Well I fixed everything!!!

I fixed everything and got the thing that I wanted done!! The thing is I have NO IDEA  how!! haha!! but I dont care! its done and i am happy!

Computers hate me! and for good reason!

K i am TOTALLY computer challenged and as you can tell my blog looks nothing like it used to! Well this is because I am brain dead! I erased everything off my blog thinking that I was fixing something I didnt like about my blog!!! So the blog friends list is GONE!! I am not sure what this means! I am not sure that I have to get re-invited to the people whos  blogs are private... I think thats stored somewhere that I cant really get to..... although if it is there to be ruined i can probably figure out a way to make myself more angry! I might have the back round looking good soon but as far as the list goes if any of you want to be put back on my friends list( if its not already there by the time you read this) I have forgotten exactly what the address is so if you would like to could you re-give me your blog addresses so I have an easy link to them! Thanks!!! And of course Laugh if you must at my expense!I am trying to get to that point myself!

Soooooo I need some advise....

So as you have read from my last post I have started TRYING to potty train Riley! It started off GrEaT!!! She was excited every time I asked her if she wanted to use her potty. Well........ now its a different story! Now EVERY TIME I ask her if she wants to use her potty she screams and throws the biggest fits!!! WHAT DO I DO?!?!?! I don't want the potty to be something she hates and I definitely don't want to feel like its a punishment or she will never want to and it will be an even tougher process. But if I wait till she is ready and excited to try again  WhO KnOwS when that will be, and i will never have a potty trained child!!! Ugh Please if  AnY oNe has any advise PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!

We have started potty training!

I don't know if this is something I should be blogging about but I am a little excited and a little scared and this is a big milestone in a babies and mommies life so here it goes! Yes I finally decided that I needed to face my fears ... and if Riley was ready than I had no choice! I was so scared of potty training! It was just not something I wanted to face! I have heard story after story and all of them scared me! Don't get me wrong..... I would LOVE to not have to change diapers but the process was just too intimidating for me to face! Well.... we went last night to the store and bought her a potty!  She was soooo excited to sit on it! This made me feel a little better... a little hopeful.... Our plan once we got it home was to just let her sit on it for a few days or however long it took for her to get a little more comfortable with it and start taking her diaper off when she asked! Well when we got home we put her on it and she didn't want to sit on it..... with her clothes on!!!!!! We had to take ALL of her clothes off before she would sit on it! She wouldn't have just the diaper off that wasn't allowed! But she thought it was the coolest thing to sit on the potty like Mommy! Once we had her on it she didn't want to get off! We were there for about 5 minutes when she went pee! She was sitting on the potty!!!!!! We could not believe it! So of course we had to make a big deal out of it so she knew it was a good thing to go on the potty! We knew though that it was just a coincidence but it still gave me hope! And of course its just the beginning of the process but today she went 2 times on the potty! I haven't got the timing just right but I am working on it! And now she knows that going on the potty is a good thing! I am still a little freaked out.... but I am a mommy and I am gonna have to get through this eventually! ha ha 

Happy Anniversary!!! ( 4 days ago )

Dale and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary on wednesday! Because He had to work that day we decided to celebrate on saturday! He did have to work saturday as well but only a half day so we had plenty of time to have fun! Dales parents were gracious enough to watch Riley for that day and keep her overnight! We decided to keep the celebrations low key this year and just have some fun alone time! First we went to the movies ( which doesn't happen very often) and saw Hancock! We loved it! Then we went home and cleaned up the house a little bit and I sent him away while I made dinner and got the table set up! We had a delicious stake dinner (if i do say so myself) with Dales favorite things in the world, rice and beans. And after dinner we decided to go ice skating! I learned there that Dale is a lot more graceful than I give him credit for! ha ha! He did not fall once! I, on the other hand, fell twice!! The first time wasn't so bad. The second time however...... was the end of the night! I fell right on my knee and couldn't get up for a bit! I thought I had done some pretty bad damage but I soon made it off the ice and after walking for a bit it felt better! I got some ice burns on my arm, two bruised hips a sore knee and ankle but after it all is said...... and sore,  we had a blast! It has been a GREAT three years And I cant wait to see where our lives lead us in the future! I love Dale and Riley with all my heart and I wouldn't trade this life for anything! Love you Dale! 

The 4th!!

We had a great 4th of July!  The first part of the day Riley and I met up with My sister in law Ashley to go to the Tempe Splash Pad! We drove around for a while because all the roads were closed and then when we finally found a place to park and walked a little ways we found put it was closed! Riley kept saying " Finning, Finning" (swimming) and we just weren't getting there!  So we decided to go the slash pad at Tempe Marketplace! All the kids had a blast! It took a bit for Riley to run through the water but once she did she had a blast! Here She is still Timid!
Brady looks like he is having a blast here! ( Ash you can steal these if you want!)
Kodi seemed unsure at first! But look at her stinkin cute self! 
Here they all are! This is the best i could get of a group picture! I wasn't gonna even try to get all those little ones to stand still for any amount of time!  Ha ha 

I love this shot! she is just too cute

After this Riley and  I met up with Dale at his grandparents house to swim with his side of the family! We were there a very long time and had a lot of fun! We just had time to go home and take a little nap before we all got ready to go and see he fireworks with My parents and My brother Nelsons family! The kids again had a blast together!
This is the best picture I got of all three! Of course I don't know how to aim a camera when I am trying to make 3 kids look at me and smile! ha ha
This was our first time as a family going to see fireworks! They were pretty lame but all the kids had a great time! Riley was completely  Entertained! She  loved it!

Tagged! ( a while ago)

Thanks Lisa!!!! She tagged me probably a month ago and I had so much more to post that I didn't really want to do it just then but now that i haven't changed my blog in a while I decided to just do it!!! So here it is...........

3 Goals

1.) I will finish school one day! In what?.... I have no idea! But I will get a degree in something! 

2.) I will one day learn how to handle money better!!! To figure out how to budget better and save better and really stick to it!!! (anyone want to try to teach me?!)

3.) To have our kids when we are older be able to say to me that they might not have liked all (or any) the things that I chose to do concerning them but be able to say that I was a good mother and that they know that I love them! ( this entails all future kids... I am not making any announcements!)

3 Current obsessions/ collections

1.) I love the Twilight books! I really need another book to keep my mind off them. I am clearly over obsessed and  I cant help but read the first three books over and over again!!! I need help!

2.) I am currently obsessed with trying to get my house to look like some one lives in it and not just squatters! I just had help from My sis-in-law Ashley come over and help me decorate because I am sooooo decorationally challenged! Thank you Ash!!!

3.) I think its obvious that I am also obsessed with blogging!  

3 Joys

1.) I love running around the house with Riley and hearing her crazy laugh! It makes me crazy happy! 

2.) I love to simply hold hands with Dale! Just the simplicity of that certain display of affection drives me crazy!

3.) I love to sing! Most of those who know me pretty well know thats its kind of hard to get me to shut up if there is music on. (and even if there is not!!) Its so relaxing to release all my emotions through song!! 

3 Fears

1.) I am soooooo afraid of the dark! I cant believe that i am releasing this to the public.. and I know I sound like I am 5 but i am terrified if the lights go out and I still have to walk to my bed or to the bathroom at night!  I hate not knowing whats in front of me!

2.) I am always afraid that I am going to do something horribly wrong as a mommy and scar Riley for life! 

3.) I really am afraid of lots of things unfortunately! I am terribly jumpy and scared easily! I owe this to my 5 wonderful older brothers!!!

3 Random Surprising Facts(even though I think the rest of this has covered this subject its part of the deal I guess!)

1.) I HATE LAUNDRY!!!!! This is pretty universal but the hate goes much deeper for me! I would rather deep clean my house (bathroom and all) 3 times over than do a days worth of laundry!!! Anyone wanna do my laundry for me!?

2.) I cannot call people and ask them for favors!!! Even Family or really close friends! Like calling people for baby sitters is a killer!! I have serious issues! I am even considering not going to school this next semester because I DO NOT  want to have to ask anyone to babysit Riley! It really could fit under the fears category because it really is my biggest fear! In the worst case i have had I was hyper-ventalating ( how do you spell it?)  and crying it was all I could do not to throw up!! Pretty bad!

3.) I am pretty O.C.D when it comes to hanging things up in my closet! I have gotten better but I used to have all my shirts hanging in the same direction (pretty normal so far) on the same color hangers,  separated by sleeve length, and then by color! Ya I know! Dale has done a decent job at breaking some of those habits! (although he is pretty bad himself)

So after all this is said and done if any of you would rather not talk to me or see me again I completely understand! Now i am supposed to tag 5 people but i think I will choose just three!! Brittany, Ashley Dent and Ashley Mortensen! have fun!

Happy belated fathers day!

I missed fathers day in the blogging world cuz' we were in utah and its pretty late but I just wanted to let everyone know how much i love this man! He is the best Daddy ever! Riley could not love him more or be more attached to him! He is soo patient! He is so even tempered... he is everything i could have asked for in a husband and father! Riley and I just cant get enough of him! Love you Dale

Cousins and birthday fun!

This has been an eventful weekend! We decided at the last minute to have a birthday party for Riley before we left for Utah! Its a little over a week still until her birthday but we will be out of town on her actual birthday so we did it anyway! Also we were able to watch Rileys Cousin thats just a few months younger than her! Cute little Baby H! 
Riley and her Grandma Whipple After we sang happy birthday to her
One of Rileys famous looks! She is getting better at these as time goes on! This is one of the more mild looks! 
Her Cousins Cailin and Cayden loved helping her open (and sometimes just doing it for her ha ha) Her gifts! They seemed to be more excited than she was for presents!
Heres her daddy helping her get one all to herself! Cousins were close by though! 

They all loved this huge coloring book! Especially Riley! Thanks Britt!

She loves the cards that sing to her Its so funny to watch her open the card and dance everytime!

Riley and Baby H Having fun in the "back yard" of our apartments! It was a lot of work trying to get then both inside and out of the heat! They just wanted to play out there all the time! 

Here the are having fun at the park! Riley loved having baby H to play with! They had soo much fun together! Baby H you are welcome to come over anytime!  Jamie doesnt this look like a little model picture, with her hair blowing in her face and her beautiful brown eyes! She is just too cute to handle! 

SAN DIEGO!!!!!!! * warning* PICTURE OVERLOAD!

Woo hoo! we had our first official family vacation this past weekend! We decided to go to California and relax and soak up the sun! We played on the beach and spent a day at the San Diego Zoo! All the animals were so awake and play full it was the perfect day to go!

Riley kept calling at the flamingos "birdy birdy birdy"
Riley loves "Gatatos" (alligators) She brought them up all the time after that even after we had seen a bunch of cool animals after!
The Gorillas were undoubtedly our families favorite part! we did not want to stop watching!
A family picture on a Gorilla statue
"Where is the baby gorilla Riley?"....."There it is!!!!!

This is the cute caricature we had done of Riley at the zoo! Of Course we had her drawn with a Gorilla! And of course the man Drew the gorilla as King Kong! SOOOOO perfect! Riley's First time at the beach!

Riley is naturally a very clean girl! She doesn't like it when her hands get dirty so when the sand stuck to every part of her body she freaked out! It was quite hilarious! She got used to it after a bit though and eventually loved it!!
We were a little worried about the water and her! She was a little daredevil though and once she got in she literally didn't want to get out! She loved playing in the waves with her daddy!
She loved to splash in the waves when they were done almost knocking her over!
Perfect ending to a perfect vacation!

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!!!!

Happy Mothers Day to all the mommys out there! I am a very lucky woman! I woke up this morning to Dale at the side of our bed waking me up1 he wished me a happy mothers day and then walked me into the kitchen and this is what was waiting on the table to see!!! Dale had made me pancakes and had set up the table so beautifully! Yes.... I was almost in tears! It was sooooo sweet! I have the greatest husband EVER!!!!  Thank you Dale! you are the best! Thank you for this wonderful morning  and I love you!!!! 

When I told Dale I was gonna put this Story up on the blog he just said "No You cant put that on the blog than people will know how ghetto we are!!" I said "Oh Well!!" It is way to cute not to share! We had a couple flies in our kitchen last night and we have yet to invest in a fly swatter so we resort to our dish towels!! (we do wash them before we reuse them!!) Riley thinks its the funniest thing in the world to watch her daddy swat flies like that!! She decided it looked like so much fun that she went to the drawer that has our dish towels in it and got up on the very tip of her tippy toes and got a couple rags out and started swinging away at flies she couldn't see!! She swung around for a few minutes and thought it was the best fun she had ever had!

We have finally reached a milestone! For a while now Dale and i have not been able to take Riley to any restaurant with us!  She would scream and cry and put up a huge fuss until we just gave up and left and took all of our food home with us to eat! We would always leave our date nights frustrated and not in very good spirits! Dale and I both are going to school and he works full time and we hardly would see each other a half hour a day during the week so we decided that saturday nights would be our time to catch up! It was supposed to be a time that we could sit down and relax and have fun!! Well we gave up! For a few months now we have been able to get babysitters and it was very nice! I really enjoyed our alone time!! And boy did we need it! Dont get me wrong we loved spending time with Riley and we did get some family time but we just needed some hubby-wife time!! Well this last saturday we were not able to get a baby sitter but we were determined to still be able to go out so we decided to try date nights with Riley again! And to our wonderful surprise it was sooo much fun! she had never behaved so well at a restaurant!!! It was Red Robin so we knew there would be lots of pictures to distract her but we never knew it would go as well as it did!! This all might seem a little silly to some... but it was an incredible feat for us!! 

Well i finally decided to jump on the blogging bandwagon! i am completely computer illiterate so this was a greater challenge than I assumed it would be!! i am still completely clueless but i am gonna keep trying!!! Well Our family has had a great spring!! Of course in Arizona the spring starts in February and ends to soon!! We took advantage of good weather and one of Dales Very few vacation days that we get to enjoy and took riley to the zoo for the first time!! Her favorite(and Dales favorite also) was the monkey village Riley could have not been more excited to almost be within arms reach of a little monkey!! She was completely fascinated! 

The weather has been so nice the last month we have soaked up every opportunity we have been able to get to go outside and play in the courtyard of our apartment complex!! Riley loves being outside!! she has the best time! There are a lot of kids to play with and she could not be more happy out there! 

And of course all that playing leads to being tired!! Thank heavens!! Riley likes (and i am pretty fond of it myself) to wind down by watching a movie and having a little snack before she takes her nap! I put her in front of the t.v and gave her her snacks and i went into my room to play on the computer for a bit and she came in and went straight to my bed! It took about two minutes and i didn't hear anything from her and i looked around and she was so worn out from her fun day outside that she couldn't stay awake any longer!!!