Oh Days Like This!!!

So this morning while we were at playgroup at a friends house Parker had an accident. I feel horrible because I let him go out back without me(which he does in our backyard everyday without any problems). He was out there maybe 30 seconds and I hear him crying and coming to the door. I go to see him and he has a mouth full of blood. I rush him to the sink and the minute he turned and looked at me I knew. His big tooth in the front was pushed up into his gums and he had a huge fat lip. I tried to stay very calm and call our dentist to see what he suggested. He referred me to a Pediatric Dentist. I called them and they said to come right over. One of the little boys said he fell off the tricycle and fell onto the wooden step. By this point my emotions were catching up with me. I'm sure all the playgroup moms just wanted to give me a big hug and tell me it would all be all right. I hurried to the car and off to the dentist we went. Poor Parker cried so much that he fell asleep. I got there and he woke up while I took him inside. I filled out paper work and they took us back about 10 minutes later. They needed x-rays (which me in my delicate state couldn't hold him). He screamed while the nurse held him. Oh how I hate that cry. You know the 'Mom why are you letting them do this to me cry???' So the doctor looked at his x-rays and said, "The tooth has been pushed up a little bit but most of it has been broken off. I was actually relieved to hear that. It means the tooth just might have a chances of healing and not dying. I knew they can always cap a broken tooth to make it look good again. So we have to go back in 2 weeks (which Billy will be here to help me with it YIPPEE!!!). They will check to see if there is damage and also fix the broken tooth. So I just want to say how grateful I am to have people that know how to fix things like a baby's tooth. People with kindness and understanding....especially when they know mom is a little shookin up by the whole mess. (I seriously almost lost my breakfast when I saw his mouth.) I'm grateful for great friends who call me to make sure Parker and I are okay. I truly am blessed to be where I am right now.
Thanks Everyone!!!

Deseret News Article on Billy

Afghanistan gives some perspective to rivalry | Deseret News
Afghanistan gives some perspective to rivalry | Deseret News

Utah Man

So this time of year always gets me edgy. No not Thanksgiving....The BIG University of Utah vs. Brigham Young University game. I know Billy will kill me if he knew I was going to Blog about this (but he's been on 'lockdown' sota speak with the Internet) so here I go. 11 years ago this coming Saturday the U played BYU at 'Ed' Stadium. The game started off like all teams playing their rivals.....hostel. But this time Billy was on there turf and they had the advantage. From the beginning of the game the cheerleaders had been pelted with pennies and tortillas (tortillas.....I don't know why. But there you have it). Even during half time there was a bunch of BYU students threatening the Ute cheerleaders. So Billy had already been on edge the whole time. I'm not sure what time in the game but it was after half time that the whole mess began. The Utes had just made a touchdown and like always the cheerleaders (both teams did this after touchdowns) run their flags down the field in a celebratory manner. They ran past the BYU student section and a young (and stupid) 19 year old jumped onto the field and tackled Billy from behind. Now Billy at first had no idea what had happened and he flipped over to see this guy (he didn't realize how young he was until later that night when Billy and I watched the news and saw the whole thing again). The kid didn't let go and Billy really thought this was one of the threats coming true and so he just started to throw punches. He punched and punched until he was pulled off by the security. This was a bit of a rush and if you ever see the video of it you will see Billy's response afterwards. Now you're probably wondering why I get edgy around this time. It was the next month that made me lose faith in people who are supposed to be good Christians (now I'm not talking about everyone only a few people). After this happened we stayed the weekend at my parents and late Sunday night drove home to SLC. Early (and I mean a quarter to 5:00am) we got a phone call from a local radio station wanting to interview Billy. He politely told them no thank you. During the next day or so we were told that BYU and the young man planned to sue us (I didn't understand why because Billy had defended himself but I soon found out that many many people didn't really know the truth of what happened) so we got a lawyer to protected us. She told us to not speak to anyone about the incident. For weeks after it was all over the news and radio....some of it was true but most of it was messed up. Billy was gone nights either working or cheering for games or events. So I had the pleasure of answering our phone. I have never been so shocked at how people can get so uptight about football. I got people yelling at me telling me that Billy was the devil and we should be careful. I had people confused that he was married and that he wasn't some kind of beer drinking frat boy. I guess most BYU students think that only non-LDS people go to the U. I was shocked that people would go to such lengths to find our phone number (it was unlisted). We also had someone toilet paper our car the night we got home from staying the weekend at my parents. We lived in a locked gated apartment building so this took a little planning for the person who did it. One night I got home and we had over 150 phone calls on our caller ID. Our old school message recorded had used the whole tape to record as many messages as possible. These messages were not nice and I soon got very sad at people who were supposed to be of my same faith. I stopped answering the phone all together. The 19 year old boy was a week away from going on a mission to Mexico and they placed him on hold from getting set apart until our Stake President had an interview with Billy and I about the whole mess. The church wanted to make sure their was no legal action being taken against the young man. We of course would never sue him over something so stupid. The young man had even called and talk to me and Billy on the phone. It was very obvious that he made a stupid mistake and did it because it was a dare. I knew a mission would do him some good. Every year since then around this time of year we get phone calls or our family gets calls for us wanting an interview with Billy. He gave one interview about 6 months after the whole mess because the TV program paid us $500.00 (it really helped out). So a couple of months ago Billy asked for help with donations to help a children's hospital out there in Afghanistan. My brother in law is a Lindon Police Officer and my sister Tracey is a part of the Police Department Wives Club. They took on Billy's request as a service project and ran with it. They put it in the local newspaper and have gotten a huge response. They have worked so very hard to collect so many items. But they still need to collect money to send the items over there. So a couple of days ago my sister Tracey called because a newspaper man put two and two together about Billy and wants an interview with him for his news article about this Saturdays game. I told Billy about it thinking I already had the answer about the whole thing but he surprised me. He said he would do it if they put in the article about the The Children's Hospital. He knows their is a huge need for clothes, bottles, formula, and anything that can ease the suffering he sees every day. So I guess that is why I'm blogging about this (frustrating) time in our life. So if you can help in anyway leave a comment and I will give you more information. I know I am going to regret blogging about this but if we can get more support for the Hospital it will be worth it for me.

Happy Birthday Captain America

Today is Billy's Birthday and he is really, really and I mean really old. I get to give him a hard time because he's not here to defend himself. See he's all the way over in Afghanistan helping to make life a little better for someone else. I think it's perfect that Billy's Birthday is also Veteran's Day. I am thankful for Billy who serves his country honorably and all the rest of the veterans for keeping our country safe and preserving our freedom!! I get to see first hand some of what our Soldiers give up. Like Birthdays with their families.

Billy thank you for being my Captain America. Thank you for blessing my life and giving me so very very much. I hope that you know that we are thinking of you today and love you. HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

35 Things About Billy
1.)He loves to scuba dive!
2.)He hates getting shots (and yet his occupation has it as the #1 job requirement)
3.)He hates to play video games (Yet he will do it to spend time with Broc)
4.)He plays the guitar.
5.)He speaks and understands Spanish. (no he didn't serve a Spanish speaking Mission)
6.)He's the Treat Fairy (Zona adds, "And we love it!")
7.)Billy's drug is Triathlons (He's addicted to them and he's really good at them too).
8.)Billy can and would eat a whole gallon of ice cream if you let him.
9.)When Billy and I got married he hated Seafood (he'd never really tried it). Now it's his favorite.
10.)He lived and played soccer in Mexico while he was a teenager.
11.)He loves to ride his motorcycle.
12.)His favorite color is RED!
13.)The University of Utah is the ONLY true school out there (just look how it threw up on our car)
14.)He loves soccer.
15.)As a kid he wanted to grow up and be a Fire Fighter.
16.)Billy loves and I mean loves to make lists....he's MR. List Man
17.)Billy has one sister and 3 brothers.
18.)Billy loves to go out on one on one time with the kids.
19.)Billy has his Master's Degree (and is currently working on a 2nd one)
20.)Billy loooooovvvvvves the Beach
21.)Billy is the most dependable person I know. (he would do anything for his Family and Friends)
22.)He loves Country music!
23.)He secretly loves to sing LOUD. (ssshhhhh! don't tell him I told you)
24.)His dream job would be to run a scuba charter.....and scuba dive all day.
25.)He has tattoos all over his arms and back (but his favorite is my name just over his rear).
26.)He's an amazing father
27.)When he was a kid (12 years old) he and a couple of friends decided to break into some cars and steal cd's. Our first year of marriage our car got broken into and they stole our radio and all our cd's. I knew it was Karma getting back at him.
28.)He takes his responsibilities very seriously.
29.)He loves dogs (and pretty much any animal)
30.)He loves to travel and would love to ride coast to coast on his motorcycle.
31.)My mother (and I quote) said, "I had reservations about you marrying Billy. But Tara I know you have always made the right chose." I know my mom doesn't feel this way anymore. And most days she loves her sons-n-law more than her own sons. (j/k kind of).
32.)He secretly loves Broadway shows and can be seen singing musicals.
33.)Billy wants to learn to surf.
34.)Billy loves candy in any form.
35.)He loves Romantic Comedies.
And one to grow......
36.)He is the most loved Dad I know.

33 and Counting......

(I stole this idea from Amanda A.)
33 Things About ME

1.)I love brocilee cooked, fresh, steamed, or any other way.
2.)Navy Blue is my favorite color but some greens are starting to push their way in.
3.)As a kid I wanted to grow up and be an Oceanographer but I found out Utah was landlocked and gave up that dream. (No one told me that I could move)
4.)I love Seafood
5.)I love my family
6.)I've donated a major body organ.
7.)I hate running (I suck at it!)
8.)I love to swim (I go to another place when I swim)
9.)I looovvvveeeee the Beach.
10.)My parents call me Babe and have done it for as long as I can remember.
11.)I hate making lists.....Billy is Mr. List maker (ask anyone they know what I'm talking about)
12.)When I was little I told people I was going to have 10 kids just like my mom. After having Broc I didn't ever want to be pregnant again.
13.)I can't lie.....Seriously I've tried but I always get caught so I stop doing it a long, long time ago. Even the little lies like, "Oh No your butt doesn't look big in those pants". I can't make people believe I'm saying the truth.
14.)I love making people laugh.
15.)When I was about 5-6 I pretend to be a beautician and chopped all 3 of my little brother's hair. I remember thinking I had done the best job in all the world.....until I saw the look on my mom's face.
16.)My sisters our the best sisters in the whole world.
17.)My brothers are funny and I wouldn't trade them for the world.
18.)In high school my friends and I were known to have water fights in grocery stores. We also loved to roll Crisco down the aisles and race each other.
19.)You know how some people say their parents were the worst....Well I can't say that, my parents were/are the greatest. I seriously don't know how I got so blessed to grow up in their home with all my brothers and sisters.
20.)I suck at math! Big Time!
21.)I'm 1 credit away from getting my Associates Degree (It's that DARN Math class).
22.)I have a secret that I'm not telling anyone.......yet!
23.)I love to dip cream cheese bagels into hot chocolate.
24.)I love to travel.....but only by plane.
25.)I had a dog when I was little named Napoleon.
26.)I have an addiction to snicker candy bars.
27.)This is my favorite joke, "Okay so there was these two guys that walked into a bar, the first one turns to the second one and says, "You didn't see it either?"
28.)My oldest brother Trent called me Punky Brewster when I was little (I looked a lot like her).
29.)I secretly drink Dr. Pepper with cherry when I've had a bad day.
30.)I'm addicted to watching the show Hoarders (I don't know why I just am).
31.)My second toe is bigger than my first toe. Billy calls it freakish!
32.)I'm a total home body but yet I'm a social butterfly.
33.)I love to eat olives right out of the can.

Ireland Wanted a Haircut

Before



After


We cut about 8 inches off her hair. She loves it!!!! I see her flinging her head back and forth, like it is the greatest feeling ever!

Which Day Should Halloween Be Celebrated On?????

Since I've moved from Utah I've had a couple of things come up that have confused me.
1.)Why don't other states grow mountains?
2.)Why do my neighbors look at me weird when I say, "Hi Brother or Sister (So-n-So)?"
3.)Why do people keep asking my husband how many wives he has? (He better only have one dangit!)
and for my latest one:
4.)When do you Trick or Treat when Halloween falls on a Sunday? (Growing up in Utah it has always been celebrated the day before, Saturday October 30th. ALWAYS! The whole State does it.)

So now that I'm living here in North Carolina I wasn't sure what NC does for this type of situation. I asked some friends from church and they said the newspaper said Saturday. But then I heard that each town is making up their own mind about it. So I thought I would google it for my town (my friends live in the town next to us). I found our local newspaper had printed a story on Trick or Treating being on October 30th.
http://fayobserver.com/articles/2010/10/09/1037951?sac=Home
Check out the comments people made about changing the date to Saturday. I was really quite surprised that this hasn't come up before. One of the comments said they switched the Trick or Treating back in 2004 (the last time the 31st fell on a Sunday) to Saturday then too. So why are all these people so upset? When I was a kid I thought that we were tricking someone (or damning the Man however you want to look at it) by having Halloween a day earlier. So again why is it that people are so upset about having it a day earlier?

I must tell you that I am a little bias about having it on Saturday. My birthday happens to be October 30th. So every 7 years I get to be special and have Halloween on my birthday (and I am special because my Mom told me so!).

So tell me what your town is doing for this Halloween's Trick or Treating, Sunday or Saturday? And tell me what your view is about changing it?

Raising Ireland

Ireland said, "Mommy before you were a mom you were a kid Tara, huh?"
(Me) "Yes I was!"
(Ireland) "And they called you Tara Toilet Paper didn't they!"
(Me) "Yes they did! Thanks for that you stinker."

Ireland also had a joke, "Mom I can walk through walls! Mom your supposed to ask me how."
(Me) "Oh sorry! How do you walk through walls?"
(Ireland) "I use the door!"
(This really made me laugh I wasn't expecting that answer.)

*Sidenote: We had a talk about bullying this past week for Family Home Evening. I told the kids that when I was little they called me Tara Toilet Paper when ever I got on the bus to and from school.
But hey don't feel bad for me though I grew up and became the well adjust person I am today (No laughing from the peanut gallery). Oh and one of those kids is one of my best friends to this day (I won't tell you her name because that's just mean but it starts with R and ends with osa she also called me Arat-my name backwards). So turn lemons into lemonade I say!

Thank You Tracey

So my sister Tracey made this PRIDDIS sign/picture frame about 3 Christmases ago. I have moved 2 times from Utah to Georgia to North Carolina. I have kept this way cute gift rapped up and hidden until a day I could put it up in a fun place. So here you have it!
Thanks Trace I love it!

Raising Parker

So this little guy keeps me on my toes. Seriously while I'm cleaning up
the smashed blueberry muffin on the couch (thank Heaven for leather or pleather or whatever our couch is made of) Parker climbs up and does this.

I was pretty lucky that Sadie (the dog) likes Cheerios to so it didn't take much to clean up.

It's October

Yeah it's been awhile sorry. October is my crazy hectic pull out all the fall/winter stuff and put away all summer stuff month. So my house looks like this


and this


but hopefully by the end of the month it can look more like this again.

Escape from Reality (Beach House)

Sept. 18-25th, 2010
So what do you do when you only have 15 days to spend with Captain America????? You go to the beach!

Ireland, Parker, and Billy

Billy Surfing

Billy and the Greatest Kids EVER! (Billy was also experiementing with his razor....He looks like a gay cowboy.)

R & R (I Get Him For a Little While)

Billy's Coming Home......I seriously want to shout it from roof tops. It has been 9+ months since I last got to touch, hold or just look at him. For those of you that don't experience the military life and always wonder how 'THE HECK' do you do it.....This is it! R and R.....Rest and Relaxation. It's the Coming Home that makes it all worth it (kind of). In our family we try to make R&R a vacation. We take the kids out of school and we just play for 15 days. We get to be a family 'TOGETHER'. Billy doesn't have to work into our schedule and we don't have to work into his. We'll save that for when he gets home for good.

One of the hard things for me when Billy is gone, is people that know me don't know that I have this amazing other half. He makes me laugh and giggle like I was a 12 years old again. He is the perfect half to what I can't complete. He makes life not stressful and makes sure to tell me (often), "Every thing is going to be alright!" (he usually sings it, which makes me laugh).

He's the Cheese to my Macaroni! (I heard that recently and thought it was cheesy.....but funny!)

I love you Billy Come Home Safe!

.....and I am a Mormon

So I love how the Church (www.lds.org) has put out these video clips that show how Mormons can be great and unique people. This guy totally made me laugh.....he reminds me of someone any guesses who?
YouTube - Hi, I'm Jeff Decker and I'm a Mormon

Spaghetti Boy

 

Parker loves spaghetti!!!! This is to see if I can upload a video. It's mostly for Billy!

Raising Broc

So our battery died a slow miserable death last week. So we went to Auto Zone to get a new one. While the nice man changed out our old battery for our new one Broc noticed a man without a shirt on. Broc says, "Mom why does that man walk around with no shirt on?"

(Broc took this picture for me!)


Which I responded with, "Because he thinks he's sexy!"




This is the look Broc gave me when I said that.

Need Some Help

So for those of you that don't know Billy is serving in Afghanistan. Where he is they have an Egyptian Children's Hospital. The children range from birth to teenagers and are in desperate need of toys, clothes and children's items. Anything you can send would very much be appreciated. You can send them to:
Billy Priddis
HHC, 82nd SBDE
APO, AE 09354
Thanks so much!

I'm Back!

So I've been back from Utah for about a week now. I've been gone so long that we've grown a jungle in our backyard (Our nice neighbors took pity and mowed and weed whacked our front yard). So today the kids and I got up pretty early (not early enough to beat the NC humidity though) and cleaned up our jungle. The one great thing about our jungle was our garden has many many vegies. We even ate Greek Pizza (Broc's Favorite) with tomatoes straight out of our garden.

Parker loved it too except the olives that he promptly picked off and threw on the floor. (sidenote* For the past 11 years Billy and I have had this secret fight about olives. I looooveeeeeeee olives! Billy haaaaatttttteeeeesssss olives. Broc, Ireland, and Zona all love olives, so of course Billy usually doesn't win the olive fight. But now he has little Parker on his side.)

Since this is my first garden I am so excited to be able to cook what grows from it. So I am most excited for the eggplant to grow BIG so I can have Eggplant Parmesan. Does anyone know how you can tell eggplant is ready to pick?

Terrific Two Adventure Day 2

(Sorry it's taken so long I've been a bit busy)
Dear Terrific Two,
Sometimes in life you find a person that makes you want to be better. Not better at stupid stuff like work, but better at being yourself, better at being in love, better at being a good person.
For me that person is you (He's talking to me). It always has been.
I hope you like the movie choice (Fools Rush In, I love this movie and he knows it). But if you don't it's not my fault because I've had a lot of help putting all of this together and I personally blame everybody but me...yeah right! That's NOT how we do it.
For Tomorrow
Sleep in, relax (Billy knows I love to sleep in because I never get to).I hear the Inn has a great breakfast so remember that girls gotta eat too!
After you feel up to it there is a really cool park called The Park City Mountain Resort and it's paid for so you'd better go and have fun...
They have Zip Lines, and horse back rides and slides that take you all the way down the mountain or if you'd prefer the ski lift will take you all the way up the mountain. Trust me it looks great!
You'll need to check out of the Inn before you go to the park and this is the last thing on the agenda but I think I saved the best for last.
So, get some sleep. Enjoy yourselves
I love you both tons and tons. Have a great time!(Then he had a map to show us where to go)

We woke up and Broc was sick. The poor guy I think he ate way to much last night. I went down and got him and I breakfast and brought it up to our room. He didn't want to touch our yummie strawberry pancakes with bacon and orange juice. I let him fall asleep for a couple more hours while I watched 'Fools Rush In'. It was a very relaxing morning (after Broc fell back to sleep). When he woke back up he was feeling a ton better and actually ate some of his breakfast. We got dressed and thanked all the extremely nice workers and set off to The Park City Mountain Resort (For you locals it's Alpine Slides).
This is what we did:
This made Broc a little sick,






but he recovered and we did this:
(Alpine Slide)

those pictures were the start, which we went down this, (The Slides)


We were having so much fun we went on this (The Roller Coaster),






Broc happened to pick this hat off the tracks (he's super quick),
We finished off the day with a little Mini Golf,


But all day we looked like this,


Broc and I had a blast the last couple of days. Billy is an amazing father, husband and he planned all of this from the other side of the world. I don't know how I got the perfect guy. He is perfect!!!! I love him so very very much.

Billy thank you for all that you have done for us. Broc and I had a blast and I know that he will never forget this. Our relationship is stronger because you planned this for us. Thank You THANK YOU!

Terrific Two Adventure

Day 1 of Our Adventure
I don't think I've mentioned before that Billy is the greatest husband/father ever. Last weekend he plan a AWESOME get away for Broc and I. He sent us on an Adventure. He gave us clues and we had to find the place where we were going. So I'll start at the beginning.
Billy emailed and said I needed to go buy a nice dress and take a picture of me in it and email it back to him. Then he would give me the first clue to our 'Terrific Two Adventure'. I did that and he sent me back this:

edc 16, 1, 18, 11 1, 22, 5.
you must be to the above location NLT c 15', 3, 12, 15, 3, 11
which we both know, on time means ae 13, 9, 14, 21, 20, 5, 19 5, 1, 18, 12, 25
*have broc help you figure out the message above and let me know when you have figured it out. once you have figured out the message i will give you another clue.
This is the decoded message:

543 Park Ave, No Later Than 3 0' clock, 15 Minutes Early
(Park City, Utah)

This is what we found:



Once we got here we were greeted like we were Royalty and taken to our room and this is what we found:



 

and this:




The Letter on the table said:
Dear Terrific Two...that's your name for the reminder of this relaxing adventure, I hope your drive up the canyon was nice and that you were able to spend some quiet time talking together. But, now that you've arrived at your next destination I should warn you that the fun is about to officially begin. After settling in at the Inn, take a few moments to just breathe because before you know it you'll need to be off, at a snail's pace, to your next destination.
The address for your first destination is: 201 Heber Ave. at the main street....in the Sky Lodge look for something called Amastu.
Note you have an official reservation at 1600 (4:00pm), so you'll need to be there on time....which is 15 minutes early. Do you trust me? You'll enjoy this one. I promise!
(Billy gave more instructions but I won't bore you.)
Forever,
Billy.....that's dad to you Broc

I didn't take pictures at our next appointment because I was getting a massage.....a much needed massage. Broc was taken to get a pedicure......which he said, "Mom can I have it without the toe painting?" So Broc loved his feet being scrubbed and rubbed. He would defiantly like to do that again. When we were finished we got another letter with our next adventure on it. It took us to this place;
Purple Sage

At the Purple Sage we had great food like Utah Rainbow Trout and Blackened Shrimp......Broc loved the Trout and the homemade Butterscotch Pudding he had for dessert.


But we had to stop here first:





After we were done with dinner we headed back to the Inn and found another letter waiting for us. I will read it to you tomorrow.

Happy 4th of July

Billy Somewhere in Afghanistan
(The Sexy One, second from the left)

So when I was younger I thought the 4Th of July meant sparklers and parades. I loved/love to see the beautiful colors up in the sky. I would stand and sing the National Anthem without much feeling about it in my heart. Almost as a half hearted, thanks to those guys in the history books that helped us become a nation. I honestly had no idea what this day symbolized and how important it really is. Since Billy joined the Military I've learned more and more about this day and what it means. Each event I go to that flies our flag teaches me a little more about the sacrifices our soldiers make to keep us free. Soldiers that miss the birth of their babies or birthdays and anniversaries. Soldiers that give up watching their own children grow up to make sure someone Else's child is safe from harm. Soldiers that give up their lives so that mine is safe and free. I can't stand and say the pledge or sing the National Anthem now without my heart and eyes filling up. I can't look at the flag and not be proud of my husband and men just like him that give up so much for me. Yes the men in History books have made our country, but men like my husband keep it safe and OURS. So today or even tomorrow or the next day stop and remember.....I mean really remember what the 4Th of July means to you. And if it's half hearted like I use to be, maybe take sometime and learn more about our great country and the men and women that fight to keep it that way.

Billy thank you for all that you do, we miss you and keep safe!!! !

Parker Utah

Today is Parker's first birthday. It's been a whole year since this little guy has come into our lives and yet I feel like I've known him forever. So here are some of the things he loves:

1-Nunn nums......which means FOOD!
2-Water in any form; cup, bath, pool, rain, and pretty much any other way you can have it.
3-Music......he's a dancer! Way cute!
4-Daddda-dddy......which is the computer and the phone these days (he gets to talk to his Dad that way).
5-Papa.....Parker loves to sit on my Dad's lap and would stay there all day long if you let him.
6-Dirt (I don't think there is a kid that doesn't like it).
7-His brothers and sister

Parker is amazing! We are so blessed to have him here with us!

Father's Day

So today as everyone knows is the day we celebrate all the great Father's in ourlives. I want to tell you about the 3 amazing fathers I know.

First: My Dad Leonard Allsup

My favorite quote from him is, "No, because it's going to SNOW!" He would say this no matter what the season was and no matter if it was going to snow or not. It was his way of saying he didn't feel comfortable with me doing what I wanted to do. My Dad has always been there for me. Even to this day if I need him he will come and be here for me. In a world of absent and non existing Dad's I am very blessed to have been raised by the prefect Dad. I love you Dad!

Second: My Father-n-Law Chris Priddis

I met my father-n-law about 12 years ago. I think he wasn't sure about me when he met me. But I knew I was sure about him and how I wanted to be apart of his son's life and apart of their family. My father-n-law like my own father has always supported me and been willing to help me with whatever I've needed. Chris has taught me how to never give up even if your body doesn't allow you to do what you want it to (he has Parkinson's Disease). He has also taught Billy how to be a father. I will forever be grateful to Chris for teaching Billy to be the man he is today. Chris Thank You!

Third: My Amazing Husband Billy Priddis

Even though Billy can't always be around it does NOT stop him from being an amazing father. He calls, writes letters, and never never lets our kids forget that he loves them. When he's home, he's home......he takes them to playgrounds, camping, for motorcycle rides, on dates, to movies, and he makes sure to have one on one time with each one of the kids. He teaches them so many things that I could go on for days about it. But one of the most important things to me is how he teaches them to love me. Billy is an amazing man and father. I miss having him around so very much. Billy I love you!!! !

Raising Parker, "I See You.....MOM!"

So everyday just as I'm getting dinner ready I have this peeker, peek around the corner and yell at me (in baby language of course). There's a step going into the kitchen which he finds it's easier to climb onto the couch and peek around the corner to see me. I say, "Hey big Guy!" and he screams "Hey NNNunnnnmmmms!" At me, which means 'Food! Give it to me NOW'!

I love this little guy and his unique way of communicating with me.

Service

Last week in our ward (church group) we had are Stuff Swap. Which is when everyone brings stuff they don't want and we just take want we can use. We had so many people bring stuff but not as many people took as was given. We had a lot of great things leftover that I needed to figure out want to do with. I really didn't want to just donate it to Goodwill. So after a crazy couple of days and a few suggestions I ended up holding on to the stuff. A couple of days ago I had a sister call and tell me about this family. A couple of days before that their A/C got plugged and it made the cords catch on fire. Which caught the curtains and then the rug on fire in just a matter of seconds. So they lost everything they had. They are living with family right now and are in search of a new home. They have nothing except what was on their backs. This good sister from my ward was hoping that we could give them the stuff we had leftover from the Swap. Yesterday I had the privilege of meeting and giving this sweet family the items from our Swap. They have all girls and we just happened to have a ton of clothes in their sizes. They were so grateful and gracious in receiving these items. It made me so happy to be able to help them. With all the problems that come at me while being in the Relief Society Presidency, situations like this make me so grateful to be able to help out. I was so very grateful to have been able to witness their kindness to me. But the biggest thing that I witness was that they weren't angry at the situation they found themselves in. They were so very, very humble. I am so very blessed and grateful for their example to me.

My Stats for the Race

270 (What I ranked! Very last and Proud of it!)
Tara Priddis 160 (My Number)
32 (Age Yes I was born the same year Star Wars Came Out, get over it!)
F (As if you don't know)
241 (Swim Rank)
17:53 (How long it took me)
2:59 (Transition time from Swim to Bike)

272 (Bike Rank)
1:47:43 (How long it took me)
02:44 (Transition time from Bike to Run)

268 (Run Rank)
42:57 (How long it took me)

2:54:34 (Over all time with all three races)

I DID IT without shoes, but I DID IT!

As most of you know one of my goals was to do a Triathlon this year. So yesterday May 20th 2010 in Woodlake, NC I did my first triathlon. It was a Sprint which consisted of 600yds swim, 17.2 bike, and 3 mile run. The first thought that ran threw my head when getting into the cold water was, 'Why am I doing this, I'm crazy' but I pushed on. I swam getting kick only twice which was not as bad as the nightmares I had envisioned. Once finished I ran and got all my bike stuff on and grabbed my bike to start the bike portion. It was a beautiful bike trail with amazing trees all around (thank you N. Carolina). About mile 7 my right shoe was giving me a lot of trouble. I finally decided to just take it off. So for the next two miles I rode with just one shoe(my shoes are the clip on to the peddle kind).
WITH SHOES

Normally this wouldn't have been a problem but Thursday night at a church Relief Society Meeting I slipped on some water on our nicely redone wood floors, bruising up my knee pretty bad. My knee started to give me a lot of problems. So at about the half way point I just ditched both of them (I gave them to the nice man who helps pump up flat tires) and rode the rest of the bike ride in socks.
NO SHOES

I had to stop twice and walk my bike up the hills because it was getting to much for my feet digging into the bike peddles. I finished the bike portion and changed into my tennis shoes. I started to run but at this point my knee wanted none of that, so I walked as fast as I could. I would run until I couldn't and then walk and until the end of the race I ran and walked, ran and walked. About a 1/2 mile from the finish line a little old Grandma who was the very last person passed me. This left me as the very last person. Now most people might take this as a defeat, but not me. Their were so many times I wanted to quit and be finished. Honestly I would have had numerous reasons to stop, but I didn't. I kept going! As I got to the finish line I had a great friend named Amanda waiting for me who said, "I couldn't let you do this all by yourself." I am so blessed!

Billy so wanted to be there and by all means was there just not physically. He called me on my ride home from the race. I think he was shocked and a little surprised by it all. This was an amazing experience and I am so glad I did it!