Two Much!

On Valentine's Day Bella turned two! I cannot believe my baby is two years old; man how time flies! We spent Bella's birthday weekend in Vegas; swimming, shopping and eating delicious food. It was nice getting away to enjoy the warm weather. Since we were in Vegas on the 14th, we had her birthday party the previous week with my family. She was absolutely spoiled and loved every minute of it. The Sunday following her actual birthday was her party at the Starks.
Both sets of grandparents love having us back in Utah, which is apparent after you see the amount of gifts Bella received.



Bella had to have a Cinderella cake (her latest obsession)


Birthday in Vegas



Happy Birthday Bella Boo!





As part of her birthday gifts, my parents bought Bella ear piercings. Bella did awesome and can't stop showing us her earrings.

Christmas with Bells

Christmas was very exciting this year. We were in town, and our little girl understood what Christmas was all about. We moved into our house on Christmas Eve and I felt depressed that our little girl wouldn't have a Christmas tree to wake up to. While over at my parent's house I voiced my concerns and was given a 3' tree from my mother. After Bells went to bed I set the tree up in her room. It was so fun to wake her up the next morning. She was amazed that Santa had left her a tree and presents. This year she was spoiled, I think both grandma's went overboard, but because she hasn't been around I figured I couldn't ruin their fun.


We also had the opportunity of seeing a few of our close friends from out of town. We are sad to see our friends so far from us, but hope that we will be able to visit them again soon. Thanks for finding time for us guys!





Hope you all had a Happy Holidays!

Back It Up

So I have not been great with updates lately. Sorry. I will say no more of my inability to be consistent. We are going to go back in time and start with HALLOWEEN. These pictures are too cute for words, so I can't help but post them.



She specifically asked to be a pink princess. It made me a little sad that I could not force her to be what I wanted (I thought that would last longer). And of course once she figured out that she was getting candy at every door front, she was more that happy to oblige.

Coming Soon

I know it's been too long since the last post, but with remodeling our home, moving a few times in the last few months, and Christmas, life has been a little chaotic. I promise a few long posts (with pictures) are on their way.

Happy Birthday!!

Yesterday was my birthday, wahoo! To celebrate Tyler and I spent the weekend in Park City. After an awesome weekend with loads of relaxation, we brought Bella up to spend Sunday night with us. Thanks for the best birthday ever Ty!





Swimming in thirty degree weather!


Excited to go swimming

5 Amazing Years

I can't believe how fast time goes by and boy does it fly when you're having fun. Dannielle has made my life so wonderful and I am continually impressed by her greatness!
Over the past 5 years there have been times when the light within me has flickered and faded due to the stresses of school, work, church, moving and having a child. Dannielle has continually been the flame that keeps my light shining. (Cheesy enough?) I love you sweetie:)
Here are a few pictures from our time together.
So glad you said YES!

Remember when I was skinny..er.

Your birthday puppy. What would we do without our Chester?

Hawaii was such a blast!

Our little princess!

Oh how I miss my girls.

I love you guys so much. I can't wait to see you in a few weeks. Sorry we are apart for our anniversary. I'm so excited to celebrate your birthday! Love you sweetie:)

Missing Daddy

We arrived in Utah safely and watched Tyler head back to Texas a few days later. When Tyler and I decided he would return to Texas and stay for 6 weeks (to study), I knew that it would not be fun. I never thought it would be this difficult to have my biggest support so far from me. I am in awe as I think of those that watch their husband leave and bear their burden so well. We love you Ty, Bella and I are counting down the days and can't wait to see and hug you again!

Things I Will Miss

I will miss the warm weather, our wonderful ward, new friends, going to Sea World any time we want to, the unique stores, Longhorn Cafe, the awesome malls, the River Walk, hosting visitors, and many other things that don't come to mind at this time.
After much pondering we have decided to move back to Utah. Although we are excited to be close to family, we are sad to leave so many wonderful things behind. We will miss you San Antonio, maybe we will be back some day.

What we dream of...

Some of you might think I go to school day after day, year after year to earn a position in a stable career field, you may think I do it to prepare a future for my family, or maybe even to go on and become a philanthropist of great measure. Well the truth is I do it so someday I can have a retreat in Island Park Idaho. Loved the boat, the water, the sun, the food, loved the company we shared, Loved it all!

After a long night of drinking

I was searching through the camera after the girls got home and found this picture. I'm sure Dannielle can explain what's really going on, but it's funnier to think Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore are witnessing something horrific!

Aunts

We were lucky enough to have some visitors this past week. Two of Tyler's little sisters came down to visit the heat and their favorite niece. We spent the first three days at Sea World, Six Flags and Schlitterbahn. We relaxed all day Sunday, after church of course, and spent Monday in a cute little town called Boerne. Hopefully they didn't melt while visiting, we have had record breaking heat for the last week and a half. It's been so hot we have a weather advisory to stay indoors as much as possible.

A Twofer

For those of you that didn't know, Tyler's birthday was on Father's Day this year. We celebrated and ate lots of yummy cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory


I can't even begin to describe my love for Tyler. He is an amazing husband and an even better father. I can't picture my life without him, he brings Bella and I so much joy. He is always making us laugh, and continues to amaze me with his selflessness. I love how hard you work for this family Tyler.

XOXOXOXOXOXO love your two favorite girls

The Biggest Loser

So apparently no one agrees with me, and you all think Bella looks most like me. Fine, fine. But I will say that my vote weighs more than all of your votes put together, so there! Maybe as she gets older I will begin to see what the rest of you see :)

Here are some pics of us from the last month or so.

Me and sleepy Bella



So proud she could walk in my tallest stilettos



Mesmerized by the snake



Posing by the "feesh"



Bella and her best bud

Mmm, like a little kid in a candy store

So over the past week my office has been closed and I've been studying for days on end. I took a break one evening to go find a treat.
The closest stop that was convenient at midnight...The Corner Store! It has been a while since I've shopped the shelves of a corner store for a snack and was surprised to find that this store only carried King Size candy bars. Someone in sales was smart to go forward with this idea. You are left with one other choice. Go somewhere else.
Well I was already there and just like everyone else, I gave in and bought the bigger snack. Who am I kidding, I always buy the bigger snack. This was just a convenient justification! As a bonus I found two treats that I haven't had since Silver Tab Jeans rocked the shelves of ZCMI. I was like a kid again! Except now I could buy as much as I wanted. Please feel free to share your enthusiasm for my great find!

I guess there is a chance that this isn't really a "find" and these candies have always been available? I would love to see Bonkers and PB MAX make a come back.

Look-a-like Poll ---------------------------->

According to most people Bella looks the most like me. My own personal opinion is that she continues to look more and more like Tyler everyday, minus the hair that is resembling red more and more each day. So I leave it to a poll of friends and family to decide. I know I am tipping the scales in favor of Tyler by only posting one baby picture of me, but the one photo is all I've got. The rest are in Utah. Try not to laugh too hard at our baby pics, we were not as cute as Bella (and by that I mean me).

Tyler, 5 months old


Bella, 5 months old



Me, almost one year old



Bella, just over 1 year




Tyler, 2 years old



Tyler, 3 years old