Starting a Private Blog

I have some serious blogger fans from China (lol -see comments from post below), and since our little guy has made his appearance I've decided to go private before introducing him to the world of blogging. If I have your e-mail you'll get an invite soon, if not list it here and I'll add you!

Here's the link to the new blog: http://dehoyosdelights.blogspot.com =)

Baby Shower!

My wonderful friend Bethany threw me such a wonderful baby shower! My talented friend Stacy made all the invitations, and another super talented friend Danell made all the super cute decorations! I am sooo grateful to these girls for all the work and effort they did in my behalf, they are so very kind and thoughtful. I seriously only expected like 6 or 7 people to come, so when I arrived to a full house I was stunned. It was such a fun evening and I so appreciated all the thoughtful gifts! Friday night I stayed up till 4am going through all the baby stuff and started getting really excited for this little guy to come!

I wasn't very good about taking pictures of all the super cute decorations, so to check out the details visit Danell's crafting blog and check out all the other cool stuff she does while your there too!

Moving! (with some help =)

We are moving across "town" from Avondale to Gilbert, which is about an hour away. Since the distance is manageable we've broken up the moving process into stages. Edward had some movers come and get all the big furniture on Wednesday. (Wednesday night was also my baby shower, and if I can find my camera I will post more on that. It was so wonderful!) Anyway, Thursday night my Mom came down in her truck with my brother Jay to help me move some of the little stuff over. I don't think you realize how much "little stuff" you have until you attempt a move. It feels good to sort through stuff though and get rid of all the "why do we even have this?" items. We took one pick-up truck load of stuff to the DI.
Let me just say we couldn't have accomplished all that we did this weekend without the help of my brother Jay. My mother isn't supposed to lift very heavy objects and I being pregnant guess that I shouldn't either. Jay is handicapped with Autism and is like a 6yr old in a massive bulldozer body. For someone who spends most of his time building things with legos, doing puzzles, and rocking in a rocking chair, he has some serious muscle mass and is built like an ogre. (The HS football coach in Page always commented on how much he wished Jay could play for the team, he's built right and can kick a football way across the field).
Anyway, I would load up the boxes full of stuff, and then Jay would carry them one by one out to the truck where my mom would secure them down with a tarp and some bungee cords. Then Jay would help us with the unloading process as well. He's such a sweet boy, and so eager to help.

My Mom was such a HUGE help too, and I am so grateful for her. She helped me line the drawers and cupboards with contact paper, finish painting a room, and clean. And I was tired, hot, and grouchy part of the time and she was so patient and loving to me. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful mother!
They were only here for two days, but we were able to get most of the stuff moved over. We still have our TV and Internet hooked up in Avondale, as well as all our animals over here, so Edward and I are sleeping on an air-mattress tonight. It is fun, probably the closest thing to camping I'll ever get Edward to do! ;)

I exploded =)

Shortly after Easter my belly really popped out, and since then it just keeps growing and growing! I love this stage of pregnancy because I can feel him moving around : ) I still have 4 months left though so I'm starting to wonder just how big I'm going to get. Snacking and sleeping all the time is so not a healthy lifestyle. Edward would laugh at me some days because I would start to nod off before we had even finished eating dinner. It was like someone took my batteries out, my body would just completely shut down so I couldn't even think straight. I'm getting past that stage now though, and lately I've been having these wonderful bursts of energy (usually fueled by crafty projects;).
I've been refusing to buy maternity clothes -doing the hair-tie through the belt loop thing with long shirts pulled down over, and wearing stretchy skirts, but I finally broke down and went to my favorite little thrift store "Hope's Closet". It is a cute little shop that runs completely on volunteer basis to help raise funds for women and children who are victims of domestic violence. I got 9 cute shirts in bigger sizes, all in great condition, from Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, Gap, etc. and a skirt for a total of $15 dollars. Can't beat that!
Last night Edward and I ordered pizza and as we were waiting to pick it up, another customer in line asked us what we were having. Edward automatically answered "Pepperoni and Jalapenos". I had to laugh, he's not used to being asked that question. It was funny to watch his face as it dawned on him the gentleman was referring to our baby =)

Pregnant!

We are expecting a little baby BOY due Aug 20th! Some of you know what a long process it has been for us getting this far as we've waited patiently through fertility treatments and some discouraging disappointments along the way. Which explains my procrastination in making this announcement. I kept telling myself, if everything is ok after the next Doctors appointment, then I'll tell everybody. But we've had several ultrasounds and everything seems to be right on track so were starting to let ourselves hope and get excited! I'm about 18 weeks now (I think, I lose track time goes by so fast and then so slow sometimes) and I'm starting to show even through my baggy sweaters, so I decided this is a good time to share the news! Thanks to everybody for all the prayers in our behalf. =)

Edward's Toys

I know this is overdue, but I thought I'd blog about some of Edward's Christmas presents he bought himself. He is so nostalgic about toys he had as a kid, and I can kind of relate. (I love collecting children's books that I enjoyed while growing up, partly because someday I hope my kids will enjoy reading them also.) Anyway, I rushed home from a work Christmas party to meet Edward so we could go to the Saturday night Stake Conference session together, and when I walked in the door I was bombarded with Nerf-darts. Edward was crouched on the floor in his suit and tie with one of these bad boys... and it fires off a LOT of darts in rapid succession!

This lovely (not) toy now has a permanent location next to the couch in our family room. I kept moving it but it kept reappearing, so I finally asked him what the deal was. (Plus our home teachers were coming over that night and I was a little worried about what kind of reception he'd planned) Turns out he's been using it to shoot our two cats whenever they scratch on the screen door or furniture or hop on the counter. (I used to just squirt them with a water bottle, but that requires getting off the couch, and Edward is much more inventive ;) Our house has an open floor-plan so Edward can aim into several different rooms from his spot on the couch. And I get to pick up darts I find scattered all over the house (good practice for when I have kids:). The second toy he bought himself was a "Sock'em Rock'em" that he said we could use to solve arguments (better then rock, paper, scissors eh), but it's still in the box. (must be cuz we never disagree, lol =)

I love that Edward has such a youthful spirit and finds the joy and pleasure in simple things. He makes me laugh every day. He'll be such a fun loving Dad to our kids. I'm a very blessed gal.

Flower Clips!

For a RS Super Saturday craft we learned how to make these cute flower clips (again from my talented friend Stacy).

I made a bunch of Halloween ones to pass out to the gals I work with. And we made these cute Christmas clips as a gift from the leaders to the YW! They are fun and easy once you get the hang of it! Here's an online tutorial I found incase anybody wants to give them a try : )

New Moon

Ok I just have to say I really liked this movie! It was such a pleasant surprise considering the first one was such a flop. It was a fun girls night out! Thank you to Stacy, our extremely talented friend who made our shirts! Edward (my Edward) just rolled his eyes when he saw me wearing it.

Pumpkin Contest = )

Every October Dr. Bailey's office (An Orthodontist in Surprise, Az) does a pumpkin decorating contest for all the Dental professionals in the area. The office with the "best" pumpkin gets a catered lunch from anywhere they choose. But the BEST part is that all the pumpkins are donated to Phoenix Children's Hospital to decorate their halls and rooms! I had a couple patients cancel today, so I ran to Michael's to get some supplies and a Styrofoam pumpkin. Suzy had the cute idea of doing Cinderella's carriage! Here's the finished product as of when I left today, (Steph was going to "bling" it up some more with a few more rhinestones)...

I love it! We put gold glitter glue all over it and stuck rhinestones down the crevices. Robin found, printed, and cut out the door, and we added a Cinderella sticker. My project was the "vine" wheels and gems. Usually I have a hard time doing crafty projects in a group because I want it to be like my vision, and I can't handle ugly ideas, but we all worked GREAT together (like we do with everything:) and it was a lot of fun! I hope the kids like it!

Found the answer to the mosquito conundrum! (see earlier post)

Supposedly people that get "stressed out" easily, emit a smell that repels mosquitos. Who knew? Check it out at Wall Street Journal. I guess I'm just calm, cool, and collected ; )

Wall hangings (for Lisa : )

My cute friend Lisa has a theme inspired blog with such creative ideas! I'm stealing her latest post idea "If Walls could Talk", and sharing some of my home decor. I have to agree that the pictures in a person's home tell so much about the people living there!

First I dug up a horror from the past. This hideous Picasso pic was hanging front and center in Edward's living room when I met him. After we were married I quickly took it down. I hate it. It's just plain ugly.

I just LOVE this tree picture! It is Ansel Adams "Oak tree Sunrise". It reminds me of something out of Pride and Prejudice. It hangs above our couch in the living room. (It's kinda like your Tree picture Lisa, it's just missing an inspirational scripture!)

This picture was a Christmas gift

from our good friends the Abercrombie's. Bethany is a very talented artist and does illustrations for children's books. She drew this picture of the temple Edward and I got married in! It hangs in our living room also. (Sorry the photo is so blurry, I was in a hurry, Ha! I rhymed :)

We found these two photos in a travel magazine. I loved them because the little tug boat says "Nancy" on the side! Edward clipped them out for me and found me these cute frames so I could hang them in my bathroom! (Yes, we have separate bathrooms for now, it helped solve a lot of squabbles when we first got married ; )

These pictures hang in our family room. The picture of Christ I made for Edward when we were dating and I worked at a framing/matting company. The print came from a calendar by Greg Olsen. The frames on the side are bordered by small pictures of the Savior, and hold "The living Christ" and "The Family Proclamation", they were wedding gifts from my Aunt Yvette!

These two hang in my yellow laundry room. The cross-stitch was a wedding gift from a sweet lady, and the "Home" mantle I made at a family reunion craft project. The words were printed from a color printer onto a Wallpaper design (in two separate sections, you can only see the line if you look really close). I painted the standard wood mantle black. After the paper was pasted to the board, an enamel seal was sprayed on to finish it! (You could do it easy Lisa!)

Below are prints I've purchased impulsively, but have nowhere to hang that fits! Maybe someday!

And finally, my "Wish List":

Summer cut!

So I vacuumed my grass again yesterday! But this time the "snow" was Emma's fur : ) Poor Emma gets so bushy she looks miserable when we send her outside to do her business. So for the third time this summer I shaved her down! I didn't take a pic of her before, but I found some old pics that show just how shaggy she can get:

And after... I've got some pretty mad grooming skills eh!? It shocked me the first time I saw her after a haircut -she doesn't even look like the same dog!

Every time I cut her hair I think of this Pixar minifilm. We love Pixar!

Pesky Critters

Ok, so while I was in Idaho for my fam reunion -I was eaten alive by Mosquitos from my knees down! And I got some sort of strange satisfaction from scratching them! It's like I remember having chicken pox as a child and my Mom was a Nazi about keeping me from scratching them, and now I could scratch all I wanted -so I did. Unfortunately I didn't realize they would scarr over. And since I am a somewhat vain silly girl, I have been wearing pants daily (in 115 degree weather) and nylons (yuck) to church for the last 2 weeks to cover up the uglyness. I am so glad they are starting to fade, I have learned my lesson. The mosquitos didn't even bite Edward once! I guess that's proof I'm sweeter ; )

Birthday #26!

I am so lucky to have the job I do. Not only do I work in a beautiful office (check it out at www.srcalldds.com), but the people there are so sweet and fun! (pictured above: Sweet Suzy & Steff) For my Birthday they blew up a ton of balloons (seven garbage bags full) and taped them all over my room!  Dr. Call brought in birthday donuts and then took us out to Red Robin for lunch! It was such a fun day, I felt like I was getting paid to party! That evening Edward took me out for Chinese food...Yummm! It was a great day!

Washburn Fam Reunion 09

After spending a fantastic week at girls camp with the wonderful YW of our ward, I packed up again and Edward & I flew off to Idaho for the Washburn Family Reunion!  I am so grateful to my Grandpa for facilitating this annual event. We wouldn't miss it for the world! It is so nice to get together and enjoy each others company.  You can always count on good food, laughing till you cry, and feeling the warmth and love of family!   (See pics below =)

Fishing with my Dad!

I went to Page last weekend for a visit! My dad and I tied at 302 points in an intense Scrabble game Friday night (Shocker, cuz my Mom usually wins!), so we agreed that the tiebreaker was whoever caught the most fish the following morning!

I love going trout fishing with my Dad down the Colorado river! For me it's more about the hike than it is the fish though.  It's so beautiful and serene down in the canyon. 

Hiking down in.  I love my Dad!!! 

Finally reaching the bottom!

My Dad was kind enough to thread my worms for me! Edward will never go fishing because he feels bad for the worm on the hook, and then the fish on the hook afterwards! He has such a tender heart for all living things! He won't even kill spiders, he scoops them up on a magazine and then carries them outside! Anyway, back to fishing...

At first all we caught were big gobs of slimy green moss. Gross. 

We moved further down river and found a nice sandbar.  I could even wade out in the freezing cold water here and cast out a little further.  Fishing is all about location!

Getting a nibble...

A fish at last!  In the end I caught 4 fish and my Dad caught 1.  

Now to hike back up and out with the added weight of the fish in the pack.  My legs were a little sore the next day! 

Gotta love that Arizona red rock! 

The sun was just setting as we reached the truck, and finding our way back to the highway was tricky business! There are like a million dirt roads winding around the Navajo Reservation, and they crisscross each other everywhere!   My dad tried blazing his own path across the desert, but we couldn't get the 4-wheel-drive to work. I'd rather be in the truck looking for the highway though, than running along the highway looking for the truck (which has happened before)!  It's always an adventure with my Dad : )  Thanks Dad! It was a fun trip! 

Happy Mothers Day!!!

This is my beautifull Mom! She is the most amazing woman you will ever meet! She is a cancer survivor and crazy teenage daughter survivor = ). I know everyone thinks their Mom is the best, but I really think mine is! She is a woman of many talents! She has an incredible greenthumb. (As is evident by the flowers blooming in the background.) I think because she nurtures weeds and plants alike for their respective herbal and medicinal properties, they in turn flourish under her care! (Unfortunately I do not have this talent -I struggle to keep plants alive). It always amazes me when we go for walks together how she can name all the plants along the way and tell me what they can be used for! (even down here in the middle of Pheonix where I didn't think anything good grew.) I've always admired her for getting her Bachelors and becoming an RN. She is a hard worker! She is a gifted tole painter -and has made lots of cute decorations to make home festive for every Holiday!  She cans food, bakes bread, sews, you name it! And a hidden talent -she has written 300 pages thus far for a book about Jay/Autism! I hope I can be as kind, patient, and loving to my children as she has been to me.  What I admire most about my mother though is her steadfastness and love of the gospel! Her testimony is rock solid and unwavering, and she has a vast knowledge and understanding of the scriptures that only comes from years of earnest studying.  She has an inner strength and peace that she uses to uplift others. I am so grateful to have such a wonderful mother and friend! Happy Mothers Day Mom!  

4th Anniversary!!!!

Eva Ross stitched this for us as a wedding present. I just love it!!!