Addicted...

I never considered myself a big reader...until NOW! I am in love with this series of books by Stephenie Meyer. I have become a true TWILIGHT fan! I am counting down for the release of book 4 on August 2nd and a bunch of us Twilight Fans are going to the MIDNIGHT RELEASE PARTY FOR BREAKING DAWN ON AUGUST FIRST AT BARNES & NOBLE!!! I can't wait! I never thought a book could bring me so much excitement, but until you read it yourself you won't understand...So go get the books and start reading and join the fun!!!!!!!!!!!!

Summer Fun

We've had such a fun summer so far. Just like her mommy, Evelyn loves to be in the water and playing with friends. Here's some snap shots of her having fun this summer.

Sink Baths

Call me lazy, but giving a bath EVERY SINGLE NIGHT to Evelyn has just gotten so exhausting! First of all - I probably waste WAY too much water by filling up the tub for her to play in and second of all - who wants to bend over and be on their knees for 30 minutes...not to mention with a growing belly in the way!? I have decided that the good old fashioned sink bath is the way to go! Evelyn seems to enjoy it too! I don't have to be on my knees and kill my back by bending over and the best part is that she gets to play with the hose attached to the sink and she loves it!

The 24 Week Belly

There really is a baby in there! I feel like I am finally getting out of the "I just look fat" phase of the pregnancy!!! Claire is a half-baked little baby and she is growing fast and getting stronger. Sometimes I think she's putting on a circus in my belly with all the kicking and squirming that she does. But I love it and I am feeling great - minus the TONS of weight I have already gained - jeepers - and I know I had Fred Flinstone feet to begin with, but they are really starting to look short, fat and stubby these days!!! Evelyn is getting cuter the bigger I get...she'll come up to me and pat the belly and say "baby" in her cute little voice. Then she'll lean in and give my belly a kiss! She is already a great big sister!

I am hooked...

Who doesn't love a good bubble bath every now and then? Well yesterday, I was in desperate need of one! My good husband came home from work early and relieved me of my extremely stressful day yesterday and I called a girlfriend up and we went to Cold Stone to get some YUMMY chocolate ice cream (just what a girl needs when she is stressed and pregnant!) and then we went shopping!

We hit Bath and Body Works and spent a good hour in the store walking around and smelling all the yummy smells! She introduced me to a flavor I hadn't tried yet and I am hooked on it! It's the Japanese Cherry Blossom scent. I got it in bubble bath and the lotion. After a couple hours of 'girl time' it was time for us to get back to reality so we went home. I had to rush to get dinner on the table and then I rushed to fill 250 water balloons for my youth activity. I was out the door and on time to the activity which was a blast and the youth had a great time playing games and ending the night with a wild water balloon fight!!

Needless to say, when I got home, my voice hurt from yelling, my feet hurt from running and my back hurt - well - because I am pregnant and it just hurts! Thank goodness for what was to come - a nice bubble bath was waiting for me with my name on it! Then I got a foot rub from the hubby dearest and all with my new Japanese Cherry Blossom stuff! I love it and I was lulled to sleep by some sweet aromas!

Introducing Claire Abigail Lindsay

This was taken Friday the 20th and I was in my 21st week of the baking process!! If you look closely you can see her waving - isn't she so cute??

I'm so glad when daddy comes home!

Almost every day, Evelyn and I are either out on the porch waiting for Gordon (daddy) to get home or we are in the house, but the front door is open and Evelyn patiently waits and watches for him through the glass storm door. It's the highlight of my day to watch how excited she gets when daddy comes home! She goes nuts and starts inhaling and doing this high pitch squeaky sound - it's hilarious! He is an amazing dad and has been since day one! He plays with her, rolls on the floor with her, tickles her, gives her horsey rides on his back, feeds her, changes her, puts her to bed, reads to her, prays with her and most of all he LOVES her! I love watching him be the dad he loves to be!
We love you daddy!!!

To my dad, my hero

I don't even know where to begin - I guess that's why I am a day late - but I want to wish my dad a Happy Father's Day! I have so many amazing stories and memories about my life that would have never happened to me if it weren't for you, dad. You gave me and my sister's a life of fun and memorable experiences that I will never forget!! Thanks to you I have a LOVE of water and being out on our boat and skiing and wake boarding and knee boarding and tubing. I wish we could rewind time and go back to the days when we would spend weeks - even months - at the Colorado River. I miss the Avenger and I miss the Hallett. I love that you made it possible for us to travel the country and experience camping and hiking in the summers and snow skiing and snow mobiling in the winters. I love our road trips in the Southwind and all the places that I have been able to be. I love our "RULE" - you can tell me anything and I won't get mad and I can tell you anything and you won't get mad. You have helped through my trials and oppositions and you have always made me smile! I know with out a doubt that you love me and would do anything in the world for me and I wish I could share more memories and time with you now that I have a family. You are the best grandpa to Evelyn and I LOVE THAT!!! She knows your laugh and she loves to play with you! We can't wait to see you in a few more days and I hope you had a great Father's Day! I love you dad!

This is the BEST!! FOR ALL MOMS!!!

Pause MY TUNES to listen to this video called "Because I am the MOM!"

Precious Moments!

We LOVE LOVE LOVE going into Evelyn's room to check on her before we head off to bed ourselves. We have to hold back the laughter everytime because we always find her in the cutest and funniest sleeping positions! We love it! Here are some favorites...

No matter what the weather...

Here is my wonderful husband fullfilling the cravings of his pregnant wife. The other night we had some thunderstorms and rain and it was almost time for dinner. Lately NOTHING sounds good to eat to me so when something does sound good - I want it. Well...I wanted a hot dog, but it had to be grilled not boiled. I said "Honey, will you plllleeeeeeeaaaase make me a hot dog? You always make them so good and nothing else sounds good for dinner!"
............................



................He is so good to me. I love you babe!

A little late - but they have arrived!!!

Here are my new pots and pans from Pampered Chef! I am so pumped!! I LOVE THEM! They are exactly what I wanted and after almost 7 years of marriage - I finally have a set that will last a lifetime!

Evelyn update...

So the drama continued on through the night and the next morning...we set our alarms to get her up every three hours to give her Tylenol and Motrin. She finally was able to sleep from about 5am -9:30am. Once she got up we went to see the Dr. She has since lost about a pound and a half (from the throwing up and diarhea) and the Dr. wanted to test her urine to see if she had an infection or bacteria...well, I don't know about other kids, but my 16 month old is not potty trained and can't pee on command in a cup - so they had to do a catheter. OH NO! I did not want to be the one to pin my little angel down nor did I want to be in ear shot of her cries so I opted to leave the room and wait out in the lobby until it was all over and then I would go in and rescue her. Well, a 5 minute procedure felt like eternity to a worried and sleep deprived mommy. Finally, the nurse got me and I went to save Evelyn. I held her and within seconds she was happy again. Her temp was down to 97.6 and I was told that the urine test should be in by Friday or Saturday. I got the call today with the results of one test that they ran on her urine and she has a little bit of bacteria in it, but nothing to be concerned about. The other test comes in tomorrow and I should get a call then.

Today, Evelyn woke up singing and talking like normal (music to a mother's ears) and she has been doing ok with eating meals. She still has some dia-nasty to get out of her system still (it smells so bad it made me dry heave this morning - I KNOW...NASTY!!) Her temp is pretty much normal and I think we'll be just fine for the weekend. PHEW! Glad it's all coming to an end!!

105. WHAT?!?!

So, for the last 48 hours I have been tending to a sick little girl who has had a fever ranging from 102.4-103.5. Well, tonight it topped at 105.1! It's going on midnight and my husband is out and about getting Motrin (which I didn't have in stock) because our Ped told us to rotate Motrin with Tylenol every 3 hours tonight. After 2 luke warm baths and a couple of throw ups later...she is finally sleeping. My heart is full as I sit here and take comfort in two things - 1. that she is finally resting and 2. the power of the priesthood. My father-n-law readily accepted to speed over to our house at 11:00 tonight to asist Gordon in giving Evelyn a blessing. The sweet spirit that filled our home was overwhelming as I was comforted in knowing that she would be ok. I rocked her and sang to her and whispered in her ear that I loved her and I know that she'll sleep and rest because she received a blessing. My faith has been increased and even though my shirt and my carpet smells like throw-up -- I know we will survive the night and be better tomorrow.

Sugar & Spice & Everything Nice...

...That's what little GIRLS are made of!!

We are SO excited and can't wait to have another little GIRL! Poor daddy is going to be completely outnumbered!! Our Dr. appointment went well today - she is growing and is healthy as can be. We'll post the sonogram pictures soon. Thanks for being excited with us!!!!!!!

Dallas, Texas Trip

We are finally back home! Evelyn and mommy went to Dallas, TX to visit family and we had a GREAT trip! We stayed at my Aunt and Uncle's house in Flowermound, then spent some time with my sister Jill and new brother-n-law, Ryan, and then we went to Tyler, TX and spent time with my cousin Melanie and her new hubby Jeffrey. We went out on my uncle's new boat - Evelyn and mommy went tubing - and we went shopping and we went to the Tyler Zoo and we went to some parks and to the pool...we had such a fun time with everyone and Evelyn was such a trooper going from place to place with little or no naps!! She was practically perfect on both flights and I think the only downside to our trip was our allergies! Evelyn and I both started sniffling and sneezing the moment we got there and that wasn't fun to be stuffed up and with allergies the whole time. But other than that - it was great! We missed daddy and we are so glad to be back home. Evelyn helped me unpack this morning and I am still finding things that were in the suit case that she has placed randomly around the house. At this rate, I will be unpacking all day!!!!! There's no place like home and next time - daddy is coming with us!!!!!!!

Bath time giggles

Daddy gave Evelyn a bath tonight and they had FUN - no surprise there! I heard them laughing and giggling in the bathroom for about 10 minutes until I finally decided that I had to get the camera and go in to check out what was so funny. I walk in the bathroom to find this:
(Pause music to hear video)

Bring out the big guns!

My brother-n-law, Nathan, lives in Utah and I was talking to him last night and he reminded me of an awesome experience I had on one of our trips out west with him. We were in Utah for my sister's wedding and we needed a place to stay for one night so we crashed with Nathan. We had a little time to kill so Nathan took us shooting. I've been around guns before, but never had the grand opportunity to shoot one. Nathan recorded my experience shooting one of his rifles and I have to say - it was probably one of the coolest things I have ever done in my life! SCARY, but cool! I haven't been able to share the video with anyone because the file is too big, but thanks to BLOGGER, I can post video clips. So here's me shooting a rifle and having a blast!
Pause the music to get sound from the video.

YUMMY!

Make a Smilebox postcard

YUMMY!

Make a Smilebox postcard

YUMMY!

Make a Smilebox postcard

California Girl Here...

I was born and raised in southern California and the weather there was just always perfect and sunny. I think one time it snowed when I was in elementary school and as soon as the snow hit the asphalt - it melted. We had some winds that got up to pretty high speeds, but for the most part I never experienced conditions like last nights storm. I will be honest and say that even though I had my husband there with me and we said our prayers to be watched over...I was scared. I don't like thunder when it shakes the house and I certainly don't like to see HOT PINK on the radar right over my house!! By the way, the HOT PINK means tornado!! We had hail and rain and winds and thunder and lightning - all mixed together created a terrible storm that I couldn't fall asleep to. Around 11pm a loud crack of lightning followed by the roars of thunder, Evelyn woke up crying. I went in to get her ( I wanted to get her anyways in case we had to hide in the bathroom) and we sat on the couch watching the news for about an hour. Holding her actually made me feel less anxious and more calm. She was completely relaxed in my arms and I kept whispering in her ear that mommy's here. She soothed my fears just by having her in my arms totally relaxed and comfortable without a fear in the world. We all finally went to bed around midnight and slept through the rest of the storm. I am glad it's all over and I woke up to birds chirping and blue skies.

At the park

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!


What can I say about this face?? She's SOO cute!

Evelyn is praying in her swing:
Please don't let me fall out! Please don't let me fall out!
Please don't let me fall out!