Sunsets from Our 5th story balcony

Nov. 9th...
Nov. 1st... Tonights sunset... (Oct 30, 2008)... Oct 28, 2008...(photo's taken with my cell phone)

Journey's with Bubby...

I Love Ashton!! (We ALL Do!!) He's SOOO CUTE!!!...I love listenin' to him jabber and watchin' him Crawl/stand/dance...etc...I just love to watch him...He is a Smart little guy!!...I LOVE his little hop-jumpstart at the beginning... ;-)
He Loves to stand, Sheila said that sometimes he'll just stand there and wiggle like he's dancing!...
...Check it out, it's Spanky's twin!!!...Only Cuter!!! ;-)

See you later Bubby!! ;-) ...Love You! :-)

...Bubby finally decided that it was much funner and faster to walk rather than crawl...even though he crawl very fast! I love how he "woddles" with his arms out in front of him...lol makes me think of a zombie or something...SO FUN!!

Hangin' out in Portsmouth Oct 24th, 2008

Daniel got out of classes early friday, so we went and hung out with Dad...





Two of my most favorite guys!!...Good-Lookin' 1 and Good-Lookin' 2!!...If you're wonderin' which one is 1 and which one is 2, if you ask me you'll get a different answer than if you ask mom, and now if that doesn't confuse you, I don't know what will lol ;-)Daddy Bear talkin' to Mom via his cell phone while we were on the Ferry...I love ships!.. and they're all over the place here...it's Gr8 being a Navy Wife! heehee...Places to go, Things to do, more friends to make and tons of pictures to take!!!...
Here's MY Love, Daniel and I on the Ferry...

...We took the Ferry over to Norfolk to watch a movie...We watched "Eagle Eye"-Intense but good. After the movie, we stopped and took a pic of Dad infront of a fancy house boat!...While Dr. Suess may have written "Green Eggs and Ham," I will be takin' pictures from around Green and Effingham!...For Dr. & Mrs. Vess We Am, and not so very far from base are we, so many ships and things to do there be! Gonna love this place and the friends we meet, for there's plenty to do and it's all so neat!!! ;-)

Monkey In The Mood

This is the suprise that Daniel had for me...isn't she cute!?!?!?! Not only do I Love monkeys, but this is also one of my fav. songs too!!!...

Journey through Oct 20th-23rd, 2008

After Matt's baptism on October 20th (his Birthday!), we got this silly family photo...I'm SOOO Proud of Matthew and his choice to be baptised! He is a sweet heart and set a good example for all of us!! I LOVE YOU MATT!! Good job buddy!! ;-) I LOVE MY WHOLE FAMILY!! ..They are THE BEST!! ...If only My Love, Daniel could have been there with us...but that's ok...He was where he needed to be ;-) I Love YOU Daniel, Meu Amor!! Sempre Fica Sorrindo! ...At 6:00 am the next day, Dad and I headed out...(Left Blanding and headed to Virginia)...On the way, We had the opportunity to stop in Texas and meet up with my Aunt and Cousin that I haven't seen for over a decade...literally!!Aunt Dianne, Uncle Skeet and Aunt Dianne's Sweet FORD Truck!!!...This is my Cousin Nikki...she has always been beautiful...inside and out! ...I really enjoyed seeing her again!! It was a blast hanging out with these guys...we spent 5 hrs there! :-) My Cousin Cody met us there too, but I didn't get a pic of him :-( ...he's cool!!

We stopped in Oklahoma at a rest area and while we were there we ran into a nice couple and had a fun little visit...it was great, because they misunderstood me when I said that we were headed to Virginia because that's were my husband is stationed in the Navy and we just got an apartment there...The woman looked at my Dad and asked him where he was stationed...lol, when I told her that he was my dad, the husband said, "oh, well you don't look like you are..."A couple of the goofiest named places that we went through were "Frog Suck, Arkansas," and "Lottawatta"...and it did have "a lot of water!!"...This next pic is the bridge we crossed over into Tennesse... Dad & I Stopped at a few different rest areas along the way, this was one of the nicest...lots of trees...saw the BIGGEST Daddy Long-Leg that I've ever seen!!...
...this is what the road looked like through this side of the trip!! (gettin' closer to Virginia)
...To see Daniel's reaction when he saw me, go to Our blog http://dlvess.blogspot.com/ and click on "4 Days Early and an Unsuspected Suprise," and "4 Days Early..., cont."

4 Days Early and an Unexpected Surprise...

A Journey of Warm Memories and Freshly Baked Bread...

I LOVE this photo of Granny, Daniel and I!! ...Two of some of my most favorite people...but what can I say??...I LOVE FAMILY!! ...and I have ALWAYS looked up to Granny...She has always been one of the most important people to me growing up...I always wanted (and still do) to be Just Like Granny when I grow up!!! Not only is she Beautiful, she is a wonderful example of living life the way the Lord would have us live it! She has a beautiful spirit and Everyone loves Granny!! ...and that Daniel...my Dearest Darling Daniel...He's well, simply the most amazing Man in my life!!...well, other than my Daddy Bear & Grandpa that is...!!! ;-) I remember when I was just knee-high, I spent alot of time hanging out at Granny and Grandpa's!! Most of my childhood memories are in or around Granny's kitchen...Sitting on the sideboard helping sift the flour into a big mixing bowl, dippin' my lil' fingers in the dough to taste it...then watchin' Gran' carefully put the bread in the oven...THEN after the timer finally went off, we had FRESH-OUTTA THE OVEN-GRANNY's BREAD!!! UMMM...SOOO YUMMY!!!
Granny and Grandpa are definately TWO Wonderful and amazing Treasures in ALL Our lives!! ...LOVE YOU GRANNY AND GRANDPA!!!!! Thank you Grandpa for playing the Guitar/Singing with us and Thank you Granny for all your Many Loaves of The Worlds #1 Bread on this planet!!! Thank you both for All the Fun Stories/Memories Shared of the Good Ol' days!!...and most of all, Thank you for YOU and ALL YOU DO!!~Thank you for Your Examples, Stories and All the Fun/sweet Memories!!

Journey of the Chocolate Ice Cream Cone

A delightful memory of times and adventures through guitar and Grandpa's grand voice! I LOVE listenin' to Grandpa!! ...In more than one way...Grandpa is not only good with the Guitar and singing, he is an amazing speaker and a fun person to listen to when he tells stories of "The Good ol' days..." I LOVE YOU GRANDPA!!!

The Beginning of a Real-Life Fairy Tale...

It all began when Daniel's family moved here (to Blanding, UT) from Mesa, AZ while he was serving a full-time Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the Campinas, Brasil (Brazil) Area...

Daniel's sister Janett was in my class at school and we quickly become good friends...I eventually met and became friends with the rest of the family that was living here, and when Daniel got home in October of 2004, Janett introduced me to him...

When we shook hands, I had a feeling go through my whole body and I knew at that time that I was going to be with him someday, but I knew that if I said anything about it to people that they would think I was crazy or something, so I left it alone...

As the months went by, Daniel and I's friendship grew closer together. While he was here (in Blanding), he worked at the Nursing Home and had joined the Fire Dept...Mom said that it was really funny the first time thast he came to pick me up for a date, because he didn't realize that my Dad and The Fire Cheif are One and the Same!...SO, when my dad answered the door, Daniel looked up and said, "Hi Chief Hawkins..." LOL it was funny!!

About 5 or 6 months after he got home, he moved out to Georgia to go to Med. School while he worked a couple jobs., and everytime he came home to Blanding to visit his family and friends, they always invited me over...So I spent most of the time with him and his family everytime that he came!

When Daniel came down in May 2007, He invited me to go shooting with him and his family, so George (his Dad), Daniel, Daniel's niece & nephews and I went out to the Shooting range...We had a tonka truck set up on top of a tire, I didn't know if I'd be able to hit the truck so I aimed just a little lower...I hit the tire just right and knocked the truck off it!! :-)

Daniel has a Good aim!...

After we left the Shooting range, we drove up the Mountain by way of turning just before Devil's Canyon...it was a beautiful site and fun to hangout!...During his visit, we also went Repelling out by Jail House Rock with the YSA (Young Single Adult group)-it was a 4 Stake Activity with both Blanding Stakes, Monticello and Moab. Daniel also came with me to The Bi-Stake clean up at the Pavillion at the Blue Mountain Guest Ranch!...

The next time Daniel came to visit was during the first week of December 2007...This time, when Daniel rolled into town (around 10:30 pm), he called to tell me that he made it to town and told me that if I wanted to do something, I could go pick him up...Lol, I was hanging out at Michelle Stringham's house at that time, and when I asked her if she wanted to go do something with Daniel and told her what he had said, both Michelle and Her mom said, "Lacey, if a guy calls you first thing when he gets to town and asks you if you want to do something, You go!...So go have some fun!!" ...and of course I did!! ...and I was glad I did too!! Because, the very next day when we went to my parents house to watch a movie, as I went to sit down from starting the movie, Daniel quickly slid his arm behind me and rested it on my shoulder!...heehee...we cuddled alot while he was here in town, and so I thought that he might actually ask me to be his girlfriend...but he didn't...So I kept waiting...Here's a picture of us playing cards at Jon and Colleen's place (his youngest sister)...After the card game ended, we decided to just hangout and watch the kids play games...this was taken just before we started holding hands...(for the very first time!) :-)...And here's the two of us cuddled up for a movie at Matt & 'Raina's house (His older sister)...

FEB.2008-For Valentines Day I sent Daniel a goodie basket that had a hot pad, hot tamales and some other candie in it, along with a poem that I wrote for him, basically telling him that I cared about him and that I wanted to be with him. He thanked me (in a text) as soon as he got the package and told me that "it has given him alot to think about..."

Later in that same month, I went out to St.Louis for a Leadership Conference, and since Daniel was in St. Louis also...(Visiting his brother David and his family), he came and picked me up and we were headed back to his brothers place to be introduced, but shortly after leaving, my dad called to tell us that we were supposed to be at the Conference at a sooner time than we thought, so Daniel and I stopped and grabbed some lunch from the nearest deli and headed back to the motel that I was staying at...(we spent the total of an hour together that time)...But he was on his way to Blanding, so we saw each other again a few days later ...he arrived in Blanding on the 28th (Janett's birthday!), and we spent that evening at a party for Janett...

THEN...on the 29th of Feb., (2008) as Daniel and I were driving back to his sister's place, after grabbing something for lunch, He asked me if I "still wanted to give us a try?" ...To which I told him that I did, so we became an "offical couple!" ...We saw each other for about 3 more days, then he had to leave because he was supposed to report for Basic Training on the 10th of March and he had to stop in Arizona for a few days before he went to Georgia to get his stuff...When he got out to Georgia, he found out that they (the Navy) had delayed his time for Basic, so he spent 3 weeks in Georgia just chillin'...until April 1st when he actually entered Basic Training. During the 3 weeks, we spent alot of time texing and talkin' on the phone...then once he started Basic Training he couldn't have his Cell phone, so I waited to hear from him...and on the 2nd week of Basic, I recieved my first letter!! From then on, until Basic Training Graduation, we wrote each other every week!!

On May 22nd, my parents and I flew into Great Lakes, IL, picked up our 2008 Ford Mustang (that only had 400 miles on it when we got it) and went to the Motel...

The next day, May 23rd, we went to Daniel's Basic Training Graduation...It was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen!!...I'll give you a hint: He's wearing a white uniform, dark blue neck tie, white hat and is standing in formation...j/k ;-) He's the one directly behind the white flag that has red on it...

After Graduation, Mom, Dad, Daniel & I went to the motel that we were staying at and watched "Alvin and the Chipmunks..." afterwhich, mom and dad were busy talkin' to someone on teh phone and workin' on some stuff on the computer while Daniel and I were cuddled up talkin'...

Daniel was talkin' about "this and that," and all the different places that we could possibly go to with the Navy after we were married, when he stopped and said, "I guess I should ask you formaly though..."

"Ask me what?" I responded (With a pretty good idea in my mind...)

"Will You Marry Me?" He Asked!!!

"Heck yeah, YES I will!!!" I quickly answered in an excited/hushed voice. Then we hugged/kissed eachother and continued cuddling...

He then told me that, "That wasn't how I had planned on doing it!...I was going to get the ring, ask your dad, then ask you...but I just couldn't wait anymore!! I actually wanted to make a ring out of a twisty-tie, but I didn't have one!"

"Really? That's funny because ever since I was little, I always thought that it would be cool if someone proposed to me with a twisty-tie ring!!" I replied, "Hey, I think my mom actually has one..."

"Hey Barb, do you have a twisty-tie?" Daniel then asked my mom.

"I do! It's right here, would you like it?" Mom replied, then handed it to Daniel. (She knew right away what it was for, since I had told her when I was little, that I wanted someone to propose with one!)...After that, he made my Engagement ring, and since it was green, we decided that it was a Ruby ring!!... We had to leave a few minutes later to get him back to base...He was just a little happy don't you think??!?!!?!?......The next morning when we met Daniel at the Base, we went to the NEX (Navy Exchange) and picked out my ring...

After we picked out the ring, we went to The Gurnee Mills Mall to hang out and get my ring re-sized...While we were there, we found a hall of mirrors, so we stopped to get our "Eternal Perspective" pictures...
We all had a blast hangin' out at the Mall!!...It was fun because everyone in awhile, someone would stop and ask us when we got engaged...it was fun to see the different reactions!!

We watched "The Chronicles of Narnia-Prince Caspian," in the Theatre there at the Mall, then we as were were leaving, we went through the "Outdoor Store" and took some pictures while we were in there...

When we got outside, we found a "Gazeebo," and decided to take pictures in it too...since we were going to use them for our Announcements!...Mom took our pictures, she did a good job too!!...

That evening we had to drop him off on Base around 7:30 pm because he had to be in early that night...The next time we saw each other was around 7:40 am the morning of the wedding!!..You can read that blog if you would like to see how the wedding day went...it's gr8! The blog is called, "From Here To Eternity...September 20th, 2008 " ...Hope you enjoy it as we surely did!

Journey to "The Birthing Site"...(Today)

I had the opportunity to go with Grandpa Hawkins, Uncle Clark, Auntie Ann, Cousin Billy and Bella (The cute little black dog) to The Birthing Site....on the way there we stopped and got pictures of The Valley of the Gods (behind me in this pic...) Auntie Ann and I had a blast posing for pics along the way...Isn't she cute!?!?!!
Grandpa and Billy lead the way down into the very narrow "hall" between the rocks...
Uncle Clark and I both set our cameras up with the timer for this one...lol...so we both got the sides..."Read, Set, GO!!...."
" Following the leader...wherever he may go..."
...I was the "caboose..." ...I kept stopping to get pictures of the beauty around me....like the scenery behind me...

Auntie Ann and I love hangin' out!!...We're a silly pair!!...Ann caught me crawlin' out of hole in the rocks behind me......"Awe...." ta da...lol Auntie Ann is silly and fun!!...Uncle Indi'...?...j/k lol, Hi Uncle Clark!!...nice hat and shades!!
I See You!!.... HI Auntie Ann!!! :-DBella had fun taggin' along...She'd run up ahead then drop to the back again...HI "Bells..."...This was the first petroglyph that we saw...It was up high on the rock! (I stood on a rock and zoomed in on it...)...This one was slightly lower and to the left of it......and this one was in the corner between "The Birth" and the first two pics that we saw...It looks like there's a Spirit, flag and two other "people"...
Starting in the bottom left corner of this photo, there's what looks like a trail marked by little horse prints...According to what Grandpa was told, "when you see something like that, it represents the good on one side and the bad on the other..."...and in this photo, you can see a circle that has a tail behind it, that represents a star...the figure under the star (the big one that has two things stickin' out of the head) represents an unmarried woman, and she is having a baby...next to it on the left, you can see a Couple that looks like they're dancing...they represent a married couple...This is the only place on the earth, that we know of, where it shows this...and it is said to be "depicting the birth of Christ..."this set of petroglyphs is at the end of the star tail as you can see...These are between the "Birthing" petroglyphs and the ones in the corner... Lunch at the site...
Looking down at the petroglyphs from up on top of the cliff...I was laying on the edge...lol...scary...Can't see them clearly, but this is the wall with the Birthing Pannel on it...closer to the bottom.