Where were you?

Seven years ago. . .

It was a Tuesday. I was lying in my bed listening to the radio station, debating whether or not I wanted to go to class that day. All of a sudden the song cuts out and the morning show DJ says: "We just got a call from a listener that said an air plane has just crashed into the Word Trade Center. Please stay with us as we try to verify the details." I immediately shot up in bed and started thinking 'Oh my gosh! If there's any truth to it, it will be on CNN.'

I ran upstairs to our living room and turned on the TV. And there was the live footage. I couldn't believe my eyes. Smoke was coming from the North Tower. As I was struggling to make sense of what was going on, I saw the second airplane crash into the South Tower. I couldn't believe what I was seeing; I could feel the tears start to swell up.

My roommates are amazed at me being up and seeing me glued to the TV. I hear them asking me questions, but I ignore them hoping that they will just glance at the TV to see what's happening. I'm frozen, still trying to make sense of what I'm seeing. The next thing I see are the towers crashing and people running in fear. I'm no longer able to hold back the tears. Why is this happening? Who would do this? Why? Why?? Why???

After watching live footage for what seemed like forever, I finally peel myself away from the TV and head to campus. The feeling on the BYU-Idaho campus that day was one that I will never forget. It was so somber. As you walked on campus, it was so eerily quiet. No smiles. No laughter. You could feel there was a sense of loss that day. You knew that no matter our circumstances, we were all changed that day.

The President gave an address that night and I listened. He said that those these horrible acts may have shattered the steels of the those buildings, but "they cannot dent the steel of American resolve." We as a nation united that day. Policemen and Firefighters became super heroes. Young men made the decision to put their life on hold and rise to the special calling of defending the freedom of our nation. My freedom. Your freedom.

That week on campus it was homecoming. One of the last homecomings for the school but instead of celebrating with the big razzle dazzle it was filled with moments of silence and the singing of the song "(I'm proud to be an American) God Bless the USA." As we sang that song, it brought on a sense of pride, one that I had never felt before. The chorus of that song, took on a special meaning that week:

"And I'm proud to be an American,

where at least I know I'm free.

And I won't forget the men who died,

and gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up! next to you

and defend her still today.

'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land,

God bless the USA!"

I was changed that day. From that day forward, I cry every time our flag is raised and our National Anthem sung. I'm not going to stand here and say whether the war is a good thing or a bad thing, but all I know is that these men are defending my freedom. On this day, I would ask that we don't criticize our President's decision to send our men off to war, but that we stand beside them as they put their lives in danger to defend our very freedom and help rebuild a nation.

Labor (day) of Love!

Some may think that Labor Day is a time for rest, but not in the Ward Home. We spent our Labor Day weekend painting, and well it's about time.

A few months ago, I was checking out Craigslist (for reals, I heart it) and we came across a painting company that was giving away FREE paint. Nic and I were all over that. I was a little worried that we wouldn't find the colors that we wanted (for our baseboards, bathrooms, living room and family room) but we did. So, Saturday we started painting our mud room. Originally, it was going to stay our mud room and the cats' room but we decided to change it to our office. I've come to the realization that while I love having the downstairs completely for entertaining it has made me incredibly lazy! I hate hiking up the stairs to get to the office and then come ALL THE WAY down, so we moved it into the mud room and it totally works. So, here are some pics:

Monday afternoon instead of moving on to the next room we decided to hit the greenbelt for a bike ride. While riding, Nic informed me that he had NEVER been to the Boise Zoo, so we went and it was so much fun. It was nice just to walk around and get excited to see all the animals like some young little kid. The only downer was we kind'a had to decide which exhibits we wanted to see more than others because we only had like an hour until closing time, but none the less we had a jolly ol' time.

(Us taking a break at the zoo)


So, summer is gone. Bummer, I know. All is well. On to the fall season (AKA as football season) and just a few days before we take off to Oregon-heck yes baby!!!

It's the most wonderful time of the year

I'm sure most people associate that phrase with Christmas, but for me it can only mean one thing: Football season!!! And the boys (in blue) are back in town!

The team is a lot younger this year (prime example: there's only one returning player for the offensive line and all newbies on the defensive line-YIKES!!) and watching the game from the comfort of my own home I was a little nervous; I can't imagine what the tension felt like at the stadium. It took the boys a little time to find their groove and for the devoted fans of Boise State to have faith in their new (young and true freshman) QB Kellen Moore (he may be young, but the kid can throw) but eventually everything all worked out. Moore played a pretty good game and I think he won the confidence of the fans-which in BSU football is wwaaayy important (especially when they feel another player deserved the role of QB).

In true Bronco fashion, the final score was 49-7 (though we have totally slaughtered teams far worse then that). The most humorous part of the game was when ISU tried this play (you know, when we won the Fiesta Bowl) but they were denied by our d-line and met with boos that rang throughout the stadium. Did they really think the could pull it off, c'mon guys! You're playing with the big boys'! So, here's to a new football season that will be enjoyed from the comfort of our own home-thankfully, most of the games will be broad casted locally and a couple on ESPN-I may only miss one game. I'm still determined to make it to one home game-thank goodness for craigslist.

P.S. If you go HERE you can catch the video that they show on BroncoVision before kick-off. I don't know about you, but it sends chills down my spine! Heck yes baby!!!

Chicago a no go!!

Nic constantly reminds me that we always go to concerts that I want to go to (Black Eyed Peas-twice, Harry Connick Jr-totally dreamy, and Josh Groban)-even though I did endure Spamalot when it came to the Morrison Center. So, being the wonderful wife that I am I decided to check out the entertainment for this year's Western Idaho Fair and I hit the jack pot!!

Chicago was coming to the fair on August 20th, and while I was surprised that a band as popular as they are was coming to the fair I was still excited. Now Nic couldn't throw guilt trips at me; we were finally going to a concert that he would want to go see. Not to say that I hate Chicago, but I always joke with him by saying: "which city is this?" referring to a song by Boston or Chicago (which actually turns out to be a song by Journey).

So, yesterday Nic and I are excited for our date-night at the fair and to enjoy the wonderful smells (and tastes) of fair food (my personal favorites: corn dogs, cotton candy and elephant ears-YUMMY!!!) Traffic was jammed trying to get to the fair grounds. We finally make it in and find a parking space and begin the walk to the entrance to buy our tickets. As we're walking to the fair entrance by glancing around you could tell that a lot of couples were making this their date night (some a lot older than Nic and I). I can see those wonderful neon lights that say "tickets" as we are approaching and then to my right and left I notice there are two very LLLOOOOONNNGG lines waiting to buy tickets. I thought by the time we got in the show would have started already. We were directed to the proper line (as we did not have any children nor considered persons of the golden age) and began our wait.

While in line we found out that there was a power outage at the ticket windows and they were only accepting cash (good thing we stopped to get some) and only two of the four or five entrances were open. After waiting in line for like 10 minutes, the line started moving really fast. That got me way excited and I thought we would make it in. As we get closer to the ticket window, we were directed to another line (that was twice as long) because the one we were waiting in had run out of tickets. Still hopeful we starting walking towards the other line. The line just kept going and going and going, we looked at each other and said "Let's go home."

So, instead of a night filled with music, food, rides and fun. We had a nice quiet evening at home. Looks like I still owe Nic a concert of his choice. . .maybe I can turn him into a NKOTB fan before November 15th. I guess we will see.

Behold the greatness!!!

Yes, yes my friends are tickets are in!!! Autzen Stadium here we come!!!! September 20th is not coming soon enough.

We bought the tickets thru Stub Hub back in like February but after we made our purchase it told us that we could get the tickets as early as July 15th or as late as September 17th (THREE days before the game) AND if for someone the person does not purchase them then we would be refunded. Um, hello! Why would a person post them for sale if they don't have them or plan on getting them?????? When I saw that I went into a panic. . ."What if they don't get here in time? TJ is going to kill us." "What if the person we bought them decides NOT to buy them?" "What if he mails them too late???"

As soon as July came around, I was asking Nic (what seemed like every day) if he got the tickets yet (we had them delivered to his work because we didn't know where we would be). I've been so caught up in other things that when he told me that he got the tickets, I had to ask him 'what tickets?' But as soon as the words escaped out of mouth, I remembered. Gave a shout for joy and did my happy dance!!!



Will head out September 17th after we all get off work and enjoy two full days of the coast-I can smell the ocean air already!!!



I just want to give a special thanks to my wonderful husband for putting up with three CRAZY Boise State Fans and letting us go to the game to celebrate HIS birthday. You Rock Nicolas Ryan!!!

The type of parents we want to be

I'm an avid reality TV junkie! I love it. I love watching other people's drama unfold before my eyes and being able to say "I can't believe they did that." Nic hates it, he'll get up on leave the room if he see that one of my "stupid shows" is about to come on. My new obsession: The Baby Borrowers. The premises is five teen-age couples who think they're ready to have kids get to experience parenthood at rapid speed. They get to look after infants, toddlers, pre-teens, teen-agers and the elderly. It's been interesting to see these teens be parents. Some have rose to the occasion and been very responsible and you can tell their relationship (as boyfriend/girlfriend) is strong. Others have failed miserably. Last night's episode was one that really caught my attention.

Last night, the teens were parents to teen-agers (some who were just a few years younger than their "parents"). Some of the teen-agers came to raise heck but were quickly put in their place by their new mom and dad. One couple however, was letting their personal relationship get in the way of raising their kid. Daton and Morgan had a rocky past coming into this, but with their teen-ager residing in their home, everything came out and Daton ended up leaving the show. While they were arguing and yelling at eachother their teen-ager thought it best to go outside and escape the yelling. The cameras then focus on him as he is expressing his feelings about their arguing. This is what he said "They're just in there yelling at each other. That's what my parents did before they got divorced. I mean, they got divorced when I was six years-old but I can still remember them yelling at each other. I just didn't want to be around that" That last part broke my heart.

This teen-ager is now 15 years old, and he still remembers the yelling his parents did NINE YEARS AGO, and obviously he is still sensitive to it. How emotionally and traumatic that must have been for him at such a young age. Not knowing why his parents are fighting and wondering if he's the cause of their arguments.

After the show I shared with Nic the recollection of this teen-ager and I started crying (I know, I know, I'm a big baby). I told him that I never want to have yelling or arguing in our house. Things like that take such an emotional toll on children, to me that 15 year old is proof. Yelling I think also instills fear and I don't want our household to be one of fear. I'm not saying we will never discipline our children, but I never want to talk to them in an angry tone. Anytime I sense someone becoming upset and they start yelling, it sends a chill up my spine. I hate it. I also never want to discipline our children by spanking (with hand or a belt), I again feel that this creates a sense of fear. Some may argue that there will be some occasions where spanking is necessary, but I refuse to do that. Spanking to me is motivated by anger and I feel that if you are disciplining your children it shouldn't come from an angry place.

Yes, I know that Nic and I don't have kids right now so it's easier to say this and "just wait until you have kids" but we both feel that there is a better way to discipline children and this is the road that we are taking.

If you need a good laugh. . .

then go here. It's a blog that's written by my friends from home Cami and Tim. Tim is going through medical school right now and occasionally he writes about his experiences. There's the one about his VA rotation, or working at the prison, and the one about beginning his OB-GYN rotation. I find his stories absolutely hilarious; maybe it's because I know him and I can picture him doing all these things and his facial expressions-who knows. Either way, I think they are worth checking out.

Adios my peeps!