The Ram House

Sister Love

2011-06-21T18:51:00.004-05:00

Leilani is always loving on her little sister. I've yet to capture Ava returning it, but she does, sometimes.

Camping

2011-03-15T23:49:00.013-05:00

Two weekends ago we took a quick family vacation and camped at Lake Tawakoni in east Texas along with my brother and sil. It's one of the few type of vacations we actually have time for. We tried this two years ago and got rained out the next morning - total foreshadowing for our continued experience with this park. We arrived late Friday afternoon in time to set up camp and take a short hike. The girls were so excited to sleep outside and play with fire. The weather couldn't have been more perfect - mild and still. We enjoyed awesome dutch oven fajitas, sitting around the fire talking, Leilani burning marshmallows and me turning them into smores. As we went to bed that night, however, things went down hill. No less than 15 minutes after we "went to sleep" the rain started, followed by the wind, then thunder and lightening, then wind, wind, wind... and the temperature dropped. Thankfully the girls went right to sleep and slept all night, while Dayne and I watched them sleep all night. I don't know what it was, but we couldn't sleep - maybe it was being on the bad end of cold or the constant gusts of wind... Either way, the next morning we made breakfast burritos in the freezing rain (none of us know why, McDonald's would have been good at that point) and got out of there. Little girls waking up in freezing temps just isn't a good combination. Despite that, Friday night couldn't have been more perfect. It wasn't the same about Saturday morning. My parents came in later Friday night and were gone first thing in the morning. I can't imagine why they didn't stay for breakfast...

We had just arrived at camp and Leilani couldn't wait to get going.

Neither could sister.
Can you see the total adoration for her uncle, or maybe she was scared.
This was taken specifically for the blog.

We thought it funny they were both on their phones in the middle of our hike.

Can you say min-yon (we've been watching a lot of Megamind). That girl totally made him do her bidding.

We think a crane. Totally not distracted by us or the fishing boat.

Grandpa and his girls.

Adam and Anna were so sweet and good to our girls the whole time. This pic is blurry, but Leilani and Ava both have batons and were making Anna be a choir. They would sing and then make her sing. She was so willing! Thanks Anna!

A little touch of spring along the hike.

What a Tuesday looks like

2011-03-01T21:10:00.006-06:00

Just some quick pics. Leilani has a love affair with Fun Dip which she calls sugars. When she ran out of sugars she grabbed the Chic-fil-a sauce and kept on dippin'. The sauce is that good.

Little sister and her usual "smile" face.
I got her to say hi to the camera so you can acutally see those beautiful little eyes.

Daddy built a fort out of the couch. A little bit better than Leilani's creation from yesterday. I just love their faces.

And we finished it up with crayola markers. She insisted on keeping her eyes closed for the picture. I suppose it is so you can see every last inch of her handiwork. Doesn't she look like a three-year-old zombie? She told me she was drawing her letters on her arm. Excuses, excuses.

This is for Heidi

2011-02-28T23:23:00.005-06:00

Last week my sister Heidi was down for a quick visit, and in addition to her sunny personality I love her free interior design advice that she gives. I acquire new things here and there and they are often placed randomly until I think of something to do with them. This "vintage" (code for 1980's) rocking chair has gone from the living room, to the bedroom, back to the living room, all with the intention of someday being painted white. Well, this chair was on one side of my piano, and an actual vintage blue chair was on the other side along with our toy boxes. Heidi says "why don't we have these chairs together in a little seating arrangement?" Larissa says, "I don't know." So here we go.

From vintage gold fruit basket to...

bright and white and in a seating arrangement. I'm thinking about also distressing it...
And then there are these pictures or works of art, whatever you'd like to call them. I was going to hang them with our very large engagement photo in the middle and a black oval frame on each side. Heidi says "probably like this for more visual interest." And here we are. It is my favorite wall grouping at the moment.

So I guess it's good that Heidi comes down, because I'm actually inspired to get things done that have been sitting. Those awesome hand-embroidered, custome-framed oval pictures have been sitting in my room since Thanksgiving 2009... One of her visits resulted in every thing in my house being re-hung at eye level, every thing... It makes a difference. Thanks Heidi for all your free interior advice. Now if we could only get a carpenter in the family for the same price...

And to close with a picture from my day. You only think your children are being good while you're folding laundry and watching a movie. No, they're creating a "house".

Kitchen

2011-02-25T23:03:00.006-06:00

Thanks to some wonderful gifts and inheritances (namely the toys I played with at their age) the girls have built up an arsenal of kitchen toys and gadgets. But they never really had a "place" to play with them - mainly the living room floor and the top of the toy box. And I know you're thinking what a wonderful way to use their imagination and they're lucky they even have pretend cupcakes and stainless steel pans - when I was a girl we used acorns and leaves! But being the mother and woman that I am, I was dying to get them a play kitchen. So yesterday I bought this little thing of of craigslist. It's not the kitchen of my dreams, because my dreams are a little out of budget, but it turned out really cute.

I brought the girls home to surprise them and it went like this:

Ava's asleep

Leilani: Cool surprise mom!

Mom: Thanks Leilani. Do you like it?

L: It's a kitchen!

L: Cool surprise! (She starts tinkering)

All of a sudden...

L: Mom, I don't want the blue one. I want the pink one on the computer.

M: Oh, well mommy can't afford the pink one so we got a blue one.

L: Oh, Cool surprise mom!

Ava finally woke up and got to play with it too. Of course Leilani says "Come play with MY kitchen, sister."

Snow Day

2011-02-15T22:18:00.009-06:00

Everyone knows that we had some freak snowstorms recently (shut down DFW for an infamous 4 days), but really this post is just an excuse to post some updated pictures of the girls. Leilani has come to love the outdoors, especially snow and luckily for her we've had snow the last 2 years. At the moment I'm writing this it is 70 degrees outside but believe it or not less than 2 weeks ago this was our home.

This pretty much sums up Ava's experience.
This is only her second snow fall so I don't know where she learned to make snow angels.

Yes, she is throwing a snowball at her mother.

No, Dayne is not avenging me. He got everyone.

The reasons I get up in the morning...

And lastly, Leilani loves to swim but we don't have those type of resources in the middle of winter, so she swims in the bath tub. Ava didn't want to swim, she just wanted a bath. And that's her "smile" face. She usually looks like a pirate.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T23:24:00.007-06:00

And Leana is home! from her mission to Indiana.

Home Sweet Home

2010-11-08T12:56:00.009-06:00

This year has been so busy, yet I don't know that I've accomplished much. That's the problem with reading blogs - it takes up time you could be doing other things and it makes you wish you could be as cool, creative, organized and awesome as all the blogs you're reading. So if you're reading this, here's to making you jealous;)

Today I made this.

It's a German Paper Star. It may not look like much, but it's a really nostalgic Christmas ornament for me. These were some of our main decorations when I was little along with other homemade ornaments. I always thought they were amazing, especially because my older sisters and mom had made them! Granted, with 10 children I don't think my mom had a choice. Ever since I've had my own Christmas tree, I've wanted to make some, and today I finally tried it. This was just my first attempt. I want to try different and bigger papers and ribbons. Visit here for a tutorial.

This is a picture (albeit with a glare) of one my new favorite acquistions. I just got that Home Sweet Home plate from Target for a nice clearance price of $3. I didn't know what I wanted to do with it when I bought it, but for now, here it is. There's more blue in he plate than the picture is showing. And for those who don't know, I finally got my kitchen painted and it's now longer one solid matte beige color! That was an all nighter with my wonderful husband who decided we should just do it after getting home at 10:30 from a church volleyball tournament. We were up until 5 a.m. but it was totally worth it.

And once again thanks to that fabulous husband I now get to do dishes with this! We had the very basic, very cheap faucet but I've always wanted a goose-neck. A friend had just redone their kitchen and was getting rid of their goose-neck and I'll take anything like that for free. However this is not that free faucet... We took our old faucet out, breaking it in the process, installed the new-used one from our friend and it leaked... Long story short, I found this one at Home Depot on clearance. So even though we weren't in the market for a new faucet, I got one anyway. Thanks to the husband for the unnecessary purchase that we wouldn't have needed if I hadn't made you take out the old one in the first place.
And thanks to photoshop who makes it appear that my house is flooded with natural night. It sadly is not.

On a final note - Ava has been falling asleep in the most random places and yes 50 % of the time it's with food in her mouth. One minute she's playing with Leilani and all of a sudden she's like this.

Hallowe'en 2010

2010-11-03T23:28:00.011-05:00

We won't mention how long it's been since I've blogged, but I've wanted to return to the art of recording my family's history, so we begin with Halloween. And what a celebration! We started the week with Boo at the zoo, followed by a pumpkin patch, 2 trunk-or-treats, and actual trick-or-treating. Apparently when Dayne took the girls out on Halloween night, Leilani kept saying that she wanted to go home. Apparently you can over do it....

I didn't want to get Ava's costume dirty before Halloween, so I dressed her in a poodle skirt. The poor girl is shoved into a 3-6 month onsie for that '3/4 sleeve' look.
Leilani acting 'scared' at Boo at the Zoo.

I love that they're sisters!

A decent spur of the moment family pic at the pumpkin patch. Yay!

If you can't tell yet, our trunk-or-treat theme this year was Pirates of the Caribbean. The girls were more excited then they look. We set this up 2 nights in a row.

Yes, that is CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow. Dayne made the children tell him who he was before they were allowed candy.

Trunk-or-treat aftermath. I don't know how she ended up with two suckers... when she's done with them, she just puts them on the carpet. Thanks Ava...

And we finally made it to Halloween night. Just a quiet night for me handing out candy, and a trip around the block for daddy and his girls. I'm surprised the girls allowed me to dress them up for the third night in a row. It was hard to get this picture because they kept getting distracted by a moth that had flown into the house.

Pony

2010-08-21T22:55:00.003-05:00

Here's a recent picture of the girls. It seems like we've been so busy this summer, yet it's hard to say what it is we've actually been doing. But the girls have gotten a kick out of their horses. Yes they each have their own pony (so they can never use that against us) and they love bouncing on them. And because of the Texas summer heat and the general messiness of children, this is how they are usually dressed by the end of the day. Dayne was trying to get them to look at the camera buy apparently he was more entertaining.

Bike

2010-05-19T15:36:00.003-05:00

We'd like to introduce you to our latest acquisition. Dayne and I finally broke down and bought a bike trailer. We have some pretty decent bikes that we like to ride but nothing to take both girls out in. It is a pretty fun investment. We took it out for the first time Saturday and it was a smooth ride. Then Monday morning I did a hour-long bike ride with a friend. The girls mostly like it. I think Ava gets bored after a while - but if I can get excercise and take care of the girls at the same time - it's a win-win.

Happenings

2010-05-02T00:02:00.008-05:00

Many things have happened in the last few weeks that I've thought "I need to blog that" but alas it did not happen. I think this happens to many of us more often than not. But here are a few things that stuck out.

Today we had a surprise 13th birthday party for Monil. Yes that is Rob Pattinson aka Edward Cullen on her birthday cake. I'm pretty sure she liked it. More exciting, however, is that Dayne and I found our dream get-away. Only wrinkle in the plan is getting it from its current owners.

We drove 2 hours east to party with Monil and all her friends. The cabin belongs to a family friend and we're so excited they let us come. This place had everything. A roomy and comfy cabin, extra house on property for sleeping, lots of large beautiful trees, swings and hammocks hanging from trees, pond, paddle boat, go-cart, four-wheelers, playground, cows and mules, world's friendliest dog, pavilion, volleyball net, game room with every game and activity imaginable, and very large big screen tv with satellite. Plenty of room and activities for the whole family. This is exactly what Dayne and I would like to have for all our extended family and friends. This place has been well thought out and improved by the owners.
The girls and daddy on the dock feeding the catfish.
One of the awesome tree swings. There is something innately different in swinging from a tree than a playset.
Playset. Cows were behind us.

Cabin - future home.

This happened last week. It is what occurs when you try to ignore your children while watching a movie and the 9-month-old gets into the left-over Easter candy the 2-year-old was playing with. She was literally laughing in our face at her triumph.

And an expensive mistake. We hyper-extended my back door (on accident) which bent the key pieces that hold my door up. Meaning we had to remove those pieces so the door could close but then it could not be opened again. After a week of waiting and limiting all grocery shopping to what could fit in the front seat, the parts came in and wonderful hubby fixed it in 10 minutes flat. Note - be mindful of the power of your garage door. We did not suspect that ours had enough strength to lift my car door which is extremely heavy. You've been warned.

In other news, Dayne finally made it back from two long weekends of Woodbadge training and I am currently recovering from strep throat. I haven't been sick in 15 years, and all of a sudden I'm getting hit left and right. Ava finally got her first tooth and she is not a good teether - let's just say cranky.

Easter and Things

2010-04-08T12:45:00.008-05:00

Happy Easter. How fantastic it was to have conference on the same day as Easter so we could here about Christ directly from the Apostles and Prophet. Extremely appropriate and enjoyable. On the other side of Easter - here is Leilani having bit off the ears of her chocolate rabbit in appropriate two-year-old fashion.

On Monday evening we had an informal Easter egg hunt with a large group of friends. It was a lot of fun but extremely windy. I didn't get many pictures where I could actually see Leilani's eyes because her hair kept blowing in her face.
The adorable one. Loves being outside.

Wonderful Allie who played with Leilani and Tessa the whole time so I could enjoy some grown-up conversation. She rocks!

They were too busy looking through their eggs to bother to smile. Oh well.

It was a great hunt and a great time. Here's to next year.

Tuesday was just a great day, so I have to blog about that as well. I was amazed at how much I was able to get done. I woke up early which is very difficult for me and was able to...

1. write and submit a press release and review a presentation before the girls woke up
2. Shorten Dayne's new scout pants

3. Get my new fitflops in the mail
4. Wear my new fitflops around the house

5. Review presentation again

6. Get a new and free nursing cover in the mail

7. Make bread

8. Baby-sit another child for 6 hours in addition to my own hooligans

9. Review presentation again

10. Finally shower and prepare for presentation

11. Give a presentation to the Stake Presidency and all Bishops. Aaagghh!

12. Finally come home, wear my fitflops some more and hang out with my mom.

AND

13. Recieve an awesome package in the mail from my coolest older sister Heidi that included dresses for the Pioneer trek I'm going on and this awesome creamer!

This is Franciscan Coronado dinnerware. I am in love with it. But it's difficult to find and not always cheap.

And as in incentive to lose a few more pounds - the dresses are just a smidge too tight. Heidi says she made them roomy for herself, but if you've met Heidi, that still means small. So here's to two more months of heavy workouts.

Lately

2010-04-01T22:49:00.008-05:00

Here are some things I've been thinking about lately and have happened lately in no particular order...

1. Ava had roseola. Check it out here. A virus that doesn't reveal what it is until the bitter end, so you're confused for days on end about what is actually wrong with your child.

2. Leilani was sweet and gave Ava a strawberry newton which then became ingrained in my carpet. Can you really be upset about big sister giving little sister a cookie?

3. I really want to paint my kitchen, followed by the office and craft rooms. Any help?

4. I wish I had more time to use my craft room.

5. And I have some great kitchen lighting I want to sell. Any takers? Seriously, if you now anyone interested, send them my way.

"Hiking"

2010-03-15T18:31:00.006-05:00

Dayne and I love outdoor activities, the only trouble is there are not too many things you can and want to do OUTSIDE in DFW. But luckily we do have the Cedar Ridge Preserve close to us in Cedar Hill Texas. Yes, you are literally walking through wooded hills, but it's all we've got. I haven't been since I was a teenager so it was like a new experience for us. The girls loved being carried on our backs until they both fell asleep halfway through. We "hiked" about 2 miles and had some great family time. If you're looking for an outdoor walk, I would check it out.

T-shirts really aren't that flattering are they...

Had to share

2010-03-04T21:58:00.004-06:00

So for anyone in the DFW area, I have to share this with you. I stumbled across this blog by looking up the weather (woohoo for lucky finds). I thought it was going to be another grocery coupon website which are cool - but this is so much more. This blog lists all sorts of freebies and deals for EVERYTHING in the DFW area. You have to check it out.

So far I've gotten free movie passes to Studio Movie Grill, 5 great cookbooks for the price of 1 and 14k gold earrings for less than the price of a new pair of shoes. This website might be bad for me... but check it out! I think you'll find something you like. And I love have someone else doing all the research for me.

Drumroll...

http://www.mydallasmommy.com/

And if you knew about this before, why didn't you share?!

Feb-ru-ary

2010-03-02T14:15:00.015-06:00

Since it is now March, I thought I'd give you a snapshot of February. We took our first "just Dayne Ram Family vacation". We're usually with someone or going to see someone. I was a little nervous taking the girls by myself to a strange city (Dayne had business during the day), but it went really well and I gained the knowledge that I can take the girls out by myself and have an enjoyable time. You just have to go with the flow.

This is the epitome of the trip. Every night in the hotel pool. Leilani would wake up begging to go swimming. She still does... but now we have to wait till summer.

See that red line in the middle of her forehead? Compliments of her sister's nails.
Begging to go swimming. Although she hated it at first.

Leilani shampooing Ava with lotion. Thankfully this removed much easier than the vaseline.

She let me french braid her hair for the first time! She kept it that way for maybe an hour before she ripped them out.

Yes we went to see the Alamo, just me and the girls. This was actually my first time. That thing is smack dab in the middle of downtown. I have to say San Antonio has a lot more going on than Dallas - Dallas is boring.

The picture right after this one is Leilani shoving Ava away and telling her not to pull her hair (also how we spent a lot of this trip).

And of course we got back from a rainy trip to San Antonio to a freak snow storm. It was awesome.

My little eskimo.

Trekkin' through the snow with grandma and grandpa. We've had the sleigh for the last 20 years we've lived in GP. I knew we kept it for a reason!

Snowman!

Don't judge me by this picture. The snow was so bright I couldn't open my eyes to look at the camera. Good thing my husband is smarter than I am.

And then we had our annual ward Valentine's Dance. You know we love to dance!

Swim like a Dolphin

2010-02-02T14:30:00.005-06:00

I know you see a lot of the Moon side of the family but the Rams finally did something to blog about, so here it is (j/k, we do a lot with the Rams). Friday night Eivan had his District swim meet at Duncanville High. GP High and SGP compete as one team but they also are separate - I don't really understand how it works. The SGP side was doing really well, but GP is smaller. So imagine my surprise when I looked up from taking pictures of Eivan swimming and realized he was going to get 3rd place. It was an exciting moment - the only one from GP to medal. And he's only a freshman so it looks like he has as bright swimming future. Now on to Regionals!

Check this kid out - ladies watch out when he turns 16!

Swim, boy, swim
Ava having fun with Grandpa

39 and a Monday

2010-01-25T23:37:00.007-06:00

On Sunday my dad turned the big "39". That's right, he's pushing 40... so we celebrated the night before with a big dutch oven dinner. My dad loves to dutch oven and there was no better way for him to enjoy his day than to cook for us all and then serve all of us. All I can say is yummy potatoes and fried chicken. Even Ava ate them - no more rice cereal for her.

Here is the birthday man with the dutch oven plan. Isn't he a good-lookin' fella?

Yes his cake was made of homemade twinkies. Yes you can make homemade twinkies and yes they are better. Leilani always has to steal the birthday limelight.
Happy Birthday Dad!

What a wonderful weekend right! Well I was all geared up to take on this week, but it was a Monday so here's how it went. I didn't get the best night sleep because of my darling baby. However I wanted to make the best of the day and I needed to go to Target after Ava's nap. Usually when she wakes up I send Leilani in to keep her company so I can finish a few more things. Leilani will hop in the crib and they'll talk and play for a while. WARNING - if it's too quiet and they're behaving to well - there's a PROBLEM! I walked in, saw this and screamed for a full minute.

That's right. Leilani and Ava covered in Vaseline - the latest spa treatment... Where do you even begin to clean this up? And this is after Leilani has already covered herself in permanent marker. Ava's laughing because she thinks my screaming is funny. Leilani knows she is in trouble. Note - I did find enough humor in this to run and get the camera.

I scoop the children up and attempt a bath - note - vaseline does nothing with water - only with copious amounts of soap and then not much. I got their bodies mostly clean. Their hair is a whole other matter. I did get them clean enough to run to target.
The After picture.

However, Vaseline does not remove easily from hair. I spent tonight scrubbing and soaking all the clothes and and sheets in Dawn. And then each child got their head scrubbed with Dawn and baby shampoo. I thought that would be enough but as of this post they are do for another Dawn scrubbing in the morning. I hope their clothes fair better than they have.

Leilani was kind enough to help scrub out the clothes. She pushed up her sleeves and got to work. Honestly, that girl was scrubbin'.

In addition I had a huge Ava diaper situation to deal with when I got home from Target that resulted in more bathing and scrubbing - but that is just a normal day in comparison.

ENJOY THE REST OF YOUR WEEK!

Radio Flyer

2010-01-22T00:31:00.004-06:00

For Christmas Ava received her own Radio Flyer wagon and Leilani a Radio Flyer tricycle. Thank you Mama and Papa Ram. However, Leilani prefers to ride with Ava in style. Now when Leilani first learned to walk, she would do the entire neighborhood by herself. However, actual walking is now old hat and it is better to be carried or pulled in luxury. So she loves to go on "walks." I can't complain; it's good excercise and the girls love it!

Ava has discovered her toes and bends all the way over to suck on them. I haven't captured a picture of her doing that yet but I thought this one was cute. What am I going to do with all that hair?

2010-01-18T13:10:00.001-06:00

There's something to be said for being married to a scoutmaster. He may be gone every weekend and a couple nights during the week, BUT when he is home he uses some of his mad skills on us. Last week Dayne made us an awesome fire pit (for free!) and we got to roast marshmallows in our own backyard. There's nothing like 'camping' and then being able to walk back into your own house and bed when your done. These are the kind of memories I love making with my family.

Leilani likes them well done.

She's a cheeseball.
Ava rarely falls asleep while she's playing, especially on her back. Isn't she an angel?

And this is only one of MANY things I get to deal with. Who colors on the bottom of their feet? At least it hasn't moved to the walls yet. She has also destroyed 4 chapsticks. We love our chapstick - I don't understand why she wants to hurt them...

Today

2010-01-06T22:00:00.008-06:00

Yesterday I finally finished taking all the Christmas Decos down. Does anybody else feel that their house is naked after removing all the accessories? Yet it's a good naked - I feel my house is back. Now I can get started on all my 'to-dos' that I wanted to do before Christmas. I'm so excited for this new year. So much I want to do!

Tomorrow I have an orthodontic appt. for a new retainer. Yes I still wear one and after 10 years I actually lost it (we have a person of interest but no proof). We had a good run. I feel like a high schooler going back to my same ortho. I can't believe it's been ten years. But you should see the gap that's formed in the last 3 weeks - I will wear that retainer till the day I die.

By the way, I hope to post a lot of different areas in my house that I would like ideas and feedback for. You all have much better creative juices than I do. Inspire me! And here's some pics from Christmas.

Leilani and her new vanity - notice the name and notice what she's doing...

Yes she knows how to wear heels and she works it!

Me and my little doll.

Girls

2010-01-04T09:23:00.004-06:00

This happened a while ago but it is something I've wanted to blog about for a while. I think it is a great idea for any girls group. We had a girls brunch at Heidi's that was catered and we all dressed up and wore hats. This is something I've wanted to do for a long time and it finally happened. There's nothing better then dressing up and eating good food that your husbands would hate. I love all my sisters and especially my mom.

So if you're ever invited to one of my "Hat" parties - just keep in mind how cool you will look and how much fun you'll have.

So much to do...

2009-11-18T21:58:00.006-06:00

It seems like there is so much I want to do, that I begin to become overcome with obsessive emotions of wanting to accomplish everything right now! Which then leads to a great feeling of being overwhelmed which leads to sitting in a state of stupor until I take the plunge and begin a task. And this doesn't even have anything to do with Christmas being on the horizon.

This wouldn't be a problem if I didn't care so much about having things dones - like painting rooms, working on the house, making crafts, etc... But I want to do them. And with 2 children it seems so impossible. And I struggle with wanting things done now. I've decided I want to paint the spare bedroom/craft room which means I want to wave my magic wand and have it done now. However things like Thanksgiving next week, Christmas shopping and the basic necessities of feeding and caring for children kind of get in the way.

Does anyone know what I'm talking about? I can see the cake, but do I get to eat it too? For example, I love to blog - but I feel I never have the time to do it. How Melissa gets all those pictures and blogs taken care of, I will never know!

Any suggestions...

Meanwhile, tonight we gave Ava her first taste of cereal. She's been waking up in the middle of the night after 3 months of perfect 9 hour nights, so we figured she may need a little something more. She thought differently...

She kept giving me this look that said "really... this... why do you want me to eat this." Try again tomorrow.

And while I was feeding the little one, Dayne was trying to teach Leilani to pose. Result below.

And anyone want to design me a new header or have any suggestions. My creative juices don't really flow into creating something from nothing.

Craigslist

2009-10-30T10:51:00.004-05:00

What a couple of weeks it has been for me and Craigslist. I haven't looked at that website in forever, and all of a sudden I couldn't stop. But I just kept finding good deals. Granted I had to drive to Plano, Keller, Burleson and Frisco to get them, it was worth it. In the past few weeks we've gotten a kitchen chandelier, a toddler bed for Leilani, an upholstered rocker for $25! and a very expensive vacuum for a good price. The vacuum works so well that even Leilani likes using it. She really is vacuuming.

Honestly, I've sucked up more dirt and dust this week then I even knew was possible. It pays to invest in a good vacuum.

Oh, and Dayne got a new paintball gun (thanks Chris), and it's pretty. I also finally sold something on Craigslist - it took a couple of weeks - I guess my stuff isn't as 'wanted' as I think it is. So some good deals for us - but watch out. Once you start looking for good deals, it is really hard to stop.

My baby...

2009-10-21T23:42:00.005-05:00

My first born is now 2 years old. I know that is not very up there in years, but at the same time, it is... She had quite a week of birthday celebration. We hung streamers on her door and said Happy Birthday when she came out, so she thinks streamers are called Happy Birthday...

I went through all the trouble of making a cake (yes, I need practice) and I turn around and find this! She's looking at me like "what, I told you I wanted cake."

But here she is at her party. I just couldn't resist this fairy costume from Children's Place. It is so Leilani.

And this was her favorite gift. A Disney princess card that sang when you open it. She got a big smile every time she opened. She just sat there and opened, closed, opened, closed...

(Did you know everyone can be a princess? The card says so)

Happy Birthday Baby!

Fascinators

2009-10-10T01:05:00.006-05:00

I have to showcase my sister-in-law. She makes these hair accessories she calls fascinators, and I think they are simply amazing and gorgeous. If I could do my wedding over again, I would definitely have one of these instead. I always wanted the up-swept hair with a large flower on the side. Why I didn't do it... But she has a large variety and I think everyone should check them out. They are a trend with wearing. Check them out here.

Love them!

Photo courtesy of minelolly. The link is also on my sidebar.

Conference

2009-10-05T10:14:00.002-05:00

What a wonderful conference we just had. Was any one else inspired? I loved all four sessions and my favorite talk was by Elder Bednar. Any talk on the family always inspires me. He gave three things that I believe will make any family succesful. 1. Tell your family you love them 2. Share your tesitmony with them 3. Be consistent and above all us don't be embarrassed or scared to do any of these things. I never realized that other people besides myself might be embarrassed to tell their family that they love them (especially since we are all adults). How silly we become as we get older. Another lesson from conference - become as a little child. And no matter how old we become, I know that I can always work on stregthening my family.

I hope everyone got the chance to watch and enjoy. I love conference weekend.

Sep 30th

2009-09-30T21:15:00.005-05:00

These are my beautiful girls in the morning. Wake up, hug mom and dad, get OJ and get in bed to watch a movie.

Leilani sat and read and entire book with me (Are You My Mother?). I was so impressed - this is something she's never done before. But maybe she's more interested now because she recognizes the bird, tree, kitten, dog, etc...

And I don't want to forget little Ava's blessing. She was blessed over Labor Day weekend. She is wearing my dress which Leilani also wore. She is such a wonderful baby! She is going on 3 months (crazy!), is 24 inches and 11 1/2 pounds. She's my baby.

7 Weeks

2009-09-01T00:09:00.005-05:00

We would like to introduce you to

2009-07-11T20:03:00.004-05:00

Ava Cynthia Ram
Born July 10, 2009, 8:08 pm
6 1/2 pounds, 19.75 inches

Old Times

2009-07-09T23:48:00.005-05:00

The other night we had a get-together with some of Dayne's old buddies from the good old days. These boys used to "play" together growing up and are all still good friends. I didn't know any of them then, but it's neat to see who they are now. They are all great guys, and they did a pretty good job at picking out wives. And they all still reside in Texas. Something about this state either keeps you here or brings you back.

This is how it used to be.

This is an example of the wonderful fathers they've become.
And this is how they are now. Family men... My how time flies.

No baby yet...

2009-07-07T22:25:00.004-05:00

I know everyone is on pins and needles about information on the new baby. Well, there is nothing yet, so instead...

I'm going to blog about my fabulous SIL Leana. She left almost 2 weeks ago now for the MTC. She is then headed out to Indiana for a whole 18 months. So far she loves every part of the mission. Her letters are really uplifting and I can't wait to see how she does in the field. Here's to Sister Leana Ram.

Memorial Day

2009-05-27T21:55:00.001-05:00

DisneyWorld

2009-05-26T12:38:00.022-05:00

Last month we went to DisneyWorld with Heidi, Travis and the kids. We were really excited for a vacation and DisneyWorld is always a fantastic place to go. The parks are amazingly clean and detailed. I can only imagine the amount of planning and work that goes into it. The trip began with an early morning flight that went well until Leilani threw up her all her OJ and then some on the descent. Luckily she was still in her PJs and it didn't seem to bother her at all. Dayne and I were much more disgusted then she was. We met up with the Jeannerets and headed to our hotel, Pop Century, where Leilani was given her first pet; a rock named Rocky. Apparently it's a tradition for that hotel because the hotel represents all the pop phenoms of the last 50 years and pet rocks were a thing of the 70's. And then it was straight to Animal Kingdom.

Leilani's first character greeting. She was scared to death, but after a few more times she warmed up to them. The second character she met was Meeko from Pocahontas, but none of us could remember the poor guys name. We had to wait for him to autograph Leilani's book. Poor, forgettable Meeko...

Dayne and Leilani in the middle of a jungle walk.
In front of the Tree of Life. They have a very good 4-d show underneath this tree that is based on "A Bug's Life". Needless to say, at some points you were kind of grossed out.
The next day at Magic Kingdom. The kids had just finished defeating Zurg in the Buzz Lightyear ride.

Leilani met a couple of characters this way. She woke up just in time for Buzz Lightyear.

She is so spoiled. Aunt Heidi would have carried her anywhere.

Getting ready to ride Dumbo's Flight. She loved this ride and Alladin's Magic Carpet. She showed no emotions during the rides, but the minute they ended she was immediately wanting "more". And she would get a little upset that we had to get off...

The amazing fireworks show at Magic Kingdom. Probably better then most 4th of July shows and they do this every night!

Next day at Hollywood Studios.

This person was part of the noon parade. We know they are supposed to be a girl, but we're not for certain...

What Dayne wants to be for Halloween.

The whole gang with Mickey Mouse. We did really well at meeting most of the characters. We got Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald, Goofy, Buzz Lightyear, Stitch, Meeko, Frozone and all the Princesses including Mulan. I might be missing some.

Leilani with Belle. This girl earned her spot as a Disney Character. She was probably the best we met the entire time.

At our Princess Banquet in Epcot. Very nice sit down dinner where you meet all the princesses. The boys weren't too keen on posing with princesses but we promised that nobody at church or school would ever know.

Example of Tyler's embarrasment.

Cinderella. We don't have this movie so Leilani didn't know who she was.

Ariel.

The kids on their Kim Possible mission.

View of our hotel room. Our hotel was surrounded by hugh replicas of pop culture like Big Wheels, 8-Tracks, rubik cubes, etc...

Getting ready to leave for the airport.

A great trip. It was hard and long days for an 18 month old but fun anyways. We probably won't go back for a long time because we don't want the "magic" to get old.

Official Start of Summer

2009-05-24T15:33:00.003-05:00

The weather was good and the time was right. So Dayne took Leilani out for her first backyard-sprinkler adventure. She takes a while to warm up to any water source and is afraid of water near her face. Which is odd because her father comes from a family of fish. But sources say that Dayne didn't like the water when he was little either. By the end of the afternoon she loved the sprinkler so much she wouldn't let us shut it off even though she was standing there shivering and turning purple.

Camping

2009-05-21T23:01:00.006-05:00

We actually do things at the Ram house. I'm just not the best record keeper. Many of you excel at that talent. However, last weekend was a big Moon get together. We haven't gone camping as a family in many years and so we headed out to Lake Tawakoni in East Texas and had a great time until we were rained out the next morning. Our weekend basically went - set up camp, cook, eat, clean, watch old Moon slideshow, "sleep", clean, cook, eat, pack up, rain, go home. The eating was good, we just wish we got to do some more of our other planned camping activities. As Anna pointed out, it was a whole 18 hours. We did make up for that by showering and getting together Saturday night for hot dogs and a movie.

Oh what a night!

2009-03-31T15:29:00.004-05:00

Dayne and I finally drop into bed around 11 pm last night after a long evening of preparing our taxes - when you run your own business it gets that much more interesting. We're exhausted and as I lay down I notice some flashing light. Was that an electronic device or lightening? It continues - must be lightening. Then we hear the first rain drops fall and Dayne realizes he didn't cover up his prized grill. On go the lights and the robes and we run out to the backyard to cover the grill in the rain. Mission accomplished, we fall back into bed and try to fall asleep, the rain pounding on the roof. This is good because our lawn really needs water (we're trying to regrow some of it).

We hear thunder approaching which I don't mind because who doesn't love a good Texas thunderstorm? A few gigantic cracks of thunder later and our power goes out. Just as I'm thinking that it's going to be a little warm without the fan on and hope that the food in the refrigerator doesn't spoil, the power comes back on. Phew. But the burglar alarm also comes on. The previous owners had it installed and we have never tried to mess with it. So it starts beeping harmlessly at us and we try to figure out how to stop it, when lo and behold we set off the actual alarm. An ear splitting siren starts reverberating through the house and I start mashing the control pad trying my darndest to shut it off while Dayne holds a pillow over the siren trying to muffle it, while we both wait for Leilani to wake up. After mashing the pad does nothing, I start ransacking the house for some Brinks alarm information that I know I saw once somewhere... An eternity later Dayne finds a phone number and I start calling. A few different numbers later I get a hold of Shalonda. Wonderful Shalonda. She sends me scrambling for some screwdrivers and puts me on the hunt for the Brinks power source which should be in one of our closets. It's one of those things you barely notice when you move in and never think about again. I find it in the master closet behind a shelf and start un-screwing, vehemently. Yanking out a black cord later, it mercifully stops. We drop everything and get back into bed at midnight. And now we're so worked up we just lie there.

Sweet Leilani, she never woke up and has no idea what happened.

Carnations

2009-02-26T13:42:00.009-06:00

Last week we had an amazing fondue party with some of our amazing friends. I really do love parties even though every time I am finishing things right at the very last minute (and often after the last minute) thinking I should have started earlier! But despite my lack of foresight, I thought it would be fun to decorate. I always love having flowers at our get-togethers because they are instant, easy decos. And carnations are one of my favorites even though they get a bad rap. They are cheap, easily fill up a vase and they bloom forever. My Valentine roses didn't even last a week and these babies are going to live on in eternal glory. I also hung some paper lanterns for fun which everyone thought I had up has general home decor. It was a party, let's decorate!

Valentine's

2009-02-17T13:34:00.004-06:00

Dayne and I are not big on Valentine's Day. We've just never done anything so we don't have any expectations, which actually works out really well. So when the doorbell rang Saturday morning and I didn't see anybody through the peephole, I thought it was just a solicitor or ding-dong-ditch, until I opened the door to find roses that Dayne had sent. He's so great! I love having things sent to me. For some reason it makes you feel special. We then spent most of the day digging dallisgrass out of our front yard - so romantical. But that night we did go to our ward Valentine's Dance which I highly recommend for everyone next year. Dayne and I love dancing so it was the perfect way for us to spend the night. Behold the complimentary "prom" picture below provided by the Bennetts. I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend as much as we did.

Number 2

2009-01-30T23:22:00.003-06:00

I am sure that most of you know by now that Dayne and I are on our second child in two years of marriage. When you look at it like that it sounds kind of crazy, huh... I'm 17 weeks along and had my first appointment with the midwife this week. Apparently everything is great and I can't tell you how exciting it is to hear the heartbeat and feel the first little kicks. And right now they are little. No, we are not finding out what "it" is going to be. With Leilani I always called her "it" or "they" and people would always say "you call your baby it" or "you're having twins?". No, but what else are you supposed to say. So I will continue to call this one "it" or "they" and continue to face the questions.

We're excited for this addition and I have high hopes that Leilani is going to be a great big sister. A month or two ago, I opened one of her first baby dolls that came with a bottle. She instantly picked it up, cradled it and began feeding it. I never taught her that so it must be natural instinct! And the other day, she had to put a dolly in our cradle, kiss it, rock it, cover it up, kiss it again and continue to rock it to sleep. I defy any of you to find anything as cute as this!

Happy Birthday Dad!

2009-01-26T21:33:00.012-06:00

Last Saturday, the part of the Moon clan that resides in Texas gathered to celebrate another year of our great Patriarch. What a wonderful father we have. He always compliments my cakes. Doesn't he look handsome?

How do you resist this face??? It wasn't even her Birthday and she steals the show.

This is how the night began.

This is how it ended...
Happy 39th Dad!

Also, if anyone asks you to play Bananagrams, do it. Great game.

P.S. Thank you for all the comments. It makes me feel special that you actually care.

January

2009-01-20T13:49:00.007-06:00

So these are my favorite pictures from Christmas. The first because it is soooo Leilani. She spends most of her day looking at me like that. I'm not sure why...

The second because everytime she held up this pair of socks it was like she was holding them up in Victory! And we cheered every time she did. Needless to say she kept holding them up and we kept cheering...

The third picture just because this is how she runs around most of the time. At least her accessories are coordinated.

Dancing Queen

2008-09-09T22:26:00.005-05:00

I love how babies love music. Leilani will dance to anything from the Bonanza theme song to swing music. She gets a big grin on her face and starts bouncing her arms to the music. Her latest trick is spinning in circles and "snapping" her fingers (more of a wiggling in imitation of mom and dad). I've even noticed her practicing walking backwards - so many things we take for granted as adults.

Moment

2008-09-08T17:44:00.005-05:00

September is here (can any one tell me where August went?) Not that I mind too much. For some reason I get really excited about Fall which turns into excitement for Thanksgiving and then for Christmas. But I have a "thing" against wishing time away so I try to live in the moment. And for the moment, my life is Lelani, Dayne, work and home; in that order, I think. Dayne might think he's at the end...

Leilani grows terribly more intelligent by the day - talking on cellphones, putting on makeup, carrying her purse and daddy's credit card around, feeding herself and I swear she's not 16 though she already has the habits.

I've been working part time for Dayne's company which takes up more time than you would think, I mean, it's only part time right? (Melissa I don't know how you did it.) And the company seems to be going well. I'm also trying to work on my callings which are Visiting Teaching Coordiantor and Public Affairs Director. I didn't even know that calling existed let alone what it meant and it doesn't look like it going to be easy. Primary is looking like a piece of cake comparatively. I've also tried to pick up some new talents like sewing. It's been exciting but also difficult when your daughter wants attention every 5 minutes. How did any mother ever accomplish anything!?

This summer has been great with travel and fun. Dayne and I are both 25 now, though he claims 22. I went to see my sister Heidi in July and we all went camping at Turner Falls later in the month. We've also been spending as much time at water parks and in pools as possible - though never enough for Dayne. If Leilani allows there will be more pictures posted of these events and events to come.

Splish Splash

2008-07-02T11:23:00.007-05:00

This last Saturday was the GP1 annual 4th of July party at the Harshaws. We went because Dayne will take any excuse to go swimming even if it's not his ward. We were there for more than 4 hours and that still wasn't enough... But we had a great time. This was Leilani's second time in a large pool and she has taken to it like a little fish. She has her own little turtle floatie that she'll sit in and paddle around the pool - all by her self. Eivan got a fun little digital camera for his birthday that can go under water, so needless to say, that provided most of the entertainment for the day. Let me tell you - it is hard to take a picture underwater while trying to not let air out so you don't have a million bubbles coming out of your nose and smile at the same time.

Monil, Eivan and Dayne all won the swim races in their age group, and Monil even beat Eivan when they raced the winners against each other. Dayne then went on to win the watermelon seed spitting contest. You can't beat those Rams. I tried to get some sun on my legs and I believe I was mildly successful, so I win too! And I have to say I love the last picture of me and Leilani. Her skin is just so young, smooth and beautiful. It's a pity we all have to grow up because I know we all must of had skin like that at one point.

Baby's gone

2008-06-25T11:54:00.005-05:00

The last Moon child has finally left the nest. My little brother Jordan graduated high school and is off to BYU. He has already shocked us all by how well he as done in one week. He's taking college courses, working and making tons of new friends. We are all so proud of you Jordan. Good luck with the 4 a.m. custodial! I know people who have done it, so it can be done.

Nathan and Korina

2008-06-22T22:51:00.006-05:00

Yesterday my little brother Nathan officially became a married man. His wife Korina is a darling girl and we are all excited for them. However this last week has been a lot of work. With my sister planning the whole wedding, we were up many a late night. But now it is over and the whole thing went beautifully. These are some bridal pictures I took of Korina in my guest room. We didn't have time to go anywhere, so I'm pleased the the results. Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Moon!

Utah

2008-04-25T17:01:00.002-05:00

A little bit of an update. I've been in Salt Lake/Provo for the last week and Dayne joined me (thankfully!) on Wednesday. So far we've been to Temple Square, all around BYU and today my brother Adam graduated from BYU in Construction Management. His wife Anna is very glad to be out of here. I'm just guessing but I think I'm right...

Since Adam's graduation was at 8 am, meaning we had to wake up at 5:30 to get ready, drive and get a good seat, his college provided breakfast for everyone afterwards. That meant all the cinnamon rolls, bagels, orange juice, milk and BYU chocolate milk that you can eat. And if anyone knows me, you know I LOVE BYU chocolate milk. And to get it for free made it that much sweeter. I am now a big supporter of BYU's School of Technology.

On a side note, I ran into the wonderful Karon May the other day at University Mall. She is still sweet and beautiful, and for anyone that knows her - she does not look 4 months pregnant. I look more pregnant than her, and believe me, I'm not. So here's to the blessed Karon.

And I forgot the usb cord for my camera, so pics will have to wait until I get home.

A little disgusted, actually a lot disgusted...

2008-04-03T17:34:00.005-05:00

With Dayne being gone every Wednesday night for Young Men's, I have taken to watching America's Next Top Model - only because television today is pretty pathetic and so my choices are limited (I'm not watching wife swap and I've never been into game shows and I don't have cable). This blog wouldn't even be posted if I did something more productive with my time. But as it is...

Last night the contestants had a challenge that included going to a designer's studio and "walking" the designer's clothes. The designer would then critique how the model walked, what she looked like and if she would actually higher the model for a show. One of the models on the show is considered a plus size model and when she stands next to the other models you think "yeah, she's definitely a plus size." Granted when I think plus size I'm thinking larger than the average woman. The plus size model is Whitney. I think she is beautiful.

She walked for the designer and I think she's the best on the show. However the designer said she prefers size 2 models and she doesn't really design for "plus size." Keep in mind that the contestants for the this show have to be over 5'8'' and all are a size 2. How that is phsyically possible, I'm not sure. What made me mad is what the designer said about not designing for plus size women when she herself was a middle-aged woman who wouldn't fit into her own designs. Now here's the kicker. Whitney, the plus sized model, is a size 10! Doesn't that seem incredibly healthy and normal for a woman over 5'8"?! And doesn't she look gorgeous?! Especially when the average woman is less than 5'4" and 150 pounds. Don't most of us wish we could fit into our size 10 jeans, if not smaller? And the designer doesn't design for plus size women? Who the heck does she design for?! And I, a 5'3" woman am still wearing a size 12.

Below is Fatima and she's typical of the rest of the models on the show. Doesn't she look scary in a "my bones will snap any minute" kind of way. Yet she is the body type designers create for. And the average woman (which I very much am) is supposed to look to her for fashion inspiration?
I know this debate on fashion and weight will never end or be positively solved - but aren't you still disgusted? I must say I was a bit ashamed to be supporting Top Model last night. And I love Tyra Banks, but she's scary in some of her pictures...

Yay, Go Me!

2008-04-02T11:20:00.001-05:00

I just thought I'd let everyone in on the good news. When I was pregnant with Leilani I gained 40 pounds and only lost 20 of them afterwards. I was stuck at 158 for a long time. But as of today I've officially lost 8 pounds! Woohoo!. Now I only have 12 more to go at a minimum. Here's hopin'...

Happy Easter Weekend

2008-03-25T17:53:00.005-05:00

I hope everyone had a fabulous Easter weekend. I thoroughly enjoyed ours. Adam was down for the weekend so we had a couple of family dinners and BBQs which were a lot of fun. I enjoy being with my family. Here are a couple of pictures of Leilani in her Easter dress. Sometimes she is so cute I just can't stand it!

Dayne and I got a new grill for Christmas and boy is it fun. The best thing about it is Dayne now does half of the cooking. Grilling is the way to go. Here is Daddy and Leilani in their awesome sunglasses and then BBQing together on our awesome grill.

Happy 5 months!

2008-03-15T09:14:00.002-05:00

Well on Friday, little Leilani had officially been here for 5 months. I know that doesn't seem like it's been very long, but I feel like she's been here for a while. Yet I still think she is growing up too fast. She actually started to crawl yesterday! Before she was just working around in circles but yesterday she was moving forward. It was exciting and depressing at the same time. Every milestone she hits just means shes getting older. But Dayne and I both realized we have to start baby proofing because in a little while she will be in to everything.

So it's been a while...

2008-02-21T15:30:00.003-06:00

Yes, I'm sorry - it's been a while since I've posted anything. But there are so many things I want to post about and the more I would think about it, the more I realized how much there was, and it scared me out of blogging. So I thought I should at least start with some kind of blog so I can get back in the habit.

We are in the house! (And at this moment Leilani just spit out her pacifier to suck on my arm... that's always an interesting feeling...) We are almost done with getting everything set up. The painting and cleaning was way to much fun. Let me tell ya. I never want to move into a "used" house again. Leilani is now 4 months and a cuter by the day. It's amazing watching her learn new things. She rolls over and won't stop talking.

Finally

2008-01-07T08:39:00.000-06:00

Well, it was a long two week delay, but this past Friday, Dayne and I finally closed on our first home. We started moving in that night and started painting Saturday and we still have a long way to go. But it is so exciting. And what is even better is that today our electricity turns on so I don't have to quit working when it gets dark outside - yes, I am very excited about this. Dayne also installed our first refrigerator that we actually bought. It's really exciting owning your own fridge. And I seem to be using "exciting" a lot, but hey, that's what it is.

1 Year Ago...

2007-12-30T18:35:00.000-06:00

Yesterday Dayne and I celebrated our 1st Anniversary. I had so much fun being alone on a date with my husband for the first time since Leilani was born. The evening really enforced our love for each other. I would marry Dayne over and over again.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2007-12-28T11:14:00.000-06:00

Big Christmas Weekend

2007-12-18T09:58:00.001-06:00

What a weekened for little Leilani. On Saturday she got to meet Santa Claus for the very first time! She did really well because she stayed asleep in Santa's arms but I know deep down inside she was really excited. And then on Sunday, Leilani got to play the baby Jesus in a live Nativity. We had a Hymn Sing and a bunch of Nativities set up in the church gym. They decided to also have a live Nativity with our friends Chris and Jeni as Mary and Joseph (Dayne and I had that honor last year and thankfully I only had to hold a doll...). Thanks to a bottle, she remained asleep through this one too. One little girl kept going up to the stage and looking at Leilani because she couldn't believe that baby Jesus was actually here in our gym!

Best Friends

2007-12-09T18:26:00.000-06:00

Here is Leilani and her new friend Tessa, born a little over a week ago. Andrea and I are excited to have girls born around the same time and have planned out their friendship whether they like it or not. And they both look like their daddies.

Welcome Home

2007-12-07T12:30:00.000-06:00

We would like to announce that we are buying our first house! 2 weeks from today we will be closing on our own little piece of America. It's just a little 1 story house in Grand Prairie but we are pretty happy about it. We decided to stay in GP because it is close to both families and Dayne's work and we both really like the Grand Prairie 2nd ward. So for the next few years, we will be calling 2464 Silverado Trail home. Once we get all moved in and set up, I hope to have a house warming party so all our friends in the area can come over. It will be nice to have a little more room to party in than what our little apartment gives us now...

Smiles

2007-12-02T22:47:00.001-06:00

One of the great things about being a parent is the braggin rights. You wish your child was this cute!!! - You'll have to forgive me. I'm new to this parenting thing and I'm pretty proud.

Thanksgiving

2007-12-01T09:38:00.000-06:00

Alright everyone, please forgive me for my pathetic lack of blogging. It just seems that between taking care of Leilani (and by "taking care of" I mean constantly feeding) and taking care of myself and Dayne, I run out of time. But here are some fun pics of fun things we did at Thanksgiving. We went up to Kansas City where my sister Heidi lives. The first pic is at the old Union Station in downtown - a big, beautiful train station.
This is Dayne and I riding a bike across a cable. It is obviously safe or they wouldn't let any one do it because of the bricks under the bike - they balance the center of gravity therefore the bike can't fall off. Dayne is actually making the bike lean to one side. I wasn't brave enough for that. I mean, you are pretty high up...

On Wednesday we all went to play laser tag, the whole family. That is except for me. I got to stay outside and watch Leilani. I think the employees felt sorry for me because I got a free round of miniature golf.

Cake Recipe

2007-11-01T17:05:00.000-05:00

Here is that yummy cake recipe for everyone who wanted it. I think it is a great cake for fall.

Chocolate Pumpkin Cake
1 1/2 cups flour
2/3 cup cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup canned pumpkin
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large (plus one yolk) eggs

1. Line the bottoms of two 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper and lightly butter.
2. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Stir the buttermilk, pumpkin, and vanilla extract together in a small bowl. Beat the butter and sugars together using an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and yolk, one at a time. Reduce mixer speed to low and alternately beat in the flour and buttermilk mixtures in thirds.
3. Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake until a tester, inserted in the center, comes out clean--about 35 minutes. Cool layers completely before icing.

Frosting:
6oz. cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups confectionars sugar
2 1/4 tsp cocoa
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 vanilla

In separate bowl beat 1 1/2cups heavy cream and 3/4 cup confectionars sugar and scant 1/4 tsp orange food color. Add rest of ingredients. Use 1 cup between layer and rest for frosting cake.Chill 30 min.

Glaze:
4 oz bittersweet choc
1 Tbs cold butter
3 Tbs corn syrup
1/2 cup heavy cream
Bring cream, syrup and butter to boil, pour over choc. Let stand 3 min. and whisk smooth. Cool 3 to 5 min. and pour over top of cake.

Happy Halloween

2007-11-01T16:29:00.000-05:00

Isn't that pumpkin awesome! My husband is an artistic genious. We went to our ward's Trunk or Treat on Tuesday and our trunk actually won third place. I don't think it was because of the decorations but the games we had set up and Harry Potter playing in the background. Apparently we had a loooong line of trick-or-treaters who all wanted to play. I however missed most of it because I was in the mother's room feeding our little urchin, Leilani. She was dressed up as a little hula girl, but I didn't get a single picture because she slept the entire time and so we were never able to get her into the whole outfit... How cute would a mother-daughter hula girl picture have been?

Sweet Leilani

2007-10-15T22:38:00.001-05:00

Yummy!

2007-10-11T21:30:00.000-05:00

Doesn't this cake look yummy?!!!! Tuesday was my brother Dennis' birthday and this is what my mother came up with. She didn't even go through this much trouble for my birthday and I'm the one giving her a grandchild! It's a chocolate - pumpkin cake with a cream cheese - whipped cream - cinnamon frosting topped with a bittersweet chocolate frosting. Oh my word it was heavenly. The mix of the chocolate, pumpkin and cinnamon is fantabulous and it was such a dense cake with such a creamy frosting. I highly recommend this for fall! If you want the recipe, I'll get it to you.

I'm done!

2007-10-09T16:32:00.000-05:00

If you've been wondering why I haven't had the baby yet, here is the reason. I had to finish my baby blankets first! I had made a pink one earlier, just for fun, but then decided I really needed a blue one too. It just wouldn't be fair if I had a boy and his mom hadn't made him his own blanket. So I've been working like crazy to get them both finished, and now that I'm done the baby can come. Note - the baby was due yesterday, so it could come any day, but don't hold your breath.

Full Term

2007-09-18T13:55:00.000-05:00

Well, we have officially reached 37 weeks which means the Ram baby is "full term" and could be born any day. I doubt that is going to happen, but it's kind of fun to know that it could... So we are just awaiting that day when we officially become parents - whenever that day may be. Are we ready? Yes! However, I must say I have a little fear of the unknown - I'm so excited yet am completely aware of the fact that our lives are changing forever - and for the better.

Every visit to the midwives reassures me. They say I look great, the baby looks great and things just couldn't be better (they don't literally say this, but that's how I always feel afterwards). The baby's heartbeat, size and movements all appear to be good. So the next big question is what the baby is going to be. Half are convinced it's a boy, the other half it's a girl. But when the odds are 50/50, you're not taking much of a risk. Don't ask us what we think - we really don't know and we don't want to jinx ourselves. I will try to post a picture of what I look like now (I have realized I have hardly any of myself) so that there will be a record for our friends and posterity.

You may now all sit on the edge of your seats for the "when" and "what" announcements that will hopefully come soon.

24 Candles

2007-09-07T11:04:00.001-05:00

On Tuesday, my hubby caught up with me and turned 24. People are still surprised that I'm older than him - sometimes it surprises me too - but I think he likes the fact that he got an "older woman." I don't think he'll let me live down the fact that I'll turn 30 before him.

Yes, there are 24 candles on that cake. I called it the ring of fire.

Here Dayne is in his birthday present - a new office chair!!! Since we've been married he's been using one of the kitchen chairs so I thought I'd make him a little more comfortable and finally got him something more suitable. He feels professional now.

We squeezed both his family and mine into our little apartment for the party - balloons and all.

Softball

2007-09-06T18:56:00.001-05:00

Dayne is in a men's softball league and because they are sponsored by his work they have the very distinguished name of "SN" in honor of SN Servicing. They are the only team that has matching uniforms which does make them cooler than the rest of the men out there reliving their glory days. The nice thing is Dayne has never played softball before so he has no glory days to relive... these are it. But he gets to spend time with his super cool brothers-in-law and they all get some excercise. And did I mention one of their first games ended with 3 of their teammates being ejected from the game, forcing a forfeit.

General Update

2007-08-30T10:54:00.000-05:00

I must say that I love reading everyone's blogs - it seems like there is so much going on in your lives and that life is so exciting for everyone. I then look at my life and try to think of what to blog about, and nothing ever comes to mind - which is sad because we actually do things, I just don't take the time to fully appreciate what we do. Granted, a lot of our life is just everyday life - lots of work, cleaning, laundry, church, hanging with the family, grocery shopping and things of that nature repeated over and over again.

But lately...

I had a wonderful baby shower almost two weeks ago thanks to WONDERFUL friends and family. It's difficult sometimes to have fun at a party when you're the constant center of attention, but I really enjoyed myself at this one and hope everyone who came enjoyed it to. The food, games and general atmosphere were just great. I love it when parties turn out well. Everyone was too generous. I received most of the things I'll need (or think I need) including lots of diapers, so there's only a few things left to get on my own. And a lot of it will have to wait until whether we know if the baby is a boy or a girl. It is fun walking through the baby aisle at Target and knowing that I actually have a reason to be there. I never really went in there before... But don't you just love looking at all those tiny, little things?

Speaking of baby, it is growing bigger by the day. The baby is really moving now and a lot of times I can just look down and watch my stomach move with a will of its own. I have fun feeling the baby's little feet when it is pushing out. Exciting! According to the midwives, everything is going as well as it could (so far) and the baby is growing perfectly and has a good heart rate. Very reassuring and comforting words. For those who don't know, I'm giving natural birth at a birthing center. Don't worry, it's not as scary as it sounds. We have taken a great (and long - 8 week) birth class that taught us so much and we feel much more prepared than we would have otherwise. I highly recommend it. Dayne and I have been walking a lot to keep me in shape and to hopefully make labor easier and more manageable - and if we're lucky - sooner. But we're not due until Oct 8th and they make it a point to tell us that rarely does a first baby come early or on it's due date - usually later.

Work is going well for both of us. Dayne still works hard for SN Servicing and his own company Global Designs - which we hope will someday be his full-time job. I still work for PJCo though only have a little over 4 weeks left! I know a lot of women love to work outside the home, but between school and working for the last 6 years, I'm ready to not be on someone elses schedule. (I know you're laughing at me because I'll be on baby's schedule, but that's different). At least I won't be spending all day sitting in a chair stairing at a computer screen. If I want to go shopping in the middle of the day, dangn't, I'm going to do it.

To finish up quickly, we both still serve in the YM and YW programs, Dayne is on a men's softball team (note - he's never played softball in his life, but you can't even tell), we had a wonderful time with the Brannock's on Sunday finally seeing their cute apartment only a year after they moved in, we are in the process of looking for our own house if things work out (depends on so many factors), we just finished our 8 week, 2 1/2 hour birth class on Tuesday (finally!) and I had my first dental appointment in years yesterday where they told me I don't have any cavities (which I swore I did) and that my teeth look good - a fact I am still smiling about and which makes me very happy. Oh, and both my little sisters have left me for college... :( One in Hawaii and one in Provo.

Making room for baby

2007-07-28T22:59:00.000-05:00

When we rented this one bedroom apartment, we honestly thought it would have all the room we would need. And then we found out someone else would be moving in with us, so we had to find a place for them. We moved in this beautiful cradle that my mom bought in Germany and eight of the ten Moon children have slept in, including myself. Thankfully, it fits between the bed and the window - at least that is where it is staying for now. My sister gave us the changing table and once again I'm grateful for a very long wall that fits the table, our dresser and my vanity. I had a very pregnant hormonal day where I had to go to four different Targets, including the one in Waxahachie, to find all of these baskets because I HAD to have them THAT day and nobody had them! They looked darling and they fit perfectly. I put about 80 miles on my car trying to find all of them. If I had waited a few days, the Target right beside me got a few more in stock but who can afford to be patient when you're pregnant... And to the right of the changing table on the floor is the diaper bag I registered for on a Friday and it was clearanced out the next day, so I went ahead and bought it for half price. Like I said, who can afford patience.

Flowers

2007-07-05T22:09:00.000-05:00

So, I know I haven't blogged in a horrendously long time. But I finally found some time to play around with my new camera and some photo editing. These are the first shots I ever took in manual - only Melissa will understand what that means. But I'm excited to take some more pictures and improve. Next up will be some of my hubby Dayne and his first time flying a plane.

7 Things That I love

2007-06-08T13:50:00.000-05:00

Well Melissa tagged me at the end of her blog and I'm afraid of what she might do to me if I don't comply, so here are 7 things that I love.

7 - Finishing things - I could be riding on the high of finally finishing all my thank you cards from my wedding, but it's such a wonderful feeling to be done. They've literally been hanging over my head for months, not for lack of trying, and there were a lot. But I love completing things, like cleaning your house, finishing a craft project, getting rid of that extra junk that's been sitting around. It's a sense of accomplishment and cleansing. And now that I've finished the darn cards, I can move on to making a baby blanket or something without feeling guilty about all the other things I haven't finished.

6 - Baking - I've realized I don't necessarily love cooking, but I love baking, which is a completely different thing. There's something about making a delicious cake or the perfect cookie. I'm always willing to whip up something sweet, except for those lazy times, but that's why ice cream was invented. And I love HOMEMADE desserts as most of you can attest to. No cake or brownie mix for me. It's all or nothing. Forget Betty Crocker, it's all about Larissa Ram.

5 - Reading - I've been a avid reader ever since I learned how. Though I don't read as many novels as I used to or even like to, I just like having things around to read. I want to get a subscription to Reader's Digest so I have something to read in the bathroom... But I appreciate reading books that have literary merit and are uplifting or at least really interesting. Believe me, there are a lot of crappy, pointless books out there that are crowding out the good ones. And I love book suggestions, so if you've read a good one lately, let me know. I hate to read a book with no personal reviews on it and then find that I've completely wasted time and brain cells.

4 - That feeling after a good workout - And you know what I mean. You feel so good about yourself after a workout, it's a "I'm on top of the world and can do anything" feeling. I just wish I loved that feeling of trying to get yourself to work out in the first place. I'd probably be more consistent.

3 - Porches - If you've ever sat on a nice, shaded porch in a swing with a soft breeze blowing, you know what I mean. Though the style of my dream house has changed over the years, one thing has remained - a wrap-around porch, or even a really large front porch. Who doesn't want to sit on their front porch on summer, fall, winter and spring evenings with family and friends just talking and enjoying nature? If I could be sitting on one right now, I would be.

2 - Giving great gifts - I love giving a good gift, especially for showers and weddings. I like to make it something really personal that will mean a lot and be appreciated. Not to give a gift just for the sake of giving a gift. And I like to try and present them creatively if I can. Every gift deserves to be beautifully wrapped and given with thoughtfulness. I can drive myself over the edge some times and wonder why I bother, but I like making people happy. And if I give a gift, dang't, I'm going to make it worth it. And I know it's an accepted practice, but I cannot bring myself to reuse a gift bag.

1 - Dayne and my family - I love being with my family! A lot of the times we are not doing anything great or special, but I'd rather be with them than anyone else sometimes. I love reunions, stories, dinners, games, shopping, everything. They're the ones you spend eternity with so why not enjoy them. And I can't even begin to say how much I love Dayne. Sometimes he is such a cutie, I can't even stand him. I can't even stay mad at him! Oh, I love him. Who could think that you would ever love living with a boy and that he'd be your best friend? And in approximately/exactly 4 months we'll have a little Ram-ette, which means I'll have two babies to take care of. But, oh I love my babies.

Thoughts on pregnancy...

2007-06-05T13:24:00.000-05:00

Since almost everyone knows I'm pregnant, I figure I better learn to talk openly about it. We tried to keep it a secret for so long that that I'm still surprised when people ask me how I'm doing, and I'm thinking "how do they know...?" But then, the fact is getting harder to hide by the day. I know you can't keep it a secret forever, but still, am I getting that big? Even my young women are having discussions about whether it's a fat or baby deposit in my midsection. And I think they're too afraid to ask in case I really did just get fat. I suppose I need to clear the air there.

But I really do worry about the fat thing. You know how you see all those cute little pregnant women who are still so thin they just look like they're trying to be pregnant? And then you find out that they're almost due, you're only 5 months along, and you're both the same size... Or the people who are due the same time as you are and you can't even tell they're pregnant yet. Even my midwife thought I had gained too much weight ("we've had a little jump" she says) and tried to put me on a pregnancy diet before I realized that she had miscalculated something in her head and I had to tell her that I had only gained 13 pounds, not 23. She then said I was right on track, but the experience has still left me shaken. I know you're not supposed to look the same during pregnancy, but I feel like I've let myself go. I try to rationalize that it's the pregnancy putting all the fat there and there's nothing I can do about it, but deep down I know I should be healthier. It's never been easy for me to lose weight and I finally did a great job of it last year, only to have that train stopped in mid steam and THROWN back in the other direction. Don't get me wrong, I KNOW you have to gain weight, that IS pregnancy, but I'm in a constant worry over how much of the weight is healthy and how much is my own fault... but enough of this.

Besides my own vanity, I'm very happy to be pregnant! I thought Dayne and I would wait (at least a few months) to have children, but now that it's happened I can't imagine what else we would be doing other than starting our family. I'm looking forward to Christmas this year with our new, little someone and am already waiting for the seasonal decor so I can buy a "Baby's First Christmas" ornament. Not to mention that I will need to buy our first christmas tree too... I'm always amazed at how much can happen in one year. Last Christmas we weren't even married yet, and this Christmas we'll have a 2 1/2 month old (yes, you may laugh at us and call it a honeymoon baby, cause it's pretty much the truth).

Speaking of "it." No, we will not be finding out the gender of the baby. I apologize to everyone coming to my baby shower and everyone who screams "what, how can you not know!?" but that's the way it is. I figure we're already 1/2 way through the pregnancy and if we can make it this far, we'll make it to the end. Just so you know I want a boy and a girl, so I guess I'll be happy either way. But I think all new moms want girls and all new dads want boys because then you at least have an idea of how the child works. But right now, most of the "old wive's tales" and the Chinese prediction calendar are pointing to a boy, which makes me think it could be a girl, or a boy... how much faith can you put in those things...

And we're due around October 8th... though that could be off. Besides the gender, the actual day will be a surprise. And no, I do not have any "pregnancy pictures" yet. I've been trying to hide the truth for too long. And yes, the baby has been moving like crazy, though the outside world cannot feel it yet. They say that will mean it's a boy, but I think Melissa's baby moved around a lot and she turned out to be a girl...

Happy Mother's Day!

2007-05-14T10:04:00.000-05:00

To me, Mother's Day is a day when husbands get there chance to shine. And my husband is my knight in SHINING armor - and I know it's a terrible cliche. But, yesterday morning I woke up, looked at the clock, it said 7:00 a.m., I rolled back over and realized Dayne wasn't in bed. We are both such deep sleepers we have no idea when the other gets in or out. At that same moment I hear the toaster ding. I think "huh, Dayne doesn't usually eat breakfast. I guess he really wanted some toast..." Next thing I know my knight is walking through the bedroom door with a full breakfast tray of cereal, a banana, milk, juice, and toast that he tried very hard to toast just right. He looked so cute, and honestly I was surprised. He even shaped the butter for the toast into a heart.... aaaahhhhhh. Gosh, I love him! So, I'm sitting there eating my breakfast and feeling all giddy and special cause I have such a cool and thoughtful husband, when he comes back in with his laptop and sets it down on my lap. I'm looking at it and say "what's this?" On the laptop was a picture of the digital camera I've been wanting for a while and then he hands me an envelope with the money I need to get the darn thing. I could not believe it! It was just too much so I started crying and just hugged him. He is just too great, and I really didn't feel that I deserved all this, but he seems to think I do. So we're not going to argue.

The rest of the day was just wonderful. We made my parents late to church (and they had to give talks) because I had a corsage for mom, and of course we were running 15 minutes behind. That always happens when you have good intentions... But she seemed really happy to get it. She loves corsages on Mother's Day so I really like giving them to her. And this week we're going shopping for the bird bath that her little heart desires.

My Brother's Wedding

2007-05-14T09:42:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, my brother Aaron, the eldest Moon male, finally took that giant leap and got married! We were all very excited for him and believe that he got a great and beautiful girl, which is what he always wanted. They were married by a Justice of the Peace in a lovely and informal ceremony at the Tarrant County Courthouse. It was actually, very nice. I would say anyone not getting sealed in the temple should do it this way. Heck of a lot cheaper and no headache. The next day they had their reception in Farmer's Branch with decorations that Laurel called "very Great Gatsby." Her colors were brown/cream/gold, but ended up being more white/cream/gold but very impressive. We draped yards and yards of fabric across the ceiling and the gym had this amazing recessed lighting that worked ten times better than trying to string christmas lights. I even ended up being one of the bridesmaids - who thought you could suck a pregnant woman into a juniors-size dress. By the end of the night, my kidneys hurt - I'm serious.

Family Home Evening

2007-05-08T11:58:00.000-05:00

Recently, my family has gotten into a really good habit of having Family Home Evening every week, even if it just ends up being me, Dayne and my parents. While every week is good, the last two activities have been particularly memorable. Last Tuesday the family came over and after a wonderful spritual lesson on the Good Samaritan (thanks Dad) we decided to play Cranium. My family gets really into games and we start laughing our heads off and get really loud. Granted we don't realize this because we're the ones right in the middle of it. To outsiders though it must sound different. We were at the very end of our game, Laurel and I kicked trash, when there's a knock on our door at 10:30 pm... strange... unless it's family we really don't get visitors. So I make Dayne go answer the door in case someone's waiting there to kill us when I hear a voice ask "Is everything alright in here?" And next thing I know 2 cops are entering our apartment! Apparently someone had called them thinking someone was being tortured or dying because of all the noise. Now you know what our family sounds like on game night... But they took a 1 second look at the situation and walked right back out again. No more late-night game nights at the Ram's.

Moving to this week's FHE. We decided to play croquet because I think mom wanted us to admire the backyard she had just mowed. I haven't played in a few years and I thought I used to be pretty good. A quick overview: I spent about 2/3rds of the game stuck at the first wicket while everyone finished at least 1/2 the court. Mom and dad kept hitting each other's balls on purpose so that they could be knocked out of play and poor Dayne kept getting stuck in the middle. In the end, Laurel came in first followed by Dennis, Mom, Dad, Me then Dayne. My wonderful husband saved my dignity and let me come in fifth.

Is there a doctor in the house?

2007-04-18T17:40:00.000-05:00

While most of the metroplex was huddled in their homes watching the severe weather roll in last Friday, the Ram family was completely oblivious to it as we sat in the middle of a hibachi grill; Nagoya. There wasn't a lot of business that night and we were the only ones crazy enough to go out to eat no matter what. But there was good reason. The Acampora's and the Sam Bala's were in town for Uncle Anthony's (tito Anthony as the Filipinos would say) graduation. After years of schooling and doing I don't know what, Anthony is finally a chiropractic doctor! So all the family flew into town (hence the night out at Nagoya) and we celebrated pretty much all weekend. And side note, Nagoya is supposed to be like Benihana, but it's not so great. The one picture of Dayne, me and Melania with my tongue sticking out at her, yeah, I wasn't scaring her, the fires from the grill were...Leana calls her our "stand-in" child until we get the real thing. I look like a great mom...

Ram Family First Illness!

2007-04-11T23:38:00.000-05:00

Oh no! My poor, cutie-patootie of a husband has a terrible cold. And he never gets sick. But he can't breathe, has a fever, and a terrible headache that just won't quit. And I think he's developing a cough. I went to Kroger's and bought everything I could think of to make him feel better; cold medicine for day, cold medicine for night, vapor rub, juices, soups, a thermometer and even Capri Sun (not that it makes you feel better, Dayne just likes it). But can you imagine that cute little face twisted in pain?! It's awful! And there's I can really do except wait on him hand and foot. Which is easy now because we don't have kids. When there are 8 of them running around, I don't know if he'll get the same attention... Don't be surprised if I catch this. I do sleep right next to the man. But Dayne says I can't get sick because he doesn't know what to do. That's what moms are for.

PJCo Spring Fling

2007-04-10T14:23:00.000-05:00

We had the annual Peisner Johnson Ranch Party (aka SPRING Fling) this weekend and what better weekend then Easter weekend. The sun shining, spring in the air, birds chirping, bees humming, warmth and loveliness all around. If by sun shining you mean overcast skies, by spring in the air you mean colder days than any we had this winter, by birds chirping and bees humming you mean teeth chattering and nose blowing, and by warmth and loveliness you mean the most snow fall Texas has ever seen. But even though it was freezing cold, how cool is it that it snowed in Texas in April! Almost everyone from the office was down at the ranch in Andy's arena/stable. And we actually had a lot of fun despite the frozen temperatures, at least I did. It was wonderul holding and eating the warm hamburgers and beans. At one point Melissa and I were warming our hands from the smoke of the BBQ grill. And then I wondered later when the dogs were let out why they kept trying to lick my hands... But the food was great and ultimate frisbee was really fun. I haven't done that in a while. Andy had some serious plays going on in his head that he tried to execute on us (I don't know if we followed along or not...I was too tired to run anymore...). The important thing is it warmed us all up. Which was a good thing because Dayne decided he wanted to play with the horses and help Andy hitch them up to the wagon. Let me tell you, he felt pretty good messing with the horses and Andy called him a "natural." I think that made his day and now I think there are horses in our future. For the few of us that were left at the end, there was no choice but to take a ride in the cold wind. It had stopped snowing though, so it actually was not that bad. And by not that bad I mean I was so cold (from the inside out), that it didn't matter what we did. We did see a really cool scene; a field of beautiful bluebonnets and green grass against a backdrop of snow-covered trees. I really wished I had my camera at that point.

Come with me if you want to live

2007-04-10T14:06:00.000-05:00

We've have 2 beehives turn twelve and enter the Young Women's program recently. So to welcome them properly, we set out to kidnap them Saturday morning. This is how it would go in a perfect world. We rush into their house, blindfold them so they have no idea what's going on, drag them from their warm beds forcibly, throw them in the back of a running car with very heavy metal going, bass turned way up. We answer no questions nor give them any clue as to what's going on. They're scared out of their minds until we reach our destination; a breakfast of donuts. This is how it went in the real world. Both of them saw us before we were able to get to them and one of them even walked casually out to the car with us. Since she figured out what was going, she actually assisted us on the other victim. All the heavy metal stations decided to be mellow, so we turned up the Tejano music. So, yeah, everyone pretty much figured out what was going on and we had 6 people in a 5-seater car (don't tell the YW's moms), but it all went really well and I think the 2 beehives will remember their induction into YW's. Disclaimer: This was on the coldest morning of the year (April 7th, mind you), I didn't get to sleep in, and I didn't want to get up and do this, but it turned out really well. It even started snowing... in April... in Texas... it was a YW miracle.

Ciao Bella Prom

2007-04-10T13:36:00.000-05:00

Most people do not want to revisit their high school days, and once you're an adult you feel you are relatively safe from such an occurence. But then you get married, they put you in the YM and YW program and next thing you know, you are once again at a high school prom. Although this time your date is not your brother and the food is much better. In fact you're at this prom not only with you darling husband but your little brother who is 6 years younger. This last Friday was an 8 stake LDS Prom at Southfork Ranch in Parker, TX. I have to admit, I was probably as excited to go as the 16-year-old Laurels. Some things you just don't outgrow... The theme was Ciao Bella although the only things that pertained to this was the Italian food and the people they had dressed up as gondoliers walking around playing violin. And the set up was much nicer than my high school prom and much cheaper. This one cost only $10 and I'm pretty sure 6 years ago in high school it was around $60. The tables were beautifully set, the decorations were perfect and the food was so good I made Dayne go back for seconds, not to mention dessert. The service was excellent too. I would go to this $10 prom any day. Although it is difficult trying to dance with 800 other teenagers on the floor and the music wasn't the best dance selection. But I think your opinion gets kind of set on what is "good" dance music the older you get. I'm sure the kids loved it. At the end of the night we can't leave because we can't find my brother Jordan who has the keys to the car (don't ask me why) and I'm standing there freezing because they have the doors wide open (there was a bit of an artic blast this weekend). Turns out he feel asleep in the back of the mini van and Dayne checked there twice before he was able to find him and wake him up so we could all go home!

Why does it always happen when you're by yourself and in the middle of a show...

2007-04-02T09:44:00.000-05:00

So Friday night, what a wonderful night...except when your home all by yourself and the worst storm of the year is happening outside your window and the power goes out for a hour and a half! It took me twice the amount of time to get home from work than it usually does because of all the rain, I get home at 6:30, right as the rain is stopping. There's a big dinner at the in-laws but I don't go because I'm not feeling so hot, so my wonderful husband says he'll stop by his parents real quick on the way home from work, grab food and come home to me. Next thing I know, it's 8 pm, I'm all alone on the couch watching TV, Dayne still isn't home, and the lights flick off then back on. No big deal, I think. But then it happens again so I'm thinking maybe I ought to get up and grab the flashlight. The minute I grab the flashlight, the power goes out and stays out. So I'm huddled on the couch, in darkness, trying not to scare myself, Dayne still isn't home and the storm is at it's worse; blowing wind and rain like there ain't no tomorrow. Finally I call Dayne and this is the time when he decides to come home, when all the streets are flooded and the power is out. It takes him forever to get home and when he drives up to the apartment complex he can't get in because the gates won't open because they're electric! Aaahh! So people try to pull the gates open to no avail, there are at least 30 cars trying to get in and some crazy people even trying to get out, when someone finally just drives through one of the gates. Thank goodness for them, because Dayne finally made it home and my imagination stopped running wild. It's funny what you think about when your alone, with no electricity in a big thunderstorm.... It's more fun when you're with people. So it's about 9:30 and we're just wondering what we're going to do with ourselves since there's no TV to entertain us, when the power comes back on. So we watch a movie and go to bed. Thank goodness for electricity.

Dancing with the spouse....

2007-03-27T20:38:00.000-05:00

So Dayne and I really love to dance. Probably pretty obvious to anyone who has ever seen us on a dance floor. The only sad part is Dayne is better than me.... He can shake those hips like there's no tomorrow. But we have both really gotten into Dancing with the Stars lately. There's only been two episodes but we already have our favorites. And I already know who I wish would leave! Miss USA, the model or Leeza Gibbons. None of them are really any good and very boring to watch. One of my favorites is John Ratzenberger (aka, the piggy bank from Toy Story). And Joey Fatone and Laila Ali aren't bad either. At the moment Dayne and I are waiting to see who is going to be the first to get kicked off. I hope it's the model.... And I know, I know, we need to get some new pictures, other than our wedding pictures. I'm working on it....

And it's the model!!!! Yay, she wasn't any good. They're even playing "Give me one more night" as she leaves. Way to rub it in ABC.

La sigh...basketball

2007-03-15T13:16:00.000-05:00

Our house is pretty much a basketball house. Other sports are fine and will be watched, but basketball rules them all. Dayne loves to play and was recently seen on the court at the Dallas Stake Men's Basketball Tournament with the GP 2nd team. Now the GP team is like the Mavericks of yesteryear, decent with a small shot at the title, but more than likely not (they're more of volleyball players). So Dayne and my little bro Nathan went to try and save the GP team, but to no avail. A few injuries later, Dayne was home and I'm sure they had a good time.

Now the Mavs, oh the Mavs. They had a record of 17 straight winning games until they lost it all to the Warriors. Dayne was hoping for a bit of redemption on Wednesday night against the Suns and oh it was so close! And Dayne gets so into the games that he jumps everytime they score and scares me half to death. Last night I thought the Mavs had it, but then Nash tied it and next thing we know were in 2nd overtime, down by four and we just can't catch up. Mavs lost by 2 points....2 points. Needless to say, Dayne wasn't as happy last night as I thought he was going to be.

Ladies and Gentleman...The Ram's

2007-02-04T20:05:00.000-06:00

Dec. 29th, 2006, an important day that allowed this blog to be called The Ram House. It's been 37 days since Dayne and I were married, and wow, it is so much fun. Now I know why the church talks it up so much. I'm glad this "marriage" thing will continue for some time to come. At the moment we're just both working hard, serving in many callings and trying to see each other some time in the evening. I thought you were supposed to see more of each other after marriage, but I think I'm wrong. But hey I have eternity, so I guess I won't complain to much. And by the way, I know for a fact, that I have the most handsome husband out of anybody, and he's got a pretty good looking wife. Ain't we lucky...