Byron & Brianna Putnam

for real?

2012-01-26T15:21:00.000-08:00

Ruby's car seat is far too big to fit nicely in the shopping cart so she rides along in a baby carrier while I grocery shop.

She has a good time... my back, on the other hand, does not. I must produce super-milk, because this girl has become quite heavy.

Or... I'm just a wimp. Very possible and quite likely.

Ruby is my best looking & favorite accessory.

Can I call my baby an accessory? Please don't report me for saying that. She's obviously much more than that but boy do I love to show her off. Am I the only one who has ever felt that way about her first child though?

Back to grocery shopping and my good looking ~~accessory~~ child.

In the frozen foods isle. This sweet little old lady said to me,

"Your baby is just beautiful. Really. Adorable."

Oh, well thanks.

"They don't all come out like that you know. I keep my eyes peeled for the cute ones. Sometimes they just aren't that way."

Umm, haha, Yeah.

"Really, there are some who just aren't that cute. But you have a beautiful baby."

Wow. I wouldn't have believed this story unless it happened to me.

And they say "kids say the darnedest things." I guess the pendulum swings both ways.

too loud

2012-01-25T13:04:00.000-08:00

Ruby has been quite the scaredy cat lately. She is very frightened of loud noises so I guess we were asking for it when we took her to a Jazz game over the weekend. I normally stay home, put Ruby to bed, and hit the sack early while Byron goes to the Jazz games (okay, maybe I watch a little bachelor).

When his boss got a suite for the Bees guys, I couldn't possibly pass it up. I'm not a huge fan of getting a babysitter for Ruby while she's nursing and still trying to figure out a sleeping schedule so we took her with us. To say that was a bad idea would be an understatement.

We snapped this picture only seconds before she and I left the arena. Sheer terror can be seen in her eyes.

Every time the crowd cheered, and more often when the announcer's voice boomed, she would stick out that bottom lip and let the screams rip. Poor girl. The suite-goers would cheer and then turn to her, waiting for a reaction. She gave it to them every time and they got quite the kick out of it. After going for two walks, I decided that torturing my little girl was not the best mommy move I'd made yet (and there have been some doozies). I asked Byron to hitch a ride home and high tailed it out of there. Ruby seemed traumatized and fell asleep immediately when we got in the car.

I didn't need to be too worried. She woke up with all smiles when we got home. Sheesh... talk about high maintenance!

miss me?

2012-01-23T17:09:00.000-08:00

Hey guys, I'm sure you've all missed me.

Lately me and mom get to hang out all. the. time. Yeah, it's pretty great. Ha - I have her wrapped around my little finger... I squawk and she comes running (except this morning - she made me hang out in my crib for 15 minutes when I woke up. I wish I could tell her, 'lady, if I'm not sleeping, you aren't sleeping').

I went to the Doctor last week for my 4 month check up. Not really my idea of fun. To start with my mom forgot to pack an extra pair of clothes. This is kind of embarrassing but I had a bit of a blow out (that's hard for a girl to admit) and had to hang out in my diaper the whole time. Seriously, you would think she'd have learnt her lesson by now. Right before we got ready to leave, a stranger came and and poked my legs. Ho-ly cooowwww! Don't you worry, I got my mom back for that by waking up a lot the next few nights. Anyway, I guess I'm kind of a big girl. 75th percentile in height and weight... whatever that means. The doctor said, "She likes to eat!" Duh! Who doesn't like to eat? My dad gave me a big hug and a kiss because he thinks this means I will be a good athlete.

Guess what I found the other night. My feet! I love playing with them all the time now. It's pretty much my new favorite activity, especially when mom changes my diaper. I figured out how to roll over again too (I did it a few months ago but then forgot how). Tummy time is over for me... I just roll right out of it! I've also figured out how to grab toys and hold onto them better, great for shoving them in my mouth. I love the toys Grandma Dabell got me for Christmas and like to bounce in the Jumperoo from Grandma Suzie. Sometimes (lots of the time really) I get frustrated and all I can do is blow raspberries. I pretty much can give my face a bath with all the spit I get out with those raspberries. This past weekend my mom and dad kicked me out of their room. I don't mind though, I kind of like checking out my new environment. If my mom could get her act together maybe she will post pictures of it soon.

Well, time for ANOTHER nap. Boy, do I hate those. Ta ta for now.

Just one night

2012-01-13T02:57:00.000-08:00

It's amazing what just one night of no sleep can do to a girl.

Ruby has always been such a good sleeper at night but I feel like it has been changing... And maybe I'm somehow enabling bad habits?

This means I do things like lock myself and Ruby out of the house/car in near 20 degree weather. Forget the names of people as I chit chat. And even notice the wrinkles on my nose more than I ever have before. I'm 27 people. WRINKLES! (I'll save the silver hair for another post. I've had those for years now).

Time to invest in wrinkle cream I guess.

And then there's the constant debate on letting Byron ~~deal~~ ~~with~~ have a turn parenting the babe in the middle of the night. TO WHICH my mom informed me was no longer okay after today. (oh you know? The day I become a full time stay at home mommy and homemaker *squeal*). Meh. He can only handle up to 45 minutes anyway.

I'll tell you what though. I'm really , Really, REALLY ready to start sleeping through the night so any advice will be welcomed at this hour of the night. 3:30 am people. And this is the SECOND feeding.

*the Internet stinks at our new place so pics take forev to load. I'll post some soon though. You'll die at how big ruby is. And she better be after these night time feedings ;)*

break it down

2012-01-02T21:21:00.000-08:00

The year in review... A lot of this is related to little miss ruby.

2011

January: found out we were pregnant and decided not to tell anyone.

February: morning sickness. first doctors appointment - can't make out anything they showed us on the ultrasound but excited nonetheless.

March: morning sickness... I think I may die. byron takes a trip to Boston

April: morning sickness. finally shared the exciting pregnancy news. byron was offered a job with the Larry Miller Group of companies - working primarily with the bees and the jazz. byron graduates UVU.

May: morning sickness. half-way mark. find out the baby is a girl. start casually looking for houses.

June: Byron is never home due to the demanding job so I'm left to fend for myself. spend loads of time directly in front of the ac unit. get more serious about looking for a house. realize we need to move closer to slc.

July: spend many nights together at the spring mobile baseball park (triple A all star game). forget our anniversary but have an awesome celebration anyway. get frustrated with our house price range and begin looking into duplexes.

August: pregnancy scare. bed rest. find a duplex. more late nights for Byron.

September: end bed rest and have a baby two days later. buy a duplex - sign papers while still in the hospital with ruby... I was a bit drugged. critical jaundice scare... worst one our doc & nurses had dealt with in a long time. move in with byron's parents for a week.

October: move into our duplex. get that 'I've been hit by a bus feeling".

November: Byron called as ward clerk. small thanksgiving celebration with Putnam's. ruby starts sleeping through the night.

December: go back to work = ruby stops sleeping through the night. Ruby baby blessing. try figuring out how to balance being a working mom - very unsuccessful. celebrate christmas in Idaho & new years at home as a family.

Whew, what a year! Now I need to work on those resolutions...

How I know I'm a mother...

2011-12-21T04:45:00.000-08:00

1. I get EXTREMELY excited over things like: 5 consecutive hours of sleep, baby burps, baby poops that happen BEFORE Ruby gets dressed for the day.

2. No more long, relaxing showers... My bedtime routine has been drastically shortened. Who knew I could brush my teeth so fast? And who knew I would accidentally use my body wash as shampoo? (you don't have to answer that)

3. I feel like I have a constant pinched nerve in my back and it's probably only going to get worse.

4. There is a never ending pile of laundry... I can usually get it washed. Putting it away is another thing.

5. I've lost my ability to be on time for 9 am church.

6. When it's 12 am and I'm still trying to get Ruby to sleep sometimes I have conflicting emotions - can't get over how stinkin cute this little girl is and I also want to throw a pillow at Byron's head because I'm actually JEALOUS that he gets to sleep.

7. I'm the last one to eat.

8. I talk about Ruby all. the. time.

9. I've never been so tired in my entire life.

10. I've never been so happy and content in my entire life.

I LOVE this new adventure!

What would you have on your list?

Family Pictures

2011-11-15T13:37:00.000-08:00

My dear friend Ashley did an amazing job on our family pictures. Now we just need to choose our favorites... ahh! How can I? We love them all!

See the images HERE.

Ashley and Ruby:

influenced by others

2011-11-10T12:12:00.000-08:00

A few experiences have made me appreciate the magnitude of the blessing it is to be a mother and I want to share at least one of those.

One of our dear friends lost their baby boy when the mother was a mere 24 weeks along in the pregnancy. But to them, this 24 weeks was a miracle after a miscarriage and difficulty getting pregnant for quite some time. When I heard the news, I was devastated; I had just spoken to the mother a few days before. We had shared delight in both of our experiences as mothers (as she was carrying her child, and after labor and delivery I had mine home with me).

For some time, I didn’t know whether to call her or make much contact with her at all.

Finally after listening to Elder Uchtdorf’s talk from the Relief Society broadcast I felt it was time to call. I cried as she was more than willing to talk about this hard experience and explain what had happened. Her attitude was one of gratitude. I couldn’t believe how well she handled this unbelievably tragic death. I, on the other hand, couldn’t find my words. When I mustered a mere, “I’m sorry this happened to you” I could barely talk.

From the beginning I felt honored to have Ruby in my life but my friend’s words and experience helped me become even more grateful. She was kind enough to share some photos from the delivery and a sweet letter read at his memorial written by her and her husband. I looked at the photos through tears and couldn’t believe amount of love radiating from each one. Not only the love for a perfectly beautiful child, but the love of a husband for his wife. I still tear up thinking about them. Next came the letter. I don’t know if there has ever been a couple more deserving of the role of parents.

Byron and I both felt slightly inadequate in our preparation for parenthood after reading their touching words to their beloved son. But, more importantly, we felt the need to improve ourselves from then on out to be more deserving of our new roles.

A big thank you to our dear friends Brock and Lindsey Hansen for the positive influence they’ve had in our lives and now in sweet Ruby’s life. We love and admire you.

two months

2011-11-08T18:49:00.000-08:00

This little girl smiles all the time now! She is so fun to be with and we just adore her. She seems most happy in the mornings (when she isn’t starving) and gives me the most smiles at that time. She has had her first trip to Idaho and did pretty well on the drive. We did have to stop once each way to change and feed her, which seemed to add quite a bit of time to the drive. She tracks objects so well now. She loves watching her mobile above her swing but will also track toys that I move back and forth. She watches us when we walk by or leave the room. She also turns to our voices very well now. When given the choice, she definitely prefers looking at her daddy and I’m just fine with that. I think he is pretty nice to look at too ;) She had her two month check up today. 55% for weight, 45% height, and 5% head. Yeah, small head – but it doesn’t really look small or anything. I have been a bit worried about the shape (going flat) but our Doc wasn’t too concerned for now. Tummy time is going very well… just the other night she rolled from her tummy to her back all by herself five times! As you can imagine, it was quite the exciting event that evening. Her strength always amazes me. She bears so much weight onto her legs now and will bounce around a little when we stand her up. Talking is one of her favorite things to do. Even when she eats! Byron thinks she sounds like a little piglet when she eats :) She is making all types of cooing sounds and many people comment on how verbal she is. This past Sunday was her first day in church. We had a tri-stake meeting at the tabernacle on temple square with Elder Ballard. She slept the whole time and the woman next to us complimented her on being ‘such a little lady.’ Her longest stretch of sleep at night is 6 hours. I love bringing her into bed with me in the mornings after Byron gets up for the gym – we usually get a few more hours of sleep and I love being close to her.

A morning smile:

Temple Square on her 2 month birthday:

Halloween... Our baby ballerina:

As for me, I absolutely love being a mom. I feel more fulfilled in my role as a wife and mother than anything else I’ve ever done. The past two months have been so wonderful. There are hard things of course, but I would go through much more difficult things just to be a mother. Byron and I feel incredibly blessed to have this little girl in our home.

too much

2011-10-26T22:21:00.000-07:00

I'm a little overwhelmed by how many things I haven't blogged about... starting from way back in April (ex. Byron's graduation - A HUGE accomplishment that I've yet to give enough credit to on this blog of ours).

It's not even just blogging.

I also need to do so much more work on our new place (oh yeah, we bought an old duplex in SLC!!).

And thank you cards are always in the back of my mind (so many people gave Ruby a very good, cozy, and fashionable start to life... plus quite a few also helped me out while I was incapable of doing much).

I just spend all my time with this little girl and don't want to do anything else!

due date

2011-09-29T21:24:00.000-07:00

Well, today is our Miss Ruby's due date. She is just over three weeks old now and has us wrapped around her little finger. She's already getting so big - we can totally see how much she is changing.

^{The following is from the 27th... three weeks old.}

Wow, Ruby is getting so big so fast! Three weeks old today and she LOVES looking at light. When she is awake in her cradle at night, she turns her head up and looks through the slats because of the night light I always have on. She is making eye contact much better and for longer periods of time – I really feel like she is starting to recognize me more and more. She LOVES when her daddy sings to her, which is every day. Their favorite song is Pooh Corner by Kenny Loggins. She quiets much more quickly to his touch than to my own and is usually a bit fussier for me. She will usually sleep for 3 hours at night now before waking me up for her next meal. Nursing is going better but we are both still figuring it out. Sometimes she gets so frantic; waving her hands and kicking her legs to wildly that it’s hard for her to latch on. She has such big curious eyes. I can’t believe how big she is getting. At her two week check up, she weighed 6lb 8.5oz – passing her birth weight. I don’t know how much she weighs this week but I do know she is actually fitting into her newborn clothes that were too big on her when we left the hospital after she was born. Her legs and arms are starting to get just a little more meat on them and I already see maturing changes in her sweet little face. I try not to talk to her much at night so she recognizes the difference between night and day – so far so good but I know there will be a night where she is up for hours. She is such a good baby and usually only cries when she wants to be held or wants to eat. She never cries for long though because we are right there to meet her needs – you can never spoil a newborn and I’m still eating up all my time with her since I couldn’t hold her much for a week after she was born. Byron might wonder why I never get anything done. She is getting so strong. When I hold her on my chest, she lifts her head and looks all around. Her crazy hair is hard to tame but beautiful all the same. I wanted so badly for her to be born with lots of hair and wow did that dream come true. She doesn’t fit into any of the headbands I have for her yet and since we are in the middle of a move, I haven’t made any to fit (or been out shopping to buy any). Bath time is great when she can sit in the sink while I run the washrag over her body. But as soon as it’s time to wash her hair she gets pretty upset. Diaper changes are always an adventure filled with the anticipation of her peeing or pooping all over. A&D cream took care of her small rash within a few days and I’ll be a forever believer of the product because of it. She loves to have her hand up by her binky as she goes to town pacifying. There are days where she is awake more than others but all in all she is definitely having more alert periods each day. Her actual due date isn’t for two more days and it just blows me away that she has already been here for three weeks now!!!

tons of pics to follow... I'm sure you won't mind :)

One week old... we had just returned from the hospital. It was her first night in her bed.

two weeks old

She loves her binky!

Three weeks old

Our last night in Provo - we took Ruby on a walk over to Jdawgs.

She loved the stroller ride.

And a few from after her bath from tonight. Her actual due date!

Yesterday was my birthday and I finally got dressed and put on makeup so we could go get some local peaches. Love this little girl.

going home

2011-09-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

We were thrilled to be able to take Ruby home! She almost had to stay at the hospital due to her Bili levels but our Pediatrician ordered lights for us at home. This turned out to be a great blessing - since we were discharged when we did have to go back to the hospital for higher powered Bili lights, we were put in the pediatric unit so I was able to stay with her. If we would have stayed originally, there is a good chance I wouldn't have been able to stay with her (busy hospital... no rooms available in the labor and delivery unit).

Getting dressed

My mom loved this picture of us trying to figure out the car seat.

Finally... success!!!

Happy little family

meals

2011-09-27T20:00:00.000-07:00

Because Ruby was a late preterm baby, the staff was concerned about her ability to eat. Just to make sure she was getting enough, I would have to pump and then finger feed her. She is doing well now and has passed her birth weight!

(her face has a strip of yellow because she had been spending time under the Bili lights the day these pictures were taken)

visitors

2011-09-27T16:00:00.000-07:00

We loved having visitors in the hospital after Ruby was born. I wish I would have gotten a picture of everyone who came!

Cousin Cole...

Cousin Paige - who didn't really know what to think about her mom and brothers holding little Ruby.

Cousin Gavin with the best picture smile EVER!

Auntie Kelsey - Ruby and Kelsey will forever share a birthday! We are so glad Kelsey got to meet Ruby before she left on her mission. If Ruby would have come on her actual birthdate, they would have missed each other!

Grandma Putnam

Devin and Sara

We have decided you guys are pros and it's about time for you to have one of your own :)

Grandma Dabell... how did we not get a picture of Grandpa???

(yeah - Byron was always wanting to sit in my bed... apparently the couches and chairs aren't that comfy.

All tuckered out from her adoring fans.

first bath

2011-09-26T19:44:00.000-07:00

Byron followed Ruby to her first bath in the hosptial. Here she is getting all cleaned up and not enjoying it much.

Peaceful once again...

36 weeks and 5 days

2011-09-20T14:42:00.000-07:00

Just know - this is the longest post I've ever written to date. I'm not offended if you don't read it but I wanted to document my little Ruby's entrance into this world.

36 weeks and 2 days

We are so happy to have our sweet little babe with us.

Ruby’s transition into this life started Aug. 8^th (see post). After such a scary experience I was very dedicated to my bed rest time as well as the medication I was taking to stop the contractions. Unfortunately the contractions never really stopped but weren’t strong enough to cause me to progress any further so ‘labor’ stopped. Within a few weeks the pain was so intense that I couldn’t sleep for two nights and had one horrible day. We went to the hospital thinking I had started into labor again. I was sure Ruby would be here soon. I was given some drugs for pain, sleep, and the contractions. They monitored me for a few hours and assured me I would be asleep in no time. Well, some of the medicine made me so jittery that the nurse wouldn’t give me any more before we went home, like the doctor had suggested. I never fell asleep and continued to feel some pain, but nothing like before. Oh, and to top it off – she checked me and I hadn’t dialated any more but was fully effaced. That afternoon/night Byron was getting ready to go hunting with a friend. Don’t worry – I was completely cool with it since I had the meds and nothing had changed much. Before he left, he realized he’d left something in the house. I got up to get the door for him and practically collapsed. I had never felt such intense pain in my life and literally had to crawl to the door. I could not stand up and Byron did his best to help me back into bed. Naturally, the hunting trip was cancelled and I was in and out of sleep that night and the next day.

At my doctor’s appointment the following week, I still had not dilated any more. The doctor was surprised at how low the baby was and told me to stay on the medication until Labor Day. We spent the next week guessing what day our little Ruby would be here. We decided that if I were going off the pills and bed rest on Sunday, I would have Ruby on Tuesday. Labor Day was my first day up and moving in four weeks. We stocked up on groceries, went to lunch, walked around the mall, and then went to a movie. During the movie my contractions became so intense that I would have to sit, stand, walk, sit, stand, walk, etc. Apparently, if you can still walk and talk through a contraction, it’s not painful enough to give you reason to go to the hospital. What? Awesome. We got home and I insisted on cleaning the house – I wanted it all nice and ready to bring a baby home to. We gave up quickly after we began. After resting, the pain decreased. I had a doctor’s appointment the next morning so I just told myself to get through the night and they would surely admit me after my doctor’s appointment. I surprised myself by sleeping relatively well (meaning, I slept between my every 30 minute nighttime pee trips).

Byron had grown tired of taking me to my doctor’s appointments only to find out that not much had changed, even though we felt like she could have been here any minute. I drove myself so that Byron could go to work. The doctor checked me at 9 a.m. and said I was dilated to a 2 and fully effaced. He warned me that my water would most likely break soon and then sent me over to the hospital for a quick non-stress test. I was delighted to be a 2! I’m not exaggerating when I tell you that, even with the medications, I had been contracting every 5 minutes or so for the past month. So to have stayed at a 1 ½ for so long while continuing to contract was a blessing but emotionally and mentally wearying. The test went well and the nurse couldn’t believe how many contractions I was having. Before I left she said she might just see me later that evening. I went to work to finish up a few loose ends and clean my work space. I had left it in such a mess a month before when I walked over to the hospital to get checked out, fully expecting to return quickly. The contractions got worse throughout the day but I could still walk and talk so I didn’t think they deserved another trip to the hospital. No one wants to be the ‘crazy lady’ who goes to the hospital far too often thinking they are in labor. I visited with co-workers, went to Taco Bell for lunch, cleaned my work area, and got things taken care of with the HR department. After all of this, I could still walk and talk through my contractions but eventually couldn’t handle it anymore and broke down crying on the phone with my mom. She encouraged me to go get checked and assured me that the nurses wouldn’t make fun of me. I drove across the parking lot so my car would be at the hospital rather than at my work and tried to control my tears so I wouldn’t embarrass myself. I was just so worn down physically, emotionally, and mentally from all the contractions that weren’t really seeming to make me progress. I hoped that new staff members would be working so that I wouldn’t have to face the ladies from earlier that day; just to have them tell me to buck up and go home.

As I approached the same receptionist from earlier that morning, I couldn’t hold back the tears as I asked to be checked. I was laughing at the same time explaining that I knew I would be sent home for being a big baby. The receptionist was so nice and told me that I was fine and they’d be glad to check me. She didn’t even make me answer questions and said she could pull my info from earlier that morning. She wanted me to get checked as soon as possible. Again, I was then walked back to the same nurse from earlier that morning. I cried and laughed again telling her to just let me know that I am a big baby. Around 3:15 she hooked me up to the monitors quickly and I was thrilled when she told me I was dilated to a 4. Just before she was done checking me to make sure I was a 4, there was a huge gush of warm fluid. She apologized over and over again – saying that my water was bulging but she felt bad she had broken it. I, of course, wasn’t upset AT ALL. I called Byron and told him to get on the road because she was coming. I could tell he was super excited and we were glad it wasn’t rush hour (he was coming to Orem from SLC). I wanted to get all cleaned up but the nurse let me know that I would continue to leak the rest of the night and wouldn’t care as soon as I got my epidural (oh, blessed epidural).

They checked me into my room and started my IV. The doctor wanted to have my contractions and the baby monitored more closely so he ordered internal monitors. I ordered my epidural right away and struggled to wait for it, the pain was so intense. I was by myself a lot of the time when the contractions were strong. I hadn’t officially learned any relaxation exercises and didn’t really know what the next few hours would bring. The sweet receptionist would come in and coach me through some contractions every now and then. I can honestly say that I stink when it comes to relaxing through contractions. I’m quite positive I could NEVER give birth without an epidural. High five to you women who can!

Just as the anesthesiologist rolled his cart in, Byron bounded through the door. He was just in time to see a few contractions and support me as the epidural was placed. Sweet, sweet, sweet relief was discovered just a few moments after. I was in heaven and Byron got a kick out of my attitude. I kept telling the nurses over and over again how awesome epidurals are – do they make you loopy? Or was I just loopy with relief of the pain I’d been feeling for a month? Either way, I was having a party at this point. The next time I was checked, I’d progressed to a 7 and the nurses told me that dilating 1 cm an hour was quite typical. It was around 6:00 pm so I was right on track. Byron’s parents and sister arrived around this point and I told them all to go get something to eat. It was going to be a long night and I didn’t want Byron starving when I needed his support most. We also decided to have him stop by our apartment to pick up a few things we needed. Not long after they had left the nurse informed me I would be receiving some pitocin to help things progress. The doctor checked me around 7:15 pm and informed the nurse and myself that I was complete. He looked right at me and said, “Ready to start pushing?” I totally had a panic moment, letting him know that Byron wasn’t at the hospital. He looked slightly confused and asked how far away he was… about 20 min. That was okay though, they would get everything set up and be ready by the time Byron arrived. Of course I had called Byron in a panic and his dad rushed him back to the hospital.

No, I didn't look all cute for the delievery but I sure was happy by this point... epidural in place!

He came running in the room just about the time I was being instructed what to do. The nurse told him to hold my leg for support each time I needed to push. This is quite hilarious because Byron HATES hospitals and anything to do with this type of stuff. He fully expected to stand right by my head and hold my hand – and I was going to be lucky if he even did that. Instead, at 7:30pm, he had front row tickets to the show! Later he asked me if I knew that was going to happen… I really didn’t though. He was such a great support and when the nurse lost her voice he stepped in to count for me. When the delivery began my Doctor and the nurse were sure it would only be 20-30 minutes before Ruby came (because she was so low and my contractions were happening so close together). They kept telling me she had so much hair and the nurse even asked the Doctor if he wanted some shampoo. Byron kept saying over and over how little she was (not realizing how much more of her he wasn’t seeing). After an hour, I became extremely frustrated with myself. Despite the nurse telling me I was doing a good job, I had to ask Byron over and over again if my pushing was doing ANYTHING. I thought maybe the nurse was lying to me just for my own moral. I continued pushing my hardest and tried to overcome my frustration and soon I saw her head. The doctor started cleaning out her mouth and nose quickly while this gave me new a new surge of energy to finish. I was so happy to see that little body and hear that little cry. Byron even cut the cord – although he almost cut it in the wrong spot… good thing the doctor caught that before it happened! There was a team there to check her breathing since she was a pre-term baby. Boy was she angry!

But she was okay and that made me relieved. I watched as they cleaned her and I completed the rest of the delivery, asking frequently if she was okay (her breathing was just a little rapid). The Doctor told me that she had come out slightly sideways and that was why it had taken longer to push her out. Of course this helped me realize that I’m not that big of a wimp! Byron and the Doctor talked hunting a bit while they finished up with Ruby – no surprise there. Soon she was on my chest and her breathing slowed to a better pace so the respitory team was able to leave. They were so happy to see how well she was doing despite being pre-term. I loved holding her so close and looking into her big eyes. She was so alert and looked at me frequently.

I also loved seeing Byron hold her and kiss her. He followed her everywhere she went in the hospital, like a little bodyguard.

That night, Byron woke each time she cried or made a little sound. This is a miracle because he doesn’t even hear me much of the time at night when his hearing aids are out! At one point he said, “maybe we should send her to the nursery for a bit.” And so we did. After about an hour I wanted her back!

Now I sit here with her resting on my chest, smelling so baby-like from her bath, I am more in love than ever. Although it was a long road leading up to the delivery, I don’t know if it could have gone any better! I’m so grateful that she’s finally home and appreciate everyone’s support during the critical jaundice scare – I’ll try to post about that soon.

introducing...

2011-09-09T21:14:00.000-07:00

We are so in love!

Her birth story will be coming soon.

still pregnant!!!

2011-08-16T10:47:00.000-07:00

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Seriously, thanks to everyone who has left me & Byron sweet comments, texts, and calls. It really lifted our spirits and helped us get through the roller coaster of last week. Byron and I were just saying last night how exhausted we are emotionally.

I have to especially thank a few people specifically.

First, my mother. She arrived the morning after I got home from the hospital and stayed with us until Sunday afternoon. She cooked, cleaned, and got all of Ruby's stuff organized. Most of all, she kept me company and I felt so secure while she was here. After she left, both Byron and I were a little nervous again. Good thing she's only a phone call away - and boy does her phone ring a lot :)

please ignore my ridiculous bed rest appearance...

Next up - my awesome in-laws. They brought us a twin size bed to put in our living room. It was great for my mom while she was here and has been perfect for me during the day. I'm not shut away in the hot and muggy bedroom all day (we don't have central air). They also brought us a dresser for all of Ruby's things and we feel much more prepared for her to come. Thanks!!!

And lastly - Byron. He has been so great through all of this. He HATES hospitals and all things medical. To the point where he can barely take a sip of water in the hospital. I couldn't even tell while we were there though. He really stepped up and I know he'll do great when Ruby comes. He works for such a great company - they have been so understanding of our situation and I know that he could leave work IMMEDIATELY if I needed him. That's been a great comfort.

I'm still pregnant and doing pretty well. I continue to have some contractions and cramping but nothing too serious yet. Thursday is my 34 week mark - we will breath a lot easier if we make it to that point. Anything beyond that is one big bonus. It's kind of frustrating not knowing what's going to happen, but I'm sure it's like that with any pregnancy. For now I'll continue bed rest and take the medication for the contractions. I hope my body can keep her in for a few more weeks at least but I'm so grateful we've made it this far. The little babe is doing well - she is still very active and we heard a good strong heartbeat again yesterday at the doctors office. I smile when I hear it and wonder what life's like for her in there. Sometimes I think she is having a little party when my tummy starts to move like a bag of popcorn in the microwave :) It probably is like a little party because that usually happens after I've drank some root beer or something sweet!

Thanks again everyone, I have appreciated every one of you.

caught just in time

2011-08-10T16:20:00.000-07:00

In Idaho this past weekend....

It's been a bit of a whirlwind around here for the past few days. I usually don't like to write a lot on the blog but I think it's time for an update, especially since we could use your thoughts and prayers.

We were in Idaho this past weekend enjoying our last trip visiting my family before the little babe arrives. I had been having some cramping for a few weeks and it had gotten more consistent and stronger over the weekend. I worked for a few hours Monday morning and then walked over to the hospital to get things checked out. I work right by the hospital and thought I would be back in just a few hours so I really didn't even tidy my desk. They ran a couple of tests and the fetal fibronectin came back positive. Both my Nurse and Doctor were surprised but since it raised a red flag they started treatment. Steroids for her lungs and medicine to decrease the cramping so as not to cause any contractions. They planned to keep me 24 hours just so I could get the second dose of steroids and then send me home on bed rest.

Things escalated quickly from there. I went into labor and the little babe dropped pretty low. They transferred me to another hospital with a higher level NICU since I'm only 32 and a half weeks. Here is the wonderful shot Byron got before I was transported by Ambulance - a very forced smile through nervousness and some tears.

I continued having contractions and they were preparing us for either delivery that night if things continued to progress or for a long stay at the hospital. Monday just seemed to get worse and worse. Finally after a blessing (thank heavens for the gospel right? and a worthy husband and father in-law), things began to slow down.

By the next morning the Nurse said they didn't really have much of a plan for me - just wait and watch. I made it to my second round of steroids and the cramping decreased quite a bit. By afternoon they told me I could probably go home the next morning. Later that day, they let me know that things had settled down enough to send me home that night! What a relief it was. We are home now - on bed rest. My mom is here with me for a few days which will be so helpful.

I set some goals for myself and this baby and have reached one - make it to 2:30 today so that the steroids will have their full effect. It's now after 5 and I'm rejoicing that her lungs will be more developed if she joins us soon. My next goal is to make it to next Thursday - 34 weeks. I'm still having some cramping and they aren't sure why - it makes for an irritated uterus and when the cramping gets worse the contractions start or get worse.

Can I just say - I was so worried about the little things with this pregnancy, silly me. I never would have guessed this would happen. I have felt healthy and have had no complications this whole time. My advice to any pregnant women - if something doesn't feel right GO GET IT CHECKED OUT! I feel so blessed that I went to the hospital just in time to catch all of this. I can't even imagine what would have happened had I waited just one more day. I know there are so many other people going through tougher things than this but any prayers you could send our way would be so much appreciated.

half way here

2011-05-16T20:08:00.000-07:00

The little babe is half way here!!!

We can hardly believe that in 20 weeks we will bring our baby home and love on her for the rest of her life. We got to see some pictures of her from the ultrasound today - how can I think two little legs are so cute? Really - the leg picture was the cutest one!

I am feeling so much better now - it's a good thing I wasn't blogging about the pregnancy while I was sick. I was pretty negative. Morning sickness really messed with my mental state. Even Byron comments on how 'it's so nice to have you back.'

Now I just have to get through the allergy season - uh, not too fun. But getting ready for our little girl will sure be fun.

ps. if you didn't catch that - we are having a girl

one proud wife

2011-05-07T17:34:00.000-07:00

Gosh I'm proud of this guy! Congratulations to my Byron!

Pictures of graduation day coming soon...

it's time...

2011-04-04T16:17:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite posts was about the beginning of our garden last summer found HERE.

Those flowers just grew and grew and grew (we couldn't believe what a lush garden we had). They were a lot of work but we enjoyed the reward.....

Now, we will be awaiting another reward this fall.

Little Baby Putnam will join us in September. We couldn't be more excited.

cole's birthday

2011-02-16T16:00:00.000-08:00

This picture just shows why we love that Cole-boy so much! What a cheeser :)

Suzanne brought her new puppy to the party. She loves that puppy!

We had Cole open my gift first because I knew he wouldn't like it. I made him a frog hat, and although I knew he would enjoy it (since he loves dress up), I knew it wouldn't be a hit for him that night. He was very kind and smiled through a picture though haha!

Gavin LOVES to be silly :)

visit with friends

2011-02-13T16:00:00.000-08:00

I attended my last two years of school at BYU-Hawaii. It was a dream, and with that dream came amazing friends. Friends who I haven't seen in years now. You know how it is - meeting up with old roommates doesn't happen often, especially when they work for the US embassy and travel around the world.

Megan is pretty much the coolest girl ever - she and her little family have spent the last few years in Argentina and will spend the next in Africa. I was so happy to meet up with her and meet her hubby and baby girl.

Is that a beautiful family or what?!

saturday at the dabell home

2011-02-11T20:56:00.000-08:00

As Byron and I sit at home this Friday evening, our conversation turns to my hilarious dad (not that he knows he's hilarious).

This is a typical morning/afternoon conversation.

Brett (Dad) "Good morning! Did you just get up?"

Brianna/Byron "Yeah, it's 8:30."

Brett "Oh, would you like me to help you with lunch...I mean breakfast?"

Brianna "No we are just going to have cereal."

Brett "I got up this morning rigged our fishing poles, connected the boat, watched ESPN, mowed the lawn, and changed your oil. And by the way you are a quart low. Brianna don't you check your oil? I already gave up on Byron."

Nancy (Mom) "What time did you get up this morning?" (With a smile that just brightens your day.)

Brianna/Byron "8:30, What about you?"

Nancy "Brett woke me up at 5:30 when he got up, and then when I finally fell back asleep he woke me up mowing the lawn at 7:00."

Byron "You have been up since 7:00? It's 9:30...." (She's still in her green night gown.)

Nancy "Oh I just laid in bed and read my book."

Byron "What book are you reading?"

Nancy "I finished 9 books this morning."

Brett "Brianna go wake your brother up."

Brianna (Tries to stick up for Connor.) "Dad it's Saturday morning let him sleep in...especially since I found him sleepwalking in the shower at midnight." (He has a problem with sleepwalking.)

Brett leaves the room to wake up Connor. No mercy!

Brianna"Where is Gage?"

Nancy "I don't know. Brett do you know where he is?"

Brett "He's down at Elmer's telling him what needs to be done." (Elmer is Gages boss/neighbor.)

just becasue

2011-02-11T16:00:00.000-08:00

I don't find that 'just because' actions happen everyday in marriage. But, sometimes they do. For those 'just becasue' surprises, I will be forever grateful.

Thanks for the flowers Byron. You know I loved them!

the two eagle scouts

2011-02-09T16:00:00.000-08:00

I'm so proud of my brothers for getting their Eagle Scout Awards this year. Don't they look great in their scouting uniforms? I think so. Taking these pictures was a bit rough since they are teenagers and would prefer not to stand next to each other haha, but they turned out nicely. Just the other day in our Young Women's class, the Beehives were listing qualities they hoped to find in their future husbands. Guess what made the list?

Eagle Scouts!

Boys, keep up the good work and you are gonna be some girl's dream come true :)

(but not yet, you are too young!)

remembering christmas

2011-02-07T16:00:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas and even though this post is a little late, I've enjoyed looking at all the pictures again and remembering the holiday. Here are a few of my favorites.

Going to a movie with my fam in Rexburg.

I made that headband and flower, wore it about 3 times and then lost it! I'm still sad about it!

The Missionary even made an appearance!

It was my first time witnessing Suzanne and Dana's rendition of 'Sisters'. Apparently it used to be a yearly treat.

See that knit hat? Guess who made that? Yup - ME! It was one of my proudest Christmas presents for Byron. I learned so much about knitting while making it - it was tough, since I'm such a new knitter, but a blast to make! (Only my 2nd knitting project ever!)

Paige is of course the center of attention wherever she goes :)

A few of our holiday decorations

the lights

2011-02-05T19:42:00.000-08:00

We took a lot of pride in our decorations this year. We had our little house all lit up. It was a beautiful thing to see and it warmed my heart each night.

We had big plans to film a Clark Griswald-esque lighting.... that didn't happen but here is Byron in his favorite robe enjoying his hard work.

Then came the tree. We love getting new ornaments for one another each Christmas. After our third Christmas, it's really starting to fill up! Nope, no star. I've had a hard time finding one that I liked enough to put on my tree!

if i feel like this....

2011-01-01T11:57:00.000-08:00

Okay - so here is what I was thinking as I woke up this morning (at such a ridiculously late hour I'm not even going to specify). If I feel like crap just from staying up late and having too much sugar - I can't imagine how the 42% of people who had a drink feel.

Here's how our New Year's Eve went -

Spend the day giving the house a much needed decluttering and cleaning, gym, pizza (to counteract the gym time of course).
Spend the night with friends (Maggie, Tosh, and Shawn) eating fruit dip, southwestern bean and corn dip, chocolate caramel fondue, playing games, and ringing in the new year with party hats, party poppers, martinelli's, and a firework.

2010 was a great year and I have a feeling that 2011 will bring more change than ever!

She's here!!

2010-12-16T20:39:00.000-08:00

Byron's sister Logan had her baby girl early this morning.

We were lucky enough to hold and snuggle her for a bit.

She's a beautiful baby and everything went well.

Introducing Paige

Look at that little hand!!!

I couldn't resist including this... it's not everyday Byron gets to hold a newborn. Isn't Paige a doll?

Thanksgiving's long drive

2010-12-15T21:47:00.000-08:00

A little late on the post? It's almost Christmas you say?

That's okay because just watching this video of our LOOOONG drive makes me happy :)

I think Byron is hilarious. I'm sure it's hard to hear all the funny things he says but oh how he makes me laugh

(if you couldn't tell)

A few things to take note of - one CA-RAZY driver prompted the making of this video.

I said 'trip to Utah' when I meant 'trip to Idaho'.

We were pretty much going nuts at this point of the long drive.

Please enjoy (there are two parts).

Logan's Baby Shower

2010-11-24T18:00:00.000-08:00

Logan is having Baby #4. We are so excited to meet her first baby girl!

The girls in her neighborhood/ward were so nice to throw her a baby shower - she loaded up on the cutesy girly stuff that I'm sure she has been longing for :)

Here is the baby blanket I crocheted for her.

(the pictures doesn't do it justice - I think the colors look odd in the picture)

And here is the amazing quilt Suzanne made her. It will hang above the crib. Logan made crib bedding to match :)

Christmas Lights

2010-11-23T14:08:00.000-08:00

We are getting into the Christmas Spirit this year!!!! We hung lights up a week ago and are so pleased with the results :)

Although you can't tell- I did in fact get on the roof and help. It made me extremely nervous!

Byron doesn't want to turn them on before Thanksgiving though so they haven't been wowing people yet. Soon, very soon!

Coconut Bread

2010-11-21T13:44:00.000-08:00

I had a great time at the Bijou Market!

My sister in law Logan picked up this adorable hat for her baby girl (coming soon! Dec. 16th!!!!!)..

Kelsey (sis in law) found a great headband

(similar to the one pictured below)

and I came away with this beautiful neclace

We also tasted some amazing coconut bread but it was sold out by the time we tried to grab some!!! So, with that desire unfulfilled, I came and made my own attempt at Coconut Bread. It was SOOOO yummy. I found a recipe on-line and made a few variations - I also added a glaze. I highly recommend you try this.

Coconut Bread

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 teaspoon coconut extract

1 1/2 cup Flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup shredded coconut (sweetened)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 325 (my oven is so messed up so I had to lower it even more than this). Grease a regular size loaf pan.

2. In a large bowl, beat together sugar and vegetable oil. Beat in eggs and coconut extract. In a separate bowl sift together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir flour mixture into egg mixture alternately with buttermilk, coconut, and walnuts.

3. Pour into loaf pan and sprinkle a small bit of coconut on top for looks. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

Glaze

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1 Tbsp. butter

1/2 tsp. coconut extract

1. Combine sugar, water, and butter in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil then add coconut flavoring.

2. Pour hot glaze over top of loaf while still warm. Let sit in pan for 4 hours before removing (if you can wait that long! We didn't and it was still yummy!)

Try it and let me know if you are a coconut bread lover too.

Bijou market

2010-11-19T09:56:00.000-08:00

I hope to see you here! I love this market and look forward to it each time it comes around!

Lauren's Wedding

2010-11-18T15:49:00.000-08:00

Byron's sister Lauren got married over the summer. She and Adam are such a cute couple and they are so happy together.

Bridal shower guests

The amazing quilt Suzanne made her

Ashton and Laklyn - so. freakin. cute. (even if Laklyn looks a little nervous)

Even though Cameron is on his mission, he still got to go dancing that night :)

Jazz Game

2010-11-16T16:21:00.000-08:00

Our Mission President works for the Larry Miller Group and invited the missionaries to a game! It was a lot of fun - great seats and lots of friends to visit with!

Thanks President and Sister Francis!!!

Kelsey graduates

2010-11-15T15:54:00.000-08:00

We are sto stinkin proud of Kelsey. If you didn't know, Kelsey HATES school. But she stuck with her Surgical Technition program and is almost finished with her externship.

Isn't she beautiful? know any cute boys to set her up with??

craft day 3

2010-11-12T16:09:00.000-08:00

Our third craft day of the year was over UEA break. Kimber and I made jewlery holders...

Kimber's was black with white lace.

Mine was teal with brown lace.

Aubrey made this incredible wreath. And some chalk board coasters.

And Holly - once again where are the pics? - made some polyester flowers :)

Carmel Apples

2010-11-11T16:24:00.000-08:00

Byron and I LOVE Carmel apples - don't you? We had a little October date night making these for our home and visiting teaching families - don't worry, we saved plenty for ourselves!

Thriller 2010

2010-11-10T15:00:00.000-08:00

We had such a blast at Thriller last year that we couldn't resist going again. Our friends Maggie and Tosh tagged along this year :)

The Brigham Young Home closed before we could get there but this Elder served in London, just like Tosh, so we chatted for quite a while.

Maggie - dracula

tosh - ghost

Me - screaming ghost

Byron - friendly dracula

The local zombies

A pic in front of the tuacahn stage... we had great seats this year.

Byron always insisted on me getting pictures with the zombies... I think he was scared

The cutest little mermaid I've ever seen. A winner for the costume contest

A few more of the winners.... do you love the ear buds?

I would highly recommend adding Thriller to your Halloween celebrations next year

Halloween 2010

2010-11-09T16:33:00.000-08:00

We love Grandpa Bill & Mary's Halloween party. It's so fun to dress up and eat pumpkin brains :)

Kelsey the Pirate

Gavin - Theodor

Landon - Simon (minus the freaky eye ball... boys....)

Cole - Alvin (was sick

Lauren and Adam - rednecks

Bill and Mary

Kurt - as himself

Mary always plans the best activities for the kids - Landon's monster cupcake

Can you guess who we are?

Here are some more hints...

Braid, orange backpack, bow, black jacket, tawny pants, green shirt

A mockingjay pin

Black hair, coal from the seam, and hauling in his kill to trade

That's right - Katniss Everdeen and Gale Hawthorne! WE LOVE THE HUNGER GAMES

crochet

2010-11-07T15:22:00.000-08:00

I have started to crochet and have been loving it!!

little newborn boy cap

headband for a baby girl

toddler size girl cap

and this one is my favorite :) Could this hat be any cuter?? I love it

There are a few other things I've made since these but I don't have pictures of them yet.

If you would ever like me to make one for your baby, just let me know - I won't even charge you (besides the cost of materials, of course)

craft day 2

2010-11-06T16:00:00.001-07:00

Kimber, Aubrey, Holly and I got together for our second craft day of the year...

Kimber got a refresher on crocheting. She picked it up extremely quick.

Aubrey is the crafting queen. Seriously, she is so good at it. In fact, it is her long time hope and dream to become a stay at home crafter. Check out her new crafting blog. You won't be disappointed

http://ineeditrightnow.blogspot.com/

Holly must have left before we took the pictures... not sure how that happened. BUT she made an ADORABLE hat :)

I LOVE the dollar store. I made this fall wreath for a total of........ five dollars!

new blog

2010-10-12T14:40:00.000-07:00

The cute boy I married has started a new blog...

It's all about this stuff...

first picture = cute boy

second picture = creepy

check it out! http://byronputnam.wordpress.com/

Fishing

2010-09-12T14:53:00.000-07:00

A visit to Idaho during the summer isn't complete without early morning fishing trips. We wake up sometime between 6 and 7, get everything ready, and head out the door. Usually me or my mom will shuttle the boys and lately I've enjoyed taking my camera, pretending to be a photographer.

See the post about our Warm River trip below...

Warm River

2010-09-12T14:39:00.000-07:00

For many years now my family has enjoyed a summer camp out at the Warm River Campground. It's just past Ashton, Idaho and only about an hour away from West Yellowstone. You can count on great games, fishing, food, and a freezing river. The trip in pictures:

Kelsey & Ryan

Feeding the fish off the dock

Precise preparation to fishing

Getting ready for the float

Ryan had recently gotten surgery on his knee- his attempt to stay dry was surprisingly successful

I, of course, was the last to enter the water

Just how cold Connor thought the water was

At this point I hadn't gotten wet - eventually Connor did me the great favor of tipping me. My face, I'm sure, was much worse than his in the previous picture

The wonderful Playmill in West Yellowstone

Ryan, Connor, my Momma, and Kelsey waiting for the show

With all of the great fishing stores, they couldn't resist going into at least one

Check out the name of that fly

The Humpy is actually very popular. Humpy - hee hee

A terrible photo of the whole fam - but the only one of all of us from the trip

My cousin, Daniel performed in the preshow and played the part of Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast. He is a VERY talented guy - and so dang hilarious.

Thanks for a great time Dabell family!!!!

"somebody's going to get fat"

2010-09-05T20:40:00.000-07:00

Please watch this and tell me that you laughed because I almost peed my pants.

CLICK HERE

summer

2010-08-07T22:01:00.000-07:00

Byron happens to be out of town this weekend. That means I'm taking the time to update my blog!! Sorry I haven't been commenting on yours, I will catch up soon. I promise.

(summer is almost over and I'm expecting my life to slow down at that point, aren't you?!)

(I will miss summer though, it's my favorite)

A few weeks ago we visited my parents place in Idaho....

This last minute trip was due to my dad...

Some sort of important calling in the ward?

We know you will be busy but, Byron wants to know if you can still take him

fishing sometimes.

We went for a walk and stopped to pet these guys...

And stopped to watch the water run down the canal...

The picture on the right is what happens when Byron gets too close to my dad lol.

The boys went fishing and we also played a good game of softball with the Clark Ward.

Looks like we may fit in one more trip to Idaho this summer, camping & fishing - eat your heart out Byron.

To find out about all of Byron's fishing trips, please visit his NEW blog.

http://utahfishingoutdoors.blogspot.com/

(ps. he would love a comment or two if you know him. you know how that is.)

Byron and I also celebrated our 2 year anniversary!

It's hard to believe that two years have FLOWN by. Our marriage has been a dream - not kidding!

Even though little elves come and take many of Byron's belongings, and even though

I can get a little moody every now and then, we have enjoyed every minute of our marriage.

We hit up Lagoon for the better part of the day, and then enjoyed dinner at Texas Roadhouse.

Here we are waiting for the special show to start at Lagoon - tired, thirsty, and very sweaty.

This chic was CRAZY but very entertaining.

Our favorite part...

(sorry for the poor quality... I opted for the pic of a picture)

Byron and I can get pretty crazy in the car together. Here we are driving to Lagoon - Byron decided not to perform anymore after I got the camera out. boo!!!

I cut off the "Oh no, that's too bad" response to "the batteries dead" comment.

I'll catch him performing one of these days!

One more thing before I go, I have started a new hobby.

Since my mission I have wanted to learn how to knit. My sister in law Michelle found a free class at Pipers in SLC and we had a BLAST! Our creations... you know, by following a pattern of course.

These hats are soooo cute! Mine is topped with leaf and a rose. Michelle's has a leaf, stem, and cherries on top. Now we are working on the matching sweater. Too bad neither of us have little girls to put them on!

Knitting has been so much fun and I would totally recommend it to anyone. My project was very basic but it wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be.

Busy Summer

2010-07-11T16:22:00.000-07:00

I always think I'm going to have more time when summer rolls around. I'm fooled each year. We have been very busy, just like everyone else.

We were able to help out with the Fight 4 Gen yard sale fundraiser and it went very well...

Here are the ladies hard at work.

With hardly any energy, it's no surprise that Gentrie fell asleep.

There was so much stuff!!!

You can read the updated article about Gentrie HERE.

Byron and his dad fished Trial Lake and had a great time.

We made a trip to Idaho to see my family. Byron caught tons of fish over the two days he went fishing with my dad.

My dad

While Byron fished I got the chance to visit with an old friend - Kate. We worked together at Heise for about 5 years and became very good friends. Now she has a little girl (who is just DARLING!) and lives in Hawaii. She is visiting for the month of July so it was nice to catch up.

Kate's little girl.

Byron requested tinfoil dinners so we cooked them in the fire pit my dad made in the backyard.

We left Idaho on the 4th and made it back to Provo for the parade.

The coolest entry (in my opinion) was in the pre-parade. BMX bikers that were so fun to watch.

My other favorite: the viking couple that ran along the 'How to Train your Dragon' float.

We spent the 5th at the Parade, Seven Peaks, the mall, a movie, and ended with a barbecue in our backyard with our dear neighbors. It was a blast!

This weekend, my family came down to Utah and spent the day with us at Sevenpeaks. Byron and I convinced them to eat at JDawgs.... sooooo yummy!

ps. don't worry about us, we have purchased another air conditioner and are staying cool inside.

a few things

2010-06-23T12:32:00.000-07:00

I am leaving for Girls Camp today. I hope the girls are having a good time, I'm excited to meet up with them. Before I leave I wanted to let you know...

A. Lock your windows and doors. If you have been to our place lately you may notice something missing in this picture...

That's right. Our Air Conditioning unit was stolen last night while we were sleeping! At first I thought it was a joke. Now I'm pretty sure it's not. Sometime overnight a little sneak took off with it. We didn't even know it! Now we are signed up for renters insurance - sign up if you don't already have it!! It frightens me a little bit that someone took something that was inside my house. Luckily they didn't take anything else. Not even the laptop that was three feet away from the window.

B. There is a very sweet young woman that needs a lot of help and support right now. Please read THIS. You can also check out the official website http://www.fight4gen.com/

This Saturday there will be a yard sale in the "Fresh Market" parking lot in Draper just on the corner of 12300 S. 1300 E. beginning at 8 am to help raise money for Gentrie. Her surgery will cost, out of pocket, $200,000-$300,000. They are also accepting donations for the yard sale - if you would like to help, let me know and I can get you in contact with them.

monopoly wars

2010-06-11T22:05:00.000-07:00

we like monopoly, disney monopoly. really, it's more of a love/hate thing depending on who wins. we have one rule that we always follow. there is no cheating. byron has a vivid memory of being on the same team as his mom once. she was the banker and was guilty of embezzlement - she's a competitive lady, we've all been there. anyone who knows byron knows that he can be competitive - a trait inherited from his mom. add me to the mix and the competitiveness reaches a whole new level. so if we cheat, things just get WAY too out of hand. this is a picture of the second game we played. can you guess why i didn't post a picture of the first game?

this is exactly how all monopoly games end (the first minute of the clip is the good part. after that it just gets kind of weird). we love a rainy friday night where there is nothing else to do besides play monopoly.

2010-06-10T19:35:00.000-07:00

Dear Summer,

We missed you. a lot. we have been ready to welcome you with open arms for quite some time now and are thrilled that you have finally made your way out to Utah. thank you for making us feel loved and helping our flowers grow.

ps. we wish you could stay longer this year. could you make that happen? please?

excitement

2010-06-03T19:07:00.000-07:00

over two things...

we just picked up our season passes tonight and will be kickin it there on saturday

and....

this is so much fun. you will want to be there, I promise you that. it's only held twice a year and it's so much fun to look around (even if you don't buy anything). you can be sure that I will be there in the a.m.

p.s. you can find the tutorial for my necklace in the last post here.

Memorial Weekend

2010-06-02T21:23:00.000-07:00

We thoroughly enjoyed our Holiday. Byron especially enjoyed the following:

Fishing on the Snake River for 3 days

Shooting his bow and arrow further than he normally could. You know, because my family lives in the country... especially compared to Provo.

Now you see it....

Now you don't.

And, eating good food. In his world, what else is there to enjoy?

I also enjoyed the food, crafting with my little sister Kelsey, playing Settlers of Cataan a bajillion times, making new curtains for my kitchen, and spending a whole lot of time relaxing.

We made the necklaces we are wearing... they were so fun and easy!

Thanks to my sis-in-law Logan for the idea, and my mom for her help and expertise, I am very pleased with the way they turned out!

Oh yeah, I also enjoyed playing with my totally AWESOME new camera - can you tell? Thank you to Kids on the Move for a very generous bonus this year!

craft day

2010-05-21T16:49:00.000-07:00

That's right. Craft Day. Does it ever seem like you have to schedule a day to craft in order to get anything done? Even when I have a day I still don't seem to be very quick at it. But I sure enjoy it... especially since it meant taking some time off work to do it!

Kimber and Aubrey, a few friends from work, decided to take a day off work and craft. I joined them for half the day. We enjoyed making baby wipes cases and rolled rosette flowers (Jdawgs at lunch wasn't too bad either). Yes, I know my pile is relatively smaller, don't hate... it just takes me a bit longer, and they had a pretty big head start.

I love the idea of having a monthly craft group. It sounds like it would be fun but I don't know how successful it would be.

green thumb

2010-05-16T15:51:00.000-07:00

Mary, Mary quite contrary

How does your garden grow?

With silver bells

and cockle shells,

And pretty maids all in a row.

The stake service project totally put us in the mood to garden. When I was younger I RARELY found gardening to be fun. Bugs, hot sun, weeds, dirt, missing play time - wasn't my thing. I wondered why my mom loved to do it every summer. Now I know why!

There is a great patch of dirt right out front of our apartment but it had a big ugly bush. I had asked our landlord if we could pull it out... he said that he would trim it up for us. Well, it never got trimmed so we ended up pulling it out. I was nervous he would kick us out, but no worries... we aren't homeless. We headed to Home Depot early yesterday morning and found some great deals.

Here is the process

(we forgot to do a 'before' picture so this is the patch already cleaned up a bit. there was a ton of old ugly bark in it too. we took the bush out of the garbage can and put it back in for the picture effect haha)

(you are lucky that pictures don't capture smells as well as images, this compost stunk so bad! this is the second shovel of the day... Byron broke the one we bought within 5 minutes of using it)

(we lined them all up to make sure we liked the layout. apparently we like the symmetrical look)

These are our babies now.

We love it, and had so much fun planting! Try it, you might love it too.

Have you been wondering if we are going to have kids anytime soon? Byron has decided that if our flowers are still alive when fall hits, we can handle the responsibility of kids. I'm keeping my fingers crossed :)

we are the lucky ones

2010-05-08T15:38:00.000-07:00

A little hard work and service set us up for a great Saturday. Byron and I serve with the youth in our ward. Saying we enjoy it would be an understatement. This morning we participated in a multi-stake service project. We aided in the process of making the wonderful city of Provo beautiful. The kids were great! They worked so hard and sang hymns most of the time. When they were asked to get something done, it got done. They spent a solid 2 1/2 hours working after an hour meeting with Sister Dibb (a member of the general YW presidency).

After thorns in our knees and hands, dirt in places it shouldn't be, and the feeling of a job well done, Byron and I treated ourselves to a burger and fries at Sammy's.

We are the lucky ones.

Holy Over-post

2010-05-01T12:49:00.001-07:00

I have so many things to get caught up on but I want to dedicate this post to my man - Byron. Few of you probably realize that on April 30, 2008 (just two years ago) Byron asked me to marry him.

We were babysitting his nephews for the week - the longest period of time we got to spend together while we were dating. We had been talking about marriage for a while but I was convinced we wouldn't get married until the winter time. We dropped the boys off at his parent's house and on our way over I spoke with my mom on the phone. I was in a separate car and said, "yeah, I'm pretty sure nothing is going to happen until winter time." She agreed and thought it was "just fine." All the while, knowing that Byron would be asking me to marry him that night because he had spoken with my dad over the previous weekend.

We went to the Olive Garden and had a delicious meal. After the Olive Garden, he took me on a long walk to the melting pot. He had been acting very strangely all day, spending time on the phone telling his best friend (Devin) that he couldn't join us for the evening. He continued to act strangely at the Melting Pot. He was extremely upset that we were not seated at 7:00 for our reservation, and may have used a four letter word out of frustration in between pronouncing his love for me over and over again.

While enjoying am amazing dessert, our waitress brought out a rose and note for me. I thought it was a sweet gesture but didn't want to get my hopes up for a proposal. Scanning the rose quickly for a ring (I didn't want him to thing I was actually LOOKING for a ring), I thanked him and read the note. It was a page from his journal about the first day he met me. I would love to post it on here but Byron would probably freak! This very sweet entry made me all warm inside and I went over to hug my sweet guy - I thought it was all a nice, romantic gesture. For about 10 minutes I thanked, hugged, and kissed him while he laughed awkwardly. He asked me to smell the rose, I did. He smelled it and then held it up so I could see right inside the pedals. My beautiful ring was looking right back at me and I squealed with surprise. There was no 'down on one knee' type proposal, but it was very heartfelt and full of love. My answer was a resounding 'yes.' When he told me to turn around, I found a camera hidden in a hole in the wall and our friends Devin and Sara cracking up - they had filmed the whole thing. It was a sweet night that I will never forget.

I have come to love so many things about Byron since we met and especially since he took me to the temple to be married.

Things I love about Byron...

His enthusiasm for the outdoors

his fierceness in competition - even around children haha

(pic from Ashton's b-day party - the pinata had just been broken)

how he fits right in with my redneck family - squirrel hunting

he could compete with any girl in a craft competition by tying his own flies for fishing

his love for fishing - most of the time it comes second to me :)

his pride in accomplishments

he encourages spiritual experiences - like attending general conference

he is my permanent date for mission reunions

his encouragement to be crafty and spend time with friends, even if it doesn't happen very often

he lets me know if there is anything in my teeth before we take pictures

his loyalty and supportiveness of his friends

Chase and Alexa's wedding in St. George

his hardworking attitude

how cute he looks when he is taking a nap

I love that he lets me sit on his lap

I love him. We celebrated last night with a movie and dinner. In that order - an uncommon thing for us. The order, I mean. Not the date :) Thanks for asking me to marry you babe!

eyebrows

2010-04-08T18:33:00.000-07:00

There are so many other things that I should be blogging about right now, but I wanted to share an experience. This is a long post, but if you've ever waxed your eyebrows or are thinking about it, you may want to bear with me.

I have been growing my eyebrows out for some time now - due to over plucking on one side

This was a hard thing... growing my eyebrows out

I thought it must have looked so odd that often times I told people straight up, "I know they look horrible, don't judge, I'm growing my eyebrows out."

(You know when you can just tell someone is checking your eyebrows out?)

Since I've had spring break this past week, it was the perfect time for me to finally get my eyebrows professionally shaped and waxed

Even Byron noticed how bad they were getting

Here's how it all went down:

I walk into the Salon Dante Spa in Draper. This is a HUGE thing for me to do.

(Okay Brianna, if you act like you know what you are doing you will be just fine)

Me: "How much do you charge for eyebrows?"

SL - aka spa lady: "15$ each..."

(What the freak?!! Do people come for just one eyebrow? Of course I want both done!)

Panic is beginning to set in, I wasn't planning on 30 bucks but I feel like I can't walk out now

SL continues: "15 for the wax and 15 for the dye"

(phew, that's a relief)

Me: "Oh, I just need the wax thanks!"

(Do I look like I need dye too?)

SL: "Is this your first time?"

(Do you even have to ask? I'm like a fish out of water here.)

She proceeds to tell me to take a seat through a set of doors which read, 'Quiet area, please turn OFF your phone'

Wow! Fancy huh... I turn my phone off and try to enjoy the small waterfall.

There is some food here.

Grapes, crackers and cheese.

Are those for anyone to eat?

I'll never know but I was not relaxed as I contemplated if people actually eat them.

After a short wait, here comes Heidi - who has a VERY soft voice, which goes right along with the ambiance of everything else here

H: "Hello, I'm Heidi."

Me: "Good!"

(I'll save the story about how I do some really socially awkward things occasionally for later, but this is just one example of how I do that... who says good?)

H: "Okay? Have a seat over this way and we'll get started. Just a wax today? Any special instructions?"

(No, that's why I'm here... so that YOU, the professional, can make me look pretty)

I explain that I've been growing my eyebrows out for some time and would like them shaped

H: "Oh, just a little clean up is all it looks like."

(Confusion sets in... I thought they were a mess, not just untidy but she's the pro)

As she begins the process I start to freak out a bit. I've never waxed, ANYTHING.

What was I thinking?

What if I cry or scream?

This is probably going to hurt so bad because when I tweeze, sometimes my eyes water.

It's like I'm at the dentist waiting to get a needle stuck in my mouth or something.

At this point, I'm sure I will embarrass myself.

Here she comes with the wax

H: "Tell me if this is a good temp."

Oh no! What if it burns me?

Not surprisingly, it's the perfect temp.

As she preps to pull off the first set of wax, I feel myself tense up a bit

H: "Okay, here is our first one."

WOW! That didn't hurt at all. Nothing like plucking the individual hairs,

nor like a shot in the mouth from the dentist

As she finishes up she hands me a mirror

H: "I've been fairly conservative."

Me: "That's okay, I want them kind of thicker"

A few weeks ago, someone told me that full eyebrows were 'in'

???? Are they? I have no idea ????

H: "Just tell me any special instructions or things you want done."

I don't know!! That's why I'm here.

Me: "No, they look great, thank you so much."

She knows what she's doing right? This is how they are supposed to look right?

It's not terrible or anything, I just don't feel like there is much difference or shape

H: "Well, if you are sure then we are finished."

As they ran my card I realized I had no idea how much to tip

It only took 15 minutes

She didn't do all that much

But I don't want to be cheap

$5 I guess

Holy OVER tip!

Oh well... it's done

$2o dollars later

Next time (there will probably never be a next time)

1. Go with a friend

2. Don't try to act like I know if things are okay when I don't

3. Possibly take a pic of a time when I liked my eyebrows (my bridals)

4. Don't tip $5 (sorry, that is just exposure of how cheap I am I guess)

5. Get myself together!!!!

Now - I feel like I need more shape!!! Mom, why don't I live down the road from you? You are like Audrey Hepburn to me - beautiful and classy. AND you've always helped me out with stuff like this. I guess this is all in the process of growing up.

babysitting

2010-03-29T20:32:00.000-07:00

See these cute boys?

We love them a lot. We got to play with them all weekend and play we did.

A few highlights

Gavin (recently potty trained) emptying a whole roll of toilet paper. . . into the toilet

Cole almost rolling into the Jordan River - getting a chunk taken out of his bike helmet instead

Landon doing every type of manipulative thing to get Cole and Gavin to do things his way. . . and possibly using similar tactics on Byron and I
.

We had a great time while their mom and dad went to Vegas. Lots of hide and seek, dead man, macaroni and cheese, and cartoons. Not that I wasn't aware but let it be known that I do believe being a parent is hard. We have really grown into our life where our own demands are the only ones we have to worry about. Phew - who knows when we will be ready to have kids!!!! Kudos to all you mommies and daddies out there who raise those kids with grace each and everyday - you are our idols.

spring break

2010-03-19T13:12:00.000-07:00

Originally we were supposed to be in Idaho today, but the Dabell fam had a baseball tourney to get to so we are hangin out here for the weekend. Byron has had spring break this week and soon you will get to see what he has done for the majority of the time... but for now, here is what we've done together for the break... (it's only a few things because Byron has been so busy with other interests)

Went to a concert that Byron's dad performed in last night

When we got home last night Byron said he wanted to make me breakfast in the morning

Doesn't it look amazing? Who do you think cooked it up?
Byron had good intentions but eventually it came down to my hands to step in as the cook.

an AMAZING strawberry crepes recipe from allrecipes.com

to die for!

This week I did something totally out of the ordinary for me and splurged on a new dish set for the springtime. I couldn't resist with the light green and rustic orange colors (my dream kitchen colors)! Here are the dinner plates being used for the first time.

How Byron felt about the meal - "it takes like a vacation!"

2010-03-14T13:35:00.000-07:00

After a stressful week at work, I got the weekend started early by buying a hat at the mall. And just maybe while I was there I came home with this too (I love it so much)!!!!! Can you tell I'm already getting excited for 7 Peaks?

Saturday night was pretty dreadful so when I looked out the window and saw this...

I decided we had better do something fun for the night.

Make Pizza!!!

I even had Byron be involved in the process. I had to keep reminding him what a fun date we were having :)

We discovered the key to a good pizza is all in the toppings. Lots of onions and peppers for good flavor.

So excited we forgot to take a picture of the pizza when it came out of the oven.

This was our first time making pizza from scratch and it worked out so well. We were both very surprised at how good it tasted. So surprised that we used some of the dough we froze and made it again today! (thank you allrecipes.com)

robin hood

2010-03-10T17:09:00.000-08:00

Who knew I married Robin Hood?

It will find it's home in the shed

'happened'

2010-03-07T14:21:00.000-08:00

Byron & I just 'happened' to go for a drive this afternoon...

We just 'happened' to drive up to the Provo Temple...

We just 'happened' to see this kid...

And I just 'happened' to have warm choc. chip cookies with us...

And he just 'happened' to have a few things to say...

please ignore my EXTREMELY annoying voice in the background laughing and repeating the things Elder Putnam said

disappointed

2010-03-05T06:50:00.000-08:00

Byron's first words this morning, "Well, this weather stinks."

I couldn't agree more.

my first attempt

2010-03-03T21:34:00.000-08:00

Thanks for all the advice everyone!!!! I took the time to sit down and try dressing up a photo tonight and am not thrilled at the result... it's not because of the program, I just need to train my eye for these things. I'll have to work on it!

ALSO

If you haven't checked this out yet, please do so. You won't be disappointed.

ps. I am SO feeling the need to work on my style - this includes my wardrobe, makeup, hair, blog, and life in general. Know what I mean? I knew you would. What is your inspiration when this happens to you? Seriously. I need to know. PLEASE tell me :)

photo help

2010-03-01T19:59:00.000-08:00

I want to do cute stuff to my photos... you know, like crop the corners, change the coloring, stuff like that. Anyone?

celebration = food

2010-02-21T14:51:00.000-08:00

Isn't that how Everyone has a good party (with food)? Seems like that's how we Putnams roll! For example...

1. Valentines Day:

Breakfast

Shop (aka: just walk around and wish at Cabella's and Gardner Village)

Texas Roadhouse

Dessert - Better Than Sex Cake

Lost (are you addicted yet?)

ps. the pic below is just because I realized we didn't get any other pics besides the breakfast pic

2. Cameron's Farewell:

5 hams

5 VERY large pans of cheesy potatoes

over 200 Texas Roadhouse Rolls

over 200 eclairs

Farewell to Cameron with food!

ps. he is in the MTC now and will be serving in the Texas Fortworth Spanish Speaking Mission, we think he will be the best!

3. Suzanne's 50th suprise birthday party:

3 crock pots of barbeque beef

80 Texas Roadhouse Rolls

3 salads

2 HUGE cakes

Happy eating :)

i miss the summer already

2010-01-18T10:43:00.000-08:00

I love a good day off. And not just a Saturday off, but an extra day where all my weekend 'chores' are done and I can just enjoy myself.

Sleep in -not too late-, go to the gym, and make a yummy skillet breakfast for
me and the love of my life. What more could you want for a holiday morning??

In honor of the man who the holiday is named after:
"We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools."
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
What an amazing, inspiring, and brave man.

I am totally missing the summer and feel like the weather has been teasing me. Oh to be tan again, visit 7 peaks any day I want, and go for walks without losing the feeling in my toes. ahhh, i miss it.

Byron knows how much I hate the cold so what did he decide would be a good activity to kick off the new year? Have a look...

Total travel time: 2 1/2 hours

Set up and pack up time: at least 1 hour, possibly more

Time with line in the water: maybe 2 hours

Fish caught: big fat zero

Bites: zero

My complaints: averaged about 1 every 10 minutes

When Byron will ask me to go ice fishing again: I'm gonna guess.... never haha

But I did enjoy spending time with Byron :)

For the new year I did make resolutions - boring and typical, yet very important:

stick to the new budget we set up

floss everyday

cook something new at least 2x a month

do service each month (I'm not a weekly overachiever)

finish my portfolio at work by the end of March

improve scripture study and personal prayer

be kinder and more patient

prep for teaching at least 1 week before

and...

be more social! set up more dates with other couples

Well, it's already half way through the month of January and I'm not doing so great on most of the goals but, much to Byron's delight, I have been much more social. We have done a few date nights and I spent a few hours last saturday with some sisters from my mission. Yay! Go me!

If you can guess who this man is then you might know what we did on Saturday night...

did you get it? Here is a better look...

Byron with Thurl Bailey

Jazz game! We had a great time with our friends Tyler and Ashley. It was a blast eating at Five Guys, watching the game (and the mascots - it was the Bear's birthday!), visiting with our Mission Pres. and his wife, and laughing the ENTIRE night.

christmas time

2009-12-30T12:17:00.001-08:00

We had a great Christmas. Before we left for Idaho, Byron HAD to go ice fishing...

We met my parents at the SLC Airport so we could help shuttle my sister and her family to Idaho. They were visiting from Missouri - it's been since July that we saw them and they had a new addition to their family. It was great to see them!

While in Idaho we saw the best movie - Avatar. We both loved it and want to see it again in 3D.

I have been wanting to read Catching Fire since I read the Hunger Games but was so far down on the waiting list at the library (117 to be exact). Luckily my mom had checked it out from her library so I sped through it. Oh my, I couldn't stop thinking about it for days and can't wait for the next book!

We went to lots of parties. Here we are with the Radford side of the family - lots of girls! (oh yeah, one little boy made it into the pic... my sister Tara's new baby Traycen)

I met up with some of my HS buddies for lunch - it was great to see some of the girls.

A shot of the whole family at the Dabell party.

Christmas morning - I looked lovely...

Byron with his Christmas present.

Looking more like a hunter.

My mom made the girls these cute aprons - I love fun aprons. Here we are making Christmas morning breakfast.

I am in love with this little girl... sorry she isn't smiling. Taislyn is 2 and she loved feeding her My Little Pony baby.

Taylor wore this dance outfit everyday all day and we gave her the gloves for Christmas. This is her striking a pose.

Since we've come back to Utah we have hung around the house (which Byron hates to do but I love), seen New Moon (FINALLY) and Sherlock Holmes, went to the temple downtown, and had a VERY late night of Disney Monopoly. And Byron will just kill me if I don't let you know that he won (only because I let him though haha).

Be Merry

2009-12-13T21:13:00.000-08:00

These have all been up for a few weeks now but I just haven't found the time to get the pictures posted. I had so much fun decorating and getting creative this year. My favorite thing from this year: buying little holly berries and adding them in throughout the garlands on the shelves and on the tree.

This white jar is my favorite... very classic.

I had so much fun gathering stuff for the shelves.

Some cute plates from Grandma Putnam

Byron's mom quilted this for us last year, I love it!

The TREE

Things have been pretty crazy around here but we are looking forward to the break coming up at the end of this week. Merry Christmas!!!

Big Fish

2009-12-01T16:43:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was great!! Good eats, good peeps, and good sleeps! I enjoy sleeping in over breaks... what does Byron love to do in the mornings on breaks?

Go to Strawberry Lake and fish (leaving the house at 6:30, it looks beautiful but too early for me)

Here he is with his good buddy Jared. They were so proud of their fish, and I was proud of them!

Another morning with our neighbor Jake.

I need to do some blogging catch up:

Here we are at the BYU v. Air Force game. I don't remember games being that cold last year, I sat down shivering most of the time but it was fun to watch a game with Byron!

We attended a mission temple night at the Bountiful Temple where we enjoyed seeing mission friends and hearing a spiritual message from President Callister.

A few weeks ago we visited Idaho and I finally made pillow covers to match my curtains (I hope it's not too matchy matchy).

getting me through the weekend...

2009-11-09T20:02:00.000-08:00

Getting through the weekend was tough for me (and today wasn't too much better). I have a cold and wanted to share a few things that got me through. I don't really know how we ever survived before they made tissues with lotion! This is a must have for me anytime tissues are needed! Hulu for some entertainment, and apple juice because my mom told me so. I really enjoyed reading The Hunger Games and found it very interesting.

But most of all, I spent hours reading all about Stephanie Nielson on the Nie Nie Diaries. I've seen so many buttons (notice that I have one now too?) and have seen her blog from time to time but I've never really started reading it. Wow! She is so inspiring.

---Not sure that crying while having a cold is a good thing but I'm hoping it was cleansing in some sort of way.---

I can say that I have a button not because it's popular but because I was truly touched by her words. In many things, not always associated with the crash, she made me want to just be a little better (0kay, a lot better), love my husband and everything about him that much more, be even more prepared for the joy of motherhood, be a better friend, inspire someone else, and get my spirituality more in order!

If you haven't had a chance to go through her archives and read about her experiences (and are needing a little boost) I encourage you too... you might be surprised at how it makes you feel. Sometimes when I look at blogs I feel sorry for myself and wish that I was more like that person (creative, funny, beautiful, talented, etc., you get the picture right) but Stephanie's didn't make me feel that way at all! Do you know what I mean? I just felt inspired and that is what I needed to get me through the weekend. Remember this for when you have a lot of down time and need something to get you through!

Halloween

2009-11-01T09:37:00.001-08:00

We went to a Halloween party at Byron's grandparent's house and had fun talking with family, playing Bingo (Byron was just a little upset that I won), frosting cupcakes, seeing the fun costumes, and eating Pumpkin brains.

Kelsey as Lucy from I love Lucy, Lauren as a cave girl

Byron frosting a cupcake... bet you can't guess what he is. And there is Tanner as a geek to the right.

Landon as Snap, Cole as Crackle, and Gavin was Pop. (their mom, Logan, was the Trix bunny and their dad, Chris, was the Lucky Charms guy - it was so cute!)

Did you guess what Byron was? We were High School "has-been" parents. We are both wearing buttons- his says "high school was the best!" and mine says "#1 Cheer Mom." Here we are taking an awkward high school dance photo.

Cameron was Joe Dirt, it was so funny!

On Saturday we got a lot of chores and errands done since we haven't had a weekend at home in forever! That night we went to Sonic for dinner... they had 50 cent corn dogs on Halloween and watched The Haunted Mansion and The Nightmare Before Christmas. It was very low key but we really enjoyed ourselves! We were going to make Carmel covered apples, and even went to 3 different stores to find Carmel (everyone was out!) but we were too stuffed from dinner so we will make them on Sunday. We both love Halloween but were sad we didn't get any trick or treaters... maybe next year!

Thriller at Tuachon

2009-10-27T18:17:00.000-07:00

Thanks to our awesome friends, the Hansens, we made a trip to St. George this past weekend. On Friday night we stopped at the Pizza Factory. Oh man, this place is good.

When we were on vaca in St. George over the summer, we stopped at this place and had pretty much the best meal of our lives. I don't know why but it just hit the spot. It didn't hurt that our waiter had messed up on an order and gave us a free Parmesan bread twist.... to die for.

We went straight to the factory after our drive, without even stopping at the condo we stayed at. How funny that our waiter was the same? Very. We told him about the summer and he said he would do his best to make sure we had an equally good time. After we finished our meal he gave us 2 free desert bread twists! He said they were a new item that they were just trying out and hadn't put on the menu yet. But they tasted a whole lot like the cinnamon bread twists that they already offer! Since we were already so full, we ate one and saved the other for breakfast the next morning. Are you thinking "pigs."? You should be because we are!

After dinner we saw The Time Travelers Wife. I cried a little. I think Byron almost did but he won't admit it. I liked the movie though.

We arrived that night at the condo. Not really a condo if you ask me, more like a house! It was a great place to stay but we wished Brock and Lindsey could have been there to hang out with.

Saturday we visited Byron's grandmother, went to Tai Pan, the outlets, In & Out, Cafe Rio, and watched part of the ugly BYU game. Sad game. At half time we left for Thriller at Tuachon and were greeted by the Living Dead:

This girl I took the pic with just stared at me when I asked to take the pic together... it was so creepy! People either laughed at them or tried to ignore them. The little girl sitting in front of us cried each time one got near! Poor girl, she is probably still having nightmares they were creepy. Now I want to dress up like them for Halloween!

The weather was great and we got to see our Mission President and his wife there. Thriller was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! Such a great show.

We drove home the next morning to see Byron's brother Cameron be ordained an Elder. Byron's family threw a party afterwards for Cameron and for Byron's birthday. Always a good time at the Putnam house... you can guarantee some hearty laughter :)

Now I'm just hangin out at home alone for the next few days (well, I am actually very busy with work and church stuff but... still alone). Byron went up into the mountains with Devin - hunting. Did you see the snow today? Yeah, they hiked up in that and from what I understand the mountains are gonna get hit hard with snow again tonight and tomorrow. The good news? Byron will be home for Halloween. Not that we really even have any special plans.

Byron's B-day and Disneyland

2009-10-20T18:05:00.000-07:00

Byron's 23rd birthday was on Friday and since we were going to be in Disneyland that day, I threw him a little celebration on Wednesday. It was all very spur of the moment (I decided to do something that morning) so it didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped but it was fun to surprise him.

The present....

The card... so funny!

wait for it...

hahaha (Byron laughed just about as hard as I did).

The dinner: ribs and baked potato. (note: it was almost as expensive to make these as it is to eat out!)

Byron's fav cake - rainbow with rainbow chip frosting. This is the first cake I've actually made in our oven because it is so hard to cook in. I think after a year I've almost figured it out... this turned out pretty good!

Yes, it was just Byron and I celebrating because I'm lame and didn't plan early enough to invite anyone, but we had such a good time together!

We had a blast in Disneyland but thought we were going to die from exhaustion! We woke up at 4:30am on Friday in order to arrive at the airport on time.

We got to our dumpy hotel around 9 and headed over to Disneyland for the next three days. The first night we went home after the fireworks because we were so tired from being up so early, the next night we made it to 11 or so and the final night we stayed to midnight. It was a blast but when we got home, we didn't feel like we'd been on vaca. Not much relaxing went on... just play play play. So much in fact that I got a little sick and had to stay home from work today.

Here are some of the pics we took.

I made Byron go to city hall and get a pin saying 'Happy Birthday Byron.' Because it was his birthday that day, he got a gift card to use on Disney merchandise. We (mostly me) were so excited about it that the lady giving it to us just laughed at me (and she wasn't the last person to laugh at me for being so happy during the trip). Everyone wished him happy birthday all day long, it was pretty funny.

The Halloween decor was AWESOME!

The pineapple spear was sooo yummy, and yes I know I am a horrible photographer. Byron ate this as we waited to meet his favorite Disney princess (I'm not kidding).

Byron and his Disney princess crush... Jasmine. When we were there last year, we didn't meet any characters so it was pretty fun to listen to them stay in character the whole time.

Byron to Jasmine: "My little sister here is going to take the picture"

Me to Jasmine: "Or his wife"

Jasmine: "Oh, haha, I wish my husband could be here to"

Me thinking to myself: 'that's cool that she is married, I bet she gets hit on all the time and has to bring her husband up'

Jasmine: "He is in Agraba, probably at some Camel shows."

Me thinking to myself: 'dang, this girl is good!'

Then for the picture, she wouldn't even let Byron touch her, she told him to stand the way his is in the pic and then she posed hahaha, it was pretty great!

The Haunted Mansion was totally awesome! It was all decorated for Halloween after "The Nightmare Before Christmas"

Byron knocking on the haunted door.

Jack Skellington at the mansion.

We tried 3 different times to meet Sally and Jack before finally making it. They stayed in character too and were so funny.

Sally to me: "oh, you look so happy, what happened to you?"

Me: "I'm just so happy to finally meet you guys, we have tried three other time"
Jack: "Wow, you're persistent!"

Sally pointing to Byron: "So is this your one true love? Are you meant to be?"

Me: "yeah." I'm lame and can't think things to say to people, especially characters!

Jack: "are you sure? positive? 100%? you're sure? positive?"

Me: same answer, "yeah"

Jack: "But how do you know?"

Me - lame: "Because I just love him so much"

Sally to Jack: "How come you never say that to me?"

sorry to get you in trouble Jack! Their costumes were so fab!

In the Hollywood Tower of Terror - probably my favorite ride

With the Candy Corn near Candy Corn acres in California Adventure. They also had Candy Corn in the palm trees like coconuts, some in bunches like grapes, some like pumpkins and so much more!

And the last pic we took as we left the park.

The trip made us so excited to take our kids there someday and also made us want to buy a new camera! We had a few other memorable experiences, me walking into the men's bathroom, walking way too far for dinner, giving some guy who was pretty full of it money for the bus, eating at ESPN Zone and watching part of the BYU game. Now it's back to the real life of school and work. It's good to be home though!

ps - I want to work at Disney and be a princess, but they would probably make me pick up trash or run a ride.

fall & an upcoming trip!

2009-10-10T09:46:00.001-07:00

I feel like I don't have much to blog about lately. And if I do have something to blog about, I forget to take pictures so I can blog about it - yeah, it's a dilemma. I just feel like I can't blog unless I have a picture to post because from what I gather from most people, pictures are the fun part about blogging. But here goes nothing...

Byron changed the oil in his car all by himself for the first time!!!! Too bad we don't have the little ramps to drive the car up on to. This is what I found when I came home from work that day... yuck, I don't think anyone could have paid me to get down there! I can't say I was too supportive of this little stunt, but Byron did a great job.

I had a birthday... my 25th to be exact (if you didn't know that I am older than Byron... now you know). Who doesn't take pictures on their birthday? Me!!! It was pretty fun though... Byron took me shopping, well really I went shopping and dragged him along. Then his family had a dinner for me and Byron's sister Michelle made an AMAZING cake... too bad I didn't have my camera! She did a great job though. The morning of my birthday Byron got me french toast from Kneaders... it was a first for me and I approved! Yum. I went to work for half the day and then Byron and I went to Texas Roadhouse and a movie - we had a great time and I love spending these special days with Byron. Kneaders breakfast is the only picture that was taken on my b-day (and I hadn't finished getting ready for the day).

We, along with many other people in Utah, had a mission reunion - here are many of the sisters from my mission. I served with just a few of them.

And I thought I would post some of my favorite pictures from our honeymoon in disneyland because....

we are going next weekend for Byron's birthday and fall break!!!! We can't wait to see all the festive decorations for fall and halloween. If you have ever been at this time of the year, please tell me what you thought and if there are any must see attractions.