What an honor!

Holy cow! I was nominated for a Blog Award!! Thank you so much, Tara, for thinking of me as one of your favorite blogs! I'd say it's an honor just to be nominated, but let's face it, I love the attention!

Tara Bennett, my award-er, was my college roomie at USU, and we even survived some of high school together. Tara, I love your blog. I've often read your posts and realized how incredible it was of Chloe to choose you as her mom. Those anally-retentive things I teased you about when we lived together (don't get Tara started on the alarm clocks not being synchronized) are exactly the need for details that Chloe benefits from. You're amazing, and I'm in awe of the love you obviously have for your precious little girl. She couldn't have been sent to a better mom! If you haven't seen Tara's blog, check it out. http://obyandtarabennett.blogspot.com/

So, as a recipient of this award I get to do a few things:

1. Name 5 things you love,

2. Pass the award on to 5 blogs you love, and

3. Link back to the giver's blog and tell how fabulous they are.

5 Things I love:

1. I love my family. I'm going to lump everyone in this one category, but it's a lot of people that I love. First, my sweatheat, Josh. I always hoped I'd have a big, strong man to love, but I never understood how incredible that man would be. Josh works so hard for us and wants so many good things for us, me in particular. I'm so glad he took me to the temple, now he can never get rid of me! I also love our children. I love that Emma wants to learn and be a writer. I love that Abby wants to emulate me so much that she even wants to use Breathe-Right strips at night (those things are miracles, I swear). I love that Matt wants to be my little boy forever. I love that Millie will be coming very, very soon. I love our parents, our siblings, their families, our grandparents. I just love everyone. I just do.

2. I love movies. Okay, this one we already knew. I really don't think I go a single day without referring to a movie in one way or another: either quoting it or comparing it to my life. Here's an example: last night I was exhausted. I'm 33 weeks pregnant (I think) so I'm always tired, but we spent most of the weekend car shopping and ALL day Monday. It was a bust, we didn't find what we wanted, but not for the lack of trying. I spent Tuesday trying to get things caught up at home and by the time I finished washing, drying, folding, and putting away 8 loads of laundry, I was done. I just wanted to sit in our lazy chair, put up the footrest and eat cookies until I was so big and rested that Josh would have to use a crane to get me out of the house to have the baby. My imagination went directly to two different movies: What's Eating Gilbert Grape and I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. Okay, that's pretty morbid now that I think about it, but it did sound like a desirable thing at that particular moment.

3. I love shocking people. Whether it's to get a laugh or just get a rise out of someone. I showed my brother Pete my belly button the other day. I thought it might gross him out since it's now inside out, and I was totally right. Some things you just never grow out of.

4. I love the stage. If I could continue one thing I did in school, it would be acting--minus the many nights I missed tucking my children in bed. I love getting the opening night butterflies and trying to overcome the second night blues. I love the audience's applause. I love having fans. I love having people come up to me after a show has closed and tell me that they quote my lines from a play. I love working with so many people to make a show successful and I loved when I directed my own plays. I really miss the theatre sometimes.

5. I love food. My OB will testify that this is the case. I think his exact words were, "Eat for one."

5 Blogs I Love

I only know five other people's blogs besides Tara's, so that makes this easy. That doesn't mean I'm nominating you for an award because of default. I check up on you all very regularly and this blog-thing has become an incredible way to keep tabs on all of you! Everyone else: If you've got a blog and it's not listed to the side, tell me about it and I'll happily add it.

1. Tara and Jabon Eagar: http://jabon.hintegration.com/blogger/bolgger.html. This is my dear sister's blog. It's got some great pictures of my nephews and Jabon has some incredible posts on there. It makes me miss them that much more, though.

2. Cindy Pendleton: http://www.roundsphere.com/family/. I love to read about Cindy's boys and their escapades. Cindy's oldest son is the same age as my son. They're only a few weeks apart. And our next children will be about six weeks apart. We've lived away from each other for over ten years now, but there are still so many things that we have in common, not even counting our kids.

3. Mindy Reeder: http://cmreederfamily.blogspot.com/. The thing I love most about blogs are keeping in contact with friends that live so far away. Min and Clinton are on the east coast, living a very different life than the one we lead in rural Montana. It's so cool to see the pics of different places I've never been and Lizzie is the cutest thing ever.

4. Michelle Bennett: http://missusbennett.blogspot.com/. I love reading about Michelle, whom I just found a few weeks ago. Michelle and her husband look so happy, especially with the new arrival of their son. He's so cute, you've got to check him out.

5. Jeri Dawn McKellar: http://lingeringqueen.blogspot.com/. I wouldn't have expected to ever find Jeri Dawn again, but it's been really fun to see her beautiful girls and read the stories that I can so easily relate to. It's so nice to know that I'm not the only one going through some of the tough things and joys of motherhood.

Now, all of you bloggers that I mentioned, it's your turn! Enjoy your award, I know I have! Thanks again, Tara, you made my day!