad and I almost said something to the lady but I was afraid she would hit me.

Little girl is whining and the mom turns around and yells at her to stop. The little girl starts to cry and the mom yells, "do you want your Easter basket to be empty!" The little girl says no and then the mom yells in her face, "then shut up" and slams her down in the cart.

Ok, first of all...don't slam your kid down like that. It really makes me sad to see things like that because it makes me wonder what they do when they are home and no one is watching.
Second...you don't tell your kid to shutup. I think that is so rude and disrespectful. Even if they are kids they still deserve to be treated with respect.
And last...how do you expect your kid to act when it is midnight and you have them out shopping at the store?

I saw several people getting angry at their kids and it really bugged me. I know I have lost it with Zoee several times and I am not saying I am a perfect mom but how do you think they are going to act when they are tired and just want to sleep.

I am just venting because I felt bad for these little kids.

I am off to bed. It's late.

Gus's blessing

Gus was blessed on Sunday, March 9th. It was a nice and Nate did a great job. My family was in town and that was really nice. Both our families got together after and had lunch which was delicious! Here are a few pictures from the day. I wish I would have taken more of him but things were a little hectic after church so I only got a few and he was hungry and mad.

My Huzzband.

My friend Jen tagged me with this survey about me and Nate so here I go.

1. What is his name? Nathan Howard Garrard

2. How long have you been together? Well, that's a tough question. Been married almost 2 years, been friends almost 6 years and been "involved" for about three years. It's an interesting story.

3. How old is he? He is 25. I am 26. His birthday is March 30th and mine is April 1st. We are the same age for one day. He was lucky to get an older woman. (and a wiser one too!)

4. Who eats more? I am not sure. I think I eat more often but smaller portions. Nate can pack it away when we eat and usually out eats me when we eat together but I think I am more snacky than he is. I feel like I eat more though and look like it too!

5. Who said "I love you" first? Uh, that would be me. I think I told him a few times but didn't get the same response. That kinda sucked. Then when things were good again, I said it first in a text message. He says it to me everyday now. I love it.

6. Who is taller? Nate. Thank goodness. I love hugging him because he's just the right height for me. He is just the right everything for me!

7. Who sings better? Nate. For sure. He was in choir in high school. Like the fancy choir that you had to try out to be in. His group even went to Hawaii to sing. That some serious voices right there.

8. Who does the laundry? I usually do because I am home all day. I feel like it is a never ending battle. Nate tells me I will never get to stop doing the laundry because we will never stop wearing clothes. Although I think he likes that idea!

9. Who pays the bills? This is a trick question...Nate actually pays the bills because he makes the money. Who keeps track of the money and spends it all? That would be me. It's more organized and under control when I do it.

10. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Standing at the foot of our bed, Nate is on the right. We can't and will never change this. We are very strange with our sleeping. We each have our own blanket and we never touch during the night. That would be awful. If you were to see us in the middle of the night, you would think we were mad at each other because we sleep so far away from each other with our backs to each other.

11. Who mows the lawn? Funny question. Rub it in that we DON'T have a lawn. I think if we did have a lawn, I would probably mow it. I like mowing the lawn but for now, we just pull the few weeds that grow in our gravel pit.

12. Who cooks dinner? I do. Another chore I do probably because I am home and have more time. However, Nate can grill a mean steak that makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

13. Who drives? Nate. Always. I hate driving if he is with me. Plus, he knows Vegas better than I do so it's just easier and his car is a stick and I can't drive a stick.

14. What does he like to do? Play Age of Empires on the computer, read blogs, wrestle with Zoee, snowboard, go camping and hiking, make out, play Yahtzee, sleep and spend time with his sisters.

15. Who is more stubborn? Me. Totally. He is really patient with me.

16. Who kissed who first? Oh, this is an argument we have all the time. It was him and he knows it. I might have been teasing and tempting him but he kissed me first.

17. Who proposed to who? He proposed to me and it was one of the best days of my life. It was so fun and a dream come true.

18. Who has more friends? I do. I have a lot of friends in Utah that I have been friends with forever. I also make friends faster. I can talk to someone for 20 minutes and leave feeling like the are my new best friend. I think he thinks I am weird for this.

19. Who is more sensitive? Nate. SIKE. That would be me 100%.

20. Who has more siblings? It's the same for both of us. We both have 2 girls and 3 boys in our family. He has more in laws on his side though.

21. Who wears the pants? We usually do what I want but I think that's just because he wants to make me happy. I think we both share the responsibilities.

I love my husband more than I ever thought possible. He is the best. The best for me!



Now I tag Mel (Bassett), Monica, Jenny (Hoesli) and Ana. Take it away girls!

Happy Birthday Popits!!





You are the best dad and Popits anyone could ask for!

Hope you had a great day!

WE LOVE YOU!!

and a Happy Birthday today to Grandma Great and my friend Kate!

Nice surprise!

Nate surprised me and took me to dinner at Mix one last time. I had no idea he had planned this and I was so excited when he told me. (sorry, I didn't cooperate honey!) We had a great night without the kids and a fabulous dinner. Thanks Erin for watching them! Here are a few pictures from out night.




Seared Tuna. Really good!

Piquillo peppers stuffed with lamb...delicious!

The best meat you could ever eat. Bison!

The dessert before the dessert.

This dessert was made special for us. It is not on the menu but they made it for Nate since it was his last day working there.


This was just some of the food we got. We got a lot more but I didn't post pictures of it because it was the same things we got when we went last time.

The night was so much fun and the food was amazing! I really wish that we could afford to go there more often. It's just so fun to go some where so fancy and experiencing the fine dining world.

Everyone kept coming up and talking to Nate and wishing him luck with his new job. I could tell that everyone really liked him and they were all sad to see him go. It made me very proud of my husband. He is such a great man and I know that everyone he worked with saw that. A few of the people he worked with talked to me and this is what they said about Nate.

"He is the light that brightens a dark day" and "He is the glue that holds the room together."

It was so good to hear them talk about him like that. I know he worked hard and I know everyone loved him. How could you not?!

Thanks for the surprise baby! You are the best!

HELL YEAH!!!!!

LOOK WHAT I CAN DO!!

Tyler, I think you'd be proud.