This is MY American Idol!!!

Greg and I had the incredible opportunity of traveling to Utah this weekend for Greg to perform in Rob Gardner's "Joseph Smith the Prophet" at the Tabernacle on Temple Sqaure. It was an amazing weekend. President Monson and President Uchtdorf came to the show on Friday night and Elder Nelson came to the show on Saturday night. Not a bad group of audience members, huh? For those of you that have never heard Greg sing (or for those of you that have!)... this video is a clip from the dress rehearsal. I apologize for the "Blair Witch" style video taping. I had little wiggle worm Emma on my lap.

More stories and pictures of our Utah trip to come. I know you will all be anxiously awaiting...

Just me and my G-string...

WELL... I had to get you reading my blog somehow! tee hee hee

Only slightly less interesting, this blog is about the G-String on my violin. Never had much use for the other G-strings. :)


We had our very last Tempe Symphony Concert for this season on Monday evening. I am very sad to say that we take the summers off and will not resume rehearsals and concerts until September. I started playing the violin when I was 3 years old. I promised myself as a teenager that I would not let my violin grow dusty as I grew older. I played in the BYU orchestra as a freshman (1996/1997) and have not played in an orchestra since. When I heard about the Tempe Symphony auditions last summer, I knew this was my chance to resume my playing and keep my teenage promise. I practiced all summer long for the auditions and was thrilled when they accepted my stiff fingers and aged skills into the orchestra. I have had a wonderful time playing my instrument again and it has been more fulfilling than I ever could have imagined. Thank you to my mom who forced me to practice for 15 years and my dad who paid for 15 years of lessons. Thank you to Greg for spending "Daddy Daughter" time every Monday evening so that I can attend rehearsals.

Here is the NEW Tempe Arts Center where we perform. Looks like a space ship just landed on the lake, huh? It is very nice inside and the orchestra is so lucky to call this home!
On another note, I think my daughter has turned into a Gremlin. I covered her bedroom windows with posterboard and aluminum foil (classy, not trashy) and now our sleeping beauty is not waking up as early in the morning and takes MUCH better naps.

Ponderisms of Tam Bam

WHY do punk kinds have to get their kicks out of keying "F*** You" into the back of my husband's new car?
WHY does Emma hate tummy time so much? Is it because her cheeks easily weigh 5 pounds each and she just can't get her head off the ground? Here she is with Abby Garrett who is one month YOUNGER than Emma.

Why is polygamy (polyandry in Emma's case) and prearranged marriage so wrong? There are plenty of eligible young men that I would like Emma to marry. How can she possibly choose between them all? Here she is with the handsome Beck Davis. Love, twoo love.

Why do we have to use car seats in HOT HOT HOT Arizona? They burn my baby everytime we get into the car! I think from now on, I'll travel Britney style.

(BTW - Any Arizona moms have a solution for this?)

Why isn't the cellulite on my butt cute?

Why do the writers for "LOST" take longer than the other television show writers? I'm really needing a fix here people, and waiting another week is not going to cut it.

Why are we so blessed to have wonderful friends that we met in Provo and then magically appeared in Arizona? Life is full of fantastic relationships, isn't it? Here are Jen and Matt Garrett with their new baby Abigail and Jabba the Hut, errrr.... I mean Emma.

Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat? (Thanks Tamee for your ponderisms that helped me with this one!)

Why are my husband and baby SO DANG CUTE??

Why did Emma laugh for me last week and now is unwilling to repeat it?

A Few of My Favorite Things...

I thought I would dedicate this post to a few of my favorite baby items. I'm hoping in return you will suggest some of your favorite items and everyone can WIN!This item has been a GOD SEND (thank you Gina!) for Emma's sleeping. It sings her to sleep for all of her naps and bedtime. It plays calming ocean waves and the darling little fish swims around. Emma absolutely loves it and it has made nap time and bed time a CINCH. It is sold at WalMart and Target and Babies R Us.
This is my baby carrier that I use. Called the Moby Wrap. It is super duper comfortable and Emma LOVES it. She frequently falls asleep in it when I am carrying her around. It is especially nice at restaurants when I need both hands to eat and she wants to be held. The downside is that she gets all kinds of yummy food stuck in her hair while I am eating. oops. It is only $30-40 and can be found at http://www.mobywrap.com/
This is "My Brest Friend". Greg gets jealous of the name, but I have loved it for breast feeding. The best part is that it supports my back (which is very sore from lugging Emma around). It clips around you so you can have it as high or low on your waist as you want. It can be found online or at Babies R Us.

HALELUJAH!!! Thank you to everyone who suggested I try these bottles. I don't know what it is about them, but Emma has started taking a bottle from them!!! Frankly, I don't really care if the manufacturers lace the nipples with cocaine... as long as Emma is enjoying them I am GREAT. We got to enjoy our first real date last weekend and she was an angel for my sister. Thanks Laura for babysitting! And thank you Emma for taking a bottle!

WHAT ARE A FEW OF YOUR FAVORITE PRODUCTS??

Mommy and Me

Here's a comparison of my wedding dress and Emma's blessing dress.

Made out of the same material. Pretty close huh? If Emma had a neck at all, you could see the neck line, but hers is covered by her darling double chin. :)
I am generally the one BEHIND the camera... but with my family in town, we got some cute shots of the two of us. Here we are loungin' on Aunt Laura's bed.
Here we are at Uncle Glen's 12th Birthday Party. Every party has a pooper that's why we invited Emma... party pooper... Emma Adams.

A Week of Blessings

This was a wonderful week! My whole family came to Arizona for Emma's baby blessing. We had such a great time and I am so grateful that they all made the sacrifice and effort to be here. Emma is pictured here with her Uncle Glen (12 years old). Glen was such an excellent help with Emma that I have now decided to have my children 12 years apart. :) Thanks Glen!!
Here Emma is pictured with her Uncle John (17 years old). Emma seemed quite taken with her uncle John and stared and smiled at him for a good 15 minutes. Very cute.
Here is Emma with her Grandpa Krebs. This was the first time they have met. She loved him too and enjoyed just hanging out with him and telling him stories with her "cooing".
Here she is with Uncle Matt. Matt and his wife Corinda are expecting a little girl in June and we are THRILLED that Emma will have a little girl cousin to play with. How lucky is she?!! Matt and Corinda also live in Lexington, KY in a home they recently purchased. Thanks for coming all the way out to Arizona!!
Emma was blessed with her cousin Tyler Krebs (son of Jeff and Aslee) who came down from Provo just so the two cousins could be blessed together. Jeff is just finishing his second year of law school at BYU and has finals approaching. Thanks Jeff for sacrificing your study time to make it an extra special event! Tyler is only 3 weeks younger than Emma and she is so lucky to have a cousin this close in age. We'll see who beats up who at the family reunions.
Here Emma is in her blessing dress. This dress was made by my mother's cousin, Sheri. It is made out of my wedding dress. Sheri surprised us and made an exact replica of my wedding dress for Emma. This is very special to me and I am so grateful for Sheri and her talents that made this blessing dress possible.
Here is a better picture of the whole dress. I'll have to scan a wedding picture in soon so that you can see both dresses side by side. Sheri seriously did an amazing job.
What a wonderful day for our new family!!
Thanks to Bonnie we got some great pictures of both families. Here are the Adams family. From left to right: Grandad and Grandma Adams, Grandpa Ray, Grammie Lou, Greg, Tammy, Jeff, Anna and Jamie (all the way from Texas!! THANK YOU!!), Tara, Kurt and Taytum. The only one missing in this shot is Gina who was in Texas - we missed you!
And the Krebs clan. Left to Right: Ashlee, Jeff, Tyler, Grandpa Krebs holding Ben, Glen, Grandma Krebs, Greg, Tammy, Matt, Corinda, Laura, John. The only one missing in this picture is Elder Chuck who is currently serving a mission in Fiji.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO MADE THIS WEEK ABSOLUTELY PERFECT!!

Do you have any fun traditions or memories surrounding baby blessings?