We're Back...

Now that was a nice break from blogging. But now i'm back and ready for the bloggin world again!

Our sweet Takoda turned 2 on Nov. 19th! He seriously is the love of my life...

I'm not sure if I mentioned we have a cat. Yes a cat! I'm such a dog person, but my "lovely" sister Kate has a friend who had kittens and offered Kate a kitten. Kate said,"Yes I know the perfect person who would be delighted to take of it for me while i'm in college"... (Todd) Yeah, not me but Todd. Todd loves cats and this little kitten was no different. So of course Kate doesn't claim it anymore (although she totally knows it's her graduation present)...

Takoda and "Mittens" have a love/hate relationship:) Takoda loves to try and snuggle with her, locks her in his room and tries to play with her and will even tease her enough to where she will playfully bite Takoda, which he doesn't mind...he just laughs. After much frustration, I said, "that's it, Mittens is getting declawed!" But then Todd found these acrylic nail things for cats. You glue them over the nail so their not able to scratch. Isn't she pretty:)It's Christmas Time

Takoda LOVES Christmas we've decided. Everything from the music to the lights. Look at these two handsome boys...are they father and son or what?!Sorry this pic isn't the best. But at Town Square every night at 7:00 it snows! Santa and Mrs. Clause also come out and wave to all the kids.

It's really not that cold here yet. So yes we look like we're in the season, but all of you who have real snow would laugh at the Vegans who are all bundled up:) I can't believe Christmas is almost here!!! We hope your all enjoying this Christmas Season & Hope to see you soon!

Just Wachin a Movie...

The other night, my parents were babysitting these two little guys. Mom walked into the living room and found Takoda sitting in Nahoa's lap both watching a movie;) For the next month or so John and his familia are here while he's on a semester break from Dental School. I'm so happy that Takoda will have some cousins to play with!

Girls Camp '10

We had the best time at Girls Camp this year! We went to Camp Heaton, it's right behind Cedar City about an hour over the Mt.

Gratefully the leaders were able to bring up their own trailers, so Ros and I totally took advantage by staying in a pop up trailer:) The girls loved staying in their tent!
There were so many fun activities. Zip line, Repelling, Shooting, Fishing and Horseback riding!
We had the leaders go on a ride while the girls were doing their SOLO time. The Wrangler said, if you want to go fast go in this group, if you want to go slow go with the other group. Only 5 of us joined the adventurous group:)
Being around the YW for a week was such a breath of fresh air. They are always so positive, hilarious and just fun to be around! (p.s. Megan thought we were doing a serious picture...I swear she's a happy camper:)

I made our shirts. Our Theme was Rock Solid in the Gospel. Each ward had a value color, ours as you can see was Faith. On the back are the girls name our theme and a scripture:)

And to add frosting to the cake, Our friends Alli and Chrissy were the stk camp cooks! We loved hanging out with them on our down time:)

Thanks for the good time GIRLS!!!

Do you hate me yet?

I haven't been able to post pics of takoda or the results of the backyard finally being finished.

My camera is broken, and so I pulled out my other camera from a couple of years ago...and that one died, literally. So...now what...

Marriage...

The other day I was thinking and realized I needed to change...I'm only 26, have been married only 6 years and already I find myself feeling too comfortable as a wife and friend to my husband.

I remember in college while we were dating we took an eternal marriage class. Todd and I had the best time in that class together. We would listen to the insane questions a lot of the students had about their spouse or dating person and we would look at each other and think...glad that's not us. Or there were days during the lecture we would think, I know that "whatever situation" will occur sometime in our marriage, but how will it go down? Who will be the first to say I'm sorry? Or I hope that never happens to us. I can honestly say I couldn't have chosen a better spouse to support me and put up with me. This guy is one understanding man. Nuf said:)

We all know any advice on marriage from the first presidency is GREAT advice. From my text book for this class there is this quote given by President Faust:
Marriage relationships can be enriched by better communication. One important way is to pray together. This will resolve many of your differences, if there are any, before the couple goes to sleep. I do not mean to overemphasize differences, but they are real, and do make things interesting. I believe our differences are the little pinches of salt that can make the marriage seem more flavorful. We communicate in thousand of ways, such as a smile, brush of the hair, a gentle touch, we should remember each day to say "i love you", The husband should say to his wife, "You are beautiful". Some other important words for both husband and wife to say when appropriate are "I'm sorry". Listening is also an excellent form of communication.

Marriage has taught me a lot about myself. I'm constantly trying to improve myself, but I'm needing to find that balance of improving as a wife. I know I do a good job, I know I'm a great best friend, but sometimes I need to realize I can do better. I can become the best!

Isn't' It Nice...

...to be able to live only a few hours away from California! We always love to get away and visit the ocean and have fun with Adam and Rachel.

Takoda loved the ride down, He couldn't stop saying, "mamma, mamma, mamma" until I would turn around for the 100th time and say yes Takoda and then just smile or tell me a short story:) Secretly i just think he loved all the attention while being in the car. p.s. these are my old sunglasses he loves to put on during our rides.

We first stopped at Adam's and Rachel's, loaded up in his HUGE truck and drove off...I loved that Takoda had a partner in crime.... They got along great as you can see;)Friday night we stayed in a sweet hotel in Newport, we found a great deal on Hotwire.com. Saturday we headed to heaven...i mean the beach.... Takoda loved the water, almost more than playing in the sand. But really that's no surprise...But he sure loved standing in the freezing cold water, running and splashing!

It's almost Summer!!! Yay!!!

I'm 25 right?...

...I have this problem of... lets say for example, I just turned 23yrs old. In my head i stay 23 for a couple of months and then move onto the idea, that soon I'll be 24. Until about 6 months from my birthday I've almost convinced myself that I am 24. This happens every year.

So the other night, Todd was like "Yay! You'll be 27 soon...Can you believe it 27!" (He was dead serious) I paused...thought for a second... I was totally about to agree w/ him and say Yeah I can't believe it I'm so old! But I paused, thought for a bit and said, ummmmm no I'll be 26! He was like Ohhh...

Yeah so much for trying to stay young around this house we'll age you real quick:)

p.s My "26th" Bday is May 15th...Just puttin it out there ya know:)

SIX YEARS! 04/24/04
Happy Anniversary to Us! On this day every year I wake up and think... the sun is out, the weather is perfect...I had the perfect wedding day. I know a lot of brides say that, but I truly felt like everyone there at the wedding was so kind and supportive. The whole day i couldn't stop smiling and thinking...I can't believe this is me...I'm married and it couldn't have been to a more perfect guy! Us dating...I got flowers for our anniversary...(as i do every anniversary). Us in rexburg on the train tracks. Classic i know:)

Goal Accomplished...

Since college I've wanted to do a sprint triathlon, but it was one of those goals that was so out of my league I didn't know when or how I would actually do it. in Feb. I finally decided it was time. This is my training chart, I posted it on my wall and everyday when I completed the work out I crossed the day off. At the end of the week I gave myself a smiley face, saying I completed that week of training. 8 long weeks later, I signed up for the "RAGE TRIATHLON" at Lake Mead.

Swim: 750 meters Bike: 12.4 miles Run: 3.1 miles

We began 1/4 of the way in the lake and waited for the official to say, on your mark...get set...go! I swam and swam and swam. It seemed like it was taking forever...But sure enough I ended up seeing the last buoy i was to pass and swam like my life depended on it:)

I guess I came in too fast on my bike that no one really got a pic of me on the bike...but the cycling was the most intense. It honestly seemed like it was uphill both directions. But 12 and half miles later, I racked my bike and set off for my 3 mile run.

The run wasn't so bad...just one hill and then some dying to get some water.
I had such a fun time. I can't believe I did it!
My results: Time- 1:44:24 gender place: 37 Division: 4th (age 24-29) Overall: 131

Another 5K under our Belts...

Every year our ward does a stake 5K including relays. I don't know how Todd does it, but he swears he's going to train a month before hand, but ends up training the week prior (which ends up being 2 days)...but does a great job in finishing the race. I was determined to do better this year than last, and i'm proud to say i did. I finished in exactly 26 min.

Heather is in the background, she erika and I run every saturday together. Oh what would i do w/o them:)
Our ward color is red...look at us representing the Red Sox!

erika, melissa and I

Confession Time...

I love the show Fresh Meat II on MTV! Kate and I are obsessed with the Dual and Fresh Meat. Every season we get together for the premier and have a little party....Yes just the two of us, but we love watching it and secretly pretend we're on the show. We know all the "characters" from every season, so it's easy to have an opinion! We have been big Wes Fans ever since he was on Real World;) So this may be foreign to some of you...so let's just say last night Kate and I had the best time watching our little show!

How Could You Say No...

...to eating this oh so delicious dessert. I found this recipe on the best website ever http://bakerella.com/ I brought this divine dessert to a dinner party last night... and let's just say it was a hit;) (heather)

Chocolate Chip Cooke Pie

1 unbaked 9" pie crust

2 eggs

1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. packed brown sugar

1 1/2 sticks of softened butter

1 c. chocolate chips

1 c. pecans or walnuts ( I chopped them)

Serve warm and w/ ice cream

Bake 325

Beat eggs until foamy

beat in flour, sugars and butter

stir in chocolate chips and nuts

Bake 55-60 min/cool on wire rack

*If using a frozen pie crust, let it thaw completely and use deep dish. Bake on a baking sheet and increase baking time slightly.

Thanks Takoda...

This little boy loves to help me, whether it's taking out the trash, loading the dishwasher or cooking, he sure knows how to score points with me!

Oh the Memories...

The Bliss family Reunion was a success! It was so much fun to see everyone and get out of Vegas for awhile. While we were there we saw the Jazz vs. Lakers game! Takoda loved being with family and especially with his cousins, they had so much fun playing together!Us Tubing in Park CityWe stayed in a cabin in Midway and everyday we passed these horses Takoda would say "horse" So we decided to stop and let him feed them...he loved it!15 months and loving life;) This boy sure has a lot of energy (to say the least) He makes me smile everyday. He now weighs 27 lbs, loves to be outside and loves animals. This past weekend our family friends invited us to go to the sand dunes. Can i just say Takoda loved it, he even fell asleep on one of the rides. We had so much fun and can't wait to go again in a couple of weeks!