Kylie a la tutu

So I was visiting my friend Nichole yesterday and had remembered her making tutu's for her little girls.  I asked if they were hard to make and she said that no, they were really easy.  So I got online yesterday, learned how to make one, took a trip to Joanne’s fabric and made this cute little tutu last night :)  I can already see several improvements that I want to make for my next one, but for the most part I think it is really cute!  Kylie HATED it at first.  Seriously, you would think the tutu was trying to attack her with all her screaming and yanking on the tulle when I tried to put it on.  But she is now playing contently right now so she must be over it :)

Check out my sweet new apron that I won on my friend Nichole’s give away.  I never win anything you guys!  Anyway, check out her blog to find out how she can make one for you.  She does a really good job on them and they are just too dang cute to pass up!  Her blog is   justinandnichole.blogspot.com .

I wanted to give a quick congratulations again to my friend Marie who found out yesterday she is having little boy in June!  Yeah!  Can’t wait to see him!

Well, looks like I need to go to Wal-mart to stock up on Superbowl goodies :)  Have a great weekend you guys!

Nothing like being told you probably need back surgery to brighten up your day…

I went to a Neurosurgeon yesterday and was told I should probably get back surgery. Yikes you say? You’re telling me! It all started my sophomore year in high school when I was trying out for the track team. We had some intense weight lifting practices and I remember having weights on my shoulder and doing lunges when all of a sudden I had the most intense pain in my lower back. That was 12 years ago. Almost every day since then my lower back hurts. It hurts the most if I'm on my feet for long periods of time, if I lift things the wrong way, if I don't have proper support for my back, and ESPECIALLY when I'm pregnant. I had gone to a few people in the past to see what was wrong with my back and they each had a different analysis of what was wrong. Finally, after all these years, I went to get an MRI this past October. They found that I have spondylolysis. In Laymen's terms that means that my lower two vertebrae do not line up right. Also, my disc has slipped and is slightly bulging. Apparently I am a Grade 1 which means my vertebrae could be out of line by 25%. The neurosurgeon said that he thinks that at some point in my life it could move to a Grade 2, which is 50% out of line. Because of this, it is pinching off my nerve, thus causing intense pain. If I got the surgery, they would open up my lower vertebrae slightly to make more room for the nerve to get through. They would then realign it with the vertebrae below it and then they would fuse the two. When I went to my regular doctor to have him tell me the results of the MRI, he was pretty confident that I wouldn’t need surgery. He recommended that I go and see this Neurosurgeon (Dr. Gaufin) to see what he thought. So when we heard the news yesterday, it came as quite a shock. I basically have two options: 1, live with this the rest of my life, and 2, get the surgery. There is so much to think about right now and I could use all of your prayers. Right now would be the ideal time to get the surgery (I could get it in 2 weeks if I wanted to). But we’ve been trying to have a baby and I don’t know if I want to keep pushing that farther and farther away. I guess my recovering time is about a month and then after 3-4 months I can do more rigorous work outs. The doctor seemed to think that I could try and have a baby after the 3 or 4 months. I just don’t know what to do. The neurosurgeon seemed pretty confident that by having this procedure it would help my back tremendously. If any of you know me, you know that is music to my ears. Just ask Austin how many times I complain about my back. Anyway, I’m super scared and worried and I know that what my next step is to fast and pray about this. Anyway, like I said, I could really use your prayers during this next week or so as I try and figure out what I want to do. I love you guys!

My two poor sickies

So after being sick for two weeks, I am finally starting to feel better.  But alas my germs have infected poor Austin and Kylie.  The first picture is how I found the two of them the other night.  Kylie is very cuddly when she doesn’t feel good.  I hate when she’s sick, but I LOVE being able to hold her all the time. 

Thought I would share a pic of Kylie and her new favorite thing to do…help me make dinner.  She loves getting all my bowls out and she uses a spatula to mix her imaginary things together in her bowls.  She also likes to beat on my pans with a spoon too.  What a cutie :)

Zion National Park

This past weekend, Austin and Kylie and I went to Zion National Park.  I had never been there before and Austin hadn’t been since he was a little boy.  It was such a beautiful weekend.  I was worried that I wouldn’t fully enjoy myself because I had been sick for several days with a cold and a extremely sore throat, but I think all the hiking took my mind off of it :)  Our hotel room was so cool.  I loved all the furniture.  Saturday we did a small hike and then we proceeded to climb the Angels Landing trail.  Several people told us it was really icy and to be extra careful (especially since Austin was carrying Kylie in the backpack).  At first it was a piece of cake.  The trail was in the sun and we were actually hiking in our T-shirts.  Then we got to these switchbacks which were really icy.  We made it up and then proceeded to climb up this steep part of the mountain that you had to hang on to chains because it was really icy and snowy.  I must admit I thought we were going to die.  When we got to the top I was kind of disappointed because I thought “This is it?”  But Austin soon informed me that this wasn’t the end of the trail and then he pointed to the rest of the trail that went to this STEEP mountain.  Umm yeah, needless to say I told him Kylie and I would stay where we were at and he could go climb it :)  I’m really glad we didn’t try to take Kylie up there because when Austin came back from climbing to the top, he said in 3 or 4 spots he was really nervous.  If Austin was nervous at a few spots, that means if I had gone, I probably would have fallen off the mountain and died…. But anyway, I still enjoyed the hike and I told Austin we had to come back when the snow is gone so I can really climb Angels Landing.

On Sunday we did a few small hikes and then headed home.  I was exhausted and still sick.  I now have an eye infection along with the sore throat, runny nose, and coughing.  Kylie is getting sick too.  Oh well, at least I had a great weekend :)

Our awesome hotel room

The red rock was so pretty

The icy switchbacks on the way up to Angels Landing

Here I am going up the steep and icy trail.  And I thought I was getting to the top…..

Wrong!  Here is the rest of the climb that Austin did without us :)

My hot hubby and beautiful little girl

Howdy

So I had a really great birthday this year. I think my favorite gift was two tickets to see Body Worlds in SLC. It was awesome you guys. It was really interesting to see what the human body looks like on the inside. It was a little creepy and sometimes gross, but that meant it was right up my alley :) Well I finally put away all my Christmas stuff. I hate when Christmas is over. Then my house goes back to looking boring. I was glad to get rid of our Christmas tree though. It reaked. Seriously, it was the most disgusting thing I have ever smelled. Plus, when we bought it we didn't know that as an added bonus it came with like 100 tiny spiders that crawled around all over the presents and tree skirt. Made me almost decide to go fake next year, but it will have to take a lot more than that my friends to give up getting a real tree.

I really have nothing intersting to write you guys. Austin and I have been playing Guitar Hero like almost everyday. If anyone wants to jam out, just let me know :) Other than that, not much new. Kylie got some incredibly cute dresses from my mom last week. There are a few pics below of her in one. Thanks mom, I love them! I love the picture of Kylie pushing her stroller with my high heels on and my purse around her neck. That kid puts everything around her neck...

Well, to save you all from boredom, I will stop typing wait. Wait, I take that back, I need your guys' help! The Relief Society is having a birthday party for all the sisters with their birthday in January. They asked if I would host the party and I said yes. Well I have to come up with a game and was wondering if anyone had any good ideas. I don't think playing Guitar Hero counts for a game, and that's all I've got so far :) PLEASE let me know if you theres a fun game to play with a bunch of women...that isn't perverted or cheesy...Ok, go!

Kylie and her new church dress

Happy Birthday to me!!!!

27 years ago today I was brought into the world :) I want to tell my mom and dad how much I love them and how much I appreciate them for all they have done for me. I love you guys with all my heart! I am looking forward to eating at Carrabas tonight and eating ice-cream cake from Dairy Queen :) Today's going to be a good day...

I love this picture of me and my dad

New Years Eve 2008

New Year’s Eve was a lot of fun this year. We all got together and played Guitar Hero (even Austin’s mom and Dad jammed out with us) and we ate lots of good food and played a few games of cards. As we watched the ball drop to ring in the new year, I must say I am excited for 2009. Hopefully soon we can have another addition added to our family (and no, don’t ask me if I’m pregnant, because I’m not yet) :) and we have a lots of fun things to look forward to this year. I am so happy to have such wonderful friends and family and I have been so blessed with everything I have. I hope you all had a great New Years!

Kylie eating like a dog :)

Ashley, Jordan and Austin rocking out

How I love this game...