24/30: i was born there

spring of 2007

These three girls are people I have known since kindergarten...and even before.

I was born in PENNSYLVANIA.  Did you know that?  I lived there until I was fourteen.  Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would move away from.  But, sadly we did.

I've been back 3 times to visit.  Each time I realized AGAIN how much I love and miss the east coast.  Sometimes the west is hard for me...but I try :)

Anyway, in this picture is Sarah, Kayla, Katie and me.  I have been friends with Sarah since the first day of kindergarten.  My house was in between Katie and Kayla's.  And each time we got together it was like we were kids again...obviously.

22 & 23 - a 10 month old and earphones

 Yesterday Porter turned 10 months old.

James is taking a few online classes and he listens to his lectures with earphones.  He put them on Porter.  And Porter just stared at the computer screen.  So cute :)

21/30: a fort

James built a fort for Porter.  We all crawled in and out, and all around it.  It was a pretty funny evening.

catch up: 16-20

The past few days I was in Idaho with my parents.  I told James that I absolutely love having one on one time with them.  They were able to give all of their attention to me and their grandson.  They bought me yummy Chinese food and cooked for me (even eggs and toast for breakfast.)  I just love going home - I get babied

and loved and...it's hard to come back to reality.

My parents got this "new and improved" Polaroid camera so we had some fun taking pictures with it.

 I was able to meet up with a handful of friends of high school.  It was so fun to visit and watch our children play...we have children?  I know, so weird.

Katie's little guy and mine.

Elyssa, Caley and I

Kelsi and I - she's due in about a month and a half, so cute!

 Porter LOVED the piano!  He would crawl over to it, stand up and push on the keys.  It made me very proud...

 We played with my sister and her kids.  This is Porter's cousin, Emmett.  They're two weeks apart - they would crawl after and around each other trying to touch the other one.

 Porter got his FIRST balloon!  We were waiting in line at the grocery store and the manager gave him one.  He was so excited.

15/30: a salad

Have you ever had a pork salad from Cafe Rio?  I'm pretty sure you've heard about them.  EVERYONE and their dog is in love with it.  And they're totally not overrated.  They are the yummiest and probably the most fattiest salad in the world.  

I decided I was going to make it.  I found the recipe here.  I'm not going to lie - it was kind of hard.  The pork, the rice, the beans, the dressing...there was a lot to do and right before I put my salad together I almost thought "What a waste of time and ingredients." And then I ate my copycat Cafe Rio salad.  Oh my gosh...AMAZING!

Please make it.  Again...here is the recipe. 

Dressing, beans, lettuce and rice.  Not in the picture - the cheesy baked tortilla and the amazing pork that simmered in the crock pot all day :)

13 & 14/30: i love them

This is Candice

She is my mom's sister's daughter - yes, that makes her my cousin.  She is one year younger than me.  She has blond hair like me, we both love watching silly MTV reality shows, we would rather stay in then go out, romantic chick flicks call to us, we absolutely LOVE eating, and...she is my very best friend.

I hate that she lives 5 hours away from me.  I don't like the idea that we probably won't ever live in the same town.  I very much dislike that that our visits are once every couple of months.  

BUT...I do love that we visit each other and that we call each other A LOT and I just love her!

Now these handful of people below are my 5 siblings.  Yes, I have 5 siblings.  Four sisters and one brother.  They all will probably tell me this picture is horrible of them...but geez, it's the only one I have of us?

  Sad.

Anyway, I love them very dearly.  I'm pretty sure I talk to each one of them everyday...no I'm very serious.  We might all live in different places, but I know Steph's carpool schedule and when Adrienne's kids have gone to the doctor last, and when Rachelle runs each day, and when Jennifer is walking from work to school, and even when James goes to the bathroom.  :)  We are a pretty tight knit group.  

I love my 4 sisters and 1 brother.

12/30: i can walk...sort of

I am amazed at how fast Porter is learning and growing!  When he first got this little scooter (thanks Grandma and Grandpa Eldridge) he would touch it and laugh at it.  A few weeks ago he started pushing it on his knees and now...he pushes it while walking. :)  So cute!

(I totally missed yesterday's picture.  We were gone for the weekend so I wasn't by a computer.  Of course  I took the camera to document Porter's first time swimming and trying pizza...but I forgot to take pictures, dang it..)

11/30: a blanket

Porter loves to stand up next to the chair, and pull this blanket off.  He then puts in over his head, laughs, chews on it, wraps himself up in the blanket, and rolls.  I thought he just liked rolling around with blankets but this one is definitely his "one and only".  One time I tried giving him another blanket thinking that was what he wanted.  He threw it down, stood back up and grabbed the yellow blanket from the pile.  So now I keep this blanket right on top so he can grab it anytime.

10/30: i used to be a teacher

After graduating college, I taught 2nd grade for a year.  This picture was taken by a 6th grader who thought I was hilarious.  We were outside for game day.  I'm not really sure what I'm doing but she thought I was cool, so I probably thought I was cool doing this?  

Teaching elementary school was great...sometimes.  And I miss it...sometimes

9/30: cookies

(horrible picture - sorry...I'm realizing I am no photographer...like, at all!)

I made cookies today.  I usually have the urge to make them 3-4 times a week.  But I try really hard to restrain myself.  Today it didn't happen and I made chocolate chip cookies; ate a couple handfuls of dough and then 4 warm cookies.  Delicious :)

8/30: the sink

In Logan there is this restaurant called Angie's.  James and I have grown to love their breakfast.

At Angie's, there is this challenge.  They fill a "sink" full of ice cream and if you eat it all, you get your picture on the wall and a bumper sticker....a bumper sticker!

So us and our friends took on this challenge.

And nailed it...they let me take home the bumper sticker :)

James finishing off the goods

7/30: six roomies

While living in good old Colonial 408 with these 5 girls we would say,
"It's because we're friends..."

And then laugh hysterically after wards.  That saying is on our matching t-shirts. (I know, so cheesy)

This may have been one of the funnest semesters of my college life.  Living with 5 girls can be fun or awful...and these girls were absolutely the best!  And I miss them.

6/30: college grad

I graduated from BYU-Idaho in the summer of 2008.  I did it in less than 4 years. :)

And to be honest, I miss college.  I miss studying child development and working with teams of students on how we could help children better adapt to different environments.  I actually miss talking about our case studies.  I miss the relationships with my awesome professors - they had faith in me.  I graduated from college wanting to change the world and educate/save all of the children.  

It didn't happen...but I am proud of my college degree.
Thanks Mom and Dad - for making it VERY clear how important a college education is.

5/30: off roading

A local high school sponsored a "cowboy rendezvous" this weekend.

We put on our flannel shirts, cowboy boots and hats and went to the event.  They had stages for cowboy poetry and country music, lots of stands with leather saddles and purses, and of course a chuck wagon meal :)

On the way back to the car, James decided to take Porter for a little "off roading".  

Porter thought it was hilarious.

4/30: gone!

Let me explain the picture for today...

Over the last - hmm...couple of years I have had some intense stomach pains.  I always figured I ate too much, ate something I shouldn't have or maybe I was allergic to something.  I never thought much of it - and I'm pretty sure you have heard me complain about a stomach ache :)

A couple of months ago, while I was complaining to James about another one of my stomach pains, he said, "Tiff, you've complained about stomach pains almost every day since we've been married."

Really?  Geez...maybe that's not a good sign?

So after some encouragement (pushing) from my husband, I finally went to see an internal medicine doctor.  He scheduled an ultrasound and you'll never guess what he found.

Gallstones

And lots of them!  And they were huge.  They couldn't pass.  And did you know that your gall bladder flares up right after you eat?  Who knew?!

So we met with a surgeon and I had my gall bladder out last week.  Let's be honest - I was scared.  They fill your stomach with air and snip your gall bladder and pull it out through a small incision.  Ah!

The picture above is a picture of the pictures the surgeon took of my insides - awesome huh?  Picture of my inflamed gall bladder, picture of them snipping it out, and a picture of me without a gall bladder.

And guess what?!  Those awful stomach pains...GONE!

The End :)

3/30: a little trip

I think this picture is absolutely hilarious.  This is my sister, Rachelle. 

She's...5 years older than me?  Yeah, that's right.

This picture was taken at my little sister's wedding - can you see her behind us?

I had been married almost a month, and Rachelle was about a month away from delivering her cute baby boy.

Guess freaking what?

I'm going to visit Rachelle....in CALIFORNIA!!!!

It's totally true...Porter and I are taking a little plane ride to sunny (it better be sunny!) California.

We're going to eat those donuts she always talks about and go for walks by the beach and sit on the couch and watch our kids play together and....holy cow I can't wait!

2/30: porter j

I have wanted to be a mom my entire life.  Promise.  Growing up I can remember thinking that my life would be complete when I could stay home and raise my children.

Well my dream came true.  

Yeah sure, it's true what they say - you're tired a lot, sometimes your baby is sad and you don't know why, your body changes...blah blah blah.  But why do people always exaggerate the negative?  

Why not glorify the positive?

And this little guy - my little guy...is totally the positive.

I took this video last night - couldn't resist. (I figured a video could be substituted for a picture)

P.S. While I was writing this post, I started to cry...I really am my mother's daughter :)

to begin...(day one)

See this handsome fella sitting next to me?  

This is my husband, my BFF, my lover, my most favorite person...isn't he good lookin'?

This picture was taken right after we booked our honeymoon to Mexico! (and it's one of my favorite of us...maybe because we're so beautiful and SKINNY)  Holy crap we were excited!

This man is one of the reasons for my happy life!  He is the greatest guy in the world - he makes me laugh harder than anyone else can, he cooks a mean batch of German pancakes, and he looks sexier than any man in a cowboy hat :)

I love him...