Mmmmmmm olives.

"more pease"

I Heart Happy Jo

This is one of my favorite pictures of my mom for several reasons:
1) Look at what a babe she was (and still is! See photo below.).
2) I want her sunglasses.
3) It looks like a picture of her and Mckinlay.
And just for the record,I don't think my dad is punishing me. I think he is just helping me out of the boat. Right? Or maybe I'm in trouble since I aparently lost one of my hair bows.

Happy Mother's Day Mommy! Thanks for being my best friend.
I love you a million "no such things."
(argh. can you imagine a million!?)

Hooray for Grandma!

This photo says it all!

Happy Mothers Day Mom. We sure love you!

Grandma Tutu

My cousin Melanie sent out an email to all the Mckinlay cousins and asked us for stories "Grandma Tutu" use to tell us about ourselves. My Grandma has always been known for her amazing memory, but she has been batteling dementia for the past few years and her memories have been slowly slipping away (She is 97). So Melanie wanted to collect "her memories" to share with her.

Since it's Mother's Day, I thought I'd share one of Grandma's memories about me with you.
Grandma Tutu came to Hawaii to babysit Brennan and I while my parents went on a vacation with Grandma and Grandpa Hallstrom. Tutu use to always tell me how cute she thought it was that B and I were such good friends. We would sit on the couch and snuggle while we watched TV. Tutu would also tell me that when she would take me out in my stroller I would smile and say "hi" to everyone we passed. People would stop and talk to me and tell her how cute I was. I love that story because that is exactly what happens when I take Mckinlay out. I always think of Tutu when that happens.

Thanks Melanie for doing this! Even if Tutu can't remember the stories, she will remember how much we all love her.

BJH

In honor of Mother's Day this weekend, I wanted to post these pictures and memories of my beautiful Grandma Hallstrom.
Grandma snuck me brown sugar when we'd make cookies. She made paper dolls with me. We played Old Maid. She watched us swim. She gave us strawberry soda and orangsicles. She wore a black and white mumu. She brought her own butter to McDonalds. She got her hair done once a week. She was an amazing cook. Even her Eggo waffles somehow tasted better then ours at home. She wore TABU. She was a fabulous teacher. We ate clam chowder at Makai Market. And then we went to See's for a "piece." She let me help her with her Relief Society handouts. She typed on a typewriter. She hummed all the time. She read books covered in brown paper. She drove a "Cadi." She had lovely, distinct handwriting. She let me dial on her rotary phone. She wore fake lashes. We played in her playhouse. She loved Lawrence Welk. She never told me she knew I played with her makeup. She liked to count the stars on my bedroom ceiling. She would have really liked Ty. I can't get through a verse of "God Be With You 'Til We Meet Again" without crying. Not a day goes by that I don't think of her. I love you Grandma!

If I were in Utah....

this is where you would find Happy Jo and me this weekend. I so want anything of hers.

Cinco de Mayo FHE!

I emailed this to Ty yesterday while he was at school:
Our little Senorita practiced her moves on her "stage" all day long...
and we went to 3 stores to get the right cut of meat for our fiesta. Thanks Alli for the fabulous fajita recipe!Unfortunately the library didn't have a very good selection of Cinco de Mayo music (we ended up with a children's "party" CD with songs about pinatas), so I considered heading downstairs and asking to borrow a CD. We expected big things from our downstairs neighbors. The ranchero music started around 2:00, but unfortunately they must have gone elsewhere to celebrate that evening because by the time we started our festivities, they were silent. Odd, because on any given day you can hear the steady beat of their music coming up through the floor. Mckinlay even dances to it from time to time. And you gotta love the occasional (or not so occasional) "Ei-ei-ei-ei." I guess I should have asked to borrow their music since they obviously weren't. Oh well, we still have next year.

"cheese"

This is a pretty typical afternoon around our house. Just thought I'd share.



The boots kill me. Pauly put them on next.

100th Post!

Woah! Can you believe it? 100 posts already. Well, including the previous blog, this is really our 142 post, but who is counting, right?

In honor of this accomplishment we decided to list 100 facts about our family. Here goes:

• 1. “Hey Big Spender” is my favorite song.
• 2. Ty often gets mistaken for David Duchovny (“Why don’t you love me?").
• 3. Ty’s first choice for dental school was not Harvard (He didn't get accepted to his first choice).
  
• 4. Ty hates “The Sound of Music”
• 5. But he loves “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.”
• 6. Mckinlay blows kisses to everyone.
• 7. I cut Ty’s hair twice (by “twice” I mean a 1^st and last time.)
• 8. He made me cry.
• 9. Mckinlay likes to stick her fingers in my nose.
• 10. I make treats “twice a week.”
• 11. Ty calls my “Sevens” “Radio.”
• 12. My left eye is bigger than my right.
• 13. Mckinlay walks around the house brushing her teeth.
• 14. Ty is missing tooth #25.
• 15. Ty is very proud of his dental skills.
• 16. Although I grew up in Hawaii, I never rode on a boat until I moved to Utah.
• 17. Ty and I both got “chubby” on our honeymoon. Here's why:
• 18. We both think we are a lot cooler than we really are.
• 19. I hate to be called “Megs” by people that don’t know me.
• 20. When I was a kid I liked to suck the slime off of vienna sausages.
• 21. The thought of that now makes me throw up in my mouth.
• 22. Have you heard that Snoop Dogg is Mormon?
• 23. Pretty good April Fool’s joke, no?
• 24. Ty loves trees.
• 25. Mckinlay will tell you what an alligator says.
• 26. Bishop Briggs and I are Facebook friends.
• 27. Bishop Briggs and Ty will soon be facebook friends.
• 28. Bishop Briggs and all our ward friends who read this and have facebook accounts will soon be friends.
• 29. “I Only Have Eyes For You” is not our song.
• 30. “Everything I do, I do it for you” is our song.
  
• 31. Ty whispered “I love you” to me during it for the first time at a Stake Dance.
• 32. He just told me it was also his song with his 6^th grade girlfriend. Now it’s not so special.
• 33. I had a foot print on the ceiling above my bed at my Mountainwood apartment.
• 34. I would lay awake at night trying to figure out how it got there.
• 35. Ty’s dad would often call me at 6am while we were dating. (Ty and I, not Eric and I)
  
• 36. Mckinlay loves to hide food behind her back while in her highchair.
• 37. Ty “nah nah nahs” and whistles a lot while working on the computer.
• 38. Mckinlay uses the same word for: cheese, Jesus, shoes, peas, please and keys.
• 39. “Meg-less”, “Meg-a-rama”,”Meg-pie”, “Meggera”, “Meggie-bo-deggie” are a few of my nicknames.
• 40. Ty’s mom calls him “Glorious Son.”
• 41. Tuesday night use to be deemed “pick on Meghan night” in the Mckinlay home.
• 42. I miss watching Maddle dance.
• 43. I can’t dance.
• 44. I’ve never won a trophy.
• 45. Ty has a “crooked nose.”
• 46. We usually run into one of Ty’s old girlfriends at Stake Conference.
• 47. Mckinlay and I look “exactly alike.”
• 48. I love planning parties.
• 49. Mckinlay has a crown.
• 50. She likes to wear it to get the mail.
• 51. Sometimes getting the mail is the highlight of our day.
• 52. Sometimes I’m embarrassed to go to Target.
• 53. I feel like all the workers say, “She’s here again!?”
• 54. But I usually run into Emily there.
• 55. That makes me feel better.
• 56. I miss my Grandma.
• 57. Ty and I are about to watch BSG.
• 58. Ty’s going to rub my feet while we watch.
• 59. He doesn’t know that yet.
• 60. The writers strike was really crappy.
• 61. Ty day dreams a lot.
• 62. It makes his palms sweat...when he daydreams about heights, that is.
• 63. I have too many shoes.
• 64. So does Mckinlay.
• 65. People often tell me my daughter has a weird name.
• 66. Everyone still thinks she is a boy.
• 67. I can see 10 purses right now.
• 68. None of which I currently use.
• 69. Did I mention I have a hard time getting rid of things?
• 70. Ty only has one week of school off this summer.
• 71. During which, he is doing an oral surgery externship at VCU.
• 72. I once had a Hogi Yogi stalker.
• 73. He would make our time cards and name tags kiss.
• 74. My grandma, mom, Mckinlay and I all sit the same way.
• 75. The lady at playgroup says it is bad for your knees.
• 76. I disagree.
• 77. I thought this list would be super hard.
• 78. It’s not.
• 79. We subscribe to bloglines.
• 80. I use to have fake nails in high school.
• 81. The man who did them has an extremely long hair growing out if his mole.
• 82. Mckinlay loves fridge magnets.
• 83. We want a blonde pug.
• 84. His name will be Litman.
• 85. We decided that while on “The Big Island.”
• 86. Right after seeing a Nene Goose crossing sign.
• 87. I can’t spell.
• 88. You already know that since you read this blog.
• 89. I really like yellow houses.
• 90. Sometimes Mckinlay calls Ty “Ty.”
• 91. My mom and I wipe the kitchen counter the exact same way.
• 92. It drives Ty nuts.
• 93. Ty and I are “the same funny.”
• 94. Mckinlay loves Baby Einstein.
• 95. I often put in on “repeat play.”
• 96. Is that bad?
• 97. We really want to figure out a way to live in Hawaii for a year.
• 98. Mckinlay loves to play in the parking lot (under very close supervision of course.)
• 99. She kisses each and every pebble, stick and cigarette butt she picks up (Ok, so I draw the line at cigarette butts.)
• 100. We are considering 200 facts for our 200^th post. Whadda you say?

Day at the Arboretum

I'm so happy! We have had such amazing weather lately. I think I walk around all day smiling for no other reason than that it is so lovely outside!
Or maybe I'm smiling at Mckinlay's low-rider shorts...

We went to the Arnold Arboretum today with Laura, Brianne and the kiddos. Here are a few highlights:The trees were in full bloom. Marcus kept saying, "It's snowing!"
Mckinlay was being free with the kisses today (as usual). Evelyn didn't seem to mind. But she wasn't the only one passing out kisses like pretzels.
We caught Marcus kissing Mckinlay's knee...
Then he went for the cheek...followed by a full on body tackle and giant kiss! Obviously didn't get a picture of that one since we were trying to pry him off of her. Oh young love. Looks like he's giving Pauly a run for his money.
And all the while cute Brooklyn clapped and smiled for us.

We topped it all off with a picnic by the car, since you are not allowed to picnic in the park. Thanks for a fun day ladies, and thank you Mr. Golden Sun for making life so wonderful!

A daughter can brag.

My darling mom just finished re-doing her toy attic. It turned out so fabulous! Check it out here.
Mckinlay and I can't wait to come home and play!

Boston Marathon

After 3 years of living here, I finally made it to watch the Boston Marathon! This is my friend Amy. Mckinlay was right below us. Asleep. In her stroller. Don't ask me how she managed that one with all the noise.

It was awesome! We got to our spot just as the first two women were running by. What an inspiring site! Here were these two women surrounded by a police escort, with hundreds of people cheering for them, giving this race their all. It totally gave me the chills. These runnings were amazing! I was standing there clapping and cheering for an hour and I was tired. I can only imagine...
Whenever Melanie is around, Mckinlay prefers her to me. I think it is because she thinks Melanie might give her whatever it is that I wouldn't give to her. Or maybe Mckinlay just has really good taste. Probably both.

The winner is...

with:
Dear blog, happy 2nd birthday!!! We would like some cake via email, party hats would be nice too! 2 years is a long time.......favorite past entry.....hummmm......I think it would have to be the disco ty and megs bobble head thing. Dave and I almost wet our pants.....wait Dave did!! :-) Happy Bloging

Expect a wonderful surprise package shortly! If you're lucky, there will be party hats involved!

Thanks to everyone who commented! It was so fun reading what you had to say! And thanks for reading!

"JAFR"

Tomorrow is the last day to post a comment on the 2 year birthday post below. Winner will be announced tomorrow night!(Just because it is darling.)

2 years already!?

This is my 2nd birthday. I forgot how awesome our kitchen wallpaper was.

Someone else just celebrated their 2nd as well. OUR BLOG!! Can you believe we have been at this for 2 years? I know you're thinking, "What did I do before I had the Lovelesses blog to read?" Right? Ok, just humor me.

You guys have been there through it all with us. Like the time we ran the Boston Marathon, our different apartments, swollen feet, Mckinlay's birth, our Themed FHEs (which had it's one year anniversary last night!), vacations (remember how bald Mckinlay was?), celebrations, obsessions, holidays, and classic moments just to name a few.

To say thanks for reading about us, we thought it was time for another giveaway. Leave us a comment and you could win! Tell us your favorite past post, or something about you, or just say "hey"! We will put all the commenters names in a hat and draw a winner at random. As an added incentive, if you haven't commented before, we will add your name to the hat twice! We want to know who our readers are. The winner will receive something fabulous via the mail. We will even mail to Hong Kong if you happen to win (Hint hint). The contest will end in one week. You have until April 15th.

So happy commenting everyone and thanks for reading!

Semi-Annual Conference Brunch

I love General Conference weekend! For many reasons. We get to stay at home and listen to the words of the Prophet and all of our church leaders, we get to spend a lot of time together as a family, and we get to eat lots of carbs, I mean, yummy food with our friends!

Conference Brunch is a tradition my family has had ever since I can remember, so naturally we were going to carry it on once we moved away. Sunday morning, before the first session of conference, we get together and stuff our faces with all sorts of breakfast delights. Conference soufflé (thank you Melissa) has become a staple as has Melanie's pear pie. This year Ty made his homemade cinnamon rolls. Lucky for me we had 1 left. I'm eating it right now for breakfast.

We are so sad because this is the last time we will have this group together for brunch! Fillmores are leaving us for Minnesota and Turnbulls are off to Arizona for a year. Thankfully Christophers will still be here!

Thanks for the good food and good fun everyone! And thanks for the pictures Brianne!
With 6 kids, it's pretty much a guarantee all the photos you take will turn out about like this. No, these are not all Melanie's kids. She just happened to be holding 3 of the 6 when we decided to take the picture. (Anna, Marcus' bum, Brooklyn, Pauly, Mckinlay, and Avery.)
The dental students. Josh, Aaron, Ty and Jonathan. Aaron's toy is behind his knee.
Mckinlay and Avery. We're so sad you are leaving us Av! We are really going to miss you!

Daddy can I make a shameless promotion?

Attention all Utah dwellers/summer vacationers!
In case you haven't heard, this year's Stadium of Fire features Miley Cyrus, Blue Man Group and will be hosted by Glenn Beck. It will be a great show! Tickets go on sale tomorrow.

Be sure to check out all the other Freedom Festival activities if you'll be in the area.

Who else is excited?

Just the preview makes me happy!

Who wants to go with me? Pretty sure Ty would rather die first. Or maybe I should save it for next time I'm in labor since Pierce Brosnan is in it? (Long story.)

"Mee mee mee mee"

I've been tagged by Jen and Marie. Here goes:

A - Attached or Single: Very attached. (at the hip)
B - Best Friend: Ty.
C - Cake or Pie: Yes please.
D - Day of Choice: Friday.
E - Essential Item: Cell phone.
F - Favorite Color: Yellow, right Ty?
G - Gummi Bears or Worms: Chocolate covered gummi bears.
H - Hometown: Orem, UT.
I - Indulgence(s): "Good shampoo."
J - January or July: JULY!
K - Kids: If Ty has his way, we'd have 12 by the time we were through. (Need I say dream on buster!) 1 currently.
L - Life is Incomplete Without: Ty and Mckindee.
M - Marriage Date: August 12.
N - Number of Siblings: 3. (B, Maddle and Tylee-Wiley.)
O - Oranges or Apples: Apples. Oranges make my hands smell orangey.
P- Phobias or Fears: Deep ocean. And I use to be scared I'd have ugly kids.
Q - Quote(s): "Faddle, fut far fou foofing?"
R - Reason to Smile: Wet kisses. From Mckinlay, that is.
S - Season: SPRING--could you get here to stay already!
T - Tag Seven: Consider yourself tagged if'n you want.
U - Unknown Fact About Me: I love Battlestar Galactica! I swear it's cooler than Star Trek, right Erin?
V - Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: Please pass the bernaise sauce.
W - Worst Habit: Expecting others to read my mind.
X - X-Rays or Ultrasounds: Bring on the ultrasounds! (Just not 12 of them.)
Y - Your Favorite Food: Chicken fingers. With honey mustard. And strawberry applesauce. And French Fries. Ty--can we go out to dinner tonight?
Z - Zodiac: Virgo

Oh wait! There's more!

1. 10 years ago...
I was 15, just finishing up my 9^th grade year at Canyon View Junior High. I was on cloud nine because my friend Alison had just come home from a semester in Spain. I was feeling cooler than I’m sure I actually was, going to “9^th Grade Night Dances”, and having serious crushes on boys. On any given day you could find me (and Alison and probably Lindsey) wearing one of my many striped Limited II shirts. They were seriously cool.

2. 5 things on my to do list today...
Make dinner, watch our current Netflix movie so we can get this one asap, send various emails, call my family, plan my week with Ty.

3. Snacks I enjoy...
Teddy Grahams, pears, cheese, chocolate...

4. What would I do if I were suddenly made a billionaire...
Pay off our student loans thus far, buy a house next year wherever we end up doing our residency, buy 2 new cars next year after we leave Boston (Boston is not the place for new cars!), buy something great for our parents, treat ourselves to a fabulous graduation vacation…help the poor...yaddah yaddah...the list can go on and on. :)

5. 5 places I have lived...
Honolulu, Orem, Provo, London (for 3 months), Boston

6. 5 jobs I have had...
Hogi Yogi, Copper Rivet (Best job ever!!), Mimi’s Café (Did you get the "Mee mee mee mee" title? How embarrassing was that!?), Elase Medical Spa, ENT office receptionist.

7. 3 of my bad habits...
I make plans in my head without telling anyone. When they don’t happen, I get sad, frustrated or bugged.

I pile things to “find a place for later.” Have you seen my house? It’s full of piles.

I talk to Ty while he is on the phone. I tell him what to say and I ask him questions about what the person he is talking to is saying.

8. 5 random things people don't know about me...
I shake my leg while I brush my teeth. Nervous habit? I need to use the bathroom? No idea. But I’ve done it ever since I can remember.

I love to run errands. Any excuse to go to Target or anywhere, I’m all over it.

Even if it is 101 degrees outside, I would happily drink a cup of hot chocolate. When I turned 12 and went into Young Women’s, my mom had to make up a rhyme about me and bring something for the other girls to remember me by. “Winter, Summer, Spring, or Fall. It’s my favorite drink of all.” She brought Swiss Miss for everyone.

I can remember the song lyrics to almost any song I have ever heard, but I can’t for the life of me tell you anything I ever read in any of my text books.

I wish I could have been on Broadway—or at least that I did drama in High School. I can’t sing, or dance for that matter, but I love to pretend I can. I will take any chance I get to sing show tunes and dance around the house, especially if there is a set of stairs I can dance down…even if those stairs happen to be an inappropriate place, right Ty?

9. 5 people I tag...
Anyone who wants to be.

We heart Mr. B

If you haven't been to Mr. Bartley's, you must.
Thanks for posting about it Andrea! We went today for lunch and fell in love.

Some Birthday Love

Happy Birthday Grandma!!!
We love you!
Ty, Megs & Mckinlay

Easter Egg Love

Here are a few highlights from our Easter weekend:
Mckinlay had her first Easter egg hunt. She picked up two eggs and then she wouldn't let them go. She was not going to put them into her basket and she was getting super frustrated because she couldn't hold more than one egg in each hand!
So, Ty helped her out a little. And someone fell in love with her new fairy wings.
Saturday night Pauly and Mckinlay discovered the joys of eating sour warheads. Remember those? I totally remember having contests with Brennan to see who could keep them in their mouths the longest. Good times. And now my child is making similar memories.


I always love Easter Sunday! Church is always extra special and the sun always shines on Easter. We had a fabulous dinner at the Fillmores! Thank you Melanie and props to Jonathan on his fancy cake skills!
And apparently the Easter egg novelty hadn't worn off yet. She played with one in each hand again all day. She even took one to bed with her.
Hope you all had a fabulous Easter! We had a wonderful day relaxing, spending time together and reflecting on our love for the Savior.
Happy Spring!

Spring Break!

We just got back from a great spring break week in Kentucky/Ohio! B and Alli (my brother and sister-in-law) live in Kentucky right on the border of the two states (15 mins from Cincinnati). Ty did and oral surgery externsip at Ohio State University for part of the week while Mckinlay and I stayed with the McKBrennans. However, it was quite the ordeal getting there. Last weekend the Ohio area had the biggest snow storm they have had in 40 years! We left Boston last Saturday morning at 6am and flew to Detroit where we were supposed to catch a flight to Dayton, OH. Long story short--we were re-routed 4 times and ended up flying to Louisville (which when pronounced correctly you sound like your mouth is full of marbles) and staying in a hotel (thanks B!) over night until the roads were clear enough for B to drive down and pick us up the next day. Because of all our re-routing, we were the Luggageless Lovelesses until Monday night at 10 pm. Ty was supposed to be at his externship Monday morning at 6am, but couldn't go with his stuff. So I drove him up to Columbus ( a 2 and a 1/2 hour drive) at 4 am on Tuesday morning. Although we never want to look at the clothes we wore for three days in a row again, we got to go on a shopping spree courtesy of Northwest Airlines. They said they would reimburse us up to $150 for the 3 days we didn't have our luggage. So, instead of buying things we needed for those few days, we bought Mckinlay's summer clothes, a new dress and shoes for me and new slacks and a belt of Ty! Oh how we love Target! We would highly recommend a luggage delay if in need of a few things to spruce up the wardrobe.

Since we got Ty for an extra day we were able to go to the fabulous Children's Museum together. Thanks for lending Mckinlay your darling outfit Addy-Lou! Otherwise she would have had to go in her pink jammies!
Alli and I went to Jungle Jim's. It is a huge foodie's market with all foods foreign (Except for my luscious Kinder Bueno's! The sign was there, but no hazelnut goodness to be found.).We went to a horse race at Turfway Park because would it have been a real trip to Kentucky without going!? There was lots of poop, lots of cigar smoke and lots of thick accents. It was great!
Did I mention Mckinlay got Pink Eye? Poor sad-eyed little girl.
I think my favorite place we went was the Krohn Conservatory in Cincaniti. We went on Saturday when the men could join us. It was an awesome greenhouse with several rooms. It felt like Hawaii when we walked in. I think I could have spent all day in there. Ty is now convinced we need a green house of the same caliber, but on a smaller scale in in our house one day. I told him to add it to the list.
That afternoon we went to Newport on the Levee for some good eats and a great view of the river.
Mckinlay has turned into "super walker girl" and is loving the independence and freedom. She has discovered how fun it is to run in and out of dressing rooms, under roped areas, and under clothing racks. But she still can't pass up the opportunity to hold her daddy's hand.
Thanks for a great time B, Alli and Addy. We love you and all the great food we had. :) Start placing your requests for your Boston trip!
Forget the greenhouse feeling like Hawaii! I think our pasty selves all could use a trip to Hawaii! Hee hee. (Sorry for the crappy picture. It's the only one of all of us.)
And I gotta post this darling pic of my cute litle peanut Addy-Lou. What a baby doll!

Dr. Loveless in action

Ty's 3:00 patient canceled yesterday so he called me up and told me he found a classmate of his to watch Mckinlay if I wanted to come in for a cleaning. YES! I haven't had a dental cleaning since the summer before we got married while I was still on my parent's insurance! So I desperately needed it.

We got to the clinic, I sat down in the chair and Ty passed Mckinlay off to a couple of girls in his class. She started crying but we told them if they left the room and she couldn't see us she would probably be fine. WRONG! Half and hour later, bless their hearts, they come back in with a sobbing, splotchy red faced Mckinlay who had apparently not stopped crying as soon as we were out of site. So she spent the appointment as Daddy's assistant.
She just sat there and smiled and laughed. Do you think she will do this again when I go back and get my HUGE cavity filled? Maybe that is pressing our luck.

It was so fun seeing Ty is action. He is one cute little dentist. I can see why one of his patients has a crush on him. But as cute as he is, should I be nervous about letting him fill my cavity? I'll keep you posted on how that goes.Only teasing Ty. We all know how confident you are with your dental hand skills. I have complete faith in your confidence babe.