Mimi's 1st Art Show -SLC Oct. 10th, 2008

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On Oct. 10th, 2008, Me, Beckster, and Mimi flew up to Salt Lake City, Ut., for my buddy Jon Baker's 1st exclusive showing of his work, at the Momentum Cafe. Jon is not only one of my bestest hommies, he is also a very capable,


up and coming Low-Brow artist. As you can see from his work, it will trip you out (with or without ingesting additional chemicals/stimulants)!!! Needless to say, we had a blast! We ran into the Chris, Beth, and Baby Sophia (Don't mess with me, my Daddy's a lawyer and will Sue your butt), Jones Family


(C., is my hommie, and whether he admits it or not one of my best friends), The Holly and Quinton "I'm going to Austraila in a month" McKell's,


and the possibly Soon to be Dave and Allie Allen Family (Ooh Hoo Hoo)!!!?! It was cool, the Momentum Cafe, (where the show was held), is inside of REI- and therein one could find an indoor rock climbing gym, with coffee shop babes serving raspberry hot chocolate (heaven) and everything!! Also featured that evening was a band - we were hoping they would be a screamo band influenced by devo and metallica (for mocking/comedy/entertainment purposes), but we had no such luck...they were actually a good band!! Before the show, Me, Becks and Mia went to Temple Square and met some


sweet sisters from Philippines, and New Zealand, and we took a tour of the Conference Center...maybe our little Mimi will go on a mission someday!!
We also got to stop in to see Robster and Kaelene family, sans Bobby Boy, but we saw all of the nieces and nephews, so that was cool.

One thing that we will have to say, is that although we had fun in Utah, we felt this eerie vibe there (not cool), and we were very irritated with all of the greedy drivers, I mean, that place spooked us out! Needless to say, we were glad to be the heck out of that state and proud to be living in AZ!! Does anyone out there know what I'm talking about? I don't mean to offend anyone from Utah, but if I did... (I'm actually not really too worried about it, because there isn't anyone from Utah that can kick my butt).

We love you all,

Love, Dave, Beck, and Mimi

p.s. The first painting of the guy and the girl, is a painting that Jon made for us as our wedding present. Thanks Jon!!! We love you...and keep killing it, bro!!! xoxo-Dave, Becky, and Baby Mia

Angela Made it to Med-School!! -Tulane, Look Out!!

You go girl!! The Tulane School of Medicine is about to get schooled!! Angela is my O-chem partner in crime, and close friend, and she has the coolest family!! There are many a fond memory with the Filhart Family and Mitchell Family Holiday Get-togethers! We Love You All!!! Give 'em Heck, Angela!!! Dave, Becky, and Baby Mia, and all of the Filhart's send you our Love, Luck, Good Vibes, and Kisses!!! xoxo ;)

Two Roads

With 12 weeks to go until Dave takes the MCAT, we can now register for the test. Dave gets major anxiety with this whole thing, so he comes and plops down on the couch tonight after I put Mia to bed and sighs a big sigh. I look over at him and he says "Well this is it. This is the deciding factor. I'll either be playing golf with the Senator or hanging at the bowling alley on Friday nights. " I am completely confused as I am sitting looking at my disgusting outfit that is covered in Mia-ness (i.e. rice crackers, baby food, slobber, and who knows what else) thinking "Oh crap, he's been talking for a long time and I had no idea he was even in here. I'm exhausted." I then ask him what the heck he's talking about and he mentions the MCAT and how our lives will hopefully be changing in the next few years. I just thought it was so adorable how his mind works and how he expresses himself. I feel so lucky to married to a great guy that is fun, lively, and tries to make me smile and laugh everyday. I love you sweetie, you're going to do AMAZING on the test!!! I know you can do it!

Love it

As many of you know, we are the poor not-so-newlyweds trying to make it. While Dave is studying for the MCAT, we are just trying to make our dollars stretch until we can move onto bigger and better things in life. So I caught the garage sale fever with my cousin Becca this weekend, and let me tell you...you can be DIRT POOR and still live very nice...if you are willing to be creative, patient, and diligent in your bargain hunting. We went out to some community garage sales in very affluent areas of town this past Saturday (thanks to Daddy watching Mia until noon so that I could go...isn't he the BEST!!!??!!!). Here's the proof that for almost nothing, you can really get something!
Babytrend jogger stroller (barely used, WITH swivel front wheel) $15
Kolcraft Umbrella Stroller $3
Leap Frog Learning Drum $.50
Playschool Bus $1.00
Six Drawer Wood Dresser w/ new Hardware $15 (I will have to restain it)
8 Brand New gorgeous outfits for Mimi $5

So I paid less than $40 for all of this!! I did some research and found that I would have paid somewhere in the area of $500-$600 (With $300 for the dresser alone)!!! AND I am selling my old washer and dryer for $50, so it looks like I'll have $10 left over to spend on the next sale.
LESSON? You can be dirt poor, and still be very happy (with a GORGEOUS daughter and HOT husband) with a beautiful cozy home...while still living within your means. Love it!
(p.s. Thanks Becca for letting me tag along for shopping! You and your momma are the queens!!)

Get Inspired

So this morning I got serious. Real serious. I committed to run this freaking 1/2 marathon in February, and let me tell you...I am not cut out for this stuff. Imagine a chubby almost 30 year old girl trying to be an athlete when she just had a kid, and yes still LOOKS like she just had a kid for crying out loud, even though Mia is already 7 months old. (Yeah, I know J Lo. just did a triathlon and she had TWINS the same time I had Mia, so what). So Dave agreed to be supportive and do some of the workout/eating with me. Soooo we got up early this morning and went to hike A Mountain.
The weather switch finally flipped here, so the morning was gorgeous and it felt great to be out. We started up the mountain with me in the front and Dave carrying little Mimi in the bjorn. We started passing a bunch of ASU athletes running down the mountain and I immediately start thinking, yeah, that will never be me, uuuggghhh! Then we pass another group of athletes, and I catch a glimpse of one actually wearing a shirt...but he had his tighty blackies on. (Yes, like tighty whities, but they were black). Who knows, maybe the poor guy got up late and didn't want to get in trouble for being 3 seconds late for putting on a pair of shorts. So I forge ahead and about 1 minute later I see a guy with one leg and crutches coming down the mountain. It was actually Anthony Robles from the ASU Wrestling team.













He was so nice, and Dave stopped to talk to him for a minute. Dave knew him from Golden's Gym back in the day. He is totally inspiring. He can finish a mile in 8 minutes (with a goal to get it under 6 minutes), was undefeated in high school at Mesa High for wrestling, and he currently gives guys a run for their money in the college wrestling circuit. I included a link with some stories on him...he totally motivated me and heck...it's only 13 miles for the 1/2 marathon...I can do it!

Check him out at http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=3159645

SPEARHEAD!!!

For Dave's birthday we went to Sedona and Flagstaff last weekend. Although we didn't run into McCain or Palin rehearsing for upcoming debates, it was still worth the trip. He said it was one of his life goals to see Michael Franti and Spearhead in concert. We saw him in Vegas at a Reggae Festival two summers ago, so I don't know why this is still a life goal of his, but oh well. So in true Dave fashion, we had to make a whole trip of it. Wes, Mary and the boys joined us in Sedona (where Dave hooked up a $400/night condo for $75!!!!) for a couple of nights, then we all went to Flagstaff for the concert. It was so much fun, awesome weather, and the kids were all troopers. The concert was fantastic with tons of kids and families, and hippies of course. Power to the peaceful...

Just for fun

Here are a few recent pics of our Mia just goofing around the house.

Our little one is growin' up

The middle of August brought a huge surprise...teeth! We were at church and Dave was watching Mia during Sunday School. The second counselor came over and looked at Mia and said "My, teeth already?" Of course Dave replied.."No, not yet, she's only 5 months old." However, upon further investigation, yep...there were two little teeth coming up right behind her bottom gums. Yikes. These are the best shots I could get. You might have to look close. Needless to say, nursing hasn't been the same. Let's just say that Mia and her mom are really learning to communicate these days.

Mia and her Ninja Moves

Okay...I know. I've been a bad blogger. I can tell you plenty of excuses, but I'll save it and just update for now and call it good.
Here's Mia with her cousin Katy and friend Ty in Texas. I think she got her fighting talent from her Dad. Just wish I would have caught this on video.

Blast from the past!!

My homegirl Holly emailed me this one from back in the day when I used to time-travel, ...this one is from back in '78

Just to make your day

Ahhh. There are so many joys of marriage. We'll just name this one for now. So the other day I was cleaning and sorting around the house and I hear Dave in the other room going "Hhealow. Haloo. Heelluo." (Or something to that effect). I stop in the doorway expecting to see him on the phone with someone, but he's just sitting on the couch in the family room with not even the t.v. on. So I ask him what he's doing and he says "I'm practicing my new way of answering the phone." Hum. (For those of you who've called in the last week or so, you know what I'm talking about). I asked him why and he said, "Oh just to make people smile I guess." Oh the effort...

Come on, Mia

So every new parent feels the pain of sleep deprivation. You never know when you're going to get it...and you definitely DON'T get it when you want it. So Mia has determined her own schedule-and what Mia wants, Mia gets. (For now anyway). So she likes to sleep in...big time. Usually at least until 9:oo or 10:00, and sometimes until 11:00. Now this is frustrating for a few reasons.
1. She likes to wake up for a early morning snack way before I'm ready to get up, so I just pull her into bed with us and coax her back to sleep while she nurses. She usually goofs around, talks, babbles, and razzes (that wet hissing noise). She will then proceed to hit, bump, and kick me as I'm trying desperately to get a few more seconds of sleep in. Mia-1 Mommy-0
2. Right around the time I finally give up on anymore sleep and start to wake up and get going with the day, she inevitably decides to fall back asleep. Mia-2 Mommy-0
3. Now I'm lying awake in bed with Dave snoring and Mia pressed right up against me passed out. The room is blazing hot (our bedroom is on the East side of the house) and I'm annoyed. Mia (and Dave for that matter)-3 Mommy-still 0
4. I am now up and going, but several of my friends like to do stuff in the morning...but when I wake Mia up to go and meet up, she usually doesn't take a nap. So do I go have fun and sacrifice any time to get stuff done around my house, or just let her sleep? Mia-4 Mommy-0
Who's in charge around here?

Nana Schoen and Little Mia in Texas

Strike a Pose

Swimming!

Mia dressed up in her first brand new cherry bathing suit to dive into (not really) the pool! We made sure to take her during the shady time for her little skin, but she loved it! We couldn't believe how much she liked it because she usually screams during bath time. The dogs (Blitzer and Shamoo) were especially glad that she is now joining the family swim time!

First Father's Day!

Dave is the ultimate daddy. From serenading Mia with his music when she's happy or sad to taking the colicky shift so I can get a break, Mia and I couldn't ask for a better dad in our family. We love you! (Mia was really happy it was Father's Day despite her behavior in the pic!:))

Dave and Becky's 1st Anniversary, Portland, Oregon, June 7-10, 2008 (with Baby Mia to tote).

Well, it's been a heck of a year!!! We made it!! We have had tons of fun, some of it in the form of a new baby (Mia), and we look forward to many more good times and good years, transitioning throughout Eternity.
We spent our first anniversary in Portland, Oregon (much different than Mazatlan, where we honeymooned). It was sooo beautiful up there! We had a blast, and the temperature was nice.
I love you Becky, and Mia!!! We had a little house boat type thing on the Columbia River and ate some awesome food. We went up to the Gorge and the Damn, and went downtown, and we fished from our boat house. It was a BLAST!!!
Here's to my babies (Becky and Mia)!!!
Mucho love, Dave, Becky, and Baby Mia.

p.s. more pics at http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=227044998/a=93334065_93334065/t_=93334065

Branson, Missouri - May 27-29, 2008

We went to Branson, Missouri to visit our beloved Christen, where she is a nanny for none other than The Dutton's (the Dutton's are like a poor man's Osmond's). It was good fun as we surprised her (she didn't even know we were coming. We were amazed at how beautiful the Ozarks are, and we even got to fly into the Joplin Regional Airport on a 19 seater!! It was good fun, only wished we could've fished the river and lakes up there!!!
mucho love,
Dave, Becky, and Baby Mia

Mia's Blessing

Sunday, June 1 was a very special day! Mia was blessed at church by her Dad. We had family and special friends over to our home for a visit and it was definitely a day that has us both smiling still.