Happy Birthday Whit!!

Yesterday was my big sister Whitney's 28th birthday! Wow Whit, you are getting old!! The big 3-0 is practically around the corner. :) Goodness...what to say about Whitney?! She is basically my best friend. That wasn't always the case though. I am absolutely positive that she hated me up until about my Freshman year in HS, and I was quite afraid of her myself, so there wasn't a whole lot of friendship going on there for the first 14 years of our relationship! We shared a room forever, and whitney was so mean. We slept in the same full size bed with a gold frame that had rods for a headboard. Whit used to show me a certain rod in the middle of the bed and say "don't you DARE cross over this invisible line!" It was enough to instill fear in anyone. She also used to sleep on the floor some nights so she wouldn't have to be near me. But then once she went away to BYU, we were instant best friends. Now, I don't know how that happens, but I think it is rather common. Whit and I were always able to be silly together and have a fun time after that. She even hosted me in UT when I went to audition for a folk dance scholarship when I was a senior in HS. She showed me a truly good time!!

At BYU, we were both in the folk dance program, and were sooooo excited when both made the touring team, as we had never had the opportunity to dance on the same team, or tour together. We got to do the Olympic festivities, tour, as well as live together. We really grew very close through those years, and did practically everything with each other.
Me and Whit at Opening Ceremonies
Me and Whit at Light of the World: she is in Turkish and I am in Hungarian Bottle Dance
Me and Whit in Hopak
Me and Whit with Jessie and Marsha. This was the last show for all 3 of them! :(
Whitney is such a great example to me of determination and hard work. She has always been an amazing singer and dancer, and when she decided that she wanted to make that her livelihood, she didn't stop until she achieved it, as she graduated in music, dance, theater. One thing that I have really noticed about whitney lately, is that she is genuinely concerned for my happiness and success in life. I never feel like whitney wants to be better than me or compete with me (which I think is saying something when you come from a family of all girls, on top of spending your life in the dancing world!). When something great comes my way, she is sincerely happy. And when I lose 5 lbs, whit is the first to notice and compliment me. I think this has stuck out to me so much, because it was not her usual behavior when we were younger. Whit will be the first to admit that she was a brat when we were younger, and we can only say that now because she isn't anymore! Whitney is a very happy, fun, person, with an amazing husband and adorable children, to whom she is a great wife and mother to. I know she loves the gospel and has truly built her life around it. I love her so much and am so grateful for the relationship that I have with her. Besides Nate, she is usually the first to know everything going on in my life. I love being in the same stage of life as her and being able share similar experiences. I love you whit, and hope you had a fabulous birthday!!

tagged...the story of us

Emilee tagged me...

1.Where did you meet your husband?
I met Nate through the BYU folk dance touring team. He had just gotten back to provo after doing a masters at University of Michigan, and got a job in the folk music department. He was assigned to help out with the tour band that plays and tours with us. so we met before and during our tour to the southern states. we were just friends, but i remember i loved to be around him...everyone did. he was and still is, so charismatic! that was in 2002.

2. What was the first thing you said to your husband?
Oh, I don't know, probably something like, "hi my name is morgan, and you have a hot bodice!!"

3. Where was your first date?
well...in 2003, after Nate's best friend broke up with me, Nate and I left for midsemester tour to SoCal and Nevada. We had gotten to be pretty good friends from me dating josh, and so from day one, we sat next to eachother on the bus. it was this really weird, unspoken thing. we talked, hung out and flirted all tour long, and on the bus ride home, he put his hand on my knee...you know what that's like when you like someone, but you're both really unsure about it, so it was really sweet!! then we hung out everyday when we got back, still not dating, just hanging out and talking a ton. then one night, nate had to do some grocery shopping, so we went to wal-mart, the perfect place for a dtr, and talked about how we liked eachother and how we thought we should give this a shot. nate said when he got home, he wasn't quite sure how he ended up with half of the items he had bought...a very random shopping trip! but after that, we were "dating" i guess, although i can't remember our first official date. and if you're wondering if me dating him so quickly after i dated his best friend was a problem, it was. but it was quickly remedied, and josh is still one our very best friends!!

4. Where was your first kiss?
on my doorstep at like 2am. i can't remember what we had been doing, but i remember that it was a week after we had started "dating", so it took him a while to muster up the courage!!

5. Did you have a long or short engagement/courtship?
we started dating at the beginning of april, got engaged at the beginning of august and married at the beginning of november. a 3 month engagement was just about right!!

6. Where did you get engaged?
we got engaged in Nate's room after i flew in from Sac to visit for the weekend. i know that sounds not good, but it wasn't weird at all, he had an enormous room, and it was also his office/studio, and it also had mood lighting!! he was going to do all these things to fake me out, like candles and dancing in his room (which is when he ended up proposing), a picnic in the canyon, stuff like that. but there we were, dancing to "your eyes" (i think that's what it's called) and he said the moment was perfect, so he did it then. he got down on both knees and asked me to marry him, and afterwards, I think I ruined the moment by saying something like, "you're only supposed to kneel on one knee!" I'm sure that made him feel great. but you'd think that after proposing to 2 other girls, he would know that by now!! :) haha, just kidding babe! it was all very sweet and romantic!

7. Where did you get married?
the oakland, ca temple

8. How did the reception go?
it went fabulously! it was so gorgeous, and i loved it! i can't say that i remember a ton about it cause we were so tired from travelling back and forth to oakland during the day, but it was still so fun! we had a live "big band" and dance floor, and i loved my cake, it was so delicious! hmmm, cake sounds really good right about now!


9. How was the honeymoon?
the "honeymoon" was ok. we didn't really have one to be honest. that is always my advice to people who are getting married, have at least a week long honeymoon, where you can just be by yourselves and get used to the idea of marriage. we spent the first night at a really nice hotel in natomas, so that was good, but then we went to lake tahoe for the second and last night, and our hotel was not good. then we had to drive back to provo the next day and go back to school. i wish i had just taken off another week of school. oh well. to make up for it, 2 years later, we got to go to turkey for 2 weeks, just the 2 of us, and that was sooooo fun!

ok, there is our precious little story. i tag every married person who reads my blog!!

Week of all weeks!!!

So next week is the most exciting week that TV has seen in months. The week of all weeks! Premiere week! I haven't been watching TV since SYTYCD and Hell's Kitchen ended, and I can't tell you how excited I am for my "real" shows to start up again. I didn't even realize how excited I was for shows like the office and Grey's Anatomy to come back, until I watched previews for next season, and realized what my life had been missing...drama, McDreamy, humor, pranks on Dwight, Jan and Michael's completely unhealthy and innapropriate relationship, the soap opera of McDreamy and Merideth's relationship, Pam and Jim's hopefully blooming relationship, and so much more. Words can not express the anticipation!

I do however have a terrible dilema...both of my shows are on Thursday night at 8:00pm. I know, could it get any worse than that? I think not! What were they thinking? You'd think they'd atleast have the courtesy to spread my two favorite shows throughout the week. And, oldschool as we are, we do not have cable or tivo or dvr, or anything fancy like that, just my good old fashioned antenna and vcr that, thankfully, does record. But I can't watch one channel and record another, so I am at a loss as to what to do. I think they re-air Grey's on Fridays, so that might be what I need to do. Either that or I am going to have to find a friend who likes the same shows, and we can work something out.

Which premieres are you the most excited about? I know that next week is pretty much the week of premieres for most shows, and I know that you all have favorites, so let's hear it!!

***On another completely unrelated note, our faithful camera is broken. I think it might have something to do with Asher throwing it down the stairs and it landing very hard on the tile, but I'm not sure. So there may be some boring posts with no pictures of our adorable child, but hopefully not for long! But I did LOVE that camera. Nate got it like 2 years before we got married, so I think we have had it for like 6 years with no problems, so it's had a good run. But I am really sad about it. I think we are going to get the new version of the same one. Cannons are awesome!

Hairspray

So, I'm always a little behind on the times, but I finally went and saw the movie Hairspray on Monday...LOVED it!! I'm sorry, but I just LOOOOVE musicals, they make me so happy. Not only are most of them quite humerous and witty, but the music and singers and dancers are amazing. I sat there with a huge smile on my face the whole time. It makes me wish that I had been better at practicing for my voice lessons so that I could have some sort of range. All I want to do when I watch musicals is be a singer and dancer on broadway...if only. That's ok though, my life right now is pretty darn fantastic, so I can't complain, but it's fun to dream anyway!

Anyway...so I am here today to convert you all the the music of Hairspray (remember back in my running days how I said the song "you can't stop the beat" was my instant energy song?) Well, I have selected a youtube video (there was another one that I wanted to show you, but of course the owner wouldn't let me post it, retarded! It was a shorter version, but clearer. If you feel so inclined to watch that one as well, go to youtube.com and search you can't stop the beat, and it was the very first one) for your viewing and listening pleasure. Now, just so you know, my running version of this song from the original broadway recording, is a little faster and more upbeat and I think I like it better, but there weren't any good videos of it. Plus I am here to promote the wonderfully done movie, so. Also, I would just like to say that the girl that Amanda Bynes plays, Penny, in the musical is the biggest powerhouse as far as singing goes, so I was a little disappointed with the lack of amazing-ness in Amanda's voice. Oh well. And yes, that is John Travolta dancing around in a fat suit!!

Now how can you not want to get up and dance when you hear that music? I love it!!

This is another video just for fun, called Ladies Choice, sung by Link (played by Zac Efron, the same kid in HS Musical) It's a new song, so it's not on the broadway soundtrack.

Exciting news...

Well folks, I am excited to say that there is something NEW going on in my little life...about time! ;) As many of you know, I graduated in Recreation Therapy, but haven't worked in my field since I graduated. Well, that has always kind of bothered me, and I have always had this nagging little feeling that I should be doing something in that field. So, lately Nate and I have been talking about how good it would be for me to have some time for me to do something for myself, and to be able to get out of the house, so I mentioned that maybe I could get an on-call position at a residential treatment center. Nate is self-employed and has a very flexible schedule, so it makes it really easy for me to be able to leave Asher with him when I need to. So anyway, I got in touch with my old supervisor, Karie Swenson (who I love so much!), who now works for a new treatment center called Maple Lake Academy, and asked her if they were hiring. She was way pumped for me and helped me get in touch with the chick there who hires etc., I had an interview, and they called me a couple of days ago to tell me I was hired...yay!!! So I am required to work at least one 8 hour shift every 2 weeks, which is perfect. I think I will actually try work at least one shift a week, so I can have a little more exposure to the girls, which is always helpful. Nate is so excited to have some father-son, togetherness time, and I think it will actually be really good for both of them (Asher is SUCH a momma's boy...what can I say, he loves me!). Nate is also so supportive, he loves that I want to get out and do this. He also says that if I ever feel that this is getting in the way of me being the kind of mom I want to be, or if I ever feel like I am getting stressed for whatever reason, that I should quit, as we don't need the extra money, and it is always more important for me to be a mom. I love that I have a husband who feels just as strongly about the importance of motherhood as I do, and that it has never been a question whether or not I would be a stay at home mom. But I also love that he is so supportive of me trying new things and truly wants me to be successful in every way that I want to be. What a wonderful husband I have...thanks babe, I love you!

So anyway, that is my exciting news, I went and got myself a little job! I am so excited to get back into this environment, which by the way is troubled youth: girls with drug and alcohol problems, depression, self-esteem, eating disorders, learning disbilities, etc. I start training next Tuesday evening, wish me luck!!

Asher's new tricks...

Asher is now 13 months, and has a few new tricks up his sleeves. A few weeks ago, I showed Asher (only once) how to go backwards down the stairs. After that, he took to it like a pro. Which is good, cause we have a split level, and the stairs are pretty much his favorite place to play. When he has a toy that he "needs" to take down with him, he will first throw the toy down to the first landing, and then follow, then repeat until it is all the way in the basement. I shut all the doors down there, so he won't get into anything, so he just plays in the hallway, and he will stay down there for a long time, coming up every once in awhile to say hi. We also keep some of our shoes by the front door, but they are not by the door anymore, as Asher has thrown them all down to the basement with his toys. What a crack up!

Another thing that Asher loves to do is crawl out the doggy door. So, I knew it was just his size, and he does play over there all the time, watching Annie go in and out, I just never thought that he would follow her. But one day, he did, and of course, ever since, we have to be careful to keep the door locked so that he can't go out there. Because once a child discovers something, there is no way to un-discover it, they become obsessed! But I have to admit, that he does look pretty cute while doing his little "stunt". Here's Asher wishing he could go out there.

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Asher is also saying a few words, like cracker or "cacka" and cookie, and doggy or "gogga". Sometimes I think he is trying to copy other words or phrases that I say, but they don't quite come out the same. He is also walking now, which is pretty much the cutest thing you have ever seen. He started a few weeks ago, just taking a couple steps here and there, but now he can walk across a room, or from room to room. He is still pretty wobbly, but he can stand up in the middle of a room from sitting down or from a squat, and he is getting better at catching his balance. While he is walking, he is usually squealing or babbling or laughing about something really important as he goes, it is so cute! Now I just need to get him some shoes. Every pair of shoes I have tried to put on him, he just takes off, so he has been a barefooted child for 13 months. No longer. This is a video of him walking, and he is actually really sad, but I just wanted to demonstrate his skills. I'll have to get a video of him being happy later.

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Asher is also an expert in the art of mess making. I used to be so proud that my son never seemed interested in the kitchen drawers or cupboards...well, nothing to be proud of now. The little stinker is into everything. I love it though. I love to watch him, he is so concentrated on what he is doing, and you would swear that he is planning every little move he makes, whether it is with a tupperware lid or a book that he is trying to do... well, something with. I have also spent the last few days totally reorganizing my kitchen so that only the things he is allowed to play with are within his reach. I do still need to get some sort of latch for under the sink, but he doesn't really touch anything under there anyway, he just likes to open the doors. So that's like double props for me...one for making my child's environment safe, and two for cleaning/reorganizing everything and making my life easier! I have so much more counter space now, it is a dream. It makes me want to be all domestic and bake biscuits or something. (Or that could be attributed to my latest read, Cold Mountain, fabulous book so far, I totally recommend it.)

Our little guy is getting so big, and it is so weird...and FUN, of course!! :)

Asher in Tahoe...

So this is late, again, but here are some cute pictures of Asher in Tahoe. He is officially a water baby. He doesn't care how cold it is, he just wants in. I love it! Most of the beaches in Tahoe have rocks instead of sand. Well, Asher likes to eat the rocks, so I was not a big fan of that. Again, no relaxation time at the beach with Asher. At this one beach right by where we stayed, my dad made a little pool for Asher so that he could sit and play without me having to worry about him crawling into the lake, which he did as well. But he loved to just splash around, he literally could have sat there all day. We went to another beach at Emerald Bay I believe. We originally went just to visit this old house that is there (which was so cool) but then we saw how nice the beach was and decided to stay. It was a mile hike down, and we didn't bring anything, so we sent Dad and Ben up to fetch our beach things. While we were waiting, we just let the boys hang out in their diapers. Thank heaven for swim diapers though, Asher's diaper was so full after 5 minutes. That can't be comfortable. Here are some pics of them playing on the beach. In Tahoe, Asher started doing this new crawl, the official name is the "monkey crawl", he would usually only do it outside, or when he felt the need to be a speed demon. It was the funniest thing though. This was the first time in I can't remember how long, that my mom actually got into the water and swam. She doesn't usually come to the beach, and then when she does, she just hangs out, which is fine, I do that myself sometimes. But I was so surprised when she started wading out and then almost went under water!! Go mom, way to join in the family fun! Here's some video of Asher's new crawl...

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