So this is LOVE!! (hum hum hum hum)

Well things are still going well here. I am still planning a wedding, although we are kinda at a stand still right now because we can't book the Temple until 6 months out, and I can't get my dress until Christmas when we are in Denver where my Grandma has it stored. I am wearing my mom's dress with some alterations done to it.

So far we have the day picked out (June 25th), the reception place mostly planned (in the cul-de-sac with a bunch of Christmas lights and decorations or for a back up, the stake center), the colors picked (if you know me at all you will know that this will be purple. Different shades of purple to be exact), and I have me a groom which I think is actually the most important part!

Brian is so great! He treats me so well, and I could not ask for a better companion to spend the rest of eternity with. I really look forward to the day that I can go into that temple and be sealed to this wonderful man!

Ok, enough mushy stuff! Brian and I are going to Utah on the 18th to see his best friends up there. I am just a little nervous about meeting them. They mean so much to him and I just hope I can live up to their expectations. We will then head to Denver to spend Christmas with my mom's side of the family. We will spend a few days there then drive back to Flag for a day or so then head to Gilbert to ring in the new year with his family. I am really looking forward to all the time I get to be with him and all the family we get to see.

Well I hope you all are enjoying your holidays and that the rest of this year is great for all of you!

LELA IS ENGAGED!!

Ok so I think that most of you probably know this but I am engaged! Here is how it happened!

He took me to Lowell Observatory to look at the stars. We looked at Jupiter and its moons which was really cool. When we were done we went out to the car and as he was opening my door (which he always does cause he is wonderful!) he noticed he had a flat tire. He asked me to get the compressor out of the back of the car so I went to get it. As I opened the back hatch, there were purple roses and a custom made banner saying, "Lela will you marry me?" I looked at him and he got down on his knee and asked me. I told him yes of course! Then he called to his friend and my cousin that they could come out. They had flattened his tire for him and were in on the whole thing.

The ring is beautiful, he is wonderful and I am so happy!!!

And now some pictures.





Oh the wedding is scheduled for June 25th and I will be needing addresses so please send them to my e-mail so I can be sure to invite all you wonderful people! ljw13@hotmail.com

Babies are great!

I am now watching 2 babies during the day. They are finally learning to play together and not fight all the time. It is so great to see Alora learn to share the toys and me. She has had me to herself for the last 2 years and the adjustment has been difficult for her, but she is doing a great job and I am so proud of her!

Ellie is just over a year old and is the daughter of some friends from the ward. She is so adorable and has the cutest personality. She takes all the mean stuff Alora does to her and doesn't even cry. (she does have 3 older brothers though) She is putting everything in her mouth and it has been hard for me to remember that she is only 1 and not older. I keep thinking that she should be doing and understanding the same things as Alora. It is a chalenge that I am really enjoying. Maybe someday I will be able to get some good pics of them together.

Family, Friends, and Upcoming Trips.

I had surgery about a month ago. I had a hernia in my stomach and ulcers in my esophagus. Not fun and very painful. The good thing is, now I don't have heartburn! I have had almost constant heartburn for the last few years and since the surgery I have had NONE!! It was SO worth the few days of pain to get rid of the constant pain. I recovered well and now everything is great again.






We had our annual 4th of July party this last weekend. It went really well and I think we all had a good time. Almost all the Grandys came (we missed you Rachel, Talmage and babies) and we did a garden project but for the most part we played games, had tons of food and had a blast. Aunt Lois had the ice cream maker going almost non stop and it was so wonderful. Thanks for doing that for us! I think this was the last time we (the Wilkins) will see Jacob before he leaves for his mission and we are great full for the time we got with him. Jacob we are going to miss you, but we are also so proud of you and the choices you have made with your life. We love you!!!





My mom is off to Alaska next week. We will miss her but we are so glad she has the opportunity to go. She is going with her friend of many years, Jenny. They will be gone for 2 weeks. I am sure there will be more to post about her trip later.


(Family on my moms side this past Christmas)

Mom gets home on Wed the 29th and we leave for Colorado on the 31st. One day home. Crazy huh!! My parents and 2 other couples (the Flagstaff 6 my dad calls the group) are riding motorcycles up to my Grandma's house in Dillon and my sister and I will be in the van. I am really looking forward to seeing my Grandma again. I only get to see her 2 times a year and I don't know how much longer I will have the opportunity to see her. She is in wonderful shape and could run circles around me. I hope that continues for many years but you never know so I really have learned to cherish all the time I get with her as well as all my family. I really have the best family and friends anyone could ask for. I love you all!!

Rain and Mexico!!

I love the rain!! It has been raining in Flagstaff for the last couple of days and I have been soaking it in! The earth smells sooooo good!





I left this morning at 3:45 for the airport. The plane left at 7:45 for San Diego where we (my friend and I) got picked up and shuttled to Tiajuana Mexico. My friend had surgery and just got back to the room about 5 min's ago. Things went well and she is sleeping off the drugs. While she was gone I got brave and went shopping at a little out door mall they have across the street. I didn't get abducted and I managed to find a Burger King and got my self some dinner. FYI the milk shakes taste a lot different. Much sweeter than at home. The television has some english channels and I am now watching Harry Potter. Tomorrow we will hang around here and recover a little from surgery and then Sunday morning we leave for home again.

Cakes and Birthdays

Thursday the 9th of April my little baby turned 2. I can't believe she is 2!! I started watching her when she was only 8 weeks old. What happened? She used to be so tiny and helpless. Now she is very demanding and so adorable!! I have loved these last 2 years. Watching her learn and grow. Figuring out the world around her. She is so smart.


Here she is at 5 months old!



Now she is 2 years old!


This is the cake that my mom and I made for her party. I think it turned out pretty good. Some issues but over all I like it.





This is a cake that we made for a family friends 5th birthday this last weekend. He is really into Star Wars. We pieced a bunch of cakes together and I love it. I think this one turned out great!



Anyone need a cake done? My mom and I would love to help.

VOTE!!!

OK so I am a big fan of Dancing With the Stars. I have been since the beginning. This season I feel like I have a connection to the show. It is a far far away connection but it is still there. My friend from high school and before is married to one of the pro's brothers. I am voting and voting and voting. You all should too. Even if you don't watch (which you should cause Chelsie is AMAZING as a dancer and choreographer) you should still vote for her. Doesn't take long and every vote helps!



By the way Stacy, If you do go to Cali and Vegas you should let me know. I was thinking about going to Vegas next weekend and I want to see you and your adorable kiddo!

Thanks to ALL!

Thank you to all who commented. I like to know that people read even though it is boring. I will stop being so dramatic.

No one reads.

Well I guess not many people read my blog, so I decided I will just use it more as a journal.

Life has been pretty mellow lately. Min got out of the hospital and is doing good. She still is having some strange pains but they are in a different spot and not constant so we don't know what is going on there. She refuses to go to the doctor again. She is so sick of doctors.

For spring break Min and I went to Las Vegas for a few days. It was so fun spending time with my sister just the 2 of us. We met some of my friends and hung out with them for the first day and then we hung out just us the rest of the time. We stayed at the Plaza right down on freemont street. So much fun. I miss our time together. Life just seems to get in the way sometimes.

The second part of break Hyrum and Sarah Grandy came down from Utah and spent some time with us. Hyrum and my mom installed some recessed lighting in our living room, hallway and my mom and dad's closets. They look really nice. We played lots of cards and Hyrum helped clean out our fridge. It was fun to have them here. I am excited to play with their baby when it gets here later this year. Saturday we went down to Phoenix for Rick and Alyssa's baby blessing. It was the first time I saw Thayne and he is adorable. That family makes some cute kids.

Nikki had her baby last friday. Pierce is perfect. So much hair! Easter is next weekend and therefore the treasure hunt. The entire Grandy family will be there (-Angel). I am excited to see all the babies and their familys.

Speaking of the hunt, I am now, and for the forseeable future, in charge of the Junior hunt. This year is only a junior hunt but next year we will have a junior (8-12 or so) hunt and an egg hunt (everyone 1-6 or 7). We will have Paysen, Porter, Pierce, Hanna, Heber, Thayne, Mackezie, AmberLynn, and maybe more for the eggs. People keep multiplying. I love it!! The kids hunts are my favorite. I love to see the fun and excitement in their eyes. It's great!!

Well I guess thats all for now. Oh by the way, Tannis I will need your address. E-mail it to me ljw13@hotmail.com.

To give me something fun to do!

So I have read a few blogs that have done this and while I didn't respond to theirs I hope people respond to mine. I love to give gifts to people!!

Here's how it works: the first FIVE (Maybe more if I decided I am having too much fun making things) people to respond to this post will get something made by me personally. What I make is my choice, but it will be made JUST FOR YOU! My choice. For you. However, like all things that sound too good to be true :), this offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1- There is no guarantee that you will like what I make!
2- What I create will be just for you personally.
3- It will be completed sometime this year. :)
4- You will receive no clues as to what it's going to be. I'll let you post a request of some sort with your comment, but still... it could be anything!
5- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange if I so desire... it may blow your mind! Or it may not. It may be very simple and predictable... but hopefully you will benefit from it!

And like most things that sound too good to be true, there is a catch. You must re-post this on your blog and offer the same deal to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. Not too bad, huh? In fact, I think it'll be a lot of fun!!

So-- on your mark, get set, GO! The first 5 (or so) people to leave a comment telling me they posted this on their blog and want to win a free, FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift from me will receive just that!!! **Remember: You have to tell me in your post that you've posted this on your blog before you can be guaranteed one of the slots!** Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!

Out of Surgery!

Ok so Mary Lynne is out of surgery and the doctor said he thinks he got it all and that he hopes he didn't nic the bowels. HOPES!!! What the heck does that mean? Anyway I am sitting at home babysitting when I really want to be at the hospital with my parents and my sick sister.

For any of you who know the Hovers, Rita is in the waiting room with my parents waiting for Tom. He had a heart attack and is having triple bi-pass surgery right now. Prayers would be welcome!

Sick sisters are no fun!

My sister is sick. She came over yesterday early after not sleeping all night because of side pain. It continued to get worse and my mom finally took her to the ER. They ran some blood tests and came back with elevated lipase levels, which means something is wrong with the pancreas. They admitted her and this morning at 4 am they did a CT scan. They found an obstruction in her intestines. The intestines are blocked and starting to wrap around themselves. She is going in for surgery as I am typing this. I really hope all goes well and I will keep you updated.

Bored...

Well I am bored. I know that is not a very good reason to blog but maybe I will be able to come up with some interesting things to say.

My "cousin" Alyssa had her baby last week. A little boy named (sorry if I butcher the spelling) Roderick Thane Grandy. I think they are going to call him Thane seeing as Roderick is his dad's name. Anyway congrats to them!

Last week Amanda and Rachel and her babies came to visit us. We LOVED seeing them. The babies are so cute and I was so excited to see Amanda. This was the first time since she got back from her mission. She has not changed and we love her so much. We love the whole family!!

Last night I made dinner for my parents and sister and Brandon. Meatloaf made with croutons, mashed potatoes, salad and homemade rolls. Everyone loved it and I was pretty happy with it myself. My dad says that now I am the dinner maker. He doesn't have to do it now. I don't think that's fair. Just cause I make one good meal doesn't mean that I should cook everyday. Oh well, good thing that I like to cook. I would love any recipes (not too involved) that you all might have. Suggestions are always welcome.

I hope every one is doing good!