The Sanders Fam

My name is Lacey and I am a......

2011-07-28T20:03:00.000-07:00

COUPON-AHOLIC!!!!

These are my grabs today. 20 dollars worth of stuff-absolutely free.

Happiness!

I finally took a picture today of all my last months worth of "freebies". These were both mailed to me and things I found both on sale and had a coupon for in the store.

I know I can be considered a "crazy coupon lady" now. I'm okay with that. Cause I am never going to have to buy toothpaste, shampoo/conditioner, deodorant again. And it always is nice to find the cascade dishwasher stuff, anything Tide, ziploc baggies. :)

Am I braggin? I'm not really trying to. I am just stoked. I have worked hard for it and its payed off.

If any of you are interested in couponing I owe ALL of my knowledge to Collin the coolest and best couponer there is.

Here is her site- http://www.hip2save.com/

She posts freebies and helps let you know what awesome deals you can score every day. :)

Happy couponing!

*** P.S. I KNOW I am way far behind on my normal updates and pictures..... I promise to post them soon. But I only had a few moments tonight and I wanted to get something up on here.

8 Months/May

2011-07-02T22:44:00.000-07:00

Okay... I know its been FOREVER since I posted. I actually have 2 and a half months to update on. But I have to start somewhere. I will try to get month 9 done here in the next week.

Lyd's 8th month was a fun and busy one.

I had my first Mothers Day. It turned out to be a great day!

I am so thankful for this beautiful baby for making me a mom.

I got spoiled with lots of fun presents.

Lydia with my Grandma Sallstrom. She is such an incredible woman. :)

She hated the hat. I managed to get this picture before she ripped it off.

We took a trip after Mark's semester ended. We went and saw my sister Megan in Colorado Springs and then drove on to see my other sister Kelly in New Mexico.

This is her daughter Karli and Lyd playing together.

Mark and I had a fun time playing their xbox kinnect

Lydia had carrots for dinner!

The girls ready for bed

Lyd loved to pull herself up on everything

Daddy was "watching" Lydia while I got ready in the morning. :)

We went to the Albuquerque Zoo!

I love this gal SO much.

While we were down there Kelly was nice enough to watch Lyd while we went to the temple. It was soooo amazing. it had been too long.

After being in NM we drove back to Colorado Springs.

ROAD TRIP!

Lydia liked the front seat with dad significantly more than her carseat in the back. i cant wait until I can turn her around and face us.

As crazy as it is- we havent been able to take Lydia swimming until now. Megan and Monte have amazing gym with a great indoor pool. So here is my baby in her first swimsuit.

With daddy in the pool

She LOVED the water. Absolutely loved it.

Lydia with Megan's two youngest. She is blessed with such great cousins!
Oh, and Lydia started crawling on this day!

Daddy daughter stare off. This happens alot.

I love her face expression here.

Just reading the funnies...

Life changed a bit for us in this month. Mark finished school at CC. And HOPEFULLY that will be the last here in casper. We love it here but HATE the school. We are excited to finish in rexburg starting january (again....hopefully).

Lyd learned to crawl in month 8. As well as pull herself up on everything. This explore stage is a busy one. She is such a joy to us.

I have continued to learn the hobby of couponing. I will share more of that in next months post. I have also been running alot. I try to run 2 miles a day. Not very quickly mind you... but I get it done all the same. I love summer SO much.

Mark is a stud. What more is there to say? He is my super man. WOrking his tail off in every aspect of his life and yet never seeming stressed at all. Always finding time for me and Lydia and loving us sooo much. He is dreamy. :) Yes, I just said dreamy.

That about covers our month of may and Lydias 8th month. June soon to follow.

Nanananana BATMAN!!!

2011-05-06T09:56:00.000-07:00

It all started here. Last year on my brother in law Jeremy's birthday- he requested my sister Kelly to make him a superman fruit pizza. Mark saw this and was instantly envious.

A few months down the road:

Me- "What do you want for your birthday this year?"

Mark- "I want you to make me a cake."

Me-"easy enough... any specific kind of cake you want?" (BAD IDEA TO ASK THIS)

Mark-"A BATMAN cake please!"

......

And so it began. I looked online and researched different possibilities. Finally my AMAZING mom had the perfect cake pan and icing for this overwhelming task. But she was out of town during Mark's bday so I was left all alone to figure this one out.

And I did.....

Kinda....

What do you think?

Truthfully I was SO proud of it.

And Mark loved it. So thats all that really matters.

Happy 24th birthday Mark!
You are my everything and my sweetheart.
And JUST FOR YOU- I would spend weeks of stressing and hours of panic
to make a batman cake.

Lydia just liked the icecream that came with the birthday.

April showers.../Lydia is 7 months old!

2011-04-26T19:47:00.001-07:00

Well another month has come and gone. How has it happened so quickly???

It has been a busy and eventful month, for sure. My first set of pictures are from a "pride and prejudice" type of ball that they do here in Casper every year. Mark took me and I was able to wear my prom dress again.

Such a fun night!

Lydia has started to eat more of her baby foods now. She especially loves carrots for some reason. It REALLY grosses Mark out when I feed them to her because they have a pretty nasty smell to them. But loves them and constantly says "NUMA NUMA" inbetween every bite.

One night I was feeding her while Mark read our family scriptures. I had turned my attention to him while Lydia swalled her current bite. When I turned back this is what I found-

Asleep midbite. :)

Our goofy girl-

SHe is so happy and sweet at 7 months. I love her.

Lydia getting prepared for easter. Somehow she got the basketball around her middle and was pretty annoyed that she couldn't eat it as easily when it was like this.

Easter Dress

Our family on easter

Checking out her stash-

Love-

Easter Eggs are awesome!

Daddy loves the lady

NEWS UPDATES FOR THE SANDERS

-Mark and I will be returned to BYU-Idaho in January to finish his degree. We had some serious issues with Casper College and discovered that we can get him done faster there. So that will be a fun adventure.

-We have decided that starting June we will be moving in with my parents until we leave for Rexburg. We are excited and slightly nervous about this change but know it will be for the best long term.

-Mark has one week of classes left and 3 days of finals and he is done for the semester. (We are both looking forward to that!) He just turned 24 yesterday! (Pictures to come soon!)

-Lydia is scooting all around our home. She has yet to figure out how to crawl forwards but she has mastered the backwards crawl. It's a crack up. She has also began to pull herself up in her crib and on the couch. This is a little more scary for mom!

-Lacey is loving that she is done with tax season and is able to be a full time homemaker now. I am spending my time trying to learn some new skills. First and foremost the skill of couponing. It is fun and exciting. I will keep you updated on how it goes.

Life is so wonderful for us right now! Thanks for reading.

RIP PURPLE EEYORE

2011-04-06T17:59:00.000-07:00

Today I boxed away all of Lydia's 0-3 and 3-6 months clothes. She no longer fits in any of them. It's really kind of a sad process. But I handled it much better than Mark did. Well... Mark could care less about 99% of the clothes I put away but there was this one article of clothing that I literally had to rip out of his hands and put in the "too small" stack.

It was purple pjs with eeyore on them.

I have NO idea why he loved this specific pj so much. He was never really into Winnie the Pooh growing up. And of all the characters to love it seems strange to love eeyore. To be honest he always drove me absolutely nuts. I was a Tigger girl myself. And we have about 7 other beautiful and comfy set of pajama footies that lydia wears that are really cute. But whenever dad got her ready for bed she always came out wearing the same thing. Eeyore. Just now Mark and I had this conversation: "Mark? Why do you like Lydia's Eeyore pjs so much?" "Because they are her pajamas." "k.... she has tons of other pajamas too. Why was the eeyore set your favorite?" "I dunno. *pause* I guess because when I was at work and I pictured you and Lydia at home- I would always imagine her in her Eeyore pajamas. Thats what she was always wearing in my head." Awww... I don't know why that seems so cute to me but it does. I love my husband. And I guess I love Eeyore Pajamas.

Goodbye and rest in peace until we have another girl.

March Madness- Month 6

2011-03-25T08:55:00.001-07:00

Time for another monthly update!

First off--

A few pictures of our growing girl:

Lydia is getting so big. She turned 6 months on the 24th and it amazes Mark and I how much she learns and grows on a daily basis. She is sweet and loves to be the center of attention.

My friend Ashleigh had her little baby a month and a half ago and she was in town visiting her parents and also for he baby shower. These are a few pictures of her little Brynn:

*Best friends in the making?? :)

Then of course it was St. Patrick's Day!

We tried to celebrate with a bang.

Although you can't see it with her jacket on, her onesie says "Born Lucky".

Our family on St. Patty's Day

(Mark threw on the hat and bow of his dad's to add a little more green to the mix)

There is a couple in our ward that Mark and I really like. And this past week I had the opportunity to watch their little boy Maven a couple of times. He is 3 weeks older than Lydia.

It was SO funny to see them play together and how they responded to eachother.If you don't think that 6 month olds can flirt than you should see these two. It's hilarious.

They like to play together:

They like to hold hands:

But sometimes they do what all "couples" do.

Fight.

My two favorite parts of March are "march madness/ncaa tourney" and my sister Megan coming to visit with her kids.

We had SO much fun with them! Last night before BYU and Florida played (LAME ENDING HUH?) the kids created a play about "super jimmer". I included it at the bottom of this post. Total crack up.

But I laughed so hard at John's curly Jimmer hair. :)

Haley was the BYU cheerleader that got taken by the evil Florida player.

Mitch was the Florida Villan. Total criminal you can tell! :)

I love this SO much!!! There isn't a better noise in the world.

So Lydia has always laughed especially hard at Mark and my dad and I couldn't figure out why..... but then we realised that she found things REALLy funny when you have a deeper tone of voice. This is my sister Megan experimenting with it.

Super Jimmer !!!

Be jealous

2011-03-14T12:56:00.000-07:00

We are going to this in September and it is going to be amazing...

I absolutely can't wait.

http://denvercenter.org/shows-and-events/Shows/lesmiserables/home.aspx (WATCH THIS TRAILER!!!!)

This is going to be the best date ever.

So long! Fairwell!

2011-03-06T18:08:00.000-08:00

Facebook= deactivated.

Forever? probably not.

But for today and the next and the next and..... you get the idea.

Until I can learn to manage my time more efficiently--- its adios to you FB.

And the truth is....... it feels great.

My fashion/health favorites

2011-03-04T12:01:00.000-08:00

I always LOVE to hear about what people's favorite things are. The things that they swear by and use EVERY day and love love love.

So I thought I would do a post of some of my favorite things having to do with beauty/health.

First up:

I love lotion. I have more lotion than any girl should be allowed to have and I use it ALL the time. I LOVE my bath and body lotion alot but my very favorite of all time lotion is from VICTORIA SECRET. All of their stuff is SO good.

Right now I am using the Beauty Rush Hazelberry. Amazing. i might cry when it's gone.

Next:

I am still on the lookout for the "BEST" eyeliner out there. I have tried so many different kinds through the years and have yet to find one that is amazing in all categories.

-Color

-Durablility

-Stays on but isnt impossible to get off

-easy application

-Bottle lasts longer than a week

-ect

I still wouldn't claim that this is the best. But it is the best I have found. For awhile I raved about the "maybelline stelleto" liquid eyeliner but.... I dunno. It had too many negatives to it. This eyeliner is pretty awesome.

Do you have an eyeliner you swear by?? LET ME KNOW!

Oh Paul Mitchell.....

I love their hair products. It may be corny but I do... I love the smell. I love how it affects my hair. I just love it.

This is by far the best facial creme in the world. I am serious. This is amazing. My mother-in-law gave this to me otherwise I probably wouldnt have paid the price it costs to try it. But now that I have used it:

I will ALWAYS stay with it. It is worth every penny. Seriously.

My mom has some and after using it for a few months said that she will never buy anything else.

Flower's for hair...

I am just now starting this trendy fad. And I love it. I can't wait to buy more and more!

Especially since I am not a big jewelry person... this is a fun way to accesorize from day to day.

This little guy is my love. My parents bought this for my birthday like 3 years ago and it has been with me over hills of wyoming and farms of Idaho . Through rain and shine. It has counted more miles, seconds, and calories burned than you can imagine.

I love my GPS.

This isn't the exact water bottle I have but its close. I love it so much. I use it all day/ every day. Cups just don't do the job for me. This baby does.
Besides... you get to drink water from a straw. Who doesn't love that?

Calcium Supplement.
My Dr. and Mark ride me about this. It has become a staple in my mornings. I need my prenatal vitamin, calcium pill, and/or iron pill to start my day.

For Christmas this year Connie and Brian (my inlaws) bought me and Mark a crest shite strip package. You know, the kind with the strips, the toothpaste, the mouthwash. The whole deal.

I love it and it works.

Bath and Body Antibacterial hand gel.

Every since we had Lydia these babies have been a rock in my life. I have one in my diaper bag, in my purse, in the car,on my desk at work, and on my changing table. Pretty much anywhere I am at for extended periods of time.

I especially love bath and bodies version because it doesn't leave the normal smell but a yummy one afterwards. So you are clean and scented. :)

Nothing says summer to me than freshly painted toenails.
And what is the brightest and best looking color?
Red.
Deep red.

Last summer I couldn't even reach my toes so they were left pretty much alone. I am excited to be able to decorate them again.

Mentha lipgloss from bath and body.
Perfect taste/smell.
Perfect coloring.
Perfect look.

These are a must have.

You know how everyone has stores that they cant go in and buy anything because they would want to buy the whole store out?
Well I am unusual....

Because instead of shoes or fancy shirts--- I would rather buy an endless supply of matching sweats. I love them.

Whelp there you have it... I'm sure there a million more things that I could think of but that should do for today.

If you have a few moments- do the same. I love to read about new things to try.

Feb/Anniversary/Month 5

2011-02-27T18:35:00.000-08:00

It's been another busy month at the Sanders home!

First off Lyd had her first taste of baby food.

Very interested in it....

Truthfully? Not too impressed. The only thing this girl has liked immediantly was ice cream that we gave her on grandpa's birthday.

We will be sticking with mommas milk for awhile more. :)

I think I laughed all day when she wore this outfit. Her pink vest was ridiculously funny to me for some reason.

One of my good friends- Ally Taylor- gave us this puma outfit and I love it so much.

My sweet girl

SO much character

On Valentine's Day this year it marked our 5 year "dating anniversary".

Mark took me out to Armors while his parents watched Lydia. It was amazing food and SO nice to be able to have a romantic night to talk and laugh and reminisce.

Our 5 month old girl

Mark and I home for lunch one day. With both of us working and him taking 19 credits I don't feel like we ever see eachother. But I cherish the few moments we have. He does too--- unless I pull my camera out. :)

Daddy and Lyd

Momma and our Lydi Lou

Mark thought this was funny- so I uncluded it. haha

Our sweet girl

She is so beautiful and fills our hearts with joy. It's been a great 5 months!

Mark and I randomly have Lydia practice sitting up. She was doing much better before we turned the camera on. But you get an idea... its so fun and crazy to see her learn new things EVERY day.

Noteworthy news in our house?

-Mark has midterms coming up. Little stressful but not too bad.

-We are both still working but I am almost done working on a daily basis. From here on out I will work on appointment only. i have "regulars" that I do their tax returns every year. So I will probably go in once a week and do all of the drop offs for that week. Not too bad though. I am excited to have more time at home!

-P90x is good. We aren't as crazy about the diet any more. I mean.... we still eat healthy but 45 days without any sweets was pretty impressive if you ask me. We now use our weekends as "treat time" and work out hard and eat good during the weeks. Having fun though. It is a wonderful date that we get to do every night together.

-Mark is the elders quorem instructor and I am the ward chorister. Random tidbit for those who didn't know.

-Byu basketball is ammmmmmazing. One word. Jimmer.

That about covers it. I hope you all have had a wonderful month! Looking forward to March!

-Lacey, Mark and Lydia

4 months old and life's gettin fun!

2011-01-30T11:49:00.000-08:00

Our little lady is growing up so fast. She has the strongest personality and it makes our life so fun. Here are some "4 month" pictures for ya.

I hope you enjoy them half as much as we do. :)

This was not posed. I walked into our room and she looked just like this. Grabbed my camera and took the shot. I love it.

Big blue eyes and two curls on the sides of her head.

She doesn't get the "jump" part yet. She just wants to suck on it...

"Mom get this enormous white flower off my head and maybe I'll smile"

-headband last about 5 minutes at church. Hopefully we will grow into that flower.

Our goofy Lyd in her bumbo chair.

Lyd rolling over

It should be called a "Jenny suck up" if you ask me.

This was taken a month ago but I love it anyway. Right before Lyds bath she started giggling.

Happy 4 months to our sweet baby girl.

Mark and I are doing great. Mark is back in full swing with school and work and I am trying to be a taxpreparer, a mom, and a housewife all at once. It's hard work. But very fullfilling.

For those of you wondering- P90x is great! Almost done with month 1. Will keep ya updated.

The ol' switcheroo

2011-01-24T09:10:00.000-08:00

We were barely fitting in our bassinet and it was time for the ol switcheroo.

Lyd enjoying her last few moments in mom and dads room and in her bassinet.

Daddy trying to put together the crib.

Testing it out while we got the blankets ready

Full on crib set. It took a few days of getting used to but now she loves having her own room!

We even have a matching lamp. :)

(I could not get this picture turned the right way no matter what I tried.Sorry)

4 months old today. And growing up SO fast!

Inadequate

2011-01-23T20:56:00.001-08:00

I had a relief society lesson that really touched my heart today. Not to be too cheesy but it was about something I struggle with alot.

I never feel good enough.

Like... I'm not pouting. I am not trying to receive unnecessary praise from writing this blog post. And I really feel confident in myself overall. But then there are times that I look around at all the incredible woman I am surrounded by in awe at their achievements and I catch myself thinking "wow... I wish I could somehow be that way too."

FIRST OF ALL-I have the most incredible mother. I know everyone says that about their mom (as it should be) but I really do. My mother bore 12 children. She lost her little Kayla only hours after being alive. She is the most positive, intelligent, kind, thoughtful, beautiful, and hardest working woman I know. She never seeks for compliments or does service for any sort of recognition but she serves more than most know. She is truly the best woman I have known and ever will know.

AND ALSO- My sisters are all incredible. They have so many talents... in so many diverse areas. It's almost overwhelming. They sew, quilt, cook, bake, sing, are physically fit, their homes are clean and happy, their children are always loved, they are not idle with their time, they know how to save money and be financially secure, they are good listeners, active in their wards and incredible at their callings, and most of all they are good friends. We grew up in the same home and have had the same instruction and it sometimes seems as if maybe I just missed out on some of those talents.

FINALLY- Yes, my family is amazing. But sometimes the hardest blows are when I walk in to a friends apartment and see how beautiful they have made it. How creative they are with interior decorating. Some friends are good photographers. They have completed more education. They have more money. Some friends are so beautiful. They have incredible style and beautiful clothes. They are traveling and seeing the world.

A part of me just wants to give up. And the other competitive part of me wants to try to master every talent in a day... just so I can feel good enough.

I have a deep desire to be talented.

I have a deep desire to be a good homemaker. A good mother. I good friend.

But today I learned.... none of that is crucial. It is important but its not crucial.

As long as I am good enough for my savior than I am okay. It's just hard not too look under the harsh judgemental eyes of the world or even worse, my own eyes, and beat myself up about how lacking I am.

I hope someday to turn out like the beautiful and wonderful woman I am surrounded by. But if I don't... then thats ok:

Because I am me.

P90X

2011-01-19T13:21:00.000-08:00

January 10th, 2011

Mark and I began P90x. We have been wanting a way to go work out. Gym memberships are SO expensive and pretty much unrealistic because we have Lydia now. We heard about this program in July of this past year and have been researching it ever since. Finally, we decided to buy it for eachother for Christmas and give it a go.

It is so awesome. The first week Mark and i could barely move we were so sore. We are also following the nutrition guide and that was a struggle at first but its already become routine and we feel SO much better.

At the end of the first week we both lost exactly 3 pounds and were pretty happy with that.

We did take "before photos" and it will be interesting to see how our bodies change in this 90 day program. As of today we are 10 days in. Wish us luck. :)

Because we are "bringin it".

Ending 2010 with a BANG

2011-01-16T12:04:00.000-08:00

Christmas!!!

Mark loving his "stash"

Lydia playing with her new toy from Grandma and Grandpa Sanders!

Some of the things Santa brought Lydia for CHristmas
I did get more pics of her with her presents but I cant upload them for some reason. :(

Karli and Lydia with the dresses that Grandma and Grandpa McQuade

bought them. They were very cute! Thanks mom and dad!

My sis and I with our girls

Nap time for Uncle Mike and Lyd

1 year Anniversary!

Mark and I were able to dress up a little- go out to eat and just enjoy an evening with eachother

while my family watched Lydia. It was so nice to be able to talk and be together on a romantic date. I love my husband so much and I am so proud to be married to him.

Lydia was VERY spoiled by her cousins!!!

MURDER MYSTER NIGHT

One night we got all the kids in bed and just us adults did a Christmas murder mystery together. It was so much fun. We dressed up, acted our parts, laughed, and ate.

Here are a few pictures to show a bit about the night:

"Mrs. Claus" setting up the kitchen.

You should have seen all the holiday themeish treats mom made.

SHe is amazing.

Craig was Scrooge. He had the cane and all. Hilarious.

Maggie was the moneycruncher elf. Always worried about expenses.

She and I won second place in the costume contest!

(CUTEST pregnant elf. EVER.)

Mark the gingerbread man. ANd me- Pollie the Polar Bear

(My character was always starving and wanted the gingerbread man to eat!)

Mrs. and Santa Claus.

They were fabulous.

My parents rock.

Sean was the Little Drummer Boy

who loved to suck up to Santa. Haha.

David was the western elf of the North Pole

Doesn't he just look made to be an elf?

Monte was the shy elf of the North Pole. I think it was my favorite part of the whole thing to see him try to play something as a shy character.

Meg was the bossy elf of the North Pole.

Completely out of character for her and it was so funny to watch!

So Mike the snowman looks mega creepy. For a reason.

He was suppose to be a gangst snowman. He won best actor.(notice even the tinfoil teeth)

Kelly and Jeremy

dressed as nutcracker and reindeer

(Kelly won best costume! She made the whole thing herself!)

THe whole murder mystery gang!

Daddy and Lyd

Mommy and Lyd

Grandpa and Lydia celebrating in style

Happy New Years as a fam

Mark reading to the boys

Aweful

2011-01-14T15:11:00.000-08:00

Do you know what I am aweful at? When i feel behind on my blog I have less of a desire to post on it. It's just overwhelming to think of updating on everything that happened that i missed. But I also don't want to skip over any of it.

I think a project for this weekend for me is to do one massive post with pics to get me updated till now. Maybe then it will be easier for me to post more often.

I hate when I'm a bad blogger. I promised myself that I would never be one of those people that just read everyones blogs-never comments on them- and never writes on her own. But thats who i have been lately. It's got to change because that drives me nuts.

P.S. After some thought I am going to keep my blog and am trying to eventually get rid of facebook for everything except playing games with my fam on there and the mg page. It's just too big of a waste of time otherwise. We'll see how it goes.

Family Pics Dec 2010

2010-12-09T19:28:00.000-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

P.S. Thanks Tiarra Brummond for taking the awesome photos! All of those SUPER cute headbands can be found at her website- plus tons more! http://www.astoriadesigns.blogspot.com/

decisions decisions

2010-12-01T14:13:00.000-08:00

I am seriously thinking about giving up my blog....

Or facebook......

or both.

Hmmmmmm. Something to sleep on I guess.

Picture Update

2010-11-22T18:29:00.000-08:00

Sorry it's been a MONTH since I posted!!! Ridiculous. But I have had a hard time uploading pictures and since its working tonight I thought I would take advantage and just upload them all. For those of you who have facebook- you have probably seen all of these. But I know I have some family and friends that only view my blog for updates. So this ones for you.

Our happy fam.

October 24th 2010

*Lydia's 1 month mark

*Lydias first smile

Lydia's first snow.. she wasn't so sure about it.

Saturday before Halloween. Wearing her "wickedly cute" onesie.

Staring contest with daddy

Blessing day

With dad

And mom

Our family on her special day

With Mark's parents

And with my wonderful parents

Well that brings us up to 2 weeks ago.

Since then......

*We moved from our house to our apartment. LOVE it.

*Had a friend take pictures of Lydia today and they are awesome. I will probably post way too many and i cant wait.

*Thanksgiving this week!

*and....... thats all I can think about for now. Enjoy!

Once upon a diaper change....

2010-10-27T20:19:00.000-07:00

I had just fed Lydia and I was kinda sitting on my bed talking to Mark and thinking to myself "I should probably change Lydia's diaper". When there was an explosion in my hands. I looked down in alarm and surprise. This is what we found.......

Needless to say- Lydia ended up in the bath tub tonight. :)

Lydia's Firsts..

2010-10-13T20:35:00.000-07:00

FIRST WEEK OF LIFE

Full of sleeping, eating, and filling her diaper!

FIRST BATH

Her first bath was an adventure!! Mark and I had no idea what we were doing and little Lydia was so confused. It was actually hilarious and Mark and i laughed through the whole thing. We found that if we put a warm washcloth on her tummy and she had warm water on her bum and back- then she liked the bath. If we took the wash cloth off? She bawled.

*Also notice in the bottom picture her hair after it got wet. It looks like she inherited her mothers/grandmothers curls. :)

FIRST DAY AT CHURCH

On Saturday I had to go use a gift certificate that I had gotten to get Lydia a new dress. She didn't fit in any that we had INCLUDING all the ones in "newborn" size. She is so small. But this one worked well. I am hoping to feed her lots and lots this week so she might fit in one of her newborn dresses this week at church. :)

Lydia's first week at church went well. She slept through all of sacrament meeting. She got the hiccups in sunday school and kept people turning around to watch her. She had a near "blow out" (Too much info?) at the end of sunday school and so I was forced to find the mothers lounge for the first time. And she was the center of attention in relief society and did well in there. Mark did his best to get people away from her and tried to get people to not touch her. I was not as good. I have a hard time saying "no" when people specifically ask to hold her. I should have though.... which leads to my last "first" of Lydias.

First flu

My poor baby spend all monday throwing up on her momma. She was so scared and couldn't figure out why her little belly was hurting so bad. I could just see it in her eyes. So she and I sat together cuddling all day in moms bed. Usually with mom crying with Lydia. Thankfully it passed quickly and she didn't get too dehydrated.

It has been an eventful 3 weeks of "firsts" :)

823,498,234

2010-10-10T21:03:00.000-07:00

Reason #823,498,234 why I love Mark.

Picture this:
Yesterday I was completely sleep deprived. Feeling unappreciated. Frustrated that Lydia wasn't sleeping. Feeling completely unattractive because I STILL cant fit in all my prepregnancy clothes yet. Annoyed with having the stretched out belly that held Lydia in place for 9 months.

Mark walked in the room smiling and without even noticing that I was down about anything said "Man you are holding a cute baby! She is almost as cute as you!" And he walked over and gave me a good solid kiss.

(Not to mention he did all the dishes and straightened up our bedroom while I nursed Lydia. He is a hero!)

My mood immediantly was changed.

Reason # 823,498,235 why I love Mark

We randomly make mashed potatos, pasta, and open a can of pears and eat it at 9:45 at night. We lay out a little "picnic blanket" (so no crumbs get on our bed) out and eat on it on our bed while watching smallville.

Reason # 823,498,236 why I love Mark

On wednesday night at 3:30am...... after I had been up for 3 1/2 hours trying to get Lydia to stay asleep. (she would sleep in my arms but would freak if I set her down for a second. She usually is really good- just a hard night for us) Mark gets up from his side of the bed. Takes her and puts her in her carseat. Kisses me and tells me to get some sleep. And then goes on a drive with her until she fell asleep. (She LOVES driving. The engine must sooth her?) He is such a good dad.... but even more? An incredible husband.

Okay. I know most of you could care less about these tiny events.... but they mean the world to me right now and I would feel ungrateful if I didn't document them.

I am so grateful I married the guy I did. Anyone else would have been a step down.

Lydia Belle Sanders

2010-09-30T17:18:00.000-07:00

September 20th 4:00pm-
Doctors appointment for usual checkup. Doctor was concerned because my blood pressure had spiked up to a dangerous high after being in a great range all pregnancy. He explained that he was concerned I might have preeclampsia and that he was strongly hoping I naturally went into labor soon. He checked my cervix to find that I was already 3cm dialated and 80% effaced. He stripped my membranes and said that if I hadn't already had the baby naturally by thursday morning- I was to come back in to check my blood pressure. Until then I was to be on bed rest.

September 20th-23rd-
I was pretty spoiled these few days by my husband. He brought me all my meals in bed. Completely took over all the chores around the house. Cleaned it from up to down and catered to my every desire. He even took wednesday off from work so he could be home with me. I had random contractions and I would think I was about to go into labor but then it would stop. Grrr.

September 23rd 8:00am-
Went back into the doctors office and had my blood pressure again checked. No change. Well at least not a positive change. It had gone up again. The docor then confirmed that I had preeclampsia and that I was going to need to be induced asap. Mark and I were to show up to the hospital at 7:00pm that night to begin the process.

September 23rd 7:00pm-
Checked into the hospital. Sat nervously and excitedly in our room and waited for Dr. Vigneri to show up. It was so surreal. I will never forget a brief moment where Mark and I met eyes and kinda sheepishly smiled at eachother while each thinking "here we go!". The doctor put in a medicine thing in me (i forgot the medical name for it) that would ripen my cervix and that would prepare it for labor. It was to be in me for 12 hours straight. I think this was one of the worst parts of the whole labor process. I hope I never again have to be induced so that I don't have to deal with this part. I didn't sleep all night and was in a constant pain. Contractions arent fun but at least you have a few moments inbetween them to gather yourself. This medicine just made me hurt nonstop for 12 hours. Blah. But I was lucky to have such great nurses and to have Mark to coach me through it all.

September 24th 7:00am-
Dr showed up and took out the medicine out of my cervix. Then he checked to see my progress. 4cm. I was SO exhausted- both physically and emotionally but I was sure that the next part wouldn't be as long so I was positive and ready to begin the next part. He put a medicine in my IV to start me to have contractions. Eww. Not fun either but I at least felt like it was doing something.

wrong.

September 24th 12:00pm
Doctor checked progress. Nothing. Still 4cm. He was concerned that my blood pressure was even higher.

September 24th 3:00pm
I was hurting and more tired than i had ever been. Mark was a wreck. He had watched me sit in pain for 20 hours. Doctor came in to check me again. Again... 4 cm. No change. He sat down with us and told us that the reason my body wasn't responding to the contractions was because my blood pressure was so high. Everytime I had a contraction my body would tense up in pain and that would cause the blood pressure to spike. He strongly suggested an epidural to avoid putting the baby into distress and for my concern for my own personal health. )Preeclampsia can cause the mom to have seisures and strokes and rarely death) So, although Mark and I had decided strongly to avoid an epidural, we tried to roll with the punches.

September 24th 4:00pm
Anesthesiologist administered epidural. Didn't hurt at all. Just scary to try to be still while you are having contractions. I immediantly had relief from the pain. I fell straight asleep.

September 24th 5:00pm
Woke up to an extremely uncomfortable pressure. Allerted nurses. She checked me. 10cm dialated. Started "practice pushes". Code for real pushes trying to get you far enough along that the doctor wont have to sit around and wait forever. The odd thing at this point was that my epidural was no longer working. I had completely feeling of pain back in my entire body and could move my legs and body without any trouble. That is very unusual since the epidural isn't suppose to stop working until they took it out of you.

September 24th 6:20pm
Dr. Vigneri showed up. Had me push for him. Had to turn the baby around because she was faced the wrong direction. Pushing pushing pushing....... he told me to keep pushing hard or he was going to have to perform an incision.

September 24th 6:51pm
Final push. A small whimper and cry. I was holding my sweet and beautiful Lydia Belle. Then nurses then took her to clean her up and so Mark and I could hold her again. Best minute of my life so far....... except for maybe December 29th at 11:00am (mark and i getting married).

Well there is our story.... It was the longest 24 hours of my life and some of the most painful. But looking back all I can remember with perfect exactness was the feeling I had in my heart the second I first held her. I was immediantly bawling with happiness and relief. I will never forget looking at Mark hold her for the first time. His face in awe. I love this day more than I can ever explain in words.

It was the perfect birthday.
Happy 23rd birthday to me and happy "BIRTH"day to my little Lydia. We are going to party together for the rest of my life.

And here are some pictures from the day. I told myself I would document everything but I was so overwhelmed that I was lucky to get these.... anyway.. here they are (in backwords order. I ALWAYS do that. Sorry)

Lydia's first car ride and first unofficial outing.

She hated first getting in her carseat but was immediantly asleep the second the engine started.

Great Grandma Sallstrom

Grandpa McQuade

Who says I cant have a cake and blow out a candle on my birthday??

What the hospital doesn't know cant hurt them. :)

(I LOVE FRUIT PIZZA! THANKS MOM!)

Grandpa Sanders AKA "Papi Brian"

Grandma McQuade

The two grandmas trying to figure who the baby looks like

Grandma Sanders AKA "Mimi Connie"

"I'm a daddy?!?"

Only Mark could look that cute after the 24 hours we went through.

Full term

2010-09-13T19:26:00.000-07:00

Well I am passed the "27 week" mark and so I am now officially considered full term. Technically I could have the baby any day. But I know that if I start thinking that way that these next 3 weeks are going to drrrag by even more than they are. So I decided that our baby is going to be born on October 1st. Just because I think that being able to say your birthdate was "10/01/10" would be cool. "10/10/10" would be the coolest but being a week late isn't worth it. :)

It's been a while since i have updated. And I'm going to do a small list of things going on in our lives.

* Mark's school started and he is working at North Platte Physical therapy as well. Mark's really good at school. Not just that he is smart (obviously I think he is) but he just knows how to get good grades without too much stress. He and I are opposite type of students. Mark gets his homework done immediantly and sometimes weeks in advance. He studies for his classes EVERY night. Even when he doesnt have a test the next day. He goes in to his anatomy lab on saturdays so that he can study extra. Truthfully I can tell you that I NEVER did one of those things when i was a student. I love my little nerd.

* I think Wyoming is so desperate to have people stay and go to school here that they literally bribe you to stay. Not complaining. Scholorship money is a huge blessing for us!

* Labor day weekend we set up our bassinet, changing table, put the carseat in the back of our car, and folded and put all her newborn clothes away in drawers. Pretty much set for her to be here.
--- But still on the to do list---
*FIND and BUY a diaper bag that I like. (any tips are welcome!)
* Last minute deep cleaning to the house
* Pack a "hospital bag"
*Order baby blessing dress that we liked.

*Mark's grandma passed away yesterday. We wish that we could go to the funeral but I'm not allowed to travel- especially since Oklahom is a 17 hour drive away. But his parents are going and we are house sitting for them while they are gone. Her name was Gloria Bell Sanders. And she was an incredible woman and will be missed.

*Mark and I love to watch tv series together. Right now we are watching "How I Met Your Mother". We have two epsodes left in season 4. Season 5 is available to rent/buy in a week. Cant wait.

Whelp thats about it. I'm sure I will report again soon. As for now- we are blissfully happy. We love the fall season (yes jill. I said fall). And we are trying to store up all the sleep we can get in preperation for our little one.

Until next time...

Random Loves

2010-08-24T20:36:00.000-07:00

25 Random Loves

1. Berry smoothies for breakfast or on a hot afternoon.
2. Going for a long and hard run on a early saturday summer morning when no one else is out and all you can hear is the beat of the music on your ipod.
3. The feeling of how soft my hair is when I straighten it.
4. Spending an entire day playing games with my family.
5. Watching college football or basketball with my dad and with Mark.
6. When my toenails are freshly polished and my calloused feet are soft and smooth after a pedicure.
7. The feeling of my tongue being completely burned off from eating too many sour patch kids.
8. Wearing new clothes for the first time.
9. The excitement of the first day of school.
10. Taking a walk on a crisp autumn morning.
11. Sleeping in till 11 on saturdays and then having the liberty to stay in bed another hour just talking with Mark about things.
12. Those days when everything just is "right". Your clothes fit right. Your makeup goes on without a smear.Your hair falls perfectly without a fuss. And you can smile and think "I look dang good today".
13. Going to a temple that I have never been in before.
14. Laying on a beach all day and getting tan.
15. Ordering a large pizza in on a friday night and watching movies with Mark.
16. Keeping sentimental things and then finding them years later and laughing and crying about them.
17. Remembering and reliving every second of my senior year basketball season.
18. Getting a massage.
19. When you talk to a friend that lives far away from you and realise that your friendship has only gotten stronger and more helpful with time.
20. Everything associated with winter:The first snow of the year, your nose freezing while walking outside, hot chocolate, christmas carols, christmas lights, waking up early on christmas morning.
21. Making a list in the morning and actually getting everything on it done.
22. Going for a drive with my siblings and rolling the windows down and turing the music up and just singing until we are horse.
23. Those rare and breathtaking sunsets that seem to last for hours.
24. Who's line is it anyways? Gilmore Girls. FRIENDS. Watching Americas Next Top Model marathon on a saturday when you are sick.
25. Rewatching my wedding video.

Bubble Baths

2010-08-23T20:14:00.001-07:00

My back has been killing me lately. I have found a small and short term remedy is a bubble bath. I look forward to it all day. And while I am taking my bath I have my computer on this stand thing and have it playing an epside of Gilmore Girls. Its so wonderful....

The only thing that would make it better? Blue rasberry/white cherry icee. Oh wait. My husband had to fill the car up with gas and brought me one home. Glee. Don't plan on hearing from me for the next hour. i am going to enjoy one of my favorite parts of the day.

Blogoversary

2010-08-16T17:07:00.000-07:00

Apparently today is my "blogoversary". It has been around now for 3 years of my life. I started it mostly to keep my thoughts somewhere while Mark was gone. But it has changed since then.

I love my blog. I love to go back and read through different stages and events that have happened to me in the past 3 years.

Someday I am going to copy and paste every blog I have written and put it in a word document format and then print it out and make it a book. Kind of a personal journal for me to have. Maybe someday when I have more modivation......

Anyway- Happy blogoversary to me! :)

And...... Just FYI. My baby is now over 4 pounds and over 17 inches long. Getting close to "birth weight". I am so excited to see her........ it seems like all my friends that were once pregnant with me are now happily enjoying there little babies and I am alone on this journey. Blah. Except for Char and Ashleigh of course. :)

Thats all for today.

Heads up

2010-08-14T10:41:00.000-07:00

Was anyone else completely disturbed and annoyed by this song/music video?????????

**Warning***

Heads up: Don't actually watch the video below unless you want to loose 5 good minutes of your life and be traumatized for days.

I didn't like listening to the song on the radio to begin with. Then someone told me to go watch the music video because it was so "sick". They were right in one aspect. It did literally make me sick. I am actually infuriated with the whole thing. And they wonder why domestic violence is a bigger problem today than in the past? Hmmm... maybe don't glorify it in videos. Good idea.

I just cant believe this has been at the "top of the charts" for a few weeks now. Really shows Americas lack of taste in music and in classiness.

Heads up

2010-08-14T10:39:00.000-07:00

Was anyone else completely disturbed and annoyed by this song/music video?????????

**Warning***

Heads up: Don't actually watch the video below unless you want to loose 5 good minutes of your life and be traumatized for days.

I just cant believe this has been at the "top of the charts" for a few weeks now. Really shows Americas lack of taste in music and in classiness.

Our tree/August Rush

2010-08-13T09:00:00.001-07:00

"Our" Tree

Aug 7th 2007

Day before Mark left for MTC

August 12th 2009

Day after Mark got home from mission

August 11th 2010

Celebration of him being home 1 year.

We love our tree and plan on taking pictures by it in August every year we possibly can. It brings us back to that very first year we fell in love and all the events of our journey since.

~~~August Rush~~~

1.) 48 days until our baby girl is due!

2.) 2 weeks left of Mark working full time before he starts school again

3.) SO proud of my youngest brother Sean... he received his mission call yesterday to the San Jose, CA mission! He reports to the MTC on October 20th.

4.) My brother Mike gets home from his mission in South Korea in 6 days!

5.) BYU's first football game is in 22 days 06 hours 46 minutes. And yes. I am that excited.

6.) 205 total blog posts I have written

It's a great month and I don't think I have ever been so happy in my life! :) :) :)

Routine

2010-08-05T08:53:00.000-07:00

I am so happy right now. It's one of those times in your life where you cant find anything that is really going wrong and all you can see is good. Mark and I are house/animal sitting for his parents this week. And we have a routine that makes me smile.

-Mark comes home from work at 5 and he patiently sits quietly while I jabber about every detail of my day.
-I cook us dinner.
-We eat dinner at the table and he tells me about his day.
-We spend the evening doing our own kind of thing.
-Mark fills up a bucket full of ice and water and while we watch "whos line is it anyways" I ice my feet to get my pregnancy swelling down. Then for the remainder of the show I lay my head on Marks lap and put my feet at the top of the couch to elevate them.
-I take a hot bubble bath to relax my back muscels and Mark gets the house all locked up and ready for the night.
-He puts on my compression stockings (ouch) and we say our prayers and go to bed by 11:30.

I love it. Every tiny and mundane part. I am excited to sleep in my own bed again but I will miss the routine we have developed here.

3/4 done

2010-07-24T21:55:00.000-07:00

30 WEEKS PREG AND COUNTING

I found this little survey thing on Char's blog and since I don't have much to blog about I thought I would give it a shot.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1.) What was the last thing you put in your mouth?

-An icee. And not just any icee... it's Mark and my favorite. A perfect mix between blue rasberry and white cherry. Perfection.

2.)Name someone who made you laugh today?

-Hmm... thats tough- I laugh alot. But I'm going to go with my mom. We sat back and kinda watched dad and Mark pack the cars for the reunion. The boys were "sure" that everything would fit. And we had a good time seeing that not happen. She cracks me up.

3.)How late did you stay up last night and why?

- Well we turned the lights out at about 1:00 (we are always up a little later on date night). I layed awake in bed with thoughts running through my mind for about the next hour or two. This has become a pattern. Thankfully I was able to sleep in!

4.) Ever been kissed under the fireworks?

-Short answer? yes.

5.)Which of your friends lives closest to you?

-I'm assuming this doesn't include my spouse. So Megan and Ryan.... they live right down the street! :)

6.) How do you feel about Dr. Pepper?

- I'm curious why the questioner chose that specific pop. Random. But ummm. I guess my thoughts can be described in the word "gross".

7.) When was the last time you cried really hard?

- On tuesday night. I broke one of our serving dishes that was a wedding present and it shattered all over the kitchen floor. The reason I was so bummed about this (and lets pretend it didnt have to do with my crazy preggo hormones) was it was kinda special to us. When we got it I was going to return it to the store and get something else because i didn't think we would use it. Mark insisted we would. So I caved and let him keep it. He was right. We used it probably 3 times a week. I miss it already.

8.) Who was the last person you took a picture of?

- Awkwardly enough- me. Took the picture above last sunday for my "30 week picture".

9.) Was yesterday better than today?

- No way! Saturdays I get Mark ALL day and don't have to share him with stupid work. :)

10.)Can you live a day without TV?

- Well considering Mark and I are too cheap to pay for cable of any kind and we don't own any of those antana (no idea how to spell that) things- so ya. We live every day without tv. If I REALLy wanted to watch something I could go to my in laws or watch it online later. No big.

11.)Are you upset about anything?

- My back kinda hurts...... not gonna lie.

12.)Do you think relationships are ever really worth it?

- Depends with who. I am married so obviously i have some faith in the practice. But I have been in relationships that drain me and bring me down. Those worth it? I dunno..... probably not. Which is why I am no longer in them. :)

13.)Night out or night in?

-Night in every single time. Grab my a pizza to split with Mark, a red box, and pjs and I am a happy camper.

14.)What items could you not go without during the day?

-Impulsively I typed phone and computer but I think I would be juts fine without them if I had to. Literally the item that I couldn't do without is my contacts. My glasses are crooked and give me a head ache.

15.) Who was the last person you visited in the hospital?

- I have NO idea. I don't know that many people that have been recently. Mark's dad was in there like a year and a half ago........ But on a more recent note- On wednesday Mark and I went over to Ryan and Megan's house to "welcome them home" from the hospital. They just had their baby boy.

16.)What does the last text message in your inbox say?

-"Haha! I can't wait until you read my status. I have a feeling it will bring back memories of me dropping out of school last summer" - from the one and only Lauren Waters

17.) Say you were given a drug test right now, would you pass?

- I have never done drugs in my life but everytime I had to go in and take one of those tests before I worked somewhere I would get nervous. Figure that one out. The only thing they might find is an irregular level of sugar in my blood.

18.)What do you miss?

- Usually I would put family but I get to see almost all of them in a couple days. So instead I am going to put my brother Mike serving a mission in South Korea (HOME IN A MONTH), Stacey Hainline, Lauren Waters, and Ashleigh Brown.

Oh, and I realllly miss fitting in my clothes. Like- REALLY bad.

19.) What song is stuck in your head?

- Live like you were dying. Mark and I cleaned the house today and had my ipod on random.... this one came on and for some reason stuck.

20.)Someone knocks on your window at 2:00am. Who do you want it to be?

-Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. For sho.

21.) Do you want to have grandkids before your 50?

-Totally. I'm about to have a baby and I'm 22. Chances are good right? Besides I want plenty of time to be active and a part of their lives and so they remember other parts of me than my crazy scenile days.

22.) Name something you have to do tomorrow?

-Church. Dinner with in-laws.Finish packing for reunion. Finalize devotional Mark and I are giving. SLEEP.

Love Like Crazy

2010-07-16T14:54:00.000-07:00

On our trip home from Colorado a few weekends ago Mark turned the radio on. We had to skim through the staticy stations and found the only one available yet was a country station. When an unfamiliar song came on I was surprised when Mark started singing loudly to it. This is rare. He usually only sings loudly to the songs he loves. I must of had a confused look on my face because he just smiled and winked and kept singing. Interested I listened closely to the lyrics. This is what followed:

They called him crazy when they started out
Said seventeen's too young to know what loves about
They've been together fifty-eight years now
That’s crazy

He brought home sixty-seven bucks a week
He bought a little 2 bedroom house on Maple Street
Where she blessed him with six more mouths to feed
Yeah that’s crazy

Just ask him how he did it; he'll say pull up a seat
It'll only take a minute, to tell you everything
Be a best friend, tell the truth, and overuse I love you
Go to work, do your best, don't outsmart your common sense
Never let your prayin' knees get lazy
And love like crazy

They called him crazy when he quit his job
Said them home computers, boy they'll never take off
He sold his one man shop to Microsoft
They paid like crazy

Just ask him how he made it
He'll tell you faith and sweat
And the heart of a faithful woman,
Who never let him forget

Be a best friend, tell the truth, and overuse I love you
Go to work, do your best, don't outsmart your common sense
Never let your prayin knees get lazy
And love like crazy

Always treat your woman like a lady
Never get too old to call her baby
Never let your prayin knees get lazy
And love like crazy

They called him crazy when they started out
They've been together fifty-eight years now

Ain't that crazy?
***************
My mouth kind of went dry as the emotions hit me a little bit. I thought about my grandparents, my parents, and mostly us. The small pieces of advice that could help keep our marriage alive and intact for 58 years.

Now, I'm not too worried about our marriage falling apart any time soon. :) But there are days when I think it takes a little more work than others to not want to strangle eachother for minor personality differences.

I just loved a few of the lines because they are things Mark and I have tried to do since day one of our relationship.

"Overuse I love you" -used to drive my roommates nuts
"Be a best friend" -Being a best friend isn't a passive thing. It takes work to always know that person better than anyone else. It takes quality time and memories. It takes patience and understanding.
"Love like crazy" - self explanatory

The part that hits me personally?
"Never let your prayin knees get lazy." - Me? Get lazy?......................... ya.
"Do your best"
"Go to work"

I love the song. Mostly because of that memory in my mind of watching my southern boy belt out a "good ol' country tune" at the top of his lungs and having him wink at me at the part when it says "never get too old to call her baby". Hard not to love every part of him then huh?

I love him. More every day.

"Now aint that crazy?"

June/July update

2010-07-13T15:40:00.000-07:00

It's been a fun month!

On the 29th of June we celebrated our 6th month anniversary of being married by going out to eat at one of our favorite restaurants.

Had a BIG bowl of Queso dip and shared an entree because its WAY too much food after eating their amazing chips and salsa.

Mark then took me to Eclipse. It killed me not to be at the opening night. I have never missed one yet. And although, the excitement of the midnight showing was missin and I DID miss my old roommate Stacey, I think my cute date made it all the better.

(Except of course when Mark felt like he needed to comment THE ENTIRE MOVIE on how much he hated Bella for being indecisive and for kissing Jacob while engaged to Edward. And that Jacob needed to grow a brain and back off.Etc. Yikes.)

But I loved it! :)

That weekend we traveled down to Colorado Springs and spend the long holiday with my sister Megan and her family. It was SO fun! And while we were there we were able to see my other sister Kelly and her fam.

It was a great weekend!

And in church when we sang the national anthem and I wept uncontrollably (partial pregnancy hormones and partial love for my country) I just had a stronger feeling than I ever have had at how blessed I am to be an American!

And now we wait.... for LOTS of excited events. But the closest one is my family reunion in Bear Lake. Cant wait!

Until then though- I look like this-

100 days

2010-06-22T17:41:00.000-07:00

My blog countdown says we have 100 days to go until our little girl is here! :) That makes me so happy and, oddly enough, kinda sad. I never thought I would say this but- I'm going to miss parts of being pregnant!

And when I say parts..... mostly just feeling her kick and move and feeling so close to her. I love that.

Things are going really well for Mark and I right now. He is working full time at North Platte Physcial Therapy as an aide. Its wonderful because he is getting work experience which should help us get into a good PT school AND (the best part) he is getting paid. I am babysitting/nannying in the mornings and am going to start some part time work for my dad that he needs done. I have a project to do that should take me a week or two of work. But I'm thankful for it!

In our free time we exercise or talk or eat fruit. We love fruit right now. mmmmm. Especially strawberrys!

Confession- something I wish I had more of and that I was more "fashionable" with? Accessories. ESPECIALLy jewlery. I have never really been one to wear much jewelry... just my wedding ring and the journey diamond necklace Mark bought me for christmas like 3 years ago. But I think those bold and dramatic necklaces are sooo cute with the right outfits and I wish I knew more about how to "wear them" and where to get them without them being extremely expensive. Why dont we have a Forever 21 store in casper? I dunno. Stupid.

Thats about all that has come to my mind right now. I am blissfully happy and am trying to ignore my excitement for this little one coming and focusing on the wonderful and relaxing life of "just mark and I".

P.S. Thanks for the ideas on new foods to cook. i have been trying them out! :)

Please Help!!

2010-06-14T22:51:00.001-07:00

Mark and I are in a food rut. I feel like we eat the same meals every week. I am looking for some new fun recipes!!!

Here are some of the guidlines:
- Don't make me go buy too many random ingredients that I have never used before. I am just learning how to cook and I get immediantly turned off when the recipe calls for something that I haven't even heard of!

-Prep time preferrably not over an hour

-More on the healthish side if possible.

-YUMMY

And thats it... please please comment and give me some ideas. Whether it be a typed out recipe, a link to a recipe, or just the name of a well known dish that I might be forgetting about.

Thank you all!

I'm all about the ex...

2010-06-07T22:26:00.000-07:00

EXERCISE!

Mark and I wake up at 6am and swim for 30- 45 minutes together at the rec center. Then at night while he either lifts or runs sprints I walk for 45min- an hour. Its fabulous. My feet hurt after being on them that long. But it makes me feel better about my growing belly knowing that I am at least healthy.

And I get soooo tired soooo early. Which is why this blog is so short. Good night all!

P.S. Congrats to my sister-in-law Jill! They just had a baby boy on Sunday!

I'm the Top Chef

2010-06-06T19:14:00.000-07:00

Wow. I can't even make grilled cheese sandwiches without an incident. :)

Take 1:

Take 2:

Finally... cooked to perfection.

Something to remember: When cooking on an oven you aren't use to- don't forget to check the sandwiches often. Otherwise they will be charcoal.

Thank heavens Mark is a good sport! :)

Healthy Shmealthy

2010-06-03T10:32:00.000-07:00

Why is it that every person I know is on a "healthy kick" right now. Mark's parents are dieting, my parents are going without sugar, my husband is trying to get back into his "premission shape" (whatever that means), and all of my friends are dieting. It seems like that support would have been extremely helpful a year ago when I was dieting and working out because i was getting ready for Mark to get home. Such is life.

As it is.... with everday I am getting rounder and a little more uncomfortable. It's funny. When i sit up normally my stomach goes over my pants and touches my legs. Weird.

I have been exercising alot though. Mark and I wake up at 6am 3-4 times a week and we go and swim laps together and then at nights while he lifts I walk around the track for 45 minutes. It makes me feel good. It definitely doesn't make me thinner though. Haha.

I'm crossing my fingers that at least SOMEONE will be wanting to be healthy with me come November when I am trying to get the baby fat off. We'll see...

As for now.... I am happy being the one weirdo that isn't dieting and whos waist is not getting smaller because I am now 17 weeks away from D day. :)

The excting events of week 21

2010-05-26T09:51:00.000-07:00

This past week was 21 weeks!!!!

Many fun and exciting things happened that I wanted to share.

Fun facts:

1) Our baby is 10 1/2 inches long from foot to head

2) She weighs 12 or 13 ounces ( i cant remember which the doctor said) which is in the 73rd percentile.

3) I have felt several "kicks" and most happen at night after having a good snack.

4) Some of the "beautiful changes" I get to go through right now according to my book. Developing vericose veins, acne, stretch marks, and swelling of feet and hands. (Hopefully I will miss out on some of these right???)

I love these little pictures because it helps put how big the baby is in perspective.

It's weird to think something that long is just chillin in my belly!

And the 2nd piece of exciting news this week.................

WE ARE HAVING A BABY GIRL!

I am SO excited! I just started bawling at the Dr.s appointment. I have no idea why. Maybe because there is nothing better than just hearing the words "she looks perfectly healthy".

Here are some ultrasound shots. I know I was never able to figure out other peoples but now that it is mine it is as obvious as if it were a picture out of the womb. So just humor me okay? :)

She is beautiful.

Murder Mystery Party

2010-05-16T19:53:00.001-07:00

Me= 19 weeks Preggo

~*~MURDER MYSTERY PARTY~*~

Kelly reading the intro to us!

Connie was this creepy chick that dressed in all black and was super into technology.

Brian was a "bad biker dude" complete with the leather jacket and backwards baseball cap.

Kelly was a creepy fortune teller lady. Her costume was hilarious!

Mom was a huntin' fightin' explorer woman!

Dad was Dexter the nerd. He was rich and was all about "saving the environment"

Ironically mom and dads characters hated eachother and were fighting all the time.

(Don't you love dad's center part and bow tie?)

I was Twila the most popular girl in school. I was dating the athletic hunk too. (see pic below)

Mark was the hunk of the school... and the best swimmer in the nation.

Jeremy was a foreign exchange student and is sportin the "pedro stash"

He tried to make up an accent the whole time. It was hilarious.

Mom and dad eating

The theme was a Luau....

Here are our yummy drinks!

Megan's kids and Theater Movie Night

2010-05-03T19:42:00.000-07:00

I found some pics on Mark's camera and I thought I would upload them. When Meg's kids were here my dad made a "Theater Movie Night".

Here are some pics

Week 16

2010-04-16T10:17:00.000-07:00

I have been taking pictures but still no camera cord. I just need to go buy one. I am definitely showing now. Not in a "wow she is pregnant way" but in a "pretty sure thats a baby bump and not a fat belly" way. I am happy about this change.

Tax season is over. Amazing. It was an exceptionally looong season for me. I am looking forward to the extra time I will have to actually do what I should have been doing since we got married. Cleaning, cooking, shopping... you get the idea. And with most of my morningsick symptoms gone now I am going to start this full force immediantly. Mark and I are going to clean the house to get it ready for my best bud Stacey to come visit. She will be here for the weekend before her school semester starts on monday. Well I better put my contacts in so I can clean. Here is a short message from Mark (that I am making him write. I figure since the blog has both our names at the top he needs to contribute once in awhile). Love you all.

_______

Umm, Hello. This is Mark. I'm really glad Lacey is done with tax season so I can see her more often. She's pretty funny as a prego lady, but it just makes me love her all the more. Her raging hormones is a great way to put a smile on both of our faces because I never know why she freaks out sometimes, and most of the time she doesn't know either. I'm just finishing up school for this semester and looking forward to next fall semester. I'm also observing a physical therapist here in town and everyday I go in it reassures me that I want to be a Physical Therapist.

Even though Lacey is worried about not looking pretty, I think she's as beautiful as ever, and I love her more and more everyday. She's getting that pregnant woman glow about her and I love it. I'm glad that she's pretty much over the morning sickness part so that she can start enjoying being pregnant and looking forward to when we bring our child into the world. It's going to be the best. Anyways, that's me and pretty much what I'm thinking at the moment. Gotta go clean.

12 weeks

2010-03-19T09:06:00.001-07:00

My baby is growing!

I am showing.... but not very much. Most people would just see me and think "she has gained 5 pounds" rather than thinking "she must be pregnant". So I will wait until I can post a picture of me where you can actually tell I'm pregnant.

Instead I thought I would post a picture of how big the baby is now. The size of a lime. :)

Morning sickness isn't gone yet but I have faith it will eventually end. I am SUPER thankful for my sisters and my mom that I can call and talk to about it. Makes me not feel like I am not such a baby and that I am not just making this up.

I am needing more sleep than I have ever had in my life. I fall asleep at 10pm every night and still wake up tired. Its bizarre.

Anyway... there is my boring (for you) and exciting (for me) update on pregnancy. Will update again in a few weeks.

Not much to say...

2010-03-13T18:51:00.000-08:00

I keep wanting to write a new post but I just don't feel like there is really anything noteworthy to share. My weeks consist of the alarm going off at 7:45am. Me growling and falling asleep for another 15 minutes. Then scrambling to get ready in time to go to work at 9. I work from 9-5. Go home completely EXHAUSTED. Mark makes us dinner because the smells are still too much for me. (He is sooo great!) We eat, watch a show together, and i fall asleep half way through. Then we do it all again the next day.

Pretty boring. But the best life ever. Definitely not complaining.

2 Noteworthy things to share

1. Mark and I were driving to my parents house and it had snowed all weekend long. However, it had been bright and sunny all day and the roads were completely clear and the weather was beautiful. When we got in the car Mark blasted the heat so it would defrost our windows. But within 5 minutes of driving I got really sick from the heat (one of my crazy pregnancy things) and I told Mark "I need some cool air and i need it quick". He then opened the sunroof to our car. About 12 full inches of snow fell on top of our heads, in our clothes, and filled the car. We both froze and just sat there for a moment without moving. Then we burst out laughing and tried to throw snowballs out the window to get some of the snow out. It was hilarious. I love our adventures! :)

2. A week and a half ago we heard our little babies heartbeat. It was the best part of pregnancy so far. It actually made it seem real. Everyone said "you'll cry" but I didn't believe them. I just thought I would be so happy that I wouldn't feel like crying. But they were right and I was wrong. I cried. I cant wait to hear it again and better yet..... to find out what color of clothes we will be buying a little blessing. Pink or blue. :)

Oh, and official due date is October 3rd. I am guessing I will be late and it wont be until October 7th, but thats just me...

Sorry my life is so boring but thought I would put a few things down for my own peace of mind.

The "Feel Good" Shoes

2010-02-23T11:12:00.001-08:00

My mom is the best.

Mark and I went over to my parents house on Saturday and she had two pairs of shoes on the counter. They were the tiniest newborn shoes you could imagine and they made my heart happy. My mom said that I was suppose to take them home and put them somewhere will they will lift me up when I get discouraged. I joked about putting them right by the toilet since I seem to be there throwing up alot lately. Mark's only comment was (after inspecting them for a few minutes) "Do their feet really fit in there??" :) I love him.

The next day was Sunday and I was NOT in good condition. The second we made it home from church I had to run in because I was so sick. Mark quietly walked in the bathroom while I was throwing up and without saying anything he set the baby boys shoes down on the ground beside me and then left.

This was one of those moments where I just fell in love with him all over again. Mark feels so helpless when I am sick and it drives him nuts. But I thought it was funny he went and got the boys shoes and not the girls shoes. I asked him later about that and he just shrugged and said "babe were having a boy, it only made sense". It is on......

**** Please note that the shoes my mom bought were WAY cuter than these are. I just STILL cant find my camera cord so i couldnt take a real picture of them and had to settle for some online ones that were kinda close.

Our first Month of Marriage

2010-02-18T12:02:00.000-08:00

Some important things I have learned in the month and a half that Mark and I have been married....
1. If he steals the covers in the middle of the night and I wake up cold he is going to get an ear full. If the situation happens in reverse? Hold on tight because he just pulls without a word.
2. Hollywood has totally glorified kissing when you first wake up. Morning breath= worst thing in the world.
3. Having a husband that will make you dinner and keeps things tidy is amazing.
4. Having a sense of humor in every aspect of marriage is the best.
5. Having both sets of parents in town= awesome! Having a house of our own to go home to= even better.
6. I am definitely not an amazing "housewife" over night. This might take some getting used to....
7. Having him introduce you as his "wife" is the best thing in the world.
8. Spending ever waking hour (besides when we are at school and work) together is the highlight of my life. It's like being with your best friend growing up..... but its a million times better because you NEVER get sick of eachother and you just love eachother more all the time.
9. Nightly foot rubs= necessity of life.
10. Kneeling as a new "family" in prayer has never felt so "right". I love it.

*Biggest adventure of month one? We are expecting a little baby and we are SOO excited! Couldn't be more so! If you have a second vote on my blog poll.... just so you know- Mark's "sure" its a boy and I think its a girl. :) We'll see who is right.

And I put up a little widget thing showing what our baby looks like. Honestly it doesn't look like a baby right now... more like an alien. But someday it will be one and thats what matters.

**** I have pictures of out one month celebration but I cant find my camera cord anywhere. Blast..... to come soon-- I hope!

Wedding Pics and tax season...

2010-01-23T13:21:00.000-08:00

I know it's been forever since I have posted....

But here are some of my favorite wedding pics- enjoy! :)

December 29, 2009

The best day of our lives!!!!

Sorry it's taken me so long to update. Turns out that not having the internet at your house makes it difficult to update your blog. :) I just have it at work and until today I haven't had time to write anything.

So tax season has started and beginning next week my life with my husband will be all but nonexistent. I was already working 10 hour days this week... and next week it will probably turn to 13 hours days at least. blah. But its the hours, the pay, and the overtime that matter right? RIght.

Being able to pay for groceries= necessary

Mark is doing really well with his classes. ALready has scored A's on his first two tests. What a stud. He makes my life.

short update

2010-01-10T13:59:00.000-08:00

I am alive and happy!!! Sorry for the drought of posts... I currently don't have the internet and get on whenever I am at my parents or inlaws house. But the wedding was incredible and married life is amazing.

More to come soon.

Love you all- MRS. Lacey Sanders! :)

"Mrs. Sanders"??

2009-12-27T18:30:00.000-08:00

I got a wedding card today that was addressed to Mr and Mrs Sanders.... "Mrs Sanders"???
Today was the last time....

*I went to church with my parents as a "single" girl.
*Mark would drop me off at my front door to say good night.
*I will sleep in my bed and have it be "my room".
*I will be in Casper as a "McQuade girl"
*I will hang out with my little brother and my parents and just play games. (without Mark)

I am so excited. I am so weirded out. i am a little sad. I have never been much for change of any kind. Once the transition has been made I do wonderfully but its just being stuck in the "almost category". I am so glad I will never have to be "almost married" again.

I am just babbling now. I need to finish packing up my memories of my many adventures in this house to move into a new house where I will begin a new life with new adventures.

I am so excited to be a "Mrs. Sanders" but I will miss being a "Miss McQuade"... *sigh* how fast life goes.

Well heres to the next step of life. Here I come married world.

Mark's dance video to Kelly Clarkson

2009-12-23T01:01:00.000-08:00

In honor of us getting married in 6 days.......

We were both sleep deprived and tired on our way home. This was Mark's way of staying awake. * FYI: This was not scripted. These are Mark's actual dance moves to my homegirl "Kelly".

**Please also note his blue tongue. He ate a blue rasberry taffy before. Delicious.

Once upon last night...

2009-12-18T10:34:00.000-08:00

It was the night before my last two finals. My two BIG finals. I was sitting on the couch next to Mark when.... the lights, the tv, EVERything went black. I figure my apartment complex blew a circuit or something but when we looked outside at the temple it was dark as well.

As it turned out.... From St. Anthonys to Idaho Falls (rexburg is in the middle of those) the power was COMPLETELY out. Apparently a big transporter thing blew up. (don't know what that means. Mark just told me) Anyway... it was kind of a blessing in disguise. Instead of all the productive and stressful thing I could have been doing (studying, cleaning, packing) I was forced to just sit and talk and laugh with my roommates and MArk. We played skipbo on the living room floor with a flashlight. It was fabulous. I was kind of hoping that it would stay out for awhile and so I wouldn't have to take my finals the next day. However... it came on about 2 hours later.

I wish it would happen again. It was exciting and fun. I was reminded of when I was a kid and there was a huge snow storm. I would be so excited knowing there was a small possibility that school would be cancelled the next day.

BUT the good news is now...... I.AM.DONE.

Completely done with school. Just packing and cleaning tonight and Mark and I are leaving the 208 tomorrow early. Peace to the 'burg. I'll miss ya. But not as much as I will LOVE being home.

The numbers

2009-12-14T22:20:00.000-08:00

1 Wedding Gift (FIRST ONE!)
2 pounds to go
3 Finals
5 Days until we are home
10 Days till Christmas!
14 more sleeps until WEDDING DAY

There is a reason people call it the "most wonderful time of the year"

Finals Survivor Kit??

2009-12-10T20:02:00.001-08:00

Item #1
- www.aolmusic.com Click on Christmas music. Switch between two stations "holiday classics" and "pop christmas". Getting a variety of the bests... from Mariah Carey to Nat King Cole. Love.

Item #2
- FOOD. I eat my stress. It is a problem. I stopped even trying to get "ready" for my wedding. mark knew what he was getting when he proposed even if it included an extra 5 pounds of stress weight. :) My specifics right now? Any candy I can get my hands on, popcorn, hot chocolate, apple cider, and PASTA/BREAD.

Item #3
- Friends. Stacey and Mark and I decided to rewatch the entire season this semester. We are on the last disc of season 9. Wish us luck finishing in less than a week WHILE taking and studying for finals. But it does take my mind away for 27 glorious minutes from my stresses.

Item #4
- Scrabble on facebook with my family. (HINT) Please play your turn mom. :)

Item #5
- Mark's foot massages. Pure bliss. I could have a gun pointed at me and I wouldn't care, as long as he is rubbing out my stress through my feet.

Item #6
- Phone convos from family. Seriously. Seems small but it makes a big difference. Lately I have enjoyed talking to Maggie, Megan, Mom and dad, Kelly (Jeremy), and Sean. I do talk to Jill on facebook which is really fun too. :) Thanks everybody for being so awesome.

Item #7
- Visiting the temple. Really makes me realize how small of a deal a test is in the eternal spectrum. Nothing better than sitting with Mark for awhile where the "outside world" does not exist to me.

One week and one day from now I will be done. Hope this finals "kit" holds up and keeps my sanity.

Birth Control

2009-12-07T20:37:00.000-08:00

Wow. Marriage Prep just opened my eyes.

Biggest controversary among mormons?

Two words.
Birth control.

Some serious tension in that classroom...

THANK GOODNESS Mark and I agree and have the same stance on it.

The Dance Competition

2009-12-05T21:43:00.000-08:00

Dance Competition

Today Mark and I had our dance competition for our 180 social dance class. We were tired from traveling the night before but we still had alot of fun. There are two reasons I posted the video at the bottom. One is to show the actual dance (yes I know we aren't pros) but it is also showing a small demonstration to the changes I am going through. It was the first time I realized that I need NEW dresses. This dress is modest but it still showed my underwear when I was dancing. Blah. I need to be more careful. Embarrassing.

Today...

2009-12-05T00:47:00.000-08:00

More than ever before, I have enough emotions and thoughts to write an endless blog entry. But instead I am going to limit myself to 3 sentences.

1.) I went through the temple today and it was...... incredible.
2.) I have never been more in love with Mark and never been more sure that what we are doing is right.
3.) If you haven't gone through the temple yet, do whatever you can to get there. Honestly, it will change your life, your perspective ,and your purpose forever.

Today was a wonderful day.

Wedding Details

2009-12-01T15:13:00.000-08:00

I got an email from an old friend that asked me to add her on my "wedding blog" because she wanted to know what all was going on with my plans. And since I haven't updated that blog in.... like 4 months... I figured I would give you some of the updated details on here....

Dress: I can't tell you exactly WHAT dress I got because my cute fiance reads this blog and he would go look at it. :) But I will tell you a little about it. It is white (obvi) and it has a lace up back (my fav) and it has both lace and beading on it. A sweetheart neckline. It is almost corset tight until the bottom where it technically has an A-line bottom (but is a little puffier than most). When i tried my dress on I knew immediantly that it was "the one". It was the one I wanted to wear on the biggest day of my life and the one I know I will look at in pictures 25 years from now and smile despite my children making fun of it. I love it.

Colors: red, black and white.

Flowers: Red roses

Bridesmaids Dresses: I got them from "the deb" and they are cute. You would not believe the rockin deal I got on them too because originally I wasn't going to be able to get them.

Groomsman: Ummmmm.. black suits? Haha.. they get the short end of the stick

Temple: THe one and only... Salt Lake City

Photographer/videographer: http://www.pointdigital.com/ I had SO many good ideas and offers for photographers but I was also looking for a videographer and one of MG's had a videographer from here and I LOVED her video so..... ya. And they have a REALLY good deal for photographers if you do both video and photos through them. SO that is what I have ended up doing.

Honeymoon: Flying to Las Vegas and spending a night there. Then flying to San diego and leaving for a 4 day cruise to Mexico. Then spending one night san diego and flying to las vegas and staying one last night there and then flying home. We get to sessions in both the Vegas and the San Diego temple. It is going to be AMAZING!!!! We were just going to go to Jackson for a week but this ended up being cheaper and WAY more exciting. I can't wait! :)

Reception: Just one in Casper. It is going to be a "holidayish" theme. Instead of doing the traditional food that my other siblings have done, we are having the cateror do a variety of elegant desserts. We are having a dance and a program and I am hoping its pretty low key. Elegant but low key. Possible? I hope so.

Announcements: FINALLY out. Sorry it has taken so long. P.S. If you haven't given me your address on facebook (and you are not family) chances are you arent gettin an invite cause i dont have your address... so just send to me in an email or one other facebook.

Cake: Mark and I picked it out from like Albertsons or something..... I thought it was really pretty.

Wedding Cape: I have been thinking about having one for some time now and I was talking to my sister Kristin (who is incredibly talented) and she offered to make me one. SO I GET TO HAVE ONE!!! How lucky am I? :)

Thats all I can think of. Let me know if I missed anything and I will write a real quick post with the things I forgot. It's December which means...........

I AM GETTING MARRIED THIS MONTH!!!

r...u....t.rut.Rut.rUt.ruT.RUT.

2009-11-24T02:22:00.000-08:00

I'm in a blog rut. I can't think of anything noteworthy to say. No one is reading my few and far between ideas. I have no modivation to post anymore... blah.

One thing I do know: I am getting married in 34 days so......... I'm kinda okay to be in a "rut" right now.

Annnd I had a sweet bridal shower last weekend with the ladies in my ward and this next weekend I am having another one with my friends from highschool and the ladies I work with. Its gonna be fly.

Bridesmaids

2009-11-15T23:38:00.000-08:00

I know. I know. I have missed like 4 days BUT since this post is for 5 AMAZING girls I will just count it for all the days I missed.

I would like to introduce.....my BRIDESMAIDS. My best friends. My Girls.

All have been with me for different time periods and at different stages of my life but have all greatly strengthened me and made me who I am today. Cheesy? I don't even care.

(Disclaimer: it is 2:30 in the morning. This may not make much sense)

I. FREAKIN. LOVE. Them.

STACEY HAINLINE

from Poway, California

Stace and I met 2 years ago. We both moved into the same apartment and managed to survive the roommates from hell. Seriously. It was intense. But since then she and I have grown incredibly close. Our friendship is unique. We are sisters. We fight and argue and laugh and borrow clothes. I sleep in her room when I have a bad day and she vents to me about her problems.

Infact, last semester I moved my mattress in her room and I lived in there for 2 straight months. We were together 24/7. We would cook meals together, watch movies and tv together, and sleep together. It was basically like we were married. :)
One my favorite things about Stacey is that she doesn't care. You hear people say a lot "I don't care what people think about me." But usually that is a complete lie. But I think Stacey is the ONLY person I know that truthfully could care less what people thought. The first night we hung out, we went to Step Up 2 in theaters. Afterwards, when the music came on, she stood up and started full on dancing......for like 5 minutes. Hahaha. I couldn't believe it. People were pointing and laughing at her and it didn't bug her at all. Over time she brought this out of me and here we are dancing in the movie theater on chairs.
She is amazing and giving and an incredible listener. I think my heart will die when I cant be her roommate anymore. Blah. Only 1 more month??? :(

Love you Stacey!!!

Next is Jessica Myler Johansson
From Casper, Wy

Jessica is my oldest friend. We have been best friends since we were like 4. We went through every stage of life together. From grade school awkwardness to puberty. From first kisses to first heart breaks. She was always there to listen and give advice. She quickly became a part of the family. My parents still see her as another daughter.

Jess is everything I am not and I am everything she is not. We are similar enough to be friends without killing eachother but everything else is different. She is book worm and works very hard in school. I remember in highschool I would tease her because she would go to Ms. Millers room at lunch to work on homework. She eats apples. All the time. She wakes up insanely early (probably from her routine of paper route growing up). She also gives the best back massages that I have EVER had. Its incredible. We both have movie addictions-especially to chick flicks. She and I are both going to be Elementary Education teachers. She has the best sense of humor ever. She finds everything funny and her laugh is contagious.

Jess and I were talking my sophmore year after I got in a bad car accident. She started crying and she told me that she didn't know what she would have done if I hadn't made it through it. I don't know why that memory is so clear in my head right now. Maybe because I don't know how I would have made it through certain parts of my life without her. She was my rock. She was my constant. She understood and helped me work through the struggles I had.

I wouldn't be who I am without her.

Lauren Waters

from Mesa, Arizona

Of all my bridesmaids I have known Lauren the shortest amount of time. Lauren and I had the strangest but strongest connection. Randomly one day through the summer semester she and I talked in her car about issues we were having with life. After that hour conversation we were crazy close. I don't think I even realized how much I loved and respected her until after we went home for the semester.

Lauren in incredibly smart and talented. She knows what she wants and she does what she has to to get it. Whether it be a guy or a grade. She had millions of random guys come sit in our apartment waiting and begging to take her on a date. It was hilarious to watch. Her life is all about fun. She is always doing something and is more social than anyone I know. She can make the best out of any situation and even when I had the crappiest of nights, just being around her for a couple minutes I wouldn't have a choice but brighten up. She just has a "love for life" kinda feeling.

In the picture above I am wearing her blue dress. I loved that dress and she knew it. On the last day of school she gave it to me without even a second thought.

I love Lauren and it was so important to me to have her there on my big day. I knew that if she was there that she wouldn't have it be anything but the best day of my life, even if she personally had to make it that way.. haha. :)

This picture makes me laugh everytime I see it. We were both on diets. I was on one because Mark was about to be home and she was because.... well.. I dont remember why but she was too. And one day we just said "screw it... lets get some pizza and ice cream". So we did and this is us eating it all. Some of my favorite memories.

Love you Lauren!

Next is my "cornelious"

Ashleigh Perkins Brown

From Casper, Wyoming

Ashleigh and I HATED eachother growing up. Maybe because we were from the opposite sides of town and we were both "the leaders" of our groups? I dunno.. but at girls camp we were forced to talk and in 2 minutes went from being enemies to inseperable. She was crazy and random and hilarious. Life was always an adventure. For the first 3 years of our friendship it was all about fun and laughs. It wasn't until the past year or two that we started going to eachother for help and advice.

Ashleigh is incredible. She is one of the most naturally talented girls I know. She plays the piano, sings, plays the guitar, and writes music. She is athletic and smart. She has been an incredible friend to me and has never let me down when I really needed her.

Love you Ash. (And yes we are 16 in the picture above)

Last but not least is..

Allison Taylor

From Casper, Wyoming

I think of all of my bridesmaids Ally and i are the most alike. We are twins and it is freaky. We have very similar personalities, we have the same habits, we started dating our boys on the exact same day (feb 14th 2006) , randomly one day we found out we weighted the same.Haha. She is me- just shorter and blonder.

Ally and I were on the same soccer team when she was a freshman and I was a sophmore. We have been close friends ever since. We played basketball and soccer together all through highschool and also sang in choir together.

Ally and I have a funny friendship. We wont talk for like 2 months and then when I come home things click immediantly back into place. It is never awkard and never even needs time adjusting. I think thats why we have stayed so close. We just get eachother.

Ally is the most "kind at heart" of any friend I have had. She loves everyone around her and looks for the good in them.

I love you Ally!

And those are my girls... technically my sister kelly is my "maid of honor" but I am going to devote another post to her so I left her out of this one.

I am so thankful to you all for being there for me through the different stages of life. You are the best girls in the world and I feel priveledged to have met and known each of you. Thank you SOOO much for all the help you have given me on my wedding. I am so lucky to have such amazing friends.

Love you!!!

My bay-bay

2009-11-11T20:25:00.000-08:00

Todays Winner for who I am thankful for is....

Mark Brian Sanders

aka. "The fiance"

I was going to wait and talk about Mark on the 14th because that will be our..... 45th month anniversary.(embarrassing that i know that huh?) Yikes. But he was so adorably cute today I couldn't resist.

I got a surprise email today from him. I think this is the first one I have gotten from him since he has been home from his mission. This is a short clip from it:

"I love our present. I'm anxiously looking forward to our bright future, and I treasure our wonderful memories of the past. You really are my everything, my one true love."

I love him SO much. SO there was his sweet quote for the day. Now for the bratty side of him (that I get ALL the time).

Mark came to watch me play basketball tonight on my rec team. We ended up winning by like 65 points. It was horrific. I walked up to Mark afterwards and he kissed my sweaty forehead, smirked and said,

"I bet you feel pretty good about yourself for beating the "C" team of Madison Elementary.

Brat.

Gorgeous Brat.

Some recent pics I have snapped of him.

I LOVE watching him wakeboard. It is so natural to him.

Please notice the sexy missionary tan.

Love.

Kristie and I were trying to take a picture of their butts but it didnt work out too well...

Beautiful.

Anything More attractice to me? I think not.

My personal favorite.. sweaty, grumpy, and unconscious.

I love that boy.

He is SUPER excited in this photo beceause we are both in red.

Nerd alert.

To my best friend. My love and my everything. You are the most important person in this world and I am so thankful for who you are. You work so hard everyday so that you will be able to provide for me and our kids. You are patient with me when no one else would be. You hold me during my emotional breakdowns. You laugh at my weird quirks. You do the dishes after I cook for you. You drive me to my classes when I am too lazy to walk. You look at me like I am the most beautiful thing when I am in sweats.

I could write and write forever. Instead I will just tell you and the world that I love you more than I could ever imagine loving anyone. 50 more days till the best day of our lives.

I'm still counting baby. Always counting.

Thank you. I love you.

Yours forever. Muah and Abaa.

Lace

Thanksgiving Goal/ Parents

2009-11-10T07:47:00.000-08:00

Originally I was going to do this on facebook but I decided to just do it here instead. I am going to list all the people I am thankful for. Everyday I will do a new person up until Thanksgiving. I will try not to bore you to tears.

I just feel like I need to share my gratitude with all of you for those that have helped me this year. Its been a big one. Mark came home, we got engaged, and will be getting married all in a 4 short month period. Its been crazy.

The people I am thankful for today are my parents.

My mom is a giant... well... she is 5 "4 but she is in every other aspect of the word. She is dedicated to everything she does. She always thinks of others. Never complains. She is the best cook in the world. She would make me breakfast every morning in highschool even thoughI didn't think I wanted it and she would force it down my throat on game days. At parent/teacher conferences she would leave a short note in my locker or desk telling me that she loved me and was proud of me. A packet of purple skiddles always was included. :) She knows more about the scriptures than anyone I know. She will never buy herself anything but will be the first to go get something for someone else. My mother is an angel. From her I received my body type, my curly hair, and my love for reading and learning.

My dad is my best bud. He teases and taunts me on a daily basis. He always knew what to say before all my big games and was the loudest one in the crowd when yelling at the referees. Together we like to watch cheesy tv shows such as Columbo or Lavern and Shirley. He lets me crawl up on his lap, curl around his belly and cry until his shirt is drenched. The day I won all-state in basketball he bought me flowers with a note that told me how proud he was of me. I called him to thank him but instead all I could do was cry. We sat in silence and tears on the phone. No words needed. He knew how hard i had to work for that. He is the only one that can calm me down when I have panic attacks. He vents to me. I vent to him. He is ridiculously talented at the things he does. He has always been the best provider- both spiritually and physcially. He teaches the gospel and inspires me. He is my daddy and will always be my #1 guy. (Mark is #0) From him I got my temper, my eyes, his inflexibility, his buff legs and weak arms, his sentimintalism, and his love of sports.

My parents rock. They are the best.ever. Besides Mark, they are my biggest support system. And just as a sidenote... they are more in love than any couple I know. (except maybe mark and I)

Halloween!!!

2009-11-05T22:18:00.000-08:00

Halloween 2006

(Crappy picture,I know)

3 Years later...............

UTAH HALLOWEEN PARTY

WITH KELLY, JEREMY, AND SEAN

So kelly and i decided that this year we wanted to do one of those couple live murder mystery games. So we got four couples together and did it! AMAZING. If you have never done one I would highly suggest doing it. The game told us who our characters were and we dressed accordingly.

Mark tied for best costume.......

"Egyptian Mummy" and "Lizzy the Goth"

Sean (Frankenstein) and Jeremy (Cannibal)

Kelly (Witch) and the cutest baby cat ever!

Trying to find out who the murder was

The food table and some of the decorations

Some people do "sexy costumes". Ya.... we aren't into that.

We.do.creepy.

and we do it wellllllll.

Sisters and best friends!

Sean (Frankenstein) and his date (Hippie/fortune teller)

Playing the game

The last couple. (I forgot their real names. Ya I'm lame)

But she was a dentist and he was the devil.

We had the best time ever!!! Kelly totally came through on the most incredible food!! I ate my weight just that night. It was perfect.

Story of the night: After our pary Kelly and I had to run to the grocery store before it closed at midnight and I didnt have time to wipe my makeup off and i left my wig on. We were waiting in line and the guy at the checkout counter through me a tootsie roll and said "heres for dressing up!!" (With a huge smile on his face) I just looked at him and said "...I'm not dressed up".

Funnest thing I have ever seen. Poor guy. Good thing I couldn't keep my face straight long enough to make him think I was serious.

Happy Halloween everyone! :)
Mine was MUCH better with Mark here in case you were wondering!

60 days.

2009-10-29T14:00:00.000-07:00

I was really going to try to not count the days down but I cant help it. 2 more months or... 60 days! Or like 8 weeks left.

Here is my checklist of things that we have done
-Wedding dress/veil bought
-reception hall booked
-temple booked
-mark's tux done
-engagements taken
-cateror booked
-Hotel for wedding night booked
-airplane tickets bought to get us from casper to salt lake and back
-bridesmaids dresses bought
-picked out our wedding cake and topper!

Whats left to do
-Get my stupid announcements!
-flowers
-send out my announcements
-book the rest of honeymoon
-small details

Am I forgetting anything??? Hmm.... but you get the idea. Things are coming along great!

Choices

2009-10-26T17:38:00.000-07:00

I have two very strong desires right now. I don't know which one to choose.
Sleep?
Eat?

Oh the dillemas of life.

Mmmkay..... eat and then sleep.

Engagement Picture VOTE PLEASE

2009-10-12T19:59:00.000-07:00

Engagements!

My old roommate Alishia took the pictures for us and we are SO happy with how they turned out. Mark and I have spent the past day or two editing them. Please leave a comment and vote on which pictures you like best!

B.

C.

The Biggest Loser

2009-10-06T23:54:00.001-07:00

I LOVE The Biggest Loser. This season is easily the best too... I watched the two hours tonight and loved every second of it. Except whenever Tracey (purple team) is shown. Then I want to shoot myself.......or her.
Anyway....

Two of the craziest trainers I have ever seen.

And I WISH I could spend just one workout with them.

They whip you into shape with NO excuses.

Some before and after pics from prior seasons.....

Ya... "Holy crap!" is right.

Missed the first 4 episodes and want to catch up? Go to nbc.com and you can watch it on there for free....

AMAZING. Love it.

We made it.

2009-10-04T18:59:00.000-07:00

Mark, my roommates, and I are watching Pirates of the Carribean right now. Mark has been wanting to watch this since he got home and somehow it never happened. He is so cute. He is mesmorized by this movie... and when he laughs his dimple sticks out.

Oh how i missed this. I still am a little scared he is going to disappear or I will wake up and this will be another cruelly realistic dream and i wake up alone.

But its too realistic. Too good. He is here. I just cant help myself from continually saying "we made it. We really made it."

Now if we can just make it 85 more days until our wedding- then we will be golden!

10-10-4

2009-09-26T00:08:00.000-07:00

10 Things I am happy/excited about:
1.) Wedding dress shopping
2.)Registering for gifts tomorrow!
3.) Getting back "on track" with my diet/workout so i can feel better.
4.) Going through the temple to get my endowments.
5.) Getting to see all my friends and family at my wedding.
6.) MARRYING MARK!
7.) Finishing school and graduating!
8.) Student teaching
9.) Getting our first apartment together
10.) ....having a baby?

1o Things I will never understand
1.) Mullets of any shape size or color
2.) Why obese women and men find it their duty to wear no clothes in public.
3.) Why we can't find a better cure for cancer.
4.) Spam
5.) Why anyone would think a movie with Jack Black in it is funny.
6.) Making a bed..... when you are just going to get back in it like 12 hours later and no one sees it but you.....
7.) The appeal of horror movies.
8.) Why anyone would want to watch UFC (Mark loves this. Eww)
9.) Nose peiercings? Gaurentee to make someone less attractive
10.) Why every person I have met laughs uncontrollably at "Americas Funniest Homevideos". I sit there silently confused. Is there something I am missing? Or is it really THAT funny that the guy got hit in the crotch.

4 Guarenteed laughs through videos
1.) http://melodymaker.posterous.com/?page=1 (scroll down to "why some woman stay single"
2.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYIIzQPQp78
3.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OBlgSz8sSM
4.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8kThoZpf_U

Best birthday gift ever!

2009-09-24T00:11:00.000-07:00

It is 1:11 am. I am now officially 22. I hate it. I don't want to get old. BUT I have already had the best birthday gift ever.

Midnight came. Roommates cheered. I walked over to Mark (who was on the couch watching a movie) and he just whispered "Happy Birthday sweetheart". Then I got my birthday kiss. Heaven. Dreaming of this on my past two birthdays and now its real.

I love him. He makes my life great. No matter how much I age it will be okay for two reasons....

1.) He will ALWAYS be older then me! :)
2.) He will always be right there next to me sayin "happy birthday sweetheart"

This really is going to be a wonderful life.

Wedding Plans

2009-09-20T23:36:00.000-07:00

Trying hard not to be..........

BRIDEZILLA!

I have a LOVE/ HATE relationship with wedding planning right now.

It is so ridiculously FRUSTRATING and STRESSFUL. But also Fun and exciting!!!!

100 days left....

Why did we choose to have such a long engagement again????

P.S. Anyone with connections, ideas, hints, ect with cheap airflights, videographers and photographers in SLC, and Honeymoon ideas PLEASE comment on here asap. THANKS!

Ashleigh....brown?

2009-09-19T08:53:00.000-07:00

CORNELIOUS AND BEYONCE ARE ALL GROWN UP

And getting married....

So this is a little overdue because it happened the week Mark got back and my life has been crazy busy since then but I wanted to dedicate a blog to my best friend and the girl that has stuck with me through it all....

Ashleigh Perkins..... Brown. Weird.

Ash and Rob got married August 6th in the Salt Lake temple. I drove down a few days early so I could spend sometime with Ash. We had a "bachelerette party" the night before her wedding with the bridesmaids.

Ashleigh was such a beautiful bride. Everything about her was perfect and very unique. Her dress fit her personality perfectly. So did her hair and makeup. She was stunning. Rob looked "ok" too I guess... :) They are perfect for eachother.

Best friends. For ever.

The bridesmaids trying to hold Ashleigh. That was quite the ordeal.

Us girls again....

I think the thing that sparked this post was because I went to Ashleigh's blog (that she rarely if ever updated) and I realized I had missed three posts in a row! I am a lame friend. But something she wrote made me think.. This was written on June 25th.

"I had a long and overdue phone conversation with my best friend Lacey tonight. it felt so good to talk to her.We talk over the internet quite a bit but it was nice to get to talk to her personally.... well on the phone anyway. It always reminds me of how much I do miss her and need her in my life. If I had to pick one friend to keep for the rest of my life it would definitely be her. I think that as we get older and married we forget about our friends around us and that is pretty much inevitable I believe, but there are a few people that we just cant let go of, and she is one of those people. I want to keep her in my life forever. :) If it was possible I would want to be sealed to her. :) Haha.... "

It is true. The older I get the harder it is to stay in touch with old friends. Life is so busy and things i am doing seem so important and time consuming. But there are a few friends that I never want to loose. A few friends that have helped me through the hardest of days. Ashleigh is one of those... I love you girl and I am SO happy for you.

Thanks for being my "cornelious" and letting me be your "Beyonce".

Back off

2009-09-16T12:03:00.000-07:00

I am in my Marriage Prep class with Mark right now. The teacher asked him to make a comment. After his comment the teacher said "You are going to make a wonderful father and husband". Duh.

All the girls in the class started looking at him.

Umm... back off right now. Yes is amazing. And he is mine. :)

10

2009-08-31T23:46:00.001-07:00

10 random updates/ thoughts.

*I got another text forward. Shoot me now.
*I am SO excited for college football to being. Especially since my team (BYU) is playing Mark's team (OU) in the opening game. Bad news? We will probably loose. Good news? I will cheer way louder and way more annoying. Fact.
*I have been trying to watch the entire Gilmore Girls series this break. I am now at the end of season 5. Will I make it? Yes.
* I am reading Of Human Bondage. Interesting book. I will elaberate on this later.
* My parents beat Mark and I at the card game 'hand and foot' like 5 times in a row. We were getting SO mad. Finally tonight we crushed them. It was wonderful.
* Mark has a "to do list" the size of africa for us to complete before school. He is ridiculously organized. Its freaky. I love it.
* I learned how to make one of my favorite meals tonight. It tasted dang good. pure bliss. Maybe I have potential to not starve my future husband and children after all?
* I REALLY need to repaint my toe nails. Oh and on this subject... I decided the only color I like my toenails is red.
*I am kinda excited for fall so I can start wearing my cute sweaters
*I crave cheese dip. All the time. Some velvetta cheese and some mexican rotell= Perfection. Try it.

The Homecoming Video. FINALLY.

2009-08-29T01:14:00.000-07:00

Sorry it took so long. I have been on vacation with Mark's family and was super busy without much internet time. But here it is... it will probably take forever to load. So press that to have it start loading while reading my story...

I woke up on August the 11th to my neices and nephews jumping on me and waking me up. They were leaving to drive back to their home in Colorado. Thank heavens they had been there to help occupy my mind that last week without Mark. I gave them all hugs and waved them off at about 6:00am. My busy day began. I took a long bubble bath and shaved better than I had in 2 years... literally. I ran around town with Mark's mom and got balloons and banners and things like that. Went back to the Sanders house and went to work on Mark's room. (Mark's parents moved while he was on his mission and i had promised to help decorate his room before he got back). I hung up bulletin boards with pictures and other decorative things like that. We got a call at about 1:00pm from Mark. He talk to his parents for about 10 minutes and then they handed the phone to me.

It was the weirdest and most awkward phone call of all. What do you say to eachother? "Ummm... see you in an hour? Holy Crap." It was just unreal. We both laughed the whole time and eventually his time card ran out and he got off. Not before a quick "I'll SEE you soon babe! I love you!" Amazing.

I finished up with his room with his parents help and I went home to get ready really fast. His plane was suppose to land at 4:55pm and that means we needed to leave the house at 4:00. I rushed around the house getting ready. Curling my hair, makeup up the wazoo, lotion rubbing, perfume spraying.. you know, the nesessities. My dad yelled up at me at 4 and said "you really want to be late....today?" Umm. No dad. I will pass on that one.

We ran out the door to the airport and it hit me. My dad and mom were in the front and I was alone in the back. My heart started racing and I started sweating like crazy... I couldn't even comprehend what was happening... My mom was trying to calm me down. My dad was just laughing at me and then he just said "if you are this bad today what is your wedding morning going to be like. Good grief." Thanks dad.

I called the two people I promised to call on that drive. My sister Kelly and my best friend and roommate Stacey. They both laughed with me and told me to call them pronto. I was also getting TONS of texts from all my friends. Thanks everybody for the support and love. It was much needed.

We got to the airport and my dad and I walked to the top to see the planes land. I had just barely calmed down enough to breath when we realized that his plane had landed early and was just sitting there about to start empyting. I started freaking out again and ran down to where he would come out.

See video from here until leaving airport.I will just say that I will never in my life forget the look on his face or the glint in his eyes when he looked at me that first time in two years. My heart stopped and I was no longer nervous or scared. He was home. Finally home with me again. And the past two years flashed in a moment. It was over.

Because he had gotten home early we had an hour to kill before he was released. He went on a drive with his parents and I went with my parents to go home and grab clothes and a movie for that night. We met back at the church and he went in for his interview with his Stake President. We all waited patiently. But right before he came out his mom took me into the relief society room and told me to wait there for a second. He wanted to come find me there. I sat on the chair waiting, for what felt like hours, and then FINALLy he walked in the room. He wrapped me up in our first hug in two years. Not even going to try to describe that feeling.

Then comes the pure romantic in Mark. He had instructed his parents to help with a "surprise" for me when he got released. Mark pulled me close and the music to "faraway", our song, and the last song we danced to before he got set apart as a missionary came on. He sang the words to me as we danced. I cried. Alot. Then a few more songs came on and we just held eachother close and talking and dancing and hugging. He then pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket. It was yellow and faded from age and sun and time. It looked like it had been opened and folded many times.

I grabbed it and read it. It was the first letter I had written him. I wrote it the day he left and had him read it the first night he was a missionary. I cried as I reread the things I had written that day and Mark told me "Lacey, I had that in my pocket everyday of my mission. I read it everyday."

I had NO idea. He is amazing. And.... he loves me. Big shocker there.

After that things were incredible. I could go on and on about our first night and our first day and...... but that would take forever. So I will just say that my life is perfect right now. Seriously. I could not imagine being happier.

He changed and I changed but both for the better I think. And definitely helped us to become even more compatable together. He is a man now. He has his boyish tendencys and he will forever be "my Mark. The boy I fell in love with 4 years ago" but he has changed in so many ways that turned him from the perfect boyfriend to the man I want to marry.

Its totally cliche. I am hesitant to even write this next sentence. But- It was so worth it. Every moment of loneliness. Every gallon of tearfilled buckets. Every time my heart dropped when our song came on. Every holiday spent alone. Living my life from letter to letter. Every good and bad date I went on in the past two years. They led me to where I am now. To this place of perfection. I would do it all again in a heartbeat if necessary. THANKFULLY its not. He is home to stay.

I am no longer "waiting for a missionary". The identity that has become such a huge part of my life. Weird. Still doesn't feel completely real.

That is enough for tonight. I could go on forever but I will spare you. You will hear from me soon.

P.S. I am NO videographer. I just threw this together and I hope it doesn't bore you to tears. I love it. I have watched it probably 5 times already. My cheeks hurt from smiling. Let me know what you think.

Still alive

2009-08-17T14:42:00.000-07:00

Sorry... its been almost a full week without an update. But here in a day or two i will include pics, a video, and the full story. Stay tuned.

Thanks for all the support. Love you guys!

The final countdown...

2009-08-11T08:58:00.000-07:00

6 hours and 45 minutes.
It's here. Not one more year/ one more month/ one more week/ one more day..... its TODAY.

To do list:

Last workout- CHECK
Shower/shave- CHECK
Eat- CHECK
Help Connie get house ready with banner/balloons- SOON
Put together Mark's room- SOON
Do hair and makeup- SOON
AIRPORT!!!- SOOOOOOOON!

I am so happy and excited. I never thought it would come and it has... Life is great!

Post 150- Picture story

2009-08-08T20:07:00.001-07:00

This is my 150th post. Celebrating that and celebrating Mark being home in 3 days....
I give you Mark and my picture story PREMISSION.

The Sanders family baptism

After going through all the lessons with the missionarys with ease, Mark and his parents were baptised in March of 2006. Mark and I had met (jan) and fell for eachother (feb). Connie (Mark's mom) said that they have "been mormon" their whole life and never knew it until the moved to Wyoming and heard more about the church. Three most vivid memories during the "discussions".

1. Connie saying after hearing about prophets, "It only makes sense. We need a prophet today! Just as much as the people in the bible needed Moses and Abraham!"

2. It was a loud sacrament meeting the first time the Sanders came to church because babies were crying more than the usual. We were worried that maybe this bugged them and took away the spirit we were hoping they would feel there. Instead Brian said afterwards "I think its so good that these people bring their kids to church. Its just as important for the kids to learn as for them."

3. It was the final lesson and the missionarys asked the Sanders if they were ready for baptism. They all said yes. But Mark added to his yes by lifting up the book of mormon and bearing his testimony of its truth. It was so powerful that it was silent in the room for a few minutes. The missionarys sat their in shock. People used to ask if Mark joined the church "for me". Anyone in that room could promise you.... that was NOT the case.

Senior Prom

The night after the baptism happened to be prom. It was perfect... the best night of my life up to that point. Mark and I hadn't said "I love you" by this point... but I have a vivid memory of looking over at him while he was driving and thinking it. My favorite part now, that I think shows Mark's personality well, was what time Mark brought me home. My curfew that night was 3am. That usually means I am running in the door at 2:59 and 45 seconds. But Mark insisted on leaving his house at 2:30 and getting me in a good 15 minutes before required. Ticked at the time but quite pleased with that now. (my dad was happy too)

Graduation
May 2006
Although I had originally planned on walking with some girl friends my age, the second Mark and I started dating it was obvious to me who I wanted to be with. And by the time graduation came around that is exactly what happened. This is a picture of us before. I look depressed but that is misleading... we had an amazing day.

The Call
April-June 2007

For the next year Mark and I did long distance while I was at school and he was here in casper. It was hard but we worked through everything and it only made us stronger. I think it also prepared us for what was coming next. Mark and I had talked marriage in the fall of 06 but never felt right about it. I would ask him about a mission and he would dismiss it. I tried not to push him too hard. But one sunday morning in April he and I were talking on his couch and he whispered something to me.
"Lacey, I have something to tell you. I am suppose to serve a mission."
I was shocked. We hadn't talked about a mission in months.
"Are you sure?"
He just smiled and nodded.
"Nothing I can say will change your mind?"
"Nope."
And then I bawled for an hour straight. He just smiled and held me tight. I had been wanting him to go SO bad that I had completely not thought about what it would actually mean for us.
Two months later he got his call... PHOENIX ARIZONA
I was on the phone with him (as you can see). I was stuck at school taking midterms.

SLC Temple
July 2007
The end of July came and Mark and his family were sealed together. I waited patiently outside while this happened. It was amazing to witness first hand what the gospel had done for this family. They were strong before.... but afterwards there was no word to describe it.

Our last Day together
August 2007

It was an emotional day. I was a wreck. Everything was a "last" in my mind. The last time we would go out to eat together in two years, the last time i saw his house, the last time he drove me home, and the last time we would sit by our tree. It obivously wasn't truly a "last time" but it felt that far away to me. Two years was a giant.
This is Mark on our last day together, recarving into our tree to make sure it would last the two years apart. This tree had almost become a symbol for us and our relationship.
It helped me a lot these past two years...

And that pretty much concludes our premission story together. It was incredible. It was amazing. I tried to avoid posting the millions of sappy pictures we have together and just focus on the "main events". But you need to realize that it is the little things.. the eventless days that made us who we are together and that made me fall in love with him.

Three days until the two year journey is over.

Summer semester 09 wrrrrap up

2009-08-03T10:01:00.001-07:00

ENDING WITH A BANNNNG!

BLACK OUT DANCE PARTY

<3 HER MUCHO

LIFE'S A PICNIC

THE GROUP

But the semester is done and over with. Time to move past it all and get ready for the future. :)

A first

2009-07-30T20:23:00.000-07:00

Today I did something that I have never done before.....

I ate sushi.

And much to my surprise.... I LOVED it! :)

Sidenote: I miss my roommate Stacey today. We have lived together for 3 semesters so far and have become like an old married couple. We bicker. We laugh. When she snores at 2 in the morning I throw my pillow at her to shut her up. We are a great team. But because I am use to being around her 24/7 it has been weird to not see her at all.

(I just reread what I wrote and I sound gay. I swear I am not...)

Recap: Sushi=amazing and Staceface=bestfriend!

2 weeks and "rules"

2009-07-28T22:43:00.000-07:00

Annoying (for you) and exciting (for me) countdown continues....

I am now under 2 weeks. Frrreak out.

I am also now home with considerably less to do on my "to do lists" and my stress level is now at a normal amount.

My days consist of working out. Hard. Harder then I have done the past 2 years together. I probably devote 3 straight hours of my day to exercising. And let me tell you... it feels wonderful. I think exercise is one of those things where the less you do it the less you want to do it. And starting out stinks and you loose modivation quick. But when you actually spend time daily doing it you just learn to love the feeling it gives you. The adrenaline. The ache and the soreness. Its wonderful. Originally I began to workout like crazy so I would look great for Mark. Now its almost more of a daily "need" that has to be met.

For those of you that have been "offended" by my current poll (and I know there are some of you out there) I feel inclined to apoligize. However I don't know why...

Does it really matter to you whether I hug my boyfriend or not? It just seems like such a trivial thing... I was just curious about others thoughts on the matter. I would take your opinions into account but Mark and I have already talked about it and made our decision way before I asked the question on here. So, as thoughtful as it was to have you call my house in concern, it was unnecessary.

Random thought for the day:
It is a rule for missionarys to not hug girls while on their mission. Fact.
It is also against the rules for missionarys to leave their mission boundaries. Fact.
So when Mark flies on a plane to Casper, WY as a missionary is he breaking the rules? Obviously not. But he is leaving his mission boundaries! There is an inconsistency there.

So which rules (if any) are to be kept until he is set apart?

Just something to think about.

"It's that TIME"

2009-07-23T08:19:00.000-07:00

"IT'S THAT TIME"

I can't believe I haven't posted about this yet... but the three words that I have hated more than anything the past two years are "It's that time".

Christmas phone call/Mothers day phone call- Amazing. laughing. talking a million miles a minute. Saying I love you between every sentence to just make up for all the times we couldn't say it.. then suddenly "Baby, its that time".

FINALLY get a letter for the week. Been looking forward to it and I need that extra strength today. First page down. Laughing through the second page. Cant wait to hear him in person and then.... "It's that time babe. Going tracting."

Pure bliss. Listening to a new tape. Every emotion in the book over the two hours. Laughing my butt off. Crying from missing him. Worried about his safety (who wouldnt with some of the stories he has told me!), Excitement.... And then suddenly "It's that time... got to wrap this up"

Sometimes I want to be a freaking crazy person and just refuse to let him go. You think it would get easier with time but it doesnt.... Its a good thing he doesnt have another phone call because I would probably loose every ounce of support I could muster and instead turn into the crazy, lonely, obsessive, girlfriend I am and say "No. I am not hanging up this phone. Tell President Beck to get over it."

Now, OF COURSE, I would never say that ( i think) ... but MAN do I want to sometimes. 2 1/2 weeks left right? Right. Then "its that time" will be a good thing.

Ex: "Lace, its that time. I am coming to pick you up for our date."

"It's that time. You sound tired. Let me talk you to sleep."

"Its that time, lets walk to class together"

I can TOTALLy handle those.

3 and "ONLY IN IDAHO"

2009-07-21T10:51:00.001-07:00

"3" is my favorite number. That is why today is a great day..
THREE WEEKS FROM TODAY!
Great. Now I just need to loose
5000 more pounds...... :)
That is totally possible.

Now.... Pics from

Demolation Derby
Nights theme: "Only in Idaho"

First time in weeks that I had eaten anything with

any taste to it. Fatty pizza= Perfection

My girls

Required a stamp to get in that would NEVER
scrub off... seriously. . I tried for like a week.
They REALLy wanted to make sure people
knew that you went!

Just a lil bumpin bump

I looooove them.

Boom. Pop. Crackle.

Wonderful Waste of Time

2009-07-18T00:19:00.000-07:00

ADDICTED TO QUIZZES

The autumn test

You Are High Strung and a Bit Wild

You are a dynamic, vibrant person. You aren't afraid to pursue your passions.

When you're happiest, you are outgoing and expressive . You love celebrations, and you enjoy showing off a little.

You tend to be afraid of change. You are never ready for things to be different.

You find solitude to be the most comforting thing in the world. Being alone with your thoughts feels very peaceful.

Your ideal day is active and full. You like to keep busy with your favorite things, and you appreciate a routine.

You tend to live in the moment. You enjoy whatever is going on, and you don't obsess over the past or future.

The Autumn Test

Ummm... thats about 90% accurate. All except

l0ving solitude. False. And.... obsessing over the future.

But who can really blame me on that?

Your Hair Should Be Red

You are a passionate person... both in love and in life.
You have many causes that are important to you. You can be very intense.

You are very fiery. You speak up, and you don't mince words.
You also have a very flamboyant personality. You love to show off.

You are both eccentric and expressive. You like to share your unique point of view.
You can become quite impassioned. So impassioned that you can seem a little overbearing.

What Color Hair Should You Have?

I am probably too "passionate" for my own

good. I just take after my Irish heritage..

But I don't think I am eccentric...?

Anyway... there are some fun ones on there. I hadn't taken any for about a year but its amazing how quickly you can waste an hour of your life taking them. And even more amazing- you wont regret it. :) It's a wonderful waste of time.

3 beds. 1 room.

2009-07-15T18:46:00.001-07:00

I have a million things I could post about. It's funny to me... the more blog posts I write the more ideas I have.
ORIGINALLY I was going to write about Harry P today but Leanna stole my thunder. So I think I am going to wait a few days to do that.
NOW I am going to post pics of our killer sleepover the other night.

3 beds.

(and stace cant move cause of her leg. She slid into home base)

Lisha Beesha

I put this up to show off
my freaky hair. Yikes. And now
that I look at it again. My freaky
face. Yikes x 100.

Lauren, Me, Alishia, Stacey
jumpin'

I love them.

Love roommate sleepovers except Alishia keeps

Stace up all night and Stacey gets grumpy

without sleep... so now its just Stacey and I again.

(my room has become a clothes only room. ) Perfect. :)

I wish I may I wish I might....

2009-07-13T21:46:00.000-07:00

I wish I didn't have to write this 15 page paper.
I wish I was done with school.
I wish I was on a beach getting sun.
I wish I wouldn't have small panic attacks everytime I think about Mark coming home.
I wish I was better at goodbyes.
I wish I was better at "julie"
I wish I could eat Ben and Jerrys ice cream all day long.
I wish I had self control when it came to eating food.... I love it too much.
I wish I was not always tired.
I wish I was as care free as my roommate Lauren.
I wish I had infinite amount of money so I wasn't so stressed about living and paying for my life for the next year.
I wish I was done with school.
I wish I could go buy a new bra and underwear. My favorite things to buy.
I wish I could have a crazy makeout session right now.
I wish my hair would always be perfect and I didn't have to do it.
I wish I had a personal massage therapist.
I wish I could find a plane ticket and go home with Lauren (she helped with this one) :)
I wish I knew how my life was going to play out
I wish I was more spontaneous
I wish, for just one day, I could get EVERYTHING done from my "to do list"
I wish my dad was here to hold me when I cried
I wish I was as Christlike as my mom
I wish I could see my new niece
I wish Mark would walk through door and get rid of my "finals stress".
I wish Mark would call me right now.
I wish Mark were here.

I need to stop wishing my life away but it is fun to rebel and procrastinate.. .at least long enough to write this blog post.

P.S. Gerald I KNOW I post on my blog everyday but its the only thing keeping me sane right now... so back off. :)

P.S.

2009-07-13T00:23:00.001-07:00

1 days till Harry Potter midnight showing!!!
10 days till school is DONE!
29 days till Mark is HOME!!!!!!

'Lish Dawggggg

2009-07-12T19:28:00.000-07:00

*Alishia*

Roommate Summer 09I love all my roommates this semester. The only "issues" that we have had are about people showering before others and our little "engaged couple" acting crrrazy. But I wasn't able to get to know Alisha super well until this week. She and I have similar stories in life. We both have missionarys out right now. Her missionary is a football player. He plays for Air Force and will be back in a year from August. They dated their whole life. Okay.. umm.. maybe just her senior year up until he left. SUPER cute though.
Lisha-Beesha has a very quarky personality. She seems somewhat shy and reserved but that is false. oh man. That is soooooo false. She is crazy.
My favorite memories of her:
1. At like 2am she and I had moved our matresses into Stacey's room to have a sleepover and she put a bobby pin on her nose and said, "Hey look Lace. I'm a bull." And she started acting like it. Wtf?
2. She started telling us about her dads underwear.
3. Her talking about "bathroom talk" without so much of a hesitation even though it makes the rest of us feel awkward.
4. One of my roommates was making a sexual innuendo and she got so excited and said "I know what you are talking about!!!! I know what that is!!!" Haha
5. Watching Sidney White, Alisha asked "why did her parents call her Dinky? Don't they know that is a nickname for......" Me: "Umm.. Lish... that ISN'T a nickname...." haha. freak.
LOVE her.
She is almost always positive. She is friendly and nonjudgemental. SHe is the most charitable person I know. She does the dishes for others without even a complaint. The only reason I know is because I walked in on her doing them.
Lish to the dawg is solid. We like her. We like what she is about. Mmmhmmm. And we miss her when she graduates in 2 weeks.
I love my Alishia Hashey

SURPRISE!!!

2009-07-09T14:35:00.000-07:00

Mark is amazing. I swear he just knows when I am having a crappy day/week. School is literally consuming my life and I have been so worn out and tired and stressed. After classes today Stacey and I went to go lay out so I could get some sun on my face but it got cloudy and windy and we had to come back home. I was kinda bummed out and was considering taking an hour nap instead when the doorbell rang.

MY FAVORITE FLOWERS!!! YAY! :) :) :) :)

My boy loves me and spoils me so much. It's reeee-dik-u-lous (thats for you jill)

Oh ya... and did I mention that I freaking

love his guts? Oh.. well I do.

New item in pet peeve list

2009-07-07T22:24:00.001-07:00

Text I received today from a random guy that I never talk to-

"FWD:FWD:FWD: Michael Jackson will come alive if you send this to 10 people. This really works! Ask your phone company!"

What. the. "f"???????????????????????

Seriously though. Do you know how rediculous you seem forwarding that to me? I think my opinion of your intelligence just got cut in half. I was all about those stupid forwards when I was 10 and that was the only emails I got at all. But now it is just a waste of time and space on my phone.

Am I the only one that finds those annoying and frustrating?

And I really could care less about MJ coming back from the dead. He was a pedofile (sp?) and there is NO sympothy here. You could at least send me something that gave me a wish or something worthwhile.. .haha.. no but seriously.. stop sending me them. gracious.

Last Planner

2009-07-06T12:11:00.000-07:00

So.... I got a letter along with Mark's last mission planner. Well, technically he has one more, but he told me in his letter that he will give me that one in person. HOLY CRAP. 5 weeks.

And I got this picture this week from over 2 months ago on my boys birthday...

GO AWAY NEGATIVE NANCY and DEBBIE DOWNER!!!!

2009-06-30T19:49:00.001-07:00

I'm sick of all the negativity.

My roommates have been complaining. My MG's have been complaining. My basketball girls have been complaining. So lets make it a trend and I will write and ruin an entire post to complain as well.

I am DEFINITELY not a perky little "sunshine ray" all the time and I have my days from hell. BUT all the time?EVERY day? Really?

It's ALWAYS something. Three examples this week.
"She takes the shower EVERY morning before me. We BOTH have a 9:15 class."
"She hit me in the face on the way up for a layup"
"I still have 23 months left and I haven't gotten a letter from him in a whole week."

APPROPRIATE ANSWER-
"Get your lazy A up earlier and it wont be a problem"
"It's basketball... stop being a sissy and play."
"Everyone of us waited for 24 months. Does it suck? Yep. But get over it... cause in two days when you DO get a letter you are going to feel freaking retarded for throwing a mega fit about this."

My real answer-
"I'm sorry"
"I'm sorry"
"I'm sorry"

REALITY CHECK....

I am NOT sorry. Stop being negative nancys and debbie downers and go do something productive with your life instead of filling it with constant complaining. And now I will try to not be hypocritical and will stop whining as well. :)

Shizzz.

quotes summer 09

2009-06-30T10:48:00.000-07:00

STACE AND LAUREN

Top 5 most unintelligent quotes of the semester from my roommates:
"The plan of happiness has three main companants..... 1.) Love one another..... ummm.. 2.) Have fun. 3.) have fun." -Lauren
"All I need in life is facebook and the sun." - Stace
"I am NOT racist! I just hate all Mexicans. What? You would too if your maid read your journel that was hidden under your bed. Crazy Angelica." -Lauren
"I am not gossiping this week..... but if ____ keeps 'doin it' with her fiance on our couch I might go postal." -Stace
"Bishop want to come sit down? You are making me nervous." (5 minutes later he is still standing there) "Seriously Bishop I cant even think straight up here... please come sit down" "BISHOP-either come in our out. Seriously." -Lauren
And the most frequent quote of the semester by evvvvveryone....
"F MY LIFE."

**The Sanders Fam**

My name is Lacey and I am a......

8 Months/May

Nanananana BATMAN!!!

April showers.../Lydia is 7 months old!

RIP PURPLE EEYORE

March Madness- Month 6

Be jealous

So long! Fairwell!

My fashion/health favorites

Feb/Anniversary/Month 5

4 months old and life's gettin fun!

The ol' switcheroo

Inadequate

P90X

Ending 2010 with a BANG

Aweful

Family Pics Dec 2010

decisions decisions

Picture Update

Once upon a diaper change....

Lydia's Firsts..

823,498,234

Lydia Belle Sanders

Full term

Random Loves

Bubble Baths

Blogoversary

Heads up

Heads up

Our tree/August Rush

Routine

3/4 done

Love Like Crazy

June/July update

100 days

Please Help!!

I'm all about the ex...

I'm the Top Chef

Healthy Shmealthy

The excting events of week 21

Murder Mystery Party

Megan's kids and Theater Movie Night

Week 16

12 weeks

Not much to say...

The "Feel Good" Shoes

Our first Month of Marriage

Wedding Pics and tax season...

short update

"Mrs. Sanders"??

Mark's dance video to Kelly Clarkson

Once upon last night...

The numbers

Finals Survivor Kit??

Birth Control

The Dance Competition

Today...

Wedding Details

r...u....t.rut.Rut.rUt.ruT.RUT.

Bridesmaids

My bay-bay

Thanksgiving Goal/ Parents

Halloween!!!

60 days.

Choices

Engagement Picture VOTE PLEASE

The Biggest Loser

We made it.

10-10-4

Best birthday gift ever!

Wedding Plans

Ashleigh....brown?

Back off

10

The Homecoming Video. FINALLY.

Still alive

The final countdown...

Post 150- Picture story

Summer semester 09 wrrrrap up

The Sanders Fam

3 and "ONLY IN IDAHO"