Seven years and still in love

I started our blog after we got Dallin, so really the first six years of our life were skipped. Zane and I celebrated our 7th year anniversary on Saturday and so I wanted to post some pictures of the last six years before Dallin. Warning...there has been some weight gain from both of us since that memorable day when we met seven and a half years ago.

Zane and I met on June 8, 2001. We were both set up on a blind date but we weren't each other's date. The date took place in South Jordan with some of Zane's high school friends. My best friend from Houston married one of Zane's friends from high school, so through her, I was invited to this group date. Zane and I were both driving up from Provo, so our friends arranged for us to drive together to South Jordan. The first meeting was pretty awkward. Zane couldn't remember my name when he came to the door to pick me up. My very quiet, shy roommate answered the door and said nothing to Zane and he tried desperately to think of my name. I'm in my bedroom finishing getting ready and yell out something to him about being ready soon. I think his first impression of me was a loud, boisterous girl. On the drive up Zane told me he was thinking of being a seminary teacher, went to UVSC, and he went to Portland on his mission. I was not very humble at this stage in my life and I immediately wrote Zane off. I didn't like that he wanted to be a seminary teacher (doesn't every return missionary want to be that?), went state side on his mission, went to UVSC, and to top it off he will go bald one day. By the end of the night, I thought he was the funniest guy I had ever met. Both of us didn't hit if off with our real dates, but on the way back to Provo, we hit it off. We talked the whole time, stopped off at Village Inn and ate pie and continued talking till the wee hours of the morning. From that moment on we were together all the time, engaged 3 months later, and married three months after that.

This is Zane and I right before we got engaged at Lake Tahoe where Zane met my family at a Shurtliff family reunion.

One of our engagement pictures

Wedding day in front of the Houston Temple, December 27, 2001

Zane and I lived in Provo and Orem for the next three years. I finished up my degree at BYU and started teaching at South Jordan Middle School (ironically where Zane went to middle school) and taught there for 2 1/2 years. Zane graduated from UVSC in accounting (he did switch majors but not because of me) and looked for jobs in Utah and Houston. Obviously the job market is much better in Houston, and so to my excitement, we were moving back to my home. I left my teaching job in the middle of the year which was extremely hard to do, but it was time to start our new life in Houston.

We moved into our house in January of 2005 and we both started our new jobs.

For our 5th anniversary, we went on a cruise to the Caribbean. We had a wonderful time together. (November 2006)

Zane went to London on a business trip in November of 2007. Because he was gone two weeks, his company flew me out for the weekend to join him. I almost didn't go because I had to take off a couple days of work and I hated missing school (so silly). I'm so glad Zane convinced me to go. We had so much fun plus I got to see two musicals while we were there. This is us trying to take our own picture in front of Buckingham Palace.

Of course the six years before Dallin were filled up with a lot more fun times and even the sad times. Although I was a little prideful when I first met Zane, it didn't take me long to figure out I had the best catch in the world. We have had a wonderful seven years together and it just keeps getting better!

Mmmm Chocolate

I'm a little late in posting this, but the story needed to be told even without a picture. Two weeks ago I was putting something away in the freezer, talking on my cell phone, and holding a chocolate cookie in the other hand. (I'm a great multi-tasker). As soon as I opened the freezer, Dallin made a bee line to it to see how much destruction he could create before he was stopped. All of sudden I saw that he was pulling out a bag full of frozen ice packs. I immediately dropped everything (yes, even the cookie) and grabbed the bag before they landed on Dallin. I looked over at Dallin to make sure he is ok and I saw him crawling off in the other direction. I have never seen Dallin move this fast. He saw the dropped cookie, got a hold of it, and was stuffing his face like he was starving. There was no way I could even get it from him. It was gone that quickly. This of course is Dallin's first experience with chocolate and apparently he likes it!

Christmas Eve

Our Christmas with my family is filled with tradition. Christmas Eve is our big night when my mom makes a turkey with all the fixings and we have a huge party. Ever since we moved to Houston and left our extended family behind in Utah, my parents have always invited friends or missionaries over to join us. This year my brother and sister invited two families so we had a lot of little kids. Kari organized all the kids to act out the Christmas story while Jared read from the scriptures. With so many kids, it wasn't really a spiritual reenactment, but it was fun to watch! Here are some of the highlights.

Kari trying to get all the kids in their place. The drama queen Valerie played Mary and Drew is Joseph.

Kari as the stable.

The wise men bring gifts to baby Jesus. What a great star!

Garret as a shepherd telling us were all done or maybe just saying hi.

Dallin and Caleb were sheep (in other words that got to crawl around the room and do what they want.) After it was over, Dallin started playing with the angel head piece and I couldn't resist displaying him as his true self...my little angel.

The night also included chime playing and present exchanges between siblings after our guests left. It was a wonderful night. My parents always make Christmas great. I love the spirit of Christmas as you try to find the perfect gift for someone and how kindness and charity are more prevalent then any other time of year. It is a wonderful time to celebrate our Savior's birth and life and to be with family.

What's better...wrapping paper or what's inside?

For Dallin on his first Christmas, the wrapping paper and bows were the best. He even liked the empty boxes after his new toy was pulled out. Pretty much, the actual present held his attention for a little then he was back to playing with the wrapping paper etc. Zane and I had fun though enjoying every minute.

Dallin and Caleb enjoying their new wagon. Grandma and Grandpa gave them both one and it was a hit. They spent most of Christmas day sitting in the wagon while we all took turns pulling them around the house.

Dallin with his presents. He now knows what a camera is. He will freeze and smile for the camera as soon as he sees the light. If I take two pictures in a row, then he will smile really big and squint his eyes because he is sick of the flash.

Playing with his new truck from Grandma and Grandpa Shurtliff. I got the squint in this picture.

Dallin playing with his new train from Grandma and Grandpa Turner (Zane's foster parents.) This was taken a few days after Christmas. Dallin has pink eye...again.

Santa Claus

Dallin saw Santa Claus for the first time. I think the most that can be said about the experience is that he didn't cry. Dallin just stared at Santa's white beard (as you can see this was a very fake beard. They didn't even try to make it look real.) All of us around him were jumping up and down and making fools of ourselves trying to make him smile. All Dallin did was look at us like we were crazy. He didn't even try to pull Santa's beard. We finally got a half smile at the end (picture shown above.) There was a lot of jumping and funny faces for that little half smile.

The fine print on Dallin's shirt says, "$5.00 for the first kiss, $2.00 for each additional kisses. Taxes may apply." With the economy as slow as it is, we appreciate Dallin pulling his own weight and bringing in some money!

Snow...Amazing

I started getting many phone calls in the late afternoon yesterday to go look out my window. Sure enough, it was snowing. I wasn't sure at first because it did kind of look like rain, but it was snow. By the time I was leaving that night, the snow was actually sticking to the ground on my flower beds. A couple of thoughts went through my mind. First, I should have covered my flowers. I usually only worry about covering the flowers at night if it is going to freeze, so I hadn't done that yet. By the time I got home it seemed a little pointless to cover my flowers because they were already covered by snow. Kind of a bummer since I spend so much time planting them.

The second thought was how amazing it was to see the snow piled up on the cars parked outside. I thought it was a good thing I still have my window scraper from when I lived in Utah, but then again, the windows weren't icing up and the snow wasn't that heavy, so a window scraper wasn't needed.

My third thought was I needed to be careful driving and it was a good thing I have my SUV now. Right after we bought our SUV, I noticed that there were a couple of functions that were used in relation to driving in snow. I thought then that maybe we didn't get the right car for Houston. Now I was glad I had them, but of course I don't know what those buttons do anyways. There was no need to worry though because the snow wasn't sticking to the street.

Although our Utah friends are going to laugh at our little snow storm, it was an amazing sight to see. I can only remember one other time seeing snow while living here. My mom says it happens more then I think, but I have never seen it stick to the ground like it did last night.

As you can see, it didn't stick very well because there is no snow on the bricks around our flower gardens. By morning it was gone, but don't worry the flowers did survive. Temperatures this weekend will be back in the 70's where honestly I like them to stay. (Sorry the pictures are so dark. We were taking them in the dark with only Christmas lights lighting the way. We knew with in a couple of hours all the evidence would disappear.)

Library Time

Every Tuesday, my sister and I take our boys to the library for story time and nursery rhymes. They love it. Dallin mostly watches other kids and the hand movements. He is starting to be a little more daring and crawl away from Mom to see what other kids are doing. It is also a great time for the women to be a little social!

Thanksgiving

I'm a little slow in writing my gratitude blog...better late than never. We spent Thanksgiving at my mom and dad's. My grandparents are in town from Utah and joined us. I love when they come visit because distance influences how often I see them. My house is full of my grandparents' talents...my grandpa's amazing artwork (he has done pencil sketches of Zane and I and now one of Dallin plus the paintings I have of his) and my grandma's knitting and crocheting projects are everywhere from kitchen washcloths, to coasters and doilies, and to the many afghans. My Christmas tree is covered with ornaments that she made me and the tree skirt that she knitted. She told me once that she learned her craft by sitting at her grandma's knees being taught by her. I then told her it was her fault that I didn't learn these crafts because she didn't force me to sit at her knees and listen. Really though, I wish I had taken more opportunities to learn from someone who is so talented. So I am grateful that I have both sets of grandparents still alive who have taught and still teach me wonderful things. I know I am very lucky.

Zane and I also went to the temple on Thanksgiving weekend. As I sat in the Celestial Room, my heart was so full of thanks for my wonderful little family. I have a wonderful, very supportive and loving husband who always tries to serve the Lord and serve his family. He is so busy with his work and church calling, but he never complains. He still comes home after a long day ready to help and play with us. He makes it possible for me to be a stay at home mom although I think he wished I worked so that he could stay home and play with Dallin all day. Who wouldn't??? There isn't much I can say about Dallin that hasn't already been said. He is the light of our lives brightening up everyday with his smiles and hugs. Life can't get any better than this.

Of course I have to add that I'm grateful for my Savior and dare I say, trials. I'm grateful for the miracles that have taken place in our lives and how we have drawn closer together as a couple with our Savior because of our trials. I'm grateful for the knowledge I have of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It blesses our lives everyday.

Anyway, Thanksgiving was great...great food, family, games etc. Zane's a little sore from playing in his football game, but he will survive.

This was Dallin after taking a bite of potatoes and turkey. We didn't catch the best looks on camera where he spits everything out or gags. Needless to say, he didn't like Thanksgiving dinner, but he loved the green beans. We were surprised because Dallin loves all foods and isn't picky, but mashed potatoes are not his favorite right now.