Happy Birthday baby Emi!

Today is baby Emi's birthday! I should retract that sentence and mention that she is quite a big girl! Emi is seriously one of the coolest little girls that I know. I know that the term "cool" may seem a bit inappropriate, but it fits so well.

She is so stinkin' tough! I love her personality and the fact that she does not let ANYONE push her around. Sadly, this may even be true for her sweet older brother Pj.

She is so determined and incredibly independent. I love that at her age, while she still loves her Mom, she still has the will to do things all by herself.

I have loved getting to know Emi and remember meeting her when she was just a baby. I have loved being able to read stories with her, when I see her and just give her big hugs as well. She is so cuddly and is not shy in the slightest. At one point, a few weeks lapsed without seeing her and still she was sweet enough to give me a huge hug when she saw me.

Emi is incredibly smart. I have read to Emi, or attempted to do so, and have been interrupted by Emi pointing out various colors and shapes. She is such a sweetie and has such a big heart!

Emi is hilarious! I have loved reading DeLaina's blogs and have laughed my head off at the various things that Emi says.

She is such a crack up and such a beautiful little girl as well. She has the cutest blond hair and the most beautiful big eyes! I hope she knows how much her Auntie and Uncle Austin love her and will continue to love getting to know her and growing closer to her as well.

Meeting the Cales...

As I was writing the birthday post for Emily, I could not help but think back to the first time that I met her and the rest of the Cales. I was talking to Diane (my mother-in-law) the other day about it and just reflected on what a crazy story it is. It is hilarious now, but at the time, it wasn't so funny...so I thought.

It was July 24, 2006. I remember this because it was "Pioneer Day" and after having our first kiss that weekend, Austin asked me to come play at Lagoon for the day! I was so excited! I got dressed into some cute clothes and headed out the door. I was almost to the freeway, when Austin told me that I needed to wear swimming attire. "Shoot," I thought! I was taking my friend to the airport but risked making her miss her flight so that I could look cute! Ha, sorry CP!

I met up with Austin and soon after, joined Mike and Karen for our double date. The day was perfect and the night ended with Austin and I cuddling, while watching the fireworks! Mike and Karen drove us back to Austin's house, where I left my car and as I went to hug Austin good night, he offered and seemingly inappropriate proposal; "Come meet my family!" I looked down at my drenched and see-through tank top that revealed my not so "meet the parents" swimsuit. Had I brought an extra change of clothes, this situation would have been fine. Austin kept pleading and kept saying over and over, "My family is not judgemental, they will love you!" I reluctantly let him drag me into the house. I was overwhelmed when I walked into the TV room and there sat; Diane, Gene, Delaina, her baby Emi, Austin's sister Emily and Jeremy. Holy Crap! I felt all pair of eyes scan me up and down disapprovingly, as I took a seat on the couch. I had to sit on a towel, of course. Nothing says, "Welcome to the family" more than, "Please sit on this towel so you do not ruin our couch." Just kidding! Diane is WAY too nice to say that! I tried my best to make conversation with his sisters, but couldn't quite seem to redeem myself. Emily was the most chatty and shared experiences from her recent trip to Africa. I was intrigued, as I have wanted to visit Africa for as long as I can remember. She then went on to say that a few years prior, she had served a mission in Brazil. I immediately chimed in that I too, would like to serve a mission. Her face of bewilderment was priceless as she looked me up and down dubiously. Yet, she was still polite and responded, "That's great!" I do not blame their family in the slightest but just think it hilarious how horrible of a first impression I had made! I thought that Austin would stop dating me for sure! I love the Cales family and do not criticize them in anyway. If my little brother had brought home some girl in a sopping wet swimsuit, I would not be too impressed myself.

I wish I could say that I got up and left shortly after...but I didn't. His family left the room and a few minutes later, Austin and I were left alone. We decided that the best thing to do, after making such a wonderful impression, was to make out. We put on a movie, but it for some reason did not keep Austin's mom from hearing us all the way in her bedroom. We were interrupted a few minutes later by a coughing sound followed by "Austin." I cannot even begin to explain how mortified I was. Austin went into the hallway and talked to his mom. I am not sure if he thought that by being in the hallway which, was less than ten feet away, that he had been transported into a different dimension; because when he came back, he seemed to think that I had heard nothing.

Austin: My mom says that she really likes you, but says that we are being a bit noisy and would like us to keep it down because my dad has to work in the morning. She says we can watch the movie but to just keep it down a little bit.

What was really said: Austin, it's time to go. It's late and it is not smart to be making out at this hour.

Well, I was not going to be an idiot AGAIN, so I decided to leave. Austin continued to try and convince me all the way out to the car that his family just loved me, but his mom just wanted us to be careful. As if that were not enough, he even wrote me an email the next day saying the same thing! I appreciated the effort but knew that I was going to have to work pretty hard to get that bad taste out of their mouth!

It does make for a funny story! I am so glad that I have such a good relationship with all of the Cales and hope they know how much I love every single one of them!

Happy Late...very late Birthday Amanda!

Wow... I am embarrassed with how late this is, but better late than never! My cute cute niece Amanda, had her birthday about a month and a half ago! Well, I figured that she probably grew tired of hearing "Happy Birthday" so many times in one day that maybe hearing a "Happy Birthday" a month and a half later, may be a bit more meaningful!

I have loved getting to know Amanda. I first met her when Austin and I had been dating only a few short weeks and I instantly loved how fun and energetic she was. She is such a warm and sweet person. She acted like she had known me her whole life and immediately started telling me stories about her life. I was able to see Amanda in a few of her school plays and am baffled at the talent she has. She really was born to act! I love the way her face lights up as she takes control of the stage; whether she is playing a minor role or the lead!

Amanda is an incredibly intelligent girl. She recently wrote a story that involved Austin, myself and my sister Tiffany. I was blown away by her writing mannerisms and was completely shocked that this was coming from a ten year old! She really is so impressive and I am so excited to see how she continues to progress in the future!

Amanda is so much fun! When Austin and I were engaged, I was able to pick Amanda up from a play party and spend the evening with her. My sister and I got such a kick out of listening to her go on and on about various people that she knew! She was such a crack up! Tiff and I had so much fun hanging out with her and hope that that opportunity presents itself again in the future!

One of my favorite memories of Amanda, is when Austin and I took all of the Tonks kids to the Bees Baseball game! Luckily, the kids were so well behaved that we did not feel too overwhelmed! We had so much fun cheering on the Bees, eating junk food and doing cartwheels in the grass!

Austin and I also got to go sledding with the kids last year and had such a blast! I was blown away by the guts those kids have! They are so light and seemed to always go flying off of their tube, but nevertheless, they kept getting back on that tube and went down for another run!

Amanda is so mature for her age and I love that I can talk to her like a grown up. She has so much energy and is such a darling girl. I am so excited that I am her aunt and that we will have more opportunities in the future to talk about boys and do fun things together! I hope Amanda had a wonderful birthday and knows how much I love her!

Happy 27th Birthday Emily!

I just want to start off by saying how truly impressed I am with Emily. She has been the sister that I never had. I am the oldest of five, so I never had an older sister to look up to; however, I am so glad that I now have Emily as a sister-in-law to fill that void. I admired Emily the whole two years that Austin and I dated but felt like I really got to know her when Austin and I were engaged.

For those who know Emily well, know that she is amazing at any kind of arts and crafts. She called me as soon as Austin proposed and started helping me plan the wedding. She gave me such wonderful ideas and even gave me the contact information of the photographer that did her wedding and a videographer that we loved. She also made a beautiful wedding-planning book for me. What impressed me most was that her dad had just had a stroke and although, I expected her to just forget about it since she had so much going on; I received it in the mail a few days later. That really touched me. This was one of the experiences that made me realize how selfless Emily is. I admire how clean and well-organized Emily is. When she moved into her current home, she took the time to take me around the house, showing how perfectly clean and organized her closets and drawers were. I was baffled that she was able to get the whole house in order in just 3 days. Emily has a gift for making things look beautiful.

Emily is such a wonderful mother. I have seen several other mothers with their babies and none of them can compare to how wonderful Emily is with Mason. Mason is such an adorable, intelligent, happy, curious and social baby. I know that all of this is credited to Emily for the many hours a day she spends with him. What I love most, is though she spends her whole day with Mason, every time she looks at him, she seems so excited to be close to him. I have loved taking mental notes in my head as to how I will teach my future children things and how I will interact with them. Emily has already given me such wonderful ideas and I am so excited that I will have her as a source when I have children of my own someday.

Emily is hilarious! She can do the best impersonations of people that leave you rolling on the floor with laughter. I love what a kid at heart she is and just how playful she can be. A few weeks before Halloween, Emily suggested that she, Jer, Austin and me dress up in crazy costumes and go to a restaurant. We ended up stopping by a high school and Emily was kind enough to entertain us by getting in people's face while doing some crazy African-looking dance. Emily is so fun and so full of life. Austin and I absolutely love hanging out with Emily and Jeremy because we know that we are guaranteed a wonderful night of laughter and entertainment.

Emily is extremely sweet and sentimental. I have had so many good talks with her and have seen how sweet and emotional she gets when she talks about how much she loves Jeremy and Mason. I really love this side of Emily and have loved getting to know how truly sweet she really is. Austin and I have always looked up to Emily and Jeremy. Even though, every couple has the rough spots, I have really learned something from Emily; that even though you may dislike the other person so much at the moment, it is always important to say that "Even though we are upset, we are not getting a divorce, we still love each other and we are going to get through this." Emily has really served as my mentor, these first few months that I have been married. It has been wonderful, but really hard a quite a change at the same time. Emily has been such a wonderful example to me and I love that she has not acted disappointed or ashamed when I have told her about my shortcomings, in an effort to fix them. There have been occasions, when Emily has dropped everything to talk to me when I was upset or help me figure out certain things. She really has been the most wonderful sister that I could ever ask for and I am so grateful to have her in my life.

As I said before, I really look up to Emily. I am so impressed with everything that she has accomplished for her young age. She served a mission in Brazil, went on an exotic trip to Africa while teaching English to the children, graduated with a BA in Sociology from BYU, and has a beautiful baby Mason and a wonderful husband that loves her so much. I really am so proud of Emily for all that she has accomplished and more importantly, for the person that she is. She is loving, selfless, creative, organized, beautiful and such a truly good person. I know that Emily can be silly at times and think that she is not as beautiful as she really is, but I hope that she does know how GORGEOUS she really is.

I admire her strong testimony and know that she will continue to become an even more wonderful mother and an amazing person as time goes on. I really hope Emily knows how grateful I am to have her as not only my sister, but as one of my best friends. I love how close we have become and know that things will only get better as we both start having kids that can hopefully be close while growing up. Happy Birthday Emily! Austin and I love you so much and hope that you have such a wonderful day!