It's What You Believe

I've had a little bit of a wake up call from the workshop I did over the weekend for the Mrs. Idaho Pageant. I have been looking on the internet for hours trying to find cocktail dresses and evening gowns that I could wear with my garments. I'm not gonna it hasn't been very frustrating to look at litareally hundreds of dresses that are to short, sleeves to small, no sleeves, no back and so on. I've tried on several evening gowns and every time there is something that doesn't work with my garments. I recognize that a large percentage of people don't care whether it has sleeves or a back or its halfway up their thigh so its understandable that alot of dresses are not made garment worthy.

The part that is an eye opening experience for me is how many people don't understand that even for one night I am not willing to change who I want to be and what I am for a dress. I am a daughter of God and I want to do everything in my power to show my children that that is something so special and important in our lives. Being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is a blessing beyond words. It has given me strength when I didn't think I could go on, it has shown me more happiness being dressed up in a pretty dress going to prom or doing a pageant. It is something that I hold dear to my heart and am always striving to be a better servant for my Heavenly Father.

In today's world I think there are so many things that can distract us from what is truly important. Being a role model for a positive influence is what my goal is for my children, family and women in general. Coming back to the dress, I was told multiple times that if I just took of my garments off for one night then I could where the dress and wouldn't have to alter it or find a different one. Each time I firmly said "I will not take my garments off" and each time the person I was speaking to seemed just a little annoyed with the fact that it seemed like I was making things harder. When in reality by making the choice from day one to not remove my garments so I could wear something that was in style or for that special occasion I have been blessed with a love for the gospel, a love for my savior and a love for my self. I can look in the mirror knowing I made the right choice for me and for my children.

So even though this is about evening gowns and cocktail dresses, I feel that I have a responsibility to be an example to all women, LDS or not, that sticking to the things you believe in will taking you places you could have never dreamed of. Don't let someone talk you out of your beliefs for just one night and don't talk yourself out of something because its to hard. You will be blessed in your life for sticking up for what you believe in and for being an example of a strong woman.

I will not change who I am to be something for someone else.

Raising Money for the Pageant and Something More...

Here is the link to sponsor or donate!  DONATE HERE!

As such, your sponsorship and donations will not only go towards helping me push out of my comfort zone and become better with something I feel inadequate for, but it will also help those that suffer from a disease that most of us will never understand. My goal is raise $5,000 for the Mrs. Idaho pageant, some of this money will help me to run for Mrs. Idaho, but also, it will be used as a donation to help those that suffer from Anorexia and Bolemia.
Thank you so much for your support and helping me and other overcome our own fears and challenges. I look forward to representing you and hopefully the State of Idaho!


For me the opportunity to become better, progress and grow is what life is all about. As such running for Mrs. Idaho pushes me out of my comfort zone more than anyone would ever know. The reality is running for Mrs. Idaho isn't just for me, but it's also for those that suffer from the debilitating desease Anorexia and Bolemia. I have a close family memeber that is controlled by this desease. I have often wondered what I can do to help others that struggle to move past something so controlling. This is where Mrs. idaho comes into play for me.
I want to use this opportunity to not only become better and overcome my fears of being in the spotlight, but also help those that suffer from eating disorders.

Here is the link to sponsor or donate!  DONATE HERE!

Hidden Falls at Grand Teton Nation Park

We had a great weekend with the Johnsons. We went to Hidden Falls which was a short 1/2 mile hike but so fun for the kids. We didn't see any bears but did see some squirrels. We enjoyed having them here and spending time. They even caught a fish in the pond we have a our house.

Beauty Pageant

A couple of weeks ago Nolan and I decided to make goals to just be better. My goal was to try to be more outgoing and gain some self confidence in front of people. I figured I would just be better about making conversation with new people and be more outgoing in groups of people and this would definitely meet my goal. Well... Sheena Daniels, Nolan's friend from college messaged me on Facebook and asked if i would want to do the Mrs. Idaho America Pageant with her. I'm pretty sure I laughed out loud!!! A few conversations later and I was signed up for the pageant thinking what did I get myself into! Luckily I don't have to have a talent otherwise there would be no pageant in my future.

I am excited to be a part of the pageant to be a good example to Reese of doing things outside our comfort zone helps us to grow and that even though I'm going to be in a fancy dress I can still be modest and live my standards. I really want to focus on being healthy in mind, body and spirit. I have several people that are close to me that have eating or image disorders and its been hard to watch as someone you love is slowing dying in front of you and doesn't want to see what they are doing to not only themselves but to all those that love them. Focusing on ways to help them and help them see the importance of understanding who they are and how special they are.

As a family we have been doing good. We have started to get settled in in Idaho. The kids are getting use to living with Grammy and Grandpa. We've traveled a lot to Utah but its been fun to see family and neighbors and be able to spend time with them.  Reese is such a funny thing, she is doing better with not being terrified of spider and bugs and has enjoyed getting her face painted several times a week. Ethan is silly boy! He wants to only ride the four-wheeler with dad or grandpa and recently has discovered how delicious raspberries are. Nolan has been working hard at getting the business going and we love that his commute is even closer than before.

Land Rich

This week was full of fun negotiating and big checks. You've guest it we bought some land in Ammon Idaho. When we moved to Idaho we wanted to be closer to Nolan's family and let our kids get to know there cousins better. We took that to a whole new level by buying property right across the street from Shanna, Nolan's sister. We are excited for the opportunity to live in another fun neighborhood when the time comes for us to build. Hopefully sooner rather than later.  

We are enjoying living at Grammy and grandpa's house. We've been trying to do updates on the house and are currently working on one of the bathrooms. Its taken a long time but i think it will look so nice when its done. Not to mention having a bathroom that is bigger than a shoe box would be wonderful. Going from double sinks, shower, tub & separate toilet room to one sink, toilet and a shower/tub with about a 2 x 2 foot extra space to stand in its pretty squishy! Ill show some before and after pictures when its completed. Hopefully by next Sunday:) 

Reese and Ethan are adjusting OK to the change. I think Reese is still getting use to the idea of living here and sharing a room. She says that Ethan is loud at night. That he talks a lot! Nolan seems to be getting the hang of being his own boss although I think he misses having an office full of fun people to work and visit with. I am feeling good about living here except for the fact that every time i go outside i have at least 2-3 mosquito bits added to my already covered body:-( And there are so many bugs everywhere. I promise I am not a wimp but always dealing with bugs gets a little old. I'm pretty sure I'll survive. 

Potato Adventure

We've started a new adventure in Rexburg Idaho. We know, you all think we're crazy for moving somewhere colder than Utah and more windy. But Idaho is a beautiful place and has a lot of fun things to offer. We hope we can figure out what they are!

Here is how the adventure began. We were driving home from Rexburg after a fun weekend with the Hill clan. Nolan mentioned that he felt the only way for him to get his own businesses going would be for us to move to Rexburg and live with his parents. I thought he had been abducted by aliens. I couldn't believe my ears. We had just started doing some upgrades on our current home of beautiful wood floors, white ceilings, painted walls and white columns in our living room. I said we could think about it, but I honestly thought it was just a passing thought and would fizzle out.

About a week later Nolan was out of town for business.  I told him that I thought we should consider moving to Rexburg. He was shocked and said lets talk about it when he got home. So we did, and prayed about it and went to the temple about it. The answers we got to all was Move. Yikes, what did we do!!!! Moving to rexburg was the last thing I thought we would be doing this year. We decided that if we got the right amount of money from our house then we could move forward. So we listed our house and within 24 hours we had our full asking price. HOLY CRAP that was fast!

Fast forward a couple of weeks. Our neighbors the Moons ended up buying our house and we moved out the middle of June. Its been a crazy couple of weeks living in Rexburg. We've remodeled to bedrooms and are currently remodeling a bathroom in Nolan's parents home. We have enjoyed living with Grammy and Grandpa Hill! Ethan loves his grandpa and loves going for four-wheeler rides. Reese has loved playing with all her cousins and seeing her Grammy every day.

As a family we know that this will be hard at times but we're also looking forward to being together and growing together.

Easter Sunday

So its been way to long since I've posted anything and I decided this would be a good way to keep a family journal. Here is what has been going on since my last post. Reese turned 2 which has been so much fun. She is such a sweet little girl and brings so much joy to our family. She was potty trained a month after she turned 2 but it only lasted for 2 weeks. Poor me! But it was a good decision for all of us. The drama of going to the bathroom on the toilet was more than we all could handle. Especially Reese!

Nolan and I took a cruise for our 4 year anniversary to the Eastern Caribbean with Brian and Monica. I was 5 months pregnant but that didn't slow us down. The water was beautiful and we enjoyed the beaches in Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk and the shopping in Nassau. We snorkeled in Grand Turk and got chased by a VERY scary barracuda. If you've never seen a barracuda they are very ugly and scary. And from what I understand very mean. So even though it was playing follow the leader with us, we didn't play back. On Half Moon Cay the water was so clear you could see the bottom of the beach. The sand was so white and the sting rays, star fish, barracudas and all the other fish were the same color as the sand. Which was a little crazy cause they were right under you and you didn't know it. We did get to hold a Star fish, that was fun! Then we took a nap in a hammock right on the beach. The food was good but the thing that I enjoyed the most was just relaxing with my best friend and having fun with Monica and Brian.