The MP3

Snow, Superbowl, and Satan's Day

2010-02-26T09:38:00.011-07:00

Here is some pics of our recent fun. In the beginning of January, we got a really big snow storm. Amani got a chance to play in the snow in my parent's yard with Aunt Sydney. She is definitely an Idaho child. She loves the snow!

Uncle Justin, Aunt Sydney, Amani and Mommy

She was in heaven!

Total Idaho family pic-snow, giant coats, snow suits, and hats!
We were able to have a Superbowl party at my parent's house. I know they will appreciate it when we have our own house to have our parties in. :) We had a bunch of our friends from the ward over and had tons of fun!

This isn't even including the 3 crockpots full of meatballs, wings, and mini hot dogs! I was still full the next day!

Jared and Natalie-she is so cute in all her pregnant-ness! (Yeah, that's a word!)

Jared and Richelle snugglin on the chair together!

Mark and Morgan-they are so hilarious!

Mark and I had gotten in a fight the week before and he had left me bruised! At church earlier that day, everyone was asking where I got my nasty bruise. So he signed his art work so everyone could know it was him that beat me up!
Of course, the month of February brings my least favorite holiday-Valentine's Day aka Satan's Day. But, no matter how much I hate it, Amani did look pretty cute for church. Thanks Grandma Empey for making her such an adorable little Valentine's skirt. She still wears it all the time.

That is all the happenings lately. I will get better at this posting thing! I can't get much worse!

Christmas 2009

2010-01-05T16:08:00.020-07:00

Warning-this is a long post!!! We had an awesome Christmas this year! We were able to spend lots of time with both sides of the family and had a blast! The weekend before Christmas weekend, we went down to Dave's parents house to see Dave's brothers and sisters that wouldn't be with the family Christmas Day. It was great to see everyone-especially Steve & Heather and Mike & Steph's families! We had planned for quite awhile that we were going to "roast" Dave's dad like on Comedy Central. That weekend, we filmed the whole "roast" video. It was hilarious. Dave was nominated to be Douglas because he looks and acts the most like him.

The resemblance was scary! The filming process was hilarious-Kari peed her pants 3 times! So funny!!!

Let the roast begin! We dressed him up as the king of the night. The video turned out great and was a fun experience.

Amani and I hangin out. I think Dave was changing her diaper right then.

My gorgeous niece-McKenzie. She is so amazing!

We did the Empey Nativity reenactment this weekend since we had everyone here. It was great to see all the nieces and nephews.
We opened 1 present at my parent's house before we went to Bear Lake with Dave's family for Christmas Eve/Christmas morning.

Amani got princess shoes and tiara from her aunt Ami. She has loved them since the minute she opened them. Who knew I would have such a girly girl?

Here's the little princess striking a pose. She was grumpy and wouldn't let us take her binky away.
We spent Christmas Eve/Christmas morning at a cabin in Bear Lake. It was a blast. It should be illegal to have that much fun. We opened our traditional Christmas pajamas on Christmas Eve.

Amani's, of course, were Minnie jammies.

Dave jammin out in his new pj bottoms. They are super soft. I know, I did good!

Here is me sportin my new jammie pants. Mine are super soft too, he did good too!
Christmas morning, we went down and got into our stockings.

Santa left Dave some killer ninjas and a fanny pack. He is a winner!

Amani got a fun dolly from Grandma Empey.

She got a stroller from Santa. She loves it and pushes it around the apartment wearing her princess shoes constantly!

She got a new purse with a cell phone. She loves talking on the phone. Like I said, total girly girl.

Here is Amani and Mommy-hangin out at the cabin.

Here is me in my sexy new red sweater Dave got me! Love it!!!!

The drive home was beautiful.

Gotta get out and take pictures in the freezing snow. What kinda girl from Idaho would I be if I didn't?!

All in all, we had a wonderful Christmas! Tons of fun with tons of family! Can't get anymore perfect than that!

Birthdays & Halloween

2010-01-05T15:38:00.010-07:00

Too much to catch up on! I dunno why I do this to myself! My 24th birthday was the beginning of October, then we had Halloween, then Dave turned 27 the beginning of November. So here are some pictures to catch us up to Christmas. I didn't get any pics from Thanksgiving. I get the awesome opportunity of sharing my birthday with Dave's Grandpa Nelson. I turned 24 and he turned 101!! He is so amazing!

Here we are with our cakes. I love celebrating my birthday with him. We had a big party at Dave's parents house and it was lots of fun. I got lots of fun presents! Thanks everyone!

This picture pretty much sums up how I was feeling by the end of everything. Exhausted but happy!

Then came Halloween! Amani was funner this year. We dressed her up as a pirate princess.

The princess and the middle school coach. What a nerd!

I dressed up as Satan's whore/mistress! It was a blast!

She was adorable! Much better than last year!

Here is a full body shot of all my whore-ness! I love Halloween!
Then came Dave's birthday. We had a party at his parent's house again! We are so lucky to have them so close!

He is so silly! He might be 27 but still is a 6 year old at heart!

Happy birthday babe!

That catches up the past couple months! Sorry all!

End of Summer 2009

2009-10-03T09:10:00.015-06:00

I figured since I was so behind, it was easier to do just one big post of all of our end of summer fun. Just warning you now, lots of pictures! At the end of July, we were able to go down to Pocatello to Dave's parents house and spend time with Kari & J and their kids. It was a fun weekend and the kids had lots of fun playing in mom's mini water park.

One of Amani's favorite toys was the water ring. Her and Maggie used it as a drinking fountain. It was so funny!

Amani and Maggie relaxing in the pool.
At the beginning of August, we were able to go to Reed's Dairy Family Day. It is so fun. They have really good ice cream for cheap, carriage rides, horsey rides, and a petting zoo. Of course, that was the one day in August where it was cold so we had to wear jackets but it was still fun.

Amani in the petting zoo. At first, she was a little scared but ventured out on her own after awhile.

Amani's first horsey ride. She whined when we first put her on but then once the horse started to move, she thought it was pretty cool.

Mommy & Amani after the horsey ride.

The family at Family Day

In the middle of August, we went to Bear Lake with my family. It was tons of fun. I had never been there for longer than a couple hours so I was really excited. It is such a big, beautiful lake and warm too!

Me and Dave soakin up the sun!

Amani was trying to feed me sand. Yummy!

Amani & Mommy on the beach

Amani playin in the mud with her Uncle Justin. He had made a little mini pool by digging in the mud so Amani decided to go sit in it. It was pretty funny.

We were able to go to my dad's cousin's ranch and ride horses again. The pictures didn't turn out very well. We figured it was because of the building's insulation-but I don't really know. Oh well, I got a couple to turn out ok. Here is Amani riding a horsey again with Grandma.

This is our little dead fish. By the end of the 2nd day, she was totally comfortable with the water and would just lay there and sunbathe. It was funny.

Friday night, we went on a hike up to Bloomington Lake. Dave took his fishing pole, of course. It was a nice hike and very beautiful.

That is the end of our summer in a nutshell. We had lots of fun and lots of great trips. And with the way Idaho weather has been the last week, I guess summer is really over and time to get ready for winter. :(

4th of July and SLC

2009-07-17T13:15:00.012-06:00

Well, since I just sit at home all day, the least I can do is get some blogging done. I am feeling lots better and am just trying to adjust to having a 3/4 cup sized stomach. Meal time is the hardest-trying to figure out what to eat and how fast I can eat it. But, I am learning and will figure things out.

We have had some fun times since I got home from the hospital so I figured I should post some pics. 4th of July is my favorite holiday so I made sure I felt good enough to celebrate! Especially in Idaho Falls-best 4th of July town ever! We went to the parade in the morning. Amani was so good, she didn't try to run in the road or anything. She just sat in different people's laps watching all the floats.

Her little 4th of July outfit-I love having a girl!

Her cheesy grin

Amani and Daddy at the parade

Happy red, white, and blue family after the parade

Amani and Mommy

Daddy took Amani swimming in our complex pool. It was kinda windy so we didn't stay long, but Amani loves swimming with Daddy.

Hangin out with Aunt Sydney-waiting for the fireworks

Waiting for the fireworks

We went to SLC for a follow up doctor's appt. Amani was having a blast playing with the scale in the room.

While we were there, we got to visit our friend Tyler. We went and visited his mom at work. She works at an Alzheimer's home. At this home, they have lots of pets-one of which was a baby kangaroo. Amani didn't know what to think. It was so cute though. It would hold it's foot up and suck on his toe. So fun!

Super glue, staples, and stiches. Oh my!

2009-06-21T13:12:00.011-06:00

Hey Everyone! This is Dave and I am writing to tell everybody the latest news on Trista.
On Saturday June 13 we came to Salt Lake to see a doctor about some pain that Trista was having. When Trista was 18 a mass or tumor was found on her liver. Every time it was tested the results came back and said that it was not cancerous and it shouldn't be worried about. Over the past couple months she has been having terrible pain coming from that region of her body. She went to the hospital in Idaho Falls but they could not figure out the problem. Trista spoke to the doctor about her liver and a couple days later we had a referral to come see a liver specialist in Salt Lake. The doctor in Salt Lake looked over her records and said that he was going to admit her that night and remove the tumor as soon as possible. As we were waiting for the day of the surgery the doctor came in and said that he was going to correct a problem with her stomach. The reason for this was because a part of Trista's stomach was not working. We were aware of this and Trista was doing great with the medication she was given to help her stomach regulate. The doctor said that he would take out the part that wasn't working and attach it to the parts that were. On Tuesday Trista had a long surgery and everything went well. She now has about 60% of her liver left and about 10% of her stomach. She had to stay in the ICU for a couple days but she is out and recovering. We think that she will be able to come home sometime this week. We Would like to thank all of our friends and family that have helped us out over the past couple weeks. It is appreciated and we are grateful for all of you.

The pictures posted below are some things that have happened since we posted last.

Uncle Ty and Trista's little sister Aunt Ami reading a story to Amani in the hospital to keep her entertained

On Saturday our nephew Eli was baptized. Eli's dad and Uncles are looking at who knows what. They said that they were watching a Hawk get attacked by two small birds.

Amani putting out the vibe for all the boys at the baptism. "hey how you doing"

I had to laugh at this because Eli is wearing a McDonald's tie that his dad found at D.I. I thought it was awesome.

Me and Eli. That kid is a tank with a heart of gold.

Eli sporting the white jump suit getting ready for the water.

This is our wildlife. Ducks are common and we have seen a bunny too. Strange enough the bunny was around Easter time.

I found some outdoor carpet at Home Depot that fit perfectly on our patio. Amani loves to be out there now and she is playing with the tube it was rolled on.

Trista wasn't the only one that has had some problems. Amani slipped in the tub and split her chin open. We had to super glue it back together and couple weeks later she cut the bottom of her toe. Her little toe was stitched up and lots of screaming went on. Her chin and toe are better now and she runs around looking for the next thing to split open.

This was just after she fell in the tub. Nice ring of blood on the shirt.

I have a good explanation...I promise!

2009-05-17T05:54:00.010-06:00

My computer is finally giving up. It has been trying to break for months now and is finally giving up the ghost. So this weekend I was able to get the rest of my pictures off of it and get them onto my external hard drive so I could post them with Dave's computer. So, I am going to do a little back blogging. We haven't really been up to anything exciting. I tell ya, we really are boring! I did buy Amani a really cute Easter dress though and I have been excited to post pictures of it.

She was having fun playing in it.

It is the cutest dress! I love having a girl.

She does the funniest poses.

This is Amani with her newest cousin, Lily. Dave's sister, Kristin, was watching Amani for us and said Amani couldn't stay away from Lily. She didn't know what to think of this tiny person. I can't blame her though. Lily is super cute!

The end of April, we had a really nice Saturday, so we went for a walk by the greenbelt in Idaho Falls. It was nice to get out in the sunshine and get some fresh air after being inside all winter! I can't wait for summer!

I love this spot! It is the best place for cute pictures. Amani was ready to go home though. She was getting kinda grumpy.

Here is my little climber. She has hit that stage of her life. I definitely don't appreciate it. She climbs all over everything. Her favorite is this though-my coffee table. She spends most of her day up there. She lays on it to watch tv and stomps on it when she wants attention. Crazy child!

Here is Amani's new bed! We decided it was time for a big girl bed. She loves it. She uses her little stool to climb in and out. It's so cute!

It's so big that she gets lost in it. But she sleeps so good in it! That is all that matters!

1st Birthday

2009-03-31T17:20:00.011-06:00

Ok, yeah I know, it was over 2 months ago. But like I said with the holiday posts, better late than never, right?! :) Amani turned 1 on January 10, 2009. I can't believe that she is already so big! We had a party at my parent's house and lots of the people she loved were able to come over and celebrate with her. I know if she could say thanks, she would. She had a blast!

We started out the day interestingly enough. We were running her bath water and went to find her to get her out of her pajamas and this is where we found her. I guess we didn't get her pj's off fast enough for her. She was ready for her bath right now! It was pretty funny.

Here's our birthday girl at Grandma & Papa's house-ready for her party!

Playing with her new presents. She did open a few more this time around. She didn't know what to do with all the presents. She loved them all and continues to play with all of them. Her room is her favorite place.

So clean before her own special chocolate cake. I must have been crazy!

I have decided she looks like she has a beard. She started out so dainty. It was hilarious. She just started picking off the top and didn't want to dig into it.

Eventually, she did dig in! This is when she was pretty much done. Like I said, I must have been crazy!!!

Bath time! The water was disgusting!
She had a wonderful birthday, surrounded by wonderful and loving people. Thanks to all of those who came and thanks to all those who sent their love. I am slowly catching up-2 more months to go.....

Thanksgiving, Christmas & everything in between!

2009-03-19T17:08:00.014-06:00

Yeah, I know. It was forever ago. But, I figure, I should at least post some pics from our celebrations.

Here is Amani on Thanksgiving. She definitely enjoyed it more than anyone.

Amani and her cousin, Jake. Jake is such a good sharer! They are really good friends and are so cute together too!

Amani got croup midway through December. That was definetly something I only want to do once in my life. Needless to say, it was a long week. But she was tough and pulled through well.

Amani's favorite food is linguine alfredo. She is a good sharer too. Although, she gets really messy!

My new Christmas Eve pajamas!

Dave and his new Christmas Eve pajamas. He is so silly!

Amani on Christmas morning

Amani would not open up her presents. She would only watch me open her presents and then play with them afterwards. This is the only present she actually opened.

So cute!

We went bowling just after Christmas with my family. It was tons of fun!

This was pretty much a run-down of our holidays. Sorry it was so late!

10 month pictures

2008-11-27T08:15:00.009-07:00

A couple weeks ago, I got Amani's 10 month professional pics taken. She wasn't in a very good mood that day. And right when we got there, she puked all over her shirt. So I had to run to the infant/toddler department (we were at jcpenneys-luckily) and find a new shirt to go with her pants. So I missed the first pics in her blue dress so I didn't get her bow in her hair. It was quite a day. But they didnt turn out too bad. We got a couple good ones, so here are a few.

We had to give her Mickey towards the end to keep her happy. She usually isn't happy if she doesn't have Mickey close by.

This is her personality shot. She is always rocking her wrists.

Halloween

2008-11-27T07:12:00.011-07:00

Yeah, I am a loser and am not posting Halloween til Thanksgiving Day! I know! We got to do some serious Halloween celebrating this year. On Oct. 25, we got to go to a Halloween party with some of our friends. It was awesome! We had so much fun.

The family getting ready to go to the party. Amani would not look at the camera. She was so confused at what we were doing. She probably thought we were crazy!

At the party!

We did lots of fun things-like bobbing for apples. Everyone did awesome-except for me. I can't do it and never have been able to. I got soaked and never got my apple! I finally just grabbed it with my hand and said, "That's it! I quit!" The party was way fun. We played games and just hung out. And there was great food! Thanks for inviting us, Lundyn, Jeni, and Jen!

October 28th we had the annual Empey family Halloween party. Mama Empey always comes up with fun games for the kids to play. They wrapped up like mummies and then broke out. It was fun to watch. I don't even know which kid is which in this picture. I can only pick out a few. We didn't do Amani. She might not have liked this game too much.

This is my little girl trying to be big. She always has thought she was older than she is.

I worked on Halloween so we got to dress up. This is me and my friend, Teresa. She dressed up as a inmate on a work release program and a former meth addict-hence the funny teeth. It was hilarious! Although, she took out the teeth when patients were around. :)

On Halloween night, Dave had to work until 8 so Amani and I went trick or treating with my little brother and sister. She wouldn't smile hardly at all. She was stone faced all night! At least she wasn't crying though!

Here is my little ladybug and her only smile I caught on camera!

Our trick or treating party. Justin, Ami, me and Amani!

This year, Halloween was a blast. It is awesome to have a kid so you can really get into celebrating it again! I love holidays!!!!

Another tag

2008-10-30T14:06:00.009-06:00

Yeah, I know. Another one. I never do these. They are kinda fun. This one is from my cousin, Kira.

Random Facts About Me! (Kira did 7, we will see what I can come up with)
#1 - I think I only want 2 kids. Before Amani was born, I thought I wanted 4 kids or so. The older she gets, the less I want another child. Usually girls start getting baby hungry again, but I am the exact opposite! I was baby hungry when she was like 4 months but the older she gets, it is getting less and less. The only reason I am thinking 2 kids is because I don't want her to be a snot! She is spoiled as it is!
#2 - I have very little sense of taste or smell. I lost it in a 4-wheeler accident just after high school. It has come back just a little but I can only taste and smell some things. It is weird, I am weird, and I have accepted that. It isn't as bad as it sounds. I can't smell bad smells. All good smells smell the same. I can taste sweet, sour, and bitter. Pretty good to me after having nothing for so long!
#3 - I can speak sign language and I actually get to use it sometimes. I got to translate for a patient at work a couple months ago. It was amazing! I taught myself over the years and it is a fun language.
#4 - I got to go the temple for the first time when I was 10 years old to get sealed to my little sister, Sydney. We adopted her from Chicago. She is half black, half white and gorgeous! It was an amazing experience for me. I was then able to get married to Dave in the same sealing room. It was awesome!
#5 - I am a little obsessive-compulsive. I have to have things in alphabetical order and organized. I love baskets! I have everything in baskets. But, the one thing I can't have out of place is my movie collection. I have lots of movies (no, this isn't a pic of mine) and they are in alphabetical order (of course.) It drives me crazy if one if out of place or if they are messed up! Yeah, I know, I need mental help!

Tagged!

2008-10-30T13:58:00.003-06:00

I got tagged by my sister, Brooke. So since I had never responded to a tag before I figured I would respond to it. For this tag, you go to your 5th folder in your pictures, and then pick the 5th picture and then blog about it.

This the picture, I came up with. It is my nephew, Jakey. He is so hilarious. Jakey and I were eating celery (I think) with easy cheese. Yum! So, then Jakey took the lid to the easy cheese and put it on his head like a hat. It was so funny. He just looked at me like I was crazy for laughing at him. He is so adorable, Kari! I love his guts! I tag whoever wants to do this. It is actually kind of fun to see what you come up with.

We Are Back!

2008-10-09T16:31:00.018-06:00

I finally have the internet back, so I can finally update. I guess I have a lot to catch up on. We moved to a different apartment on August 1st. It is actually just down the street from our previous apartment but the management is better and it had more to offer so we couldn't pass it up. I haven't taken any pictures so here is the link to my complex and it will show some pictures of what it looks like. http://www.eagleslandingapartmentcommunity.com/ Anyway, since the last time I posted was the 4th of July, I have 3 months to catch up on. Um....where to start.....at the end of July, we were able to take a trip to Utah with my family. We went to Lagoon on Monday. It was fun, even though 2 of my favorite rides were closed that day.

Amani was so good all day. We are so lucky sometimes!

She was even happy most of the day!

We got to stay with Dave's brother, Mike, while we were in Utah. It was good to see him and his family and to be able to spend some time with them. Tuesday, we went to Hogle Zoo, and Wednesday, we went to Temple Square. I love that place! There are so many beautiful paintings and sculptures to look at, and the peaceful feeling there makes you never want to leave!

I love this wall mural up on the roof! Really makes ya think, huh?

This is definitely my favorite sculpture in the world! I love this room. It is so peaceful. I could sit here for hours. The ceiling is so beautiful too!

Our Utah trip was definitely the highlight of our summer! We had a blast. It definitely wasn't fun coming back and trying to move in 2 days. :( As for August we didn't do much of anything exciting. Dave got a new job mid-September at the Behavioral Health Center. It is the psychiatric branch of the hospital I work at. He is working as a psych tech. He goes with the patients to their therapy sessions, keeps track of where they are at all times, and makes sure they don't do anything stupid. He is really liking it. As far as Amani goes, she is growing so fast. She has 4 teeth now and is really wanting to walk. She has had the few occasions of standing up on her own in the middle of the room, which of course makes me just cringe because I am not ready for this yet. Here are a few pictures from the last couple months. Most of the them are from our camera phones so they aren't the best quality, but you get what you can, right?

This is Amani's favorite show-Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. If it is on, this is where we find her. She could watch it for hours and just keeps laughing. It is so funny!

She is so gosh darn cute sometimes!

And so crazy other times. She makes the weirdest, funniest faces. They are so hilarious!

Here is my little poser. She did the most perfect little pose for the camera. I couldn't believe it!

I have no words to describe this one. She is just crazy, hilarious, and cute!

Dave sent me this at work one morning with the text-Good morning, mom!-attached. It was so cute. I wish I could wake up lookin that good.

I was tryin to get her dressed and she didn't want to so she pulled the onesie on top of her head. I decided it was the newest fashion so I had better get a picture.

That is pretty much the update of the last 3 months of my slacking. I have the internet now so I have no excuse (dangit!) so I will try and keep my blog updated a little better. :) (I know, I say that every time)

4th of July

2008-07-06T18:40:00.015-06:00

We had an awesome and busy 4th of July. I love my job and being able to have holidays off. I can't imagine having to miss them again. On the 4th, we were able to go the the Idaho Falls parade. Nothing too exciting but tradition is fun. It wasn't as hot as we thought it was going to be so that was nice. We were able to cheer on Sydney-my little sister-who was on her middle school cheerleading float. Amani slept through most of it. But when she wasn't sleeping, she was hanging out with my mom's best friend, Brenda Silvester.

Obviously, you can see why Amani loves Brenda. She was in candy heaven!

After the parade, we went to my mom's boss's house to go swimming. I had just bought Amani a new swimsuit and new float toy wanted to see how she liked the pool.

Here she is in her new swimsuit! So cute!

This was her first reaction to the pool. She loved it! Luckily, Dr. Rencher had left the pool heater on so it was nice and warm. :)

This is her new float toy. It is so nice. It holds her up so she doesn't sink and she can kick and play and doesn't have to be held. It will also help build some muscles. Love it!!! And so did she!

At night, we went to the Idaho Falls fireworks. They are my favorite part of the 4th of July. I look forward to them every year. They are so awesome the way the sync them with the music and everything and they get more awesome every year! They were pretty sweet this year too. Amani watched them the entire time! All 31 minutes! She sat and watched in amazement and I watched her in amazement. I couldn't believe how calm and content she was watching them.

On Saturday, we went up to Island Park for the Empey Family Reunion. This was going to be the longest road trip Amani was going to be on (even though it would be only a half hour longer than our usual Poky trip). But she hates the car.

So we stacked her up with all her toys. It was hilarious.

Saturday afternoon, we went up to West Yellowstone so Dave could get extra credit in his Geology class. We walked around the main street and went into a candy shop. Amani was getting cranky so I gave her a sucker I had bought for myself so she could just chew on the plastic and entertain herself.

Oh, how I underestimate her! She got through the sealed plastic and to the sucker! I figured-you were the genius that got it open, you deserve it. I paid the price later with the sticky fingers and face though. Oh well!

This is Amani and her cousin, Maggie. Maggie is Kari's (Dave's sister) daughter who is 3 1/2 months younger than Amani. Obviously, Amani is way bigger than Maggie. They are so cute together.

Maggie was getting sick of us trying to get her to smile so she decided to eat Amani's arm. Amani is trying to sit up and get away. She didn't want her to eat her arm.

Amani was able to meet for the first time and get some bonding time with her Uncle Paul who is on his 2-week leave from the military. He is currently serving a 15-month tour to Iraq. It was great for her to be able to meet him and spend some time with him. We miss him and will be excited to have him home soon.

This is Daddy and Amani on Sunday. They looked so cute in their red, white, and blue!

This is just a random picture I have from last week that I had to post. I was getting ready last Saturday and I looked out of the bathroom and this is what I saw. I just had to get a picture. Dave and Amani were watching "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" on PlayHouse Disney. That is Amani's favorite show. Anyway, this picture was crazy but cute so I had to post it. But that is pretty much all that is going on with us. Sorry for the long post and all the pics. I just need to do this more often!

Almost 5 months!

2008-05-27T18:46:00.015-06:00

Alright, I am a totally horrible blogger lately! I always think that I need to do it but then I always find something else to do. So tonight I decided to make Dave take care of Amani so I could do this. This is some of what has been going on for the past weeks. Just a warning now-there are lots of pictures.

Amani and Daddy watching tv together. She loves to watch cartoons with Daddy. Her favorites are 'My Friends Tigger and Pooh,' 'Higglytown Heroes,' and 'Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.' She will watch them forever. It is great!

She is getting much better at smiling for the camera. She laughs. giggles, and talks all the time. She is getting such a fun personality.

She was taking a nap with Grandpa. It was so cute!

We were giving her some belly time on the Boppy pillow. She doesn't like to be on her tummy so she was blaming it on Mr. Bear. He is her favorite stuffed animal and she talks to him all the time. I think she was telling him it was his fault for her being on her tummy.

She was lying on my lap and so was just snapping pictures to see what she was doing. She does funny facial expressions.

Bathtime!!! She looked so serious!

At cousin Eli's flag football game. This is her new smile-closed lips. It is so cute!

We went to Grandma & Grandpa Empey's house this weekend. Grandma gave us egyptian cotton sheets and Amani loved them. She was all tangled up in them and looked so cute. We were also able to see her newest cousin Maggie and a bunch of the family. It was great to see everyone!

And here we have the Queen of Sheeba. She looks like she owns the place!

These are my sisters, Sydney and Ami. They had their gymnastics performance this last week. It is my favorite part of the whole year. They are so awesome. Ami is getting her back handspring down and Sydney is getting really good at roundoff-back handspring-back tuck tumbling pass. She also can do a back layout. She is sweet!

Not much else has been going on lately. We had some fun at the end of April with some more seizure activity but once we got her levels of phenobarbital back up she was ok. We only spent 1 night in the hospital for IV therapy and haven't had any major seizures since. We just have to check her levels more often which requires frequently getting her blood drawn. She is such a trooper. Other than that, it is just work for me and school for Dave. We hope all is well with everyone! I promise I will try really hard to be better at this!

Amani's Belly Laugh

2008-04-12T13:22:00.002-06:00

Amani has started to giggle. The person she loves to laugh at the most is my dad. He can always get her to giggle at him. This is a video of the first time she did it. It was hilarious!

3 Months Old!

2008-04-12T13:02:00.009-06:00

Man, I have really sucked at this whole blogging thing lately. Don't worry, Heather, it isn't just you. I figured it was time to add some more pics. Amani is growing so fast! I can't believe she is actually a baby now and not a newborn anymore. She is getting stronger. She hates to be lying down, she loves to be sitting up in her bouncer or even propped up in the corner of the couch. My mom bought her a Bumbo seat. She loves to be sitting up and looking around. She just isn't quite strong enough to stay there long. But she gets frustrated when you take her out so it is a lose-lose situation. She is so silly.

As for the rest of us, I am just working as usual. Nothing ever too exciting with that. Dave just finished winter semester a couple days ago and is on his spring break between semesters. He is excited to have a couple days off to just relax and hang out with Amani.

One thing we are really excited about is we are planning on buying a house. We found one that we like and have talked to the bank so now we are just watching interest rates and waiting to lock in. As soon as we figure everything out, I will put a picture on here of it. It is awesome. We are so excited to be hopefully getting out of an apartment and into a house. I am most excited about having a garage so I don't have to scrape my windows at 4:30 in the morning when I am going to work! :) Yay!!! As soon as we know what is going to happen we will let everyone know!

I loved this outfit. The hat was my favorite.

She was in a really good mood so it was picture time!

I love baby overalls!

She was looking for me. She makes the funniest faces.

She loves hanging out with her Aunt Sydney.

Our cutest little Yankees fan!

Blessing Day

2008-03-08T14:23:00.010-07:00

I know I am a slacker! Here (finally) are Amani's blessing day pictures. It was an awesome day with lots of awesome family here! Her circle was amazing and full of love. Thanks to everyone who came and shared this special day with us. We had a good dinner afterwards (thanks to everyone who helped and definitely to my parents for letting us take over their house for the day.)

Her blessing dress was mine and my mom's blessing dress. It was fun to be able to pass it down. The quilt she is lying on is a quilt my aunt made for her. It was beautiful.

My mom and dad with our little family!

Grandpa Nelson with Amani.

Empey Family-4 generations

My mom's side of the family-5 generations! It was awesome!

Amani was able to have 6 grandpas in her blessing circle. It was amazing.

One of Dave and I's bestest friends, Paul Broadbent, was able to come up from Utah to celebrate with us. We were so excited to have him here. It was a blast! Thanks for coming, Paul! We love you!

Alright. This post only took me a week to finish! By the time this is finally posted, it is March 15th. :) Oh well, I am just glad I finally got it posted. Amani had her 2 month check up last week and she is 24 inches long! She definitely has her daddy's height. I had her weighed again yesterday and she is 12 lbs, 12 oz. She is getting so big, so fast! It is exciting! I will get some more pictures and will try and get them posted soon! :)

7 weeks old

2008-02-28T16:02:00.007-07:00

I know! I have been a slacker with the pictures! I went back to work last week, so I am never home and if I am, I am hangin out with Amani. So she is taking a nap right now so I thought I would post some pics real quick. Her blessing was 2 Sundays ago and I will post those pics later. She is growing up so fast. She is starting to get stronger and is starting to hold up her neck more. I can't believe it! She has started smiling more and I am getting more caught on camera. So here are a few pics from the last month! Oh, and no seizures since the medication was started! Yeah for phenobarbital twice a day!

She has started to giggle. It is so cute!

She loves to pose. She was lying on Dave's chest and this is just how she happened to position herself. She is so funny!

She does the funniest things with her hands.

Cutest outfit ever!

Yay! Smiles on camera!

3 weeks

2008-02-01T21:31:00.000-07:00

I figured it was time for some more pictures. Amani has been doing really well the last couple weeks. Still no seizures or any problems there. We are getting her medication dosing figured out and she is starting to get used to it so she isn't as sleepy all the time. She is starting to wake up and play more. I have been lucky and gotten a couple smiles on camera but it is hard to catch it when it happens. She giggles a lot-especially when she is sleeping. She is hilarious and keeps me and Dave laughing all the time.

One of the rare times I catch a smile. This is with my camera phone so the quality isn't as good but I am glad I caught it.

This is my favorite outfit she has right now. It has cute little bugs! She looked so cute so I had a get a picture. And I am a sucker for hats-I love them! She always has hat hair. But, it is okay because it has been so cold here and she has needed them to keep her head warm. Win-win situation! Hooray!

I caught half a smile with my camera.

She is a very calm baby (luckily!) She likes to just lay on the couch, look around, and hang out with mommy!

Bath time! She looked so cute wrapped up in her towel yesterday that I had to get a picture. If it looks like she is smiling a little, it is because she just peed all over Dave. It was hilarious! She loves taking baths-she likes to splash with her feet. She just gets mad when you start to scrub her with soap-it is her personal time and mommy ruins it!

We are looking forward to her blessing on the 17th. We are excited to see everyone!

Week #1

2008-01-18T19:16:00.000-07:00

Just born! So cute!

Our new little family

She always keeps her hands up by her face.

She was holding her binky in her mouth with one hand and was sleeping with her arm across her eyes to block out the light. She is so funny!

Coming home from the hospital the first time

1st Sunday

Our little thug

This is from our camera phone so not the best quality but so cute! And yes, that is an iv in her arm. For those that don't know, we had a stressful first week. Monday night, our little girl had a little episode where she flushed red, started to twitch, went limp, and stopped breathing. It was very scary for Dave and I. She had 2 more episodes like this before we got to the doctor on Tuesday. She then had an episode for the doctor and he decided to admit her to the hospital. After many tests (head CT, lumbar puncture, lab draws, urine caths, EEG) they discovered she had a seizure disorder. She now must take phenobarbital for the next couple years. Dave had this same type of thing as a baby and it went away, so we believe that hers will go away too. We are lucky to have good insurance and a good family to help us through this. She was such a little trooper through all the tests and the whole adventure.

She was using her iv arm and the board as a weapon! Watch out for the swinging arm!

So cute!

We came home from the hospital today. It is nice to be home! I will try and keep pictures coming as I get them! Thanks to everyone for their caring phone calls and support through this tough first week! We love you all!

Amani Jo Empey

2008-01-10T19:50:00.000-07:00

Here is our beautiful new daughter-Amani Jo Empey. She was born January 10.2008 at 17:07, 20 1/2 inches long, and weighed 7 lbs, 12 oz. She had her tongue discovered right after birth and loves to play with it. Here are just a few pictures from today. My 13-year old sister was taking pictures for us and did a pretty good job. My dad got some really good ones, so as soon as I can get them on my computer, I will post them. I just figured I would put what I had on here for the Empey family asap! :)

Right after birth

Proud Daddy

Proud (and tired) Mommy

Mom and Dad Empey, Granpda Nelson, Daddy, and Amani

After her bath-she loves to keep her fists around her face

Decent amount of light brown hair!

Halloween & Dave's Birthday

2007-11-07T08:49:00.000-07:00

Dave & I have had a fun week. The Monday before Halloween, we went over to Kris and Andy's for the annual Empey Halloween party. It was so fun to see all of the kids in their costumes. They were so adorable! I have the cutest nieces and nephews. I just wish all of them could have been there!

Emmaus so cute!

Eli the pirate

Hannah was such a pretty princess.

Nessie looked super sexy!

Eden the ballerina-I was lucky to get this picture-she was in mid-spin.

Tommy the power ranger

Emma the vampire princess

On Halloween, we went over to my parent's house and watched my brother and sisters get ready to go trick-or-treating. Dave and I then had to go to childbirth class. Those things are hilarious, but informative!

Sunday was Dave's 25th birthday. Mom, Dad, and Grandpa Nelson came up from Pocatello; Kris & Andy, Trina, and all the kids came over to my parent's house. We had dinner and cake and ice cream. It was lots of fun.

Dave and his new Yankee Mr. Potatohead.

Dave and his sisters-Kris & Trina

Dave & Mama Empey

My mom knew if she wanted a picture of me, she would have to do it when I didn't know what she was doing.

Then, I decided to at least let her get one decent picture. My best friend/twin brother, AJ, loves to put his hand on my belly. He has never felt her kick but he loves to try.

Pregnancy is going good. It is so nice to not wake up every morning and not be sick. Yeah for gallbladder surgery! Amani is getting bigger and more energetic. She wiggles and kicks most of the day. It is always fun to feel her move. Just 10 weeks left! The final countdown is on! I am so excited!

22 and 99

2007-10-07T11:31:00.000-06:00

This last week, we had the opportunity to celebrate my 22nd birthday and Grandpa Nelson's 99th birthday. I love being able to share the same birthday with him, just 77 years different. We had a party at my parent's house Thursday night. Trina and Kris and their kids came over with mom and Grandpa. It was a blast.

We had really good ice cream cakes from Coldstone-peanut butter perfection! I recommend it to everyone. Fabulous!!!

We also had a cake just for the 99 candles for Grandpa. It was amazing that they fit all the candles on there. It took awhile to light them.

By the time they brought the cake over to the table to me and Grandpa, half of the candles had melted into the cake. It made it even better. (and of course, we didn't eat it-yuck!)

We then blew out the candles on our individual cakes. Grandpa just kept laughing about everything. All the candles to blow out and all the cakes.

We opened presents. I got a beautiful statue from Mama Empey. It was one of those Willow Tree figurines. This was the one of a pregnant woman. It was beautiful.

My mom got me the 2 movies I had been wanting all week-Jungle Book and Fantastic 4-Rise of the Silver Surfer!

My sisters made me a candy posterboard! The sweetest present I got! It was so sweet and had so much meaning behind it. I got to get a picture with all the kids. It was an awesome birthday!

I just had to add this picture to the end. It is my favorite. Eden was playing with the spoon-you can hardly see it but it was the cutest picture and I had to add it.

And the flavor is....

2007-08-28T19:01:00.000-06:00

So today was my 20-week ultrasound!! I never thought this day would come and yet it has come so fast at the same time! Well, I have had the feeling it was a girl and everyone else has thought it was a boy! But, the mother instinct wins in the end, and it is a girl!!!! I am so excited! The ultrasound was amazing. It is crazy to see the baby that is living inside of you and seeing it move-which is exactly what it does all the time. The tech that was doing her ultrasound was having a hard time getting all the measurements that she needed because the baby wouldn't hold still long enough for to take the picture. And then when she would hold still for that random couple seconds, it was in the wrong position to see what we needed to see. It was funny but frustrating. It shows what I have to look forward to! We are going to name her Amani Jo and probably call her AJ. Amani is Swahili for peace. One of Dave's companions from his mission gave him the idea and he has loved it ever since. I think it is a cool name so we will go with it. The easiest way to describe how to say it is it is like Armani the designer without the r. I am excited because now I know to look at pink stuff instead of blue stuff. I am glad because girl stuff is so much cuter than boy stuff! Anyway, my due date is now January 13th and the ultrasound showed that she is looking to be a healthy little girl! I will keep everyone updated with any new info I get. I will also get our summer pictures posted on here soon because I have been kind of a slacker.

Guess What!

2007-07-07T09:58:00.000-06:00

For those of you that don't know, I am pregnant! Finally, I know! I finally hit that 12-week mark yesterday and decided that I could finally start telling a few people. No more secrets! We are so excited. We have had 3 ultrasounds (I know, I am super lucky!). The last one was this last Monday. It was so exciting to see how much the baby had grown in one month. It was cool to see that it had a face and arms and legs! We also got to hear the baby's heartbeat. That is amazing to hear. And yes, there is only one baby in there! (Luckily!) We are so excited. It all goes by so fast. I can't believe I already have a 1/3 of the way down. Just 6 months to go! :( We should know the sex of the baby by mid-September. As soon as we know, we will let everyone else know! I hope all is well with everyone! Happy summer!

Fun with the Family

2007-06-29T12:03:00.000-06:00

We have been able to spend lots of time with the Empey family lately and it has been awesome. Last weekend, we were able to spend time with Steve's family and Kari & J. It was so much fun! The funnest part was the giant water fight and how Steve and Dave soaked Dad! It was the greatest. I stood back and took pictures.

Kari was having fun spraying everyone

The ultimate tackle! Dave and Steve got dad onto the slip n' slide.

On the warpath!

Dad thought it was over! Not yet! And Heather better watch out or she will get drenched!

Dad, Steve, and Dave! Everyone was friends in the end!

Steve thought it would be fun to try and jump the water slide. It was hilarious!

Jason was having a hard time getting enough height to get over the hump so Steve helped him out!

It didn't take Jason long to get the air he needed! It was the greatest!

And I know it has been a long time since Memorial Day, but we were also able to spend time with Kari and J then too. We went up to Jason's parents house and rode 4-wheelers. Yes, that is what I said, 4-wheelers! I finally rode one for the first time in almost 3 years! It was so scary and it took all night to talk myself into it but I finally did it! One milestone down!

Kari and Dave-so sexy in those helmets!

Yeah for me! And don't worry! I wore a helmet!

Jakey is so cute!!!!!! I can't believe how fast he is growing! I love being able to see him more often! And of course, it is good to see Kari and J too!

Las Vegas!

2007-05-28T21:38:00.000-06:00

Here is a montage from our trip with Ty and Trish to Vegas. I tried to put it right on my blog like everyone else but mine is retarded! I don't know what is going on. Kari and Kristin even tried to help me and they said mine is retarded. So here is what I got!
We had a blast. We got to go to the shark reef at Mandalay Bay and to all the different hotels and shops. Plus we got to eat good food! Dave's favorite is the first picture with the giant piece of jerky! It was awesome! Anyway, here it is! :)

Fiesta de la Vegas

Lava Hot Springs

2007-05-13T16:10:00.000-06:00

Last weekend, we went down to Pocatello and then to Lava with Ty & Trish. Saturday morning, Ty cooked us an Idaho breakfast. Pancakes and garbage hash! Of course, Ty is a master at making pancakes and had to make some cool ones for us. He made me a baseball and bat. Then he made the sweetest one of all!

New York Yankees symbol pancake! He is amazing!

Saturday night, we went to Lava. We weren't hungry when we got there so we played some shadow ball. It was a blast!

Then, we went out to dinner and walked around to a couple of shops. Then, we went and sat in the hot tub and stayed up and watched a movie. It was a great weekend and we had a blast! We are excited to be leaving today to go to Vegas for a week! Hooray!

Fun with Friends

2007-04-27T17:00:00.000-06:00

It has been a long time since I posted so I decided I needed to catch up. Not much has been going on here. Dave is almost finished with the semester so he is excited about that. I have just been workin'. We are definitely looking forward to summer! John and Audrey moved in 2 apartment buildings down from us and we are so glad to have them so close! Last Sunday, we had a barbecue with them and our other new friends, James and Kara. They live directly across the parking lot from us. It was tons of fun. James is from Tennessee and is a master on the grill. It was amazing! He is such a good cook!

Here is all of the food that James cooked for us. Salmon, burgers, chicken, hot dogs, and bacon-wrapped asparagus! (I didn't try the asparagus, but Dave said it was delicious!)

John volunteered to let us use his new grill. It was sweet!

Here is the grill-master, James!

We are so excited to have John and Audrey close and to have our new friends, James and Kara, right across the parking lot! There are definitely more good times to come with them!

Now, the countdown is down to 2 weeks until we leave for Vegas with Ty & Trish! We are gettin' so excited!

Happy Easter!

2007-04-09T16:39:00.000-06:00

Dave and I had a great weekend. John and Audrey moved in 2 apartment buildings down from us. We are so excited to have them so close! Hooray! Dave and I are dog-sitting this weekend again so my family could go to Mesquite and see my grandpa. So John and Audrey came over to my parent's house Friday night and we barbecued and watched movies. It was way fun. Saturday, Dave and I went down to Pocatello and spent the day with Ty and Trish. We went shopping and played frisbee at the park. I love spring and summer. It was nice to get out and enjoy the nice weather.

Ty was attacking Trish with his feelers! Ha, ha!

We went to Mama Inez and had nachos and margaritas! That is my type of meal!!!!! It was awesome!

Trish and her sister, Alysa, shared a margarita! Oh how cute!

Then we went to "Blades of Glory." That movie is hilarious! I love Will Ferrell and Jon Heder!

Sunday, we celebrated Easter with the family and had fun with the nieces and nephews.

Roscoe wanted to tell everyone "Happy Easter!" :)

Chillin with the Boys & St. Patrick's Day

2007-03-18T21:33:00.000-06:00

We have had a fun week. Dave went to Salt Lake City with Ty to see their friend, Lil' Dave, from high school. They went to the batting cages and ordered a giant pizza. It was 26 inches. It is crazy!

Here is Lil' Dave hiding under the massive pizza box.

They are so silly when they are together.

Lil' Dave is finally the tallest one for the only time in his life!

Friday and Saturday, we went to Pocatello to see Kari and Jason. It was so nice to hang out with them! Jakey is getting so big so fast! We got to celebrate St. Patrick's Day with Mama Empey and the family. It was tons of fun!

Ty is such a pretty leprechaun.

Dave and his crazy "shenanigans!"

I was ridin the scooters in the garage in my sweet hat!

We had a great weekend! I love holidays! It was great to see everyone!

Baseball Season is finally here!

2007-03-04T17:30:00.000-07:00

Spring training started this last week! Ty came over this weekend and left us a little note on our white board. It definitely won't be erased until October. The gospel of Ty! Definitely one of my favorite scriptures!

Snowboarding

2007-03-04T17:24:00.000-07:00

With all the new snow we got this last week, Dave was excited to go to his snowboarding class on Friday. The snow was decent and that is saying alot considering that he was boarding at Kelly Canyon. He got some cool pictures of the jumps. He had lots of fun. Although, he didn't look like it when he got back. He got into a fight with a rainbow rail and the rail won. The price people pay to have fun!

Dog-sitting & Seeing old friends

2007-02-19T20:00:00.000-07:00

I love holiday weekends! It is so much fun to sit around and do nothing. Dave and I got to dog-sit this weekend so that is exactly what we did. We did go and visit some people we hadn't seen in awhile. Friday night, we went out to dinner with some of Dave's friends from his mission. I was a loser and forgot my camera. But, luckily, Paul had his and we got some pictures so as soon as he emails them to me, I will post them.

Saturday, Dave and I drove up to Rexburg and visited Dave's cousin, John, and his wife, Audrey. Their little boy, Austin, is the cutest boy ever! He is growing up so fast!

It took him awhile to warm up to me but eventually we was smiling for me and playing with me! He is so adorable!

He warmed up enough to me to finally go to sleep.

Sunday and Monday, we just relaxed, watched tv, and played with the dogs.

I think Dave spent a little too much time with them! :)

We had a fun weekend. It was nice to relax. As soon as I get the other pictures, I will post them!

Party Weekend!

2007-02-05T15:39:00.000-07:00

This weekend was full of fun stuff. Friday night, my brother and sisters spent the night at our apartment. It was tons of fun. We got pizza and junk food and played games and watched movies. We all kinda got crazy but I did get pics of a few crazy moments.

Justin took my neck massager and put it on his head. He is so crazy sometimes! But so funny!

A night isn't complete if Dave doesn't put food on his face to create a masterpiece of licorice eyebrows and mustache!

Sydney and Justin are always willing to take funny pictures!

Dave & Ami snuggling together. Aw, cute!

Darby isn't into the whole silly picture thing!

Perfect Blue Steel! They look better than Ben Stiller!

Saturday night, we went to my cousin, Kira's house to celebrate her birthday. I can't believe she is 19! It was fun to see her and her husband, Tim.

She looks so cute with her little pregnant belly! She is going to be such a great mom!

My cousin, Neal, and his wife, Angie. It was so good to see them again. They are always at school!

A night with my Uncle Boyd isn't complete until he has pulled a cop move on me and I end up in some kind of restraint.

Lucky me! I got prisoner shackles! They were actually really fun to run around in. Although, I wouldn't want to be put in them for the real reason!

Quick Update

2007-01-22T19:07:00.000-07:00

Just an update on our lives. Nothin really exciting going on. I started my new job last week. For those that don't know, I work on 2nd floor now in Day Surgery, AM Admit, Endoscopy, and Recovery Room. I have about 4 weeks of orientation in each area. Right now I am working in Day Surgery. I take care of people after quick surgeries such as ear tubes and getting tonsils out, etc. Next I will go to AM Admit where I will admit patients before surgery. I am really excited. It is so much better than working nights on 5th where I was. The people I work with are awesome and the job is great.
Dave has gotten back into school. He is taking Spanish, Critical Writing, Intro to Music and (of course, his hard classes) Snowboarding, Dutch Oven Cooking, and Individualized PE. He doesn't start the last 2 until the 2nd part of the semester. And of course, he isn't complaining.
As for social lives, we haven't been doing much. This last weekend, we got to have some fun. We went to Pocatello for the heck of it. We went out to dinner with Mom and Dad and their friends and then went to "Night at the Museum" (Loved It!) with Mom, Dad, and Ty. Saturday, Mom and I went shopping while Dad and Dave did boy stuff. Saturday night, we went to dinner with Mom & Dad and Ty & Trish and then watched a movie. It was a fun weekend. It was nice to get away! I will keep you updated on our oh so exciting lives!

I Love Christmas Time!

2007-01-01T19:50:00.000-07:00

Christmas was a blast this year. I got some of the cutest pictures of our nieces and nephews. We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with my family and then we headed down to Poky to spend the rest of the day. The kids all have grown so much and look so cute!

Hannah and Brookie in their matching outfits and dolls. So cute!

Eli and Ty couldn't get enough of the computer. But they were kind enough to take a break to give me a nice picture. They are growing up so fast!

Josh was so fun to take pictures of. Luckily, I was able to get a couple while he was sitting in the highchair eating his dinner.

He is so adorable!

Unfortunately, Dave and I had to work a little bit last week so we weren't able to spend as much time as we wanted to with everyone. But, the trip to the Teton Spectrum Raceway was a blast. It was fun to watch the kids driving the cars, but even more fun to watch the adults drive the cars. I had fun getting cute pictures of the babies.

Isn't Eden the hottest baby on the block with my sunglasses on?

It was fun to just hang out with Jake since I don't get to see him much. I love his eyes!

This week was a blast. We definitely miss hanging out with everyone and seeing our nieces and nephews!

Salt Lake City - Here we come!

2006-12-17T23:43:00.000-07:00

This weekend, me, Dave, Ty, and Trish went down to the SLC. We decided that it was our weekend to just have fun since the idiots that are still in school just finished with finals! (Haha, sucks for them!) I also needed a break because I got my wisdom teeth out earlier this month and worked all week. So we all needed a fun getaway!
We went to Rodizio's for lunch on Saturday.

I have decided that it is the best restaurant in the world. For those that have never been there, it is all-you-can-eat meat. There is a small salad bar, but you learn not to waste your time there. They give you a little wood thing that has a green side and a red side that tells the meat servers if you want some more. They come to your table and slice pieces off of tons of different kinds of meat with different seasonings. It is so good!

I would have to say the best thing there though is the roasted pineapple. It doesn't sound good at first but it is soooooooooo good! I couldn't stop eating it!

We also got some really cool drinks. Ty & Trish got strawberry-mango fruit juice and Dave & I got raspberry-coconut fruit juice. It sounds kinda weird but it was really good.

Trish & I couldn't keep up with the boys, but we sure did try.

Dave & Ty eventually had their fill of meat. I thought we were gonna have to roll them out of there on stretchers. But, they got up the energy to walk out on their own (barely).
We decided to walk off all the food by walking the 6 blocks from our hotel to Temple Square to see the lights. I loved seeing all the different nativity scenes from all of the different countries.

Of course, our favorite was the African nativity scene.

This was my favorite view of the temple with the lights. They were beautiful, as always, and it was fun to see them again.

Back on the Mountain

2006-12-17T23:21:00.000-07:00

Last Monday, Dave got to go snowboarding at Pomerelle. He was so excited to finally be back rippin it up on the snow. He went with Ty (of course) and they had a blast.

Here is Ty takin the jump. That is some sweet air!

Here is Dave takin the jump too. I have respect for them for this because I dunno if I could ever take a jump and not fall flat on my face.

He has such nice form! Looks like a pro!

This is such a beautiful pose, I couldn't help but show everyone. I keep tellin him he needs to go down the mountain like that. He could attract lots of ladies! :)

Dave & Ty - Need I Say More

2006-11-27T18:16:00.000-07:00

It amazes me what can happen when these 2 get together. If only I could comprehend how their minds work! This weekend's adventure was to take a golf cart and chase geese.

Dave practiced hanging off the side so he could be a pro when it came time to try and catch a goose!

They are so funny! I wonder what they will come up with next!

So cute!

2006-11-27T18:03:00.000-07:00

We got to take care of my brother and sister, Justin and Ami, the other night. Of course, the first thing they did was head to our Gamecube. They just looked so cute sharing the couch, playing Nintendo that I had to get a picture.

Man of Many Faces

2006-11-27T17:49:00.000-07:00

I have discovered that I live with a man of many faces. I only wish that I could take pictures of all of them. But here are just a few from our outing to Sizzler last week.

This one is my favorite! He is so crazy!

Popcorn & Cars

2006-11-19T22:52:00.000-07:00

Such a nice combo, I know. Yesterday was the big craft fair in Idaho Falls; which meant selling popcorn for the family business. We had to be at the school by 6:30 to set-up and stayed until 6 to take down. But, hey, at least we had something good to eat while we sat there suffering. Although, when you are around it that much, it really isn't that good anymore! We sold 3 kinds: kettle corn, dill pickle, and snowy chocolate. Don't worry, we plan on bringing some stuff to Thanksgiving for those that will be around. We might be able to save some for Christmas, but I can't guarantee anything! :)

The other big thing that has happened lately is that we got a new car!

We sold Dave's blazer and got a 2003 Toyota Camry. It was a sad day for Dave to sell his Blazer and get a car instead of an SUV, but he got over it when we realized how sweet our new car is and the deal we got on it. What a trooper! But, how could he not get over it so fast! It is so sweet!

I also realized that I haven't posted pictures of our apartment on here. So here are a couple pictures of our living room.

It isn't totally done yet, but at least it is something, right?! I will put more on here as I get creative. :)

Dave's 24th Birthday!

2006-11-05T14:30:00.000-07:00

Yes, Dave is old, and the only thing Dad has to tell him is that he makes him feel really old. "My baby is 24! Do you know what that does to me?" We had a good weekend. Friday night, we went out to dinner with my family to Texas Roadhouse and then Dave opened some of his presents at my parent's house. Then, Saturday, we went to Pocatello. Dave went shopping with Ty and Tricia and Emma helped me decorate the living room with balloons and birthday stuff to surprise Dave with. Then, mom and I went shopping to buy the last few things for him. Then, the fun started. We brought Grandpa Nelson over and Ty came over and Dave started opening his presents.

They are the cutest couple!

Mom got him a sweet leather jacket. It looks very nice on him!

Here is the new Cowboys gear!

Slim Thug Doug

Grandpa was the most excited that I have ever seen him! :)

I have nothing to say about this! Should I be worried?

My Birthday

2006-10-27T22:46:00.000-06:00

I know that my birthday was like a month ago and it is almost Dave's birthday now but I thought I would post a few pics from it because it was an awesome day. I was able to celebrate it with everyone that I love! Hooray!
We went over to Kristin's house for cake and ice cream before going out to dinner with my parents. It is so fun to have the same birthday as Grandpa Nelson. He is so hilarious!

Mom made an awesome cake. Okay, well, she had an awesome cake made. It was sweet though. It was fun to see me and Grandpa's ages on there. It doesn't feel like that big of an age difference until you put it on a cake. Then, it is nuts!

It was fun to blow out the candles together. Grandpa said he was just glad we didn't set off any fire alarms. He said he knew we would have if the real amount of candles were on there. It was funny.

It is fun to see the kids too. I can't believe how fast they grow! Emmaus is gettin so big and she is so cute!

The day after my birthday, I got to go out to dinner with some of my bestest friends from high school.

Brian and Brandon got home from their missions that week, and I was able to go out to dinner with them to celebrate their coming home and my birthday. It was so fun to see them and to hear about their missions. It was such a blast! My birthday was totally awesome!

Night Out

2006-10-21T08:35:00.000-06:00

So, I got off work about 45 minutes ago and I didn't want to go to sleep yet. So I decided to tackle this blog thing again. The blog and I don't get along very well lately, at least when it comes to the whole video thing. I made this really cool one too with some sweet music that fit the mood perfectly, but I tried to post it and it totally messed up my blog. So I decided to go back to the old fashioned way of just putting the pictures on one-by-one! Oh, tough life I have! :)

Anyway, I have a lot of blogging to catch up on but I will start with the most recent because that is what I have here right now. Last weekend, Dave and I got to see our bestest friends in the entire world: Ty and Tricia! Hooray! It was awesome! We went out to dinner at a mexican place here in Idaho Falls and then messed around town. It was a blast! Although, I know we were getting some crazy looks, it was totally worth it! It just amazes me the things we can find to entertain us here!

I have noticed that I like to pull out the camera at random times and take random pictures and so does Dave. So here is our 2 random car pictures. Those seem to be our favorite!

Here is Dave with his favorite tiger book at Barnes and Noble. Doesn't he look just like it?! I am so proud! :)

Then we made our way to Toys R Us where the real fun started!

Dave decided he wanted to be a little girl with pink hair for Halloween.

Tyler has hidden his talent of being a rockstar from us for all this time! He finally showed his true talent on the Barbie guitar. It definitely left us all speechless! :)

Dave decided he wanted to be mean and threaten to beat me with the bat. Luckily, I had the batting helmet on! It saved my life!

Although, I got him back later when he least expected it.

Then, Tricia and I decided to show the boys who really ran the show around here! That set things straight for good! Pretty intimidating! I wouldn't mess with us either!

The whole weekend was awesome and fun as is every weekend we get to spend with our bestest friends ever! We definitetly miss not having them closer! Well, that is the most recent update on the lives of Dave and Trista. Not much going on, just work and school with the occasional Toys R Us trip! :)

Sweet furniture!

2006-09-07T21:31:00.000-06:00

We are now in our new apartment. We are so excited and it is really awesome. We don't get our living room furniture for 2 weeks so we are making do with what we have.

All we need is bean bags and plastic storage containers and we are set!

The only thing that matters to us is that our Nintendo controller cords reach! It totally rocks!

I am starting to think I should just cancel the couches and keep my living room the way it is because it is so sweet! But then I come back to reality! I will put more pics of the apartment on here once we get things put away but I couldn't resist showing everyone my sweet furniture!

Summer's over!

2006-08-22T20:42:00.000-06:00

Well, it finally hit me today that summer is pretty much over. So I figured I would put pictures on here of a couple of the fun things we did.

We hiked the Monument hike in Darby Canyon. I didn't realize how out of shape I was until halfway up the mountain. That is when it really hit me! It was a blast though to spend time with both of our families!

Dave went to Yellowstone with his friends last week. Of course, I had to work but it turned into a good boy's outing. He got some good pictures that I just had to post up here.

The bear was having a stare down with Dave. I think the bear probably won too. He looks kinda scary!

I knew that when Dave got back, there would be some kind of crazy picture. So here it is. Dave, Ty, and little Dave snuggling up to the big bear. Ty insisted on trying to hold Dave's hand! How cute, I know!

I saved the best pictures for last! The Empey family reunion was the best! Of course, since we don't have our own kids, I had to take pictures of all the nieces and nephews and put them on here!

Captain Pirate Hannah!

This is one of the only pictures I could get of Jakey smiling at me. Most of the time, he just looked at me like I was stupid for trying to take his picture! But this one is so adorable!

Nessie's cute girl skull-she did so good!

Dave found a good way to get Tommy's energy out! Those scooter things are the sweetest. But, me, Kari, and J are the ruling champions of the scooters. We are amazing on them if I say so myself!

Eden is so adorable! She has the cutest eyes of them all!

I couldn't resist getting a picture of this! Grandpa Nelson and Emmaus spending quality time together!

Watch out for Karate Kid Haven! She will judo chop you!

Twins? Hmmm........

Dave started school yesterday so now he is a big full-time college student! I am so proud! :) Not that I am jealous! Ha, ha!
Oh, and one last piece of news, Dave and I got an apartment yesterday. So we will be moving out of my parent's house within the next 2 weeks. I will take pictures and post them as soon as we move in!

Teton Valley

2006-07-30T22:50:00.000-06:00

Today we went up to Teton Valley and played with my uncle and his family. We went and picked huckleberries up in the mountains and cooked hot dogs on a little camping stove. We had a blast!

Dave and my sister Sydney posing for the camera!

I can't believe I am putting this picture on here, but Dave told me I had too. Gotta love a picture of myself scarfing down a hot dog!

We also taught Dave one of my family's longest running traditions: the art of the "nigger-toe throw." A "nigger-toe" (I don't know their real name) looks like a cattail but smaller: perfect for throwing. We have big wars as we are driving along the mountain trails. It can get pretty violent. I came home with some dandy welts. It is a blast though!

I love how beautiful it is there. I wouldn't mind just staying up there all the time! (until we get snowed in and can't go anywhere, then I might change my mind!)

2006-07-29T23:36:00.000-06:00

So I decided today that I live with the most random people on the face of the planet. We went out to dinner to a Thai food place and this is what happens.

Dave decided to be a warthog today!

Then he decided to pick his nose with the fortune cookies!

And it isn't just him! My parents are the same way! I am surrounded by craziness!
Then he saw the check!

It really wasn't that bad, but Dave (aka the Monopoly guy) decided to throw me off and make me think it was more than it really was.
If you are thinking this is a silly moment, you are wrong. This is my everyday life!

2006-07-24T18:11:00.000-06:00

Well, I think I got it this blog thing mostly figured out. Not much has been going on with us. I will admit that I am addicted to blogspot. I check everyone's blogs all the time to see if there is anything new! So thanks all y'all that have them! We are getting really excited to see everyone at the Empey reunion. It should be a blast! Nothin much exciting is going on here. Dave is still workin with kids that are as he says "around his IQ level" and I am getting used to my new job as a nurse. I work night shifts from 7 pm to 7 am. It isn't too bad. This is what Dave does when he isn't at work and while I am sleeping during the day. Just sits in the pool with the kids and the dog! What a life!

2006-07-23T23:57:00.000-06:00

Hey Everybody! We decided to follow the trend and hop on the blog train! This is all really new to us so we will see if we did it right. Thanks to all y'all that have blogs so we can keep up on what is going on!