and the list goes on...

So I know you are all probably totally sick of my love list by now, but (blame it on my parents) once I start something I have to finish it. So here goes:
18. I love watching beautiful sunsets. Especially in tropical places, but anywhere will do.


19. I love watching my kids play in the snow. It brings back so many childhood memories.

20. I love sleeping! A couple nights ago Garrett and I were both up about 10 times with both kids and I felt like a zombie all day long. I have to say the biggest sacrifice for me when it comes to being a mother is giving up sleep. Garrett teases me that normal people need eight hours of sleep, but I need ten.


21. I love chatting for hours with my husband. We don't have a lot of time to do this these days, but on our date nights I get little flash backs of how we used to spend every minute talking together while we were dating.

22. Speaking of date nights, I love them!! We have a great group of friends that we do a date group with and we all take turns watching the kids. This has made a huge difference for Garrett and I this year to look forward to a little time together each week.

23. I love the scriptures! I set a challenge for myself in January to read the BOM again before my birthday (April 26th) and it has reminded me how much I love reading the BOM with a specific goal in mind. No wonder we are commanded to read everyday, there are so many things to learn and relearn.


24. I love American Idol! I know I am a huge nerd, but I get so excited for AI every year. I've even got Garrett loving it. We watch it together every tuesday, wed, and for now thursday. We love guessing what the judges are going to say and a lot of times we are right. We also enjoy making fun of Paula. Garrett likes to pretend to be Paula and use every weird adjective to describe people's performances. It is really funny. Carrie Underwood is definitely my fave idol:)


25. I LOVE traveling! I haven't been able to do this for quite a while, but before I got married I got to go on a semester abroad to London (actually while Garrett and I were engaged!). I have been to Italy, Greece, Austria, Hawaii, France, lots of fun places, and I can't wait to be able to travel with my husband and kids someday. I just love observing other cultures and contrasting them with my own culture. I think my favorite place I have been is Italy. This picture is from one of my favorite cities on the Amalfi coast in Italy called Ravello. I can't wait to go back with Garrett.


26. I love the mountains. I really miss the beautiful mountains in Provo. Garrett and I used to love driving through Provo canyon when we lived there. I never got tired of looking out our apt window and seeing the huge, majestic mountains in the background. Something about the mountains reminds me of the power and protection of God. I always felt safe surrounded by the mountains and I love to climb them and take in the beauty of this earth. My favorite time was driving through provo canyon in the fall when all the leaves are brilliant colors. Garrett proposed to me up in the mountains above sundance. It was in the winter and there was snow everywhere and the moon was so bright. I have so many great memories in the mountains. I can't wait to see them again soon.


27. I love dancing with my kids. This is a daily ritual these days. We turn on our kid songs and dance for while around my room. This always involves me throwing the kids in the air and landing on my bed. They love that part and it is a good work out for me! I wish I could describe the way Carter dances. It is the funniest thing I have ever seen. He smiles so big and then waves his arms around and shakes his little booty. It is great entertainment!

28. I love talking on the phone! Many of you who know me well, know that I love to talk! I seriously don't know what I would do without the phone. I love to talk to my mom and sisters and brothers (when they are in the country). I also love talking to my Dad, but he never can talk for too long. He always teases my mom and I because we can just talk for hours about everything. I also love talking to friends, especially those that live far away who I miss. I really think I would go crazy if I lived back when you could only write letters to people you didn't live by.


29. I just love my life. To sum up this wonderful month of love, I just have to say that I love my life. I love the people in my life, I love where I live, I love being a mom, I just love finding joy in everyday of my life. Thank you all for being a part of my life and giving me things to love! Happy February everyone!

Tucson Pics

After the conference we drove down to Casa Grande to see my brother's gym Snap Fitness. He just opened it a few months ago and it was really cool to see. Then we went out to dinner and after that Garrett had to head back to Phoenix to fly home and we went down to Tucson for a few more days to hang out with Jordan, Danielle, and Thais. The weather was amazing. The last two days were in the mid 70's and we were getting sunburned at the park!


This is a picture of Rylynn reading to Thais in Thais's rocking chair. It was Sunday and we were making dinner and we just walked past Thais's room and this is what we saw. I couldn't resist snapping a picture!

This is Thais and Rylynn in their adorable matching outfits. Rylynn got this cute outfit for an early birthday present. Thanks, Jordan, Danielle and Thais!


Rylynn got to go with Thais and some friends to Pump it up. She had a blast. I had to stay home with Carter so he could take a nap, but Danielle said that Rylynn couldn't get enough of the slide.


This is a classic! Every kid has to have at least one picture in the bathtub with their cousins!

Phoenix Pics

Here are some highlights of our visit to Phoenix. We went to a really fun train park with Auntie (Garrett's sister Andrea) in Scottsdale. It is such a cute park, and it is huge. You can take a train ride all around the park and then there is a huge carousel to ride. After that we ran over the the really cool playground. They also have a big field and then a miniature old western town that is kid sized. Rylynn loved that!


Here is our fun train ride with Auntie.

Rylynn's first ever carousel ride. She loved it!

Lots to do at this cool playground. I thought it was funny how there were canopies over all the playgrounds in AZ. It is to keep the sun off the kids which is really smart, but it didn't help my tan which desperately needs some work!



It rained one of the days we were in Phoenix, so we improvised and went to the mall. They had an indoor carousel in the food court which we rode a couple of times, as well as a huge indoor play area. It entertained the kids for awhile. The kids loved spending time with their Grandma Ryan and Auntie, Kota, and Matt. We didn't have a ton of time and we were sad that we didn't get to see some of our friends in Phoenix. There are just too many people we love in AZ these days, it is hard to seem them all. We will have to stay longer next time! Garrett loved the J. Reuben Clark conference. He got to hear Sandra Day O'Connor speak among other great speakers. The most helpful part for him was talking with other attorneys and getting advice for the future.

Carter loved being with Grandma Ryan! When she would come into the room he would smile huge and walk over to her with his arms outstretched.

Rylynn was so good with Kota this time. She loved getting up in the morning and running out to see him. Carter however, really liked Kota's paws which wasn't too fun for Kota. Oh well maybe next time Kota will like him a little better. Carter couldn't get enough of him!

Carter got to ride this time. He was a little scared, but overall he liked it. We had to take a picture with the tiger since Rylynn saw Aladdin for the first time while visiting Auntie. She just loves Raja now!

We're Back!

Well we made it home last night from our trip to the sunny state of AZ! We had a great trip. The kids got to run around outside and play which in February is rare for us. I will post all our pics tomorrow, but I just wanted to update my love list a little bit since I didn't post at all while I was gone.

13. I love taking car seats on the airplane! That is a trick I never knew, but we tried it and it worked like a charm. No more chasing down antsy kids for four hours.
14. I love watching my kids play with their cousins. Rylynn and Carter loved playing with their cousin Thais. I'm so sad we don't live closer.
15. I love seeing family that we love and miss.
16. I love the sun! It was 75 degrees the last two days we were in AZ, and we just soaked up all the sun we could get. Even on winter days in Cleveland, when I wake up to sunshine it makes me happy. It was so sunny and beautiful this morning and it got gray in the afternoon, but I have learned that you just need to appreciate those moments of sunshine while they last!
17. I love my parents. I have amazing parents who have done so much for me. While we were in AZ my brother and I were reminiscing about the songs our parents used to sing to us as children and how we now sing those same songs to our kids. It inspired me to come home and look through our Monson Family Song Book. This is a book my parents put together for each of us one Christmas of all the songs they sang to us as kids, including all the songs my Dad wrote. He wrote a song for each of his children and a few for our Mom. He also wrote several others about vacations we went on as a family and other life experiences. I love how intentional my parents are about creating memories and strong relationships in our family. They are such amazing examples to me and I love them both more than I can ever put into words. They inspire me to be better.

I will continue the catch up tomorrow because it is 11:30p and Rylynn is still awake! Ahh. I think she is having a hard time readjusting to East coast time.

Two stories

One sad, one funny....

So last night Carter kept waking up and I was getting so frustrated because it didn't appear that anything was wrong. We tried all the usual tricks to calm him down, but it would only work for a little while and then he would start wailing again. Finally around 2:30am he went to sleep. This morning while standing in line at the post office, I noticed that Carter's right ear was covered in junk! When I touched it he started crying, so I took him to the doctor and it turns out that last night while I was so impatient with him for not sleeping, his eardrum burst:( I felt like the worst mom ever. I feel so bad for him, he unfortunately got my ears. I knew one of my kids would. My eardrum burst several times growing up so I know first hand what he was going through last night. Poor kid. Will our family ever be healthy again? Ahh. I am sick of being sick.

So the funny story is that Rylynn was asking for a treat while I was making dinner as usual, and as usual I was saying no because it was time for dinner. So I was explaining that maybe if she ate a good dinner she could have a treat afterwards. She of course said I don't want to eat dinner. So I said dinner is really good for you, it helps to make your body strong and healthy. She then said in a whiny voice, "I don't want a healthy, strong body!" I just had to laugh. This story brings me to my love item for the day.

I love having a strong, healthy body. I especially realize this when I am not healthy. It makes me realize how much I take my health for granted. It is sad but I already think of things I used to do when I was younger and cringe from the thought of how much it would cause me now. My younger, stronger body used to do back handsprings and dive and roll on the hard floor in volleyball and all sorts of things that I am way too out of shape to consider these days. I sound like an old lady, but sometimes at the end of the day I feel like one. It is a lot of work holding kids all day long. All that being said, I love that I have the ability to hold my kids and play with them and do all that I need to do!

Number Eleven

I love the anticipation before a trip! Even though I still feel crappy with this cold we are all very excited in this house because we get to go visit our family on wednesday in sunny Arizona! Garrett is the J. Rueben Clark Law Society President and they are having their annual conference this weekend in Phoenix. The school is flying him out and we just happened to have some travel vouchers so we decided to turn it into a family vacation. Garrett's mom and sister live in Phoenix and the kids can't wait to see their Auntie, Uncle Matt, and Grandma. Also Auntie's dog Kota! Everyday for the past week Rylynn has been saying, "it's time to go on an airplane to see Kota!" I just love how even as an adult I still get all excited for a vacation like I did when I was a kid. The kids and I are going to stay a little longer so we can also hang out with my brother and sister-in-law, and their little daughter Thais in Tucson. The kids can't wait to play with their cousin Thais. It should be a great trip. Perfect timing too, I checked the forcast for when we will be there and it will mostly be in the mid-upper 70's! A lot better than the 20's and 30's in Cleveland:) We can't wait!

Number Ten

I love going to church! Maybe this is on my mind today because I am too sick to go to church, but I really do love going each week and getting that spiritual boost that carries me throughout the week. I didn't go last week because I had to stay home with my sick kids and now this week I am the sick one and have to stay home. I hate missing church and two weeks in a row is the worst! I have to say I am a little glad I don't have to run around after Carter for three hours. Having a child that is past 12 months but not in nursery yet is an interesting time as far as church goes; at least with my active kids. I don't get much out of any class but at least I can be in the church and catch snipets from each meeting. All in all, I just love the atmosphere at church. The spirit, the lessons, the music, the friends! Hopefully I'll make it next week:)

I'm counting down the days!

Okay I know I am a total dork, but I can hardly stand it. I just went to Lyndsey Bentley's blog and saw that Breaking Dawn is going to be released on August 2, 2008!!! I have already pre-ordered my copy. I may have to put a countdown on my blog:) For more info, check out the link below!

http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/breakingdawn.html

Number Nine!

I love the way my little Rylynn talks! She is still figuring out how to correctly pronounce some words and I know I should correct her, but I just think it is so cute when she says things wrong! She'll say them right soon enough, so for right now I am enjoying hearing them the wrong way. Some of my favorites are basket which she say baxsket, usually which she says oosually, or use which comes out ooze. Another favorite is packback for backpack! I seriously love it when kids say words wrong!



This picture is from last summer, but it is so Rylynn so I had to post it!

And the list goes on...

#8. I love cooking



I am not the most creative person when it comes to art and scrapbooking and those sorts of things, so my creative outlet is cooking. I love making new things and creating my own recipes. I am a cook from scratch kind of girl. Someday if I have lots of time and money to spare I would love to go to cooking school. I bet some of you didn't know that about me! So my love list is also a way for you to get to know me better:)

One of those nights

I think cumulative I got about three hours of sleep last night. Our whole family has been sick for almost a week now. Carter had croup, Rylynn had a terrible cold which I got, and then Garrett had some sort of stomach virus. Just when we thought Rylynn was getting better, we spent last night cleaning up throw up multiple times! Thank Heaven for washing machines! Anyway, in the spirit of trying to be positive, I wanted to start my list of things I love. I've been meaning to do this the last couple days, but I haven't been able to with sick kids. Anyway, my friend Stephanie had a cute idea to blog about one thing you love everyday for the month of February, since it is the month of love. So to catch up, here is a little list of loves:

1. I love my kids!
2. I love my husband!
3. I love my washing machine!(see story above)
4. I love chocolate!
5. I love reading
6. I love music
7. I love blogging!

So now I am caught up. I will try to make the daily posts a little more exciting, by feel free to share the things that you love! Hope everyone is staying healthy.