4 Years Old!

Happy Birthday Hailey! Hailey has been waiting so long to have her birthday this year.

Hailey wanted all of the candles on her cake.
I love this picture of Hailey. Her eyes are closed and she is thinking really hard of a awesome birthday wish!

The Dancing Queen

Hailey had her first dance recital. She did such a good job! She was a little sad when she saw that the other girls had makeup on and her Mom forgot. Woops.

Such a good helper!

We were all so excited to put up our Christmas decorations and Hailey was a great helper! We just had to redecorate the tree once she was asleep. It was so fun last year to watch her get excited about hearing Santa on the roof at Grandma Sandra's home. This year has already been tons of fun. This girl loves the Christmas season. She is a little confused about the "Sub for Santa" program. We got a present for a little girl and Hailey helped pick it out but once she realized that it was for someone else she said, "How about I keep this present and then Santa can just bring the little girl a present." She gave it up once we explained it better to her.

A new calling-

I just got called to be the 14-17 year olds Sunday school teacher along with one of my friends in our ward. It is kind of funny, this is the same group of kids that Bub and I have taught since they were 11 years old in primary and now Bub has them in Young Mens and I will have them in Sunday school. Poor kids!

Thanksgiving!!!

We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!!! We spent the day in Utah County with my family, the Wilson's. We had a lot of fun. The greatest part was getting to my family what we are thankful for.
We let this picture of Hailey announce it to the Longenecker family! Yes, it is true. We are going to have a baby headed our way around May 31st.

Santa's Elbows

Two great stories in one:

Since time out, no toys, no treats, no Dora, or Mom is going to give your toys to some other little girl.... is not working out so well for us anymore, we have turned to Santa. (I really don't like Santa he takes all the credit but whatever.) We now remind Hailey that Santa's elves are watching to see if she is being good or bad and that they will let Santa know if she should get any presents for Christmas. This has worked pretty well until of course Christmas is over. Anyway, the other day Hailey was playing in her room while I was busy finishing some work in the living room. Of course it got quiet and that means trouble. She came out and poked her head around the corner and said, "Mom, ummm just so you know, Santa's elbows are not watching me right now, -k-." ( We have tried to tell her that the elves are like little people, Santa's helpers, but she tells us we are wrong and that no, it is his elbows that watch us.) Turns out Hailey had colored all over her body with markers. Then Hailey tells me, "Did you know Santa's elbows only watch me when I help clean up."

I Hate commercials!

Hailey has found out that her birthday is getting closer and is really really excited for it. The bad part- all of the sudden every commercial that comes one whether it is for a boy, girl, Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, pets..... she says " I want that for my birthday." Yeah it was cute at first but she says it after every commercial. The best is when a commercial came on for dentures, you know the glue that keeps peoples dentures in yeah, she wants that for her birthday. Just putting some ideas out there!

Oh Yeah and us on Halloween

Halloween

My cousin Crystal has the cutest little guy named Jonas. Hailey is so happy to have a cousin close by. Crystal and her family have been such a blessing to my family. She watches Hailey for us during the week and it has been amazing to see how happy Hailey has been since she has been able to go to their home while I work. Thank you so much Bradley's.
Hailey is almost 4 and yes she still holds grabs on to people's ears when she is tired.
Jonas and Hailey ready for fun!
Crystal, Hailey, and Jonas trick-or-treating down main street on Halloween Day. Hailey was a kangaroo and a butterfly this year she could not make up her mind.

Awkward but great news!!

So a few weeks ago I found a lump the size of a carnival token about 1 inch below my collarbone. I went to see a nurse practitioner and she thought it was "suspicious." ( I don't know what else it would be.) So she sent me to radiology to get an ultrasound done. The radiologist said you need to go and see a general surgeon. Great! I know I am a nurse and all but surgery and me do not go together. So I went to see the surgeon and when the MA called my name to bring me back into one of the rooms I knew who she was. Dude I love this girl, we worked together for a couple of years and I was her photographer for her wedding. Anyway, we chit-chatted, she took my vitals and then left and said the doc would be in soon. Anyway, the doc comes in and says he needs to do a breast exam. Whatever, like I care, I have all ready had a baby and we all know after that, you are kind of free to the world. So I got into my gown and when the Doc came back he came with a friend, oh no wait, it was my friend. This is where the awkward situation hit. Blah, blah, blah. Needless to say, we are a bit better of friends today!!! So the Surgeon said, " I think that tumor is suspicious and I need you to come back so we can do biopsies." "Oh wow", I thought, lets see so in the last 10 days, I have been opening my gown to 4 docs and I get to come back again! Anyway I came back and had 6 biopsies done and no my friend was not there this time, just another girl. Anyway, I was supposed to call the office to find out my results in two days. I called and they transfered me to someone who had authority to tell me my results. She asked for my info. and then said, " Ummm actually, I'm going to have the surgeon give you a call personally so he can give you those results." Yep, I freaked. Great I thought I have cancer. And then I did the best thing possible, I finished my work day where I go visit terminal patients who have cancer. ( It was horrible) Then I started to think positively. Hey, guess that means I can stop working and stay home. Ha ha ha. Anyway, the doc and me played phone tag until the next day when he called me on my work phone. What great news... I felt to relieved...No signs of cancer or precancerous cells, the tumor is just made of fat and that means no surgery!!! So now I have to hit the gym because I not only worry about the fat below my waist I get to work on the fat above my waist. He he!!!

Happy Birthday Bub!!!

So my hubby is now 27 years old!! He was really busy on his birthday so we had a really quick B-day party for him at midnight. Hailey loved the anticipation. Her favorite present to her Dad was a super man card. And when you open it, it plays music. She thought it was the coolest thing ever.

Best buds-just being cheesy!
Yes, Bub's cupcakes are pink and they even have sprinkles on them. Hailey planned the party.

Hailey had listened to Bub's B-day card so many times I thought it would run out of batteries before he even got it. Hailey had the song from the card memorized and she played it on her pretend flute, ( part of our vacuum that she put circle stickers on and made a flute)! The two craziest people I know and love.

Bub and my Dad kind of stood out that night. he he

Last weekend we went down to visit my family and I mean the whole whole Mexican clan. There was close to 50 people in my families home. It was awesome to get to see everyone, to bad I can't really talk to all of them. My Mama Tere and Papa Hector came to visit. We wish we could see them more often but we are happy for the moments we do get to have with them. My Grandpa kept talking to me in Spanish and I would just smile and laugh because I have no clue what he is saying. Hailey of course thought she could speak Spanish so she didn't have any problem. Kids are awesome- she didn't think that there was a problem with a language barrier, she always got her point across.

Wow time is flying. My brother Sam leaves the MTC to go to Columbia in 1 week and big news..... My brother Bruce got his mission call. He is going Spanish speaking to Monterrey, Mexico. I'm so proud of him. I have awesome brothers.

Today in church we had the primary program. So the kids are all taking their turn saying their lines with the help of their teachers. Hailey gets up to the microphone and just starts sharing her testimony. It was pretty funny, she started out well with, " I am a child of God and I love him, I love my Mom and Dad, and I love to come to church... ( at this time the teachers are all looking at each other like umm should we stop her, and yes they should have because her testimony took at turn right then) ... but I mostly love my care bears, and babies. And please bless that we can go to Disneyland and that I can be a butterfly, mermaid, and a princess for Halloween. Amen." So near the end of her little testimony her teacher was whispering to her what to say. Hailey would not say what her teacher wanted her to until she was done with what she had to say. But at least she ended it with a shorter version of what she was supposed to say. "President Mmmmm had kids, I think 3 of them."

Oh yeah and one more thing, we went to she RSL soccer game in the new stadium. I was tonz of fun!

To 5 years & many more!!!

We just had our 5 year anniversary and life has been great!!! I love you Bub!

Flowers everywhere!

A bakery 1/2 block away has their property sprayed with with wild flowers every year. It is sooooo pretty. Hailey and I went there today to take some pics and the field was full of photographers. I love taking pictures of my cute Hailey. She is getting so big!!!





Anyway, Hailey was being her fun loving self as you can see. I took about 100 pictures just like this, Hailey being crazy and fun.




It was tons of fun but we came home with over 20 mosquito bites. Totally worth it though. I think!

No weekends/holidays- Is this a joke?

Today was the first day of my new job with the IHC Hospice team. Wow have I got a lot to learn. I think it will be a great experience and I get to work with awesome people. Guess what the best part is? No weekends or holidays!!! That will be a huge change for me. I have worked weekend and holidays since I was 15 years old working at the Watergardens Movie Theater. I am really excited to have weekends off with my little family and get to go to church with them every week. Anyway, wish me luck!

Just for fun!

My brother Bruce is great at photography. He has won awards for his photography and is ready to take on clients. This last weekend we went down to visit the family and Bruce wanted to practice some shots before he takes on clients. It was way fun getting to be his model and get dressed up in my wedding dress again. To bad we couldn't shoot for to long, because I was having a hard time breathing in that dress.

Here Kitty,kitty,kitty!

We had some people move into a duplex next to us for 4 days. The day they were moving the lady came over and asked if I had seen her cat. I told her that I would let her know if I saw her cat before they moved. Night came and the neighbors were gone. The next night we had a huge storm and this cat showed up at our door. It had a blue collar like our neighbor said, but guess what? No name or number. What good is a collar on a cat with out a name or number on it. Seriously, it's not like you can hook up a leash to the cats collar and take it for a walk or anything. Anyway we had a moment of weakness and thought the cat was scared so we gave it milk and tuna fish. Three days later the cat showed back up. The cat obviously was an indoor cat and would probably die without food. So we just gave it milk this time and the cat left again. Well guess who was at our door today? The blue collared nameless, homeless, ownerless cat. Dang freaking cat go away! Now I wish I would have gotten that lady's name & number. I tried to call a humane society but Cache Valley does not have one. So if anyone has any advise for me on what the heck we should do about this cat who has adopted itself to us, ( besides shoot it), let me know! Hey Mather's you like cats right? :)

Double Wammy-no patient, no job!

One of my favorite people to hang out with, passed away last Sunday! My patient "JD" has put up a long good fight for the last 15 years. I am so glad that I got to work with him and get to know him and become a part of his family. It has been a difficult thing for a lot of people. Bub, Hailey, and I went to JD's viewing. I can't remember if I have been to a viewing ever before but I got really nervous. The last time I saw JD he was doing great, and then I received a phone call from one of my fellow nurses telling me that JD was now at LRH on life support until all family could say their goodbyes. I was in Utah county when I received the call so I did not have a chance to go and see him until his viewing. He looked great, and at peace! I was able to talk at his funeral services and all I can say is, "JD you are loved by many and have inspired us all. Love ya bud! It will be an amazing day when we all get to see you again and you will be able to talk, and walk, and play football again."

So now, I am on the such for a job! I know nurses are in demand everywhere but it seems like Logan is overflowing with them. I hate job searching!!! So for now, I am making dinner every night and getting to spend a lot of time with Hailey, that is a plus!

But it's not a lie. I was just kidding!

It is so obvious when Hailey is tired. She rubs her ears when she is ready to hit the floor and fall asleep. The other night we were in the car going to get some really late dinner and I looked back at Hailey and her eyes were closed. I grabbed her legs and told her, "Hailey no sleeping until you eat some food, okay." She starts to talk with her eyes still closed and says, "Mom, see the sun in the sky, it's shinning in my eyes. That's why I have to keep my eyes closed because it's so really bright." I said, "Hailey, guess what? It's night time and the sun is not out" Okay so her first fib did not really work so she comes out with fib number two. "But Mom, she that red light over there, it is shinning in my eyes, that's why I have to keep my eyes closed." I looked down the road and about a 1/2 mile away, sure enough there is a red stop light. I turned to Hailey and said, "Hay hay, are you tired?" She said, " NO, I told you the lights are shinning in my eyes." I reminded her that we are not supposed to tell lies and we always tell the truth. And this is what she says, "Mom, Hailey is a good girl, I always tell the truth." "Really, what about the sun and red light stories you just said." " But it's not a lie, I was just kidding!!!"



Hailey had her first day of dance today! It was so cute to watch all of the 3 & 4 yr. olds try to copy what their teachers were doing. Hailey is just a jabber mouth and would not stop talking to the other girls. The teachers kept telling her to face the front, to copy them, to stop talking. But in the end she was not the worst behaved kid. To bad she is so dang competitive and thinks that doing across-the-floors is a race. When it was her turn with two other girls she would just start sprinting across the floor. Oh, yeah and she let the other girls know that she was the winner by a lot. Maybe we should think about running, or soccer for her. We will see.

Happy 48th Birthday to my Dad!!!
Bub and I entered in some of our photography into the fair this year and guess what? I got a 1st and 2nd place ribbon. Bub got a 2nd place ribbon too! Yeah so um, it was a big win. Together we won $11.00!!! Pretty hot huh. Anyway, the experience was a ton of fun. We will definitely do it again.

MTC

My brother Sam wen into the MTC this last week. I love how people totally lie about when they drop off their missionaries at the MTC and say "it was so good!" Our family has become especially close this year and it was hard to say bye to Sam but we will see him soon. Although it was supper hard, we all are so proud of Sam and his excitement in wanting to serve a mission. We love you Sam and know that the people of Colombia need you and the message you will bring them. See you in two!!!
We figured out that Hailey will have started Kindergarten by the time Sam gets home.
Liza is a little relieved that Sam will not be around to bug her now that she can date. Turns out Bruce and Bub have stepped up and are both 3x's more protective and more annoying about the dating situation. Good job boys!

Oh, what have I done!

Bub went camping with the Young men this last weekend to Bear Lake so my brothers decided to come up to Logan to stay with me and Hailey. We went to 30 min. of the rodeo and then left after we decided that we might die. After the rodeo had started a really bad rain and lightning storm had started. We sat through it thinking it was kind of fun until the rodeo announcer started cutting out due to the lightning and then it got really uncomfortable. We realized we were all sitting on metal bleachers and that if lightning hit one of us we would all get zapped. So we started home. This is a picture of us dripping wet, I mean soaked to the bone by the time we reached my apartment. It was kind of fun though. I love rain storms!!!

Hailey rock climbing! She saw Bruce and Sam climbing at the gym and had to try the real deal. Bruce and Sam keep on reminding me that if she starts climbing now, she could be a pro. by the time she is 13 years old!!!
We went to Tony's Grove up Logan Canyon. It was amazing and soooo beautiful!!! The water was crisp blue and we walked on the mile trail that surrounds the natural lake. I love being in the mountains.
Oh boy, what have I done! Let me tell you the story. So, I reserved a copy of the new vampire book, Breaking Dawn at Hastings. They said that I could come and get it at 10-12pm. I showed up at 10pm and found out that was just when the party started. Yeah, it was kind of weird. There were girls dressed up in prom dressing looking like vampires and all sorts of weird stuff. Anyway, the books were not going to be given out until midnight. I had to work early the next morning and decided to just go home and then come back in two hours. I came home and told Bub the situation and guess what? He sent me to bed and he took Hailey to Hastings at midnight and waited in line for 1hr. for my vampire book. What a sweetheart! To top it off, Bub has been coming with me on my photo shoots and doing my lighting for me. I love it when he comes, we have a lot of fun together. Anyway, he has been really sweet lately, so I did it, I gave in. My hubby now has an XBOX. Just before we walked in the door with the XBOX I stopped Bub and told him, " Now remember, you love Hailey and me more than the XBOX, right? So wish me luck, I hope we did not just buy a widow maker!

Fishing in Mexico!

My bro. was cleaning out his room and decided to give us this electric piano. Hailey loves it! Look she's already becoming creative with her music. (Our neighbors under us hate it.) He, he, he!
A nice Sunday drive brought us to 1st Dam. Turns out Hailey found some little Mexican friends. These cute little Mexican kids were fishing with bread and Hailey thought it was so cool. She just walked right up to the group and started fishing with them. The boy next to her was a little concerned that she was going to drop his bread into the water. He kept telling her, "Alto, alto, nina." So what does Hailey do?
...Well of course she thinks she can have a full on conversations with these kids. She would just start making up some weird sounds that kind of sound like Chinese and she thought she was good to go. If only speaking another language was that easy- it would be awesome.
Yeah, my project is almost done! Bub gave me this frame on Valentines to put all of our friends and families pictures on it. I still need to find some stickers to put, "We are family, we are friends!" on it. Clear back in Feb. when Bub and I were about to leave to go to Texas, Hailey gave us a hug and said those cute words. This way where ever we go, we can take everyone with us! Hey, we still need a picture from some friends in the Spanish Fork area to put up it here. Don't worry, we have a spot reserved just for you guys! Love ya all!!!