we are having a BABY!!!

we are 12 weeks pregnant and the baby is due
JULY 13th!!

we couldn't be more EXCITED!!

DAD

We have lot's of friends & family that follow our blog & read about our lives... but 1 of my favorite followers is my dad. I just wanted to post a shout out to him.

My dad is an incredible man! He is one of the hardest working people I have ever known. He is also one of the most intelligent people I know. He can figure out how to make or build or wire anything if you give him a few minutes. He is very creative and loves to design things like landscapes and BBQ islands and tile works (like his amazing shower). He is an excellent cook and enjoys concocting new recipes .. some of my favorites are squasage (a corn, squash, and sausage mixture) and various marinades for steak and chicken. My dad is also very entertaining .. he is a really great storyteller. For as long as I can remember I've seen my dad reading his scriptures in the morning everyday. He loves the Gospel and never hesitates to let you know that. When us kids were little we would "frazzle" with my dad, basically a tag-team family wrestling match. He may be 48, but he still gets down and frazzles with Reedo.

Dad I love you and can't wait to see you for Christmas!

All in ONE update

1st up: Brian has an offer.

After weeks of interviewing, Brian charming the company with his wit, a fly back to Baltimore, and a lot of prayers, Brian was offered his first job by Black & Decker.


The Job: Leadership Development Program where Brian advances through 4 different jobs learning various skills. In a few years we hope for a corporate position.

The Benefits: A decent salary, dental/vision/medical/life insurance, a FAT '09 Chevy silverado, free gas card, free insurance and maintenance. This will be nice because the truck is for company and personal use SO we can use it for anything - even a cross country vacation!


2nd: Thanksgiving with the Hallows clan.

Unfortunately I was the worst at taking pictures and came home with only 2 that Dallyn took.
Brian and I brought down birthday presents for Dallyn and Reed from the older siblings. Danny and Ari gave Reed this wicked awesome gun set that shoots felt balls.

Brian and Reed kept each other occupied ...

Dallyn and I spent Thursday night in Walmart. It was a career first Black Friday for both of us. This is us at probably 3AM camping out. We scored some good deals ... can't list them though til Christmas!

Thanksgiving Menu:
Brett's Tri-tip on the Green Egg
Smoked turkey
Mama's secret recipe stuffing
Creamy mashed potatoes made with condensed milk
Corn with mo' butta
Green beans with even mo' butta
Butt crack dinner rolls
Brian's cranberry sauce
I scream you scream we all scream for
ice cream PIE
Lisa's apple pie

3rd: Ward Christmas Party

We had lot's of fun at our Ward Christmas Party. B & I were asked to sing with his parents at the party. We enjoyed good food, good friends, and good music. I was in charge of cupcakes. My target: the kids. I made a Christmas tree out of cupcakes. (At one point there was more candy underneath to look like presents.)

4th: The Santa Run

About a month ago Ari and I decided to do the 5k Santa run. We had a training plan - it failed miserably. I do not do well running - Ari does. We had lot's of fun though! I LOVED running it with Ari.

We started the run Jolly & Merry.

The Grinch made an appearance.

There were lot's of running Santas


This is how we ended the race!



5th: History of Creativity Project

I built a "gingerbread castle" using the architecture of the gothic cathedrals. The project started fun but ended in tears. I began the actual construction on Tuesday of last week with the goal of finishing Friday night. I ran into some serious setbacks: icing didn't work, icing that DID work ran out way too quickly, things took TOO long, etc.

By Sunday night I was sobbing while I glued on gum drops and candy canes. I didn't realize how loud I was crying .. pretty soon Brian and Britton came down stairs and helped me finish. I was SO grateful. I turned in the damn thing this morning and happily threw it in the garbage after my teacher had graded it.


I could continue updating all day long... but for now I need to finish the semester. 3 more days of classes, 1 week of finals. Then NO more classes as an undergrad. Just an internship, then a diploma, then hopefully lot's of $$$.

JEWELRY

Hey ... I found this cute jewelry site off of my friend Brittany's blog.

Go check it out ... there is a big jewelry give away this week! Super CUTE stuff!!

http://ardesigns.blogspot.com/

Wedding Day!

Making their first appearance as a married couple.... Mr. & Mrs. Bond


Ari was absolutely stunning! So Beautiful!!

The HALLOWS Family
(Dallyn, Me, Hot Husband Brian, Dad, Mom, Reed, Ari, Danny, Jarem, Lucy, Camilla, Sofie)

Me, Dallyn & Soapy

Me & Cousin Coco

Mimi, Soapy, Lulu

they call her GOOSE

Mr. Reed

Such a busy body

Gorgeous Ari & Gorgeous Gammy

Reed, Jarem, Danny, Ari, Dallyn, Me

Cousins, Aunts, Uncles, Grandma --- Hallows Clan


We had such a fAbULoUS weekend!

COUGARS!

way to go GOUGARS!!!

ELK

Each night when I leave work I make the commute home from Birdseye, Utah. I am absolutely terrified of Spanish Fork Canyon. BUT the thing is ... I worry about the sillier, less probable things that might happen to me... I panic when I drive through the ghost town that is left from the famous mudslide in Thistle. I freak out when I pass the same dog on the side of the highway that I see every night. I SWEAR the dog is a ghost. I'm always afraid that I'll get in an accident in a spot where I have NO cell service and a rapist will come kidnap me.

Well last week I was driving home with my friend Emily, who is an EMT and we came up right behind a major accident.

This was the culprit....

And this was the victim...

Actually, I think it's the other way around. That damn Elk just about killed a couple people. He was the culprit.

So here's how it all went down:
FedEx hit the elk and pulled over. A kid driving a little Honda Civic didn't see the elk in the road until it was too late... he ran right over it and nearly flipped as a result. It completely ripped up the front of his car. Poor guy was scared to death. Emily and I pulled over. She checked everyone out to make sure there were no injuries... luckily there were none. I got on the phone with Highway Patrol and then we started moving everything off of the road and onto the side. As we started talking with the kid that was driving the Honda we realized that he was driving home from work and it so happened he worked for our Boys Ranch (we work for the girls). So we stuck around to make sure everything got taken care of and then two hours later gave him a ride home.


This was the trail of blood and guts (literally. look close in the background for the piles of intestine) from when we drug the elk off the road.



the Honda's punctured front driver side tire.


the front of the Honda


the front passenger side of the Honda.. see the guts and fur?


the Honda's bumper


i may look like i have a goofy smile BUT i am totally freaking out to be anywhere near this BEAST! i kept waiting for him to wake up and attack like Tommy Boy.


Emily is not so scared...

So I guess of all the things I've been afraid might happen on my commute... I forgot to fear this. Luckily everything turned out okay. We were glad to be there to help.

Ohbitchuary

Preface to this post:
20 years ago, when Brian's parents built their current house, instead of putting in central air they installed a swamp cooler. It was made to last for 5 years, but has somehow survived 20. It does anything but cool. The last two weeks it has sounded like popcorn popping and then last night it just flat out wouldn't turn on ... Brian wanted to let the family know that the cooler died so he sent the following in an email.

Ohbitchuary

On the 28^th of July, the year of our Lord 2009, a dear member of our family returned peacefully through the veil. To some he was referred to as the “cooler”, but to most … he was anything but. For more than 20 years he was with us. Expectations were never high for this prehistoric “air conditioning” unit. For Britton, the yearly maintenance and loud roar during use was pleasure enough and “cooling” the house wasn’t important. The “cooler” is lived on by Lauren and Brian, who cared for him the best they could in his last days of life. They slept naked out of mere respect for their dear friend and family member. Most nights they did’t even sleep because the thought of his passing would not leave their minds. Just as with dumb pets, coolers come and go. Who could blame him! He was only supposed to live for 5 and we were lucky enough to have him for 20. I am sure that those who from this day forth have the opportunity to enter the Davis’ home, the loss of the “cooler” will definitely be felt. Maybe it will be the quiet silence… or the sweat from head to toe. I am sure that if the “cooler” could leave us with any final words, they would have read thus:

“You should have gone with central air.”

God, rest his soul…

DELETED!

I accidently deleted my blog list.... i added a few back already that had commented on my last post. BUT please leave your blogspot address in a comment on this post so that i can redo my bloglist! THANKS!

Weekend With R DOGG!

So my little brother Reed came to spend a few days with me & B. He came up Wednesday night all by himself on a shuttle from St. George. I think he is pretty BRAVE. We picked him up at a gas station on Center Street and just about died because he had been sitting there all alone for about 15 minutes in this creepy neighborhood (the shuttle arrived earlier then planned).

Weekend Schedule:

Wed:

-Basketball with Brian and his friends.

Thurs:

-Cocoa Puffs for breakfast.
-Hike to the Hot Springs in Spanish Fork Canyon.
We loved the hike ...
Were grossed out by the moss in the Hot Springs...
Got FREAKED out by the GIANT snake skin...
RAN the entire hike home cuz we were so scared!
-Reed taught us how to make SLOPPY joes. Mmmm.
-Bowling at FAT Cats.

Fri:

-More Cocoa Puffs.
-Roller blading in the morning... Only 1 picture because Reed
was too busy holding my hand to keep me from falling ..
-TANDEM Biking from BYU to Provo Canyon, where we met the
Staheli's for a bike ride to a park.
We stopped for some Koosh time at the park and a dip in
the stream.
-Reed taught us how to make porcupine balls (meatballs with rice).. SOO good!

Sat:

-Another ride on our tandem...
A killer climb up the hill to our home behind the temple.
-Pancakes and bacon for breakfast.
-SEVEN PEAKS for the rest of the day with the Staheli Fam!
-1 Bee sting for Reed. 1 Wasp sting for Brian.

--Lot's of Call of Duty for the boys during our chill time!

Thanks REED for a fABuLoUs weekend! Love you!