ShOrT StOrIeS

EaSteR PiCs!!

2011-04-14T10:33:00.000-07:00

HaLloWeeN!

2010-11-19T21:01:00.001-08:00

This is the cutest kitty cat that I ever did saw!!
Love this face!!

PuMpKin PaTcH!

2010-10-25T11:19:00.000-07:00

Love this face! We had so much this week, going to the pumpkin patch. Hallee found the perfect pumpkin that was just here size. She carried it around the whole time.

She was soo dirty by the end! Here is just an idea of how dirty she got.

She liked the pumpkin patch, but did NOT like taking pictures. You can see how happy she is in this picture.

Hallee and her mommy! Best friends! :)

Just dancing as mommy sang to her. A song will always make her happy!
Her little pumpkin!

This is Hallee's excited face! LOVE IT!

Look how big these pumpkins are. Hallee loved them.
A little snack before we left. I just loved her sweet face in this pic,

Excited for Halloween and the holidays. Kids make them so fun!

FaMiLy PicS!

2010-09-18T08:47:00.001-07:00

So, it has been soo long since I have blogged. I am going to blame it on my ever-slowing computer, and not my lack of desire to blog. Well, maybe it is a combo of both. However, we have had such a fun summer, with so many fun pics. So I am going to have to step it up!

My sister Natalie, got a new camera. She wanted to practice taking family pics. So we happily volunteered. She did a great job, even though Hallee was less than cooperative. We still got some great pics!

HaLleE iS oNe!!

2010-05-31T10:13:00.000-07:00

My baby is one! I can't believe it! Love you Hallee Bear!

SaLt LaKe HaLf MaRatHon!

2010-05-13T17:05:00.000-07:00

(Hallee and I at the finish line)

On April 17th, I ran the Salt Lake City Half Marathon. It was my first race since little Hallee Bear. It was so much fun. It just happened to be the same day as Eric's and my third anniversary! So we got to start the day off bright and early together in the cold morning air.

Eric was so great! He got home late friday night from a business trip. He woke up early and drove me to the starting line. He stayed with me until the race started. We even got to wait in the lengthy line for the porta-potty together. It was quite the popular spot.

We had so much fun together. He was making jokes about everyone around us, while trying to keep me warm, while holding all my stuff, waiting for my turn for the bathroom.

He ran the Salt Lake Marthon the first year they had it. So he has a special place in his heart for the race. He was so supportive and helpful. This is me at the starting line. I didn't want to take my jacket off all the way, because it was so cold. But I had to show my number.

After the race started, he went and picked up Hallee. They found a good mid point spot to cheer me on. Then I saw their smiling faces at the end of the race! It was a good day.

We finished our anniversary by going to the University of Utah's Spring football game. Then we went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner! YUM! I am so lucky to be married to such a wonderful, loving husband! Love you babe!!

DiScOveRy GaTeWaY!

2010-04-26T08:11:00.000-07:00

Hallee is getting so big. She is trying to be so independant. She just acts so big. Hallee got to go to Discovery Center with her friend Max. They are driving a little car together in the pic above. Look at both of their faces. They are so intense!!!

Hallee loved playing in the balls. She loved pulling herself up and throwing the balls out onto the floor. She starting sliding down, so she rested her little face.

There is her intense face again. She was just so excited!

Then in the next pic, I asked here to smile. This is her fake smile! It makes me laugh so hard. You can't tell if she is happy or mad!

Look how old she looks here. Just sitting in her little chair, working on their puzzle. I love it!

She loved playing with this toy. Especially since she could stand up and play with it! We played there forever.

We had so much fun. I can't wait for this summer to be able to take her around to the zoo, park, pool and everything else we missed out on last summer. Especially if she gets to go with her friend Max!

EaSteR JoY!

2010-04-05T07:48:00.001-07:00

My friend Kacee took these pics of Hallee in her Easter outfit. Notice how happy she is in these first pics...

Then we got the bunny out. She is not quite sure what to think...

Her concerned face...

Trying to find the bunny...

Looking at me for reassurance...

Watching the bunny from a far...

So Hallee didn't like thebunny one bit. You can see she progressivly gets more and more concerned. She actually started bawling when the bunny got too close. It really surprised me, because she loves my mom's little dog. Hallee is just very aware of her surroundings. But I just love these pics. It captures Hallee's little personality so well. She is such a smart little baby. Happy Easter Hallee Bear! Thanks Kacee!

HaLLee's FiRst EaSteR!

2010-04-05T06:40:00.000-07:00

Easter was so much fun this year! Every holiday gets better, having our little Hallee bear with us. Hallee saw her basket right away, and just started crawling for it.

Once she got to her basket, she had to stare at it for a minute. She has to figure out what is going on before she can plung into anything.

Here she is looking at the duck, trying to figure out if she likes it.

But once she got started, she LOVED it! She just kept doing her really happy face! It is so funny.

She sees the Elmo book. She is excited!

The first thing she pulled out was a plastic Easter egg. She loved them. She was playing with them all morning. She would try to see how many she could hold at one time. She could never get enough in those little hands.

Reaching down to the bottom for another plastic egg! :) Funny little Hallee!

Her first Easter surprises.

She wouldn't wear the bunny ears, so Mom and Dad had to- trying to convince her how cool they were... didn't fool her!

Hallee loved watching us dye Easter egss. She just played with her plastic eggs. She was very excited and interested about what we were doing.

Watching Conference! What a good little girl.

We did Seseame Street eggs this year for Hallee- because she loves Elmo!

And we had some boring plain eggs for us.

Easter is just so much fun!!

Playing with Dad!

Hallee kept playing with my face, so I grabbed her face to play back. She thought it was the funniest thing. I love her little chubby cheeks!

We had such a wonderful Easter weekend!

My LiTtLe MiNi!!

2010-03-23T19:12:00.000-07:00

So Hallee just had her 9 month doctors appointment. Here are her stats.

Height- 27 inches (25th percentile)

Weight- 16 lbs. 2 oz. (10th percentile)

She is so mini. The doctor said she needs to gain some weight. What? This is my little chubby 8 lbs. 6 oz. baby! What happened? I think she is just perfect... but we will try to plump her up!

Hallee's 9 Month Favorites:

Food: Anything she can feed herself+ bananas and sweet potatoes.

Activites: Reading books, playing with other kids, daddy coming home, talking on the phone, crawling, pulling everything out of where it belongs, eating whatever mom and dad has, standing up, smiling, waving, giving kisses, laughing, playing with mom's hair, taking baths and hearing herself talk.

We love you Halle Bear! She gets funner everyday!

MiSs HaLLee- 9 MoNthS oLd!!

2010-03-04T19:26:00.000-08:00

Little miss Hallee is 9 months old! We got her pictures taken by my friend Heidi, and there are sooo many cutes ones, that capture her personality so well! So sorry... there are lots of pics!

LoVes tO ReAd

2010-02-21T18:19:00.000-08:00

So Hallee LOVES books!! Which makes me sooo happy, because children's books are one of my loves! Plus, I have been collecting them for so many years (being a teacher and all).

I will put her on the floor with some toys and books, to play. This is what I find:

PRICELESS!!!

GeTtiNg sO biG!!

2010-02-20T18:12:00.000-08:00

Our Hallee bear is eight and a half months old! It has gone by sooo fast! She has all sorts of new tricks... her favorite being able to stand. She LOVES it. She feels so big!

She love to crawl/drag herself around the room. We spend hours playing games, moving around the house.

As always.... loves to smile and turn on the charm!

Look at the little crawler in motion!

She loves playing with her toys... especially her dad! He is the funnest toy!

Always posing!

Loves to pull everthing out of the diaper bag! She also loves to dump out her toy buckets!

So happy being big!

WiNteR BaBy! Six MoNthS Old!

2010-01-05T15:29:00.000-08:00

SleDdinG wiTh tHe ShOrtS

2009-12-26T13:15:00.000-08:00

The Short's have a tradition, the day after Christmas all the cousins go sledding together. Then we go have hot chocolate and scones. Well this was Hallee's 1st time going sledding, and really her first time out in the snow. You can see she is really excited about it.

She actually did surprisingly well. She didn't do much sledding, and didn't mind the cold. The only time she cried was when mom and dad went down the hill at the same time. I think she heard mom screaming! LOL She likes to be able to see one of us.

Not quite sure what is going on!

She couldn't move her head much. Doesn't she look like Ralfy from the "Christmas Story"? Her arms wouldn't go down! But she was sure warm.

She got tired of watching everyone. She needed a nap. So she did. It was so hard to hold her in that bulky suit. She looks stiff as a board.

Hallee's favorite part was when we went back and had hot cocco and she got to play with her cousins. She LOVES her little cousins. What a fun tradition! Thanks Short fam!

HaVe YoUr SeLf a MeRrY LiTtLe ChRiStMaS!

2009-12-16T21:10:00.000-08:00

MeRrY ChRiStMaS EvErYoNe!!!

CuTesT uTe EvEr!!

2009-11-29T20:40:00.001-08:00

HaLLe iS siX mOnThS oLd!

2009-11-27T20:25:00.000-08:00

My little baby is almost six months old! I can't believe how fast time has gone by! Even though I miss my sleepy little baby... I LOVE this age! Hallee is doing so many fun things! She is getting to be such a big girl!

First of all, she is sitting up! Oh it is so much fun. She can be a little tipsy at times, but it sure makes her happy! (As you can see in the pic, she can dance too!)

Hallee loves to move her arms. They are ALWAYS moving. She wants to touch everything! She is getting pretty resourceful with them. My favorite things she does: picks up her binky and plops it in her mouth, pick up her rattle and cocks her wrist back and forth endlessly listening to the pretty sounds, scratching her sheets as she falls alseep, playing with Daddy's face and them both screaming, her excited face in the mirror, seeing her happy face when I get her out of her crib, and tickling my side while I nurse her! What a funny babe!

She also is always moving her little fingers. Notice all the pics. they are always doing something different. Sometimes we find a special little finger up... that can be offensive. LOL

Here is Hallee practicing sitting up. She can completly fold in half. This pic also show her pretty hair that she loves to run her fingers through. (Those fingers moving again!)

Hallee love to suck on her bottom lip. She is teething and always wants to suck on something... her thumb, lip, braclet, toes, highchair, the mirror. Pretty much anything she can get her little mouth on! The lip is by far her favorite!

She is eating rice cereal! She just gobbles it up. Sometimes she eats it so fast I can't even get the spoon back to the bowl, before she is begging for more. She lets us know when she is ready... she just opens her little mouth. She also has learned to drink out of a sippy cup. She doesn't hold it too well, but she gets what she wants.

Hallee is smiling all the time. She is such a happy baby! She knows what to do when I pull out the camera.

She also knows how to FAKE smile! It is so funny. When she is tired of me taking pictures, she pulls out this little half-wide smile thing. It is our favorite!

Hallee is so animated. She loves pulling funny faces. When she is excited she opens her mouth up as wide as she can. She also moves her arm and legs as fast as she can. She shakes with excitement.

Hallee also loves to talk! She loves to scream in the highest- pitched sound you can imagine, when she gets really excited. It is usually when we are shopping or in some public place. Although we think it is adorable... I am not sure if everyone appreciates it.

She loves to talk to herself. She always just blabs away in the car when I am driving her around. It is so funny! She also is always very talkative in the morning... bright and early!

Hallee rolls ALL over the place. She can get to anything that she wants. She has got stuck in some very interesting places and positions. Sometimes I don't even know how she managed to get there. She also is scooting backwards, and trying to push up on all fours. It is so fun to watch her try to figure it all out. She loves being mobile.

One of Hallee's favorite times of the day is BATHTIME! She loves playing in the water. She just smiles the whole time. She loves sucking on the wash rag. We have to bring two in every night. One to clean her with, and one for her to suck on. She thinks it is the best treat in the world.

Just this past week, we took out her pad she lays on in the bath, and now she sits up! She loves playing with the bath toys. She just can't quite understand how they keep floating away from her.

Bath time is also OUR favorite time. We love having our little bedtime routine with Hallee. We are enjoying the time when we can BOTH bathe her and play with her. In the future... I am sure bath time will be quick and hectic with other children. But for now- it is a fun, peacful time! We especially love her chubby little rolls.

She is growing up so much. She takes up the whole changing table. Could she have ever been my tiny, little baby??

For as happy of a baby that she is, she also is very serious and intense at times. She loves to watch people. She just stares at them, until she has figured them out. Sometimes when she does this, she actually scowls! She gets that from her daddy. She is just deep in thought. I wish I knew everything that was going through that little head of hers. She is very aware of everything that is going on around her... and wants to be apart of it.

This age is just so much fun! The best thing in the whole world is listening to her laugh! She will laugh so hard... at the silliest things. She has gotten us to do some pretty crazy things. Whatever it takes... whatever it takes!

We love you more everyday Hallee Bear!

HaLLe'S 1st ThAnKsGiViNg

2009-11-27T20:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving!! Hallee got to celebrate her first Thanksgiving this weekend! How much fun! We had such a great time, and Hallee was an angel! This is her Thanksgiving outfit!

We started the day out at my family's house. We had a fabulous dinner (thanks to my wonderful mommy!) with lots of wonderful family! My brother- in-law to be got to celebrate it with us! I love our family getting bigger!!

After our first wonderful dinner, we headed to Eric's family's Thanksgiving feast! Boy, were we stuffed! It was fun spending time with the Short's. They are always entertaining! We had some very intersting conversations. LOL

Here is our little family on Thanksgiving day! Hallee's face shows what a great day she had! She loved spending time with both of our families!

My sister's cute family came up the day after Thanksgiving. Hallee loves her cousins! We were so excited to see them! Here is beautiful Maddie and Hallee. Maddie is soo cute with little Hallee!

Parker loves her too! He loves rubbing her hair! Hallee was very entertained watching all her cousins. They are going to have lots of good time together!

My family has a tradition every year to decorate gingerbread houses the day after Thanksgiving. So I thought that it would be fun to take Hallee to my Mom's house and decorate her first gingerbread house. Well, she ended up taking a nap... and I decorated the gingerbread house! LOL! I am still a kid at heart! It was a great day!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE! WE ARE SO THANKFUL FOR ALL OUR WONDERFUL FAMILY AND FRIENDS! LOVE YOU ALL!!

RiCe CeReAl...YuM!!!

2009-11-14T10:57:00.000-08:00

Today Hallee tried rice cereal for the first time! I have been so excited for her to try it! The first few attempts she wouldn't open her mouth. She would just squeeze her lips together as hard as she could. But once I got some cereal in... she wanted to eat the whole bowl! She also thought she was ready to feed herself! :)

Movies to come!

OuR LiTtLe LaDy... BuG!!

2009-11-06T11:39:00.000-08:00

HaLloOwEEn

2009-11-02T20:27:00.000-08:00

Halloween was so fun this year! It was so fun to have our little Lady Bug with us. On Friday, we took Hallee to Eric's work to go trick-or-treating. Since she was so little, we thought we would just bring her in her costume for everyone to see. But much to our surprise, she was more excited than most of the kids there. We walked around with a little pumpkin cup, to put any candy that Eric might like to snatch from his fellow co-workers. Every piece of candy we got, Hallee would reach out and grab and just start shaking! She wanted it so bad. She just LOVED the sound of all the wrappers. Her favorite was a little dum-dum. She put that sucker right in her mouth (with the wrapper of corse). She was so sad when she dropped it on the floor and didn't get it back. She loved all the other kids in their costumes too. A little confused, but very interested!

On Saturday, we went to Aunt Lacey's house for some yummy soup and breadsticks with all the Short cousins. I snatched some pics of Hallee Bug while we were waiting for everyone to get there. I just love her little face in this pic.

Not quite sure what is going on... but lovin it!

So happy to be with dad! After our yummy food, Eric, me and Hallee headed off to the University of Utah Blackout football game! Hallee did great! We took her in her costume, (the colors were PERFECT!) but didn't last long. We put her in her jammies and hat, and she snuggled up and slept through most of the sound! It was a great way to spend Halloween!

CaStLeTon HaLloWeeN PaRty!

Every year my family has a Halloween Party a week or two before Halloween. It is so fun! Everyone dresses up, we eat yummy food, play games, and enjoy being around each other. Some great costumes this year! (Check out my dad... a little too skinny to be Santa, but great costume. The flamingo is missin her beak!)

The scary witch and the little Lady! (ok, so I am not so scary, but I don't do scary).

The Short Family all dressed up. Eric was a good sport. He is not the biggest fan of dressing up, but at least pulled out the Ute gear.

It was a nail bitter!

Cute little bum!

Hallee was dressed up as "daddy's little pumpkin" before she turned into the little lady bug.

As you can tell by Hallee's face... she LoVeD Halloween!

Jas and Aub's Wedding!!

2009-10-02T18:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, one of Eric's best friends got married! He married a beautiful girl, that we all just love! They are so perfect for each other. We were lucky enough to spend the day with them. Eric was one of the groomsmen. Doesn't he look so cute!

Hallee was a trooper! She did so good. I got this darling picture at the reception! My two most favorite people! Sooo cute!! If you notice in the back, there is a space heater... that is where me and Hallee spent most the night. It was a wonderful day. Congrats Jas and Aubs!!! We love you guys!

September!!

2009-09-24T19:54:00.000-07:00

Fall is here! I absolutely love this time of year! Crisp air, sweaters, soup, holidays, and football!! It is so much fun! Hallee has enjoyed it too. She has grown up so much this past month, I can't even believe how much she has changed!! She is just so dang cute... I just want to kiss her chubby cheeks all the time!!

We have little photo shoots like everyday! My camera is really slow, so it is hard to catch her cute faces that she pulls, before she starts glaring at the red light. We catch of few of her with her happy face! She is such a happy baby!

Hallee has learned to suck on her thumb... it is the cutest (and the most slobbery) thing. Her hands are always in her mouth. Sometimes the whole fist!

Hallee sure loves her dad. He is getting good at getting her to sleep. Are these the two cutest people you have ever seen? ;)

This is Hallee's "what's that red light doing in my face" look.

Last weekend, Hallee and I went to help my little sister Lindsay get ready for homecoming. She looked so beautiful! My mom was out of town, so I was in charge of taking pics.

Right before her date arrived, Lindsay asked me if I knew how to pin on his flower. I thought for a minute... I didn't!! My mom had always done it for me. So when her cute date got there... my DAD tried to pin it on him, with no success. Her date just ended up taking it with him in the box, so one of the other moms could put it on him! LOL!!

Jordan was in charge of holding Hallee! I told him that she might want to lay down... so HE just decided to lay down. Hallee isn't sure what's going on.

This month I had to officially clean out Hallee's closet of all her 0-3 month clothes. It was so sad! I can't believe how big she has gotten so fast... but her personality is sure coming out. Her new favorite thing is screaming in a high-pitched voice, as loud as she can. She thinks it is so fun!

We are in transition from summer to fall, so we got to pull out the leg-warmers!! Babies are the only ones that can make them look cute!

Hallee loves to play, kick, roll-over, turn in circles, grab everything, talk, smile, and READ BOOKS!! It is the cutest thing. She looks like she is really reading them. I am so glad that she likes them already. I love our reading time together.

This past month has been great. I LOVE being a mom to cute little Hallee. She make life so great!

Go UtEs!!!

2009-09-12T18:50:00.000-07:00

Yeah!! It's football season! My absolute favorite time of the year! This year Hallee gets to enjoy her first season with us!! She is making her debut to Rice-Eccles Stadium, Sept. 26. We can't wait!!

Here she is all geared up for tonight's game. Her outfit is still a bit big, but I just couldn't resist! This is the onesie I gave to Eric to tell him we were pregnant. He has been waiting for this day for a long time!

SuMmEr FuN!!

2009-09-01T21:49:00.000-07:00

Where have we been?? Summer has come and gone so quickly! We blinked and it is over and our little angel is 3 months old! During her first few months of life we have done a terrible job blogging. She is sleeping now, so we will try to get a quick update of our summer days with Hallee!!

After bringing Hallee home from the hospital, that week she had her first photo shoot! And can I just say, she is a natural....

Look at her just posing away!! What a sexy lady!

I think she got a little bored with us though...

Hallee's first month of life, did a lot of sleeping! It was heaven. She would just cuddle up on our chest, and just sleep away. I don't think there is anything better in the whole world!

Since then she has become much more alert! She loves looking around at the world! Every time we put her in her carseat, she gets this same look. I just love it! Her big eyes... "what is going on!"

Hallee enjoyed two parades this July! We hit up the Kaysville fourth of July parade, and the Days of '47 parade. She slept through most of them.

But watched with her dad for the most exciting parts!

We got to celebrate the holidays with our families with BBQ's, fireworks, parades, games, and of coarse a little round of horseshoes!

Most of the summer me and Hallee have spent together in our little house. We have been working hard at sleeping, eating, and playing! It's a hard days work!!!

I have loved staying home with Hallee. She is doing so well. She is on a good schedule, and is mostly sleeping through the night!! Just love this girl!

This is Hallee at one of her first Bees games. She was lucky enough to get to watch it with her uncles, cousins, and dad! She seems to be really into the game!

On August 2, Hallee was blessed! It was such a wonderful day! Her dad did such a tender job! It was so beautiful. She got to wear the same dress that I was blessed in. My mom made the dress for me from silk that my dad brought back from his mission in Thailand. What a special day! We had so many friends and family there to support her! We are so lucky! We have so many darling pics. I will have to do another more detailed blog about that beautiful day! This pic she decided to do her Zoolander face!!!

Everyday I just can't get over how much I love this girl! She is so fun and absolutely adorable. We have photo shoots like everyday! She is just growing up soooo fast!

All I can say is that we are in big trouble!!! Just look at this face... how are we ever going to tell her no!???

We love you so much Hallee! We are so lucky to have you part of our family! We have loved our first summer together!!!

Ready For My Close Up!

2009-08-04T22:09:00.000-07:00

Our little Hallee is so funny! She is just loves to have her hands by her head. Even in her ultra-sound she had her little hands up by her face. Always ready for the camera!

The Two Loves of My Life!!!

2009-08-04T22:02:00.000-07:00

Daddy daughter love! Can I just tell you that my favorite thing in the whole world is to see my little angel all snuggled up with her daddy! Too precious for words!

She's Got Moves

2009-07-25T22:35:00.000-07:00

Ok-- this is just a simple blog, but our little Hallee was busting out old school moves tonight. Here's a still shot for your viewing pleasure! Check out the sweet stall!

She reall did hold that on her own... we we're pretty excited.

Our Little Angel!!

2009-06-12T10:13:00.000-07:00

Hallee is finally here! It took some convincing... but she joined our little family on June 1st at 6:52 p.m. She came out beautiful, weighing 8 lbs 6 oz, and measuring 21 inches long. It has been the most incredible experience. I am treasuring every moment with her! I just don't want her to ever grow up!

Labor was the most amazing experience! Everything went well!The whole day had a peaceful feel. There couldn't be a more amazing feeling than holding your baby for the first time. Eric was wonderful. The second best thing was watching him hold our little Hallee for the first time.

The hospital was wonderful! The nurses and my doctor were fabulous! They were very understanding of us, the over-worried, protective partents! But there was nothing better than bringing her home!

Here is Hallee, all ready to go home!

Here is Daddy welcoming Hallee home!

We are just so glad Hallee is here! We love her sooo much!! Being a parent is the greatest thing in the world! I am sure than will be many more post to come. We have already taken hundreds of pictures of out little beauty! We love you Hallee!

STILL NO BABY!!

2009-05-25T20:38:00.000-07:00

Just in case any of you have been following our baby countdown widget... you may have noticed that it is no longer counting. Which in turn means that our baby should be here, right? Not yet. I guess she has something else in mind! That's ok... we better get use to life on her schedule instead of ours!! :) We love you Hallee! Can't wait for you to join our little family!

BIG BELLY!

2009-04-05T20:03:00.000-07:00

CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS BELLY! Hallee is getting so big! It is SO fun! She is moving ALL the time! It is making me so excited! I just don't know where she is going to go as she grows these next few weeks. But I thought I better post a pic. because there isn't going to be much more time. So there is the belly! ENJOY!

SETTING UP THE NURSERY!

2009-03-08T20:59:00.000-07:00

Our furniture for our nursery finally came. We ordered our crib and changing table a few months back. It came this week. Eric was so wonderful! He woke up Saturday and put together the crib and changing table. I don't know how much fun he had, but he did a great job, and now are it feels like our little baby is that much closer to coming to our family!

Onto the changing table!

I love you sweetie! You did a great job! Can't wait for our little Hallee!!

I love the West

2009-02-18T17:15:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone-- Usually Heather is all up getting her blog on, but I'm on day 10 of a 3 week business trip so I'm lonely, bored, and have nothing to do but read SLTRIB.com, foxnews.com, utefans.net, and everyone else's blogs. Sooooooooo, since Heather has been so busy with school, church, and taking a trip to see me, I thought I'd toss a line in and say hello from BEAUUUUUUUUUtiful Hartford, CT. Yeah right!

Let me show you how it goes down in the CT-- here are a couple of the first few pics that come up when I google Hartford, CT:

This is what I would have thought I would have seen:

And here is what I've actually seen a lot of:

You might think I'm exagerating a little, but guess what... I'm right and you're wrong. I love my home back on the West siiiiiiiiiide. Never coming back here again unless forced.

Heather was able to make it out here for this last weekend. That made things much better. We drove to Boston and took some detours (not on purpose really) that took us through small-town Connecticut and Massachusetts which was kind of fun, but it added a bit of unexpected time in our car. We were just looking for an IHOP and instead we ate Lunchables from a gas station in an unknown town. That's how we roll.

Anyway-- due to my slow internet connection, I've been able to use up a half hour of my night and that helped a little. I vote that Heather keeps doing all the blogging.

Baby Bump!

2009-01-21T20:58:00.001-08:00

Ok, so I know it has been like FOREVER since I have posted anything. But frankly, since I have been pregnant, I just don't like taking pictures. I would take them of just Eric, but he doesn't like that. So pretty much you can expect some new pics, sometime at the end of May, when our little baby is here. But to document the pregnacy, here is the baby bump... that my little second graders tell me is growing everyday! (Which just means that it is getting closer, right??).

I am loving being pregnant, and just can't wait to have our little baby here!!!

IT'S A GIRL!!

2008-12-20T18:17:00.001-08:00

On Thursday we had our ultrasound to find out how are cute baby was doing. We found out everything was growing just right! We also found out that we are going to have a little GIRL! It was the neatest experience! I just cried as I saw her cute little hands and feet. I just couldn't believe it was real!

I can't believe how much I already love this little girl! I just keep telling Eric how excited I am!! I am so happy we are already almost half way there!

Now we can start getting ready! Yippee!!

GoOd DaY tO Be a UTE!!!!!

2008-11-23T17:44:00.000-08:00

WOW! WHAT A GAME! WHAT A WEEK! WHAT A YEAR! It has been such an amazing season for Utah Football. There is NO better way to end a season... by dominating BYU! Oh yea, and winning the Mountain West Conference, being undeafeated, and heading to another Bowl game!

Saturday was AMAZING! Eric woke up at 5 o'clock that moring. He just couldn't sleep. He was so anxious and excited for the game. The day seem to drag on. We just wanted the game to start! It eventually did... with lots of contraversy between the teams before the ball was ever touched. Just added more excitment to it all!

Eric charged the field after the game! He touched Brian Johnson, was on the first row as Utah was announced Mountain West Champions, and LoSt a shoe!! Oh well, all worth it right? Soaking it all up!

We officially started getting ready for the big RIVALRY this week. Brad (Eric's brother) always starts the week out by painting the block U on his lawn. We all join him to get ready for the big game!

The week has been filled with jabs, excuses, and bets. I work with pretty much ALL cougar fans... working in Utah County. So the WhOLe school wants to bet with me, and tease me, and quiz me. I was very kind and gently stood up for my beloved UTES! I knew I just had to wait a few days, then they would see. I can't wait to go to WORK tomorrow! My principal is my only sidekick!! Good guy to have on our side though!!! We both knew how it would turn out!

WAY TO GO UTES! YOU MADE US SO HAPPY!

BaBy ShOrt

2008-11-16T20:33:00.000-08:00

WE ARE HAVING A BABY!!!

Can you believe it! Eric and I are expecting our first little bundle of joy on May 26. We are so excited. It has been a fun, tired, exciting, sick, first trimester! But we made it! I am officially done! We will be finding out what the sex of the baby is over Christmas break. We are counting down the days!

I found out that we were pregnant the middle of Sept. We wanted to start trying to get pregnant after my school year started. That way, we wouldn't have the baby until after the school year was over. I just didn't want to leave my students for 6 weeks, if I could help it. Well we almost made it. I am due the LAST week of school. How funny! It works out great though.

I told Eric by giving him a little present. A University of Utah onesie(sp?) and little Utah socks.

We were so excited!! I couldn't help but getting a little teary eyed.

We will keep everyone updated on our new addition!! Yeah!!!

HaPpY HaLlowEeN!!

2008-11-09T16:04:00.000-08:00

Being a teacher always makes holidays so much fun! You feel the excitment from the kids the whole week before Halloween. We actually HAD school on Halloween (unlike many schools this year). I loved every minute of it. It is always a crazy day.. but FUN! I have some darling pictures of my cute class... but again, can not post them!

This is me and most of the second grade teachers! (minus Jeanie).

My favorite part is the Halloween parade! I love seeing all my past students in their cute costumes. Eric even came to watch this year, as I paraded through the school.

After a full day at school, we went up to Lacie's house for YUMMY soup and to see all the little kids halloween costumes. Everyone looked great!

Here is Eric, with his biggest fan... Jack the monkey!! What a cute kid!!

We spent Monday night with my family, having our own little Halloween bash! It was so fun! I didn't have my camera, but their were some wonderful costumes! Especially Ryan. I'll see if I can track one down.

We ended the day passing out candy at our house to all the little neighbor kids. We didn't have too many do to the late hour we got home, and the rain! But it was a fun day!

I belong in the 50's!!!

2008-10-04T11:12:00.000-07:00

You Belong in 1953

You're fun loving, romantic, and more than a little innocent. See you at the drive in!

What Year Do You Belong In?

I find this very true! I would much wear a dress and have my hair all done up, than be in a pair of jeans. And who doesn't love all that dancing! In my next life, and am totally coming back in a poodle skirt!! he he (not quit sure about the poddle skirt!)

My Baby Sister is Growing Up!!!

2008-09-17T20:50:00.000-07:00

Can you believe that this is my little sis??? I sure can't. She just turned 16. So she got to go to her FIRST dance this past Sat. She was asked to Homecoming the first day of school. She is one hot momma!!

I got to go over and help her get ready. We did her hair, make-up, painted her nails... the whole bit. She just looked breathtaking!! But I do have to say, she was NO help on making any of the decisions!! Being decisive is not one of her strong points! Good thing she is so BEAUTIFUL!!
Glad you had fun Linds!! Sure love you!!

MY LITTLE PRINCESSES

2008-09-12T20:44:00.001-07:00

Look how cute these little girlies are! My little nieces just steal my heart! I love spending time with them! They just keep getting cuter! I just wish I could see my sisters kids more... wouldn't you?

I've Been Tagged!!

2008-09-11T06:45:00.000-07:00

Annelise tagged me...

3 Joys
My cute Husband!
Red Mango
My cute 2nd grade class!

3 Fears
Losing my loved ones
The government
Germs!!

3 Goals
Work out more!
Stop drinking diet coke
Not letting little things bug me! (like germs)

3 Current Obsessions
Organizing everything!
Babies!
Hand Sanitizer!

3 Random Facts about Me
I like to golf... but I like my pink golf bag more!
I want to get a four Runner or an Xterra... once I stop commuting so freakin far!!
I can't get enough FOOTBALL!!!! So I am a happy girl!

I am tagging Natalie, Kelsey, Sydney, and Jeanie! (and Alissa... if she still checks blogs)

Taking Down the Big House

2008-09-05T14:52:00.000-07:00

We took a trip to Ann Arbor for the opening weekend of College Football and it was AWESOME! We all arrived in Michigan on different flights and had our own glitches, but we all survived and had a great experience in one of the most historic football scenes in the country.

We had a great trip to Ann Arbor last weekend. What an experience! I hate to say that it started out on a low note, when I had to hop on my 11:59pm flight. Heather dropped me off and that was sad--but things turned downhill quickly when I sat down in my seat... next a 300 lbs. female. Sooooooo... the 4 hours I thought I would have to sleep, were continuously interupted by passer-bys and the drink cart, as half my body was forced into the aisle. Oh- all while the arm-rest was cutting my gut in half. Awesome.

I was able to get to Detroit safe and sound. It was really nice to get to the Marriott and check-in to get some sleep. It was especially nice to check-in under my dad's name, who has 'elite' status. They seem to be much nicer once they see the 'elite' on the reservation.

The game the next day started at 3:30pm. We decided that we better get to Ann Arbor around 10am to avoid traffic and enjoy the town before the game. That might have been a weeeeeeeeeeee early. We had breakfast at some diner in town then ended up resting/napping on somebody's lawn for an hour or so. Oh well. All (most) of the Michigan fans were very friendly.

The dude in the wife beater didn't really know how to shut his mouth. He was talking trash the whole first half. Which was funny, cuz the Utes dominated the first half. He changed his tune in the second half--

As you can see, he was ashamed.

Great trip all together. Good time with the Short boys and always good to have the Utes win- and beat effing BCS teams.

Can't wait for Washington to beat the coogs.

GO UTES!!!

RYAN'S GOING ON A MISSION!!!

2008-08-31T16:47:00.001-07:00

So my cute little brother Ryan opened his mission call on Aug. 1, after a long wait. We all went over to my parents house to see where he would be spending the next two years of his life. Everyone got to make two guesses where he was going. One nationally and one internationally. There were close to fifty people there, so we had most of the countries covered. My other brother Cameron decided to guess North Carolina for his national guess, because that is where he lives! Then he guessed Campinas, Brazil, because that is where he seved HIS mission. We thought he was CRAZY and just being SILLY!!!

Well, he opened his call... You have been called to serve in the Campinas, Brazil mission. We all FROZE. We didn't know if he was joking or for real! So Natalie took the liberty to go and find out what the truth was. She read the first couple lines....yep! Campinas Brazil it is!!!! Can you believe it???? He is going to the exact same mission as his older brother! We were all in shock. I still can't believe it! But we are so excited for him! I guess the Castleton's need to be in Brazil!!!

We love you Ryan!!!! Congratulations!!

SLEEPING BEAUTY!!

2008-08-24T18:40:00.000-07:00

Me and my sisters have each been a Disney character since we were little. I have always been Sleeping Beauty. I thought it was just because I like to sleep... and NEED it. But I took this test, seeing which princess I was most like, and guess who it was... Sleeping Beauty. Sisters, try it out! I think we picked pretty good! And anyone else who is curious!

You Are Aurora! (A.K.A. Sleeping Beauty.)

Thoughtful and loving. Authority figures probably have been sheltering you all of your life. Thankfully you're a very tranquil person who is content with what life has given you, but secretly you want to know how the outside world works.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

WE HAVE MOVED!!!! YEAH!!

2008-08-01T18:03:00.001-07:00

Can you believe it!! After a year of constantly looking for a place we could call home... we have found one! We moved to Bountiful! We love it here so far. It has been a crazy couple of weeks. We are pretty much settled. I am so grateful that we could find a place before I head back to work next week.

Here is Eric entering our house for the first time as home owners.

We started out last week by painting our humble abode.
Eric was so excited to paint!!

But he did such a good job! Love you honey!
Here is me in our new kitchen for the first time!
It has been a fun, crazy week, as we have been trying to get settled. We have done pretty good so far. We feel settled and happy to call this home.

I wanted to plant flowers so bad. This is the first time I had the opportunity to do so. But... it is quite late in the year, being almost August. There are not many flowers left, that aren't almost dead. So I bought whatever they have left that was mostly alive. This is what I got.
With a few stragglers in our flower bed. I'll do better next year!

We are just so excited to be here! Thanks to all those who helped us move! We couldn't have done it without you!

PIONEER DAY!!!

2008-08-01T16:01:00.000-07:00

WE LOVE PARADES!!! I know that we might sound lame... but... WE LOVE PARADES!! We hit up the Kaysville parade for the fourth, and then went to the Days of 47 parade on the 24th. We had great seats at the start of the parade, thanks to Bob.

My favorite part of the parade is always seeing our cute prophet- President Monson.
Eric's favorite part is always the bagpipes. He wants to learn how to play them! I told him he would have to wait until we get a bigger house!!

We always love a sight of our wonderful military!! It gives me the chills!
Here is the BEST float of the day!!!
We always enjoy the weird creepy clowns and randoms that try to entertain the crowd!
But most of all we just love spending time with the family! Happy Pioneer Day!

BABYSITTING...AKA... BIRTH CONTROL

2008-08-01T14:39:00.000-07:00

My parents took my younger brother and sister, Lindsay and Ryan, on a church history tour. They were gone for ten days. So Eric and I were elected the babysitters. All I can say is, I don't know how my mom raised EIGHT children.

Jordan and Cody were great. But it still made us think again about having children any time soon. Here is what our journey consisted of.
BUILDING CARS

HANGING OUT WITH MAX... and posing for the camera (they LOVED that).

JUMPING ON THE TRAMP... PRETENDING TO BE SUPERMAN!!

HITTIN UP THE RODEO

Cody caught this shirt for Jordan at the Rodeo... he wanted to wear it everywhere!

JUST BEING BOYS...

PLAYING WITH FOOD...

SLEEPING...

ERIC BEING DAD!!!

WE DID HAVE FUN... BUT WE WERE TIRED AT THE END. We might start thinking about having kids again in a year or so! Love ya Mom and Dad! Glad you have fun.

SUMMER TIME!!!

2008-07-31T21:43:00.000-07:00

WOW! I can't believe how fast summer is flying by. I go back to teaching in a week! We have had a wonderful, eventful sumer! We have a little catching up to do! So here it goes...

LAKE POWELL

We went to Lake Powell with my family. It was the first time me and Eric have been to Lake Powell together. I have always loved Lake Powell, but with Eric it was even greater! We had a wonderful time in the sun. I can't even get enough of this place!

Eric and my dad had a great time on the tubes. They just kept kickin each other off. It was quite the show!!!

We all loved the tubes, waking boarding, rock climbing, and enjoying the sun!

And the boys all LOVED flexing...

We love Lake Powell!! Thanks fam!

IDAHO... where you can watch the tators grow!

I had a chance to go up to Idaho and spend the week with the Edwards! It was so much fun! Natalie was having a hard pregnancy and Scott was out of town. So I went up to help with all the cute kids!! I love them so much!

These kids just couldn't get any more adorable!! This was our zoo ADVENTURE!!
HANGING WITH THE PENGUINS...

FEEDING THE BIRDS... oh wait the kids!

MADDIE WITH SMOKEY THE BEAR...

RIDING THE ANIMALS...

FUN IN THE SUN...

JUST BEING SiLlY...

I LOVE these kids so much! I had so much fun spending time with them! I wish they were closer so I could see them ALL the time! Love you guys!!

WE DID IT!!!!!

2008-07-27T21:25:00.000-07:00

We bought a home!!!! Pics will come soon, but WE DID IT!!!!

MEMORIES... such found Memories!!

2008-07-18T22:41:00.000-07:00

We got this from the LOVELY LACEY!! We will give it a go!

1. Add a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember! Does this sound completely self-centered? Oh well, who cares!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't have a blog, I'll leave one in my comments box. I can't wait to see what people remember.

THE 4TH OF JULY

2008-07-08T11:14:00.000-07:00

HAPPY 4TH

I LOVE THE FOURTH OF JULY. I think it is the parades, fireworks, B.B.Q's, rodeos, and family! We had such a wonderful time with both of our families.

We started out the day with the Kaysville Parade. It is so much fun. It is very crowded though. So we decided to park our car at Lacey's house, are ride our bikes to the parade.

Eric did a great job packing up the bikes. He has so many talents!!!

We made it to the parade, a little sweaty, to join Eric's fam. Ryan and Lacey did a great job staking out our coveted spot. The best part of the parade is watching all the little kids run for the candy. They would get sooo excited.

It did get a little loud at times. Ella didn't like that at all. Eric did a great job protecting her.

When we weren't watching the parade, we were being entertained by Jack. He was crawling all over the place. Enjoying everything. He is getting so big!

Put 'em up!

The parade always ends with a water fight! Always a good time!

Later that day we went over to Bob and Margaret's beautiful new home for a BBQ. It was so much fun! Lots of food, fun, and people.

The kids loved the home made water slide in the back yard.

Later, all the boys had a ping-pong tournament on Bob's new ping pong table. I am proud to say, MY HUBBY WAS THE CHAMPION. But Bob held his ground and won in doubles.

OAKLEY RODEO!!

After the BBQ, we joined my family up in Oakley for the Rodeo. My mom got awesome seats, for all the action. It was such a fun rodeo.

The bull riding is always my favorite, even though it scares me to death. But the best part was enjoying the night with the fam.

Jordan wanted to pose for some pics too.

My cute parents!

The Rodeo ended with some fireworks! The 4th was great! Thanks to both our families!

God Bless America!!!

TWINKLE TOES!!

2008-06-06T11:03:00.000-07:00

DANCE DANCE DANCE! Ella, Avery, and little Lilly, sure know how to shake it! I don't think there is anything more cute than little girls dancing at their dance recitals. I think it is the shinny little costumes, big curls in their hair, smiles on their face, and them starring at the girl next to them, trying to see what they should do next. We had so much fun watching our cute little nieces just dancin' away! We love them all so much!

GRADUATION!!

2008-06-06T10:43:00.000-07:00

This past week, we attended Ryan's Graduation from High School. WOW, it made us feel so old. It has already been seven years since I graduated, and nine years since Eric graduated.
It was so fun to see Ryan out there. I can't believe all that he has done this year. He is so much more mature than we were at 18 years old. He has had so many wonderful experiences. At the top of the list, Brighton's Varsity Soccer taking STATE this year! What an awesome experience! It has so fun watching Ryan play. His team and coach love him so much! He has been such an asset to the team.
WE LOVE YOU RYAN! CONGRATULATIONS ON A WONDERFUL YEAR!

WE-HATE- CLAP, CLAP- REAL-ESTATE CLAP,CLAP

2008-06-01T19:03:00.000-07:00

So, you can probably guess what this blog is about. We are sick and tired of the real estate market in Utah and the stingy sellers that don't know that they're never going to get offers for the prices listed. I really don't know anything about the house above, but if it's in Utah, the owner probably thinks its got $250k in sentimental value, eventhough its only worth the change in between my cushions.

Heather and I are wigging out in our little apartment and the clutter is mounting up on us. We've followed the market for the last year, checking online listings---anywhere from 10 to 25 times per week all year long.

We want to get something this summer, but nothing fits quite well enough... SERENITY NOW!!!

A WEEKEND WITH THE PROPHET!!

2008-05-04T15:01:00.001-07:00

PRESIDENT MONSON
So this weekend we pretty much were everywhere that President Monson was! On Friday night we got to go to the series ending Jazz game! (which was awesome!!!) President Monson was sitting in the suite next to us! All that stood between us, was a thin piece of glass. When not watching the game, we were watching the Prophet and his wife. His wife didn't seem to be enjoying the game much, sleeping through most of it. The Jazz got a few claps out of our cute Prophet, but not a smile. Maybe it was the loud noises, the crazy stunts, or the body guard watching his every move. He seemed to enjoy the array of food though!

Then today we went to Stake Conference, and guess who was on the stand?? You're right! It was President Monson. He lives in our stake, and is very good at coming and visiting. He shared some wonderful memories from his time here. It was amazing! I am so grateful for our wonderful prophet. I feel so blessed to live here in Utah so close to these wonderful men!

25 YEARS AND COUNTING!!

2008-05-03T10:23:00.000-07:00

Last week I celebrated my 25th birthday. And surprisingly enough, felt like my 30th. I was freaking out! All the sudden I realized all the things that I still wanted to do before I turned forty, which seemed to be approaching too quickly. Time seemed to be running out!
Then Eric calmed me down, and reassured me of all things that I have already done and am doing. I realized he was right. The last seven years of my life have been incredible. From college to traveling, from teaching to getting married. It has all been great! I wouldn't trade any of it.
My cute class really made my day special. They can always make me feel good. Who wouldn't want this job??

My cute class celebrating my birthday!
(I had to delete this pic, I don't know if I can put pics of my class on my blog??? Is that illegal?)

They spoiled me with all sorts of treats, cards, and presents.

Me and Eric going to Market Street Grill on my birthday! (taken with my new birthday camera!!)

Hopefully this year will be just as great as the last! Thanks to everyone's Birthday wishes! Love you all!

OUR FIRST YEAR!!!

2008-04-23T09:51:00.001-07:00

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!

This past week, we celebrated our first anniversary! I can't believe that it has already been a year. It seems like just yesterday we were at this beautiful temple, being sealed. Now we are VETERANS!!! One year baby! He he. It has been the best year of my life, thus far!
It has been so nice to be able to enjoy life, spend time together, and NOT plan a wedding.

This year I have really come to know, how smart I really am. Well, maybe not in most areas of my life. But one area I am very smart and talented in, is picking a good MAN. I did such a fantastic job. I just can't get enough of Eric. I thought that would rub off after a year, but it sure hasn't. I still get exited every time I get to see him. I just want to be with him all the time. He makes me so HAPPY!

Here is my list of the things that I have come to love and appreciate about Eric this year.

1. How he ALWAYS makes me laugh (even at myself).

2. How he takes care of me.

3. How hard he works for us.

4. How kind and thoughtful he is.

5. What a great dish washer he is (we will get one some day babe).

6. How patient he is with me... even when I am late.

7. How safe he makes me feel.

8. How he NEVER complains about any of my weird quarks.

9. How he always lets me know that he loves me! :)

10. How he tries so hard to be the BEST HUSBAND EVER! (he is doing a great job!)

So hear is to many more years, just like this one!! HAPPY FIRST YEAR TO US!!

Cancun Paradise!!! (And a Few Too Many Euros)

2008-04-20T11:19:00.000-07:00

So, we're back, we're alive, and we wish we were still in Cancun. We had a great time. We've put a lot of pictures in this one so that you can get a feel for what we enjoyed all week long. Heath and I couldn't have asked for anything better--except maybe a few more days down there. Hotel was outstanding. The service was outstanding. The sunburns hurt a bit, but it was all worth it.

My dad was nice enough to take us to the airport on Sunday morning. We got their with no problems. As usual, the security line was a little long, and since I'm a person with little patience, I started to get a little antsy.

The only hiccup began when we took off, got above Utah Lake, and something went wrong with the plane so we had to return to the airport. They made us change planes and it put is behind about 2 hours... I guess we're supposed to be thankful for safety?

While waiting for luggage, Heather's came right out, while I ended up waiting for one of the 2 last bags to come off the rack. I was really starting to get worked up as I had not packed ANY other clothes in my carry-on. To add on to my luck, I was lucky enough to get the random bag screening (pic on the right) at customs. They didn't start throwing my underwear around or anything and it was over pretty quick, so I guess I can't complain too much. After that, things went from hectic to perfect and relaxing.

You see us with our Pina Colada drinks. I think I had about a million and a half of these. Heath was better about getting hydrated with healthy water and stuff. I was on vacation, so I didn't worry about health.

We were lucky enough to go and swim with dolphins while we were down there. We got to do some fun stuff with them. It was a little scary, but I guess as long as you're not trying to cause a problem, the dolphins will always be nice. :)

We hit up a little mall in Cancun one night just to check out the city. The views were WAY better than the prices, so we whipped out the camera.

While Heath got the great pic, she tricked me in to the fountain pic...only to have the fountain shoot up 10 feet by surprise. Nice trick.

My wife is pretty :)

TULUM
We went to visit some Mayan ruins. It's always nice to throw a little bit of culture in a trip. We had a good tour and a nice day overall- it was the day of our anniversary so we were just glad it went well.

Some people just don't when the right time to wear pants is. Here is a small tribute to those people.

Happy Anniversary!!!

BEACH FUN!! Here I am timing the wave coming at me.Here I am trying to be cool and act like I know what I'm doing.Here is I am wishing I hadn't tried to be cool. The sea was angry that day, my friends.

We couldn't say enought about our room. Each day was met with a new animal shaped towel. Gotta love the 'little things' that the hotel did.

The service was so good and we never had to worry about a single thing.

Our breakfast was delivered right to our room...

...for like 4 days in a row. Then we decided to switch it up.

We ate somemore at the Mexican restaurant.

Then I squoze in a few Pina Colada drinks.

And we tried the outdoor buffet. We were never disappointed.

It was a great trip. The best trips are the ones that you don't want to leave, and Heather and I truly did not want to come back home. We will definitely visit the Sun Palace Cancun again.

Our Night With the Jazz

2008-03-27T21:07:00.001-07:00

Last night, Heather and I had the great privelege of attending a dinner with the Jazz and we had a great time... Watching Heather get so excited about all the players was like watching a kid at Christmas-- It was so funny. Here are a few pics:

If Heath didn't have her dress on, she'd have put Memo to shame on the foul line!

Every time one of the players saw Heather taking a picture, they looked at her and suddenly became quite friendly... go figure.

Here's the Fesenko dude. No one was paying any attention to him so I made Heather take a picture with him. It made his day.

It never ceases to amaze me how tall Sloan really is.

That's actually big Matt Harpring with his head turned at the foul line... I liked taking the pictures more, but I snuck in this one. It didn't turn out as well as I hoped.

Heather did her own sneaking--up to Jazz heart-throb, Kyle Korver. The picture isn't too clear, but you get the point.

We had a great time and lots of fun chasing down the Jazz players all over the arena floor. Heather looked great-- as always.

Where the Heck Have We Been?

2008-03-26T20:33:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!!

Its us again. We've done an extremely crappy job at this... No blogging has occured in this Short Family in over 6 months. I think Eric just liked opening the blog and seeing loser cougars... and he was content with that.

Well... let's give you the shortened version of the last 6 months:

September-- Ute Football. Not a good month for Ute Football.

October-- Ute Football. A better month for Ute Football.

November-- Ute Football. Good and bad month for football.

That was a quick 3 months, but that's pretty much it.

Christmas was pretty great. Eric and I got to spend our first Christmas Season together and we enjoyed every minute. As usual, we spoiled eachother and lived up the moment. Future holidays will be more subtle (at least we say that). All the Castletons were in town--minus Melissa in Poland-- and it was great to have everybody around. Especially since we got to hang out every night in a row for over a week. We were loving it.

We spent new years at a Jazz game with Ryan and Linds, then passed the rest of the night with my family. All sorts of crazy games that night-- especially the ping-pong blowing game. Dave LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVVVES that game!!

After the start of the new year, Eric and his family started a weight-loss bet. Its the best thing ever as they were all getting a bit tubby. After 2.5 months, Matt and Eric seem to be the only ones trying and they are doing great. The bet ends on the last day of April and it looks like it might be a close race. But the two of them look a lot better--even though Eric is the skinniest!! OF COURSE Eric will win! Before and after pictures to be posted AFTER its all over. As you can see to the right, it's not Eric's healthiest moment. :)

My school is going great! I LOVE MY KIDS!! I think they are the cutest class I have had so far. They get cuter every year, so maybe it just never stops getting better!

Easter was fun-- another first for us. I had prepared a Easter Egg Hunt for us and we had a lot of fun. I had glow-in-the-dark eggs filled with a little candies and Eric was a great little hunter!

Eric and I are looking forward to our first anniversary next month. We are going to CANCUN!!!

We seriously can't wait to go sit on a beach just like this one and just rest. Mexican's serving us and just sitting. Getting tan, and sitting. Work has been so busy for the both of us and we can't wait for our little getaway. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!

That's it for now... I'm tired. We'll catch up more later!

Haka?

2007-09-13T10:17:00.001-07:00

Are you serious? I'm all for motivation and everything, but I think #2 is taking it a little too far.

We're STILL Glad We're Not Zoobies

2007-08-31T15:52:00.000-07:00

In response to a family member's blog about Ute Fans, we can only say that we are glad that we did not go to what they consider -The Harvard of the West- and even after last nights distaster, we can at least be happy because....

Love ya, Scott :)

Holidays Are Over

2007-07-30T18:25:00.000-07:00

Heeeeeeelllllllllllllllooooooooooooooooooo!!! It's been a couple weeks. Lets catch up...

First, Eric had his softball come to an end. The bad thing is that the ball in the last game had to leave its mark until the next year. He was playing 1st Base and in a crucial moment at the end of the game, a hot grounder was hit is way and took a bad bounce... popping him in the chest-- and dropping him to the ground. Luckily for him, his dad was able to make from the bleachers to his injured boy in about 3.4 seconds-- which is also impressive because as always, he was wearing his trusty flip-flops. Way to go dad!

Eric could hear him coming as soon as he hit the ground- it was pretty amazing. Dad can't run real well, but when the pressure is on, he sure steps it up! It left a nasty bruise, but he'll make it.

Softball ended and Eric is thinking about hanging up the cleats and retiring. He seems to get slower and his skills aren't getting sharper so he says he's trying to preserve what pride he has left. Probably better for his body anyway.

We got to enjoy the 24th holiday to the fullest with the Days of '47 Rodeo and the big parade in SLC. Eric's dad hooked us up with some grandstand seats on the front row so we had a prime spot to see the show! We got to go with our good friends, the Brewers. It was there 1st rodeo and we were glad to host them to a good show. No bull-riders were killed, but one did break his leg. Pretty sweet.

We had a great spot at the rodeo to get a good pic of our great Prophet. 97 and going strong!!

No parade is complete without the bagpipes

Unfortunately, Eric had to work in the afternoon because he had a training in his new job that was mandatory. It sucked.

Since the holiday ended, Heather's been busy with school stuff and getting her classroom ready. Eric spent a couple of days in Denver for work and got to hit up a Rockies game and do some river rafting. Poor Eric. We've been excited that Eric got his first paycheck from the new job so we hit up the Happy Sumo. Heather's been craving the sushi since last March-- when Eric was last on a salary pay. IT WAS AWESOME!!! It was a nice night. We came home and watched our new copy of The Bourne Identity and got to rest. The rest of the night consisted of Heather trying to carry on a conversation and Eric falling asleep on her... the river wore him out!!

We had a good July and we're excited for August-- except that Heather has to start teaching in like 3 weeks. Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh!

Good News/Bad News

2007-07-14T16:26:00.000-07:00

Overall, its been a pretty good couple of weeks. The bad news is that we lost earlier than we wanted in our softball tournament in St George, but besides that- the job is good, Lacey's baby is good, Heather is good, I'm gaining happy weight, and Heather still looks pretty dang wonderful.

We got to St George on Friday evening and had just enough time to hit up the Fiesta Fun Batting Cages in 119 degree heat before we hit up our first game at 9pm. Unfortunately, after a nail-biter of a game that went to the 11th inning. We should have won that dang game, but we have a history of not doing so well the first game... we don't warm up well.

Just the beginning....

We lost at nine, then played again at 11pm- won that one. Played at 2am- won that one. Played at 5am- and won that one. We thought we were on fire! Unfortunately, the crazies that ran the tourney scheduled us to play at 6pm on Saturday night in the freaking heat!!!

Your eyes do not decieve you...(could be a slightly inacurate)

Yes- you are correct-- it WAS hotter than hell. We started off the game at 6pm and, being our first game of the day, we blew it. We lost 6-2 in a freaking softball game to a bunch of guys that are probably all related to Richie Valenz and Speedy Gonzalez. Tough loss. HUGE props to Heather for being an excellent team-mom. She was in charge of keeping me hydrated and was on call all weekend for any other Gatorade requests. Way to go, Heath!!!

So we had an open night to hang out and went to see the new Die Hard movie... Seriously, one of the coolest movies I've ever seen. I'm not huge on the Die Hard series, but we both thought it was AWESOME!!

We drove home early the next morning and we had some car trouble. I thought that the Mazda would make it to Cedar City on a quarter tank-- I was terribly wrong. Just as we were coming up on the final exit to Cedar, the Mazda began to jerk and we were literally 'coasting on fumes.'

We were actually really lucky cuz I was able to coast all the way to the entrance of the Shell Station. The picture is a reinactment, that Heather set us up for, but it isn't too far from what it looked like. I'm glad I had Jimmy to help push. The coasting skills of the Mazda were, indeed, impressive and we were able to continue on for a safe trip home.

I started my job at ADP this week. I'm exhausted and having an information-overload, but I'm really enjoying it and I'm really excited to get going and sell billions of dollars of shiz. :)

Lacey was finally able to bring home her baby this week. Jack Ryan "Bidu" Gatherum came home on Wednesday and is doing outstanding! Holy crap he's a good lookin' kid!!

We did some more waterskiing today with Matt and his clan, Ryan and Ella, and Dad. We busted out the tube for the little kids, but I thought it might be fun to go rip up the rubber with some barrel-rolls or somethin'. If you wanna see some sweet action tubing, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DT1NdqzzEs

It may not be that cool, but it was a big moment for me.

Heather ripped up the wakeboard again in less-than-stellar water but put on a good show. She makes it look pretty good with out a good wake, good water, nor a tower. She's so hot! Take a look-- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RIU4_rGZlE

Matt and I got compare arm size-- and it was a sad day for him. DISCLAIMER: Please do not look at anything ACCEPT the arms. We are well aware that we are not that great-looking with our shirts off. Yes, it's true, I am up to a semi-healthy 220 lbs now.

Pretty obvious to me, thanks very much.

Things are back to normal for awhile. I'm back in a structured job with some good support and stability. Heather is doing great with her time off from school, but stays busy with little school projects and taking care of me-- she's making some wonderful food and you can see that I'm reaping the benefits.

Happy 4th

2007-07-05T15:41:00.000-07:00

So we've slacked off on the blogging- but our excuse continues to be that since we don't have any kids, our lives aren't as entertaining... so in about 3+ years, our blog should be AWESOME!!

Eric's big (but smaller) sister had her baby last weekon June 25th. At 6 lbs. 14 oz. After waiting some 3 suspensful days for a name, they decided on Jack Ryan Gatherum. Lacey's other little girl, Ella, nick-named him Bidu (bee-doo) when he was still a fetus, and we think we are going to stick with that sweet name. We still haven't actually been able to see the baby cuz of some minor problems with Bidu's lungs and heart, but everything is going to be ok and Bidu should be home in the next few days and we will actually get to meet him.

He sure is a cute little bugger and we are so excited to see him and welcome him to the fam!

Eric has been waiting to start his new job with ADP, so it's been a lot of fun to hang out together everyday. Since I'm out of school for the summer, it's been wonderful to be able to spend the days together and swim, boat, clean, sleep, etc. Eric starts on Monday and it will be an adjustment to have him gone all day long.... no good!

We got to have a lot of fun yesterday for the big Holiday. We went up to Kaysville with Eric's family for the parade up there which included lots of candy and a finished up with a HUGE water fight with some 10 water trucks and a couple of fire engines spraying the crowd. We stayed out of the line-of-fire for the most part, but had our own fun spraying the rest of the family around our parade spot. By the time we got home, we squoze in a nap and got ready to head up to Deer Valley with Dad for dinner and the Utah Symphony's patriotic tribute.

The symphony played the Armed Forces Medley and they asked all those that had served in the military to stand when there song was played. Here's Eric's dad standing for the Army's anthem. It was cool to see him pop up out of his seat proudly when the song began.

The 4th of July was great and we were able to swing past my parents house to do some fireworks. They were the real good kind you get from the scouts-- 'Box 'o fun'! Deer Valley let us down on the fireworks so at least we were able to catch these before the day was over. Eric's dad was nice enough to take the two of us boating today. We had to be up to Farmington early to meet him, but it was a perfect day on the lake. We think that everybody did their boating on the 4th so today, the 5th, was very calm and not crowded at all. We both had pretty good runs today-- here's some killer-sick air!

Heather's got more grace!

All in all, it has been a great holiday week and it was good to get the R & R in before the big softball tournament in St George this week... many great tales to come from that.

Kites + June Don't Mix

2007-06-10T20:36:00.000-07:00

We tried our best to get these cheap Ben-Franklin-Style kites up in the air, but if you can't already tell, we had NO success. There were a couple glimpses of hope after trying a few times, but any hope for success was demolished by an unfortunate collision between Eric and the string from Heather's kite... The string was the loser in that battle. Eric may have lost a little bit of the wedding-weight after running around the park in his attempt to defy the laws of physics, but he was pretty bugged about the useless kites so he probably didn't care about the weight....too bad.

Words of advice for those not-so-avid kiters out there:

1. Do it in March like you're supposed to

2. Don't buy your kites from Ace Hardware

3. Don't buy kites that are shaped like the revolutionary days-- go with the stealth bomber shape- I've actually seen those kites fly.

Ok-- We're still learning

2007-05-31T11:31:00.000-07:00

So, we figured that we would try to model the wonderful blogging skills of Scott and Natalie, but we've just realized that since we don't have a single child yet (not even close to 3 great kids), so there' really not that much to report that frequently... NEVERTHELESS, there is some updating to do since we tied the knot. WARNING: This is a long blog, but we hope it will catch you up and be entertained as well.

Our honeymoon was great-- we got to spend 4 days in beautiful southern California. The plane ride was awful (most of you have heard about Heather's unfortunate incident with the barf-bag), but CA was wonderful. The first day was filled with sun and the beach. Unfortunately, the SWEET Chevy Monte Carlo that we rented ended up having a faulty seatbelt and we had to spend a couple hours traveling back to a Budget Rental place for an efficient seatbelt... you know Heather-- always concerned about safety and stuff. We got hooked up with a Malibu and we were on our way!

We had planned to hit up Disneyland on Friday and rip it up with Mickey and the Gang, but when we opened the blinds, it was pouring rain and our options in 'sunny California' had been greatly reduced-- we went and saw "Blades of Glory" instead. It was awesome!!! Luckily by night time, the rain had cleared up a little bit and Heather and I headed to Santa Monica to do a little dinner and shopping. Wooooooooo wooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!! We were both able to find a killer-sick deal on some shoes!! Heather and I were both quite content. We decided to hit up the Benihana for Heather's birthday dinner and it was really good. The night was made more eventful with the two drunk women at our table... whom after 15 minutes, asked the cook if it would take very much longer to be done cuz they had a rave to go to. Hmmm. Luckily they left, leaving plenty of elbow room for the two of us. Crazy drunk women! Thanks for the memories. (Sorry we couldn't snag pics of the drunk ladies--little obvious, ya know?)

Eric's are in the middle ;)

Saturday was our day to go all out. We had planned to fulfill an old Short Family tradition by hitting the Orange County Swapmeet. If you are a Short and you are in SoCal, it's an absolute must! Where else can you get 10 pairs of socks for $11? We spent a few hours there, enjoyed a little breakfast at IHOP, then made our way to Disneyland. What we realized is that everyone else that had been rained out on Friday had also decided to raid the magic land on Saturday so it was more than crowded. After rocking the Pirates ride and Indiana Jones, Eric had to hunt down a churro. With a churro and Coke in hand, he was ready to finish the day.

Shortly thereafter, Cameron & Alissa's wedding day was coming up and we were looking forward to a great trip to NY. Alissa's family were incredible hosts and so fun to meet! We were so taken by the landscaping of the entire neighborhood-- not to mention the beauty of all of Long Island. The wedding dinner was awesome-- Cameron's friends were great and had some great words of wisdom.... well... at least most of them did.

Hey Everyone!!

2007-04-23T17:38:00.000-07:00

Heather and I have decided to get in on this 'blog' thing. Welcome to our world. Thanks to everyone for all their help this last week at our wedding. We had a great time and we hope that everyone was able to enjoy the day as much as we did. More to come as Heather and I start our adventures together.

Stay in touch!