Merry Christmas in Tennessee!

Merry Christmas everybody! We had a fabulous time with Greg's family in TN.

28 weeks, and definitely showing off our Christmas miracle.

And here's a shout-out to Jessie and Jeramy and their miracle baby, McKenna!

I couldn't resist taking a picture of Greg's older brother Tommy's family in their matching pajamas!

9 nieces and nephews were present, and all contributed to the nativity pageant in their own special way. For example, Natalie really wanted to be a bee. Sure, why not! As long as we can put the shepherd costume on top. I'm pretty sure they had Bee Shepherds in Bethlehem.

Mary and Joseph riding in on the donkey. The donkey (Ty) had a stroke shortly after depositing them at the inn, and laid on the floor with his tongue hanging out for the duration of the narration.

Arriving at the inn, with the angel (Kaitlyn) there to tell the shepherds of Christ's coming!

Baby Jesus was played by 2-month-old Miles this year; however, it seems 7-month-old Jake really wanted the role. Jake eventually got the role through the time-proven method of bullying.

And all chaos breaks loose!

Hope you all had a Christmas as wonderful and as exciting as we did!!!

What...Another Trip to Utah?

It's true, I went to Utah AGAIN! But who could resist a $160 roundtrip ticket? It was a short trip, but totally worth it because....

I got to meet my 7-day old nephew Skyler. Lea was supposed to still be pregnant when I got there, and we were both going to be in the third trimester officially for one day. I forgave her once I met this beautiful boy.

And my crazy sis stuck with the plan of throwing me a baby shower, now with a brand new baby. My mom and SIL Devri helped out too!

Um....I apparently don't know how these shower things work. I was instructed that I'm supposed to model the clothing by holding it up to my belly. Who knew!

The best part was being able to see friends and family I haven't seen, literally, in years. Valerie and I were oboe majors together at BYU. She's 8 months pregnant with her 3rd!

Lea and Lisa, who was a flute major and played chamber music with me at BYU.

Julie and her daughter Myla. I have a special connection to Myla--Julie was tutoring me over the phone on how to write a paper for Music History when her water broke and she went into labor. That was pretty awesome.

My amazing family - Lea, Skyler, Aunt Martie, and cousins Heidi and Cindi!

Okay, get this. I knew Susan (right) from Arizona, and then when I moved back to Utah I was roommates with Emily (left). Then they independently moved to D.C. and ended up in the same ward as each other, and now both live in Utah. Crazy!

More fam--my amazing SIL Devri and my cousin Angie!

My second mother-in-law Cheryl (translation: Lea's mother-in-law who took care of me for years before I got married!)

Back home in GA with my wonderful husband. I think Greg's really starting to like pink and little girl stuff.

Thank you everybody for giving me such a wonderful shower. I had the most amazing time ever!!!!

The Definition of a 5-Year Anniversary is...

When you look at your wedding pictures and think, "Man, we used to be really young and thin!"

Happy Anniversary to us! Five years later, I'm still convinced I married the most incredible man in the world!

Announcing our New Arrival!

Here I am in the Labor and Delivery wing of the hospital.

Okay, I'm just being mean. No, I did not deliver our baby three months early! I did however spend all Wednesday night throwing up, and they did bring me into the Labor and Delivery wing to get an IV of fluids because I was so dehydrated. Man, that IV was so GOOD! I started feeling much, much better after that.

Our new arrival is...

our new Mazda 5 car/SUV/station wagon/van...we're not sure what it is.

But as modeled by the Marshes here, it seats 6...

And although it's not any longer than our compact cars, it's got the sliding van doors, and a ton more space than Greg's little Honda Civic.

What happened to the Civic you ask?

If you look close, you can see the deer fur...

Although it wasn't that much damage, the '98 Civic wasn't worth very much and so it ended up being totaled.

And the deer? Yeah...he was totaled too.

We Are Thankful for...Thanksgiving!

This year we went to Tennessee for the Dahl's Southern Thanksgiving! I brag about the amazing feast we have every year, and finally convinced our good friends the Marshes to come with us. They were not disappointed!

Little girls are drawn to Greg, especially his nieces. This is why I have no worries about what kind of father Greg will be...only that I will have to be the sole disciplinarian!

Greg's dad, Tom, took us and the Marshes on a tour of Oak Ridge. Greg had no idea there was a "Dahl Brick" at his high school stadium, although it seems the rest of the family knew about it.

We also got a tour of his newly renovated high school. Greg is pretty sure this is the same tuba he used in high school 15 years ago.

Proud member of the WILD BAND! Who knew his dabble in the fine arts would win him the girl of his dreams!

Oak Ridge was a secret city during World War II, where literally guards were posted around the perimeter of the city and you had to be authorized to enter. This is where they were enriching the uranium for the atomic bomb, part of the Manhattan project. Reportedly no one knew what they were working on, and if someone got to talking or speculating about their job...they would be gone the next day. This picture is of the K-25 plant, description below.

They separated the U-235 from the U-238 through gaseous diffusion here. Whatever that means.

Can you imagine getting this letter? Dated November 11th, it tells this original citizen of Oak Ridge that the government is going to take possession of their farm DECEMBER 1ST, and they must move no later than that date. The small farming communities in the area were uprooted and shipped out, and the city of Oak Ridge literally sprung up over night.

We are always spoiled rotten when we visit Greg's home, and this year was no exception. We came home with 12 boxes of little girl clothes, thanks to my wonderful sister-in-laws. We are set! And this is the belly shot of me at 24 weeks.

What Lara Does When She's Not Home

Performing with the oboe professor of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music....

And teaching oboists.

Isn't this the cutest thing in the entire world...identical twins that both play the oboe!!!!

What Greg Does When Lara's Not Home

Trashes the kitchen in a few minutes time...

But look how much fun he's having flying the helicopters!

October Trip to Utah!

I was able to visit Utah for a few days the last week in October. The main reason for my visit is that my friend Paul Abegg invited me to come and solo with the Dixie State College Orchestra, which he conducts. I managed to come out a little early and spend ONE WHOLE DAY with my family! Totally worth it...I wish it could have been for longer. Of course, Greg had to work and couldn't come.

It's always been my dream to be pregnant the same time as my sisters. Here Lea is on her last, her 4th boy, due Dec. 20th. I just barely made it!

My nephews!!!!

Lea's Family

Brian's Family

I was lucky to be able to see my dad's concert with the BYU Symphonic Band the one day I was in town, and I was so excited when Geralyn, my oboe professor from my undergrad days at BYU, was at the concert too!

Snow Canyon in St. George, UT. I'm 20 weeks pregnant in this picture.

My parents drove me to St. George and hung out with me all weekend! I'm so glad we were able to spend time together. And man, the weather in St. George was BEAUTIFUL that weekend. It made me miss the Arizona desert.

Beautiful Snow Canyon (named after Lorenzo Snow, not because it ever snows here)

Paul and I performing the Bach Violin and Oboe Concerto with the Dixie State College Orchestra. I had some close-ups, but it turns out that being 20-weeks pregnant and playing the oboe is not a good combination!

Flat Stanley

Some of you may be familiar with the children's book "Flat Stanley". I however was not, and so I was surprised when I received a letter in the mail from my 6-yr-old nephew Cole asking me to show Flat Stanley around Atlanta, GA. I, being an over-achiever, did much more than that. I took Flat Stanley on a tour of Georgia AND Tennessee, and then flew across the country with him to Utah. I was determined that our Flat Stanley would get the most pins on the map!

Here I am teaching Flat Stanley an oboe lesson. He even got his own oboe to keep!

And through a random series of events, my student Carolyn accidentally picked up the copy of my music that had Flat Stanley in it for her Senior Recital. Imagine her surprise when she came out to play the second piece on her recital, opened the music, and found a Flat Stanley paperdoll with a paper oboe in his hand! Yeah, she cracked up. And if you look at the top left of the stand, you will see Flat Stanley's hand poking out. Yep...he was waving at the audience the ENTIRE time!

In addition to driving the golfcart, and attending a circus in TN, and going to the Oak Ridge Science Museum and buying Cole's class pencils that change colors, he also got his own plane seat on our trip out to UT!