a cHaNgE iS nEaR..

Alright so this is going to be a quick post.. I promise I will write again later. First off, we are doing well. We are busy with school we hardly see each other. Cody has done 10 hours flying, he only needs 30 more and he will have his private pilots license. He is rather bummed this week because he will not be allowed to fly until Friday or Saturday due to the president being here on a fundraiser. Apparently there is a 100 mile radius of restricted airspace when the president it in an area, and well you guessed it provo falls in that area. He will make it though I am sure. Tomorrow is my sisters graduation, we are so proud of her. She is graduating with honors. What a hard worker! Well, the main reason I was writing is because I thought I would let you know that there is a really good chance that soon Cody or Cody and I will have different names. Cody decided to change his name to help clear confusion with his Dad's name. They are very close and we always get confusion with mail and other things. I will keep you posted on what the change will be but be prepared... there could be a change a comin. Well enjoy your Wednesday..

oH sWeEt tIrEd tImE..

Well I thought an update was in order. It has been a while. We celebrated Tykes birthday and it was loads of fun. Before we knew it school was upon us, again. We both decided to start up and take a few summer classes with hopes of getting ahead. We started up on April 30th and have been going for a few weeks. Cody has started flying. Usually he is gone for 4 hours. He comes home all excited and a tad air sick but all in all it was a great time. For Mother day weekend, while Cody went flying, I on the other hand spent some time with my not girly mother in law. My mother-in-law, "sister" and my brother-in-laws girlfriend. We met at 9am on Saturday and went and had pedicures. We also got these 'glitter toes' done. They are so cute and out of control sparkly. Afterwards we went and had lunch and just chatted it was fun to spend some time with them. It was total girl day. I loved it. Afterwards I came home and hung out with Tyke and watched Cody fly over us. I went grocery shopping to prep for this week. My parents went to Denver Colorado for 4 days and left me and Cody with the kids and the dogs. So I had to be ready for any meal that might need to be made. After that Cody surprised me with my mothers day extravaganza. He took me out to dinner at California Pizza Kitchen. We talked and had fun. Afterwards he took me on a $200 shopping spree in the mall. I shopped for a few hours. It was fun. After that on our way home, Cody couldn't hold it in with the presents. He made me open them in the car. He got me a wood sign that said

" My dog, true friends leave footprints on your heart."

Too cute. And then, to top it all off he handed me a box and an envelope. I opened the envelope and inside was a jewelers sheet. It just had cody's writing stating "Trade rounds for Princess cuts when they get here." I paused for a second, I don't have any round diamonds. Well then came the box. I opened it up and inside were a pair of beautiful diamond earrings. They are so pretty. I was so excited. He told me when he went to go get them there were no Princess cuts so he is having the jeweler get me some and they should be here in about 2 weeks. I am so lucky. So to my stud of a husband... BABE I luff you!

Well we started the babysitting gig May 11th. It wasn't too bad. Sundays are pretty mellow. But today the pain set in. Now for those of you who don't know me, I am NOT a morning person at all. For three days I had to get my youngest brother up for school at 6:45am. KILLER. So those days have been the longest days of my life. My day sunday ended around 12:30a, but my night was frequently interrupted by my sweet tyke.

He slept with us at night and work me up every hour or so. Then 6:40 rolled around and I just got up. But the week ended well. We got the house all cleaned up and my parents had a good time so we can't complain too much.

I got to talk to my younger brother yesterday on his mission. He is serving in the Ohio Cincinnati Mission. Since my parents were out of town over mother's day we were able to reschedule and talk to him yesterday. It was the best present ever. He is doing so great. He is a Zone Leader in the East side of Ohio. He is constantly busy, but seems to be doing well. It was so nice to talk to him. And he hit his one year mark. We are on the down hill slope. I am pretty excited to be able to see him again.

Well until my next update I hope you all are doing well. Ciao..

tHiS cOuPlE

I saw this on one of my friend posts and it looked cute and fun so I thought I would let you all know about the alex family.

1. What is your husbands name?

Steven Cody Alex, but he goes by Cody... Steven isn't his favorite name if you could tell.

2. How long have you been married?

We have been married for 2 years 5 months and 7 days.

3. How long did you date?

Well this one is a tricky one. We first met in the 7th grade.. but dating wasn't tried out until we were juniors in high school. We dated for a summer as juniors and then I dumped him senior year cause he wouldn't kiss me. We stayed friends and tried dating a tad a few time but didn't start seriously dating until May of 2005. So all collectively I would say about 2 years.

4. How old is he?

He is currently 24 years old but will turn 25 (a quarter of a century.. ha ha) on November 22nd.

5. Who eats more sweets?

I would have to say I definately do. I am addicted to sugary sweets of every kind. Cody does like candy and sweets as well but I would say I for sure eat more than him.

6. Who said I love you first?

Cody did. During one of our many times of trying the whole dating thing we kind of mentioned it, but in the summer of 2005 he told me he loved me on a date. I was kind of in shock to be honest, but fully agreed and told him it right back.

7. Who is taller?

Cody is on this one. He is a strapping 6'2". I am a meer 5'7". But I love it. I can wear heels and get away with still being shorter.

8. Who can sing better?

Now, this one is tricky.. we are both closet singers. Neither one of us would sing in public so it is hard to say. I sing mostly to myself in the car or really loudly to bug cody, and Cody only sings when he feels like it (which I think I have only heard like 3 times since we have been married).

9. Who is smarter?

This is a tie. We both are in school and working hard. Now Cody would say I was smarter and I would say he was so we will call it a draw and move forward.

10. Who does the laundry?

I do. When we were first married, I let Cody do the laundry once while I was sick. My shirts came out about 2 sizes smaller and a few a different color. So I took over. But he is learning and now able to do it on his own, but I usually do because I am home.

11. Who pays the bills?

I do. Cody doesn't always remember to pay things by certain dates and it makes me nervous to not have them paid on time or early. So I took over when we got married and have been doing it ever since.

12. Who sleeps on the right side?

Now.. if it is the right side looking at the bed from the foot of the bed that would be Cody. But if you are laying in it, that is my side.

13. Who mows the lawn?

I do. I try to mow the lawn every week the night before garbage day because it is less likely to stink for days on end. I also get home from work around 5 or earlier so I have more daylight to complete it than he does.

14. Who cooks dinner?

This is a toss. I normally cook because I am home before he is, but Cody is a very good cook and he cooks when he can. It is nice to have him cook stuff.

15. Who drives?

Cody does. He loves driving and his car so I just sit back relax and enjoy the ride.

16. Who kissed who first?

Cody kissed me first. After trying for years to convince him that I wanted to be kissed and that it was okay to do so I gave up. One night after a date, he was dropping me off at my house and he walked me to the garage door (I used the keypad to get in) while I was waiting for the garage to open we were saying our goodbyes and he just plopped it on me. I quickly replied 'smooth move exlax' and walked inside. Don't worry our first kiss was 5 months before we got married.

17. Who asked who out first?

This one is tricky as well. It was the end of junior year of high school at a yearbook party. I was wandering around having people sign my year book and chit chatting. Cody had written in mine ' hey hottie, give me a call this summer and we will hang out'. Well everybody writes this in peoples yearbooks, but after he wrote it he turned to me and said I am serious. So I called and we just started hanging out. So I am not quite sure who made the first move there.


18. Who proposed?

Cody. It was August 13th 2005, I had just finished a wedding shoot and he had gone with me. I was starving since I had been taking pictures all day long and hadn't stopped to eat. We drove to Salt Lake City with another couple. We ate at mimi's cafe up there, yum. After we went to Temple Square and walked around. It was dark so temple was lit and it was just perfect weather. We decided to go on a carriage ride around. On the ride we just snuggled and the other couple just sat. When we reached a point where the temple was in sight he turned to me and told me he loved me and wanted to be with me forever and then popped the question. My ring box lights up (nifty little thing, it has a light in the lid so when it is opened the light shines on the ring.. sparkle sparkle.) and instead of saying yes I said 'the box lights up!' He turned to me and asked 'Does this mean yes?' and I answered quickly.. yes.

19. Who has more siblings?

I do. I have 2 Brothers, Matson (20) and Jarett (13), and one sister Kellyn (18). Cody has one brother, Justin (18).

20. Who wears the pants?

This is an easy one.. Cody wears the pants, I just tell him how to wear them.

tYkE's bIrThDaY

Today we celebrated Tyke's FIRST birthday. It started off great. Last night, we decided to finish Gladiator, a movie I had never seen but had been recommended by my Art History Teacher. We had made it half way through about three nights prior. So we took Tyke downstairs with us to our bedroom and curled up for some thrilling killing sequences. Upon finishing the movie, we were both too tired to get up and put tyke to bed. So he slept with us. I quietly sung happy birthday to him at 12:40am this morning before passing out. Cody couldn't stand his constant moving and need to clean himself so at 5:15am we put him to bed. He got up with Grandma at 7:30 and has had the most chill day. He gets to just lounge and go outside and do his "sunbathing".

When his uncle Jarett got home from school he took tyke on a long walk, which he loved. While he was on his walk I made 48 mini cupcakes for his birthday which my mom nicknamed 'pupcakes'.

He hung outside and inside until about nine last night when we decided to have his mini party in which us as a family watched him make a spectacle of himself and enjoy his cupcakes.




We got Tyke Transformers birthday hats.. here he is in his.. too cute.




This is what happened as soon as dad let go from the picture... he is killing the hat




and then trying to eat it...




here he is doing a great job at 'leave it..' which he is to leave whatever it is alone. in this case it was the cupcake..





tyke and his dad





tyke and mom


We had a great time watching him all hyped up on sugar and running around like a crazy. It was a great day and we are so grateful he is a part of our family. We couldn't have asked for a better, kinder dog.

LOVE YOU TYKE!

..aT lAsT..

So after many weeks of working hard I am glad to say that the Finals have come to an end. I am so glad cause this semester although only having two classes seemed really hard at times. Also as promised I decided to sit down and update with pictures. I know it has been a while so I thought I would fill all you in on my happenings here.

The gym is going great. I love going, although it is still hard to keep up the whole time. It is really hard to do at times but the best workout I have had in a while. I thought all this while I would start to lose weight as I firmed up but I have actually gained 4 pounds. My guess is muscle cause there is some 6 pack signs in the making. It has been good to go with my sister as well. We kind of talk, more than we did before. Which is a good thing. We are starting to get closer.

Cody enrolled in flight school. After I had a heart attack at the cost, I was finally relieved that he had decided this was it and promised me and himself that he would work extra hard each semester to not waste this chance. Without a beat, he started asking for a plane. That is hilarious, I just laughed and told him one day. When I was rich and famous I would get him one.

My dad has started to lose weight and I am SO proud of him. He has lost 40 pounds so far and it is starting to show. We recently sent pictures to my brother on his mission and it starting to really show. His face is thinner and his pants don't fit at all. It is great.



We went to the zoo on Saturday to see the giraffes. I love giraffes and one just recently had a baby. We spent a few hours wandering around the zoo checking out all the animals. Wow alot have recently had babies, so if you get the chance to go up there you should go they are SO cute. Not to mention the Ghost of the Bayou is still here ( a white alligator, crazy I know..) which is pretty rad.

We have also been venturing out for long periods of time due to the great weather, Tyke loves it and refuses to come inside. He "suntans" and enjoys every minute of it. I really can't blame him though it feels so great out there.

Well as promised here are the pictures.. YAY!!




This is one of the Elephants at the zoo. There was three of them and they were all 'hangin out' for feeding time. This one took it literal with the crossed leg and everything.



Here is the baby giraffe. He had taken to licking the rails and hanging out where he could see all the people inside. He was so cute and tiny. I loved it!!




This is the mama giraffe and me hanging out while she ate some grass. It was so funny to see her long tongue all black and slimy pick up grass.



This is the Amur Leopard. He was pacing the glass in search of something which we couldn't figure out, but whatever it was he didn't look to happy. So I snapped a picture of it.




This is a giant turtle that was in the wild area. There is a green house type area where they allow animals like - birds, lizards, sloths and turtles just wander with you. I couldn't believe the size of this turtle.. huge!



Here is Tyke giving his.. ' i love you mom, but i am going to pounce you in like two seconds' face. He is so cute.. and yep after I took this I got pounced.



Tyke.. smiling..



Cody and his pup.. they luff each other..



and lastly.. chewing on a stick that he found while we were playing... strange duck.

We are having fun and loving our spring... hope you all are. ciao...

iT's aPriL

Today I thought I would write a post and just make sure and let you all know I am alive. Recently I have been trying to just stay on top of the ever growing mountain of things. I have started going to the gym with my little sister, firstly for bonding with her.. I have never really been someone she likes per say. We have always been the siblings that don't get along and fight about everything. Well I figured once she got to where she was I would try to be a friend. And it is starting to work. We are talking and having fun. It is nice to know that the possibility of being her friend is there. The second reason why I have started going to the gym is just for me. I have found with the stresses of everything the easiest thing to do was go work out and I seemed relieved and of course I started to get in shape. I have to admit it is REALLY hard. I started taking a Cardio only class a few weeks back and it kicks my butt. I break into a hard sweat in about 15 minutes. Well worth it though.

The next rock in the mountain of things is of course school. We are ending the spring semester in the next two weeks and it seems that no matter how much you prepare for the end you always get a surprise jumbo assignment along with finals that just makes it crazy. I have started to take great interest in Art History, in the past few years and have been taking all the upper level classes of Art History that are open. This semester I got into one and my surprise for the end of the semester was a 10 page research paper on a piece of art in Greek to Roman time periods. Yes, I am stressing.. today starts day one of the "Library and Me are Best Friends"time. Hopefully I will finish in time, I have until April 16th.

But other than that we are alive and well. Cody starts flying on April 30th and will have his private pilot's license in August.. if any of you would like to brave a flight after then I am sure he would LOVE to take you up.

Tyke is great, he is a whooping 71 pounds now, I don't know where he hides it or how he gains it for that matter, but he is starting to show signs of the medications working. His hips hurt less and he is MUCH more active. This is ALWAYS a great sign. We also will be celebrating his first birthday on April 28th. YAY!!

Anyhow.. I will update with pictures soon. Ciao..

oUt wItH tHe lIoN & iN wItH a lAmB..

Well, I thought since it was the last day in March that I would write a post. There a few things to update everyone one so here we go..

First off.. we ended not getting the townhome. As things played out the rates took another jump and we ran into some snags. As it happened we didn't get it. However, in looking back at it, we decided that it turned out okay. We really wanted a backyard for tyke and this place wouldn't allow us to have a fence up. Also with school coming up and trying to find ways to get money saved up, it was better that things happened this way.

Second.. Cody decided on a major! We were getting to a point where knowing what we wanted to do was a must. He picked, yay! He is going into Aviation Science through UVU. He starts up hopefully in the fall, after a few generals this summer. He is super excited and has loved the few chances he has had to go on a "test" flight with the instructors.

Well, We are just plugging along. Not much other than that has changed. We are counting down the days until the end of the semester, we have 4 weeks. But all in all it has been a good month. We can't complain. I think we are ready for April..