Lots in March

My Nephew Tyrell just came home from his mission. This is all of us at the Airport. Welcome Home Tyrell!

The month of March has kept us busy. Neil and I celebrated our 5th anniversary! Neil bought me a new band to go along with my ring, which I love! And we also flew to Las Vegas and spent two days. Neil was on his spring break, so it was our only chance to get a way. (Thank you to Grandma Scott and Aunt Jessie and Uncle Jeremy for taking the kids! We really appreciate it!) This was me inside the Bellagio, there was a beautiful atrium, with gorgeous flowers, and butterflies.

This is us at the Bellagio Fountains. (our favorite part about Las Vegas!)

Here are Neil's hands compared to Shaquille O'Neal's. Just a small difference!

This is Carter's girlfriend, Kensington! Some day, if Carter can catch up to Kenzie, they might go on a long walk together! Right now, they just steal each others Binky's.

This is one of the first times I have gotten them both to smile at the same time!

Here, Carter is posing in his new outfit we bought for him to wear to church! Adorable, what can I say?

Just a few things..

EmmaLee is becoming quite the little photographer! She posed us in the picture and she made sure her baby Sally made it in, along with the purse...

This picture describes so much. I don't even have to say anything, you just have to look at their faces!

Another picture taken by EmmaLee. (p.s. It seems like Carter is always wearing this jacket when I take pictures... I promise it is not the only thing he has in his closet! What can I say, it gets cold in our house, so you do what you gotta do!)

So this past couple of weeks have been, lets just say, not so fun. I think Carter and EmmaLee were sick the whole month of February. Carter is now currently on his second set of antibiotics and his second ear infection. I am now a regular at the pediatrician, and I think all of the nurses know who I am. We had to test both Carter and EmmaLee's oxygen level a couple of times because of a nasty cough which was making, Carter especially, wheeze. I am hoping this past Wednesday was the last time I have to make a trip to the doctor's office for the rest of the month. Our car, also decided to break down, luckily it was just the fuel pump, but it still cost us a bunch to get that fixed. It, of course, decided not to start on the day Neil was super busy with school and stressed out with tests, and the kids were very sick and needed to get checked out. I think that's the way it always happens! The weather here, is also teasing me. It was so nice for a few days and now it is currently snowing. My patience is definitely being tested. It is just hard being confined to one place and not being able to get out much. Anyway, such is life being a mom, I guess. On the flip side, I have to be grateful that I am able to stay home with my beautiful children. It's hard right now with Neil in school, gone a majority of the time. I am sure it is also really hard on him. But this is our life for the next couple of years, and it is something that we must do and overcome. A quote keeps coming to my mind by President Thomas S. Monson who said,
"If you are still in the process of raising children, be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will—to your surprise—miss them profoundly.
Stresses in our lives come regardless of our circumstances. We must deal with them the best we can. But we should not let them get in the way of what is most important—and what is most important almost always involves the people around us. Often we assume that they must know how much we love them. But we should never assume; we should let them know. Wrote William Shakespeare, “They do not love that do not show their love.” We will never regret the kind words spoken or the affection shown. Rather, our regrets will come if such things are omitted from our relationships with those who mean the most to us."

I think about that quote often, and it really helps me to keep my life in focus. Whatever happens, it's something that I know I can deal with and to just move on, but move on with love and gratitude in my heart.

Here is EmmaLee singing Big Girls Don't Cry! She loves listening to my ipod and it is hilarious to hear what she interprets as the words to the song!

February Update

It has been fun to see Carter getting a personality. He is such a sweet boy. He loves watching EmmaLee play, and she can probably make him laugh harder than anyone. However, he doesn't like her to hold him. He just whines and wiggles until she lets him go! I also have a picture of him on my phone and every time I show it to him, he smiles and starts laughing, it's super cute!




Here is EmmaLee on Valentines day. It had snowed all morning, and she wanted to pass out her valentines to all of her friends, so Neil was gracious enough to pull her around in her tube while they went around to the different houses. She was so excited (even though she didn't really know what Valentines day was for!)







Here is a random picture of us hanging out in the hallway. Something we do a lot since Carter has started crawling every where! Everyday I think Carter finds more and more he can get into! This picture captures a good look into our everyday life, because as you can see EmmaLee is holding one of her dolls. If you are ever over at our house, you will always see her with a baby in her arms, or one close by!







This is a picture of the burger, Neil wanted to have for his Birthday. A grilled cheese sandwich on the bottom, a burger, sauteed onions and mushrooms, bacon, lettuce, tomato, ketchup and mustard and then another grilled cheese sandwich on top! It actually was delicious! Very filling, and not good for the figure, but yummy!

In Neil's family, they started a tradition where instead of giving gifts to each other, they do a type of service project for that person, of their choice. Neil wanted our cars washed, detailed and have the oil changed. It actually has been a lot of fun having everyone working together to complete the task that the Birthday person has asked. (plus this time, I benefited from the task, so it was a bonus!) Needless to say, Neil's car hasn't been that clean in a long time! It was a great gift! Happy Birthday Babe! We also celebrated his birthday, along with three other February birthdays in my family, at my parent's house. (no pictures, I forgot my camera) It was a fun night with everyone. I think Neil's highlight was when he got to take a ride in my sister, Jennifer and Dave's new porsche. He loved that! He talked about it all the way home, letting me know that I should never buy him one due to a problem he would have in accelerating at too high of speeds!

So that's about all we've been doing this month. It's amazing how fast the month of February goes by when they cut out a few days. It's fine with me, I'm just excited for Spring!

Tagged!

Liz tagged me so here it goes...

1. Go to my documents/pictures.
2. Go to my 6th file folder.
3. Go to my 6th picture.
4. Blog about it.
5. Tag 6 people to do the same.



This is a picture of me in Chicago by Oprah's studio the summer of 2007. I didn't get to see a show, it was just one of the landmarks that we wanted to see while we were in Chicago. I just jumped out of the car, while Neil took a couple of pictures and then I jumped back in. It's just outside of the city in a neighborhood that I would have never imagined it to be! Even though I didn't get to see Oprah, it was just cool to say I've been to her studio and I know where it's located.

I tag Amy, Rachael, Jen, Laurisa, Chelsea, Julie. (Mindy, I would tag you, but you've already been tagged! )

Shoes! Who knew it could get this complex!

Another disclaimer: It's not too exciting around the Scott home, so the only thing I could think to write about are shoes. Pretty sad, I know! I really need to get out more! I can't wait for the warmer weather. Seriously, I can't!
I decided to blog about shoes because for some reason they have recently made a big impact on my life. Everyone loves shoes, well I certainly do! Neil and I were out shopping and we both found some great shoes that we really liked, and were pretty reasonable in price, which doesn't happen that often. I also found a cute pair for EmmaLee, but that's a whole other story! Anyway, we not only found one pair each, but two pair! Neil found some great Basketball shoes which he fell in love with the quality and the price, and I found some great dressy shoes with the perfect heel and style! Both of which we have been looking for a while now. So, of course we had to buy those shoes that we found. But of course came the second pair of shoes that neither of us needed, but thought were really great! We both debated and I told Neil that if I don't buy these shoes, then I'll regret it! (we were shopping at Ross, so it is a hit and miss store. If you don't buy it, you'll never see it again) Neil also decided that he would also buy his other pair of shoes. Later that night it was getting late and we hadn't done our exercising/running for the day. Neil decided to jump on the treadmill and run. By the time he was finished I was very comfortable and since it was so late, didn't think I wanted to jump on and run. However, Neil brought up our shoe purchases from earlier in the day. He said to think about the shoes. Shoes? He reminded me that I bought that other pair of shoes because I would have regret it, if I didn't. And if I didn't run, I would wake up the next day and regret it, just like the shoes. He was right. I swear, the only reason I ran that night was because of some silly comment I had made earlier! Of course, I was glad I did. But shoes never solve all problems, they just get you into trouble. Now, a few days later, we have moved on to a new shoe problem. (I don't know what is up with us and shoes, it seems so silly!) Neil and I had a bet a few weeks ago, well I wouldn't say it was a bet maybe just a challenge, that if I could run three miles non-stop that I could get some new running shoes. (the reason for this is because my running shoes I have now are a little too small and I have had them for four years) Of course I couldn't pass that up and I ran, although very bored since I had to run on the treadmill, the three miles! Yea! But now, I have two other pairs sitting in my closet that we just purchased (they are for my Birthday in April, so I have to wait to wear them, Bummer!) Now the dilemma is: is it reasonable to buy me another pair of shoes? I think yes, but there are lots of other better reasons why not too. (mostly financially, I don't know what I was thinking!) It all boils down to this... I probably just need to get a life! My poor husband, he has to put up with me and all of my issues about shoes! What do you think?

Why I Love Today...

Disclaimer: This may be lame and super cheesy to others, however I needed to write this down for myself so I can remember in the future!
Sometimes it's hard to be a mom. There are many days when the everyday routine gets to me, and I think to myself.."If I have to clean up another mess, I am going to lose it!" or "Please, let's all just be happy!" But at the end of the night when I am tucked away in my bed with everyone asleep I remember how much I love being a mom, and how lucky I am to have two beautiful children and one handsome husband! I try to ask myself, Why do I love today? Here are some of the things I have come up with: I love how imaginative EmmaLee has been lately. She is so cute with her babies. I think she may even be a better mom to them, then I am to her! She always makes sure that they have a blanket, so they are nice and warm. She puts them to sleep, sings to them, and even cooks for them! She is also learning how to share, thank goodness! Now I did say learning, she isn't perfect but she is starting to understand that if she shares her toys, then other people may share theirs. She loves to sing songs, especially in the car. We can't go anywhere without a song being sung. EmmaLee is starting to get really good at playing the Wii. Tonight she bowled a 134 all by herself! I am new at this whole mom thing, and watching my first child grow up and learn so many things, is amazing to me. Carter is just the sweetest thing right now. He is, for the most part, laid back and calm. He is starting to get his first bottom teeth. He rolls and is so close to crawling! I love when he wakes up in the morning because he tries to show off all of his cute little tricks that he has learned. I think he does it on purpose so I won't be mad at him for waking me up so early. He makes me laugh, and it starts the day off in a perfect way. I love when he smiles, you can see a brightness in his eyes. Neil is a great husband and friend. He is working so hard in school. This may sound funny, but just recently I thought about how much we've changed, since we were first married. I love how we are communicating so much better. I feel like when we criticize each other for something we've done or that we don't agree on, we take it in, and move on. I remember when we first were married, if Neil said anything criticizing me, I would have been so sad and thought about it for weeks. Now, he can say something and we can talk about it right then, and move on, not taking it in such a bad way. (with most things...) I love when we talk about our lives and situations and how we agree on so many things. It's amazing how similar our thought process is. So as days go by and I get down on myself for not having everything I want in life, I try to remember why I love today. It's the small things in life that make it all worth it.

EmmaLee loves to laugh... just watch and you'll see! She does this all of the time when we are in the car, or she wants some attention. I have to say, I don't mind it at all! (even if it is fake!)

Running

So I am in the third week of running and I have to say it actually hasn't been that bad. The worst part is just deciding to run. Once I am running, and I finish, I feel so good and am glad that I decided to run. It has been especially nice to have a treadmill at home so I can run at the moment when I have the motivation. To all of you who are trying to decide if you want to join, it's not too late! And to all of you who have joined.. keep going, because you are helping me to stay motivated!

Here is EmmaLee on the treadmill. She is so cute, she is smiling thinking that I am going to take her picture, not realizing that I have it on video! She always has to run before I do, I love it!

Thanks Jeff and Jill!

Here is a picture of Jeff getting Carter to sleep. Neil and I have been so grateful that Jeff and Jill have moved into our ward, because it seems like every Sunday, one of them has taken Carter and gotten him to sleep! It is really so nice to have a break and have someone take one of our children during sacrament meeting! Jeff always takes it as his challenge! Anyway, just wanted to say thanks!

Crawling and Birthday fun...

EmmaLee with her cousin Ethan.

Grandma Scott and Carter

Here are some pictures taken recently. Carter is in the process of learning how to crawl. He wants to crawl so badly, but he isn’t too sure how to do it. I am a bad mom and I am not showing him how to do it, because I don’t want him to be mobile! I just love the stage where they can sit up and play, but are content to stay where they are. I know that he’ll figure it out soon, so I don’t want to push it! EmmaLee started walking at nine and a half months, and I am not ready for Carter to do that! We are letting him take his time!
We also just celebrated Neil’s mom’s birthday over the weekend; I had my camera with me, so of course I had to take some pictures! She had asked for her birthday to have us do a project in her yard, so we sorted their firewood and put it in a neat pile. It was a cold night, but it was really fun. Happy Birthday Elener!

A New Semester

I feel like since Neil and I have been married I judge time by semesters! And just in case any one cares to know, Neil only has like 7 semesters left of school! So as a new one starts, our life always changes a little. I think his classes this semester are pretty intense, so we won't see much of him. But it seems like I have a lot to look forward to in the next few months. Here are some I can think of: *Neil and I are going to Vegas in March for 2 days to celebrate our five year anniversary! Yea! I love vacations! *My Brother is getting married in April to a really cute and fun girl. I am so excited for them, and especially excited to see all of our family together! *Lots of friends and neighbors are having new babies, oh I just love seeing new babies! *And Spring will be here soon! I can't wait for the weather to get just a little bit warmer! I really need to get outside! So, I have a lot to look forward to especially finishing the next seven semesters, but I guess I'll just take them one at a time!

Things I've learned in week number one...

So it's been one week since I've started training for this 10K. (it's not too late to join and start running, there is still plenty of time!) I wanted to write down my thoughts, so here they are in no particular order:

* It's hard to run when you have a cold. I've been fighting it the whole week. The morning time is especially the worst because I've been laying there half the night with my mouth open trying to breathe, and well, you know the outcome of that! It seems by night, I can breathe and that's when I have done all of my running

* EmmaLee is a great motivator. She loves the treadmill, and has to run on it before I or Neil get to. She gets this big smile on her face when she is done and you know she is just so proud of herself. On Tuesday night we were watching "The Biggest Loser" and I told her that after it was over we were going to exercise. At every commercial, she would ask if it was time to exercise? Even if I didn't want to run, she wouldn't have let me, she was going to make sure that we did it!

* Talking to other people about running helps. The more people I find out who are trying to run/walk or even do a triathlon, helps me stay motivated.

*The first week is hard. Here's why: when I am running, I keep thinking how I will never be able to continuously run for 6.2 miles. I am barely making it past .5 miles and I am running out of breath.

*The first week is great. Here's why: I am completely motivated because it's the new year, and it's time to get into shape!

*I heard that 80% of people don't follow through with their New Year's goal by February. That's scary!!

*Running .5 of a mile really doesn't take that long. It takes longer to get changed into your workout clothes and get everything set and ready to run, than it takes to run .5 of a mile. My experience is that it takes about 5 mins. No big deal, right? I keep having to tell myself that.

*Neil is 100% behind me and is following my workouts and that makes it a lot easier to stay motivated.

*I need new shoes. I have had the same shoes for over four years. I think they are too small. I've actually heard that after you have had a baby, your feet can be permanently bigger. Maybe that's my problem?

*Music, TV or any other distraction to keep my mind off of running really helps me. When I think bad thoughts, it is very hard to run. When I am positive, it is surprising how much longer you can stay on the treadmill.

*It's only going to get easier, right? Please tell me that it is!

10K Race!

Okay, so it's the new year, and it's time for me to get into shape! I've decided to run the 10K again. I haven't done it for a few years, so I am going to start off really slow and everyone can join! The more people who want to join, the better! The training started last Friday January 2nd, but it's not too late! If you can't run it all at once, that's okay, just run as much as you can and then walk the rest. Just make sure you are getting in all of your mileage at the end of each week. This will be really fun! So please join in on the fun! Here is the plan:

Start Friday January 2nd .5 miles 3X per week (If you are wondering why all of the dates start on a Friday, it is because the race is on a Friday, so I went back from there)

Jan 9th .5 miles 3X per week

Jan 16 .5 miles 3X

Jan 23rd 1 mile 3X

Jan 30th 1 mile 3X

Feb 6th 1 mile 3X

Feb 13th 1.5 miles 3X

Feb 20th 1.5 miles 3X

Feb 27th 1.5 miles 3X

Mar 6th 2 miles 3X

Mar 13th 2 miles 3x

Mar 20th 2.5 miles 3x

Mar 27th 2.5 miles 3x

Apr 3rd 2.5 miles 3x

Apr 10th 3 miles 3x

Apr 17th 3 miles 3x

Apr 24th 3 miles 3x

May 1st 3.5 miles 3x

May 8th 3.5 miles 3x

May 15th 4 miles 3x

May 22nd 4 miles 3x

May 29th 4 miles 3x

June 5th 4.5 miles 3x

June 12th 5 miles 3x

June 19th 5 miles 3x

June 26th 5.5 miles 3x

July 3rd 6 miles 3x

July 10th run/walk 7 miles one day this week, then the rest of the week run 5.5 miles 2x.

July 17th run 5 miles 2x this week, but take a few days break before the race.

July 24th RACE 6.2 miles!



Don't worry if you miss a few days or a few miles, just keep going. I know that it is so hard to stay motivated, so if you think that you can't commit to 3 times per week, try just 2 times per week, or even one. It will be so fun especially when you cross the finish line! A lot of runners don't need this much time to train, but I wanted to extend it for myself, so I could make sure that I was ready. Plus, I like to start off slow and then add a little at a time! Good Luck, and don't forget to ask me how I am doing, so that I can keep on track!

Christmas/New Years

Acting out the Nativity scene on Christmas eve. Carter was baby Jesus, just a bigger version I'm sure!

EmmaLee with her cousin Brennan. Em was Mary and Brennan was Joseph! How cute!

Em and Carter with their new pajamas!

Wow, we must have all been really good! (Santa combined his gifts with four different families) We just were trying to save Santa some time, isn't that nice of us?

Playing Rock band! (thanks Brother for the game, we love it!)

EmmaLee and Issak, playing bowling. We had bowling tournament, it was a lot of fun!

I can't believe Christmas has passed and it is now 2009. I love the Christmas season and how people are always thinking about other people. I love getting and sending Christmas cards. It is a great time to think about what is really important in our lives. I also love the new year, because it also gives us a chance to reflect upon the old year and to try to make better changes in our lives. Thanks to everyone, family and friends, who made 2008 a very special year for us. We love you!

Something Small to Remember

So I know it's the day after Christmas, and of course we have a bunch of fun pictures to share, but I wanted to write this down before I forgot. The other day I filled up my gas tank for $11.37! Isn't that just amazing. I wanted to take a picture, but I thought people might look at me a little weird! Just a few months ago it cost me $4o.00 to fill up. I sure like it a lot better when it's only $11.37. (I know I am going to be one of those old ladies who tells her great-grandchildren about this! They'll just laugh and tell me that it costs them like $100 to fill up or something outrageous like that!) I know my Dad tells me that he used to fill up for $3.00. I have to admit that would be pretty great! Anyway, I just wanted to write that down, so I can look back in a year or so and compare prices. I guess I am just weird like that, I can still remember filling up my gas tank when I was a Junior in college and it was $1.98 a gallon. It stressed me out big time! I didn't know how I was going to survive if the prices went over $2.00. But I made it past that, I don't know how, but I did. So, as long as it will last, I am going to be grateful for filling up at $11.37!

What do you think??

So I wanted to show a picture of EmmaLee at about the same age Carter is at the moment. What do you think? Do they look the same?

Sledding and a break from school!

Neil took EmmaLee sledding yesterday, and she loved it! I am not a huge fan of the snow and cold, so of course I stayed home and enjoyed the afternoon with Carter. This week, it seems as though the high is about 32 degrees! Very cold, especially at night! I don't even want to know what the low is!! But on a happy note, Neil just finished his first semester of Graduate school. He has worked very hard this past semester. A lot of his time was spent in a cadaver lab. He even got to take us and some of his family to the lab, to show us who he has been dissecting for the past semester. I have to say I am very grateful for those people who are kind enough to donate their body to science, so people, like my husband, are able to learn at a more intense level, then just reading a book. So, one semester down and about 11 more to go! Yahoo! Anyway, Neil took his last final yesterday and was able to take EmmaLee out in the snow. They also met up with my nephew Travis and his wife Laura. So fun!

We've been robbed!

Today I decided that I was going to take the kids to my mom's and I went to go put them in the car and I had noticed that someone had stolen my stereo! The first thing I noticed was the big mess on the floor. I thought maybe Neil had to grab something out of the glove compartment and he was in a hurry. Nope, I was wrong! Someone had gone through it, and I assume was looking for money. The most frustrating part is that we live in a gated community and my car was parked under our carport, which is right out our sliding glass door! It also made me feel so violated. I hate knowing the someone was sitting in my car, going through my stuff. Neil filed a police report, even though we know there is nothing they can do. Our doors weren't locked, so I guess we were an easy target. It's just sad that those kind of things have to happen.