Siri's Message

Siri wanted to say something:

siri gloria gardner zcvbnzzzzzzzzzz    zzzzzzzzzvvvvvvvbbbbbbbbzzzzlllllkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk kkkkkkkkvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvpppppp zzzzxxxvvvnnnmmmlllpppooojjjhhhgggfffdddsssaaazzzz zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzxxxccccvvvbbbnnnmmmnnnnnnnpppoooiiiuuuuyyyttrrsewqmrferftgiguti67ugbtbiv8bet7r t7t8yr8vvvvvv hfbbbbbjmfgbkjfgb hjv gjkhbmnbm nm,vcgvnv 

 mgvb., b.

 mnfd gvhj vbrhugbu

Once again, Digi Nirvana...

So I am told that Digi Nirvana will be back up and running sometime on Monday. I am SO sorry for the inconvenience everyone! The website is coming back new and improved! There will even be a new forum (which probably won't be up until Wednesday).

In other news, Siri had an emergency room visit at 1am in the morning last night. I'm not going into the details because it is too sad and too gross. Basically, she had been vomiting for 24 hours and was getting worse. Turns out she was clogged from the other end. She is feeling much better today (after nap and fluids), but is complaining because she wants to eat (and, of course, cannot). She is now on the BRAT (banana, rice, applesauce, toast) diet for a couple of days. It's been a rough week with the girls but we're glad both of them are okay (Flissa was sick for a couple of days with the stomach flu before this AND there is the  bleeding thumb incident—what, haven't told you about it? Basically, she had a thumb that would not stop bleeding...not much more other than a frantic mom, a run to the pediatricians office and a frantic mom).

All's well that ends well.

Top Ten Things I Miss about Minnesota

So I think Josh would disagree with my top ten, but here it is:

TOP TEN REASONS I WILL MISS MINNESOTA

10. The Mall of America + Ikea (yes, right next to each other)—What? You didn't expect this to make my list? Come on! I lived in MINNESOTA...what else was there to do in the sub zero weather?

9. The Lakes—It's not called the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes for nothing! Michelle V., I'm totally going to miss being a Beach bum with you this summer!

8. Duluth & the Olcott House—Lake Superior was beautiful and the bed & breakfast a total treat!

7. CTC, University of Minnesota Student Housing—Yes, the management was unpredictable, but did you see our backyard playground? Not to mention the community! Miss you Alicia & Nick, Hun Woo, Lucia & Noelle, Lucy, Abby, Heather & Kyla, Lori, Smith family, Moss family, and the entire Gudmunssen clan!!!

6. The Children's Museum & the Minnesota Zoo—I couldn't choose one. I just couldn't. I loved them both so much! 

5. The St. Anthony neighborhood strip—Muffeletta (yummy calamari!), library (within walking distance), Bibelot (my one-stop shop for gifts), and the Speedy Mart (Only one diaper left?)

4. Praire Home Companion—I will have to listen every Sunday to remind myself of the place where the women are strong, the men are good looking, and all the children are above average. PS If you ever get a chance to go to the live show, it is COMPLETELY worth it!

3. The State Fair—Yes, cheese curds and deep-fried candy bar on a stick, you will be missed! What other place in the world can I pay to eat a month's worth of calories and then get sick from them on the rides (I believe Michelle and Matt will never be forgiven!). Oh, and I have to include my favorite stuff for anyone going this year: the corn on the cob, deep fried cookies, Sweet Martha's Cookies, Australian potatoes, (of course, the cheese curds and deep fried candy bar), wild rice hamburger, corn dog, and mini donuts.

2. Our 4th of July Tradition—I actually have no idea how we are going to pull this one off in UT. Our fab tradition always included a day at Bunker Beach (swimming and sun bathing) then the fireworks in Stillwater, MN (which of course included dinner, a visit to the creamery for ice cream, and the bulk candy store). Oh, how I am going to miss those fireworks on the St. Croix coordinated to music!!!

1. All the friends we left behind—This was a no brainer. A bit sentimental, but the truth. We miss you all and will see you next summer when Josh and Steve go to boundary waters (Charis & Amy P., What do you think about house guests?)! And, darn it, I've got to figure out a reason to go to NYC so I can visit you guys in PA, Julie and Greg! 

The number one reason I will not miss Minnesota? The weather—but I'm guessing this is at the top of every Minnesotan's list.

Woe...My website!

I have to say "sorry" to all about the current state of the website. It is entirely out of my hands right now with my hosting company doing all sorts of weird things to it. It has been so frustrating, but be prepared to see the new website this coming week with addition of two more designers, Alicia and Megan!  

Oh, and Amy P. I just downloaded the 'trail' pictures, and I will be sure to get that story up soon! 

Because, I can't get to those pics right now (and I REALLY should go to bed), I will just share one quick story. We attended our new ward on Sunday. We are really liking it (but we miss you St. Paul Ward!). Siri, jumped right into Primary and had a great time. It also so happened that the Sunbeams were giving the sharing time for the entire Primary that day. All the sunbeams decorated little yellow visors and wore yellow shirts over their church clothing. The children were asked several different questions, but this was the best one: "How can you shine for him (Heavenly Father)?" 

One child said, "When I obey my father and mother." Another said, "When I am a good big sister." Then it was Siri, who was asked, "How can you shine for him?" Her very serious reply, "By rainbows." Ha ha ha! Just trying to make our mark on the new ward!

We are moved!

I wish I had the time to write more about the antics of our move...hopefully, I will get around to writing up everything this weekend. But, just so everyone knows, we are here safe and sound after airport waiting, slap-happy midnight cleaning parties, and hurried-graduations. 

We will miss everyone in Minnesota. We made so many good friends. Josh and I will have to write our top ten list soon!

Love you all! 

National Scrapbooking Day!

Hope everyone is having a very happy scrapbooking!!! Make sure and grab this coupon for my store! It's 25% off your entire purchase!

Coupon Code: NSD25

Last night Brooke threw us a 'going away' party. It was so fun, but made me a little sad. Maybe that's a good thing, right? Because that means we have made so many wonderful friends here and we'll miss it. We came to Minnesota with the intention of being here for 2 years to finish Master's degrees. Six years later, 3 1/2 graduate degrees and 2 kids, we are moving back to Utah. Oh how time flys!

This is Kate M. and Michelle's little girl, Ethnie.
Amelia and Siri—Aren't they adorable?
Brooke (the fabulous hostess) and Sue
Angela and me (The party was for Angela, too. Although I wish I could say I was going to do the exciting things that she is about to do this next year! She's moving to NYC and has a summer trip to Alaska planned. Oh, so jealous!)
Charis somehow managed to get Flissa's hair up into 2 ponytails. Nice work, Charis. Too bad you have a boy. lol
Josh and Steve with the boyfriend and girlfriend. Arranged marriages are great, aren't they? 
Three days apart in age....pretty adorable!
Sammy REFUSED to take that look off her face no matter what funny faces I made! Aren't those cheeks yummy? Ellie, thanks for smiling. 
Kate and Siri, while the adults were having too much fun to pay attention, ran out into the pouring rain to jump on the trampoline. And it was cold (look what these two are wearing)! I love these big hugs! We are going to miss you Kate!
Keaton, Lachelle, Emily, Amy, me, and Charis. Before this picture was taken, Amy was telling us a great story about her wallpaper...Amy you need to post a picture of what Andrew did on your blog!
Okay, this picture is an ode to Amy who suggested we all (well, I'm not sure what you call it—make air raspberries?) make these faces. She said that her brother has a blog where there are only pictures of people doing this. Fascinating, fascinating.
Fliss with a cookie.
Cute Michelle and me! I'm going to miss you, Michelle!

Flissy's Birthday Pics

Here are the pics of Flissy's first birthday. I obviously wasn't thinking straight because I made her an ice cream cake. It was SO cold for her little hands! But she loves ice cream (I mean, I am guessing she likes ice cream...I would never feed sugar to a child under the age of 1! lol...please, please this is SO sarcastic!), so I think she liked it.




Isn't she a dear? And can you believe how much she looks like Josh?

In other news, Tomorrow is National Scrapbooking Day! In honor of it, I have a sale going on at Digi Nirvana. If you have never digi scraped before, this is a great way to get into it—a HUGE sale! Lots of stuff in store will be 25%-50% off and here is a coupon for an extra 25% off of that:

COUPON CODE: NSD25
for Digi Nirvana

I also put up the new Zen Girl's Profile page at Digi Nirvana. Check it out if you get a chance!

April's Challenge Winner

And the winner (by random drawing) of the Ad Challenge for this Month is Tiffany Scraps!!! Tiffany, I'm sending you your gift certificate now!:)