Turkey Bowl

Todd played some flag football with our singles ward the Saturday before Thanksgiving. He was so excited! I wore green in honor of his team color so I could cheer from the sidelines. I think he really enjoyed it, even though it made him feel a bit out of shape. I would have played, but we have a very sporty ward and I didn't want to embarrass myself too much. Plus Todd yells at me if I even jump up and down because I might hurt Lila (true story.)

In this first picture, I capture Todd looking for me. It literally took him about 8 minutes to realize I was just sitting on the ground instead of standing up. Silly boy.

Making a game plan

Break!

Todd Makes the catch!

Next time they aren't so lucky!

Happy Birthday Todd!

Todd's birthday in November was fun. As is our tradition, I had put a few things together for us to do that Todd would like and were a total surprise to him. Todd had school in the morning, so as soon as he got home we set off toward Salt Lake. Unfortunately, we had to turn around at about American Fork because Todd forgot his cell phone. I would have just told him to go without it ntil we got home, but we wouldn't be home at all for quite a while and I wanted him to be able to get his birthday phone calls. Lunch was at Tucano's, for which of course we used his birthday coupon making it a 2-for-1 deal. Still expensive, but at least manageable.

Then we walked around the Gateway mall since we didn't have time for my next activity. We were going to go bowling at the U of U, that would have cost $2 for parking $1 for Todd's shoe rental (I have my own!) and then only $1.50 per game. That's only $6 for our first game and $3 for each after that! Pretty good deal. But we didn't have anymore since it took us about an hour just to go back for the phone. So after some fruitless shopping for shoes for Todd (I had saved some birthday money so he could pick out his own), we headed for Sandy.

We went to Jordan Commons, where we walked up to the movie theater. I hadn't heard Todd talking about any movies he really wanted to see, and as early as I was planning and finalizing everything my only movie option was Harry Potter 7 (since it came out on the same day as Todd's birthday), so that's what we saw. I was afraid Todd wouldn't think it was so great, but it turned out he had actually wanted to see it! I was so happy. It wasn't as exciting as either of us thought it might be, so we are looking forward to part 2 with a little more action.

Todd blinded by the camera in the dark movie theater. (Don't worry, it was before the movie. we didn't disturb actual movie time)
After the movie we went to an indian restaurant for dinner. It is pretty much Todd's favorite way to eat out. It was a good place, we liked it. But we still think our favorite indian place is the India Palace in Center Street in Provo. Yum!

After that was the ultimate surprise! We drove just down to the next exit off I-15, and pulled into the Jim's Family Restaurant parking lot. Actually, we were pulling into the parking lot of the Hampton Inn, but for some reason all Todd noticed was Jim's. It made me laugh how long it took Todd to figure out where we were going. I had picked a hotel that had a pool so we could go swimming if we still had some energy, but we were both pooped. My wonderful and fantastic grandma Faber had done me a favor in delivering a pumpkin pie and whipped cream to the room earlier in the day so we could have some birthday dessert. We opened up the trunk where Todd found all his presents and our stuff for the night stay, and settled in. Then we opened presents! I think he liked most of them, I tried to make sure he would like them all.

The pictures are a bit hard to see, but he got some nice smelling candles, turkey jerky, some scrubs for school with the patch already sewn on the sleeve (Congratulations nurse Todd!) a tie rack (desparately needed, as shown by picture below), Glenn Beck's latest book, some socks (a gag gift, they were free since they were hand-me-down's from my little brother. Styles he doesn't like anymore. However, they are all in much better shape than the ones Todd was wearing!) and a knock off of rosetta stone for Italian. Todd considered using both his Christmas and Birthday money to get the Italian Rosetta Stone, but I found this awesome version at costco for about 30.00! We took a look at some of the features and I think it will be just about as great.

Just as a side note, Todd loves his ties and normally would never let this happen. However, since our church changed to 9:00 at the end of September and his meetings changed to 7:00 am, our hanger that had been just fine for 3 years just didn't cut it anymore. Now it was early and dark and Todd had much less motivation and time to make sure his ties all stayed on the hanger as he pulled off the one he wanted. The tie hanger I got him has proved to fix the problem!

After we opened presents Todd played with his rosetta stone knock-off for a while and looked at his Glenn Beck book a bit. Then we had pie!

Yummy! (Thanks again Grandma!) We both basically passed out after that. We must have had a long week. We enjoyed a hot continental breakfast in the hotel in the morning, then drove down to Orem in the morning for a ward Turkey Bowl. Ironically enough, I left my cell phone under the bed and we had to turn around and go back for it, making us late for the football fun. At least we found it!

Happy Birthday Todd, I love you!!!!!! (even though you are so old!)

People

The thing I am most thankful for this year is people. There are way too many that have helped me with so many things in the last 12 months, and those that have been there for much longer. I don't know what I would do without so many wonderful people in my life.

My Mom. How can I not start with my own mother? There were, of course, times in my teenage years that I thought I "hated" her and wished she were any other kind of mother. But she loves me and all my siblings and wants the best for us. She has a lot of quirks and specifications that I don't understand and sometimes don't agree with, but as a mom she sure was the best kind for me. Always believed in me and knew I could do a good job but didn't let me slack off. She is the hardest worker I know, and I admire her for that.

My Dad. I feel like when I was younger I didn't really know my dad all that well. He was gone a lot and when he was home he was often tired. However, for the last several years (I think about 10 years now), he has become such an important part of my life. He is so gospel oriented and honest and I have learned so much from him. He is the other hardest worker I know.

My Grandparents. I have two sets of grandparents that happen to be around still. I am so grateful for them. They are always willing to help me out when I ask and happy to see me when the family gets together. I love them all!

My sisters. Well, bear with me as I have many. Jasmine: wonderful mother and role model as such. I love that no matter how long it has been since I talked to her or saw her, she is always so happy to catch up and find out what has gone on. I have even considered moving to Oklahoma just because she is there. Jessica: is unafraid to do what she thinks is best. I love her laugh and humor, and love how she expresses her own opinions while respecting others'. Anna: is so enthusiastic and so creative. I love when she cooks or sews or orchestrates anything- I always know it will be good. Shelly: a lot like me. Sarcastic but always willing to help out those she loves. Also extremely unafraid to show who she really is and never wavers in her self-identity. Lauren: I have loved hanging out with her lately. She is a complex teenager and I love to sit and talk to her and hear how her life is going. I know she will do great things in life. Nikenzie: smart and grounded. She is just starting to really grow up (13 in January!) but so far has still shown a great desire for anything that is good and right. I admire her for wanting to be good in such an evil world.

My brother. I guess he gets his own paragraph! I am so proud of him right now in the mission field. He is probably the most loving of us all. I always appreciate when he is excited for me over stupid little things that no one else cares about.

Todd's Family. The good ol' Itri's. It has been quite the adjustment getting to know the customs and habits of the Itri family, occasionally even shocking. But they are a wonderful family and I am so grateful for the things I learn from them and good people they are. Especially I am grateful for my mother-in-law, who sheltered me and took good care of my like my own mom before I was even engaged to Todd. I still am able to call her up out of the blue for any advise or anything else I need. I am also grateful for my sisters-in-law. Stephanie, who I wish I could see more often is an amazing mom, beautiful, and always makes me feel like she considers me part of her family. Lisa and Kelsey are both very different from me, but I have enjoyed getting to know them and learning a bit about their families as well. While it has taken some time, I hope that all of us are able to continue to become better friends and be a buffer for each other against the Itri testosterone.

Puddle. She has been a best friend since high school. I have learned so much from her. She is so strong and beautiful. While I don't get to see her nearly enough, I love every time we get together. I feel lucky to know her and her wonderful husband, Ryan.

Lauren Francis. That is not really her name anymore, but since I always called her that growing up to differentiate between her and my little sister, it is hard to make the switch to Lauren Billings. She was my first best friend in Provo, and has always meant a lot to me. We had a thoroughly bipolar relationship for about the first 8 years we knew each other, ranging from the bestest friends to short-term bitter enemies. But the last few years I have just appreciated her as a friend. She has been there for me and helped me stay young by playing Zelda with me like we used to. I am so glad we have ended our bipolarness and plateaued our relationship in a friends zone.

Christy. Best friend since 2nd grade. I can still call her any time for any thing, and I am so glad that her husband Jason and Todd get along so great. It has made for some really fun evenings and vacations. Christy and I are opposite in a lot of ways, and there are times when I wonder how in the world we ever stayed friends through the years. But I am so glad to have her in my life and for the person that I am because of her.

Miriam. She is in our singles ward and got me my job by giving me an amazing reference when she knew nothing about me. Since then we have become good friends and I love it when I get to see her and work with her. She is even nice enough to have picked me up and taken me home from work a few times. This is very helpful since Todd would have to do it otherwise.

Debbie and Aubrey and Chris. three amazing ladies that I also work with. They are all night shift workers, and I recently switched to working days due to being sick with child. I miss them all a lot, they became very good friends. Chris even got me a souvenir from her vacation, Debbie invited me to a party at her house (not to mention the millions of times she has helped me in nursing or started an IV on someone who had no veins), and Aubrey and I have been out shopping together plus she bought me Chik-fil-A because she knows I love it! One of the reasons I love my job so much is the great people I get to associate with.

Lila and her feet. I am so thankful for my baby girl. She is less than 3 months from officially being part of our family, and she is rambunctious. I say I am thankful for her feet because of all the sad stories I have heard since becoming pregnant about miscarriages and severe birth defects and even having to go to Puddle's son's funeral after a stillbirth. I don't know how any of those mothers are so strong, I don't know if I could handle anything going wrong with Lila. Every time she moves or kicks or does a full on dance recital for me I am so glad to know she is there. Because of her I get to be a mom- and there isn't a whole lot that I could be more thankful for.

Now that my novel is over, I just want to say thanks to all the other people who have been there for me. Even if I don't sit here and mention you by name, you have certainly had an impact on my life and I am very grateful for it. Todd doesn't get his own paragraph because I have already gone on and on about him a few times lately, but he is my other half and has become an appendage I can't live without.

Oh, and by the way, I think Lila is on a growth spurt right now which is the perfect time because I can eat more food now than I have been able to since I was dancing 25 hours a week! Go Thanksgiving food!

Some Fun Stuff

Happy Homecoming!

I helped Lauren do her hair for her first ever school date-dance! I love being able to help my little sisters with fun stuff like this. However, it has made me realize that I am getting old. No, not elderly, just old. My older sisters used to come over and tell me that I was so cute and had such stylish clothes and that I should show them how to be so up-to-date. Well, at the time I thought this was extremely odd as all I did was go to the stores and buy clothes and apparently that made me "cute." All you have to do is look at other people to see what the trends are. Well, I pretty much have become frumpy. My favorite way to get dressed is out of Lauren's closet. I have been very good at washing and returning items and ask almost all the time so she will still let me do it. But now I see- she is cute and I am not and I now know how you can lose it. I would say the number one reason is that I have a husband who values clothes as basically nothing. He won't even let me buy him new socks even though his have holes in them! (Did I already mention this once? Can you tell it really bothers me?) When I was in high school I would go to the mall every few months and spend $100-$250 easily, now I am lucky if I spend $100 in a year! All my cute clothes are lost, worn out, or no longer cute. Ha ha maybe after Lila comes I'll try to be better at shopping sales so I can feel pretty again!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween this year was awesome. Trick-or-treating of course was on Saturday night since we live in Utah. I got to work Friday night, then again Saturday night, then a third on Sunday. So basically I got to stay out all night long every night over the holiday weekend! Too bad I didn't get to go to any parties, give away any candy, or dress up as someone else. Pretty sure that would have been even awesomer. Oh well. At least there was a night earlier in the week that Todd made some cookies while I carved a pumpkin! That was fun on our very small kitchen table.

Happy History!

So I couldn't really think of how else to say "vote" that started with an H. But I contributed to history on November 2, 2010!! I have had 2 chances to vote for national elections before this year, last of which was a presidential election. Each time I wanted to vote, knew it was good, but just didn't do it. So this time Todd and I actually looked at our little Utah voting pamphlet and went out to the polls! Hopefully this becomes a trend and we are good at voting in future years, plus even better at studying the candidates to vote for the best ones. We stuck our stickers on a door frame to remind ourselves that we did something good!

Money Woes

So Todd and I set a pretty lofty goal for ourselves this year. We set an amount of money we wanted to save by the end of 2010. Well, if you don't know Todd, I will tell you that he gets very excited about things and often thinks he can do/things will turn out/we can end up with more than is reasonable. I think I was able to talk him down a bit, mostly by showing him how many more expenses we actually have than he thought we did. But he is so cute in wanting to save for the future. So we finally settled on a goal, though lofty, possibly attainable. Now we are nearing the end of the year. We have done fairly well I think. There have a been a few months that we didn't review our budget, but we revamped it when we paid off our car in August, albeit we did have to then add a new expense we dubbed "baby stuff," plus the new baby medical bills.

And as we strive to meet budget each month, we have done very well in the categories we have made. But things always come up. We need new tires. When we last got the oil changed, Jiffy Lube wouldn't even rotate them because then it would be a liability to them if one the smooth surfaces did something wrong (I don't know anything about tires, does that mean they are afraid it will pop? or just not drive well?) Anyway, with winter coming we are now facing a decision on how much we can spend, how many tires to buy (the front are completely bald and the back just close to it), and we aren't very much of tire experts. I just don't want to die in the snow. We also just changed our cell phone plan. We will actually end up saving a significant amount of money in the long run, but now we will have to pay cancellation fees on our old plan. I wouldn't mind so much if it was January, but we have just over 2 months to save up to our goal! I don't even want to talk about maternity clothes. Right now I basically just stretch out my normal ones. I don't want to buy a whole new wardrobe for 3 months of wear! And none of my sisters have ever been pregnant through the winter so I can't even really ask to borrow anything. Come on, 7 kids between the 3 of them and the latest was November, but he came out in Florida so not much need for a maternity coat or long sleeved shirt!

Anyway, the bottom line is we have been so blessed with what we have been able to accomplish this year. We have sacrificed a lot to get what we have, and we are oh so close to that elusive number! I think if we don't make it we can just blame it on Lila, and in my mind that is a pretty good excuse. Definitely a good reason to not quite make it. Plus we have already saved more than I thought we might be able to. Whether we meet our goal or not, I am so grateful to have had a job this whole year so we could actually put away towards it. So really, this blog should be titled "Blessings".

Diapers and Rain

So we bought some diapers today. First diapers ever, but most certainly not the last. Today we spent $89 at Costco on diapers and baby wipes (using, of course, coupons for both). We have budgeted $100 per month until Lila comes to stock up on the goods. I guess we should probably use some of that money for carseats and such. We haven't spend Septembers $$$ yet and I think that's what it will go toward (a carseat I mean) if we can just make a decision. Sheesh how to you pick from 100,000 options! But we also want Lila to have a clean bum! It just feels weird to actually make that purchase....

It has been raining off and on the last couple of days. And I just thought you should know that I love it!!!!! The other night when I was making dinner I opened the big kitchen window because of the downpour and even with the feet of roof over the porch I still got a bit sprayed but the pouring water being pushed by the wind. It felt wonderful. I hope we have a few more days left in a desert rainy season.

It's A Girl!

Currently, we know about our daughter:

Her name is Lila

Due Valentines Day 2011

She has 2 hands, 2 feet, 2 kidneys

a pumping 4 chamber heart

a brain!

a stomach

a face

likes to kick

Has a daddy who loves her so much he is worried about going to jail for killing some boy in about 16 years (not seriously killing, of course. But he's already protective of his princess)

Has a mommy who is thrilled and loves her like a mother loves her children :)

Is a precious daughter of God

Three

August 1st. A beautiful day this year as it has been the last several. Todd and I started our anniversary the usual way, although we did actually have to celebrate on July 31st since the 1st was a Sunday. We got up in the morning and put on our Sunday best. The temple grounds were as beautiful as they were three years ago. I know a lot of people choose any temple except the Provo temple, citing the reason "It's ugly." However, I disagree. I think our wedding pictures turned out beautiful- though I must admit the grounds are much prettier now than they were before they were reconstructed. The flowers are brightly colored and the fountains add a serene atmosphere. Plus the symbolism of the building adds to the spiritual nature of whole experience. I admit it is a simple design, but I don't think it needs to be fancy. Anyway, enough of my soap box. It was wonderful to kneel across the altar from Todd and remember the promises we made together three years ago. It is one of my favorite traditions.

If you look in this picture (unless it's too small), you can see our reflection in the windows of the Temple:

Anyway, I wish you could see the pictures bigger, the colors are so vibrant. I think our pictures turned out wonderfully. I just thought I would prove how pretty my temple can be.

For lunch we ate at Mimi's, which is where our wedding luncheon was held. We also went there on our first date and always seem to enjoy ourselves when we go there.

We came home and relaxed for a while, then drove up to Park City, stopping along the way to catch the view of the lake. We drove around for a while, then ate at Jean Louis Restaurant. We were very impressed with the food. I was smart enough to order one of the specials that wasn't listed on the menu, but being a special I assumed it would be cheaper or at least within the same price range as the other dishes, so I didn't ask the price. Instead I spent $10 more than I would have on my second choice of a meal. Todd comforted me by telling me it was ok, I deserved something nice, and that we hadn't spent money on anything else so a few extra dollars was no big deal. He is so sweet. He got some "Les Escargots Classiques" which I of course did not taste. How do people eat snails anyway? However, Todd thoroughly enjoyed them so I was ok to watch.

My expensive steak:

Todd eating his tuna, which is the main reason we chose this restaurant. He wasn't disappointed.

I know I recently gloated about my husband, but what better time to throw out a few nice words than when talking about our anniversary. He isn't perfect. Sometimes he still drives me crazy with his procrastination or his seeming inability to keep anything picked up. But he tries. He works hard, and any time I tell him something I am worried about or struggling with, he does little things to make my life just a bit easier. I recently taught a lesson in my "Marriage and Family Relations" class about the role of mothers. I only teach every other week, and the week before was the class on Father's roles taught by a high council member. While I listened I was thinking about my upcoming lesson on Mothers. I almost started tearing up as I realized how much Todd had taught me about the role of being a woman and a mother.

I have struggled my whole life with wondering how important I really am as a girl, clouded by the millennia of the world's treatment of women as less than men. Even today with all of the women's rights stuff I still had a hard time appreciating my part as a woman. But that day I realized that I haven't really wondered about that stuff lately. For quite a while actually. And then I realized that the reason it hasn't been bothering me, is because Todd does understand the value and the role of women. One day he came home, so excited to tell me about a scripture about how "a virtuous woman is worth far above rubies" or something like that, implying that to him, I am worth much more than any precious stone. He gets somber and reverent when he tells me what a good mom he thinks I'll be, and how that is one of the things that attracted him to me most. His grades have gone from basically worthless before his mission to almost all A's, and he spends a lot of time and energy studying so that he will be able to provide for me- not because he thinks it's a woman's place to stay home as some might, but because he understands the eternal nature and importance of a mother's role in the home with her children.

In church we often hear about how women need to support the priesthood holders, and how while only men hold the priesthood, it couldn't have it's full power without the women's support. But what I realized more and more as I prepared my lesson, is how much we need the support of men to be able to fulfill our potential. I feel so lucky to have such a great guy that understands my responsibilities as a woman and helps me to see them myself. Who could ask for more than a husband who makes her feel not only worthwhile, but priceless.

Welcome Liam!

We were able to welcome our newest nephew on July 14. Anna, the amazing woman, went all the way through labor without any intervention for pain. All I can say is how much I admire that kind of strength, seeing as I basically cry and almost pass out if I just have to get my blood drawn. Todd and I were fortunate enough to come visit the day he was born. He's adorable!

Fun Stuff

Well, there has been some fun stuff going on in our families!

It is getting closer and closer to the time when Kyle (Itri brother #6) actually gets to leave for his mission. I bet it is hard to have to wait so long from the time you get the call and find out where you are going until you actually get to go. But now it is September he is officially leaving this month!

Shelly (Faber sister #5) has moved out and is on her own! As with all the Faber kids, she was forced to move into the dorms at college. I think she is happy with it though. Well, she isn't too excited about still having to go to school, but glad to get to start a new chapter in her life.

Lauren (Faber sister #6) turned 16! She has been talking about it and counting down for at least 56 days.... I think that was the first day she told me how long it was. Todd and I already almost crashed into her in my parent's driveway as she drove around all fancylike in her very own car! (which conveniently belonged to Shelly who moved out and lost that privelige only the day before). Happy Birthday Lauren!

Todd's cousin Jonny and his wife Dani have welcomed their first child into the world! Little baby Linkin is adorable from a picture standpoint, but I bet he is even cuter in person! I hope we get to meet him soon!

Anna (Faber sister #3) and Will moved back to Logan for Will's last semester of school! It must be so nice to be so close to finishing, and when he does he will have 2 (TWO) master's degrees! Go Will! And I suppose I should mention since I haven't had a chance to upload the pictures yet, but Anna also had her baby, Liam. That was a while ago and I still hope to post some more about it since we got to be there right after, but I don't want it to seem unimportant either!

Rob (Itri brother #1) got a new job at a really great place. He is assistant coach for the baseball team at.... A school in Pennsylvania? I forget which one it is. But the last several people who have held that position have moved on to bigger and better things, and that is certainly what we hope for in Rob's case. Yay Rob and Stephanie!

Dan (Itri brother #4) got into buisness school at BYU! So did Jason (Todd's cousin)! Congratulations to you both and good luck.

Jasmine (Faber sister #1) and Taylor recently bought a home that they think they can be in for several years. They got some help in moving from Shelly and I think they love it!

My cousin Heather just got married in the St. George temple. I am so proud of her. She has faced some tough times in her life but was able to ultimately come out with a great man (who is already a physical therapist) and the best possible start to a marriage. Congrats!

Well, I hope no one has been too sicekned by all the !!!!!!!!!'s. But there have been some pretty happy things going on around here lately. I hope I didn't forget anything else that is really big and exciting for our relatives. If so I'm sorry! Notice it is 4:30 in the morning and my brain just might not be working to hot right now. Adios!

Stuck

So I need some advise from all you LDS lovin pals. I have mentioned before my friend, Maria from Philadelphia. Well, she actually passed away last year while we were there. Long and unlucky story, she went to the ER the day she came home from visiting me in Utah, and I didn't find out until I was in Philly after our cruise, and she passed away about an hour later so I didn't even have a chance to visit her. It was a really sad time for me.

Her funeral was very different than anything I had ever experienced. It was not quiet, and not very focused on Maria. It was actually a little difficult for me to sit through the whole thing.

Anyway, now it has been over a year since she passed away. On the 1 year anniversary of her passing, I called her mom to see how she was doing. After talking for a while, I told her a little bit about what I believe about baptism as a member of the LDS church, and wanted to know if I could have permission to do ordinaces for Maria in the temple. Her mom said she was confused about what I believe, and had let the missionaries come over a few times after Maria passed but didn't want them to come back right now to teach her more about it. I don't know what to do or how to explain to her why this is so important to me. Is there a good article or anything out there that explains why it is so important for us? Maria was baptized when she was 12, so her mom doesn't understand why and/or how I could do it again for her. I have been wondering and worrying about this for a while now, and I know the longer I wait the harder it will be. She sounds like she just doesn't understand why I would want to do it. Maybe if she could then she would let me.....

The Faber's Come to Town

At the end of June all my sisters and their families came out and we were able to spend some time together. Unfortunately I didn't get pictures of most of the things we did. We mostly catered to all the little chillens. Activities were planned around naps and bedtimes, and we did a lot of things that they would enjoy like the Children's Museum in Salt Lake, Toy Story , the Princess Festival for the little girls, and lots of swimming in the parent's new pool that was built especially for little kids (about 4 feet deep at the deepest spot). It was a lot of fun to see how much fun the kids were having.

One of my favorite parts was getting together with the adults to play some games. It is always fun to remember how much I enjoy being with my big and little sisters. To bad "brotha" wasn't able to be with us, we missed him. There was one night we did more of an adult night, some of us went to play on a ropes course and go canoeing. I was very impressed because Todd actually participated! He had sworn to me a few years ago that he would never go on a zipline for his fear of heights. He has made leaps and bounds since then! Although he was hesitant, he even climbed the pole to get up to the place where you get to zip down. We hadn't realized before that you would have to do the climbing on your own, instead of walking or hiking to some platform. He even tried out the climbing wall without any encouragement. He sure is impressive!

Brayden getting all harnessed up!



Todd at the top ready to zip



Jessica gets her feet in the air



Taylor was the first to make it to the top


Todd and his bravery


After the ropes we put our cameras away to protect them from water in case our canoes tipped. Our guide took us halfway to the river and pointed the rest of the way. He told us to replace the canoes the way we found them when we were done, that we could go about 1.5 miles uprivier or 1 mile downriver. However, if we were to go downriver we shouldn't go into the lake because it is too shallow and can be dangerous. In fact, someone died by doing that only 3 days before. Then he told us to have fun and took off! He didn't even walk us to the canoes! We were a little bit shocked, and decided to head upriver.

We also spent a day at Trafalga. The kids loved all the arcade games and mini golf. A bunch of us also raced around on the go carts, and Todd and I did some batting practice. We seemed to gravitate mostly around the "Deal or No Deal" game, where we won 100 or 200 tickets a couple of times. It was pretty fun.

I'm glad everyone had such a good time. Of course there were times that it was hard to agree on what to do with so many people and schedules and opinions, but I quite enjoyed my time. I am never sad when I get to see the ones I love the most!


One night when Playing Yahtzee, both Matt and Will accidentally dropped their remaining dice in the cup- which ended up being their drinking cups!


Grandma with Great-granddaughters Mikayla and Kylee


Hi Reese!


Ellie playing mini golf


Adam with his aunt Lauren and Grandpa Faber

Oh Boy

So when Todd and I were not even engaged, but very close to it, we were already talking about baby names. We picked out a name for our first girl- Lila. It is the name of my grandmother, whom I love and adore and admire. Plus it is a beautiful name. I can just picture this little girl with her hands behind her back, twisting back and forth, with her head down but her eyes peeking up at you answering "Lila Itri" when someone asks her name. A cute little shy gal with the perfect name.

Unfortunately, with boys we aren't so lucky. Although yes, we have been married 1 week shy of 3 years and have no kids to actually have to worry about this, we have discussed many, many times boy names. We cannot agree. EVER!!! It is awful. Todd really likes traditional names like James or John or Nick (after his dad). I personally don't have specific favorites, but I would like to choose a name that is a little less traditional. It is made additionally hard by the fact I can't even give you an example- I guess I don't really like boy names in general, so who knows what will happen when we actually have to pick one.

However, Todd has recently set his heart on Joe. He has also decided that Lila's middle name is Glenna. You see, Lila is my grandmother and Glenna was Todd's. They both have similar life-stories and were wonderful role-models as far as faithfulness in church goes. I wouldn't mind it so much if it didn't cause alliteration, but the two "uh"s so close together are not so pretty in my opinion. But back to Joe. Glenna's husband (and therefore Todd's grandfather)was Joe. And Lila's husband was Dorian. So we played around with the idea of Lila Glenna and Joe Dorian, after our grandparents. (My other set of grandparents already have grandchildren named after them, and Todd's other grandparents- well, while we love them we aren't so hot on their names. I know, I apologize if that seems extremely rude.....) But to make up for it, I am not totally sold on Joe, either. In general I would never consider it. But as a family name.... maybe.

Girls Night Out!

Last night the single's ward had a Relief Society sleepover. All the ladies got together, made home-made Cafe Rio style salads, played games, watched a chick flick, went to bed, and made breakfast together. I felt a little shy about going but ended up having a really fun time. Todd made pasta for dinner, so I ate at home and went a little late (I pretty much LOVE pasta). I got there just as they were finishing up volleyball. We then played a game that is really similar to Mafia. It is an actual game that you buy, so each game the card you drew was totally random. The setting was a little town with warewolves eating all the people. I actually quite enjoyed it, although in about 6 or 7 games I was never a warewolf but I got accused almost every time, and killed a few times for it. I did get a chance to be a few other cool characters, including a witch 3 times. When I got that card I was able to either save the person the warewolves attacked, or kill someone else of my choice. I could only do each once per game, so it was hard because you don't want to waste your powers, but you want to use them before you die too!

We then hung out and played some other games, then watched Leap Year (is that what it's called?), which I liked until I thought about what a bad idea it was for the two main characters to get together. They had only known each other for a few days, and they had been a very hard few days with a lot of trials to go through. OF COURSE you are attracted to someone you have gone through that kind of stuff with! But will they actually like each other in real life? Probably not! Get real! Anyway, there are plenty of movies where that happens, but for some reason it stuck out to me in this one. Oh well!

I decided not to stay the night because I already spend at least 3 nights a week away from home, but I quite enjoyed my time hangin out with the ladies!

Happy

So, life is good. Here are a few bits and pieces of my life that have been going on that are too little to be their own post, but maybe will be more interesting all together.

Work is great. For some reason lately when I think about going, I dread it, but once I get here and get going, I always remember why I love being a nurse. Sometimes the nights are hard, and it is especially difficult when my patients are grumpy, but usually I am able to at least make them a bit more comfortable so they are ok. I also am getting better at calling the big MDs. I used to get so nervous I would say way to much or not enough and was yelled at a few times. While I still get pretty anxious when I call, I have much improved in my approach-which has made the docs and me a lot happier!

I pretty much think Todd is the greatest. Of course he has always been great, but for some reason the last few months he has just been absolutely amazing. He is so sweet and thoughtful and really helpful with all the housework that needs to be done. I know a lot of other people brag about their husbands, so I want to put in a a nice little plug for my sweetheart.

I have a new calling in the singles ward. Ready for this? I am the marriage and family relations sunday school teacher. It is a bit nerve racking. The first week I tried to just get people to be more open to hearing about marriage. The bishopric asked a few specific people to attend the class, so I am not so sure that everyone wanted to be there. I was hoping to get across that the class is not about pushing everyone to get married right away, but to help them keep an open mind so they are prepared when it eventually happens. I hope I do an ok job. This week the topic was keeping love alive in marriage, of which intimacy was part of the topic. I was extremely nervous for the lesson, but decided to simply talk about it in a straightforward way instead of treating them like babies that weren't mature enough. I think a lot of the people appreciated the lesson, and I only noticed giggling once the whole time. I hope people keep coming to the class!

The End

Hypocracy

Did I spell that right? Anyway, many nights I am at work and all my patients want to do is sleep. Come on, doesn't anyone need anything at 3:00 in the morning? Well, sometimes the answer is yes, but sometimes I just have to sit around and twiddle my thumbs. I often check out all the blogs of my friends and family, only to be disappointed that no one has updated since my shift the night before. So I whine and complain to myself that no one posts enough. I have several post titles memorized from clicking on people's blogs and seeing the same line over and over and over. Come on people I need something to read in these wee hours!!

But then again, how much do I share? Sometimes I get a sharply written email from my grandmother pointing out that I haven't posted anything for quite some time. I just don't ever know what to write unless I am telling a story around or describing a picture. I don't know if I have any general thoughts worth sharing- I usually just post about things that we have done, which often isn't that much or isn't really interesting enough to write about. So I just whine and complain about how OTHER people don't bother to share enough.

I am trying to be slightly less hypocritical tonight, so I decided to share the thoughts on my mind. I hope no one thinks less of me for my hypocritialness.