May Updates:

-We packed up our apartment in St. George (May 1) 

-We visited "grandma" in Idaho for a week.
-Elsie is afraid of the shower.

-Elsie knows where her (and our) nose, eyes, ears, head and mouth is.

-Elsie knows how to do the please, candy, water, and owie (hurt) signs now in ASL as well as milk, thank you, more, food/eat, and poop.We are still working on nice, shoes, mommy, daddy, sorry, you're welcome, finished, cookie, ball, play, and bath. (I think she might know the sign for "shoes" but she claps instead of the actual sign so I'm not sure and she says "shhh" for shoe anyway).

-Elsie went on her first airplane (May 9)

-We moved to Texas.
-She loves being rubbed/tickled.. she will sit still the whole time too! (she never sits still.. that is how we know how much she enjoys it)

-I painted Elsie's toes for the first time & she stayed still the whole time too. (May 11)

-Elsie folder her arms for the prayer all by herself (May 13)
-She reaches out her hand for us to hold when she needs help.
-Elsie sings "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star".. she repeats "Up above the world so high" over an over.
-Every time we are about to eat dinner Elsie folds her arms reminding us that we need to pray.
-Elsie's got her third tooth (right canine) (May 20ish)
-We went to the water wall in downtown Houston. (May 25) 
-We survived a flood.. and tornado warning here in Houston (May 25)
-She knows how to open water bottle lids.
-Elsie is 15 months (May 26) 
-She is teething again we can kind of see her 1st front tooth and her right canine (May 30)
-Elsie loves strawberries, rice, turkey deli meat, cooked broccoli, pasta, string cheese,  yogurt (especially the key lime pie flavor) and bread w/ cheese. (She is already starting to get super picky).
-Elsie is very close to knowing how to open doors. -_-
-She has a high pitched squeal/scream when she feels like we can't understand what she wants, if she thinks we are not listening to her, or she is super tired.
-Elsie has been taking 2-3 hour naps since we got to Houston. (Not going to lie.. it's the best!!)

 

She slept the whole time I took her out of her PJs, changed her diaper and put her church clothes on.. it reminded me of when she was 3-4 months old and did the same thing. So cute!

That's all for now!

Summer Sales Journal #1

Monday, May 11, 2015:

Today was the first day of summer sales. Well.. at least since I’ve been here. Technically it was my second day here, Dee’s fourth day here, and his second day out selling though. The last two days have been hard. But I have one phrase to say, “mind over matter”. Seriously, attitude is everything!! Everything seemed to be “going wrong” yesterday and this morning. I was a bit bipolar yesterday. One second I was telling myself this was doable and everything was going to be fine, then the next second I was freaking out wanting to get on the next flight back to Idaho (or St. George). I am WAY out of my comfort zone to say the least. I know this isn’t a good trait.. but I don’t like being social. I like to keep to myself and do what I want to do. I don’t like people getting in my way and I don’t like feeling like I need to be around people when I really don’t feel like it. Dee and I are the only ones with a child.. and people really don’t understand what it is like to have a child until you have actually experienced being a parent. No matter what you say, it is just not possible to understand. Lets just say there are a million of ways that I am completely out of my comfort zone.. 

This morning was probably the hardest because the first day was such a shocker. I had been imaging how the summer would be ever since we agreed to do summer sales. What I didn’t realize was that I had also been planning out how everything would go. & if you know me I plan everything out to the last second. I love planning! I love organizing! But sadly.. 90% of the time things do not go as planned, and this trip is no exception to the rule. Elsie decided to poop three times while we were showering this morning. Not once, not twice, but three times. As I finished cleaning up the first time, I turned around to find she had pooped again & was about to pick it up! After cleaning it up the second time, I turned around again & yet again there was poop in the shower. AHHH! Finally after the third time I cleaned up poop, she was done. I was ready to cry. Why, why, why do things always seem to keep going wrong when you already have a bad attitude?? Haha. A couple hours later, Elsie decided to throw a huge fit. The results were throw-up all over her, throw-up all over me, and throw up all over the ground. Another mess and negative thing to add to my day.

Finally I decided I needed to turn my day around and I decided I needed to make the best of the situation instead of dwelling on all of the bad things (and there were quite a lot). It’s crazy how fast my day turned around.. Elsie took a great nap, I got to know the other wives, organized (with the help of Annie.. one of the other wives) the kitchen, learned how to play Nines and played it with the girls, and I even made dinner. This summer isn’t going to be so bad.

 Monday, May 18, 2015:

 This week went by surprisingly fast! For the most part everything has been great. There have been a few roller coasters and tears and anger.. but overall Texas and summer sales are proving to be a good experience for us. We had to have the "what if we have to go home" talk because things weren't going so well at first.. in conclusion we decided that this trip wouldn't be all for not. We needed to look for the good in any and every situation because there is always a lesson to be learned whether it is good or bad.

I guess if anything I learned that I am a strong woman! Seriously.. I am out of my freaking comfort zone.. and I made it through the first week without going completely insane! We tried... & possibly failed (but hey if you don't try and fail then that means you didn't try at all, and that leaves you in the same position you were in over and over again). We actually like Houston.. and think of it as a possible candidate of where we might end up after grad school. 

Friday, May 22, 2015:

I did not get to finish writing the other night.. It's been hard to remind myself to write on my blog because the last time I wrote a blog post was in March.. so clearly I am out of the habit of doing so. Also, this place isn't child proof as well as I'd like it to be so I can basically only write if a) Elsie is asleep for the night, b) Elsie is taking a nap, c) Dee is watching her, or d) she is distracted by something and is sitting still. & to be honest.. if Elsie is sleeping I want to lay down and read (dude! I am seriously on a role!! I've finished 10 books this month alone this year) and if Elsie is distracted it isn't for long (like right now... she just crawled into my lap and her head knocked against my chin and now I just bit my tongue...) so basically I choose reading over writing most days... haha

Anyway... time for some updates since I wrote the first time. Elsie and I went selling with Dee on May 12th, The other girls and I went to the library on May 13th, May 14th we went swimming, May 15th maintenance was supposed to fix our shower (long story.. and quite disgusting as well) at 9am.. but they didn't come until 11am and I was the only one home so Dee had to come all the way back home to pick Elsie and me up (he has to drive 30 minutes to get to his area). It was actually a fun day. Dee made his second sale and I got to take Elsie to the park. We went to lunch at BJs and then he took us home. We decided that once a week Elsie and I would go out selling with him because it gets us out of the house and it gives Elsie a chance to actually go to the park.. which reminds me, we live in the ghetto.. seriously!! We heard gun shots one of the first nights that we were here.. freaking scary!! May 16th us girls (Annie, Lahela, Elsie and I) went to the mall. It was mine and Elsie's first time on a public bus. Kind of creepy.. there were definitely a bunch of crazies. Dee sold 3ish sets that day. On May 17th we went to church & let me just say that this ward is so nice and so welcoming!! & the church layout is the same as the layout of the church I pretty much grew up going to and it brought back a lot of fun memories. Then May 18th we were supposed to go to the beach but we decided not to go with everyone because there was a 40%-100% chance of rain/ lightning. So instead we went to breakfast with Annie and Keveren (her husband) and took Dee's car into the shop (oh right! I forgot to write about that.. well Dee's car was having problems.. just another negative to add to the list of negatives about this trip) but luckily the price to fix the 4 problems wasn't that bad.. well as bad as we were expecting.. May 19th we went to the library again.. Elsie fell off a chair and I swear I thought she broke her arm. Luckily she just hit her "funny" bone and that was why she was holding her arm . Also, Dee sold 7 sets & yeah that brings us to today.. things are starting to get negative again. I want to go home. I'm just happy Elsie and I get to go with Dee tomorrow!! Can't wait.

 Monday, May 25, 2015:
Today started out pretty normal. We woke up to a sunny morning (it has been super rainy here in Houston), ate breakfast got ready for a "p-day" & Dee had a conference call with his group. After the call we headed into downtown Houston & went to a Chinese buffet & went to the waterwall. (Dee and I got lost in the mall parking garage & inside the actual mall as well before we found our way over to the wall). It was a fun but an exhausting day! Finally we headed home around 4pm. We stopped at Walmart on the way (good thing because of what happened later that night).

Dee showered & Elsie & I helped him get ready so he could go out selling The Living Scriptures the rest of the night. He left around 5pm (it was still sunny!) & Elsie & I laid around watching movies & playing games.

After awhile I kept getting a feeling that I should charge my phone, you see my phone had died right when we got home from Walmart & I didn't really think anything of it because Dee would be home a few hours later. Still I kept thinking "what if Dee calls" even though I was pretty sure I was just being paranoid.. I plugged it in anyway to charge. 30 minutes later around 8pm I heard a loud sound that (later I realized was thunder) sounded like a gun shot so Elsie & I went out of our room to talk with the other wives.

This is when I was informed that Damon (Dee's Friend & Living Scriptures manager) told Lahela (Damon's wife) that he was sending everyone home because a member had told him that there was a tornado warning in Houston. Just as she was telling me and Annie this we heard a loud boom & flashes of light, at this point we were totally freaked out.

After I heard the news I went into our room to call Dee. Dee called three times while I was out in the living room with Lahela & Annie. We were both freaked out that something happened to the other one! Luckily we were able to talk to each other & Dee was on his way home.

The storm was getting worse & by 9pm we were getting a million alerts from our phones about Floods & tornado warnings in our area.. we heard loud booms from the thunder that sounded like gun shots & like giants knocking over houses. We were all scared so finally all three of us got together & prayed.

Damon was the first home. We were able to relax a little & waited for the rest of the guys to get home (there were 7 more guys who needed to make it home). Dee was next. It was crazy because just as the power went out for a few seconds Dee opened the front door drenched in water. It looked like he went swimming with his clothes on. Not even kidding. We were able to breathe a little bit more. Then a branch.. a huge branch on a tree was struck by lightning & broke off.

We were freaking scared! Ahh! So we went into the "laundry" room.. that doesn't have any Windows & is in the center of the apt. Just in case the tornado started. We all said another prayer together & sat in the room for awhile until Annie's Husband Keveran came home. We all felt like we could breathe again. We found out two of the guys were going to just stay with a member for the night because the storm got pretty bad. Now we were just waiting on three guys to get home.

In the mean time Dee & I started making & putting together stuff to make tacos, nachos, or taco salad (good thing we went to the store) & we all enjoyed each other's company while we were waiting & eating dinner.

Finally the first guy made it home. He had to leave his car parked somewhere because the streets were literally flooded & he walked a half of a mile to get home. He said the water came to just below his knees. Then the second guys made it home around 30 minutes after the first guy. He said the water came up to his waist. (They're about the same height). & the third guy has to stay the night in a McDonald's because he is 4 miles away. It has been a crazy, scary night!!

I'm so glad everyone was safe & that Dee made it home safely & that our prayers were answered!

That's all for now!

 

I'm Half a Heart Without You

We did it. We packed up our apartment in St. George and moved to Texas. So crazy!! The last couple of months have been pretty hectic. With cramming finals in a week before they were due, packing up an apartment that didn't seem like it had a lot of stuff in it (but definitely did) and cleaning it.. I barely had any time to think about anything else Which is why I have been slacking at keeping my blog updated. Oops.

I didn't think I would be sad leaving our dump of an apartment... but I was. That last week we were there, I was an emotional wreck! Aside from crying because of having to leave Elsie with other people pretty much all week (one of the last days we were there Elsie was babysat by 4 different people all in one day.. I cried every time I dropped her off.. not because I didn't trust the people who were watching her.. I just missed her and felt like I wasn't being a good mom) so Dee and I could finish packing, cleaning, and studying, I cried because I was actually going to miss the Morgan apartments. I didn't really understand why I felt the way that I did. But it hit me on the last day.. it was apart of the best chapters in my life. The Morgan apartments was our first home together, we lived there 3 years, we found out we were pregnant while living there, we brought our first child home to that apartment, and Elsie had her first birthday there too. The Morgan apartments might be a hole in the wall, but they will always have a special place in my heart because of the memories we made there. 

While things didn't go as planned the last few days before we left St. George, we were able to get everything done that we needed to and we couldn't have done it without the help that we received from family! Thank you Megan, Lindsey, Rhonnie, Marissah, Aunt Stephanie, and Linda for helping us out, we really did and do appreciate it! (: I am still mad that we didn't get to go to the Payson, Utah LDS temple open house. Dee got us tickets for Friday May 1st at 2:45.. because we were planning on leaving in the morning, but no!! everything that could possibly go wrong, went wrong that day. For instance Dee and I needed to take Finals on April 30th. I needed to take 2 and Dee needed to take 1, since we got permission to take them early our professors were supposed to inform the testing center that we had permission, but there was a huge mix-up at the testing center so I wasn't able to take my finals until the next day. It was the worst!! Then we didn't set aside enough time to clean the apartment. Apparently we thought it was an easy quick task.. but it took way longer than we had planned. Anyway we were supposed to leave Friday no later than 11am.. but we left at 7pm.

Before heading to Texas Dee needed to go up to Ogden to attend summer sales school for a few days. While Dee went to sales school I stayed with my mom up in Idaho and then Elsie and I flew into Houston at the end of the week on May 9th. We got to Idaho on May 2nd. and then Dee left May 3rd so he could make it back to Ogden in time for summer sales school at 8am on May 4th. Being away from Dee was the hardest thing ever! We haven't been apart since we got married.. besides the time I went to my great grandma's funeral a couple months after we were married and the one night Dee went up  North for a meeting for Summer Sales back in February. Okay.. I guess that makes it not our first time.. but it was our first time being apart for longer than 2 days.

Even though Elsie and I were away from "daddy" for a week we had fun spending time with Elsie's grandma (my mom), her great grandparents, her aunts and uncles, 2nd cousins, and great aunts and great uncles. We got to go to the park, a museum, shopping, we went on walks, and we had a movie night. Everyone absolutely adored Elsie and Elsie had a lot of fun! Although we had fun at grandma's house, we were pretty dang excited to be back with daddy! We missed him so much. & I realized I never want to be without Dee again.. or go on an airplane with a toddler alone again.. That was freaking hard!

 
(She learned that she could climb onto the chair to get onto the table.. and how to get the chocolate covered raisins.. plus how to take the lid off all by herself. She is too smart for her own good!)  

That's all for now!