New Boots...

Disclaimer: No animals were harmed in the making of this video. There may have been uncontrollable laughter.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, everyone! Since we celebrated ahead of time, I'm finally posting pictures of our awesome Disneyland trip. If you ever have a chance to go to Disneyland in October, we highly recommend it! And you might be lucky & have record HEAT like we did (100 degrees). Mickey's Halloween Party was really fun. Best fireworks show EVER! We'll definitely take our kiddies there when they can dress up & trick-or-treat. So fun!

Donald Duck pumpkin head at the entrance

City Hall decked out in autumn colors

Halloween Time...yeah, baby!

I made it through the Wilderness Explorer's Challenge Trail. This was a really cool area.

I loved the Little Mermaid ride; so awesome!

Paradise Pier at night

Brian & preggy Tam

Can you tell this was the 100 degree day?

Newport Beach pose

Cooling off in the ocean; glasses were missing shortly afterward (ocean ate them)

Sunset at Newport

Big Thunder Ranch (they had the most decorations all over)

Showdown w/Mr. Toad

Round & round...

...on King Arthur's Carousel

Captain Brian

At Mickey's house

Disneyland train station

L.L. Cool Tam (nice hat!)

Love the Pier; check out the delicious soup bowls sometime

Mickey's Halloween Party

Halloween Tree at Frontierland

Mr. Incredible saves local family from Splash Mountain typhoon

How Time Flies

We recently celebrated our 5th anniversary. I can't believe it's already been that long! It's even longer considering we've been together for 11 years. We wouldn't trade it for anything in the world! Instead of getting mushy, enjoy some music & snapshots about our life together so far. Can't wait for the next 5 years! I love you, Brian.

Engaged March 22, 2006

Married September 21, 2006

Survived a neighbor fire in our apartment building

Belated honeymoon 2006

Sealed in the Salt Lake Temple - February 2008

Purchased our condo - February 2009

Welcomed Lily - Summer 2009

Finally graduated from Weber State - April 2010

The Incredibles - Halloween 2010

Lily's 2nd birthday - June 12, 2011

Baby Dillon - due February 8th, 2012

One Heck of a Day...

Hooray! I passed my test! I am so happy, relieved, elated, etc. I hope to never have to take another test EVER AGAIN! It wasn't as terrible as I was assuming. But then, studying for a month in advance is great preparation. Now I will get bumped up a level at work (definition: $$$) & can use these CTR credentials forever in the future if I ever need to find a different job. Yay! And for my reward? Being as lazy as I want today.

The Irish decided to break their 2 game losing streak today by beating Michigan State 31-13. It was a pretty awesome game. There were a few early turnovers & mistakes. But ND managed to hang on to the lead & build on their progress. (Picture of Cierre Wood for a touchdown.) Blanton was definitely the player of the game. We finally have a secondary defensive player worth mentioning. He kicked butt! Good day for Notre Dame.

Happy dances all around!

Looking Forward To...

Freedom from studying

Boy or Girl? (most votes have been a boy)

A Much-needed Break!

10th Anniversary of 9/11

I was pretty emotional today. We ended our sacrament by singing "America the Beautiful." Before the NFL game, there was a 9/11 tribute. I loved when they rolled out the huge American flag and had all the players, coaches, & servicemen hold the flag together. I am still amazed when I think of all that occurred 10 years ago & how our countrymen came together. Churches were full of people looking for comfort, guidance, & God.

I am so grateful to be an American. We live in the greatest country in the world & have so much to be thankful for. I cannot imagine a life without the freedoms we enjoy. I'm forever grateful for all the men & women who protect our freedoms on the frontline. I know God chose this land for us & watches over us always.

Chorus: "America! America!
God shed His grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!"

The Zipper Game

All right. I give in! The convincing evidence now tells me it's time to shop for maternity pants. Sad, I thought I could go a little longer with my belly band. My capris are okay so far; work pants not so much. (And they're the same size, go figure!) Hopefully this is just the baby growing & not me adding poundage from not exercising. :) I'll remedy that trend RIGHT NOW! (Plus I have a good book to read; always nice to have motivation.)

Hitting the Books...AGAIN!!!

Oh, how I wish this really worked!

Yes, I'm studying again. But this time is the LAST TIME! I'm posting this promise here so I don't forget & decide to do this crazy stuff in the future. My big registrar exam is in September. The bottom line is getting a good enough score to pass. I figure I can get a 70% at least. And if I study really well & memorize some things, I should do better than that. So...wish me luck. And if you don't see me blogging, it's probably cause I'm buried under a book somewhere. Cheers!

Side story: Lily is an opportunistic little dog. I was putting on my makeup the other day in our bathroom while she was out in the living room unsupervised. I didn't think anything of it. When I came back out, Lily was slinking around the table as if she did something naughty. I noticed she'd dragged her blanket out to chew on it (a no-no) so I got after her for that. As I went to the kitchen to clean up, I went to reach for the plastic wrap to put our leftover waffles away. They suddenly turned invisible. Oh, Lily! I think she enjoyed them. At least that is what her big belch would have me believe. =)

Girl's Camp 2011

Another year of girl's camp has come & gone. I had a blast! I was so glad that I was invited to go help out again. Plus we got to live it up in a cabin with running water; can't beat that!

Our theme this year was from Dr. Seuss' book, "Oh the Places You'll Go!" It was really cool how much we took out of that book for devotionals & gospel applications. Each day we had a theme. The first day was our hike up Bell Canyon. The theme was "Kid, you'll move mountains! Your mountain is waiting." For some of us (especially leaders & pregnant ladies), the hike was a pretty steep challenge.

The whole gang at Bell Canyon

Row 1 (l-r): Bailey, Sami, Olivia, Kelsey, Sydney
Row 2 (l-r): Heather, Brittania, Morgan, Nicole, Emma, KayLee, Kaylee

My devotional was from "Bang-ups & hang-ups can happen to you!" I prepared some thoughts about trials & repentance. Brian let me use his story as an object lesson on overcoming really hard things & coming back to Christ.

Heber Valley moon

The second morning we talked about "With banner flip-flapping once more you'll ride high! Ready for anything under the sky." We discussed the "Strength of Youth" pamphlet & how important it is to make good decisions ahead of time.

Lunch @ Deer Creek Reservoir

We did our service project in Park City at the National Ability Center. They were getting ready for a big celebration party the next day so we helped them set up tables, chairs, banners, etc.

Taking a Break (l-r): Emma, Kris, Morgan, Kara

Before our testimony meeting that night, we all did our skits & sang songs. The devotional was from "With your head full of brains & your shoes full of feet, you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street." The girls were given advice on how to avoid temptation & how to not follow the crowd.

Me & the Girls

Campfire Crew

The Newbies

Strike a Pose

Testimony meeting at girl's camp is always the best. It's amazing how strong the Spirit is with these young ladies. They are so strong & able to teach with their examples. I was really proud of how much service & friendship they are willing to give.

The last morning we talked about "the waiting place" & how nothing happens in stand-still. We always must make goals & take action to achieve them. The story about the smoke jumpers was told & how we must keep moving to get direction from our Heavenly Father.

We ended our day at the Olympic Park. We saw the Flying Ace All-Stars' show; they were awesome! They do a summer show every Saturday @ 1pm. Check it out!

Kelsey, Jaime, Anne

Chillin' in Park City

Cute Little Beehives

Our last devotional was taken from "You're off to great places! You're off & away! You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose." We told the girls about taking personal responsibility & being confident in who they are. The other highlights were chasing bats away, eating Dairy Keen shakes, doing cute crafts, & making our own Cafe Rio dinner. If you ever have a chance to be in Young Women's or go to camp, take it fast! You'll never be more uplifted to be a better person.