Temple date & hidden talents

Today was mine and Brian's "date day." His mom was kind enough to watch Tali while we went to the temple and on a special date.

Our day started off going to the Jordan River temple. When we got there, it was packed! We couldn't even find a parking place. Brian had suggested going to the Draper temple instead. When we got there, it was hard to find a parking spot again when we were just about to go home, we found a parking place right up front! Brian and I had a great time! It really helped strengthen our marriage! It was such a beautiful temple! It was Brian's first time being there. Earlier this month I was able to go through the open house before it was dedicated. I had forgotten just how beautiful it was.

After our temple visit, Brian and I went back home to change into some casual clothes so we could go to the shooting range. I was very nervous because I had NEVER shot a gun before and I wasn't quite sure what to expect. We were shooting a 40 caliber pistol. Man, did it have some kick to it! It'wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be, but still surprised me when I shot it. The people there were really nice and were showing me how to shoot properly. While shooting, I couldn't find where my shots went. Apparently they were in the black area! YAY for me! I was so excited, I had to show the nice old man that was helping me. He congratulated me and told me that I was either a great shot or he was an excellent teacher. I think he was just a good teacher. He then told me and Brian that I was probably a better shot the Brian was. I thought it was kind of funny. In case you're wondering how we did, check this out!


Oh yeah! Some of the ones in the black are mine! Not too shabby for a first time shooter! I have to admit though the one closest to the bulls eye was Brian's shot. My hero! At one point, he was trying to lower his aim and the results were the shots at the bottom of the page.

Oh yeah! Don't mess with the Monsons! We kept these two shells as a souvenir of our first time shooting together (and my first time ever). It was awesome!!!

Monson Family Reunion

Last weekend we went up to Midway to spend some time with the whole Monson fam. It was a lot of fun. We don't really get to see them very often unless it's Christmas or some other special occasion.

Our trip began with an unforgettable stop on the freeway. No this was not on purpose! As we were leaving our home, Brian had asked me "When was the last time we filled up the gas tank?" Mind you, I have not driven the car in probably a week or so because Brian drives it to school and work. I couldn't remember when the last time we had filled up but I was pretty sure it was recent. I was feeding Tali in the back (solid foods. No I was not nursing her) because it would be a long drive and it was lunch time.

So we were off. We got about 3/4 of the way up Parley's canyon when.....put.put.put. The car stopped. Luckily we were in the right lane and were able to move over to the emergency lane. Brian announced "we're out of gas." I thought it was some cruel joke. No. He was dead serious! We have no cell phone so couldn't necessarily call anyone for help. There was no highway patrolmen in sight. So I did what any resourceful and desperate woman with a baby stranded on the highway would do.......I flashed the oncoming traffic.......Hahaha! Just kidding. I flagged someone down. I was so amazed that the first person I flagged down actually stopped. Brian went with the nice people to go get some gasoline for the car while Tali and I stayed behind.

While waiting for my Prince to return and rescue us, I was doing some serious praying. I was so scared we would get hit by one of the fast semis or other huge vehicles. To top it off, there was a man that was walking up and down the freeway that was making me EXTREMELY nervous! He just looked kind of shady. Luckily, shortly after the man passed my car a highway patrolman pulled up behind us. He came up to the car and scared the bajeezes out of me! He was very kind though. He asked if we were okay and I explained to him what had happened. He was so nice to let me use his cell phone to call my family and let them know why we were delayed. In all this craziness, I felt so blessed. I felt like someone was definitely looking out for us other than the highway patrolman. I noticed that he was just sitting in his car behind us for about five to ten minutes. I'm sure it was to make sure we were okay. It seemed as though as soon as he left, my Prince was back to rescue us.

Once we got there, it was nothing but fun! Tali was so excited to see her cousins.....with the exception of her cousin Trevor. For some reason she just freaked out anytime he got near her. She did however warm up to him by the end of the trip.

That night, we ended up going to the pool. It was a lot of fun! Tali was having a blast! Here are some of the photos.

Meet my nephew Nate. He is my little buddy! What a ham!

Of course I had to document Tali's first time in the pool. She really LOVED splashing in the pool!

Here are some of us that participated in pool time. And what would a vacation be without a late night trip to the store for ice cream??? Ahhh!

The next day, we went to look at a bunch of craters. It was pretty fascinating. We saw a really big one at the Homestead. I didn't get a picture of it, but it was really cool.

Here are some pictures of the whole Monson fam. The first is of all the Monson grand kids. The second picture is of the whole family.

We had so much fun! It was really nice to see all of the Monson's together.

Here are a couple of pictures I took of "Homestead Ice Mountain." This is what it looks like in the day and at night.

This place has significant meaning for Brian and me. Brian had purposed to me in front of it years ago.

It's about LOVE....

and FAMILY

10 Months Old!

It's that time of month again! Another month, another photo shoot.

Let's see...Mommy and Nanna Monson took me to an exciting place. We went to see the Draper, Utah Temple open house on March 4th.. It was VERY pretty. Everyone kept telling mommy how cute I was (of course) and how surprised they were that I was behaving so well.

Another really cool place Mommy and Daddy took me this past month was an outdoor place called Cabela's. It was really cool! They had all sorts of weird animals. Some lived in water and were bigger than me! Mommy and Daddy kept calling them fish and trout. I have to admit, they were strange little creatures, but I still found them amusing. Then we went into some other rooms where Mommy and Daddy kept pointing to some really BIG animals that were furry and had four legs. Some stood on two legs and some on four. Some had pointy things sticking out of their heads and some I thought could touch the ceiling. Mommy and Daddy kept calling them either a moose, deer or a bear. They were REALLY cool!

This last weekend I got to spend some time with my Daddy's side of the family. I had so much fun, but Mommy says she will write about that later.

I learned that today is St. Patrick's Day. I'm not sure what that means, but mommy said she wanted to put me in green for the occasion. She even gave me peas for lunch.

Some things that I am learning are:

1) I'm really good at pointing at people or things I find amusing
2) How to make new sounds thanks to a new toy Mommy and Daddy got for me (and put on the fridge to play with while they make dinner)
3) I can now bite a cookie!
4) I'm faster than my mom and dad! Hehehe!

Here are some more pictures Mommy took of me today.

Happy 10 months old to me!

Girls Night

Tali and I had gone to visit my sister and her family because it had been a while since we've seen them. Tali LOVED playing with her cousins.....and their toys. My sister treated us to pizza for dinner. It definitely hit the spot.

After dinner we got to go out in her hot tub. Ahhhh. So relaxing! Don't worry. The hot tub wasn't really that hot. It was about as warm as bath water. My sister keeps it a little cooler because of her little ones.

I loved Tali's little swimsuit. It was so cute! It was green with Elmo on the font of it. The only downside was it was a little too big for her.

She was totalling LOVING it! She kept splashing and getting really excited. It was so cute!

I had such a fun time! Thanks Melis.

Spring has sprung!

Spring has sprung at the Monson home! I Love Love LOVE Spring! It has to be my FAVORITE season! I LOVE how everything starts to come to life. I love the flowers, the warmer weather, and being able to spend time outside! There is just something so refreshing about Spring. I love how everything is alive and green! I really love the smell of the flowers especially lilacs and hyacinths. Brian and I are starting our Spring planting for our flower and vegetable gardens. We were so excited the other day when we went outside and to our surprise this is what we found.

Our very first flower to pop out was the purple iris followed by our yellow pansy and then our tulip and then our yellow narcissus. There is something that is so exciting about seeing flowers bloom. For some reason, it puts me in such a great mood. I'm really wanting to do some serious gardening.

Tali even got in on the excitement.