The Dance

Our stake holds a Valentine's Day dance for adults each year. Mark and I went for the first time last Saturday. It was the first time we actually danced together.

These are our friends that we met up with at the dance. The friends in the middle moved out of our ward (but are still in our stake) about a year ago and the ones on the left are moving at the end of this month.

Megan is getting really close to crawling. Any day now. But for the meantime she just rolls all over the place. On Saturday I was upstairs cleaning while Mark was on the computer doing his Sunday agendas. Megan rolled under his chair and began to play with my jacket. Kendra wanted to play with sister and so here is the cute picture. Kendra kept putting her feet in front of the camera the little stinker!

When I make dinner I usually let Kendra watch one of her cartoons. (It's just so much easier this way!) Megan was on the floor and Kendra once again joined her. Megan seemed interested in the show for a few moments...and then rolled on.

Wedding

Mark and I arrived at my home in Oregon on the 14th. We had to get our marriage license on the 15th so we could be married on the 16th. Mark was sick when we got married. He was fine on the night of the 14th but on the night just before we were married, he woke the whole house up! In the middle of the night he hawked up a storm in the bathroom. My sister told me I should ask him if he was all right since he was going to be my husband. After I checked on him my dad came and asked him if he was okay. How embarrassing! But if that wasn't enough...

When we arrived at the temple Mark had forgotten some clothing, and seeing how his family was late, and he didn't have his wallet inside the temple, he had to ask his very soon to be father-in-law to pay for some rental clothes for him!

All of our family at the temple.

I fed Mark LOTS of cake!

This is my favorite picture! Mark is supposed to grab my garter. You can't see in the picture but my dad is standing just behind Mark. He was VERY nervous sticking his hands up my dress with his father-in-law standing right behind him!!

Engagement Pics

Here are some of our engagement photos. We were both students at BYU and thus money was tight. My sister took these for us...and she actually did a good job!

Hay bails in the background. Reminds of the movie the RM. Classic farm photo.

We just had to have one on our tractor with the barn behind.

This one was taken in Provo on the court house lawn.

Oh look at us! Aren't we the cutest thing!?!?

Separation

At the end of winter semester 2001 Mark and I parted ways. He went to California to sell pest control and I went to Minnesota to be a girl scout leader.

I'm guessing this picture is near the temple.

He and his friends went to Legoland. He also spent time at the beach - but he won't let me post any of those pictures!

Mark got bit by a dog while he was knocking on some doors! It would have been so funny watching Mark race down the street with a dog close behind!

Me, Fizz, and Sunshine at Lake Superior. (The leaders have camp names...mine was Phoenix) We took about 13 girls on an out of camp trip to an island on Lake Superior. It was way fun. We even went swimming in the lake...it was SO COLD!!

Me and the leaders in Aspen Grove. It was so incredibly hot in Minnesota. I remember it being like 118 degrees in July. It didn't matter if I showered or not because I was always dripping in sweat.

Bula, Roo, and I after we took our girls canoeing. It was windy and they got stuck in that little cove just above Bula's arm. We had to rescue them, and by the time we were done my arms were burning.

Funny thing about this summer with Mark in CA and I in MN is that I ended up breaking up with him in August! Lucky for me he gave me another chance.

Dating

This was our first real date. Oddly enough we are not on the date with eachother. Mark and I use to work at the MTC (in different buildings) early in the morning. I began giving him rides up there - (look, I lived down rape hill and there was no way I was going to walk through the dark trees to work). On one occasion while we drove the whole 3 minutes to the MTC Mark asked, "so, what are you looking for in a guy?" I told him I wanted someone who was 6'2". The next day I was pleased to see that he got the hint when he said, "I have this friend..." So we set eachother up on a date and doubled. Funny enough I wished Mark was my date because by this time we had become good friends and I had a good time with him. A month later we were officially dating.


This was the picture I sent home to my rents so that they could see who my boyfriend was.

I love picking on Mark!

Okay, I obviously liked him enough to dress up like this!

For our ward talent show Mark and some friends got together to do a number. Mark was in a Jazz band at BYU for a semester.

8 Years in the Making

Mark and I married 8 years ago this month. We met at BYU just after he returned from his mission. He was my FHE dad, and, having just been on a two year spiritual high, he wanted to make sure all of his "kids" could feel the spirit. The first FHE we had Mark read us a story for two hours! I kid you not!! I thought he was the most boring person!



Mark and his roommates were in the same district in the MTC and decided on their mission to be roomies on their return to the Y. They returned home between July and August 2000 and all were married (except for Mark) a year later!

Mark was a computer science major. He and his two buddies loved playing the nerdy part.

My roommates at the Y fall 2000.

We dressed up as Little Rascals for Halloween.

Spring 2001 Roommates.

Let It Snow

It snowed on Thursday and we actually had snow here for about two days. Most of it is melted now. Kendra absolutely loves playing in the snow. We had to shovel our driveway so the girls got bundled up, Megan watched in her stroller and Kendra threw snowballs. When I shovel our driveway I do one side and then the other. As I began the other side I looked over and saw a bunch of snow spots on the side I had just done. What?!? Then I saw Kendra happily standing in the snow and throwing snowballs on our driveway!

Megan is a little babbler now and talks all the time. It is so cute how she loves her sister. The other day while we were eating Kendra made a squishy face and blew air in and out of her nose quickly. Megan copied her. The face reminds us of when Kendra was a baby because she made the most hilarious faces.

I usually have Kendra pick up the floor before Mark comes home. On this particular day she got an idea while she cleaned. She decided to make a house around Megan and then one around herself. So this is what Mark saw when he came home.

Vaccines

I have decided that vaccines are poisonous and do more harm than good. Many people think I'm crazy, and I felt the same way when I first heard people say they wouldn't vaccinate. It took me years of research to come to this decision. The story is long and boring so here is a rough summary.

Kendra became terribly ill when she was injected with 6 different vaccines at 2 months. After that she only received two shots at a time which still made her sick.

Now, after countless books, articles, and websites (including the WHO, CDC, and AAP) I finally decided not to vaccinate. WHY? Read on:

In 1991 mercury (a preservative) was found by a researcher who worked for MERCK to cause neurological damage. It wasn't until 2002 when Congress mandated that all mercury be removed from vaccines...some still have mercury. They replaced mercury with aluminum. No testing has ever been done on injected aluminum and its safety. We know from studies that IV solutions containing aluminum cannot contain more than 15 micrograms for a preemie baby (or it causes developmental delays by 18 months) or 62.5 for an adult (it causes dementia and Alzheimer like symptoms). From these studies they found that when the body (liver and kidneys) can't flush out the excess toxin (aluminum in this case) that it sits on the brain. Babies receive anywhere from 625 - 1200 micrograms at once. If an adult can't flush out more than 62.5 micrograms how can a baby of 12 lbs flush out 12oo micrograms? Other studies were done that showed only 27% of infants at 3 months of age were able to create the antibodies necessary for the vaccine to "take."

Wow, there is so much I could write about this. If you want to vaccinate I suggest reading The Vaccine Book by Dr. Bob Sears. He has great advice in there. I would NEVER give the DTaP though - just give the Td.

Here is the first article that I read:
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/7395411/deadly_immunity/

Here are some other books if you want to learn more:

The Vaccine Guide

A Shot in the Dark (my personal favorite - it's about the DTP which they don't use anymore but he has a ton of early research cited)

Raising a Vaccine Free Child (she includes a ton of research - although the spelling drove me nuts - she's from Australia)

Vaccinations: A Thoughtful Parents Guide:

How to Raise a Healthy Child Inspite of Your Doctor

January Update

Megan had her 6 month check-up at the beginning of the month. She is 16 lbs. 6 oz. and 27 1/2 inches long. She's holding strong to the 50th percentile for weight and 90th for height. I learned that her pediatrician is moving to Washington. She is such a wonderful doctor and I am sad to see her go. It is difficult to find a pediatrician who is okay with my stand on vaccines. I haven't decided who our next doctor will be. I would like to continue to see a pediatrician, but may settle for a nurse practitioner who I know won't pressure me to vaccinate my children.

We began sleep training Megan as soon as we arrived home from DC. It took Kendra about a week to sleep through the night when I did this. I thought for sure Megan would be easier since her temperament is so easy. No... I was wrong...very wrong! It's been what, three weeks? And she STILL cries almost every time she has to sleep. It's getting better...or at least that is what I tell myself. On a good night I will only get up 2-3 times to feed her (this has happened twice). On a bad night I'm up 10-12 times. I don't mind getting up to feed her, I just wish she was consistently sleeping 3 hour stretches.

Kendra is now a sunbeam in primary. For the past two years it has taken her 6 months before she would go to nursery without either me or Mark. I had prepared myself for the same experience. I was floored when she took the hand of her friend and walked to her bench. I later saw her and her friend holding hands skipping and giggling in the hallway. She loves primary! It's so cute to watch her and her little buddy.

Sister Pics

Sister pictures.

I bought them almost matching outfits for Christmas...I thought it would be cute.

Kendra's shirt says, "I love being a big sister," and Megan's says, "I love being a little sister."

Megan adores her big sis. No one can make Meggers laugh like Kendra. They have such a cute relationship and bond.

DC

We spent Christmas with Mark's parents who are serving a mission in DC. One of the neat things on Christmas Day that we got to do was attend a missionary program for all the missionaries in the DC South mission (I think that's the mission!).

We spent one day in DC. We had planned on spending two, but Kendra got sick, and then Mark, and then Megan and I. We were glad we were well enough to at least see most of the sights.

The archive building where Mark's parents serve. This is also the building that houses the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. I couldn't believe the long line to get in - seriously it was freezing and people waited out in the cold for probably hours just for a few moments with the Constitution. Luckily Mark's parents were able to get us in (because they "work" there) and we didn't have to wait in line at all.

The White House and National Tree. Look just above the white suburban - that's the National Tree. It is the ugliest tree - seriously, I don't know who decorated it but in my opinion the National Tree should be the most beautiful.

Vietnam Memorial. The wall was much larger than I thought. This memorial has special meaning to me because my dad served in the Vietnam War. It is amazing that he survived. I am proud of my dad's service to his country and am grateful for all those who are willing to serve.

Vietnam Memorial.

The Washington Monument from the Lincoln Memorial. See the reflection pool? Yes, it's frozen. It was FREEZING!!! I'd like to be there when it's warm.

Lincoln Memorial.

Union Station - the station we stopped at from the Metro to get on our tour bus. See the tree in the background? So much prettier than the National Tree.

Hershey

I have always wanted to visit Hershey, PA. Why? In Elementary School I saw a picture of a street light in the shape of a hershey kiss. I grew up in Oregon and had never gone further east than Yellowstone Park in Wyoming, so I knew I would never ever go to Pennsylvania.

Fast forward twenty years...Mark's parents are serving a mission in DC. They live two hours south of Hershey. So when we went to visit them for the Christmas holiday I just had to travel to Hershey. AND they were kind enough to indulge me in my silly childhood fantasy.

The entrance to Hershey's Chocolate World.

There is a ride you can go on for free that explains how the chocolate is made. It's way fun and you get a treat at the end!

A gingerbread house made the hershey way. Can you spot the chocolate bars, kit kats, peanut butter cups, bliss, kisses, and hershey-etts?

Kendra became a hershey factory worker.


She took a gear and loaded it with hershey kisses.


Then the kids do a dance and put it on the belt to the packaging center. Then they come out on another belt where you can purchase them for $13.95 or dump them in a bin...Mark made us dump it in the bin. :(

It was a glorious trip well worth the two hour drive. I would like to go back when it's warm and we can go to Hershey Park (amusement park) and Echo Caverns.