One of My Worst Nightmares

So... here I was minding my own business at work. All of a sudden, I decide, hey, I'm gonna go hit the restroom. I walk into the restroom, close the door, turn to look in the toilet before I dare sit on it...

To my fright, creepy crawling around freely inside the toilet, free to roam wherever it may desire...

An ugly black spider.

That's right, there was an ugly black spider in my toilet at work. Imagine sitting on a toilet thinking, "a spider could be crawling around in this toilet right now." That's right, disgusting and horrifying. I doubt I can ever look at a toilet the same way ever again.

Nathalie's Baby Shower!

I got to help plan and host a baby shower for one of my best friends, Nathalie Harris. I was very excited because I actually got to throw her Bridal shower 2 1/2 years ago, as well! She and her hubby Chris are having a baby boy sometime in the end of this month!!! The baby shower was back in May but I forgot to mention it on here!

The best part of the baby shower was planning for it. We had like 3 "Baby Shower Planning Parties." Also, I bought - no joke - 200 balloons... they were wholesale and I wanted them to match Nathalie's nursery, which is sage green and chocolate brown. Needless to say, there were balloons... a lot of them... and they matched!

Lots of good food... yes.... The shower was a blast. We had a "Diaper Raffle" and a game with baby pictures of Nath and people she is close to, where people had to guess "Who's That Baby!?" :)

Disney World!!!

Yeah, so we had way too much fun in Disney World! Everyone thought we were Honeymooners, including us. It was a perfect 2nd Anniversary trip! Just the two of us, we rode probably 10 times as many rides as most people, workin the system and speed walkin the parks! We stayed at my Grandpa Watson's Florida home and he let us use his car. He hooked us up, and we had a blast without having to pay extreme hotel costs!

Our 3 favorite rides were the Expedition Everest, a really fun rollercoaster that goes backwards for half the time, it's located in the Animal Kingdom, Rockin Rollercoaster, and the Tower of Terror. Luckily, the Rockin Rollercoaster and the Tower of Terror are both located in MGM Studios right next to each other. I think we rode both of those rides 15 times each. It was awesome. This picture is us on the tower of terror, including some interesting fellow riders. FUUUN!

We were part of a free giveaway and got these popular mickey mouse hats. Everyone wanted them. We wore these when my mom and dad picked us up from the airport. They were embarrassed to be seen with us. :)

The Nelson's and The 1/2 Marathon!

Man was it fun having the Nelson's here. On Friday night, we all went to my parent's house and had a big pre-race dinner. There was salmon, pasta, and tons of fruit. I mean tons. So much, that we ended up playing with it. I was sitting, minding my own business, talking to Sharon, when I looked over at Kelsey and she looked like someone from Who'ville! I lost it, and everyone caught on. She had shoved 2 grapes under her upper lip. A bunch of us followed her lead and had tummy-aches afterward from laughing so hard. It was great. Then we had a big fooseball tournament.

On Saturday morning, we got up bright and early and went to the race. We almost did not make it in time! It was an awesome experience, 30,000 people were running! Blake, my dad, my mom, and I all ran most of the race together and finished in under 2 hours and 25 minutes. It was a blast.

Monday, I got to go to lunch with the Nelson's before they left. We ate at Monelle's and it was DELICIAMOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anyone visiting the South needs to eat there. It is the most delicious Southern food ever. You sit at a huge table with atleast 12 people and they bring big bowls of everything that you pass around, starting with rolls, going through salads, side dishes, main dishes, and finishing off with desert. It's freakin incredible.

Cozmo has a couple of baskets around the house that I put his toys in. The other day he did something really cute. Not only did he go and get a toy out of his basket in the kitchen, like he usually does, but he brought the entire basket into the living room from the kitchen!!!

I'll be wearing pink for a while...

The last few weeks have been difficult, but a real learning experience. On the morning of March 25th, I learned that one of my dear friends, who was like a sister to me, fell in a tragic hiking accident. My sweet friend, Whitney Nelson, did not make it.

Whitney (bottom middle) was like a breath of fresh air to everyone around her. She is gorgeous, with her huge smile and high cheek bones. She always somehow made everyone around her feel like they were gorgeous, too. The last time I saw her, she called me her sister. I'll always hold that dear to my heart. Whit's favorite color is pink. She always talked about how she had worn something pink every day of her life. I've worn something pink every day since her passing.


For my first Prom and my Bridal pictures, Whit did my hair. I'll cherish those pictures forever!



My mom, dad, and I all went to Utah for a very short trip to go to the funeral. Terry got to go to the viewing with us and eat dinner with us two nights in a row. The trip was very good for us and brought us a lot of closure. During her funeral, the Provo High School women's choir sang. They sounded like angels, and gave everyone a little taste of what Heaven must be like. Whitney is in a good place now where she can feel happy and serve others. I am so grateful to know that, and I am so grateful that I had a chance to know Whitney for a little while during this life. I can't wait to see her again.

TERRY

In Utah, I got to see my Brother. I really miss him. He's at the Westridge Academy in Utah. It was awesome to see him but sad to leave.

We had a great time in Utah, though. We went shopping, swimming, watched TONS OF GILMORE GIRLS (me, Tonia, Lori, Chelsey, and Mama Haines did atleast), and just had a great time with our family out there. We were there from March 1st through the 5th.

Chapstick

I think a great scheme that is going on in the world today lies within the hands of chapstick and lipgloss makers. This scheme is great... but evil... Somewhere in that waxy, or liquidy, delicious-smelling (and at times, delicious-tasting) goo, there lies a secret ingredient that penetrates the entire being of the stick itself, whether it be a stick of chap or a stick of gloss. I believe that secret ingredient soaks through the very being of the stick, and after a short, VERY SHORT, period of time, causes the stick to suddenly, warninglessly, disappear… never to be found again. Then, the naive chapstick or lipgloss buyer goes, “Like oh my gah, where is my lip stuff? Well, I guess I’ll go buy more.” And there the scheme that those chapstick and lipgloss-makers have derived, that evil scheme, becomes perpetually perfect! The ditzy, dim-witted owner of the disappearing lip stuff goes to buy yet another equally vanishable stick of gloss or chapstick… eventually to be lost among the others, disappearing in the vast universe. Just a few weeks ago, for instance, I was at Crackerbarrel. I bought a stick of Burt’s Bees chapstick, the colored kind. It was so cute. I used it every day... for about 4 weeks… and then one day, I could not find it. It’s gone!!! I loved that chapstick. So, I will probably end up buying a new one, just so I can lose that one as well. But don’t be fooled. Just because I “lose” it, doesn’t mean it’s my fault. It’s the chapstick maker’s fault… and their secret disappearing ingredient’s fault. Well you know what I say to them and their ingredient? I HATE IT!!!!

Cozmo

Our Sleepy Puppy!

Baby Cozmo!

Cozmo loves to sleep after a lot of playing. He finds the floor cozy, and sometimes sleeps over on his little bed next to our bed.

Thanksgiving 5K!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Thanksgiving 5k! We did the Habitrot this morning at 8 a.m. We finished in 26 mins. 40 seconds! We ran 8:36 min. mile averages. I was 8th place in my age group out of 43 and Blake was 9th place in his age group out of 23. We went with mom, dad, Terry, and the Hissongs. It was a blast. After running the race, the guys went to Centennial High School and played a huge Thanksgiving football tournament with a bunch of people from church. After all this activity, the guys were really tired! Then, we ate 2 huge meals, one at Grandpa and Grandma Watson's house and another one at the Hissong's house. It was a great Thanksgiving.

IRONMAN FLORIDA 2006 - Dani and Daddy

IRONMAN FLORIDA 2006

This is us at the Ironman banquet with our dear friends. Blake, me, dad, John Byrd, The Gawrys's, and the Stucki's. It was really fun to be there with them.

We finished the Ironman!

RACE RESULTS

-----------SWIM-------BIKE-----RUN------OVERALL

Danielle---1:16:26---7:57:32---6:32:05---16:04:33

David------1:25:22---7:46:58---6:31:30---16:04:34

I had to wear a wet suit for the swim. In this picture, we were about to head down to the beach for the swim. When we got to the beach I realized it was seconds before we had to dive in. I began to panic, but dad timed it perfectly so that we just dove in right on time. It was awesome!

The race was huge, there were about 2,500 people in it. In this picture of the bikes, our bikes were in the furthest row toward the top of the row. It was a pretty day, a little on the chilly side in the morning, perfect weather for a race!

The biking part was the most challenging for me. I beat dad out of the water on the swim, changed, and headed straight for my bike. I have never seen flatter roads! As I headed out on the bike course, I was trying to take it easy so dad could catch up to me. To my surprise, I was averaging a higher speed that I ever had on our normal workouts. Then, I turned at about mile 25 onto this one 25 mile stretch. It was straight into the terrible wind, slightly uphill. I came out of the water in the first 1/3 of all the athletes, but biking is my weak spot and the last 2/3 of the athletes almost all passed me on the bike eventually. It was very discouraging. However, dad finally caught me at mile 27, and the day got better. We turned the corner at mile 50, got out of the wind, and got to see Blake, mom, and Terry for a few minutes. From there everything seemed better. Dad and I got to ride together and the road was flat. However, at about mile 80 I began bartering my bike out to people, swearing to myself that I would never ride again. :) My bum hurt really bad after the bike!I was very surprised after I changed from my biking clothes to my running clothes that I felt like I could run! I was so excited. When I came out of the changing tent, mom, Blake, and Terry were all there and mom said "GO DANIELLE GO!!!" So, I took off! Dad came out a few minutes later and realized I had left him, so he ran the first mile really fast. Then, for the next 25.2 miles, we ran/walked the rest of the Ironman. And, I think it's important to note that I talked the rest of the way as well. I talked Dad's ear off... an Ironman challenge he had never faced before! :)

When we crossed the finish line, I felt completely and utterly relieved... and weak... and really gross. So, we gave each other a hug, took a few pictures, ate pizza, sat in the hot tub with mom, Blake, and Terry... then I went to bed a new person. An Ironman.