Tribute to COLD SORES !!

To all of us who get cold sores... this one's for you. It all started last Saturday night while reading the Ensign...tingle, tingle... what was that? Did I just feel my lip tingle? Nah, it couldn't be, it was too insignificant to really be the beginnings of a cold sore, I said to myself. But what if it is? Nah, I don't think so. A lesson I have learned over and over: IT IS A COLD SORE, stupid!! Believe that insignificant tingle, danget. I went to sleep and that was it. Too late for preventitive measures...nothing can stop it now. Sure enough, the next morning, BOOM, it was there, and it was about to make its statement to the world. Prideful cold sores just got to show off don't they.

This particular cold sore was rather mild however. It lasted about a week, with the growing phase only a day and a 1/2. The picture shows it exactly one week after I first felt the tingle.

I was lucky. Could have been worse, much worse. Like the time I was 11 and on our way back from a vacation in Utah. I got 5 monsterous ones on my top lip and 4 huge ones on my bottom lip... all at the same time. You know, the kind that swell up and get hard. That was the worst time of my life I think, walking out into public as this hideous thing and everyone just kind looks away real quick... too grotesque to stare. I wish I had a picture of that. And of course my mom downplays it like it is no big deal...just put on some carmex. My theory has been Carmex is what gives me cold sores in the first place!! Only later did I realize I was contaminating every Carmex I bought, so if ever used it with out having a cold sore, my contaminated Carmex would give me cold sores every time.

So, to all of you who do not get cold sores. You just don't understand what our little cold sore family goes through! We still love you... but you will just never understand :)

Could it finally be spring?!!

Today is the best day of my life! After 6 long months of being uncomfortably cold... It is warm outside!! And to think, I used to think the 60's was cold, now it is heaven. Actually, it might have reached the 70's today. This nice weather came just in time because I said to myself, if I have to go through one more cold day I am moving back to Arizona immediately, no matter the ramifications.

We found these amazing flowers in the backyard. They are perfect! Now we are just waiting for the tulips I planted last fall to bloom out front. We will see if it happens... I have never planted anything in my life until those tulips.

Our Orem House

Here's the pictures of our Orem house before we moved in. (It's substantially more cluttered now). We've lived here since Feb '07. The screen shots are of our living room w/ fireplace, our little kitchen, our drafty attic-turned-bedroom/bath, and the house from the street view of course.

A few pics from Easter

Here's pictures taken at Mark & Rebecca Wagner's house at Easter. Sorry, I don't know how to flip this. Mark and Tai

A bunch of cousins after their Easter Egg Hunt.

Hard to say good-bye

Tai will miss her cousin and best friend Elizabeth. Her family moved to San Antonio this weekend. We will truly miss them! But I'm glad Elizabeth gets to be with her daddy now who has been in the military since September.

This will be tough on Tai. Although I have explained that Lizzie moved far away, I don't think she quite gets it. This is a girl who cried everytime Lizzie even left our house for the day. It has been awesome for Tai to have such a good friend and example.