Well, the title says it all. Tyler had two exams this week and spent all of his free time studying. Bella and I tried to stay out of the way; hopefully Tyler knows we weren't trying to distract him. Bella is becoming more confident in her walking. I think a week from now she will be off discovering her independence. She already insists on doing what SHE wants to do. . . hmm was that from me or Tyler :)
Tyler's Spring Break was last Monday through Friday. Unfortunately, it rained almost every day this past week. Saturday was scheduled to be in the 60's with no rain. We decided to brave the chilly weather and go to Seaworld. It was a great outing, the park wasn't crowded and the sun wasn't beating down on us!
Happy Family!
Dolphin Cove
Come here flipper. . .
Shamu
Feeding the ducks at Seaworld
Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Stark for Bella's new table! She spends all day coloring and getting on and off her chairs. The fridge is quickly filling up with all her art projects!
My current employer offers a gym membership every month and if you have been paying attention you should be able to tell I have not used it. I requested some reimbursement for exercise equipment and they gave me the OK. So here is my newest piece of exercise equipment compliments of my office! (Dannielle made up the difference:o)
The terrain here in Texas is a lot different from the terrain in Utah, but there are some good single track trails close by. I've ridden to work a few times, but the ladies have expressed some concern over an odoriferous coworker, and some times I fall and get dirty so that hasn't gone well at all. I might post some pictures of my weekend adventures when I remember to take a camera along.
Tyler went into Bella's room to check on her before going to bed last night, and this is what he found:
What a fun day! We spent time playing at the park, opening presents, and eating yummy cake. I can't believe our little girl is one!
I'm finally down to a size two!!
Ya right, I wish. . . . Bella has finally grown out of size one diapers! I know this seems like a silly milestone, but I was almost proud clunking the huge box of size two diapers in my Costco cart.
You know your in Texas in January when:
all the convertibles are driving with their tops down
people are jogging in tank tops
people are still wearing shorts
Bella's summer clothes are in her dresser
the Zoo is still open
the sprinklers are coming on at night
and the landscaping business is still hopping
Man what a different "winter" this had been for us!!
As our trip draws to a close we look back and smile. We are grateful for the time we had with friends and family. Thank you for opening your hearts and your homes to us. There are those we did not get to visit; we can only wish for more time to see every single one of you. We wish you all good luck in the New Year! Lots of love - The Stark Family
We hope you all had a Merry Christmas! We have enjoyed our stay thus far; even the snow. Bella was a blast to watch on Christmas morning. We didn't expect her to be excited or to understand what was going on. Amazingly, she was thrilled with each opened present.
We hope to see ALL of you soon. . .If we haven't seen or visited with you yet, be patient. We are making it around to everybody slowly. Happy Holidays!!
I can't believe we will be in Utah in eight more nights!! Time is flying! We can't wait to see everybody and catch up. Although I still have a massive amount of strategic packing to be done, what joy, I am counting down the days like a kid waiting for Christmas. And I am loving every minute. I cannot wait for this holiday season!!
With Thanksgiving behind us and Christmas quickly approaching, we find ourselves grateful for many things. I recently received an email from the relief society presidency in my ward asking for help with hurricane Ike victims. Even though hurricane Ike hit months ago, families in Houston are still surviving with the bare minimum. Mother's in the city are requesting Christmas decorations. As I pondered this unusual request, I began to think about my past Christmas' and wondered how I would feel as a small child with no Christmas decorations. I feel impressed that these mothers are trying to do everything in their power to create the spirit of Christmas in their home. I hope that the decorations sent to them will make the difference they are hoping for.
I am grateful for many things in my life (if I start a list, you would get way too bored). I am truly grateful for my beautiful family and my warm, safe home. I love my husband and am so appreciative of him and everything he does for this family. I hope we can all tell those around us how much we love them, especially at this special time of year. Love you all!!
Dannielle, Isabella and I joined a few friends at a local sports bar for the 2008 edition of the Holy War. There was one other couple cheering on the Utes and about 20 BYU fans. Funny how that many fans made less noise than us Utah fans. Oh that's right there was nothing for them to cheer about. Go Utes!
48-24 Yeah Baby!
I've been accumulating some funny pictures on my cell phone and decided it would be fun to share them with you all.
Dannielle is generally a good driver. I think she's only hit 1 car since we've been married. But this is noteworthy for other reasons. Some of you might be thinking Tyler and his camera better get out of the way she's going to hit him. Well because I'm writting this now you should have concluded that I survived. The car isn't actually moving, infact it's parked and Dannielle is inside our friend's house. Yes this is parallel parking at it's finest. When questioned she said she was scared she was going to hit the boy playing basketball across the street. ??? 
I snapped this fine picture ascending Big Cottonwood Canyon sometime in March 2008. There was about 1" of snow on the road and this crazy clown was scootn' up the mountain on his hog! I think he was white knuckle under those gloves!
This pictured was captured just outside of St. George Utah. The proud owner had welded/bolted a motorcycle ramp to his car. Awesome? I think so.
I took this picture upon entering the men's restroom at a gas station I stopped at while driving to Texas. My first reaction was shock that they expect you to share a toilet paper dispenser. Just as I was finishing Senator Larry Craig walked in and I got the #$!! out of there! 
