Ode to our mamas

It's been a long, LONG time. I know this. I won't even start with my usual apology for not posting so frequently. You all know that I feel bad so we can just move on.

Many changes have been made. I can't tell you all what they are just yet, because I don't even know. Logan and I are working hard and loving each other all the while. Hopefully, I will be able to give you more details in a few weeks.

I usually post every two months or so. I post about Christmas on Valentine's Day. I post about Valentine's Day months later. That's how I roll. We're closing in on Independence Day and I thought it only fair to post about Mother's Day.

I love my mom. She is my greatest friend. We can laugh for hours. She is so much fun to be around and she has been such a wonderful example to me. I can't wait to be a mother BECAUSE of her. I want to be as close to my children as she is to hers. She is beautiful, intelligent, witty, kind, shy, outgoing, classy, loving, and so much more!!!! I love you mom!!!!

I also have to give a shout-out to my Mother-in-Law, Lois. She is one of the sweetest women I have ever met. She will go out of her way to make others comfortable and happy. She made me feel like a part of the Ward family right from the start and I couldn't be more grateful. I will always have this particular memory of her. I had just got out of the hospital and was laying on the couch in their family room. I was mentioning how good some graham cracker and frosting sandwiches sounded. They are so tasty and yummy and I hadn't had one for years! Lois got up and went into the kitchen and got to work. She made me the graham cracker sandwiches! Isn't that the sweetest thing? She would do anything for anyone. She also gave me the most wonderful man for a husband. He has such a big heart and it's because his mama raised him right. We love you Lois!

I went home to visit my family for Mother's Day weekend. The women in my family participate in Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure in Salt Lake City every year. It is such a fun day because everyone shows up and we laugh non-stop! We run the race in the morning and then have lunch afterward. I love doing this every year because we're all so crazy and we have such a great time. Here are a few pictures of our awesome-ness.

Sadie and my mom, Loni. They're so silly sometimes!

My cutie-falootie sister Lacey and her little girl, Sierra
We walk and talk in groups.

Okay, so every year my mom always says that our little team should have matching shirts. And every year we forget. This year, my sisters and I decided to surprise my mom. We had the shirts made for everyone and gave them to our mom the night before the race. She cried so hard. It was really sweet. Now, each shirt has a different saying on the back. They aren't meant to offend, just to be silly. My cousin Xandee's shirt was a little provocative but she wore a jacket over the back of it. People kept coming up to us saying how much they loved our shirts. They even mentioned us on the show, Good Things Utah! Too bad they don't broadcast that in Denver. We definitely had the best shirts there. I was so proud.


There she is. The cutest mom ever in a whole sea of cancer survivors. She was diagnosed with Breast Cancer about 9 years ago. She was so determined to beat it and she did. I couldn't be more proud if I wanted to. My mom is such a fighter. She is strong and she trusts The Lord without a doubt. I want to be just like her! After the race, there is a parade of survivors. They all line up on the steps of the Gateway and remember how amazing they are. They celebrate the ones who survived, and honor those that did not. It's a really emotional ceremony.

After all of the festivities, we have lunch at this really great Italian restaurant. The name escapes me at the moment but it really is great. We sit and eat some delicious and yummy bruschetta, and giggle for hours. It's such a fun time. I can't wait to visit ya'll again!

Today isn't Mother's Day, but go and tell your mom how awesome she is. She needs to here it!

Stay tuned for Father's Day.

The newest addition to our family!!!!

Here she is! Her name is Sierra and she is going to be so happy here....

Just kidding.....

This is my brand new niece! My sister had her a few weeks ago! I'm so excited because I am going to Utah tomorrow and will FINALLY get to meet her! I can already tell she's cool - Look at those shades. We both like big sunglasses. She's blonde, tan, and has perfect skin. I can't wait to meet her!!!!

Below is the real addition to our family. His name is Tagg Ward and we love him. About two months ago, a Colorado breeder's home caught fire. The family wasn't home because the house was being renovated. When the firemen showed up, the house was engulfed in flames. They heard that there were puppies in the basement, and went in to rescue them. The ma and pa of the puppies were barking to help the firemen locate them. NO JOKE. I am not making this up. You can even check the news. The firemen rescued every last puppy!!! How lucky is that?!?!

So, I did some digging and found out that the puppies were all going to have to be sold the next day because they didn't have a home anymore. I called the breeder, set up an appointment, and told Logan we were going to look at puppies the next morning. We didn't plan to come home with one, but we wanted to look at them to see if a yorkie was for us. We showed up in front of the breeder's home the next morning and were the first ones there. We spent hours looking at all of the puppies and decided that Tagg was for us. Logan was unsure about the purchase and kept pacing around the cul de sac. People kept asking me if something was wrong with my husband. I just told them that he's a deep thinker when it comes to dogs. :)

We took Tagg home and he immediately bonded with us. We really love him and are glad we made the decision to get him. He has such a great life, and an even bigger personality. He

honestly thinks he's a big dog. He probably thinks he's a human because we treat him like one. I hope you all get to meet him. He's survived a fire....He's a fighter!

Here he is...........Tagg the mighty yorkie!!!

This is his puppy picture. So flippin' cute.

He sleeps on his back all the time.

Here's a pic of me smuggling him into Logan's office. They said no dogs allowed, but Tagg fits in my purse. Oh well!
This is what I mean when I say he's bonded with us. He loves to snuggle up close.....

He likes to sleep on his back and he curls his body up in weird positions.

When I turn on the vacuum, he hides behind this basket.

He also likes to reach into my laundry basket and eat my underwear and socks. He'll do an army crawl over to the basket, slowly stand up, snatch one of the socks, and then run away. I'll be watching him and telling him not to, but he doesn't care. I'm practicing for motherhood.

He sleeps a LOT.

Don't ya just love him???

Valentine's Valentimes

Ok, so I know I'm super late. It's May. Everytime I get on this thing, I vow to be a sturdy blogger. But I can't do it. It's not in my blood. I know that Logan wishes things were different. But they're not. I am who I am. I feel like this takes too long. There are so many distractions. My camera has actually been dead for the last few months, and I JUST RECENTLY found the charger. So here it is: the next addition to our amazing blog. I'm going to catch you up.

Valentine's day rolled around, and as it was our first as a married couple, I wanted it to be super special. So I spent all day slaving around the home. I cleaned, and cooked, and did all these little Martha Stewart-ish things. Logan was studying for the Series-7 that entire week so we hadn't spent any time together. He was at work all day so I had plenty of time to make this perfect.

I had lit candles everywhere and I mean EVERYWHERE. We didn't have to have any lights on because it was so bright. I had lit mini candles all down the hallway, around the tv, on the desk. I also lined the bar with them, so we were lit up. I made a delish meal with pork chops and I don't even remember because it was so long ago. I made cream-filled cupcakes for dessert that had saying written out in icing. (Thanks, Martha!)

When Log finally came home, he brought me some really pretty lilies. Roses are for traditionalist. And besides, he had given me some for my birthday a few days previous. He also brought me a special book from The Tattered Cover Bookstore. I could get lost in that place!

Anyway, here are a few pics of that joyous event. We had a nice little candlelight dinner, and then we watched The Dutchess. I thought it would be a romantic movie, but it wasn't. It was just sad.......

I crafted that centerpiece out of carnations myself! I was so proud. (Again, thank you, Martha!)

Here are the pretty lilies! They're my fave flower!

I had been begging Logan for a dog since BEFORE we got married......

This is what he gave me.

It was a sign of what was to come.....

:)

Random post

It's been a while since we've posted, so I just thought I'd hop on here to appease you relatives out there constantly calling for more pictures and blog posts. A belated post from Lexy about Valentines Day and our new dog Tagg (aka "Taggemus" or "Taggers" or "Stinky Poopy") is on the way.

Because no post would be complete withought pictures, I decided to just throw some up for your enjoyment.

This is Denver during the day time. We live by that brown building that says Qwest on it. We go to church near the building in the bottom right corner.

This is Denver at night.

This is what BYU football is all about.

This is what Utah football is all about.

This is what the new US budget looks like (no joke).

This is why - "Change" you can believe in.

Maybe I should have left the politics and sports banter out of our family blog. Ah well, can't hide who I am. Perhaps I should start my own blog so I can rant about this stuff under the appropriate pretense. I dunno... anyhoo... catch you'z on the flip flop.

I always forget something.....

So I told a few people that I would put some pics of the apartment up.....
This is all you get! I miss having a christmas tree. It was the best thing that ever happened to this place.

Our first Christmas......

Okay, here's another late post. Christmas. We decided to visit both families this year, so that they both could partake in our first Christmas as a married couple. We started at the Buffo's. We made it just in time for Grandpa Guido and Grandma Joann's party. Santa and Mrs. Claus were there. It was magical. We got to open our presents from my mom and dad early because we weren't going to be there on Christmas morning. We got the best presents! They gave us brand new hiking packs! We also got a two man tent that is perfect for us when we go camping this summer! I can't wait to break that stuff out as soon as it gets a little warmer. Boulder, anyone???

After a couple of days, we headed up to visit Mike and Lois and the rest of the Ward clan. We got to visit with old friends, and play with our nieces and nephews. The plan was to head to our awesome cabin in Island Park on Christmas morn, but the weather was too bad and we were snowed in! We actually didn't get to go until the next day! It was so much fun. We stayed in this awesomely huge cabin, and we even got to have a bed! We didn't have to sleep on the floor! The weather was perfect up there, and we went sledding and snowmobiling. Now, only one of the snowmobiles was working. That meant that 30 people had to share it. It's tough, but it can be done.

Logan loved sledding. When we weren't battling each other in Trivial Pursuit, he was outside on the sled forming new trails for the rest of us. Sometimes he was the only one outside, but he kept pushing through! That's why I married him!

Our Christmas break was short, but wonderful. It was so great to see our families and make some more memories!

P.S. I actually didn't take any pictures of Logan's and my first christmas morning together. I am such a bad wife. Really. Does anyone have pictures from Christmas morning that I could have???? Log got me some beautiful Gianni Bini (Giannini Banini for you, mom) boots from Dillards, about ten pounds of gummy candy, and some sweats and a gift card to Victoria's Secret! I loved it! I saved up money from donating plasma....ick....and got Logan a new suit. Banana Republic was having a HUGE sale and I was able to get a suit coat and slacks for a great deal. We got some movies, and some candy. Lois made me this beautiful quilt that I will have to take a picture of! It's got my favorite colors, brown and green! We also got some new cologne and some money, and a new butcher knife that's the sharpest thing on the block. It could cut through bone, I swear.

It was a great Christmas!!!!! We love you family!!!!!

Us at the Buffo Christmas Partay

Logan enjoying another chocolate popsicle....

Look at Logan's face in this one. It cracks me up. He was more jolly than Santa!

This is our adorable niece, Bentley. She'so beautiful. Logan and I loved spending time with her because, as you can see, she loves to snuggle. Logan is going to make a terrific dad. Everyone in our ward thinks so, because he loves to play with their children. We actually spoke in Sacrament meeting a few weeks ago, and I advertised our baby-sitting services. We're desperate.

And this is my grandpa, Guido. I had to put this pic up because it is SO cute!

Merry late Christmas.

Logan's closer to 30 than he is to my age......

Okay, so I am a horrible blogger. I'll admit, Logan's better at it and probably more interested in it than me. I'm sorry! I just don't like posting because it takes so long! I am going to try and be better. I want to blog. I DO!

So Logan's birthday was on December 14, LAST year. Yes, I'm just documenting it now. We had a lot of fun that weekend! I took him to breakfast, we went bumming, and got him some new toys. Later that night, we had some friends over and had a nice dinner and played some Guitar Hero World Tour. Anyone who knows us, knows that we dominate. Our friends didn't realize we were so talented. We celebrated with friends on Saturday the 13th, and had the 14th all to ourselves. I baked a nice chocolate cake that went horribly wrong. I've never had that happen before! I might have been devastated, but I was not giving up. I flipped the cake over and piled on the frosting to disguise my gooey mess. It worked! And it was still super delish.....

I decided to sing "Happy Birthday" to Logan, but not without his trusty guitar. I learned how to play it quickly on You tube and started practicing. Now, there are no real walls in our apartment. They don't actually touch the ceiling, so you can hear everything that happens in every square inch of the apartment. So I knew that Logan could hear my practicing, but I didn't care. When the time was right, I lit the candles on the cake, whipped out the guitar and proved to Logan just how much I love him.

Enjoy the pics!

Cute little Log decided to take a birthday nap.

What's in the bag?

That's right! It's a new razor that is going to replace the one you've had since your mission...six years ago!

Logan's crazy about chocolate....That's not a hole in his tooth, just some residual cake.

Logan tearin' it up!

And then helping himself to some more chocolate treats!

Happy Bithday, honey. I think you're the most wonderful guy, and I couldn't be luckier! Can't wait to celebrate 28!

I LOVE YOU!