Daniel and Meghann

Happy Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T17:29:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day to all you lovers out there!

We're not big into V-day, but any excuse to make some tasty treats is good enough to call a Holiday for me! I made some scrumptious cupcakes for Dan to share at his meetings today (they were a huge hit). I love baking treats when they turn out so pretty!

After Dan got home from work, I made his favorite chocolate delight, LAVA CAKES. Seriously, any excuse to make these and I'm happy. Dan was a happy boy as well! I sure know the way to his heart...chocolate lava cakes!

And MY valentine (slash bday, slash anniversary) present is this pretty little number... Hence, the awesome food pictorials! I've wanted a new camera for a while now and even more since we found out Baby T is on her way. Totally worth the investment! Can't wait to start snapping away!

Hope you all felt loved today, I know I did :)

Baby Update

2012-02-11T18:24:00.000-08:00

I wish I had a better excuse for my lack of blogging, but it really only means one thing...Nothing interesting has been happening at the Tracy house. We're in Michigan, it's winter, I'm cold. That about sums everything up!!!

So here are some snapshots of the growing abdomen...and it sure is growing! It's very evident now that I'm pregnant. Little kids are always asking me if I have a baby in my tummy lol, it's cute. I'm also starting to get the "strangers put their hands on my belly." I wont lie, it's kinda strange. But I guess it all comes with the territory!

Some milestones I've hit over the past month of pregnancy have included:

Baby T is about the size of a large eggplant weighing in at an average of 2 lbs.
Tons of baby movement, super cool!
Back pain, not cool at all.
Heartburn, ick.

Cravings:

Cold cereal. I eat about 3-4 bowls per day. It's awesome! I have every variety of Special K cereal in our pantry. Blueberry and Cinnamon Pecan are my favorite :)
Homemade milkshakes. Each night I make my own milkshake. A little ice cream, some banana, some chocolate chips and a splash of milk... Heaven!

Besides getting ready for our baby girl to get here, not much has been going on. I shop online for baby deals while Daniel is away on business trips in Brazil. I have Sadie to keep me company while he's away and we just hang out and do our thing :)

Gender Reveal Party

2012-01-15T14:43:00.000-08:00

So by now most of know if we're having a boy or girl...but if you don't, here's a clip from our gender reveal party!

It's a girl!!!

So if you don't know what a Gender Reveal Party is here's how ours went down. Dan and I went to my scheduled sonogram appointment where we got to see our baby! This is the same app where they usually tell you if you're having a girl or boy. Well, instead of having the tech tell us, I had her write it down and she sealed it up in an envelope so we couldn't peak! We came home for Christmas from Michigan and gave the valued contents to a friend who baked us a cake with the filling dyed either pink or blue. Then we gathered our family together for the big reveal! Fun huh?!

Here are some details of our party...We invited our family over for snacks and of course cake! Dan's entire family was in town for Christmas so that worked out perfectly and my whole family was there minus my sister (hence the video).

I wanted to do as much as I could with pink and blue so here are some pink and blue Jones Soda's for the occasion, which were a huge hit!

Pink and blue sugar cookies...

And the CAKE! My friend Jenny Kusgen (who also made my wedding cake, fyi) was the special someone who got the envelope which carried the important info! She was the only one who knew and made this adorable cake for us to make this awesome memory.

The cake says "Ten little fingers, ten little toes, boy or girl? No one knows!"

I made these boy and girl pendant signs

One of my favorite parts of the evening was having our family cast their votes as to what they thought we were having! I decorated this chalk board and "boy" got the most votes! To be honest, Daniel and I thought it was a boy too...

But baby girl won it all!!!

This was such a neat experience for us and I highly recommend to it any mom's to be out there who don't know what they're having yet. I stole it from my sister-in-law...you can steal it from me!

Let the shopping begin!!!

Second Trimester...WHOOHOO!

2012-01-13T14:10:00.000-08:00

Soooooooo sorry for the lack of blogging! We've had computer issues since Christmas and this is the first time I've been able to upload pictures! So this is what you've missed over the past month...starting with a pregnancy update!

So I'm in the second trimester and liking it a lot better than the first! I think in my last prego update (here) I said I was starting to get over morning sickness and gain more energy which still holds true! I'm not sick at all anymore. I only get a bit nauseous when I haven't eaten regularaly so I always keep snacks on me at all times! Also, as you can see my belly has boomed! I think I look and feel more pregnant than before which is a plus. AND it's totally feeling more real now that I can actually feel a baby moving inside of me! It's a totally cool and sureal feeling.

My energy level is up, but I still take an occasional cat nap (mostly because I'm bored). But I have stayed true to my working out each morning. I rotate between power walking on an incline and the eliptical for about 45 mins 5 times/week. I think it's really important to remain active during your pregnancy and especially since I'm not working and don't get out much I look forward to my morning walks to get my metabolism kicking!

I haven't had any real cravings, but I my sweet tooth has come back! I didn't really eat sweets when I was nauseous but now that I feel normal again I look forward to my nightly dish of ice cream. I try not to overload on sweets, just as if I wasn't prego, so I balance my diet with lots of fruit and veggies too while staying away from fast foods...Pizza's not a fast food right? ;)

Until next time.....Baby T, Daniel and I are doing great! Oh yeah, if you have any sunshine where you live, send it to Michigan!!!

Quality Sister Time

2011-12-17T09:12:00.000-08:00

For work Daniel was sent to Argentina for 2 1/2 weeks. He calls it work, I called it a vacation...so I took a little vacation myself! I flew down to Orlando to stay with Steph for a week to break up my time alone. And to also spend some quality time with my lovely sister since we won't be seeing each other over Christmas this year. And must say...it was awesome!

Each day we got our morning exercise in, ran some errands, ate lunch somewhere tasty and took naps (k, I took naps) all before the kiddo's got home from school. We did take one day and played at Disney. I don't think everyone understand how much I love Disney World! Even when I can't ride the good rides, I still love going and taking in the Disney Magic!

We had to choose one park so Steph took me to Hollywood Studios to see the Christmas lights, which I've never seen before. They were waaaaaay cooler than I thought they wold be! Think of the Clark Griswold's lights on mega steroids...with music!

Any day at Disney is a good day, but this was one of the coolest things to do during the Holiday's. And we're just pretty cool like that :)

My week in Orlando was great! I love visiting with my fam and the 75 degree sunshine wasn't bad either....oh yeah and I love my sister! Thanks Steph!

Thanksgiving 2011...NY style!

2011-11-29T08:57:00.000-08:00

This year for Thanksgiving we traveled to visit Daniel's family in Albany, NY. On our way we cut through Canada which the anticipation of getting to the border was much more exciting than actually driving through it. Here we are getting ready to cross the bridge into Canada...

And here we are being officially welcomed into Ontario, Canada!

I slept through most of Canada, but when I woke up we stopped to stretch our legs and see Niagara Falls from a distance. Even as far away we were, it was still neat to see.

I would like to visit again sometime in the summer when we can ride the Maid of the Mist :)

After Niagara we crossed back into the USA to New York State! From there we had about a 5 hour drive to Dan's Grandparents. We visited for a short while and conked out so we could be ready for TURKEY DAY!

We ate Thanksgiving Dinner at Dan's Uncle Dick's and Aunt Tracy's. The place setting was b.e.a.u.t.i.f.u.l. And the food was just as great!

Here we are with the whole family during dinner.

The rest of the week we enjoyed seeing where Dan's mom grew up and downtown Albany. We spent each day hanging out with Dan's Aunt and two Uncles and of course Grandma and Grandpa Metzger.

Here is Daniel with Grandpa Dick

And Grandma June

Aunt Denise

Grandma giving me some words of wisdom while I eat my cake :)

Aunt Cindy (Uncle Doug's wife), me and Aunt Denise.

Denise's family

Grandma and Grandpa

Doug and Cindy (Grandpa snuck in)

Uncle Dick's family

We had such a BLAST! It was fun for Dan to see his family again, since it's been a while and I loved meeting everyone for the first time. We felt right at home and can't wait to visit again.

Thanks everyone for having us!!!

Baby T

2011-11-27T17:22:00.000-08:00

So this is a bit late but here are some gradual pics of my growing abdomen. Yes, I realize I do not look pregnant. I just look chubby! And I feel chubby too. I'm pretty sure my weight is distributing everywhere, not just my belly...ugh. Oh well, now that the morning sickness has started to subside I'm going to start walking everyday. I should have been doing it all along but I just felt too lousy.

I started getting sick every morning around week 6 to week 12. I wish I would have actually counted how many times I've thrown up but I didn't. But to estimate...I was sick pretty much each morning for 6 weeks so that's approximately 40 up-chucks. Sweet huh? But it is getting better. I'm not sick every morning and my energy level is beginning to go up.

Right now I'm in my 15th week so the baby is about the size of a navel orange or appx 4 inches long! Keep growing Baby T!

Grand Rapids Hockey

2011-11-20T10:10:00.000-08:00

This weekend a group of Daniel's co-workers got tickets to the Grand Rapids Griffins hockey game. I must admit this was my first hockey game...ever. Apparently hockey is a big deal in Michigan. Who knew?

A lot of fights broke out which was fun, other than that...I don't see what's so special lol. But here we are embracing yet another western Michigan tradition :)

The real reason I even posted this eventful outing is because of THIS lady right here. She was h.i.l.a.r.i.o.u.s!

She was like this the entire game. I love drunken nuts...

BTW, do you see anyone else standing? Singing? Dancing? Nope.
You go girl.

Seriously?

2011-11-10T14:20:00.000-08:00

Winter has struck Western MI. Seriously? Seriously?!

2 + 1 = 3

2011-11-04T06:19:00.000-07:00

That's right! The word is officially out! Even though people have started to find out on their own bit by bit lol. I can owe that to my extreme flakiness and lame excuses of "I don't feel good...cough cough."

Here's what I've learned over the past 12 weeks...
1. Don't ask me to do anything before noon
2. A person can survive on cheese and crackers
3. I never thought a cheeseburger would sound so disgusting
4. Coke Cola cures stomach aches and headaches...might as well cure cancer
5. Brushing my teeth has now become a bad word at this house. I have actually gone all day without brushing my teeth until I see a Crest commercial to remind me. Even then I dread doing it.
6. Dishes can wait till tomorrow...or the next day...or the next
7. Yoga pants are the best invention evverrrrrrrr

Well there you have it! We are very excited and already anticipating the arrival of our lil bambino May 17th, 2012!!!

Autumn in Grand Rapids

2011-10-22T11:45:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been over a month since my last post. That should tell you something...we've been really busy. Actually, it means we've done absolutely NOTHING so there's been nothing to post about lol.

But Fall has arrived here in Grand Rapids and it's beautiful! I love fall weather! Fall means, sweaters, scarves, boots, apple cider and pumpkins! But Fall also means Winter is not too far away and I'm not the biggest fan of Winter (except Christmas).

Anyway, recently we went to Klackle Orchards which is this huge apple orchard and pumpkin patch in Grand Rapids. I guess it's a pretty big deal. We went with some friends, drank apple cider, ate donuts and picked out a pumpkin! Below you can see where they load the freshly picked apples, clean them and bag them for sale. It was pretty cool to see the whole process.

All the pumpkins on the vines were itty-bitty so we picked one that was already picked lol.

It's pretty much the perfect pumpkin :)

It was cold and windy but it was fun to get out and participate in a Grand Rapids tradition!

I have a sister who's 40!!!

2011-09-12T18:41:00.000-07:00

For Stephanie's 40th Birthday the fam and I through her a surprise party! It was sooooooo much fun sneaking around planning this great party for her. She was gone for a weekend getaway with her hubby and when they came home Sunday night (Sept 4th), friends and family were waiting in the shadows.

It was a "Travel Themed" dessert party. Everything from the invitations to the old fashioned suit cases filled with yummies represented the theme. I chose a travel theme because Steph's real present was a girls getaway at the Grand Floridian Spa! Yup, we spoiled her :)

Take a look at our hard & super fun work...

Happy Birthday to the best big sister I could ever ask for! <3 you!

GUSTERRRRR!

2011-09-01T05:55:00.000-07:00

I guess Grand Rapids is good for one thing, their Summer Concert Series! They have this outdoor venue that hosts several concerts throughout the summer and we've held out for Guster all Summer long! And I must say, they did not disappoint.

We also got a little more than we paid for...

The show opened with Lady Danville. I've never heard of them, but they were really good. Check them out on iTunes.

Next was Jack's Mannequin. And yes, I HAVE heard of them. They played for a little over an hour and they are much better live in my opinion. I've heard their tracks and I wasn't in love with them. But I know tons of other people who do loooove them. They put on a pretty awesome show...VERY energetic!

Last but not least, the stars of the show...GUSTER! I had no idea how many people love them! They still don't seem mainstream to me but they have a lot of fans here in GR lol. They weren't as energetic as Jack's Mannequin but they did awesome. Pretty funny dudes too. They played songs from I think 5 out of their 6 albums. We just love live music and had a great time!

Guster was Dan's band first, thanks for introducing them to me!

Sadie Update

2011-08-27T10:18:00.000-07:00

It's been a few weeks since our last post so I thought I'd give an update on Sadie lol. Well last week Sadie didn't know what hit her. She went into the vet with a uterus and came home without one. Poor baby. She was so drugged she couldn't even make it up our stairs so she slept standing up, leaning against the wall for the evening until she staggered her way onto the couch where she laid for the next 24 hours.

This literally only lasted 24 hours, the next day she wanted to run, jump and play. But how do you tell a dog to take it easy because she still has stitches in her belly? Ya, you can't. So we've been dealing with a hyper-active dog that can't burn energy at the park. It's been a nightmare. Two more days and the stitches come out and we can start taking her to the park every night!

On another note, I've been stepping on these little choking hazards. Our baby is loosing all her baby teeth! Baby teeth out...big, strong, crush your arm teeth are in! Careful...

Anyway, that's the low-down on Sadie! She'll be a 65 lb man eater before we know it :)

Mackinac Island, MI

2011-08-08T10:02:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we loaded up the Honda and drove to northern Michigan to visit the famous Mackinac Island on Lake Huron. And as you can see, we roughed it! Dan's been itching to get the camping gear out at least once before it gets too cold so here was our humble abode for the weekend!

We planned out our meals they were YUMMY! Friday night we had marinaded chicken drumsticks with corn. Saturday morning we made omelets and turkey sausage. and Saturday night we had blue cheese turkey burgers and potato salad! I think if I ever want Dan to make dinner I just need to build a fire, break out the cast iron and away he'll go!

Camping would not be complete without smore's! We picked up a little tip from some friends last time we went camping... instead of graham crackers and hersey's chocolate, use fudge strips cookies! Below I have demonstrated how to make and eat the perfect smore :)

Saturday morning (after our hardy omelet) we took the ferry to Mackinac Island to spend the day. What's so cool about the Island is that motorized vehicles have been prohibited on the island, with the exception of snowmobiles during the winter. Travel on the Island is either by foot, bicycle, or horse-drawn carriage... Cool Huh!? Here are some pics of the coast from the ferry and also the downtown area.

All of the houses on the Island are period homes (even brand new ones under construction we saw). Each home is so elaborate and different. Most have been renovated into Bed & Breakfast's but there are still many private residences that serve as summer cottages. We took a peak at some reality and basic cottages were going for $2mil. INSANE!

Since the only way to get around the Island is foot, bicycle or carriage the quickest way round is a bike. So you can imagine how many bicycles there were. Bikers were everywhere! And when it came time to park your bike, good luck finding an open spot lol

The Island is about 8 miles in circumference and more than 80 percent of the island is preserved as Mackinac Island State Park. Instead of taking a carriage tour we decided to rent a bike and bike the entire island's coast. And it was beautiful! The water on Lake Huron is crystal clear, the forest is so lush and green!

Here we are at the Arch Rock. It's a small hike up to it but the view is worth it. This gives you an idea how beautiful the coastline is.

Here we are on our tandem bike! We had such a good time riding along the coast, stopping to see the sites, "ooo-ing and ahh-ing" the gorgeous homes and walking the downtown cutsie shops. Our trip wouldn't be complete without some famous Mackinac Island Fudge either... So we got 3 lbs of it! Good thing we biked off all those calories :)

Conclusion: Mackinac Island is a must see! We can't wait to go back next summer!

Beach Lover?

2011-07-23T17:19:00.000-07:00

Now living in Grand Rapids, we live close to Lake Michigan...which Michigander's refer to as "the beach." Bless their little hearts, Lake Michigan is NOT the beach. But, it has sandy shores and water that goes beyond the eye can see so I can see how they get confused...

Today was our first trip this summer so we looked up a dog beach so we could bring Sadie along. I think she liked the car ride there more than the actual beach itself. See for yourself...

I was certain that she would just LOVE the beach! Turns out we have a little bit of a wussy dog on our hands. She wouldn't go near the water! There were dogs jumping and splashing around and she just sat there! She just kept walking around on the sand like she didn't know what to do lol. So with a little encouragement Dan gave her a beginner's swim lesson.

And again...

We were only there a little over an hour before she was ready to go. I felt so sorry for her, she kept sniffing the sand and therefore would get sand all over her nose and face! Ok, so we didn't get a beach bum doggie to add the family but we'll keep her anyway.

Harry Potter Premier!

2011-07-15T09:38:00.000-07:00

And so the end has come....Last night at 12:01am we began the journey to the end of Harry Potter. And IT.WAS.AWESOME!!!

I was one of the weirdo's who had NOT read the books and did NOT know how the series ended. And believe me when I tell you it is difficult to stay in the dark when it comes to Harry Potter! But I'm happy to report that I succeeded. I went into part 2 of the Deathly Hallows and did not know how it ended! I've been catching up on my reading but I'm only through book 4. But now I'm even more excited to read books 5, 6 and 7! Here's how our evening panned out....

Daniel and I arrived about 7pm to save seats in line. Outside the movie theater they were playing Muggle Quiddich, I've only heard of it recently... They ride around on broom sticks and try to throw a ball through three different sized hoops. It looked like a lot of fun!

Inside the theater was the Wizards Ball. It was a formal event with all you can eat food and drinks. You could get your picture taken with people dressed up as the Harry Potter cast. Tickets also got you into a double feature... Deathly Hallow's part 1 and 2. We did not attend the Wizard's Ball...tickets were $125 each, but we viewed it from our line above :)

Daniel and I went early to save 6 seats. We went with 2 other couples from our ward but they couldn't get there until about 10pm. Dan and I ate Wendy's in line, watched part 1 on the Ipad and "rested" while we waited. I also got all amped up with yet another 5 hour energy (as reportedly taken at the last Harry Potter premier)

Here is all 6 of us before the lights went down...Joe, Alyssia, Travis, Shauna, Me and Dan

As expected, we had a great time! HARRY POTTER FOREVER!

Furnell Vacation 2011

2011-07-12T06:50:00.000-07:00

Sorry for our absence, but the Tracy's have been HERE for the last 10 days...

My family tries to do a big family vacation every couple years but the more we grow the harder it is to accommodate everyone's schedule. So it's been 4 years since our last rendezvous. This year my dad rented a beach house (for all 18 of us) in Melbourne Beach, FL. The house was beautiful and spacious!

It's been a while since I've been surfing but after a few tumbles, ok a lot of tumbles, Dan and I were surfing fools. So much fun!

Beach vacations are my favorite. I read my book while Dan read his Ipad. I laid out while Dan built sand castles. We played with the kiddo's and laughed A LOT! We went on walks and even went on a bike ride. We also took new family photo's with Dan actually in them! I'll be sure to post them when they come in.

This is the sun rise of the morning we had to leave to go home :(

We have SOOOO many pictures I can't post them all! It was such a fun trip and I hope we don't have to wait another 4 years before we can do it all over again!

Lazy days with Sadie

2011-06-23T05:41:00.000-07:00

Now that things have gone back to normal I have to admit...I'M BORED!

Here is my schedule:

7-9 am Good Morning America

9-10 am shower while Sadie sleeps

10-11 am Are you Smarter than a Fifth Grader? (which I'm not)

11-12 pm The View

12-1 pm Paula Dean

1-2 pm Barefoot Contessa

2-3 pm The OC (recorded at 1pm)

3-6 pm Sex in the City

That's pretty much the gist of my day with play time and walks with Sadie mixed in. Needless to say I think my vacation from work is coming to an end. My job search begins today, part-time only of course. I'm not desperate! Anyway since we've done absolutely nothing this past week I've posted new pics of our, not so little anymore, Sadie.

ENJOY!!!

Goldie Marie Haase

2011-06-16T18:06:00.000-07:00

My grandma (mom's side) passed away June 9th in her sleep. She was 81 years old and has lived with Alzheimer's for the past few years. Her funeral was this past Monday so I drove back to Missouri with Jason (and Sadie) to spend time with family and attend the service.

Here is my mom with her siblings, (right) Rick, Mom, Charlene, Ronnie, Gary

This is me with my Mom and brothers and sister

The service was lovely, my sister sang and my brothers were paul bearer's. It was nice to see family again and celebrate my grandma"s life. Love you grandma :)

Hidden Treasure

2011-06-12T19:15:00.000-07:00

We were looking through our different mobile devices and found some gems that we thought we would share with you all. Hope you enjoy!

This one is of Luke retiring his sippy cup on his birthday.

Brad finally able to blow up a balloon.

Baby Jane sleeping and acting funny.

Sadie Lady

2011-06-05T17:37:00.000-07:00

Please meet the newest member of our family, Sadie. Daniel and I have been taking about getting a dog since before we were married. I remember when we were dating we would find puppies for sale and "shop." But with one of us in school and one of us working the entire time we've been married it's been hard to find a good time to raise a puppy. But now that Daniel is working and I'm staying home we took the plunge!!!

Sadie is a pure breed Boxer, 9 weeks old. We thought she'd be more feisty but all she really does is cuddle, sleep and pee on my carpet (we need to work on that last part). But already we love her so much! Yes, it will be a lot of work but I'm up for the challenge :)

Check out our sweet baby....Miss Sadie

Luke...May the Force be with you

2011-06-05T17:30:00.000-07:00

For those of you who didn't know, my brother Jason and his family live outside of Detroit, MI which is only a quick 2 hour drive away from Grand Rapids where we live! It's the closest we've lived to family in a looooong time! So the upside is we can get together for family birthdays! This past weekend was my nephew Luke's 7th birthday. We celebrated with games and laser tag at Zap Zone.

My birthday present to Luke was making his cake! He's way into Star Wars right now so I thought it fitting to make him a Star Wars cake and I LOVED making it. It's so much fun to plan what you want to do, put it all together and see the final product. I can't wait to practice more now that I have more free time on my hands! P.S. those are light sabers criss-crossed on the front lol

Overall it was a great weekend. I love being able to see the kiddo's and hangout with Jason and Margene. I anticipate more family gatherings in our future here in Michigan :)

Happy Happy Birthday Daniel Dear...

2011-06-05T17:17:00.000-07:00

Someone had a BIRTHDAY!!! So I am waaaaaaaaaaay behind on my blogs, sorry about that. But Daniel's Birthday was May 26th, not even one week after we moved in lol so things were a bit crazy. But in the midst of everything that happened I tried my best to give Dan a special Bday.

I surprised him with dinner reservations at The Chop House here in Grand Rapids, MI. I did some research for nice places to eat and The Chop Shop is the number one steak house in Grand Rapids. It's comparable to KC's Capital Grill (don't worry, we got our bill discounted 50% for the birthday boy, score)!

After some steak and the best crab cakes ever we came home for a quiet evening and some Bday cake. I even sang for him.

Look at that adorable face :) Happy 29th sweetheart!!!

Sad News

2011-05-28T07:39:00.000-07:00

Well Michigan hasn't been the most welcoming state to us. When we were here last summer for Dan's internship with Amway he had emergency surgery on his kidney...no bueno. This summer we moved with an exciting adventure before us of starting our family here but alas, I miscarried earlier this week...double no bueno.

For those of you who did not know I was pregnant I was only 8 weeks along. I began heavy bleeding Wednesday morning and I just knew... The next few days after that was a series of Dr. visits, blood work and ultra sounds where they ultimately could not find a heartbeat. We suspected as much with the heavy bleeding and the magic vanishing of my intense morning/all day sickness. The good news is the ultra sound did not display any abnormalities that should prevent conceiving a healthy baby in the future. We will begin trying in a few months.

Until then, Daniel and I doing OK. Of course we are sad, but we also understand this is very common and things like this just happen for whatever reason. We have no doubt that we will have our healthy baby one day :) Daniel will continue working for Amway while I find a hobby to occupy my time...maybe work? Now let's not be silly, I'm still on vacation from my other job in AZ.

Anyway, thank you SO MUCH for you kind words of love and support. We are truly blessed to have the friends and family we do to help us get through trying times like this.

Much love.

Goodbye Arizona

2011-05-23T06:42:00.000-07:00

Sorry I'm a little behind in my posts! But things are JUST now settling down. After we got back from our trip to California it was only a matter of 2 days to pack everything up and say goodbye to our life in Phoenix.

Many thanks to Brad and Scott (fellow T-birds) helping us load it all up!!!

This is our little (empty) apartment that was our home for the past 2 years : (

I WILL MISS YOU!!!!

Sorry if I seem like a big ball baby! But I honestly LOVED living in Arizona! I'm having a hard time coming to grips that this next winter I will be up to my waist in snow instead of walking around in my flip flops in 70 degree weather.... Ah, such is life!

Well, it's official. We are Michiganders! We got moved in this last weekend and Daniel started work TODAY at Amway's headquarters in Grand Rapids, MI. We will reside in MI until further notice. More to come on our new home and continued lives in the "Wolverine State!"

CALIFORNIA...Post Grad Vacation!!!

2011-05-17T08:44:00.000-07:00

So after all the excitement of graduation we decided to unwind with a little vacation. We put packing on the back burner and headed out to Sunny California (even though Arizona is way more sunnier). We saved our pennies and spent an entire day at the happiest place on earth, DISNEYLAND! We were there from open to close and it.was.fabulous!

We took this picture in 2007 when we were dating...

So we tried to re-create it HERE in 2011! We kinda forgot where we were exactly in front of the castle, but you get the idea lol!

We waited in live to see Mickey...

AND Minnie! Overall it was a great day at Disney. We road all our favorite rides, shopped up and down Mainstreet and eat our favorite foods!

After Disney we headed down to San Diego to stay with our T-bird friends Brad and Vanessa. They were gracious enough to share their condo in Carlsbad, a beautiful beach resort on the coast. Us girls spent the day lounging on the sand while the boys tried their hand at long boarding. You can't beat a day at the beach!

While in CA, Daniel and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary. That's right folks, THREE YEARS! We kicked it off with burgers at Five Guys and then the Soccer game (guess who picked the soccer game). Nonetheless, it was tons of fun!

It's been a wonder three years and we are excited to see what this next year will bring us :)

Commencement Ceremony

2011-05-02T21:36:00.000-07:00

The Graduation Ceremony was on Friday morning and although long, was a great celebration of all the Thunderbird's hard work. Below are some pics of Daniel walking in the processional and receiving his diploma (sorry the pics are such poor quality).

Daniel after the recessional all smiles!

Brody, Brad and Dan (the three amigos)

Dan's parents, sister Rachel and her husband Scott (and baby Jane) made the trip out for this past weekends events. It was fun to have guests in town to celebrate Dan's great achievement. Thanks you guys!

After all the hustle and bustle we had lunch at Abuelo's in honor of Daniel. It's been a CRAZY week but not it's all over. Now it's saying goodbye to friends and preparing ourselves to embark on a new adventure!

Congratulations Daniel :)

Graduation Open House

2011-05-01T15:37:00.000-07:00

So in our ward at church there are three other T-birds that Daniel began and now ended the MBA program with. Dan became good friends with the boys while I became good friends with their wives. It was a fun experience going through the program while creating friendships and memories that will last for many years.

In honor of our graduation, the four of us wives put together an open house for our graduating boys. It was a dessert bar equipped with fresh fruit, cookies, rice krispies, cream puffs, cakes and a chocolate fountain! And if I do say so myself, it was a success!!!

Friends and family from all around came to congratulate our boys. Classmates of Daniel's from school stopped by as well as many friends from church. We have been blessed with many great people in our lives during our time here in Arizona and they will not be forgotten!

(left to right) Brody, Daniel, Jeremy, Scott...I'm so happy that Dan made such good friends and was able to go through this journey with such great influences.

This is all of us, our T-bird family! It's hard to realize that shortly we will be scattered to the four corners of the world! Thunderbird will forever hold a special place in our hearts <3

This & That

2011-04-24T12:34:00.000-07:00

Over the past few weeks, as school is winding down, we have been pretty busy squeezing in all the fun we can before we say goodbye to sunny Arizona. We have met such amazing people and have made such strong friendships it's hard to imagine in one short week we could all be scattered to the four corners of the world.

We said goodbye to our good friends Dave and Claire who are making the big move to Germany!

We took advantage of the AZ heat and a big group of us went to Wet n' Wild (it was 97 degrees in April)

We partied it up T-bird style! One of the last times we'll see all of Daniel's awesome classmates.

This is me and Ky at our good friend Vanessa's baby shower. Her husband Brad is one of Dan's T-bird buddies.

The ward Easter Party. We have been very blessed to be apart of such an amazing, welcoming ward.

STAY TUNED! There are many new and exciting things happening with the AZ Tracy's. Very soon we'll be able to share what our next adventure entails :)

Is this quite possibly the Sexiest Man Alive?

2011-04-10T10:04:00.000-07:00

So what does Daniel do on a Saturday afternoon while Meghann is taking a nap?

I have come to the conclusion that this here is the male tri-fecta; TV (check), iPad (check), smart phone (check). On the TV we have the KC Royals vs the Detroit Tigers, the iPad playing Chicago and Seattle in MLS, and all the while checking his phone for emails. What more could a man need at this very moment? Sex? No. Food? No. Well, food is always welcome.

What does your man do on his Saturday afternoons?

HAPPY BURFDAY!!!

2011-03-31T18:32:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's true. I had a birthday! Same time every year ;) How old am I? Wait for it....25! Wow I feel old. I feel like I just celebrated my 15th birthday last year. But no, that was TEN years ago. Holy Moly.

I had a great birthday this year! I got up and went to work (which stinks) but I was showered with love! My good friend Shelley at work took me to lunch and brought in a cake and balloons for me. I felt so special! The day went by fast, which was great! I came home and got ready to go to my b-day dinner! Brody and Kylee joined us for dinner at my FAVORITE mexican restaurant, Abuelo's. We stuffed our faces and had a few laughs at me being a quarter of a century year old!

me and my sugar daddy

hahaha

the four of us after dinner

After Abuelo's, we went home for traditional ice cream cake! Daniel knows by now that any birthday is not complete without ice cream cake! And it was DELICIOUS! Birthday presents included: Movies Tangled and Bambie from Daniel. Chocoate, lotion and a homemade calendar from Kylee. $25 girft card to Olive Garden from Shelley. And spending money from my parents which I'll probably use to buy a pair of Sperry's!!! And lot's of love from friends and family via calls, texts and facebook :)

Yup, I'm 25 and couldn't be more happy! I have the best friends and family a girl could ask for! Thanks for all the love everyone :)

Cake Class 101

2011-03-27T18:59:00.000-07:00

So for the last four weeks, you could find me and Kylee at Michael's each Thursday night for the Wilton Fondant Cake Class! I've always wanted to learn how to do fondant cakes and it was a blast! Each week we learned something new to make. For starters, I learned how to make following flowers.....

Calla lily's

Mum's

Carnation's

Daisey's

Rose's

Here is my BEAUTIFUL fondant/gum paste flower arrangement I created over the weeks

So Flowers are great and all, BUT...they are kinda a pain in the butt. They are time consuming, detailed...and I'm not sure when I'll decorate a cake covered in flowers unless it's for my grandmother's 90th birthday. But it was fun to learn and if you ever need a cake covered in mums...well then, I'm your gal!

Now to what I was REALLY excited to learn...covering/decorating a cake in fondant. Here is the "before" shot of my cake...

And....AFTER! TA-DA! I saw a zebra cake like this one online and I really wanted to re-create it. I loved how it turned out! Now if you're wondering what the 25 is for...my birthday is next week and I'm turning 25 lol. So yes, I made my own birthday cake. BUT...we already ate this one, so it was just a pre-birthday cake.

I'm super excited that I learned the little tricks to doing fondant cakes, now I just need to practice more!

Anyone need a cake soon? I'd be happy to donate my wicked skills :)

Tucson Bound

2011-03-20T19:39:00.000-07:00

So what's in Tucson you may ask? Well, let us tell you! We got the hook up from our good friends...Brad, Vanessa and their two kids Hunter and McRea. Brad goes to Thunderbird with Dan. Well, Vanessa's parents have a vacation home in Tucson and we were kindly invited to spend the weekend away with them. So to Tucson we went with Brody and Kylee as well.

Our first day there...what do to? Well, if I'm gonna be that close to Mexico I want some dang good Mexican food. Not On the Border. I'm talkin authentic, tu madre en la cocina, Mexican food. Well, Brad took us to this little place....Let me just say this much. The guy who took our order was Asian. So moving on....

We really had no plans set while in Tucson. We were really just excited to get out of Glendale for the weekend and spend time with our friends. The boys are always so busy with school it's nice when we can all get together and just relax. So on a whim, we decided to check out Tucson's "main attraction," the Biosphere. If you were like me and are thinking what the heck is the Biosphere...let me tell you. Actually, let Wikipedia tell you because I was half asleep during our 90 minute tour.

it was used to explore the complex web of interactions within life systems in a structure that included five areas based on natural biomes and an agricultural area and human living/working space to study the interactions between humans, farming and technology with the rest of nature.^[2] It also explored the possible use of closed biospheres in space colonization, and allowed the study and manipulation of a biosphere without harming Earth.

Get the idea? It wasn't THAT bad. Actually, we all had a great laugh about it because we had no idea what to expect lol. We're fun people like that!

Later in the evening, upon returning from our enlightening field trip, we hit up Tucson's finest shopping mall! We browsed the shops and I introduced Kylee to Charming Charlie. If you don't know what it is, it's a glorious place every woman should seek out. I've had my eye on one of these vinyl wallets for a few months now. They're usually $15 and I finally said, "what the hay! I'm buying one!" Much to my surprise, it rang up as $3.97....SCORE! So Ky got one too. We were more than thrilled!!! $3 wallets = Tucson is awesome.

Keeping with the whole "on vacation" theme, we ended both our evenings with a dip in the hot tub. I don't know what it is about hot tubs, but we literally spent over an hour each night rising our body temperatures while having conversations about...trust me you don't wanna know lol.

Any excuse to spend a few days away from Saturday chores and grocery shopping is great, but it was even better to have a place to stay and spend it with our friends. Thanks so much Brad and Vanessa! Let's do it again sometime!!!

Royals Spring Training

2011-03-08T19:15:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year here in Arizona...Spring Training! If any of you have talked to Daniel for at least 5 minutes you know he's a huge baseball, specifically a Kansas City Royals fan. Saturday we drove out to the Royals spring training stadium to catch a game and it was GORGEOUS outside! It was like 82 degrees and sunshine! I wore my shorts for the first time this year and loved feeling the heat on me! I also realized I need a tan badly...

We spent pretty much the entire afternoon outside on the lawn and walking around the stadium in between innings. Summer has arrived in Arizona folks!

The following Monday the Royals were playing again at a different stadium as guests. So after work/dinner we caught another game with Kylee and Brody. This time we got sweet seats behind home plate...thanks to Brother Heid! Well I've got my two games in for the season. There's no telling how many Dan will squeeze in before we leave AZ lol.

Oh BOY!

2011-02-28T18:27:00.000-08:00

The past few weeks, Kylee and I have been planning a baby shower for our friend Melissa and this weekend it all came to life! As you can see, Melissa is having a baby boy due next month! We themed the shower with shades of blue, yellow and brown and we think it turned out super cute!

Lunch was served at the shower. We had Pecan Chicken Salad on Croissant rolls, Pita Chips with Roasted Red Pepper Hummus and fresh Fruit.

The Lemons were just a centerpiece :)

On the bar we had an assortment of desserts. Kylee made delicious Brownie Cupcakes with White Chocolate Frosting and Oreo Pops (the best thing known to mankind) and I made Lemon Cupcakes!

We had so much fun planning yet another party and we hoped you loved it Melissa!

Cupid: "God of Love"

2011-02-15T20:12:00.000-08:00

In honors of Valentine's Day I made another delightful treat from my Ghirardelli cook book Dan got me... white chocolate cupcakes! And they were TO DIE FOR! They were honestly the best tasting thing I've ever put in my mouth! And the prettiest too :)

I wrapped up my beautiful creations and played cupid as I delivered them to friends and families from church

Monday night we had dinner reservations at Buca di Beppo with some good friends of ours, Kylee & Brody and Vanessa & Brad. Even though we see each other all the time it was fun to dress up a bit and go to dinner together!

Here we all are after stuffing our faces with yummy Italian food!

This is our 5th Valentine's Day together and our 3rd as a married couple and we are still very much in love!

Happy V-day to MEEEEE!

2011-02-12T22:46:00.000-08:00

Daniel and I aren't big into Valentine's Day. Sure we'll go out to eat because who doesn't like to do that, right? Flowers...? I like getting flowers more when the guy doesn't feel pressured into it because of a commercialized holiday such as Valentine's Day. Candy...? Sure, but I eat candy all year long. But THIS year, Dan hit the mother load of all V-day gifts. The Ghirardelli Chocolate Cookbook!

I was so surprised and it's the Valentine's gift that keeps on giving!!! But the more it gives the heavier I get as well lol. The first dish I wanted to make was the molten lava cake (as featured on the cover of the book).

STEP 1:

To make the lava centers, melt 2 ounces of Ghiradelli baking chocolate with 1/4 heavy cream. Refrigerate for 2 hours until firm and form into small round balls. Set aside until needed.

STEP 2:

To make the cakes, melt 4 ounces of Ghirardelli baking chocolate with 1/2 cup butter.

Melt slowly on low heat to not scorch chocolate.

STEP 3:

In a large bowl beat 2 eggs, 2 egg yokes , 1/3 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Beat on high speed until thick and light. Pour the melted chocolate and 1/4 cup flour into egg mixture. Stir until just combined.

STEP 4:

Pour cake batter into 4-6 ramekin's (depending on how big or small they are).

STEP 5:

Place a chocolate ball in the center of each ramekin.

STEP 6:

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes.

*** I spoon a scoop of vanilla ice cream over my lava cakes ***

ENJOY THE YUMMY OOEY GOOEY GOODNESS OF GHIRARDELLI CHOCOLATE MOLTEN LAVA CAKES!!!!

Thanks hunny :)

HE'S HOME!

2011-01-25T19:25:00.000-08:00

As you all know by now Daniel was on school business in Brazil for 3 weeks. He had a blast! I must admit I thought the time away from each other would be HORRIBLE but it wasn't as bad as I expected lol. And I owe that in most part to great friends, or should I say friend lol, and of course my mom coming to visit! Now that Dan is home safe and sound life has resumed back to normal as I have returned to my wifely duties. But I don't mind! 12 more weeks and Daniel will have completed the MBA program at Thunderbird and a new adventure awaits us. What that adventure is, we do not know yet...but we are excited to see where life takes us!

Goodbye Dan, HELLLLO Momma!

2011-01-16T16:56:00.000-08:00

The first week of January Daniel was Brazil bound for three weeks! Part of his school curriculum requires that he enroll in a three week course to learn and study more about business ventures abroad. He was selected to participate in the Brazil course learning about "green energy." As you may have guessed by now, NO...I did not have the pleasure of joining him in exotic Rio De Janeiro. Instead, I have to spend my time working and paying bills on top of all my other wifely duties. But seriously, I'm glad Dan has the opportunity to study abroad (again) even if it is just for a short while. It makes him happy, and that makes me happy.

Okay...what REALLY makes me happy is that while Daniel is gone my mom came to visit!!!

I was lucky enough to get two full days off work to play hooky with my mom. We slept in (oh thank you, thank you, thank you), visited old friends, went shopping, tried out hot new lunch spots, went to the movies, did some more shopping and really just enjoyed a nice long relaxing weekend! I appreciate her taking the time to come down and visit. I mean it really took some convincing...it was only 8 degrees in Kansas City! ;)

Two weeks down and one more week to go until Dan comes home. I know I can do it! Without mom here my good friend Kylee and I spend our evenings together taking turns cooking dinner and watching movies. Good thing her husband is gone in Brazil too!

2011 has treated the Tracy's well so far and we hope all our friends and family reading are just as fortunate as we are!!!

2011? Bring it on!

2011-01-02T21:49:00.001-08:00

We started our New Years Eve off with an "adult's only" dinner at Genghis Khan Mongolian Barbecue, my favorite restaurant! It was my Mom, Dad, Sister Stephanie, Brothers Jason and Brandon along with our spouses.

After dinner we came back to my parents house and the partying began! We had our annual couples pool tournament that Daniel implemented last year. Last year we were the winners! This year, we were not as fortunate. In fact, I think we were dead last lol. Here we all are, showing off our wicked skills.

Stephanie and Dudley won the tournament! And Steph didn't even want to play at first! They snookered us!

My mom had lots of fun games set up for the kids and when it wasn't our turn to play pool we played Band Hero on the Wii, drank Pina Coladas and Orange Julius's. We partied till midnight and toasted to Martinelli's! Daniel and I agreed that this was the best New Years Eve we've spent since we've been married. I believe there was a year or two when I didn't even make it till midnight until this year lol.

Daniel's family has a New Years Day tradition that they go trap shooting! I choose not to partake in this tradition but Dan had a great time with his Dad and brothers as always! Looks cold doesn't it? It was 19 degrees! No thank you, Brrrrr!

New Years Day we had to say goodbye and fly back home to Phoenix. It's always bittersweet when it's time to go home. Daniel and I love going home for the Holidays and seeing our families but then it's always back to real life! Don't mind the misty eyes...they never stay dry when saying bye to our wonderful families. They mean the world to us :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR! We hope that 2011 brings much love and happiness to you all in the year to come!

Baby Avery

2011-01-02T21:37:00.000-08:00

My brother and his wife Ashley are expecting their first baby, baby Avery! Ash decided to have her baby shower while everyone was home for Christmas so we could all be there. The "Furnell" girls hosted it at my mom's house and it turned out SO CUTE! My mom and I tackled the food and decorations. I made the big "A" on the door for Avery and the cloth diaper cake . I've always wanted to make one and it turned out so adorable!

My mom made cheese ball, homemade salsa and veggie dip/tray while Margene and Olivia made the cupcakes. I have gotten into the whole "party planning" thing and it was a lot of working with my mom, Steph and Margene to throw a nice shower for Ashley. She got a lot of great stuff! I made sure to take notes for when it's my turn someday. We played games and devoured the tasty food!

Ashley and the two Grandma's to be!

Ashley about 6 months along

Congratulations Brandon and Ashley!

Christmas Break Cont.

2011-01-02T21:16:00.000-08:00

The week following Christmas was basically just spending time with family and seeing old friends. I got to go to lunch with my favorite ladies, Jess and Sarah and miss Bailey. Love them!

Per Daniel's request, we went to dinner with his family to Jack Stack. The BEST bbq joint in the KC area. Take a look at that rib! Delicious!

I had a fun time being silly with my nieces Olivia and Sydney...we all wore our footie pajamas together!

The kiddo's loved baking with Grandma. I'm pretty sure my mom baked something new each day! No wonder I came home with 5 extra pounds...

My mom's dog, Jasper was another highlight of our trip. Jasper is obsessed with socks! He followed me around, pawing at my feet to get my socks. Once I sit down he starts to nip at your toes, trying to get the socks off your feet. Once he succeeds, he takes off with them! Some found it annoying, I found it adorable!

We also celebrated my other niece Madeleine's 15th birthday. It was another excuse to get the whole family over for pizza, cake and presents! Happy Birthday Maddy :)

Over all, we had a great week! We went to lunch and shopped during the day, watched movies at night and watched the entire first season of Vampire Diaries in 4 days! Driving back and forth from Lee's Summit and Harrisonville the whole week like always lol. I love each time I go home. New memories are made and we grow closer together as a family!

Merry Christmas from the Tracy's

2011-01-02T20:35:00.000-08:00

Daniel finished his semester of school and I got a whole week off from work so we packed our bags and to MissourA we went! We got home on the 23rd, so not much time to waste before Christmas.

In my family, we open presents from family on Christmas Eve and then Santa presents on Christmas morning. Dan still can't wrap his head around it but luckily he has forever to get used to it lol. So after opening presents at my house on Christmas Eve we drove to my Grandma's house in Sedalia to visit with family and open more presents! There, my whole family got together with my grandma, aunt, uncles and cousins for presents, food and fun times.

LET IT SNOW!!! On Christmas Eve it started snowing and I was SO excited to have a white Christmas...but then it stopped and melted. This is ALL the snow we got the entire trip. Pathetic!

Christmas morning we woke up and opened presents from Santa. We spent Christmas morning with my mom, dad, brother Jason, his wife Margene and their four kids. They drove down from Detroit for the Holiday's. Christmas morning is always more fun when sharing it with the kids! If you remember, Santa brought us our gift back in November, BEATLES ROCK BAND! But he was gracious enough to drop a few things in our stockings though. Thanks Santa!

After we got cleaned up we drove to Dan's parents and opened more presents. Santa was even kind enough to visit us in Harrisonville and brought us matching PJ's! We spent the whole day and night there with Dan's mom, dad and two brother's, Jacob and Joseph. We went to the movies, saw True Grit (excellent movie) and Darlene made Christmas Dinner. It was a wonderful, cozy Christmas!

Besides PJ's and Beatles Rock Band, we also got lot's of other fun stuff. I got a new coat, a couple books, Wizard of Oz on blue ray and money. Daniel got new shoes, a bunch of blue rays, an Arrested Development T-shirt and money. Neither of us made Christmas lists this year so we were on our own to buy gifts and I think it turned out really well! It was a zero stress, laid back Christmas, surrounded by family and those are the best kind!

We hope yours was just as great!

Peppermint Party!

2010-12-13T20:33:00.000-08:00

Kylee and I have become quite the party planners! For the past few weeks we have been putting together a Christmas party for our friends. It was an ugly sweater party with a peppermint theme! We put our ideas together to come up with the yummiest peppermint treats to serve. Ky even made the cutest labels for each plate of sweets! Here is the finished product...(don't mind the pink cake lol)

WE HAD....

Hot Chocolate bar with marshmallows and peppermint sticks

Peppermint Oreo's dipped in white chocolate and rolled in crushed peppermint

My mom's famous bon-bons with a peppermint twist! (peppermint hersey's kiss baked inside a chewy chocolate brownie)

Pretzel Rods dipped in white chocolate and rolled in crushed peppermint

And...lots and lots of peppermint!

We had all our friends over to my place Sunday evening. We were so happy SO many people showed up. A lot of our friends have young kids so Daniel set the TV up in our spare bedroom so the kiddos could watch Disney's UP while the adults could mix and mingle (genius idea). Not that many people got into the whole "ugly sweater" part of the party but it's OK...we still let them in! After guaranteeing our teeth a few cavities we wrapped up the night with some good ole Rock Band!

The whole evening really got us into the Christmas spirit!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

2010-12-05T14:41:00.000-08:00

So Thanksgiving has come and gone and the Christmas season has begun! As tradition has it, we decorate for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving instead of running around like crazy people on Black Friday. Our Disney Christmas decor is still small but growing! We just have our small apartment to decorate right now. I can't imagine decorating an entire house!

To get in the Christmas spirit we went to the Mesa Temple to see the lights. I think every Temple should do lights during the holiday but so far I only know of Salt Lake and Mesa. It's so fun to walk around on the Temple grounds, see the lights, listen to carolers and watch people's faces light up at the Temple's beauty.

The next few weeks will be busy for Daniel as he studies for his finals. And then in 2 1/2 short weeks we will be on our way home to Missouri!!! I love this time of year! I love it even more that I can walk outside and it's 70 degrees instead of 30 :)

More to come on the Tracy's and the Holiday's!

Happy Thanksgiving from sunny Arizona!

2010-11-27T09:41:00.000-08:00

This year for Thanksgiving no family came into town, nor did we travel anywhere exciting. It was home sweet home in sunny AZ for us! And we had a blast! We made dinner plans with Kylee and Brody and some new friends, Melissa and Robert. Robert is from the Netherlands and this was his FIRST Thanksgiving dinner. It was so funny...after dinner Robert was like, "so what do we do next?!" We were all like, "now we take a nap and eat again later." HA! Classic American Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving morning, Daniel woke up and played in the ward Turkey Bowl while I started baking. He got home and was pooped out so fell asleep and woke up with a splitting migraine. Soooo, while I was slaving away in the kitchen, he was in the bedroom with no light and sound to disturb him and throwing up in the bathroom. Poor guy. Magically when dinner was ready he felt much better ;)

Kylee made the turkey, corn, jello and saurkraut. Yes, saurkraut lol. It's a Thanksgiving tradition in her family! Melissa brought green bean casserole, rolls and TWO pies. And I brought the mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, candied yams and a pecan pie...which if I might add was DELICIOUS! Actually, all the food was fantastic!

Later that night we did something I am not proud of...we opened an early Christmas present! Dan bought Beatles's Rock Band about a month ago as a Christmas surprise but spilled the beans almost immediately. So it has been sitting in our back bedroom taunting us, well...taunting Dan. He wanted to open it back in October and I wanted to wait and open it on Christmas. As I have learned in my 2 1/2 years of marriage, compromise is the only way to go. We agreed on opening our present on Thanksgiving!

We had a christening of Beatles's Rock Band by having a rock band party! And by party I mean Kylee and Brody came over and we played it all night long! We anticipate many more rock band parties in our future.

We had so much fun and it was the perfect way to end a spectacular Thanksgiving!

HARRY POTTER PREMIER!

2010-11-20T19:10:00.000-08:00

OK, so we are fairly new Harry Potter converts. We watched all the Harry Potter movies only about a year ago! Then this past summer we started reading all the books. Dan read all seven since he was out of commission with his surgery. I only made it through book 4 lol. NONETHELESS, we were super stoked for the 7th movie! We weren't planning on going to the midnight premier but our friends Kylee and Brody are probably the biggest Harry Potter fans I know so they talked us into it! SO WORTH IT!

We bought our tickets in advance but on my way home from work on Thursday I stopped by the theater to see if a line had formed yet (I hear Harry Potter brings out a wicked crowd). The line was out the door and curving around the building...at 5pm!!! So I just got in line and waited for Dan, Ky and Brody to come to me lol. The line moved inside around 7pm and we got into the theater around 8pm. We all took turns switching off and on saving seats.

We loaded up on lots of yummy snacks and candy. We brought cards but we were all too excited to play. We really just sat and talked lol. Since I'm usually in asleep by 10pm I decided to try out a 5-hour energy! Me and Ky downed them in one chug! The verdict is in....it works!

I won't ruin the movie for anyone but it...was...AMAZING!!! Now I haven't read book 7, so PLEASE, please, please no one ruin part 2 for me :) We have already decided to go again Thanksgiving after dinner. So excited!

We are officially Harry Potter geeks :)

A life I never want to have...

2010-11-05T23:23:00.000-07:00

Daniel has been out of town this week visiting companies in San Francisco with his school. Just a few things I've learned while living alone these few days...

As a 24 year old woman I have to sleep with the light on
I cannot sleep without a warm body to snuggle with
I have zero motivation to get up and work out in the morning without someone dragging me out of bed, pathetic I know
Why make dinner for one person when you can order take out?
Carrying on a conversation with the TV isn't quite the same...
Cell phones suck, give me the real thing!

We've stayed apart before for a few nights here and there. And it's never great staying away from each other but things come up...no big deal. Fortunately Dan being gone is only a temporary, three night, dilemma. But it has definitely got me thinking (oh no, she's thinking). Dan is starting to interview with lots of companies. How will we handle a new career? Business trips? Long hours? Late nights? My opinion...what's the point? Honestly. Where does it all get you if you have no one to come home to at the end of the day?

I am very excited for the potential opportunities opening up for Dan. We have no idea where we might end up. In the next six months we could be moving across town, across the country or across the world! The point is, we'll be together. I can live in an unfamiliar city with unfamiliar people, possibly with an unfamiliar language...but only as long as we're experiencing the adventure together!

We will not have a relationship with each other's answering machine. We will not live separate lives joint by quick emails and texting. That said, bring on life's new adventure! We will take it on together!

Party Time!

2010-10-24T16:11:00.000-07:00

So this year me and my friend Kylee decided we wanted to throw our own Halloween Party for our friends. I'm not gonna lie, we were kind of scared no one would show up lol. BUT lot's did and it was a ton of fun! A lot of our friends in the ward have kids so we thought it would be fun to have the party outside at a park so the kids could play while the "big" kids could sit, talk and eat. Well, none of the families with lot's of kids showed up but... the park was perfect anyway!

I'm a cowgirl and you can't see Kylee's whole costume...but she was a witch!

We brought all the decorations to make things festive and it turned out REALLY cute! We also brought BBQ chicken/pork sandwiches to put on rolls and then asked everyone to bring a side dish to share and it worked out really well. We also tried our hand at homemade rootbeer...the boys were in charge of that and it was YUMMY!

Most everyone there were old or new Thunderbird students in the ward so it was fun to chat, get to know people better and eat some good food and yummy Halloween treats. Pretty much it was an excuse to dress up and throw a party and it was a success! (phew!)

After we cleaned everything up we headed to Brody and Kylee's to continue on with our Halloween tradition of carving our pumpkins and watching scary movies. FUN TIMES!

Don't mind the braids...I couldn't get rid of the cowgirl in me all night

Grandma turns 80!

2010-10-06T18:53:00.000-07:00

October 2nd, my loving grandmother turned 80 years old! The family put together a reception held in her honor in Sedalia, MO to celebrate her life! It was so much fun flying home, even if it was a quick trip, to be a part of the festivities!

Norma Jean Shelledy was born October 2nd, 1930. She later married the love of her life, Doyle D. Furnell (my grandma passed away almost 10 years ago). Isn't she beautiful :)

I only get to go to Sedalia (my roots lol) once a year on Christmas. So I LOVED being able to see my grandma, aunt and uncles and also see my beloved cousins. We grew up together but now that we're old, boring adults we don't get to see each other that often! The Furnell quartet!

My grandma had three sons, eight grandchildren (my sister Stephanie and my cousin Nathan were the only one's missing), and ten great-grandchildren!

The rest of the weekend we did all my favorite all my favorite things. I was home in the midwest during Missouri's beautiful fall weather! Slept in my old room, played with my puppy, ate Dad's mega breakfast, dinner on the plaza and just spending time at home with my family!

Grandma should turn 80 more often :)

Labor Day FUN

2010-09-10T18:46:00.000-07:00

So life has resumed at the home front here in Arizona. Tuesday Daniel started classes and I went back to work. YIPPIE! No it's really not that bad. I'm glad that we are getting back into a schedule. Since we went to Prague, then Michigan, Dan's surgery, road-tripping home, which is over a span of six months!!! ...I am SO happy to be back to real life. At least for now. We love our ward and we love our friends. Dan loves school and I love...I mean put up with work. So there's not too much to complain about at the moment.

But before we restarted our boring lives we took a fun, short trip with Brody and Kylee. CAMPING!!! (note: this was my first time camping). We drove 2 hours north to flagstaff and it was g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s! The weather was beautiful, so much better than Phoenix.

Before we left we made tin-foil dinners. Ok, if this was YOUR first time camping, you wouldn't know what one of those were either. They were, however, surprisingly tasty! Also, the watermelon and root beer accompanied our dinner exceptionally well.

The rest of the night we spent playing cards, reminiscing about Prague, roasting marshmallows and another first...roasted starbursts! Yes. Step 1) choose your starburst. Step 2) ever so carefully spear your starburst to the end of a "poker." Step 3) Stick your poker in the fire until starburst has created a hard-candy shell. Step 4) enjoy an initial crunch of candy, followed by ooey-gooey goodness. HEAVEN!

First time camping was a success! We had such a fun time catching up with our friends since we haven't seen each other all summer. I wouldn't mind trying it again sometime :)

Road Trip 2010

2010-09-02T16:46:00.000-07:00

The Tracy's have been BUSY!!! Since we had about a two week break between the end of Daniel's internship in Michigan and the start of school in Glendale we decided to make a nice long road trip back home! First stop: Blackfoot, Idaho! It's been a while since we've seen our Idaho buddies...actually it's been one year since our big move! We got to see Nate and Camille's new house, play with the girls (wow they've gotten big) and see Jacob since he'll be attending BYU-I this fall.

Sorry for the lack of pictures! We didn't get...well any of us hanging with the fam. Nate and Camille still had to work during the day. But we played a lot of guitar hero and cards! One of our days in Idaho we drove to Rexburg to visit my old stomping grounds at BYU-I. And a trip to Rexburg could not be complete without getting cupcakes from Cocoa Bean! YUM! We really miss living close to family so it was a lot of fun to visit with them again :)

From Idaho we drove 13 hours to San Francisco, CA to visit Becky and Doug. I've never been to San Fran so it was TONS of fun to see all the sites! Day one we were in down town San Fran. We saw the following: Alcatraz (from a distance), shopped on pier 39, ate delicious sour dough bread bowls, went to Ghirardelli Square and had hot fudge sundaes, saw the golden gate bridge, visited the painted ladies (full house), walked through China town and generally experienced a bit of claustrophobia being in such a huge city surrounded by so many people!

Day two in San Fran we drove to Muir Woods to see a beautiful redwoods forest! We walked about a two mile trail that looped around the woods and it was so majestic! I don't know if the pictures do them justice but these trees are MASSIVE! It was a nice break from the city and we had a lot of fun picnicking and doing some light hiking.

From San Fran we drove 6 hours to Los Angeles where Rachel and Scott live. And when I say they live in LA I mean they live right behind the Hollywood mountain lol. Rachel was such a great tour guide! She took us to Hollywood Blvd to see the Grauman Theater so we could track down our favorite celebs hollywood stars!

Per my request we also went to Newport Beach to indulge my O.C. obsession. We walked the pier while Dan had a Bluth frozen banana and I enjoyed my Balboa bar. You have to be an O.C. fan to know what that is :)

So Scott is my new best friend! He is a tour guide for the Warner Bros. Studio in LA and he took us on a tour of the complex. It...was....awesome! We got to see where they tape Ellen and the sound stage for Chuck...our new favorite show. Although we couldn't take any pics because they're currently taping. BUT Scott also took us to the old sound stage where they taped Friends!!! Yes, I got to sit on the Friends couch and walk around Central Perk. I KNOW! It was honestly the highlight of our whole trip lol.

Other fun stuff we saw in LA was shopping at Downtown Disney, wishfully strolling along Rodeo drive and driving around Beverly Hills. Overall LA was a ton of fun! Thanks Rachel and Scott!

So after nearly 12 days of driving we have finally arrived at our home in Glendale. And we are SO HAPPY to be back. Let real life resume.

Farewell Michiganders!

2010-08-20T09:25:00.000-07:00

Our time has come!!! Daniel has successfully completed his internship at Amway! He really enjoyed it and is hoping for a job offer. Wait...that means living in Michigan permanently. Hmm, we'll discuss that later.

More than anything we are excited to get back to our home and friends in Arizona! Dan has one more year of school and graduates with his MBA April of 2011. If this next year goes by as fast as last year we're in trouble! I would love for things to just slow down for a bit.

On our way back to AZ we are actually making a fun little road trip out of it! Idaho, San Francisco, Los Angeles! So stay tuned as the Adventures of Meghann and Daniel continue!

GOOOOOOOOOOODBYE MICHIGAN!

Smoothie Disaster

2010-08-16T06:55:00.000-07:00

I had my first blender blunder this morning...Ashely, you might appreciate this more than others. Before I work out every morning I kick-start my day with a yummy GREEN smoothie (the blueberries overpower the "green" in this one though lol). Annywaaaay, KA-BOOM! That's the last time I try and stir my smoothie while the blender is still on. Not only did I ruin my favorite work-out top, I grounded up my favorite spatula in my smoothie.

Rookie mistake.

WARNING: Graphic Images

2010-08-11T07:22:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time Meghann got an ingrown toenail, it hurt. Instead of getting it removed as soon as possible she decided to wait, hoping it would go away. She neglected it, clawed at anyone who tried to remove it themselves and shouted obscenities whenever she hit it on the corner of the coffee table. Six or so months later this is what has become of her big toe. Nasty.

BEFORE

Then one day she heard of this miracle doctor called a podiatrist. She made an appointment to see him about her "problem" and much to her surprise he said he could fix it...for good!!! You heard right, the magical podiatrist man said he could make Meghann's nasty toe infection go away forever. A clip here and a tug there, POOF! The ingrown nail was removed.

AFTER

Doctor's orders: Lay around all day, have husband cook and clean up dinner, watch as much food network as you possible can, take long naps, eat lots of chocolate and whatever you do...never, NEVER wait 6 months to get an ingrown toenail removed again.

Home Sweet Home: Summer 2010 Edition

2010-07-30T10:17:00.000-07:00

So the short story on how lucky I was to go home and play for a week with the fam is...well...there is no story. I'm just a lucky girl! Daniel was back to work; therefore, my nursing duties had been lifted. And my nieces and nephews were all in town and I said, "Hey...what about me?!" Next thing I knew, I was on a plane to MO! Lucky, I know.

In the week I was home we did all my favorite summer time activities! Which mostly consisted of going to the pool...EVERY SINGLE DAY! We did switch it up one day and took the kids to the LS waterpark. They've built this waterpark in Lee's Summit since I've moved away and it's so cool! Why couldn't they have had cool stuff like that when I was growing up? Anyway, we all had a blast! Take a look for yourself...

I don't get to make it home over the summer anymore and I absolutely loved being home for a solid week! Other fun stuff included: sleeping in, shopping with mom and Maddy, SMOOTHIES, layin around the house with Jasper, laughing at all the funny stuff Noah says, convincing Liv to crawl in Jasper's cage, homemade ice cream, taking long walks around Raintree, meeting baby Brandon and baby Emmett (sorry no pics of Emmett, woops), daddy-daughter date to see Paul McCartney, my 3 yr old niece Sydney remembered me and custards last stand (delic)!

Hopefully...sometime soon...we'll be able to visit MO in the summer more often! Thanks family for such a great week. Love you :)

Sir Paul McCartney

2010-07-29T14:31:00.000-07:00

Sir Paul McCartney has arrived!!! In Kansas City, MO!!! My dad and I went to see Paul McCartney at the Sprint Center in KC and it...was...AMAZING! We are both Beatles fans and it was by far one of the coolest things I've ever done to see Paul McCartney perform live!

He sang a lot of the classics, which were my fav cause I only really know the Beatles albums. But he also sang lots of Wings songs...didn't know too much of those. Regardless, the 68 year old Brit still has it!

The coolest thing he did was that he had a different guitar brought to him after every song he sang! About half-way through the show he was finally like, "if you're wondering why I change guitars every song it's because I just have so many and I like to show them off." HAHA! One of the guitars he played was the original guitar he played when the Beatles first appeared on the Ed Sullivan show in 1964. COOL!

Paul played for almost 3 hours and did 3 encores! No one would leave! On his final encore Paul was like, "I've got to go home sometime!!!" Finally the lights came on and we all went home! I'm so glad I got to see the legendary Paul McCartney with my dad cause we'll probably never see him perform live again!

Thanks for a great time Dad :)

Mama Mia

2010-07-20T08:46:00.000-07:00

What have the Tracy's been up to you ask? Well, just this past weekend we met up with my mom and my brother Jason in Detroit! My mom drove up from Missouri with Jay to look for houses cause he is moving there for a new job. Soooooo, we thought hey we'll meet you in Detroit, hang for a day or two and then take mom back with us to Grand Rapids! We helped Jay look for houses in the area they want to live in and got him situated before taking off back to Grand Rapids with my mom.

Once back in Grand Rapids, we spent a day at Grand Haven Beach and sadly regretted not bringing our swim suits. We just thought we could walk around, get some lunch and shop. Once we got there, all we really wanted to do was get in the water because it was 90 degrees outside! But it was a lot of fun nonetheless to walk this cute little beach town.

On Grand Haven Beach is their light house, which sits on the end of the pier. That was a lot of fun too to see the view of the coast and out towards the lake. Again, all we wanted to do was jump off the end of it, but still way cool.

I always love hanging out with my mama! It was fun to have her here for a few days and show her around where we've been living. Thanks for a great weekend mom!

Well Daniel is still recovering from his surgery, but he has been cleared to go back to work, woo hoo! (money is always nice) So he is taking it easy, catching up on work while I have been relieved of my nursing duties until he gets home at the end of the day. Yes, I read my books, surf the net and watch my TV shows in peace now. Not that it wasn't too bad before :)

So Michigan is still treating us nice, but we are both anxious to get back to our home in Phoenix. 5 more weeks!

Happy Birthday America

2010-07-04T17:37:00.000-07:00

4th of July is my FAVORITE holiday (next to christmas of course). Outdoors, swimming, the lake, BBQ-ing, homemade ice cream, family, fireworks...although this year we've had to miss out on the festivities and simply count our blessings that Daniel was released from the hospital yesterday, so our usual holiday activities have been put on hold this year. But that didn't stop us from having a little fun!

Stacia Woodworth is the BIGGEST sweetheart and brought over a 4th of July feast for all of us to share! Hotdogs, hamburgers, chips, corn on the cob, drinks....the works. It was so thoughtful of her to think of us and want to spend the holiday with us. We love having company over, but we especially love having Stacia over! 1) She brings food ha but 2) She's a lot of fun and I love being able to hang out with a familiar face in an unfamiliar area. Dan likes it cause he has someone new to tease besides me :)

I tried my hand at the traditional "Flag" cake. I meant to get a picture BEFORE a piece was taken, but what can I say...Tracy boys. Dan assumed the usual position on the couch and did his best to stay conscious. I'd like to give a shout out to the makers of Vicodin. Thank you for keeping my husband semi-comfortable this holiday :)

So even though it's been a laid back 4th for us we're grateful we weren't spending it in a hospital bed. Dan's home now and has a 2 week recovery before he's cleared to go back to work. So needless to say, we will be doing a whole lot of nothing for the next little bit lol. Quality time right?

Thanks again to Stacia who truly brightened our day and we hope everyone has a very happy 4th of July! God bless America :)

HE LIVES!

2010-07-01T14:24:00.000-07:00

Daniel had his surgery Tuesday, June 29th and everything...went...GREAT! We are currently still stationed in the East wing, section 4E, room 46 of the hospital and will be until Saturday. Dan is such a trooper and his recovery is going very smoothly according to his Doctor. We can't help but realize how blessed we truly are. Thank you so much for all your thoughts and prayers :)

Dan's mom flew up for the surgery and it was a great relief to have her here for several reasons. 1) Who doesn't love company? 2) I knew Dan appreciated having his mother here for support through a serious surgery such as this. 3) When they took him away for surgery, I resisted the need to fall apart balling b/c I had someone to distract me while I knew someone was slicing my husband up like a sardine lol. And 4) we just love mom's!

Our daily activities include and ARE limited to the following: At least once an hour use the Repirex to help with lung expansion. About 5-6 times per day, get up and walk the halls to get blood circulating through the legs. Try and sit up for little bit everyday to stretch muscles. And make my bed for a nice restless sleep (whatever). Everything else in between is filled with what else besides Dan reading every single sports news article available on the world wide web.

Thanks for all the emails, notes, kind words, cards and treats! He loves them, and so do I! Especially if they are yummy :)

And now what you've all been waiting for...dun dun dun. THE SCAR! Dr. Lobo (surgeon) told us Dan would be left with about a 3 inch scar on his side where they opened him up to operate on the kidney. 3 inch scar our BUTTS! Today they took off the bandage and this is what we discovered...

If you can't tell, it's more like a 6 inch scar! It looks like they had enough room to open him up, play shuffle board with his organs, and put them back in their rightful place. Yikes. But to look at the bride side, at least he'll be left with a manly scar. He can toss around stories like, "yeah a shark got a hold of me...but I ate it before it ate me."

All is well and more to come on my little patient!

Back from the dead

2010-06-19T14:43:00.000-07:00

What a week! I guess the exciting part started Tuesday night when I drove Daniel to the ER. He was complaining of back/side aches, figured it was just kidney stones, so to the ER we went! His pain was excruciating so they took him in, starting an IV to get pain meds flowing. Once the pain subsided (a little) they took a scan of his kidney to find out...rut-row...no kidney stones. Instead there was a blockage in his ureter tube (the tube that connects your kidney to your bladder).

We found out that where the ureter tube is SUPPOSE to connect to the kidney, Daniel's is not connected properly and has been that way since birth. Fluid is suppose to flow from the kidney to the bladder with ease but that hasn't been the case for Dan. Since it's been difficult for fluid to drain out of his kidney, fluid found another way out, thus rupturing his kidney causing urine to spill outside of the kidney. Not good.

Surgery is required to repair the kidney. But before they could operate, inflammation and swelling of the kidney needed to go down. To help along this process Dan had a nephrostomy tube and bag placed in his kidney. A nephrostomy tube bypasses the blocked area, allowing urine to leave the body, thus letting the kidney heal and lessen swelling in preparation for surgery. Please see exhibit A :)

Exhibit A

These are pics of Dan's nephrostomy tube coming out of his back....ewwww.

Daniel has been quite the trooper, and the process isn't over yet! He will have the nephrostomy tube for about 10 days while the kidney heals. After which he will go back to the hospital for his second surgery. The urologist will actually go in detaching his ureter tube from his kidney and reattaching it in the correct place so fluid can flow easily to his bladder and not outside the kidney wall like it had been. More to come on that!

So we stayed 3 nights total in the hospital and this is what we've learned: Nurses don't care what time of night it is, they will wake you up at 12, 2 and 4 in the morning to check your vitals. Hospital food is no bueno. Hospital beds are way more comfy than the roll-away beds for guests. You can never play enough solitaire to pass the time. Drugs are ammmaaazzzing. And a sense of humor gets you a long way.

Thank you EVERYONE for all your calls, texts, wishes well and prayers. We both appreciate it so much! Being away from friends and family isn't easy during tough times like these but we have truly realized how blessed we really are. Stay tuned!

Wedding Madness!

2010-06-13T13:12:00.000-07:00

This weekend I had the chance to go home to Missouri for my best friend Sarah's wedding! It was SO MUCH fun to see old friends and be apart of such a fun occasion. It really made me miss Missouri and wish I lived closer to home for several reasons. Maybe Dan will get the hint...lol.

Congratulations to Sarah and Derek Randall! High school sweethearts forever :)

CHI-TOWN!

2010-06-08T08:17:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we took a quick little trip to the windy city! It's been quite a while since both Dan and I have been to Chicago so it was a lot of fun to go again for the first time TOGETHER! We stayed with Aunt Eilene and Uncle Dennis...thank you SO MUCH for opening your home to us (again), it's always fun to visit with family.

We woke up Saturday morning and went to the Chicago temple, we haven't been to the temple since before Prague so we were grateful that we had the opportunity to go this weekend.

After the temple, we drove downtown and walked and shopped the miracle mile! I absolutely LOVE downtown Chicago, it's such a neat city and we loved how it's on the water. We were going to go up in the Sears Tower...but it was $15 PER person. We'll do that next time (maybe).

The main reason we went to Chicago was for, what else, a soccer game! A classmate of Daniel's is an intern for the Chicago Fire and was great enough to get us SWEET tickets at mid field! It's always fun to get out and see some games, plus Dan LOVES it lol.

We had a great time and really appreciated a weekend away from Grand Rapids for a few days. We are already planning another trip to Chi-town in July! So stay tuned...

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Summer Dayz

2010-06-04T07:40:00.000-07:00

Well we finally ventured out to the famous Lake Michigan! And get this, it doesn't look like a LAKE at all! It actually looks like an ocean...with no waves, and no sharks...and no people in the water because it's FREEZING! It was a warm 85 degrees outside and an icy 55 degrees in the water. No way would you ever find me in that water!

We layed out, ate some lunch, walked around, talked with friends of ours and had a great first-time experience :)

I also finally got around to taking some pics of where we live! We actually live on a small pond and since we are on the ground floor, our back-door opens up to the water. We like living on the water for lots of reasons, but our favorite has to be the family that lives across the way. They have this raft with a table and chairs on it and they paddle themselves out on the water at night lol. We call it their "red neck yacht club." It's pretty amusing!

Since I stay at home during the days, it can be hard to keep myself entertained sometimes. BUT I have made some fuzzy friends that like to hang around in our backyard. They used to be so small but you can see in the pics that they are growing up so fast! I would like to take credit for that...I AM the one who feeds them bits of bread lol. They call me crazy goose lady.

More to come on our SUPER exciting summer in Michigan! :)

Birthday Boy!

2010-05-28T19:58:00.000-07:00

DANIEL GETS RIPER WITH AGE!!! Wednesday was Dan's birthday and I did all I could to make it special for him. When Dan got home from work he got to open his present and what did he get (drum role)...AVATAR! He also got birthday money from his mom and dad and my parents, which is loooooong gone by now I'm sure of it!

For dinner we went to Macaroni Grill (Dan's fav.) and stuffed our faces with warm bread and pasta milano! YUM! Dan requested an ice cream cake so I picked up a small one for us to split. Happy birthday was sung and the candles went out and my lover is now 28 years old!

It was a quiet birthday but it's always fun to throw a party, even if it's only for 2 people :) HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABE!

The Great Lakes State

2010-05-22T05:46:00.000-07:00

Odd state flag eh?

Grand Rapids, Michigan welcomes us!!! For those of you who aren't in the loop, Daniel and Meghann will be living in MI for the summer. Dan was fortunate enough to land a summer internship during his summer break from grad school. He will be working in the corporate offices at Amway doing...well his title is 'IT application portfolio intern.' More to come on that, sounds fun!

Recap: So we flew back from Europe on May 7th to Phoenix. We were only home for 2 days before making the LONG drive to Missouri. We rested up, visited with friends and family for a week and continued on to Michigan, stopping at Aunt Eileene's home for the night in Chicago. Thanks Eileene! So we have settled in our temporary home for the summer and have been enjoying the past few days before Dan begins work on Monday!

What will Meghann do you ask? For right now...NOTHING! And we are hoping that changes very quickly. Perhaps a part-time job at the Gap? She wishes.

It's good to be back in a familiar setting, but not a day goes by without missing for a minute the fairytale-like city we left behind. Sigh...So with that said, Michigan...What do you have to offer us?!?!

The Tracy's have GONE WILD!

2010-05-08T17:03:00.000-07:00

Well, well, well, it has been an ADVENTUROUS week for us to say the least. Daniel completed his semester abroad in Prague thus finishing his first year of Grad School. YIPPIE! And to end the semester with a bang we did a little bit of traveling...

First we headed down to Vienna, Austria. And might we add...yes, the hills are alive! The weather was perfect and everything was so beautifully green! We took a double-decker tour of the city and it's quite lovely. The city where classical music was said to be born had many charming elements. Our favorite was the royal palace. The palace was decorated with beautiful gardens and fountains and definitely made our trip worth while.

Next, we shipped off to Barcelona, Spain! This was suppose to be our warm, beach trip but sadly the weather was not as cooperating as Vienna. Our first day was sunny but a little chilly for the beach. And our net two days were all rain. But luckily we managed to squeeze quite a lot into our only day of sun. We walked along the harbor, the beach, saw some exquisite architecture and...are you ready for this...went to a BULL FIGHT! It was a cultural experience that had to be had and will never be had again. At least by Meghann (for all the gory pics see fb). Daniel was right in his element with being able to speak Spanish and Meghann was happy to let him do so! Rain or shine we were glad to have made it to Spain and will definitely be going back one day.

Our last stop was London, England. Daniel was suppose to meet Meg and her family in London a few weeks ago, but due to the volcano incident he wasn't able to come so here we are again! First trip for Dan, second for Meg (but still well worth it). We hit up all the main sites: Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Fish and Chips, Globe Theater, Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abby and walk along the Thames River. All the London hustle and bustle makes it fun to visit a time or two. Next time would be nice to see the English country-side.

So our days traveling abroad have come to a pause...for now. We are so grateful to have had such a fun and safe experience. We already miss Prague and the gorgeous city it is and cannot wait to go back again one day!

Busy traveling the WORLD!

2010-04-24T10:54:00.000-07:00

First off, SO SORRY for the absents of posts this month. Things have been a little crazy! Most recently, Meghann met her sister and her parents in Paris, then London for some site-seeing before coming back to Prague to show them around our beautiful little city. We only wish it was that simple...

PARIS:
Rented a cute little apt centrally located, walked the Champs-Elysees, shopping, Arc de Triomphe, mom brought pocket Edward (great), took pictures with him EVERYWHERE, bread, more bread, think we found the fountain in European vacation where Chevy Chase gets his camera stolen, Eiffel tower by day, elevator up to the top, boat ride on the seine river, Eiffel tower by night, Eiffel tower glitter show, dad lost the keys to the apt, everyone panicked, ran back to Eiffel tower, they were still there (phew), found out Steph snores (loudly), slept in until 10:30am, Steph had a cow, mom almost got pick-pocketed in the subway, took the train to Versailles, rented a golf cart to see the complex, ate dinner at Hard Rock Cafe (family tradition), toured the Louvre, fought the mosh-pit to see the Mona Lisa, saw a group of high school girls inappropriately touching the private parts on all the naked-men statues (hilarious), went to Notre Dam and saw the flying buttresses, ate dinner at an authentic French restaurant (adorable and delicious), went to Disneyland Paris, it was the most magical day of our trip, the genie tried to kiss Stephanie, got a picture with the Mouse himself, dad tried to mail a postcard at a fake mailbox (pretty funny), saw a french-singing blue grass band in Frontier land, dad got a huge kick out of it, got back to apt to find out the Icelandic volcano erupted, good thing we were taking the train, cab was suppose to pick us up at 5:40, didn't show up until 6:00, train station was a mad place since planes were cancelled, barley made it to our train on time that departed at 6:30, but we made it, the craziest part of our trip was over, or so we thought...

LONDON:
Road the Euro-star to London, went to Abby road, felt like idiots trying to imitate the Beatles, ate at Hard Rock (first one ever was London), enjoyed the free re-fills, went to see the Lion King, Steph forgot her ticket at the hotel, ran back to hotel, got a cab to theater, taxi almost ran over a biker, biker got pissed and yelled at our taxi driver, we ran off to make our show, missed the first song, but the show was great! Steph still snores, took pics in red phone booths, went to Tower of London, saw the crown jewels and tons of other amazing things, took a boat ride on the Thames river, saw London Eye, Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, went to the Churchill Museum for dad (very interesting), St. Paul's Cathedral, walked to the top of the dome, great view, ate fish and chips, went to Trafalgar Square, climbed up on huge lions, a group of Chinese tourists stopped to take pics of Steph attempting to climb up on lions, funniest thing I've ever witnessed in my life, took a double-decker bus tour, saw the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, went to the British Museum and saw the original Rosetta Stone, went to Piccadilly Circus, wishfully shopped at Harrod's (most beautiful place on earth), bought an "I love London" t-shirt and immediately regretted it when we found out our flight to Prague was cancelled, Dan was suppose to meet us in London for the weekend but wasn't able to get to us, I was oh so sad, had an extra day so we walked over the Millennium bridge (the one from in Harry Potter), saw Shakespeare's Globe Theater, went to the Imperial War Museum (very moving), took pictures at Platform 9 3/4, found out another flight was cancelled, moved-in to the Starbucks at the airport, set-up camp and spent the night with other stranded families, dad got us all on a flight leaving Wednesday morning for Prague, hooray! spent two extra days in London and lost two days in Prague, so sad...

PRAGUE:
Daniel picked us up from the airport, went home and showered since we hadn't for 2 days, took the fam to old town square, went to wenceslas square and ate sausages, walked down Paris street and toured the Jewish Quarter, ate our first home-cooked meal in a week, Steph dad and mom left to get Thai massages, I got worried when they weren't home and sent out a search party, turns out they were just enjoying the lovely Prague night-life (silly me), walked over Charles Bridge, went to Lennon's wall, shopped in Mala Strana on our way to the Castle, saw the changing of the guard at the Castle, went inside St. Vitus Cathedral, walked around the Castle complex, took a walk through the vineyard on our way back to Charles Bridge, shopped for souvenirs, ate at Hard Rock (3 for 3), ate gelato for dessert, mom found a hair, tried to give it back and made the gelato lady mad, went to take a river boat ride at night, but missed the last boat, took one last walk by the river taking night pics of the Castle lit up, went home and packed up, made a bed for Steph in the living room so Dan could get some sleep (hehe), put the fam on a plane and was sad I didn't have more time to show them the Beautiful city that Prague is.

SUMMARY:
coke in Paris= 5 euros, t-shirt in London= 7 pounds, gelato in Prague= 25 crowns, spending time with my parents and sister= priceless.

For all pics of the trip please visit my facebook, should be up later this weekend. Thanks!

The Easter Bunny LIVES!

2010-04-08T03:27:00.000-07:00

This Easter was a fun treat for Meg and Dan... the Easter Bunny found us in PRAGUE! He made a trail of reeces eggs to a stash of yummy chocolate eggs! As you can tell, we were SUPER excited! Thanks Easter Bunny, who know who you are (:

We were also fortunate enough to spend our Easter weekend with Dan's sister Becky and her husband Doug. Becky was on spring break from classes and they made the trip over for a quick visit. We spent the weekend showing them all the main sites around Prague, ate easter candy, shopped, watched Conference and had fun being with family over the holiday weekend. The highlight of our weekend had to be our trip to Prague Castle, so beautiful!

We hope everyone else enjoyed their Easter weekend and took a moment to reflect on our Savior and all that He has done for us (:

Duh, duh duh HAPPY BIRFDAY!

2010-04-01T14:20:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to our sweet Meghann! It's always exciting to be able to spend your birthday in a foreign country, let alone PRAGUE, one of the most beautiful cities in the world! But as expected, it's always a little bit different. Sadly, Daniel had class all day Tuesday, but that didn't stop Kylee from taking Meg to a fun little pastry shop around the corner for a pastry...or two. Dan came home and surprised Meg with a beautiful rose from this flower shop on the corner.

One thing Meg did miss out on was for birthdays we get to choose any place to eat out, your favorite restaurant. Well, since we have no idea what restaurants are good or not she stayed on the safe side and went with Fridays hoping for free re-fills. Extremely disappointed, there are no free-refills, even for an american based company. Noted. But Martin, our waiter, made it up to her by signing Happy Birthday (as best he could in English) and serving an ice cream sundae on the house. Can't go wrong with ice cream. She even blew out a candle, which was nice since we had no cake :(

To keep the party going, we stopped at the market on the way home and bought a 2 1/2 liter of coke and a chocolate bar for the birthday girl. She loves her coke.

One year older, one year closer to perfection!

Berlin, Germany

2010-03-30T13:55:00.000-07:00

Our adventures abroad have taken us to Germany this past weekend. Daniel only has class 4 days/week which gives us a 3-day weekend...every weekend. We took advantage of it this time and took a 5 hour train ride to BERLIN!

While we were there we saw some crazy stuff. The top contenders which are considered to be noteworthy in our blog include German football (soccer) groupies chanting and singing through the train station on their way to game. Dan wanted to join in but he wasn't sure how to quite blend in. We saw this sign at Subway and the sign says, "Die Baby Subs..." Turns out the word "die" in German means "the." We were wondering why the Germans hated Subway so much...It was pretty funny.

Okay, so remember when Wacko Jacko, aka Michael Jackson, dangled his kid over the balcony? Well it was done at THIS hotel. Nuts... And then you have Dan posing as a communist soldier. Classic.

We couldn't be in a famous city without seeking out a Hard Rock Cafe! Don't worry, it only took us 2 hours to get there (story for another time). We were so thrilled to find out that since Hard Rock is an American company we got FREE RE-FILLS! The 2 hour walk was well worth it. We also knew that our trip wouldn't be complete without tasting of the local cuisine. Sausage, sausage, sauerkraut and more sausage! And it...was...TASTY. For dessert, we went to Haagen-Dazs thinking it would be fitting since it's a German based company. Turns out Haagen-Dazs is from Poland. Huh, it was still yummy nonetheless.

Brief history lesson...Germany wasn't it's own country until 1871. Until then, the city of Berlin was ran by a royal family. The pictures below were the royal families personal protestant cathedral and art museum. The buildings were absolutely stunning. Both buildings were badly bombed in WWII and have since been restored to their former glory.

We took 2 tours on our trip, the first being a tour of a concentration camp about 30 mins north of Berlin called Sachsenhausen. The experience of visiting a once operating concentration camp was sobering, yet extremely enlightening and educational.

Here you will see a the still standing dining hall of the Nazi guards where starving prisoners were forced to serve the guards. You'll also see one of the many watch towers and the electric fence lined by barbed wire. The sign reads in English, "Work will set you free." Prisoners were told they could work their way to freedom. No prisoner was released until the camp was liberated in 1945 by the soviets.

Below you'll see a pit in the ground where the first mass execution was performed at this particular camp. They marched hundreds of men and then opened fire until all had been killed. Shortly afterward they began using gas chambers and cremation. In our pics you can see the original foundation of the chambers as well as the crematoriums. 200,000 prisoners came through the camp. 50,000 died. Although devastating, the opportunity to learn more of the Holocaust has opened our eyes and our hearts continue to go out to the families lost in such a horrific event in history.

Our second tour continues with WWII history. We visited the square where the book burning took place by the Nazi's. The library on the square that the books were tossed from is now a school of some sorts and is being renovated so we couldn't see the actual building. If you are wondering why we took a picture of a parking lot, it's because 50 feet below that parking lot is where Hitler's bunker was. After the war they blew up the bunker and filled it in so it would not serve as a shrine to neo-nazi's. The big cement blocks serve as a Jewish memorial in the center of Berlin which only finished construction a few years ago.

We also learned a lot about post-war Berlin. Including, check-point Charlie, Brandenburg Gate and the Berlin Wall. Part of the wall is still standing. The wall went up in 1961 and fell in 1989. For the duration of 28 years, East Germany were prisoners in their own country. The story of the fall of the wall was so riveting, what an amazing accomplishment for the German people after years and years of oppression.

Our trip was so much fun and very educational! It was fun to visit another country and compare/contrast to Prague. We hope to visit other countries during our stay abroad and take in all these new experiences. Hope you enjoyed our crash course history lesson! Much love.

It's beginning to look a lot like SPRING!

2010-03-23T03:55:00.000-07:00

Well we moved into our apt Saturday night! It's pretty much what we expected except there's only one bathroom when we thought we were getting one 1/2, should be interesting sharing between four people. And we were told we were getting a washing machine and dryer. Well to the renters of Czech Republic a clothes dryer is a rack to hang your clothes to dry on. So lame. We got fooled. Meghann seems to be more upset about it than the rest of us. It's time to put her ironing skills to work!

Well Sunday we went to church again and rested up for Monday; our first full day of sight-seeing when we aren't jet-lagged or freezing! It was a beautiful 57 degrees and a perfect day for picture taking. Spring has sprung!

Here is a set of pics taken on the Charles Bridge. From the Charles Bridge you can see the Prague Castle very well! It's a gorgeous view, one of these days we hope to take a tour of the castle.

These are pictures of the Cathedral and clock tower in old town square. The clock tower was built in the 14th century!

These are random pics of amazing buildings around Prague. The architectural detail is stunning!

These pictures were taken on the opposite side of the river looking into old town.

We had tons of fun strolling through the ancient streets of Prague. There is so much to see we aren't sure if we'll even see it all before it's time to pack up and head back to the States.

Please stay tunned as Daniel and Meghann update their adventures! We miss you all very much! Much love.

Celakovice vs. The U.S

2010-03-21T12:47:00.000-07:00

I know you all have anxiously been awaiting our many adventures while in Celakovice. Sorry to disappoint, but our adventures were very limited! Daniel was in class from 8am to 6:30pm Monday through Saturday which gave myself adequate time to evaluate just exactly what I've gotten myself into. This blog tally's the pro's and cons of a small town east of Prague, Celakovice and the U.S of A. Pull up a chair, take a seat and let the rally begin.

My week began with a stroll to the local grocer with my ally Kylee. What was suppose to be a quick trip to gather some snacks and clean water turned out to be what I like to call, an adventure. For starters, you must pay (yes pay) to use a shopping cart. There is guard standing watch to offenders who (heaven forbid) take off with the cart they paid for, creepy. Everything was obviously in Czech, so it was quite interesting buying sandwich meat. We don't know if we are buying turkey, chicken, pork?? We think we got chicken... So as it's time for us to check out I follow in suite placing my items on the belt. It's now my turn and I pay with a CC. I'm handed a receipt (with a line on the bottom) and a pen. What would you do? Well, as a citizen of the United States, that means you SIGN it. Mistake numero uno. The cashier was wanting a tip for scanning my items and carelessly tossing them into a bin where I bag my water and mystery meat myself. Insane.

Celakovice: 0
U.S: 1

If I may direct you to the photo on the left you will see the view from our commy (communist) dorm. Although, quite the hole of a town, it was neat to be able to see the old buildings and the small town flourishing beneath us. You can't tell in the pic, but it was snowing and it was very beautiful. Also, in the lobby of where we were staying was a mini coffee/hot chocolate machine. I don't know about you, but I have NEVER seen anything like this in the states. For 10ck (roughly 50cents) a tiny cup appears out of nowhere and fills it with creamy hot chocolate. Delicious.

Celakovice: 1

U.S: 1

On one of our (Kylee and myself) many trips into town to explore we were excited to stumble upon a video rental store! Only to find out the idea of English speaking dvd's was in fact ridiculous on our part. Perhaps English subtitles? Nope. Just Czech. Czech, Czech, Czech.

Laundry day came up sooner then I had hoped for. After as many signs as I could muster up to communicate with the front desk lady that I wished to do laundry I was handed a key to what we were assuming was the laundry room. More like laundry closet. I opened the door to a closet with the tiniest washing machine I've ever seen in my life. And here's the real kicker...upon returning the laundry key I'm told I owe 100ck for using the facilities (yeah, what facilities) which is about $5. FIVE BUCKS to do one load of clothes.

Celakovice: 1
U.S. 2

After an entire week of naps, reading, chatting on skype and exploring (as much as we could) we heard there was a river on the backside of town with a walkway alongside. Our last day of commy camp, we took a stroll to the river to find some friends! There were school kids feeding the ducks bread crumbs, which was way fun, when we found our furry friend the river otter, or beaver? I think it's an otter. He was walking up and down the banks waiting for bread crumbs to be tossed in his direction. It was probably the most entertainment we had all week (wow that's sad).

Celakovice: 2
U.S: 2

Now you may think that the race came out as a close call and was a tie...well I am sorry to disappoint. I've decided to add in a few more factors. In Celakovice there are no free re-fills, everything closes after dark, no drinkable water unless bought in a bottle, they serve you steamed carrots and hot dogs for breakfast, the cleaning ladies just walk in your room with no heads up, the towns people just leave their children in strollers outside of shops unattended, dogs roam the streets with no leash and the only decent food is pizza (good thing I like pizza).

So as you have most likely gathered there is no tie, and Celakovice indeed did NOT win. Congrats U.S

Final Tally
Celakovice: 2
U.S: 114

We are moving into our apt in Prague this weekend! Hello civilization! Goodbye commy camp. This is Meghann Tracy signing off! Dobrou noc!

We have arrived!

2010-03-14T09:06:00.000-07:00

So we have safely landed in the Czech Republic. And might we add, IT'S COLD! After spending 4 winters in Rexberg, ID Meghann thought she could withstand anything. Turns out, after only about 6 months in Phoenix, AZ any built up tolerances are now broken. Cold weather aside, the view of Prague is breathtaking.

Disclaimer: did not take photo ourselves (too cold to stop and take pics, must keep walking)

So we arrived at our hotel Friday night, met up with Brody and Kylee, said hello and went to bed! 18 hours of traveling sure takes it out of a person. But this is what we checked into...

We stayed our first 2 nights at the Riverside Hotel and it...was...AWESOME!

Our flight from Phoenix to London was 10 hours and NOT as bad as we both expected it to be. Upside, Meghann finally got a chance to watch "Michael Jackson's This is It." Downside, It was 10 hours sitting in one position in coach.

Day 1 we woke up and decided to take our first tour of old Prague. Sorry no photo's yet. Like we said, too cold. Had to keep all muscles in movement at all times. It was really interesting to hear all the difference languages. On the Charles Bridge alone (pic above) we heard over 8 distinct languages. It's such a touristy area.

There are 2 things for sure we miss about the States. 1) Free water. 2) Free re-fills. Note to those wanting to visit any foreign country, don't eat at the places where the tourist are, it gets expensive fast! So far we were able to see a lot of Old Town, Charles Bridge, the outside of the National Theater, a Czech shopping center, and a bit of the Mala Strana (the other side of the Charles Bridge).

Day 2 we were up bright and early prepared for the journey to church. Since we do not know the transportation system yet (plus the language) we decided on taking a cab to the building (after wondering around for about 30 mins trying to find the right tram). Sacrament meeting was different. We were given headsets and could listen to the whole meeting in translated English. Surprisingly, there are about 6-7 American families apart of the branch whose husbands are ex-pats and live in Prague permanently. It was nice to hear a familiar voice (or language).

We left church after sacrament meeting so we could check out of our hotel on time. We couldn't find a taxi anywhere so we decided to throw caution to the wind and take the Prague Subway. After a bit of bewilderment we began to understand the system and found our way back to the hotel. We checked out and are now in Celakovice, a town 30 mins outside of Prague. You are not missing much. We are isolated away from anything and we have been put up in an old communist training center.

You can imagine the absence of color and amenities lacking here.

For dinner we ate at a traditional Czech Restaurant. We both got the Czech special: Pork, bread dumplings, potato dumplings, sausage w/ cabbage (or what we call sauerkraut) and fried spinach patties?

Not horrible, we both kinda stayed away from the dumplings. Only one week here while Daniel completes a Regional Business Understanding course then we can finally get settled in our apt in Old Town Prague (where we can cook our own meals...)

Overall we are having a blast and having all kinds of experiences! We hope to fill you all in soon with more adventures.

rozloučení!

2010-03-08T19:55:00.000-08:00

For those of you who don't speak Czech that means "farewell!" Ok, so we don't speak Czech either, but we are trying to learn! So far, we have "thank you" down pact. We will be the most polite Americans Prague has ever met!

And to catch up some late readers, Daniel and Meghann are leaving for Prague, Czech Republic this THURSDAY!!! We are SO excited (and might Meg add anxious) to spend the next two months living internationally as Dan completes his study abroad. We fly out Thursday the 11th and return stateside May 11th.

Below is a map of where we will be in Europe. Prague is in the far west side of Czech, bordering Germany. Our phones won't work overseas, but thank goodness for internet and skype!

We we feel so blessed to have this opportunity to live abroad and experience another culture! Please stay tuned for FREQUENT updates! Love you all, rozloučení!

Love is in the air

2010-02-16T20:48:00.000-08:00

To start off this years Valentine's Day Meghann got a BEAUTIFUL bouquet of roses from her Valentine! They were ever so neatly arranged in one of their coco mugs, it was perfect! Daniel and Meghann exchanged cards and celebrated the acclaimed holiday with a group dinner at Cheesecake Factory.

Here is a group shot of everyone after stuffing our faces with great food...and cheesecake! (We suggest the caramel pecan turtle cheesecake, heaven!)

On Sunday, we kept the celebration going. Kylee and Brody had us all over for a mini-Vday party. We decided to bring chocolate dipped strawberries. As we were dipping the strawberries, we thought "what else can we dip in chocolate?" It turns out nilla waffers are delectable dipped in chocolate!

We stuffed our faces with sugar and played games, best darn Vday we've ever had! It was our third Vday together and our second one married! Where does the time go!? We hope everyone had a LOVELY Valentine's Day. XOXO!

"Dude, where's my car"

2010-01-26T20:12:00.000-08:00

We learned something last week. We live in the hood. Yup, if you didn't know our car was stolen. Meghann woke up to go to work to find that our car was not under our car port. After a few laughs and head scratches we couldn't help but think, "Dude, where's my car?"

Dan filed a police report Tuesday morning and they found our car abandoned 10 minutes away on Thursday. Friday after work we went to identify the body. Yup, it was her. Poor thing. Punk kid just took her for a joy ride around the block, ripped out our entire middle console and did some damage to the steering wheel column (we're guessing to get the car started). Other than that, no damage done.

We were actually hoping they really messed it up so we could get the money from our insurance to buy a new car. But of course not. That would be too easy. Since the car's not totaled, we have to pay to get it fixed; which we are just ecstatic about.

Here's some pics of the little lady in rough condition. She'll be back to her old self soon.

Moral to situation: We don't have one. Don't live around hood-lims???

Happy New Year!

2010-01-03T16:48:00.001-08:00

We wish everyone a Happy Holiday season! This season we made it back home to Missouri for the holiday. We had a fun time visiting both Meghann's family and Daniel's family this Christmas. It was nice to get out of this mid 70 degree weather in Phoenix and get to some freezing weather for a white Christmas, although by the end of the trip it was nice to get back to more comfortable weather.

We made the NICE list this year (phew!) Santa brought Dan what he always wanted, an xbox 360 with Fifa 2010 (Meg and Santa are gonna have to have a talk about that one), while Meg got a Croc hair straightener! More than anything, we felt very blessed to be home with our families again.

After Christmas we headed down to Florida for the second consecutive year, though this time it was to be apart in Meghann's best friend from college Wedding Ceremony (congratulations Hannah and Mike). It turned out great and we were happy that we were able to participate. As you can tell Meghann had a great time... As was Daniel!! Doesn't she make a lovely bridesmaid?

We are still incredibly in love and hope that all your new resolutions come to pass!!

Love Meghann and Daniel Tracy

Happy Holidays

2009-11-30T18:06:00.000-08:00

The holiday season is upon us! Disclaimer: no photos :(

The fabulous weekend began with what else? A three day work/school week! Which let's face it, cannot be beat.

Meghann's sister Stephanie (and family) came into town to visit Steph's in-laws which coincidently live in Tempe, AZ. So good news for us, we got to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with family!

As usual patrons celebrating Thanksgiving, we snacked all day and ate a huge turkey feast, ate some pie and repeat. The night ended with Meg's two nieces, Madeleine and Olivia and nephew, Noah having a sleep over at our place! Nothing like a slumber party with Aunt Meghann and Uncle Daniel! The short story is, Noah (on more than one occasion) asked if he could move in with us. Beat that other aunt's and uncles.

The rest of the weekend concluded of braving the crowds on Black Friday with other crazy bargain shoppers, drive-in theaters, more family dinners, putting up Christmas decorations and some much anticipated sleeping in and chill-axing.

We hope everyone had a fulfilling holiday and is getting excited for the Christmas season! But first, Thanksgiving wouldn't be complete without saying what we are thankful for.

Daniel's list: His loving beautiful wife, HD tv and hot dogs

Meghann's list: Family, 80 degree weather and sonic cherry coke (easy on the ice)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN....a little late

2009-11-04T17:48:00.000-08:00

After all the ghost and ghouls have had their fun and we have gorded ourselves on the troves of candy collected (or stolen from your respective kids), the Arizona Tracys are wishing everyone a Happy "Late" Halloween!

Ours began a week before Halloween when we went to the local pumpkin patch and picked out the most perfect pumpkin! We braved the blazing October heat (it had to be 80 something) and cut through all the vines to find that all elusive perfect pumpkin. We went back to the Hatch's place and had a great pumpkin carving party!

At the party we kept the old tradition of all pumpkin carvers world-wide, Meghann, Kylee, and Clarie were busily getting their men Halloween treats while the men were actively engaged in a good work (making the pumpkins SCARY).

Some of you might be wondering, "Why is a piece of paper on Daniel's pumpkin?" Well, Daniel is always out for perfection. He HAND drew the image he wanted on the pumpkin and wanted it do be the best pumpkin EVER (it had to be better than last year)!
These are the pumpkins that we all carved that night!!!!! The picture below is our pumpkin with the candle in it. It looks scary huh!?! We even got the drunk neighbors approval when we put it on the door step.

Does Meghann ever turn into a monster on Halloween?????
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Yes, but Daniel had her back in the house before the last stroke of Midnight fell.
Halloween was fun and we dressed with the theme of Decades! Meghann was a hippie in the 60's (she even tie-dyed her own t-shirt!) and Daniel was a Wanna-be in the 70's. We ended up going to the Thunderbird Old Hallows Eve party and got to see all kinds of costumes. Namely Vampires (non of the Edward variety), Smurfs, Kung-Fu Panda, a Gold Digger, Satan, The singing bush from Three Amigos, Easter bunny and so many more. We had a great Halloween and hope that you all had a good one too!

Trip to Utah!

2009-10-25T19:40:00.001-07:00

One thing Meghann REALLY misses about fall...are the changing leaves. Since we've been living in Arizona, we are constantly reminding ourselves, yes, it is October. It's easy to forget when it's oohh 90 degrees outside! During our drive up to Utah it was nice to be able to get a sense of good ole autumn weather! As you can tell, Meg was super excited. So excited, we had to stop and take a picture of her hugging a tree. Tree hugger.
We made the trek up to Utah for wedding festivities in the honors of Rachel and Scott and to spend some family time with the Tracy's. It was nice to be able to spend a long weekend with the fam vacationing from work and school! Our weekend however did not go untouched from delay. For the 4th time Meghann has, you guessed it, locked her keys in our car. Yup. We had to take a moment and document Camille's diligence in jimmying the car door with a wire hanger and screw driver. Classic. All is well! The keys were right where Meg left them...in the back seat.

After two days of shopping, eating and eating, the fam was able to gather together for Rachel and Scott's reception. It was so fun to be with everyone during the exciting beginning of Rachel and Scott's life together!

Wedding weekend would not be completed without the initiation of the newlyweds car! Streamers, two canisters of silly string, some markers and condoms later we have completed our masterpiece! It was all out of pure love, we promise.

On the way home from a relaxing weekend, we took our time driving back home to enjoy the scenery. We think this is a "baby" canyon leading into the Grand Canyon. Whatever it is, it was an awesome view!

We made it home safely and want to thank the family for such a great weekend. We miss you all!

THE KILLERS!!!

2009-10-10T17:39:00.000-07:00

Recently Daniel and Meghann had the opportunity to see one of our favorite bands play down here in Phoenix. As you can tell... THE KILLERS took the stage. And all it took was Meghann to pout for an evening lol. Mission accomplished! For a Monday night concert, we needed "pick-me-ups" so there we were... equipped with energy drinks in hand and ready to brave downtown Phoenix for the first time!

Feel free to sing along, as the lyrics do in fact correspond with the few photos that actually turned out. Clever? We thought so....

"Are we human, or are we dancers?! My signs are vital, my hands are cold...and I'm on my knees searching for the answers. Are we human, or are we dancers?"

Meg's favorite.

"I got soul but I'm not a soldier, I got soul but I'm not a soldier, I got soul but I'm not a soldier, I got soul but I'm not a soldier....I GOT SOUL BUT I'M NOT A SOLDIER!!!"

And for the encore, Dan's favorite....

"HE DOESN'T LOOK A THING LIKE JESUS! But he looks like a gentlemen like you imagined, when you....WERE YOOOOUNNNNNGGGGG!!!!!"

They rocked this last song!!! We do have a video of the finale, but Meghann didn't realize that screaming and jumping up and down would loose the effect of watching the video later. Also, you couldn't hear a thing....rats.

Concert tickets, $100.00. Monster energy drinks, $4.00. Parking, $10.00. Missing Monday night class and screaming so much your voice is hoarse the next day for the best band ever...PRICELESS.

Apartment Pics

2009-08-21T18:23:00.000-07:00

Today's temp: 103 degrees (a cool streak, yes!)

We have enjoyed adjusting to our lives in Arizona, but now it's back to the ole routine. Meghann started her new job this week working for a Medical Billing Company, she works in the claims dept. We are thrilled to be getting a pay check again! And Daniel is super stoaked to have a "sugar-mama" for the next 2 years!

Daniel starts his week-long school orientation tomorrow! Yes, on a saturday. Once classes begin, we will be back to our old lives. We have definitely taken our life of leisure the past 2 weeks for granted! Sleeping in, laying by the pool, eating popcorn and homemade ice cream every night...Yeah rough life. NO MORE!

Sorry for the delay! But we finally got around to taking a few snap shots of our new place.

Our Latest dam Trip!

2009-08-09T16:48:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to our blog. This last week Meghann and Daniel went to go see the Waite's in Vegas. They just happened to be visiting Jessie's parents in Logandale, just outside of Vegas. Unbeknownst to us we just happened to stumble over one of the modern marvels in US history. Yup, you guessed it... The Hoover Dam!
As Daniel drove, Ken (our GPS) showed us a national POI (point of interest) on the map, and because neither Meghann nor Daniel has seen the Hoover Dam before we had to stop and take some dam pictures. The one below is at the dam lookout (on the Arizona side).

*Disclaimer* simply reading and viewing this blog does not mean that you no longer need to see this historic monument. Meghann and Daniel want you all to experience the Arizona/Nevada heat for yourselves.

Just like the previous dam picture, this dam picture was taken at the dam Arizona lookout. This is where Daniel bought his dam refreshment. Suggestion, when you take your dam trip make sure that when you buy your dam refreshment; make your dam purchase a water or Gatorade. The mountain dew did not quench Daniel's thirst.

As we got back into the car and started our dam decent, this is what we saw. Soon after we saw this, memories came back of Star Scream landing on the walk-way between the turbines. We awed and marveled that not only after the destruction from Star Scream but also Megatron, the dam looked totally rebuilt and operating at 100%. Absolutely amazing!

As we began our dam walk and noticed that everything looked original, we began to question if sector 7 really held the All Spark and if Megatron really broke out of Cryo-stasis. As we began to ask those dam guides if MBE1 (aka Megatron) and the All Spark ever existed, they nonchalantly shook their heads and calmly pronounced, "No comment". This only triggered Daniel's excitement and belief that Transformers do exist and live among us.

After our dam trip, we finally made it to the Waite's house in Logandale. We got to spend time with long lost friends and we even got to ride their four wheelers. It was Meghann first voyage on the atv and even got to ride it by herself. Overall it was a fun trip and loved seeing our friends again. Oh, one last thing... if you ever get the chance to see the Hoover Dam, take it!

BUH-BYE IDAHO!!!

2009-08-03T16:48:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been a while since our last post, but things have been CRRAAAAZZZY! Since the beginning of July we have been slowly packing up our lives in Idaho for the big move to Arizona!
Meghann finished her internship with the Museum and is officially a college grad. She patiently awaits her diploma. Daniel worked very hard this last month to get he and Meghann safely down to their new home!

Sure enough we were able to fit our entire life back in Idaho in a 5X8 U-haul! Nate and Camille were THE BEST when they agreed to pull our U-haul down to AZ for us and spend a couple nights with us. Leaving Idaho was bitter sweet for Meg, she's been in Rexburg for the past 5 years! She was sad to leave the life she had made there, but anxious to start a new one in Phoenix. Dan couldn't be more happy to leave and never look back!!! Now he's missing the cool nights and the slight summer breeze Idaho offers. No more cool nights. Last night a 2am it was still 107 degrees!!! TOASTY!

One thing that Meghann was VERY happy about when it came to leaving Rexburg was the retirement of our sofa! Yup, this couch has seen better days and is now patiently waiting for some poor college student to come pick her up at the Rexburg Distribution Center!!!

We are slowly getting settled into our new place. Meghann unpacks while Dan reads/watches/listens to soccer and baseball until she gives him a task! He can hang a picture like nobodies business! Since we've arrived, we swam in our pool with Nate, Camille and baby Maya. Meghann's niece Maddy came over and stayed the night as well! We've made countless trips to Wal-Mart up the street and have enjoyed driving around getting familiar with the area, which we couldn't have done without our GPS tour guide Ken...Thanks Ken!

We also had an unexpected guess our first night. Meghann about blew a gasket when Dan found the little critter hanging out on her leg. Needless to say, she checks absolutely EVERYTHING when it comes to putting on clothes, opening drawers and crawling into bed.

Expect some more flaming hot post in the weeks to come!! Arizona is going to take some getting used too. Although we will be complaining of stiffling heat in following posts, we will be nice and tan real soon! We will also be posting pictures of the new place when we get everything situated.

4th of July Festivities!!!

2009-07-08T19:38:00.000-07:00

So we are a little late, but it's been crazy adjusting back to day-to-day life! We were excited to have family in town for the long weekend. Becky and Doug drove from CA on Thursday and Rachel and Scott drove up from Utah on the 4th to spend the holiday in Idaho Falls with us and Nate and Camille! The weekend festivities begin with a little golf action: Girls vs. Boys! Meghann, a representative from the girls team, documented their victory!

Here we have the team captin, Camille Tracy. Camille led the girls in triumph a whopping 47 on a par 36!!! She has a mean drive, look out.

Becky, although fascinated with the "ball cleaner" was quite the putter. Many-a-times did her ball lead us straight to the cup!

Meghann...well she lost her balls lol. Yes, her yellow Sponge Bob ball got away from her. But that didn't stop her from enjoying her first time golfing with the big kids.

GO TEAM GIRLS!!! They Slaughtered the boys...

To end our first evening we started roasting marshmallows outside on the bbq pit, but once the sprinklers soaked us, we had to migrate inside to the gas stove.

Daniel was not happy.

On the 4th the troops went to see Transformers!!! (go autobots!) And we ended the night with a baseball game (go chukars!) and FIREWORKS!!!! They were probably the best fireworks ever, besides Disney :)

What better way to end the weekend than to all go to church and be there for Maya's baby blessing! We're stupid and didn't get a picture of baby Maya and the GORGEOUS blessing dress that grandma Tracy made (before Maya dumped her pants... and all over Rachel lol)

We're just glad we got to be there :)

HAPPY 4TH EVERYONE!

We hope that yours was family and friends filled just as ours was :)

Taste the Rainbow

2009-06-22T20:50:00.000-07:00

Ok, so here is our latest concoction! What begins as a simple box of Betty Crocker white cake mix turned into a brilliant bursting of colors right in our mouths!!!

STEP 1: white cake mix

STEP 2: TASTE THE RAINBOW

STEP 3: TA-DA!!!

Ok, so there are more than 3 steps so here it is....

Ingredients:
2 boxes white cake mix

24 oz of Sprite

gel food colouring

16 oz whipped topping

2 boxes instant fat-free sugar-free pudding mix

Cake:

Mix 2 boxes white cake mix with 24 oz of Sprite (no eggs, no oil, no water). Divide your cake mix into 6 cups or bowls and stir in gel food colours. Next, drop the colours, one by one, into the middle of the pan, in neat concentric-ish gobs. Do the reverse order of colors in the other pan.

To finish up follow the box’s baking instructions.

Topping:

Stir your 2 boxes of instant pudding with 2 tubs of cool whip. The frosting will be a little tough to spread so be sure the cake is completely cool before frosting. Also, I added a little milk because mine was REALLY thick.

This is what it's suppose to look like :)

I think we're gonna have to give it another couple trys before ours looks like that.

But anyway...ENJOY!!!

Swimmin' at Lava

2009-06-01T19:57:00.001-07:00

The day began getting to the pool a whole 40 mins before it even opened! Yes, we wanted a nice shady spot under the tree and we also wanted to beat the rush on the water slides. In the mean time Meghann found the perfect distraction for Jensen...PUPPIES! There was a lady in the parking lot who was selling toy poodles and we got the chance to play with them while Jensen clinged to one whispering, "puppies, puppies, puppies!"

Our day at the pool consisted of laying out, snacking, and cooling off in the water. Jensen's favorite game was definitely the "throw me as high as you can" game. She would not stop laughing! It was hilarious! Uncle Dan's and her Daddy's arms were tired by the end of day.

As we snacked while catchin some rays, Jensen was the cookie hoarder. Every time we turned around there she was running off with the bag of Chips A-hoy cookies!

Overall it was a great day! We got to be outside, enjoying the warm weather and be with family. To end the big day we went back to Nate and Camilles for yummy BBQ and watched the Orlando Magic sweep Cleveland off their feet!