The Jensens

18 weeks

2012-02-13T13:10:00.002-07:00

I am now 18 weeks pregnant. We had an appointment today, and everything is looking great. The baby's heartbeat was 156 and it was moving all over the place. We have our 20 week ultrasound on the 27th. We will be finding out what we are having then. We actually had an ultrasound at 15 weeks, so we do know what we are having, but we are waiting for this ultrasound just to make sure. I have been feeling the baby move quite a bit over the last few weeks, I love it. This baby is much more active than Gavin was. I am excited to see how different this baby is from Gavin. I will do another photo update at 20 weeks.

15 week pic

2012-01-22T21:59:00.001-07:00

Here is me at 15 weeks....I feel huge already.

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Back to School

2012-01-09T14:02:00.002-07:00

A week from today, Casey starts school full time. Mid-December, Casey quit his job. He did this after a lot of prayer and thought. We decided that it would be better if he focused on school and stayed home with Gavin. He is loving the time that he gets to spend with Gavin, and Gavin is loving having Daddy at home. He is just taking night and online classes through the community college in Riverton, WY (about 30 minutes away). Luckily they have a branch here in Lander so he can take most of his classes here. This first semester he is taking generals and then next semester, he may branch out into a specific field of study. I am so proud of Casey and the fact that he is working towards a college degree. He knows it is going to be a challenge, but I think he is going to do amazing at it.

VOTE

2012-01-09T11:51:00.002-07:00

Vote on the sidebar for what you think Baby Jensen #2 is. I honestly have no idea. I am excited to find out if Gavin will have a little brother or sister. We should be finding out in about 7 to 8 weeks.

#2

2012-01-08T16:57:00.003-07:00

We are happy to announce that baby Jensen #2 will be joining our family around July 14th. We found out at the beginning of November. This pregnancy has been different from mine with Gavin. Luckily with this one, I haven't been as sick as I was with Gavin. I also haven't had the food aversions that I had with Gavin. I have suffered from being super tired, some nausea and insomnia. I am so stumped on whether this baby is a boy or a girl. According to Gavin, we are having a baby girl. Gavin seems to be okay with the baby so far, but it isn't here yet so we will see how that goes. He tells us almost every day that he loves the baby so much. I am sure he is going to be an amazing big brother. I am excited for this baby to get here, I am however terrified of being a mom of two. I have heard the transition from 1 to 2 kids is the hardest. I pray that it will go fairly smoothly. I am hoping that we will have Gavin potty trained before the baby gets here, but I don't want to rush it of course. Stay tuned for updates in this new and exciting chapter in our life.

Christmas Time

2011-12-22T11:18:00.006-07:00

We have been super busy this past month, but we finally got around to getting ready for Christmas. Gavin and Casey got the tree set up and put the lights and star on the tree.

We also had our Church Christmas party, it was filled with good food, entertainment and of course the kids had a visitor. Gavin wasn't too sure about Santa, so Casey had to sit with him while he told Santa what he wanted. Gavin wants a race car and a truck for Christmas. Santa told Gavin that he likes race cars and trucks too.

To try and get in the spirit of Christmas, we have been watching some Christmas movies. This past weekend, we watched "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". Gavin had to get his Grinch and dog Max to watch the movie with him. He is so cute!!!!

This Christmas season has been so much fun with Gavin. He is understanding it more than last year. We are also taking this opportunity to teach him about the true meaning of Christmas. I love Nativity sets, and have all of those set up on our mantel. Gavin enjoys asking us who each person in the Nativity is. He love the baby Jesus in each Nativity. As he is getting older, we are trying to establish some traditions that will help us reflect more on the true meaning of Christmas. Merry Christmas everyone.

Just feel like screaming

2011-12-13T16:14:00.002-07:00

Have you ever had one of those days where you just feel like screaming. Today is one of those days. We have so much going on, and so many changes, and I just feel like I cannot control anything anymore. I feel as though my world is falling apart around me and there is nothing I can do to stop it. It seems every few years, we have this struggle and some how we get through it. There are always a lot of tears,prayers and sleepless nights. I know somehow it will all work out and we will be okay at the end, but I am not sure of how it will happen. For now though, I am just going to start picking up the pieces and slowly putting them back together. I know we are not alone in these trials that we are getting ready to face, and that does strengthen me, but there are some days where I feel as though I cannot go another day and that I will just fall apart. Those are the days that I turn to prayer and that my Savior will carry me through my trials. Don't worry, nothing serious has happened, just a lot of change all at once and things not going the way we planned.

Funny Gavin Quotes of the Week

2011-11-14T08:19:00.002-07:00

It amazes me how a two year old thinks. Some of the things that come out of their mouth are hilarious, but they say it with a very matter of fact tone. I have decided that I am going to start documenting some of the Gavin's quotes.

Over the weekend, we went out to dinner, Gavin was being fairly well behaved, when out of no where he toots and then says very loudly...."Momma I went poopy, I went poopy." I hurried and covered his mouth and proceeded to check him, there was nothing. He started laughing, as did the four older couples that were sitting right beside us. I think I turned slightly red.

On Saturday, after running errands and trying to unpack and play with Gavin, I was exhausted. We were sitting down to eat lunch and Gavin was still full of energy. It amazes me how much energy a two year old has, I really wish there was some way to harness it. I turned to Gavin and asked him "Gavin, where do you keep all of your energy?" He got a very serious thinking look on his face after about 20 seconds he looked at me and very matter of factly, said " In my ear Momma." So if you are every wondering where all of the energy in a two year old is kept, it is in their ears I guess.

A few weeks ago, we did a quick run to Wal-Mart. I needed a new bra, and after picking out the one that I needed, Gavin announces in a nice loud voice that he needed a hat like Momma's. Casey and I just about died laughing.

We love Gavin, he is such a joy and keeps us laughing all of the time.

6

2011-11-10T11:02:00.002-07:00

On October 22nd, Casey and I celebrated 6 years of marriage. A few weeks before our actual anniversary, we did a little weekend getaway down in Utah. My mom was able to watch Gavin for us, and we had time to relax and just enjoy being alone together. We love Gavin, but sometimes it is nice to jus thave some alone time. We went to Park City the first day, and shopped at the outlet malls. We then headed back to Salt Lake and had dinner as Rodizio Grill. It was amazing, I highly recommend it. That night we stayed at the Anniversary Inn. We loved it there. We had stayed there a few years ago and we were excited to stay there again. The next day we messed around in Salt Lake. We went to the Gateway Mall and shopped a little. On Monday, we went and picked up our little guy and headed back to Wyoming. We are so thankful to my parents for watching Gavin for the weekend and for Casey's parents who watched our dog, Bella. It was a magical weekend for both of us. I look forward to spending eternity with Casey.Love you babe.

TWO!!!!!!

2011-10-18T15:46:00.004-06:00

Gavin turned two on October 1st (I know I am a little late, but better late than never). At his two year check up, he was:

35 inches tall

30 lbs

He is getting so big. The doctor did say that Gavin was very advanced for his age. He is very smart and will talk in full sentences to us. His vocabulary grows everyday. He loves to play with cars, trucks, and trains. He loves animals. He also love to read. He has a great memory and will recite books back to you. He loves going to church and nursery.

He has entered the terrible twos and is learning what to do to push us to the limit. He is a perfect angel for Grandmas and Grandpas though. He loves going to Daycare and enjoys telling us what he did during the day and who his friends are.

We are so blessed to have Gavin in our lives. He is such a sweet little boy and can always make us smile. He loves to cuddle up with us and to give hugs and kisses when it is time to say good-bye. It was a very low key day, we just had a small party with just the three of us.

Gavin's cupcakes and presents

We are Still Alive

2011-09-30T08:21:00.002-06:00

We are still here. We have just been busy with life lately. I am in the middle of audit season, so that has kept me busy and traveling during the day. In August, we spent two weeks looking at possible houses to buy. At the beginning of September we put in an offer on a house, it was accepted. The past month has been filled with preparing to be homeowners. We are closing on our house today.

Gavin has also been keeping us on our toes. He is such an active little guy and the joy of our lives. he will be turning two tomorrow. I cannot believe that it has been two years since he came into our lives. I love being his mom. He is such a blessing to me and has taught me so much.

Casey also switched positions at his work. He moved from sales into service. It has been a challenging position, but he loves his job.

Overall, we have been super busy. We are hoping once we get settled in the house, things will slow down a bit. I will post pictures from Gavin's birthday party and of our new house next week.

Big Boy!!!!!

2011-06-30T12:22:00.008-06:00

It is official, Gavin is now sleeping in a toddler bed.

Gavin has been watching the movie "Cars" a lot lately, and so when we asked him to choose between a normal wood bed or a Cars bed, it was not surprise that he chose the Cars bed. Last night was his first night in the bed, and he did great. He didn't try and get up and try to get out of his room and come into ours. He played in his bed for a little bit and then went to sleep. I think he actually slept better in the toddler bed then he did in his crib. Of course, all of Gavin's Cars toys had to go to bed with him last night.

Gavin amazes us everyday with how smart he is. He is able to count to ten by himself. He is stringing 3-5 words together to make sentences. His vocabulary is growing everyday. He knows so much and is very observant. He has a great memory. He loves books and we are working on teaching him his letters. He is learning to pray and will repeat most of what we say. He loves going to daycare, and is sad everyday when he has to leave. He also loves going to nursery at church. He loves to sit in our cars and pretend to drive.

(Trying to start the car)

He will be 21 months old tomorrow. It amazes me how fast he has grown and changed. He is no longer the little baby that we brought home from the hospital, or the little baby that was learning to sit up and then crawl. He is a little boy or as we tell him "BIG BOY".

19 Months...

2011-05-03T16:58:00.005-06:00

Where had time gone. I cannot believe that our little guy is 19 months old. He is a little sweetheart and is always willing to give out kisses. He loves to be snuggled still, which is really nice. He is also a little parrot. He repeats everything that we say. If he cannot quite pronounce it, he will process it until he can say it pretty clearly. If he doesn't want to repeat a word he will just simply tell you no. He is learning to pray, and is very good at it. He is a complete joy in our lives.

He is into books and shoes (still). He is learning to walk in my high heels, which is quite interesting. He loves to just sit and look at books and tell you what is on the pages. We are now trying to go to the library about once a week, and he absolutely loves it.

We are also learning about cartoons, all over again. The cartoons that they have now, are completely different than the ones that we had as kids. Gavin's favorite is Wonder Pets. It is a pretty cute show, but the songs get stuck in your head so much. Casey and I will end up text the lyrics back and forth through out the day.

Even though Gavin is an angel most of the time, he still has a stubborn streak and gets a little mischievous grin on his face when he is doing something that he knows he isn't suppose to.

I am so grateful that we were blessed with such a cute little boy, that always makes sure we have a smile on our face.

My Next Big Goal

2011-04-18T09:15:00.001-06:00

For anyone that has read this blog, you have heard me speak of the daunting task of passing the CPA Exam, you may wonder why it has taken so many times, or why I can't just pass it already. The truth is the national pass rates are around 50%. That isn't an excuse, but it does make me feel a little better. This last time around my goal was to improve my score, it wasn't so much to pass. I had received the score of a 56 the last time I took this particular section of the CPA Exam. This time around I scored a 70. I would say that that is great improvement, but it is hard to be so close to passing (passing = score of 75). Now that tax season is over, I am gearing up to take the Audit part of the CPA Exam. This will be my 4th time around on this exam. The first two times I took this exam I got a 60. The 3rd time, I received the score of a 71. In all honesty, it is hard to get up the confidence to go and take these exams again. There was a point last fall, that I just gave up. I stopped studying and was thinking of changing careers. On top of me having a tough year at work last year, changing careers was starting to sound like a great idea. Then, I don't know what happened, but my attitude changed. I wasn't ready to give up. I knew that it would take a lot of time and a good chunk of money. I reinvested in a CPA Exam review program and signed up for two CPA exams. The first one will be on Mother's Day weekend. It is the Audit portion of the CPA Exam. I have taken this section 3 times already and I am praying that I pass it, this time around. I started studying last night, and I am already feeling better about the material. The second section is right after Memorial Day weekend and is the Business Environments and Concepts portion of the exam. I have only taken this section once, and my performance was not great. I am praying that this time around on these two exams will be different and that I will finally pass. My heart is more invested in these exams this time around. I will find out in June how the exams went, so stay tuned for the results.

18 months

2011-04-11T12:41:00.003-06:00

Gavin turned 18 months old on April 1st. He just barely had his 18 month checkup last week. He is getting so big:

Height: 33.5 inches (80%)

Weight: 27 lbs 13 oz (75%)

Head: 19.3 inches (85%)

His vocabulary is growing immensely. He is starting to string words together, and once in a while he will speak to us in sentences. He is usually pretty good about speaking clearly. His favor tie things are to dance, play ring around the rosey, play with the kitty, talk to the babies at daycare, help in the kitchen, unload the dishwasher (he is very good about putting silverware away), going on walks, and just sit and hang out with mom and dad. He is such a joy. He does getting into mischief occasionally, but for the most part he is a good little boy. he is learning to fold his arms when we pray and will normally say "Amen" at the end of the pray. He loves nursery and playing with all of the other kids. He is scared of grass and won't walk on it or touch it (we are going to work on that this summer). He loves to play with balls. He is learning how to sit on the potty and does so at least once a day. He has yet to actually go potty in the potty, but one step at a time. He is growing up so fast, and there are times that I hate that I am missing it because I am at work, I know that our situation is different than most peoples, but it is still hard for me to work. I am grateful for the daycare he goes to everyday, I know that they are a big reason that he is so well behaved. We love our little guy and we are excited to see what the next six months bring.

It is all downhill from here

2011-04-01T12:56:00.005-06:00

It is finally April. The end of tax season is actually becoming a reality. The next few weeks will still consist of long hours, but knowing the end is near is a motivator. Honestly though, even though tax season is coming to an end, these last two weeks are the hardest ones yet. I may not work quite as many hours a day as I was in February and March, but I am exhausted. Those long hours that you put in in February and March, finally catch up to you in April. I know that my boys are ready for April 18th to come and go. Gavin is 18 months today. He is such a cute little boy. I am finally accepting that he is no longer my little baby. He is his own independent person. He talks a lot. Most of the time you can understand what he is saying. He is now saying 2 to 4 word sentences. It amazes me the things he absorbs. His latest saying are "Holy Cow" and "No Way". He has such a cute personality. He is almost always smiling and happy. He loves to laugh. He loves books and to read them while he is getting his diaper changed. He thinks getting ready in the morning is a game and if you can't catch him he is winning. He will run around laugh while I am getting frustrated because we are running late and he won't let me get him dressed. He loves being outdoors but hates the grass,he won't walk on it or touch it. He loves going for walks and being in the stroller. He jabbers about what he is seeing. Almost every animal is a "kitty" except we have finally established that dogs are not kitties. He is our little buddy. He is a joy to have in our family and words cannot express how much we love him. Last week, we found out that Gavin was allergic to peanuts. I know that it is no big deal and that he will still live a normal life and be a happy little kid, but I was scared and sad when I found out. It is something that I could not protect him from. I know that I can't protect him from everything, but when he is as little as he is, you want to protect him from everything. The day after he had the reaction to peanut butter, Gavin and I went to the doctor's to learn about his allergy and how to handle it. The doctor kept stressing how deadly this allergy can be and how it is one of the most fatal allergy. We were also told that every reaction you have, causes the next reaction to be worse. I left there feeling prepared to do what I could in case he has another reaction, but a little part of me was scared to death. That afternoon, as I dropped Gavin off at daycare, I was terrified. I was leaving the most precious thing in my life with someone else and I was trusting that they would read labels and feed him the appropriate foods. Letting go of that control, was hard for me. Now a week later, I am learning to trust his daycare providers. They care and love for him and I know that they will take care of him. The past two weeks though, I feel that I have learned a great deal about being a mom and about trust. It feels as though I have grown up a little bit and I have become a better mom. During some of the scary times of motherhood, I have turned to my mom and this past week, she finally said something that I am sure she has told me many times before, but it finally got through. "Korahle you are the mom now, you need to be strong for him." I needed to learn to stand on my own to feet this past week . I know I am no where close to the amazing mom that my mom is, but this past week I got one step closer.

Almost Done

2011-03-22T12:22:00.003-06:00

Tax season is flying by, as it usually does. When all you do is work and sleep and occasionally spend time with your family, you would be surprised with how fast time goes. I am looking forward to the end of 55-60 hour weeks. I am really looking forward to having Saturdays to spend with Gavin. I am also looking forward to getting 8 hours of sleep a night again.

Other than work, things are about the same with me. I am still a nursery leader at church. It is probably one of the hardest callings that I have ever done. Casey helped me out a few weeks ago, and he was only in there for about an hour and afterwards he kept saying that there was no way that he could do it every Sunday. It is hard, but there are moments where it is fun. These little kids are so spiritual, though they don't talk much I think I learn more from them every week. Also being in nursery helps me understand what Gavin's daycare lady goes through every day. She is a saint. As tax season winds down, I was hoping to relax and possibly read a book, but then I remembered that I have two CPA exams coming up in April and May. I pray that I finally pass one. I am still waiting on results from the one that I took in January.

Gavin is growing like crazy and it growing up so fast. He love the kitty still and she is finally letting him pet her and give her hugs. She isn't too keen when he chases her down the hall with his dump truck or even just runs after her saying "kitty, kitty". Gavin also loves pillows. He has started sleeping with one every night and is showing signs of wanting to sleep in a big boy bed. I was thinking after tax season, we would make that transition, but I think we may hold off until he is two. I am not quite ready for him to grow up that fast. He is talking in sentences and speaks very clearly. He also is very polite and fairly well behaved. He loves feeding himself with a spoon or fork. He is not really a picky eater which is really nice. They always laugh at daycare because he eats so much. I picked him up the other day and they told me that he ate 3 bowls of cereal for breakfast and two plates of turkey mashed potatoes and veggies for lunch. I could not believe it. Gavin is no longer looking like a baby at all. He is thinning out and looking more and more like a little boy. I love watching all of the stages that he is going through, but it is hard to watch you baby grow up.

Casey is busy with work still. He works Monday through Saturday. He had a doctor's appointment a few weeks ago, and they just changed his medication, hoping that that would help. They also ordered an MRI, but worker's comp denied coverage for that, so I guess that will have to wait. We didn't really find any answers, but rather just learning to deal with what was dealt to us. It can be discouraging, but with pray and faith we are getting through it. Casey is still in the Elders quorum presidency. He hasn't been too busy with that because of tax season.

Overall, we are doing well. We have little bumps here and there but life is good considering. We are looking forward to the off season and to have some normalcy in our lives again.

Going Private (Again)

2011-03-09T06:58:00.002-07:00

We are going private again. Sorry if it is inconvenient for people. Just leave your e-mail address in a comment and I will add you to the list.

Some Answers Please.....

2011-02-28T22:09:00.003-07:00

Tomorrow morning, Casey goes to see a specialist at University of Utah. This doctor specializes in migraines. We are hoping that she can give us some answers. After almost 5 years of struggling with migraines, Casey is ready to have some answers. He needs someone can give him hope about living a normal life someday. These headaches control every aspect of our lives. I don't really remember what it was like to not have Casey not have them. We were married 5 and 1/2 months when he was injured. We have learned alot from this trial, and pray that it is coming to an end soon. Though Casey has been able to return to work, he still isn't 100%. Having this doctor give us some answers, would be the best thing that could happen to our family right now. So, if you have time in your busy lives, please keep Casey in your prayers. Thanks for all of your love and support.

Our Little Man

2011-02-27T14:02:00.005-07:00

Gavin has been growing so much in the past few months. We are noticing that he copies almost everything that we do, which makes us watch what we are doing. One of our favorite things that he does is try to be like his Daddy(this was taken this morning as Casey was getting ready for church).

Copying Grandpa while watching TV.

Relaxing after eating dinner ( he had tried to feed himself, which is why he is such a mess).

Styling his hair with applesauce.

This picture is just stinkin' cute. His little Carhartt overall just shows his Wyoming roots

It is amazing how much he has grown in the past year, it makes me sad, but so excited as he goes through each new stage and as he accomplishes things. He is becoming his own little person. He has a very distinct personality. He is very easygoing and has a great sense of humor. He doesn't like any type of contention and is always very quick to put a smile on your face. His personality reminds me so much of my little brother. I hope that we can raise him to be an amazing person like my brother. We are so blessed to have such an amazing little man in our lives.

Let the Whirlwind Begin

2011-02-17T21:52:00.003-07:00

Another tax season is upon us. Which means long hours at the office, no sleep and not seeing family very much. This is a hard time of year for our family. We hardly see each other, we are tired and just wanting it to be April 15th already. I would say that every year is better, and we are getting use to the long hours and time apart, but there is no way to get use to that. It is not something that you just adjust to, rather it is something that you accept and push through. Cherishing the time that we do get to spend together is what gets us through. Saturdays are my day with Gavin. He is at a sitter until 11 and then the rest of the day is spent with Mom. We play and talk. He is a little chatter box. He now repeats all of the letters in the alphabet with me. He is such a smart little boy. He is also growing, at his 15 month appointment he was 24 lbs 12oz and 31 1/2 inches tall. He is going to be a big boy. Also, on February 4th he started walking. He now rarely crawls. He gets to spend every morning with Dad. I leave the house around 6 am, and Casey takes Gavin to daycare around 7:30. I truly think that Casey cherishes that time with Gavin. Sundays are our family days that we all get to hang out and just relax. I would say that somewhere in there, I clean my house, but that is not true. I am lucky if I get laundry in and dishes done. I am truly blessed to have a husband that does keep the house picked up and manageable during these 4 months. On top of all of the hours that he puts in at work, he is kind enough to help take this burden off of me. We are also blessed to have great friends that help here and there during this crazy time of year. So, if you come to our home and it is a little messy, we are tired and possibly a little cranky, forgive us because we are caught up in the whirlwind of tax season.

Another year ended

2011-01-10T14:33:00.004-07:00

The end of 2010 went by so fast. We traveled down to Utah for Thanksgiving. We were lucky to have Casey come with us (he was originally not planning to come). I participated in the beloved Day after Thanksgiving shopping tradition with my mom. We had a blast, and the deals we got were awesome. I was able to get most of my Christmas shopping done. Casey headed back home the day after Thanksgiving, while Gavin and I stayed in Utah for about a week and a half. It was hard being away from Casey that long, but it was nice to visit family and not be rushed with time. I was able to visit friends that I hadn't seen in years also. In between Thanksgiving and Christmas, we were consumed with work and spending as much time together as a family as we could. Gavin continued to grow, get more teeth and talk more. He is growing up so fast, there are times I wish I could hit a pause button so I could cherish the age he is at a little bit longer.

Our Christmas vacation was much shorter. We left Christmas Eve and spent sometime with my parents. That night, Gavin had a fever of 103.4 and started throwing up. Luckily he stopped throwing up as quickly as he had started. The fever however last through most of the night and finally broke the following morning. It was a long night full of cries and cuddles, but in the end we believe that his canine teeth were the culprits of the sickness. As a result, Gavin was fairly exhausted for Christmas and wasn't very interested in opening presents. Casey's little brother Scott was happy to step in and help with all of the present opening. Gavin received so many toys from his Grandparents. He is a spoiled little guy.

While in Utah, we also had the opportunity to visit Casey's Great-Grandma. She is such an amazing woman. She loves Gavin so much and always just wants to hold him and love on him. Now that he is older, it is a little harder to keep him still so she can do this. He would sit on her lap for maybe a minute then wanted to get down and explore. Luckily Grandma was happy just watching him crawling around.

After spending sometime in Utah, we headed up to Idaho from my Grandpa's 80th birthday party. It was great to see family that I rarely get to see. Most of my family had not met Gavin, so we made sure to show him off. The party was full of much excitement that ended up with a visit to the hospital for my brother in law...everything ended up being okay but it wouldn't be a normal Archibald family event unless someone went to the hospital.

After all of the running around, we headed back home for New Years. New Years Eve was very low key, with a relaxing night at home. We talked about goals and things we wanted to see happen in 2011. It should be exciting to see what this year brings.

Family Pictures 2010

2010-11-19T17:50:00.004-07:00

Our amazingly talented friend took our pictures. I think she did an amazing job. Click here for her blog.

This digital slideshow made with Smilebox

La La La...La La La La Elmo's World

2010-10-23T10:22:00.004-06:00

This post is three weeks late, but better late than never. Gavin had a Sesame Street themed 1st birthday party. It was such a great day, everything was about Gavin. We had a lot of family in town and we are so grateful for everyone that came to celebrate with Gavin on this special day. He was spoiled rotten too. I loved planning this party and preparing for it. It was a very low key fun party. I am so blessed to have this special little boy in my life. He is my little buddy and has stolen my heart. Love you Gavin Happy Birthday

One Year Ago

2010-10-01T10:11:00.002-06:00

One year ago, we were blessed with a little angel. He was beautiful and perfect. The past year has been amazing. It has been full of love, wonder, amazement and smiles. Gavin has grown up so much it amazes us. We cannot remember what is was like to not have him in our lives. It is amazing to me how much he changed over the past year. He now crawls on his hand and knees, is pulling himself up on stuff and is talking up a storm. His favorite word is hi. He also says kitty, bath, butch (casey's co-worker), maddie, and many other words. He is 23 lbs 2 oz (50th percentile), 31 1/2 inches tall (90th percentile) and his head is 19 1/2 inches (90th percentile). He is always full of smiles. He loves big people food and wants to eats things off our plates even though he has his own food in front of him. He loves his parents and is learning to give hugs and kisses. He is still just perfect. He can have his moments, but you forget about those once he gives you one of his cheesy smiles. We love him more than anything else in this world. Happy Birthday Gavin.

An Update on Us....

2010-09-13T19:30:00.002-06:00

I know I am the worst blogger in the whole world. Quite a bit has changed since our last post. Gavin is now 11 months old. Time has flown by so fast. He is very chatty and is saying a few new words. We are super careful about what we say around him now. He is crawling around all over the place. Instead of the worm movement, he is now more like a snake. He also learned how to go from his stomach to sitting up by himself. He is a little curious guy which has caused us a bit of stress. He is also starting to try and pull himself up. It is crazy how much he has changed and how fast he grows. I can't believe in just a few weeks, he will be 1. Gavin also got his 8th tooth this past week. He now has 4 on top and 4 on bottom.

Another big change for Gavin this past week, is that he started daycare. He actually adjusted perfectly. He is such an easy going kid, which is such a blessing to us. The reason that Gavin started daycare, is because Casey got a job. He is now a car salesman for a dealership here in town. He is loving his job so far. He loves being out of the house and working with cars. I am so proud of him he is such an amazing guy and has so much strength.

Things are going well for me, I had a few rough weeks here and there, but it has all worked itself out. There has been a lot of pray and soul searching but I can honestly say that I am truly happy with where we are in our lives. Work is going well. I am in the midst of audit season which means working out of the office most of the week. I am also waiting on the results of my CPA Exam. For those that don't know, you have to take 4 exams. You have to get a 75 to pass the Exam. So far I have not passed any of the sections that I have attempted. I am hoping that this last exam went well and I will get good news. I am preparing to take another section on October 22nd.

On top of all of the things we have going on, both Casey and I have our church callings. We are enjoying them. Our callings give us many opportunities for service and allow us to grow spiritually.

So as you can tell, we are very busy. All of our free time has been spent just spending as much time together as a family that we can. Hopefully I will find sometime to post pictures and keep everyone update (if anyone even reads this).

Casey's Hidden Talent

2010-08-22T14:31:00.004-06:00

For Gavin's upcoming birthday, we decided to do a Sesame Street themed party. I bought an Elmo shaped pan for the party. I wanted to make a practice cake so I knew whether I got in over my head or not. I tried to attempt to frost it with the awesome tips and icing bags...needless to say I reinforced the notion that I am not artistically inclined. Casey however to my surprise is.

Finished product

Gavin's reaction when he 1st saw it

I am so proud of Casey. He did an amazing job on this cake.

November 2009 to August 2010

2010-08-21T18:16:00.001-06:00

Here are pictures of the last 9 months. I think they are in order for the most part. We are really slacking on taking pictures, we are going to try and be better about it.

This free digital slideshow customized with Smilebox

The end of Summer

2010-08-21T17:38:00.003-06:00

We figured that before Summer was over, we needed to use our little pool that our friend gave us. Here are some pictures of Gavin enjoying the cool water on hot summer day.

He seemed to really be having a lot of fun. Hopefully we will have a few more opportunities to use this pool.

Tornado Warning!!!!!

2010-07-29T19:37:00.002-06:00

We now have a tornado warning at our house.....the tornado's name is Gavin. He has learned how to crawl in the past week and is now into everything. We weren't quite ready for him to start crawling so there is no baby proofing stuff anywhere. Anyways, here is our little tornado.

Nap Time

2010-07-19T19:33:00.003-06:00

This is what we found when we looked in on Gavin during nap time.

3/4 of the way there

2010-07-08T18:50:00.002-06:00

Gavin turned 9 months old on July 1st. This past month has been fairly calm. Gavin is working on getting teeth, he is eating homemade baby food (we just started this and it is saving so much money). He love mashed up ravioli, bananas and refried beans. He is getting much better at chewing up food. He isn't crawling yet, but will push himself around in circles on his stomach and also scoot backwards. We are thinking he will probably start crawling in the next month or so. He is wearing 24 month clothes now. He is also getting more chatty, he said the word nap on his 9 month birthday. We are really starting to be careful about what we say around him because he picks up on works so fast. Here are his stats from his 9 month appointment:

Height: 29 1/2 inches (75 - 80%)
Weight: 21 12 oz (75 - 80%)
Head: 18 5/8 inches (95%)

We will post pictures soon, our SD card reader broke so we haven't been able to transfer them to the computer.

Prayers Answered

2010-07-07T12:55:00.003-06:00

As many of you know, Casey struggles with terrible migraine headaches. He has a headache all day every day, some days the pain is unbearable and he can't really get out of bed and other days the pain is bearable. I really don't know how he does it. He is amazing for dealing with this condition for the past 4 1/2 years. We found out today that he has been accepted to go and see a headache specialist down at the University of Utah. This doctor is the best on the West Coast in her field. For the past 2 or 3 months, we have been waiting and praying that we could get to go and see this doctor. You see, you have to be invited to go and see this doctor. The way it works is that you send all of your medical files and information down to the doctor and then you play the waiting game. You file is reviewed and then it is decided if you get to go and see this doctor. We got the phone call today. Casey will be going to this doctor on March 1, 2011. I know it is a long ways away but we are praying it is well worth the wait and that she can help Casey's condition. We are also praying that someone cancels their appointment and we will get to go down sooner.

My Boys

2010-06-22T22:02:00.002-06:00

I am away from my boys tonight and it has really got me thinking. I don't know what I would do without them. They are such a big part of my life. They are what makes my life complete. When I am away from them, I feel as though a part of me is missing. I miss their matching smiles, the little crinkles they both get around their eyes when they smile, and the look of love in both of their eyes when they look at me. I am so thankful for my boys and the joy they bring to my life. They bring laughter and love into my life. They have changed me for the better. I strive everyday to become a better person for them. I am so blessed that I get to be with my boys for all eternity. One thing I have learned about marriage and parenthood is that your spouse is here to help you get back to heaven and your kids are here to show you what heaven is like. Gavin is our little piece of heaven on Earth. Casey helps me everyday to be a better person and to strive towards being the best person I can be. I love my boys so much and I give thanks everyday that they are in my life.

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-20T21:08:00.002-06:00

I just wanted to say how thankful I am for my amazing husband. I don't know what I would do without him. He allows me to follow my dreams and supports me in everything I do. He is such an amazing father to Gavin. He is so patient with both of us. He has dealt with my post pregnancy emotions fairly well and has been very understanding. This past year has been a whirlwind of emotions and things happening, he has handled it so well. I love you babe. Thanks for being such a great husband and father. I am so thankful that I get to be with you for eternity.

8 months old

2010-06-02T14:46:00.003-06:00

Gavin turned 8 months old yesterday. I cannot believe that it has been 8 months. This past month, our little boy has become quite a chatter box he has said the following words (all within about a week and a half):

Dada
Hi
Baba
Bubba
Bye Bye
Momma
Bailee ( his cousin's name...and he said it very clearly)

I am thinking that he is more chatty when there are more people around, because he hasn't talked quite as much since we got home from Utah a few weeks ago. I can't believe how smart he is. He is still growing...of course. He weighs a little over 20lbs. He is in 12-18 month clothes. Some 24 month clothes fit him. he has 4 teeth now too. He is starting to eat bananas and those Puffs that Gerber makes. He loves baby food and making a mess of everything when he is eating it. He also loves his Jumper-roo. We love sitting there watching him jump for 1/2 hour or more. We will have to get it on video one of these days. Gavin still hasn't rolled over yet. He also hasn't crawled yet...another thing we are very thankful for. He is such an easy going kid and we love him so much.

Another big milestone for me this month is that I spent my first night away from my baby. It was the first time I had been away from him for a long period of time since he was conceived. It was very hard to be away from my little bug. It helped though that he was with his Daddy. It was a giant step for us but probably my least favorite night so far.

Casey and I are still super busy. I have finished tax season and I we will begin audit season here soon. I also took one section of my CPA exam at the beginning of May and I am still waiting on the results. Casey is busy being Mr. Mom. He is great at it. He has such patience for Gavin and I love watching them together. We are both still busy with our presidencies at church.

Another big adventure for us is now having a lawn to take care of. We live on a huge lot and we found out the hard way that if you don't mow the lawn every week it takes even longer because you have to go slower to make sure you get all of the grass. On average so far, it takes about 4-6 hours to mow. It eats up our weekend, but we love our lawn and it will be fun for Gavin to play in eventually.

I promise pictures are coming soon. I am a slacker I know but life has been crazy.

6 months old

2010-04-20T12:56:00.002-06:00

Gavin turned 6 months on April 1st. I cannot believe how fast the time has gone and how much he has grown. He was 18 lbs 11 oz (75%), 28 3/4 inches (95 %). He is learning so much. He sits up for minutes at a time now. He still can't roll over onto his belly but is getting really close. He is talking so much more. On April 12th, he said his first words dada and hi. I love seeing him grow and learn, but it makes me sad too. He is becoming independent now. I know that in reality he needs me there still, but he is getting so big and becoming his own little person. I still love his morning smiles when he wakes up and how cuddly he is right when you pick him up out of his crib. I love when he reaches his arms up high so you will pick him up. He is such a special little boy. He is so calm and observant. We love him so much and we are so grateful he is in our family.

Pictures will be coming soon, I promise. Now that tax season is done, I have a little bit more time.

Our week from you know where....

2010-02-13T12:52:00.002-07:00

On Monday, Casey got a phone call that surprised us all, his Grandma Jones had passed away. The shock of this started off our week. We prepared to go to Denver for the funeral on Friday. On Wednesday, Gavin woke up with a little bit of a cough. We took him into the pediatrician just to be cautious. After listening to his lungs and checking him out, we were told he probably just had a cold, but to call if anything changed. Knowing that our little boy would be okay, gave us some peace of mind during this sad time. Early Thursday morning we left for Colorado. Gavin did great on the way down. That night, he started coughing a little bit more. Around 1 am Friday morning, I was up with the stomach flu and Casey was up with Gavin (who had woken up 3 other times since 10 pm). It was then that we noticed, that we was wheezing a little bit. We figured that it was still just a cold progressing and he should get feeling better. He was still eating and was not running a temperature, so I decided to just keep an eye on him.

We attended Grandma Jones memorial service on Friday afternoon. It was beautiful and did such a great job showing what kind of person she was. She will be truly missed. I regret that we hadn't taken the time to have Gavin met his great grandma. He is the only Great Grandson on that side. Luckily for modern technology, Grandma was able to see many pictures of our little guy and she absolutely loved him.

After the service and luncheon that followed, we went out to dinner with Casey's cousin and her boyfriend. Casey's cousin was holding Gavin and noticed that he felt a little warm and was having a hard time breathing. I felt Gavin and he did feel warm and when I held him, I was able to feel the rattling in his chest. Fear ran right through us, we were so worried about what was wrong without little guy. We found an urgent care clinic to take him to. The doctor checked Gavin's blood oxygen level and found that it was too low for him to feel comfortable treating Gavin. He then recommended that we go to the ER. We went to an ER on the outskirts of Denver. After some tests, we were told that he had RSV. The doctor put him on some oxygen and we waited to see if he improved. After a few hours, there was not enough improvement, so the doctor informed us that he would have to be admitted and be transferred because that hospital's pediatric unit was full. We were then transferred down to St. Luke's in Denver. Gavin went on his first ambulance ride. Once we were at the new hospital, Gavin was acting more like himself. He was smiling at all of the nurses and charming them with his cute looks. When things finally calmed down, we got him to sleep and tried to get some sleep ourselves (which any parent who has done this, you know it is impossible). This morning, Gavin woke up looking much better. We then took the oxygen off of him to see if his oxygen level dropped. It maintain a good level, so we were told that we could take him home, but he needed to be on oxygen for the next week. I am so grateful that we received the good care that we did and that our little boy recovered as fast as he did. The one thing that we have learned from this, is to trust our gut instinct. We both knew something was wrong before, but it had not presented itself. I also now know that RSV can show up without a fever. Gavin's temp never got above 99 degrees.

We are so thankful for our little boy and the sweet spirit that he is. We are also thankful for the thoughts and prayer for us for both the passing of our amazing Grandma and for Gavin's health.

The past few months

2010-02-07T14:43:00.002-07:00

I know it has been a while since I have blogged, but we had the holidays and then tax season started getting busy early this year. I will tell you what has been going on and then I will have to post pictures a little later.

In December, we went down to Utah for Christmas. It was a whirlwind holiday. We made sure that Gavin got to see each of his grandparents and even his great-great grandma. We didn't get him too much this year, but he got spoiled by everyone else. He got quite a few toys, clothes and some little essentials. Gavin also got to go sledding for the first time while we were at my mom's. He really didn't know what to think of the sledding but we had fun introducing him to this fun holiday tradition. Overall, Gavin's first Christmas was so much fun and very memorable. Also right before Christmas, our ward had a Christmas party, and Gavin was Baby Jesus for it. I think that that has been one of my favorite memories with our sweet little boy.

Next, we celebrate New Years with our friends the Pettys. We went over to their house and had pizza and talked, then at 10, we headed back home to put our little one in bed. We ended up going to bed shortly after that. So much for ringing in the new year. Gavin turned 3 months old on January 1st. We weighed him on our scale and his was just over 15 lbs and 25 inches long. He was sleeping 10 to 12 hours a night and eating between 5 to 8 oz every fours hours. He is such a big boy. He was also learning how to sit up very well in his Bumbo.

Gavin has become very good at expressions between 3 and 4 months. My favorite expression he does is when I go in to his bedroom in the morning and he gives me big gummy smiles. He has been dubbed a very serious baby by the people I work with, because he won't smile for everyone. It takes him a little while to warm up to you before he will smile right away.

On January 10th, we attended my little brother's farewell. He is going to the Houston Texas East Mission, Spanish speaking. It was a very emotional event, but we know that he is making the right choice and is being a great example to all of his nephews and nieces. While we were down there, we had the opportunity to do a temple session with all of my siblings. It was the first time that we had all been in the temple together. We are so proud of Taylor for the decision that he made.

At the end of January, Gavin sat up all by himself for about 10 or 15 seconds. I don't know if other moms would count that as his first time sitting up but I did. He continues to do this every day and is getting really good at sitting up for longer periods of times. Also at the end of January, my full nights sleep came to an end. Gavin started waking up in the middle of the night again. We decided to start him on cereal. He is still adjusting to this, but is starting to understand how to eat it.

On February 1st, Gavin turned 4 months old. A few days later, he went in for his 4 month checkup. He weighs 16 lbs 9 oz (75th percentile) He is 26 1/4 inches tall (95 percentile) and his head is 17 inches(90th percentile). He is getting so big and heavy. He hasn't started teething yet and has learned to roll on his side. He is still eating quite a lot of milk and formula at each feeding and is now having cereal once a day. He went back to sleeping through most of the night once we started him on cereal.

Casey and I are still busy with our calling of Elders Quorum and Relief Society Secretaries. We spend as much time together as we can between church, the baby and tax season. I am now entering my second tax season and I am hoping that it will go better than the last one. I have started getting up early so I can try and get home at a reasonable hour. Gavin is adjusting to mommy not being home as much. It is hard to leave him for those long hours, but I know that he is in good hands. Casey is a great help and an awesome Dad. Gavin loves him so much and they have developed a very special bond.

We love all of you. We will try to post more often. Pictures will be coming soon.

Going Private

2010-01-02T12:32:00.001-07:00

We will be making our blog private in the next week or so. Leave us your e-mail address so we can add you. Love you guys.

Blessing, Thanksgiving and Two Months Old and More!!!!

2009-12-16T22:01:00.006-07:00

Okay so this post is a long time coming. First we have GC's first Sunday. Isn't he so cute in his little polo shirt and cords.

I am very lucky to know my Great-Grandma. Here is our 5 generation picture for GC.

This year we went to Utah for Thanksgiving. Here is GC and Daddy taking a nap after Thanksgiving Dinner.

On December 1st, GC turned 2 months old. He is learning to smile, laugh, coo, talk. He recognizes his parents. He is still sleeping through the night ( 6 to 8 hours). He is learning to hold his head up really well. He has also learned how to fake cry. We love our little boy so much and wouldn't trade him for anything. He is such a special spirit and a great addition to our family.

On Friday November 27th, we blessed GC at my parent's house in North Ogden. It was such a spiritual event. Casey did such a great job and I am so grateful for the priesthood he holds and that he was worthy to bless our little boy.

Mommy, Daddy and GC

Mommy, the Grandmas, and GC

Daddy, Uncle Brent and GC

Daddy, Uncle Taylor and GC

Daddy, the Grandpas, and GC

Everyone who was in the blessing circle

Daddy, Great-Grandpa Cole and GC

And of course the star of the day....GC

Parenthood has really made me so thankful for every minute of everyday. It has made me realize that is need to not take any moment for granted. I cherish every minute that I have with Casey and GC. GC has also made us realize areas in our life that we need to improve in so that we can be better example to him. We love him so much and cannot remember what life was like before him. It all just feel so right and perfect. I am so thankful for my amazing family and I am grateful that I get to spend eternity with them.

We are doing well in our new home. It has been very cold up here ( -35 degrees). I cannot believe that we have lived up here for a whole year. It has gone by so fast and so much has changed. We do miss our family in Utah, but we are settling in and feeling more at home up here. I will try to be better about taking photos and keep everyone updated on the happenings of our family. We love all of you.

2 month Checkup

2009-12-02T13:21:00.001-07:00

GC had his 2 month checkup today. He is doing great.

24 1/2 inches long (95 percentile)
12 lbs 12 oz (50 percentile)

His head is in the 75th percentile also. He is going to be a tall boy. Stay tuned for pictures of our Thanksgiving Holiday and GC's blessing.

Life is Good

2009-11-25T08:00:00.003-07:00

Over the past few days, I have been reflecting on the changes that we have had in the past year. It has been a very eventful year. I have graduated from college, got my first job in my field of study, found out we were pregnant, and delivered a beautiful baby boy. I am realizing that our life is very good despite some hard times that we have gone through. We have been blessed to have a job that is very steady. Our little boy is amazing and has such a sweet spirit. He always seems to know if you need a smile. He is such a good baby that is so happy all of the time. I have an amazing husband that is my rock. He loves me unconditionally and helps me through everything. We have the gospel in our lives, which brings us so much happiness. The most important thing that we have though, is that we are an eternal family. We will be together forever. Even though times maybe rough here and there, we will always have that. So as the Holidays approach, take some time to sit back and reflect on your life...times maybe hard but I bet everyone can find things that make your life good. Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Back to Work and One Month Old

2009-11-08T21:07:00.007-07:00

On Thursday, I went back to work. It was hard to do, but it was a necessary decision. GC turned 5 weeks old that day also. I decided to work part time for the next week and go back full time after that. This gives me and Casey time to ease into the change ( I think it is more for me to ease into being away from my sweet little baby). The day went by fairly fast and wasn't quite as painful as I thought. When I first sat down at my desk, I almost started crying but then I remembered why I was at work and that I needed to learn to do this sometime. I put GC in the back of my mind and tried to occupy myself as much as I could. Before I knew it, it was time to head home. I was so excited to see my little GC, I think that he was excited to see his Momma also. Casey did great with GC also, they coped very well with Mommy being gone, each day is getting a little easier. I am think I may struggle the first day I am back full time, but I am hoping and praying it isn't too rough.

Lat Sunday, GC turned one month old. In the past month he has grown so much. On Monday, we went to the doctor and GC weighed 10 lbs 4 oz ( up 2 lbs 2 oz from his birth weight) I am amazed at how big he is getting. Here are some things that our little GC has done in the past month:

rolled on his side
can hold his head up for a few seconds at a time
smiles at Mommy and Daddy
Laughs, coughs and sneezes all the time
grips toys hanging down on his play mat
learning to enjoy tummy time
loves bath time
sleep 6 hours at night
kicks his legs in rhythm to music
is outgrowing all of his newborn clothes and is a little too long for some 0-3 month clothes
And is just so darn cute :)

We are loving being parents, it is a challenging calling in life, but one of the most rewarding. We love him so much and wouldn't trade him in for anything. We are still trying to figure out who he looks like, we are thinking he is a perfect mix of both of us. Here are GC one month pictures.

little smirk

big feet

Yard Work

2009-11-01T16:58:00.003-07:00

Yesterday was so nice, that we decided to rake up some of the leaves in our yard. In about 2 hours we did about 1/6th of our yard. You can see why here...

our huge front lawn. Behind that hedge is where I was raking...see next pic.

my efforts yesterday all done with a rake, not a leaf blower (burns more calories).
(this amount filled up 8 of those big black garbage bags)

GC supporting Mommy

One of the perks of living where we do and having this big lawn is we have visitors like this guy. He was over visiting our normal deer family ( 2 does and a baby). For you hunter people, this guy is a 4 point....and huge.

Halloween Costume

2009-10-30T14:18:00.005-06:00

So for GC's first Halloween, we decided that he was going to be a little monkey. He is so cute. We couldn't get him to open his eyes, since it was so bright.

Here are some other pictures we have taken in the past week.

3 Weeks Old with Grandma Pippin

First Trip to Utah

4 Weeks Old

Things are very busy here. We are still working on organizing our house. I am planning on returning to work next weeks, so that will be interesting to see how that goes. We will try and be better about posting updates. We love and miss everyone.

Happy Anniversary and Other Events

2009-10-24T19:20:00.002-06:00

On Tuesday, Casey and I made a last minute decision to go to Utah so that we could be with my brother as he went through the temple for the first time. We left here around 12:30 and I needed to be in the temple by 5:30. Luckily we arrived at the temple at 5:10 and I hurried and feed GC and then hurried into the temple to get ready. It was amazing to see him do this amazing thing as he prepares to leave in January for his mission. I feel so privileged that I was able to be there with him during this important time in his life. I am also very grateful for Casey for watching GC while I was at the temple. That was his anniversary gift to me, and I couldn't of asked for anything more.

While we down in Utah, we were able to get the H1N1 vaccine, so that helped ease some worry that I had had recently. We had tried to get it up in Wyoming but they were around 3 weeks out on having vaccines available for us. My mom was so grateful that we came down to Utah, because she had not seen he new grandson yet. She spent so much time holding him and could not get over how little he cried. We are so grateful for our sweet little boy.

Mine and Casey's 4 year anniversary was on Thursday. My gift to him was going out to dinner we went to one of his favorite place, Texas Roadhouse. It was great. It was also our first time that both of us had left GC with someone. We tried to enjoy the evening and not think too much about our little one, but for a new parent, it is really hard. I can however say that I didn't call to make sure he was okay, so that was a big accomplishment.

Happy Anniversary sweetie, it has been a great 4 years and what a great early anniversary gift for both of us....our sweet little GC who is so perfect. I love you babe.

Two Years Ago....

2009-10-20T10:23:00.002-06:00

Two years ago, an amazing husband gave his wife the best early anniversary gift ever. He took her to a beautiful temple where they were sealed for time and all eternity. This gift was a dream come true for the wife and was a priceless gift. They had worked hard together to get to this place and now they were sealed for time and all eternity. They were now an eternal family what more could you ask for.

Thank you so much Casey for that great gift two years ago, it was priceless. It means so much to me that you wanted to be with me for forever not just for time. I love that you want us to be an eternal family and be together forever. I look forward to spending all eternity with you and our family. Love you so much.

An Update of the Past 2 Weeks

2009-10-20T10:11:00.003-06:00

Things have been hectic here. In the past two weeks, we have moved and adjusted to being parents. I am loving our little boy so much. He is such a good baby, he hardly fusses and when he does it is mainly because he is very hungry or needs snuggle time. He absolutely loves to be held and snuggled. He is adjusting to bath time and isn't screaming through it anymore. He is a very good eater and just adorable. It is getting more fun because he is staying awake longer after eating, the only problem is that we are still trying to unpack so the longer he stays awake, the less we get done. He is such a sweet spirit though. I am so in love with our little guy. The love that I have for him grows everyday. It is astonishing that you can love someone so much that you have known for such a little amount of time. He is so perfect. He is also growing like crazy. Last Thursday we went to the doctor because he had a clogged tear duct, when they weighed him he was 8lbs 6oz. I was amazed that he had already passed his birth weight. He is getting much taller too it seems. His personality is coming out more and he is starting to mimic facial expressions that we make. He is also starting to smile a little bit here and there. We just need to get a picture of it.

Besides adjusting to being parents, Casey and I have had our hands full with moving. Casey was great about getting everything over to the new house. I am so thankful for him. He always made sure that I didn't overdo it and rested enough. We will post pictures of the new house once everything is put away. We are loving being in a house now rather than an apartment. Stay tuned for more updates in our every changing life.

Picture Finally

2009-10-19T18:45:00.001-06:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Pictures and Update to come

2009-10-14T15:59:00.002-06:00

I know it has been a while since we have posted. Whoever said that maternity leave was a vacation was very wrong. It also doesn't help that we moved when GC was just over a week old. I will post picture that we have taken of our little guy as well as pictures of our new house soon. We will also post an update of what is going on in our ever changing lives. Sorry I am such a slacker. We love and miss everyone.

Our New Arrival

2009-10-04T18:03:00.007-06:00

Our little baby boy arrived on October 1st ( his due date) at 8:55 am. He weighed 8 lbs 2 oz and is 20 inches long. Here is the story for those that are interested:

On Wednesday night ( September 30th), I had called the hospital because I having some bleeding, after hooking me up to the monitor and checking me, I was told that I hadn't changed since my appointment on Monday. They decided to leave me hooked up for an hour and check me again then to see if there was any progression, because I was having some contractions. The problem with the contractions that I was having was that it was all back labor so they weren't registering very high on the monitor. After an hour, they checked me again and since there was no progress, they sent me home. I was told that I was probably in early labor and they would see me again within 24 hours. Feeling frustrated and stupid, Casey and I headed back home. We got back home around 11:30 and got ready for bed. After trying to lay down in bed, I decided to go lay out on the couch. I went and got my pillow and the heating pad and told Casey I would see him in the morning when I woke him up to go to my doctor's appointment. While out on the couch, I was having really bad back pains and cramps, I figured that it was just the contractions starting but nothing too serious. By about 4:30, I was having a hard time laying still through the pain and was having to breathe through the contractions. I decide to call the hospital since they were about 5 minutes apart and we had to drive 30 minutes to the hospital. They told me to come in and if I was still at the same place as I was before, they would get labor going by starting pitocin. The contractions stayed about 5 minutes apart and I was still just trying to control my breathing through them. When we arrived at the hospital, I told the nurse I wanted an epidural (the thought of it was the only thing keeping me calm about being in labor). She said they would call the anesthesiologist after they checked me. We then went on to joke about women who come into the hospital and are too far along to get an epidural. After checking me, the nurse turns to me and says " You know those situations we were just talking about, well we are there. You only have a anterior lip left." She then left to go and call me doctor. I went into freak out mode because the thought of the epidural was the only thing keeping me calm. I expressed this concern to the nurse and she then went on to say that the hardest part was over, I had labored to 10 cm at home by myself, now I just had to push him out. However, there was a chance that I could still get the epidural, since the baby was probably posterior or face up, we may have enough time to get the epidural. When my doctor got there, she confirmed what the nurse had said and told them to get the anesthesiologist in here. After waiting the longest 20 minutes of my life, we moved into a birthing room, and waited for him to come in. Once he had started the epidural, he told me that there was a good chance that the baby would be here before the drugs took effect. I told him that I didn't care, it was more a peace of mind thing and if I had a longer time pushing then I would have the epidural. Once I started going numb, the doctor broke my water and told me that we were getting started. I started pushing at 7:05 am. They had to give me pitocin to start my contractions going again. There was a point where our little guys heart rate dropped but it went back up after I pushed for a little bit. After an hour and fifty minutes of pushing and a little help from the vacuum, our little guy was here. He is so perfect and looks like his Daddy. I am so thankful for Casey, he made sure I had everything I needed including the epidural and he was so encouraging while I was pushing. We are now home and doing great. Our little guy is a little jaundice, but we are working on that. He is a great eater and has a great set of lungs on him. Even though it was harder to push him out because he was face up, it really was a blessing, if he had been face down like most babies, I probably would have had him at home or in the car. We now know better for next time that we need to go to the hospital sooner or stay there a little longer in the first place. My doctor was also astonished that he was born on his due date. Only 5% of women ever have this happen. He just has to be scheduled like his mommy. Here are some pictures we don't have many from the hospital because everything was so rushed. Now that things have calmed down I will post more later. Our little guy will be named GC on the blog, for privacy reasons (we got this idea from our good friend Cami...thanks).

False Alarm.....

2009-09-29T10:30:00.002-06:00

Yesterday, we had a minor false alarm. I went into my doctor and she informed me that I was not in labor, while we were in there though, she did strip my membranes, so we will see if this helps things progress any faster. As of yesterday, I was dilated a little bit more than a 2 and 70% effaced. We also found out that the baby's head is engaged, so it could be any day my doctor said. She doesn't think I will need to be induced next week on Tuesday, which is good news to me. I wanted to try and go into labor by myself so I was very happy with that news. Our next post will either be an update from my appointment I have on Thursday or us announcing the arrival of our little one.

Updated Pictures

2009-09-27T19:30:00.003-06:00

Here are just a few recent pictures... Enjoy

38 Weeks

39 Weeks (I think I grew quite a bit in one week)

The baby's dresser (sanded and painted by his Daddy)

It has pretty blue handles

It matches the crib really well (sorry the photo quality is so bad)

Stay Tuned for Updates :)

Quick Appointment Update

2009-09-24T18:28:00.002-06:00

We went to the doctor today. I am currently at a 2 and probably about 75% effaced, so I am making some progress. I will be having my membranes stripped next week if I have not had him by then. We also set an induction date of October 6th and my last day of work will probably be October 2nd...only one more week. Honestly I think I am ready to be done with work, the nice thing about work is that it does help the time go by faster. I am also trying not to focus on the fact that the baby could come at any second, I am so excited for him to be here that when I wake up every morning not in labor I get kinda discourage....either that or it is the pregnancy hormones talking. We will keep everyone updated with any progression.

Another Question from a first time mom.....

2009-09-23T06:40:00.002-06:00

My question this week is:

At what point in your pregnancy does the doctor strip your membranes? Is it a routine thing or do you need to ask for it to be done? Would you recommend it being done? Like I said, we are going to go into the doctor tomorrow, and she doesn't ever tell me really what is going on so I thought I would find out from people if this is an option that we might want to take. Thanks in advance.

9 days left.....

2009-09-22T17:32:00.002-06:00

I cannot believe how fast the past year has gone. It seems like it was just yesterday that we found out that we were pregnant, and now we are 9 days away from my due date. It has flown by so fast. I am so excited to meet our little boy. I do think that I will miss being pregnant though. I will especially miss feeling him move all of the time and always having him right there with me. Now that I am at the end I understand why pregnant women are always ready to be done. I have been having some contractions lately, but they haven't progressed into full blown labor. I feel like I am just waiting all of the time for this miraculous and exciting thing to happen, but I have no idea when it will happen. It scares me sometimes to think that any day now, I will become responsible for this little choice spirit. Casey is getting so excited and anxious to meet his "little man". Every night before we go to bed, we always wonder if we will be waking up in a few hours to head to the hospital. We will have a little bit better idea on Thursday when I have my 39 week appointment, if I have made any progress or not. As of last Friday, I was at a 1 and 60%. We shall see. My work jokes that I can't go into labor this week because we are on an audit all week. I keep telling them that he will come probably on the most inconvenient day for everyone, and they will figure out how to work without me. I will keep updating this week, if we find out anything. We love everyone and want to thank everyone for all of their love and support.

Updates and Pictures (Finally I know....)

2009-09-16T13:32:00.007-06:00

So much has been happening since we last posted. I have taken the second section of my CPA Exam, I am waiting on those results now. I unfortunately did not pass the first CPA test that I took, so will have to retake that after the baby is here. I have been extremely busy with work and church and preparing for the baby. At the end of August, we went down to Utah and spent four days with family. During this time, I had two amazing baby showers. Thank you so much to everyone that came. They were so awesome. After that trip, Casey and I decided that we probably needed to start preparing for baby to come. We bought some essentials and then began assembling the nursery....well mainly the crib.

I am so blessed that my hubby will take the time to put together this little guy's stuff. Thank you sweetie I love you. Casey's newest project is a dresser, that we have sanded and are repainting. I will post pics of that when it is all done. Here are some pics of the blossoming momma...

33 Weeks

35 Weeks

37 Weeks

As you can probably see from the pictures, the baby has dropped, which is exciting but beginning to be very painful. We are getting so excited but have so much to do. The baby can come, but he will have to ignore the messy house and mommy's unpreparedness. I have my hospital bag mostly packed just have to throw in a few things right before we go to the hospital. I also have to pick up a few last minute things at Wal-Mart this weekend. Our lives just got a little bit crazier because we have decided to move in the next month to another rental house. We will post picture of this gorgeous house. Lucky for me I will have some family in town right around when we are planning on moving, plus we have an awesome ward. We can't believe that there is only 15 days left before our little boy is here. We still haven't decided on a name for sure, but we figure that once we see him we will know what his name will be. So that is our update thus far, I am sure there will be more as the week goes on.

HELP!!!!

2009-09-08T08:11:00.002-06:00

So we are now nearing the end of this beautiful thing called pregnancy. As my due date is inching closer, I am trying to figure out what all I need to do. One thing that we have not done yet is pack a bag for the hospital. The main reason for this is because I have some idea of what to pack, but not completely. So that is where my plea for help is arising from. All of you that have packed that bag to go with you to the blessed event, what type of things did you pack, not only for you but for your sweet husband and the baby that you will be taking home with you. Any advice is helpful. Thanks so much. We will keep updating you as the date draws nearer.

Decisions

2009-08-24T10:28:00.002-06:00

I found out today at my appointment that my doctor will induce me as soon as a week before my due date, and will only let me go a week over my due date. So we will be having our little boy between September 24th and October 8th. We need to choose a day to schedule the induction, but we don't know how you decide about something like that. We are thinking we want to give him until his due date to come on his own. We would like to see what everyone thinks and what your views on it are. For any of you that have been induced before, your knowledge would be very helpful. Thank you ahead of time. I will post update 33 and 34 week pics later tonight. Stay tune for the updates.

Work Baby Shower

2009-08-12T08:13:00.003-06:00

Yesterday, the lovely ladies that I work with threw me an great baby shower. It was so much fun. We went down to City Park, relaxed and ate pizza. I got some awesome gifts. This is my first baby shower so far, and it really made me excited to see our little one. Here are some pictures from the shower:

The Group

The awesome Diaper Cake

The Gifts

I am so grateful that I work with such amazing people.

Preparing and Waiting....

2009-08-11T09:02:00.004-06:00

I am now at almost 33 weeks. Our last appointment went very well. Our little boy is strong and healthy. We are getting excited to meet this little person that is moving all around inside of me. About two weeks ago, I had my little freak out of...." We are going to have a little person here soon, are we all ready, what else do we need to do, etc." Luckily my loving husband was there to calm me down and we sat down and made a list of everything that we needed to buy and do before our little man gets here. This surprisingly calmed me down a great deal, and now we are to the joyous part of waiting. The questions on our minds now is " When will he come, Who will he look like, What will he act like...." We are starting to get very excited and nervous. We cleaned out the room that will be his nursery last weekend and organized all of the yard sale finds that we had. This helped reality set in a little bit more for us. I am starting to feel a little uncomfortable, but it isn't too bad. I can usually sleep most of the night which is a great blessing. With our little boy growing more, some of his movements are starting to hurt a bit since he is just trying to get a little bit more room. It is fun though to feel him move up against your hand and try and guess what body part it is. I think he is starting to learn who we are, because anytime Casey or I put our hand up against my stomach, he moves towards it. Though I am excited to see him and hold him, I think I will miss the hours of feeling him move inside of me.

Just a quick update on us...we have both been fairly busy. My work keeps me busy with audits which usually keep me out of the office all week. This is really nice because it is making time go by a little faster. I am also preparing for the second part of my CPA exam which I take on August 28th. Hopefully this section will go better than the last one did. Casey and I are both busy with our church callings. I am the Relief Society Secretary and Casey is the Elders Quorum Secretary. These callings have helped us get to know more people in our ward and community, which has helped the transition of being up here go much smoother. We miss and love everyone, and can't wait to see most of you when we are down in Utah at the end of this month.

Vote on your favorite name

2009-07-26T08:02:00.002-06:00

Vote on your favorite name for our baby boy. We finally came up with these three names and are interested on what people think. We were able to incorporate family names into each of them as a middle name. It will be interesting to see what we name him once he arrives. We love everyone and miss all of you.

28 Weeks and Update for the Month

2009-07-12T20:23:00.004-06:00

I am now 28 weeks. Honestly I am fairly comfortable, as long as it is not too hot outside. We were very blessed with some very rainy weeks last month, but that nice weather has been replaced with everyone's ideal summer weather. I thought I could try and make it through the summer without any A/C or a swamp cooler. I was doing really well until today I looked at our thermostat and it said it was 87 degrees in the house. I had finally had enough of being uncomfortably hot, and we set up our swamp cooler and it has been heaven for the past few hours. Here are my most current pictures.

The very sexy pregnancy pants!!!!

28 weeks

I am enjoying being pregnant so far. The only thing that I have been struggling with besides the heat is the change in body image. Just before I got pregnant I had accomplished a goal of losing 20 lbs. I had finally found the right exercise program and diet that helped me shed those post marriage lbs. Upon finding out I was pregnant, I was unable to exercise or eat most of the foods that I had been eating to lose and maintain weight (namely any chicken dish). While I didn't gain any weight because I was constantly sick, I let my eating habits go a stray. I am now wishing I had done things differently. I know that you are suppose to gain weight while you are pregnant, but I am struggling slightly with my self image at this point. I am doing better about this though because of my sweet husband. Casey encourages me to go on walks every night for about 20 minutes. He is very loving and goes with me as I waddle along slowly. He has also been encouraging me to eat those foods that I couldn't eat at the beginning of my pregnancy. I can now happily announce chicken is back in my diet. The only meats that I still struggle with are beef and pork. I am also learning how to get my snacking under control as well as sweet intake. These are all things I struggled with before the pregnancy and I let my guard down when I was pregnant. I am hoping that by changing things now, I will have a head start on losing the post pregnancy weight.

Sorry about the complaining but this blog is like a journal for me, so please endure.

Now for the updates:

Our little boy is moving all of the time now. We can't tell what body parts are moving across my stomach yet, but we can tell when he is adjusting his position. It is the most amazing feeling in the world. I love this special bond that I have during this time with our baby. Casey loves feeling him move and watching how hard he kicks. The baby is already stubborn, and will stop kicking right when I tell Casey that he need to watch the baby kick. It will be interesting to see what our baby is going to be like.

We had an amazing "real" 4th of July with my family coming up and enjoying the festivities with us. It was awesome. It was a "real" 4th of July because I got to shoot off all of those fireworks that are considered illegal in Utah, right here in town and didn't have to worry about getting caught because the fireworks are legal here. I love it. The only downside (well for everyone but me) was it rained most of the weekend. We were rained out of the rodeo that I had been looking forward to all week :(

I have been crazy busy with work. We are now in audit season and I am loving it. We don't travel too much. I have only had to stay out of town one night so far. I have to do it again in August for a full week instead of just one night. I am loving my work and my co-workers. I love the attitude that comes with a small community, there is unity, friendship and trust.

Casey has been busy at home, and has been making it so my life is very much stress free. He is such an amazing husband. The dishes and laundry are always done so I can just come home, relax and be with him. He is going to make such an amazing father.

We also celebrate Father's Day. We didn't do much. Casey's only request was that he didn't want to make dinner. So I made him one of his favorite meals, with everything he liked. It was a great day. I am so thankful for my amazing husband, without him I would be lost. He always know exactly what I need, and is so patient with me. I love you so much babe.

We have been busy this summer also with yard sales. Every Saturday we are up by 7:30 so we can hit the 8 am yard sales. You may think I am crazy, but I have gotten a lot of clothes for our little boy for very cheap. I plan on doing this in future years, to build up his wardrobe even more.

Finally, I took the first of four section of my CPA exam. I am unsure of how I did on it. I have to receive at least a 75 to pass. I will find out in September how I did on this section. In the meantime, I will begin studying for the next section that I am taking at the end of August. I am grateful that Casey has been so supportive of my studying and working towards this goal. Seriously I have the most amazing husband.

I apologize that posts have been few and in between, hopefully I remembered everything that is going on in our crazy lives. We love everyone and miss you.

Pictures of Baby Boy and Mommy

2009-06-11T17:18:00.007-06:00

I am now 24 weeks along. Here are my most current pictures

Also a few weeks ago, we went down to FetalFotos in Salt Lake and had an ultrasound done. That is when we found out our little baby is in fact a boy. Here are his pictures from that ultrasound.

I would highly recommend FetalFotos to everyone. It was an amazing experience. Just a quick update, I love being pregnant. It is hard at times, but I love feeling my little boy kick and move. He kick pretty hard right now. It amazes Casey how strong he is. I still can't eat much meat but I am trying to as much as I can. I love cereal and sweet things. I know it isn't the best diet, but at least I am eating. We have a doctor appointment next week, we get to hear our little man's heartbeat again. We have purchased a few things for the baby. Casey's favorite thing are these baby All-Stars that match Casey's.

Things are going really well for us, I am loving my job now that we are out of tax season and into audit season. We are kinda stumped on what to name our little boy and would love to hear your suggestions.

Final Verdict...

2009-05-26T07:53:00.003-06:00

So we had another ultrasound done and the final verdict is........

IT'S A BOY!!!!!

We are so excited, I will post new ultrasound pictures later this week.

And the Verdict is....

2009-05-19T17:48:00.005-06:00

The verdict is that we are having a healthy baby. We did have an ultrasound today, but the tech could not get a good shot of our little baby, to find out what it was. So we are having another ultrasound sometime soon hopefully. We will keep everyone updated. In the meantime here are some of the baby's first photos.

The baby's legs were apart here but the tech was not looking for what we were having at that moment.

Baby's cute little bottom ,if it would have moved its legs, we would have known :(

The baby hiding its face from us...funny thing is that Casey sleeps like this, so that is one thing that baby and daddy do the same (so cute)

Finally a nice good profile shot of the baby.

Sorry that the pictures aren't really dark the ultrasound printer was printing weird, so this is what we got. We will keep everyone update, we apologize for the suspense. The baby is measuring in at 21 weeks ( 2 days earlier than before) and very healthy and for that we are grateful.

20 week photos of the Mommy

2009-05-17T17:23:00.002-06:00

Here are my 20 week photos....baby's 20 week photo will come later this week.....

I am loving being pregnant, mainly because I get to wear cute shirts most of the time. I also still have a belly button that is slowly getting shallower each day. Casey has been so awesome through all of this. My moodiness has been getting worse and he has been very patient with me through all of it. Also when I start to crave something he is all ready to go and get what ever it is that I am craving. As you can see from the top picture he loves baby very much. We will post more picture of my belly at 24 weeks. Look for our baby's picture on Tuesday. We will also be finding out what we are having that day.

20 weeks and counting....

2009-05-15T10:14:00.002-06:00

I am now at 20 weeks....halfway through. We still do not know what we are having. I was suppose to have my appointment yesterday, but the hospital called and had to move my appointment. We find out on Tuesday (May 19th), whether we will be having a boy or a girl. I am loving being pregnant now. I still get nauseous every once in a while but it is very manageable. I am also starting to show more. I will post my 20 week pictures sometime this weekend. I was amazed with how quickly my appearance changed. It was as though I went to bed one night and woke up the next morning looking pregnant.

Baby kicks all of the time now and move around a ton. I have to say that it is the coolest and also weirdest feeling that I have ever had. I love it though. I can sit for hours and just feel the baby move. The baby loves its daddy's voice and music. That is when it kicks the most. It doesn't like accounting lectures very much, it kicks me out of protest I believe.

I still have my aversion to protein and my love for Cheerios. You would think that I would get tired of the same old thing every meal, but it still tastes amazing every time.

There really isn't much new with us, other than our little baby. I have started studying for my CPA exam and plan to sit for the first section on July 2nd. It is a goal that I hope to accomplish soon after baby is here. We are adjusting to our small town living fairly well. Casey still gets bored at times. I am loving work now that we have started doing audits. I think I have found my calling in the accounting profession. We are also busy with church. Casey teaches Elders Quorum and I am the secretary in the Relief Society presidency. We miss everyone. We will post again next week with pictures of baby as well as whether baby is a boy or girl.

Craving of the Week

2009-04-30T15:10:00.002-06:00

And the new craving of the week is......

Cheerios and Captain Crunch (not mixed together)

I have now moved past my Grape Nut craving and on to different cereal. We also found that I can eat turkey. I had the best subway turkey sandwich yesterday and did not get sick so that is major progress.

I think at times Casey get irritated because my cravings change, and I do feel really bad, but there is not much that can be done. I am so thankful I have such a patient husband that loves me and this baby so much.

Doctors Appointment and Bad Mojo Weekend

2009-04-27T10:48:00.006-06:00

Last week, we had a doctor appointment. Everything is great the baby's heartbeat is strong. Casey said it sounded like a freight train. We find out what we are having on May 14th, which seems forever away. I am still having aversions from meat and I still crave cereal, except I have moved on from Grape Nuts to Cheerios. I also have had the pleasure of feeling the baby move for the past two weeks.

This past weekend, we went to Utah to attend my friend Candy's wedding. The wedding was amazing and beautiful and Candy looked gorgeous. We arrived on Friday and went out to eat a Bajios and then wend shopping at Target. We then went up to Brigham City where we were staying with Casey's parents. That night after I went to sleep, Casey realized that he had forgotten his church clothes which he needed for both the wedding and of course church. He told me the next morning, I was frustrated but then I realized that he had been needing new church clothes so it wasn't a big deal. To also add to Casey's dismay we woke up to a ton of rain on Saturday morning. Casey had been planning on going to a car show but now he couldn't be because his car has no roof. He was not too happy. Also on Saturday morning, I was headed out the door to go and get my haircut, when I realized that I was missing my wallet. We search everywhere in the house and my car. Finally concluding that I must have left it at the restaurant or Target. Casey said he would call the restaurant and Target to see if anyone had found the wallet. The following is the phone conversation that happened between Casey and the Bajios person:

Bajios person: Hello.

Casey: Is this Bajios?

Bajios person: Yes.

Casey: Did your night crew find a wallet last night?

Bajios person: No.

Casey: Are you sure?

Bajios person: Yes

Casey: Do you speak English?

Bajios person: Yes

Casey: Are you sure?

Bajios person: No.

Needless to say Casey did not trust this person and was even more frustrated. After I got back to the salon, we decided we would actually go down to Bajios and talk to them in person. We went and were sitting outside of Bajios when the reality of someone stealing my wallet really hit me. Not only did it have all of my credit and debit cards in it, but also my drivers license and the worse part of all my social security card ( I know....stupid. Casey and I had a long talk about it once I wasn't freaking out). We went into Bajios when it opened and there on the back counter I saw my wallet. I was ecstatic. Casey went on to ask if they had found a wallet and they said that they didn't know. He then was gracious enough to point it out to them. They then just handed it over, not checking ID or anything. I then pulled out my ID and proved that it was mine. Seriously who just hands over a wallet to anyone without making sure that it is theirs. After checking to make sure nothing was stolen, we left to go and finish running to rest of our errands. Casey was able to go and see his friends at the car show and get new clothes. We then went to get ready for the wedding. Casey's new shirt was all wrinkly so I threw it in the dryer with a wet towel so it could stem out the wrinkles. No such luck, instead it came out just a wrinkly and we found out that the dryer didn't even start. We were already running late and so I hurried and ran a hot iron over it so it looked a little better. We then left to rush down to Sandy where the wedding was starting in less than an hour. I looked at my clock and it said it was 3:04. I figured that we had enough time to make it if we sped just a little. A few blocks away from my mom's the clock still said the same time. Not thinking anything of this until we were to 31st street and the clock still said 3:04. My clock in my car had stopped. This freaked me out because I knew that it could be indicating something was wrong with the electrical system. Car problems were the last thing we needed on this trip. Trying to not stress, I concentrated on just getting us to that wedding on time. Luckily...the wedding did start a little late so we were there on time. It was so good to see all of my friends and catch up with everyone. Seeing Candy and Andy so happy was the best part of my weekend. After the wedding, we went and ran an errand and then headed to the reception. We then got lost in the process and my friend Travis had to guide us to the reception center. After going to bed that night, I could not think of anything else that could go wrong. I need to learn just to not jinx myself. During church we get a phone call from Casey's cousin saying that it is snowing in Lander. That freaked us out because if it is snowing in Lander, it is usually snowing really hard on South Pass right outside of Lander. We didn't have four wheel drive so we needed to be very cautious about whether we chose to go. We went to my parent's house and checked the road conditions and they said wet with snowfall. I figured that it couldn't be that bad and we were okay to head out. The roads were perfect. About 20 miles away from South Pass I called to check the road conditions again, and it stated the same thing. We continued on. We soon realized that if it is snowing in Lander, we just need to stay where we are unless we have four wheel drive. We hit very snowy weather and the snow was heavy and wet which was creating a nice slush for us to drive through. I then started to regret my decision to drive home that night but figured we just needed to keep going because trying to turn around could be dangerous too. I turned on my hazard lights and went about 20mph at the most. We had a Highway Patrolmen following us for a bit which helped calm my nerves. Right as we were getting to Red Canyon ( the part of the road I was fearing the most) the highway patrolman left us, we are assuming he got a call. This weather continued and we got home about 1 - 1 1/2 hours later than planned.

Lessons learned from this weekend:
1. Always put your wallet back in your purse
2. Always double check you have all of your clothes before leaving the house
3. Always keep a prayer in your heart that your good old car won't die on you
4. Always stay in Utah if it is snowing in Lander and just come home the following day
5. Always take four wheel drive unless it it July, August, Early September....even then your are risking it

So that was our crazy weekend in which there was bad mojo in the air for most of it....hopefully it didn't rub off on anyone else.

As Promised....

2009-04-16T11:26:00.002-06:00

Here are my 16 week pictures.....

Survival and Some Thoughts

2009-04-16T07:38:00.002-06:00

It is official.....I have survived my first tax season. It was rough at times and a few tears were shed, but all in all I am very proud of myself. Next season I hope will be a little bit better since I will know what I am doing and I won't be fighting morning sickness. This tax season has made me realize how lucky I am to have married the man that I did. He made it possible for me to work all of the hours that I did and to deal with my first trimester of pregnancy. My house was always clean, laundry done and dinner was ready or was about to be made when I came in the door. I have such an amazing husband. He is way to good to me at times, which makes me even more grateful that he is mine. I am grateful that now I get four days off so can spend it with my amazing husband.

Since I have been so busy with tax season, I haven't been able to update my blog nearly as much as some people would like. I am 16 weeks pregnant now and officially out of the first trimester, though some of those symptoms still shown up every now and again. I have a doctors appointment next week, but we don't get to find out what we are having till May because my doctor won't check until I am at least 20 weeks along. So we will defiantly update you on that.

Being pregnant has been the scariest, most exciting and overall emotional journey we have been though so far. Don't get me wrong I am very happy to be able to become a mom but at the same time it scares me to death. In 6 months, we will be coming home from the hospital with this little person who relies on us completely. I feel unworthy sometime that Heavenly Father has entrusted one of his little children with me to raise into a person that is worthy to return to Him. What a huge responsibility but at the same time, what an honor. On the days that I freak out, I realize that Casey will be the one home with the baby most of the time and that calms a lot of my fears....he is such a good man and an example. This child is lucky to have him as a father.

Another thing that has amazed me is how much you can love something that you have never really seen ( yes we do have our first ultrasound but you know what I mean). I love this child with all of my heart. It is a part of me and it is something that has changed everything in my life. For those of you that know me well enough, you know I like to plan and know the future and have a set schedule. My sweet little baby has changed that all for me these past few months. When I get up in the morning, I have a plan on when I want to leave the house, unfortunately sometime that doesn't always happen because I don't know how I will be feeling that morning. The baby has controlled when I wake up, when I sleep, when I eat, what I eat and of course how many time I go to the little girls room during the day and at night. I think part of the reason we are pregnant for 9 months is so we can get use to not have control on every aspect of our lives anymore. You know what though, I wouldn't trade it for the world. This baby means so much to me and Casey and we can't wait to see it and see who it grows into. It is something that we made together and that makes it the most sacred thing in the world to us.

Sorry that I have droned on forever....one last update and then I will leave all readers in peace. One thing I have always found funny about pregnant ladies is the found that they can and cannot eat.....here is a summary thus far:

1) For the first few weeks only hot dogs and mac and cheese ( ewww....)
2) Then onto the french toast....not a bad craving really
3) Then we had stroganoff.....no beef
4) My current craving and what I eat almost every meal is Grape Nuts
5) oh and the best part....my milk allergy has been put on hold so occasionally I have a root beer float or milkshake
6) Fruits and veggies....carrots and salad are the best

Food aversions:
1) Chicken, beef and pork.....I know I need protein and we are trying where we can but honestly this is the worst food aversion ever...something has to change and soon ( Poor Casey doesn't know what to make half of the time for dinner because he is just cooking for one most of the time)
2) really rich foods ..... like chocolate :(
3) Greasy foods

So there is an update on the past few months of our life. I will post a preggo picture later on today or this week. We love and miss all of our family and friends.

Cast Your Vote

2009-03-15T09:21:00.001-06:00

So in 9 or 10 weeks, we will be finding out what our sweet little baby will be. We want to know your opinion however....and also it is fun to see what other people think. Do you think it is a boy or a girl? Cast your vote....and we will see.

Update and Suprises

2009-03-11T11:51:00.003-06:00

Just to update everyone, my new job is going well. I have been working very long hours and have been overly stressed with the aspects of learning everything I can about my new career. Needless to say, I don't think school prepared me very well for the real world. I have had ups and downs through the past three months. We have one more month of tax season and hopefully by the end of tax season, I will have a much better grasp on how things are suppose to work. Since we have moved up here, we haven't had much time to do anything really. We did go to Casper, Wy one weekend, because that is where the closest Target and Sam's club are. Other than that our shopping has been limited to the Wal-Mart that is 26 miles away. I also celebrated my 24th birthday, Casey was a sweetheart and took me out to dinner at this awesome Chinese place in town. Also he bought me a heart shaped amethyst ring which it gorgeous. We also discovered a little surprise on January 24th.......

We will be expecting our first baby on October 1st

This surprise, is awesome and very welcoming. It has been a struggle doing the long hours required of tax season and dealing with the first trimester of pregnancy. I hoping and praying that those symptoms will subside in the next few weeks. We had our first ultrasound a little over a week ago and everything looks good. We will keep everyone updated. We love and miss all of you.

The Craziness of Real Life

2009-01-25T08:27:00.002-07:00

Upon graduation and starting my new job, all I kept hearing is welcome to the real world. Well the real world has smacked us right in our faces. We have more bills than we ever had, the restrictions of a job again, the benefits of a job ( which have been missed from quite a while), the realization of a salary and only getting paid once a month. It may seem like I am looking on the gray side of things but honestly I wouldn't trade it for the world. I am loving my job. It does get hard at times and there has already been tears of frustration shed and dreams at night about the work that I left at the office, but it is a job that I have worked years to be at. I am an accountant at an accounting firm. I couldn't have asked for anything better. As always though, with something good there usually is a catch. We are starting to hit the start of tax season which means 55 to 60 hour weeks and working on Saturdays. I have to say I knew that this would be happening and I thought that I would be more terrified, but I am ready to take it on head on. I am starting to understand my job and I feel somewhat prepare....whether I come out on top or not I will let you know after the glorious day of APRIL 15TH. At this time also I want to tell everyone what an amazing husband I have. He is so supportive. He moves up here with me, away from family to a tiny little town, to a house with no garage for his cars and tools, and now he is being so understanding as I start into these long days. I wouldn't trade him for anything. Many of my family and friends always tell me how great their husbands are but in my opinion (which is bias of course..lol) no one can beat my amazing Casey.

The Month of December ( Graduation and New apartment pics)

2009-01-05T17:46:00.016-07:00

December was a pretty big month for us. I graduated with my bachelors in accounting on December 12th from Weber State University.

On December 15th, we moved up to Lander, Wy, where I had been offered a job at an accounting firm. We stayed in Lander till the 24th then we went back down to Ogden for Christmas. It was so much fun seeing all of our family and being able to spend quality time with them. We went sledding, played games and just hung out with everyone. On the 29th we headed back to our new home. I then began my new job today. It was fun, scary and indimidating. I do believe however that I will fit in fine and learn a great deal. Below are some picture of our new apartment and our old tiny apartment. Our new apartment is a 3 bedroom 2 bath apartment or townhouse whatever you want to call it. It is two levels....and is brand new. They were built in July.

OLD:

Hallway (1st half)

Hallway(2nd half)

Bedroom:

Living Room & Kitchen (with my mom cleaning...lol)

NEW:

Living Room:

Dining Room (someday when we get a table and chairs)

Kitchen:

Master Bedroom (Bedroom 1):

Master Bath:

T.V. Room (Bedroom 2):

Laundry Room Area:

Bathroom 2:

Guest Room/ Office (Bedroom 3):

We are settling in and starting to enjoy the place. It is a new adventure and the start of a new chapter in our lives. Sorry the posts have been few and in between but we have been busier than we thought we would be. We love and miss everyone.

2009-01-05T17:39:00.002-07:00

This is a fun game that I will name three people that I tag and they have to post it on their blog.

What is your husband's name? Casey
How long have you guys been married?Almost 3 1/2
How long did you date? We dated 6 months ( married on 6 month anniversary)
How old is he? 25 almost 26
Who is taller? him
Who can sing the best? we both are awesome, not!!!!
Who is smarter? Me bookwise and him on everything else
Who pays the bills? both of us
Who does the laundry? he does
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? facing the bed,me.
Who mows the lawn? Never had a lawn
Who cooks dinner? Both, I usually start it and he finishes it
Who is the first to admit when they're wrong? he does...I'm too stubborn
Who kissed who first? he kissed me
Who wears the pants? he does most of the time :)

I tag...Mals, Rachel, Stevie, Cindy, Elena, Heidi M.

Fast Update

2008-12-25T13:56:00.002-07:00

Just a quick update.... We are now in Wyoming and arrived safely. We will be posting pictures of graduation and our new apartment within the next week. We love and miss everyone.

Thanksgiving Weekend

2008-11-30T13:36:00.002-07:00

Our Thanksgiving was crazy. We started with having dinner at Casey's great-grandma's at noon on Thursday. At about 3 we headed down to my mom's to finish out our Thanksgiving Day. It was so nice to spend Thanksgiving with my family and I truly am grateful for all of them. After dinner, my family went to the movies. The girls headed out to Twilight and the boys went and saw the new Bond movie. Twilight was amazing. I know some people aren't really impressed by it, but I absolutely loved it. I was bummed that Casey hadn't saw it though. The following day, my mom and I got up at 3 am and headed out to go shopping. We were on a quest for grand kids gifts and a few things that I had found that I wanted. I think out of the five stores we went to, we could only not find one thing. It was awesome. I know that many people say that it is crazy, but we go every year for the experience and the memories. It was so much fun to spend this time with my mom. I am trying to get all the time I can with her before we move in two weeks. Alas...I could not escape school on this weekend. I meet twice with a group for one of my classes to finish up this big project we have due this coming week. I just want to let everyone know how grateful I am for my husband. Casey is the most understanding and loving person. He puts up with my long school hours and understand when I have to stay home and do homework. I am so thankful for him. We keep telling ourselves that there is only two more weeks of this then it is done for now. We finally got to go on a date last night. We went to dinner and a movie....Twilight once again. This time though Casey was able to see what all the hype was about. He actually thought it was a pretty good movie.

I hope that everyone had an amazing weekend and it helped remind everyone what they have to be thankful for. Sorry the posts are few but hopefully after we get settled in Wyoming this will change. Graduation is on the 12th and we will be moving on the following Monday the 15th. We are excited and scared but know that we are suppose to be there. We are grateful for our family in supporting us as we move into this next chapter in our lives.

mmm turkey

2008-11-26T18:34:00.002-07:00

happpy turkey to all and to all a good nap!

love casey and korahle

Christmas Questionnaire

2008-11-17T11:14:00.002-07:00

My sister in law found this and I thought it would make a really cute blog.

Christmas Questionnaire

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Egg Nog

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Sits them under the tree (Except at my in-laws they are wrapped)

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? I love colored lights, white are too boring. But if you do both of them that is really fun and pretty

4. Do you hang mistletoe? no, but we should

5. When do you put up your decorations? about the week before Christmas. I don't know if we will this year because we are moving right before.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? Turkey or ham

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child?giving things to families in need, it really made me get into the spirit of Christmas. I hope to do it with my kids someday

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I don't remember

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Yes and it is usually PJ's also if I am really excited about my presents to Casey we open them at midnight Christmas eve

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? with lights and ornaments I do want to do a themed tree some year.

11. Can you ice skate? Yes but it has been a while

12. Do you remember your favorite gift? It was the year that we gave a gift to Christ ( one thing that we were going to give up to be more like Him).

13. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? being with my family and thinking about the true meaning of Christmas

14. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? fudge

15. What is your favorite holiday tradition? buying our yearly Christmas ornament

16. What tops your tree? star

17. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? Giving

18. What is your favorite Christmas Song? First Noel and Silent Night

19. Candy Canes? Love them but not the fruit flavored ones

20. Do you feel Christmas is too commercialized? Yes...it takes people away for the real reason we celebrate that holiday

Anyone who wants to do this should. It was a lot of fun.

Back from Wyoming

2008-10-31T16:24:00.003-06:00

The past few days, Casey and I went to Wyoming. I had a training Thursday and then Friday we were going to meet with the bank and a realtor to try and get a house bought for when we move up there. Needless to say I got done with my training early so I thought I would move up the appointments I had with the bank up to Thursday. When I called the bank though all I got was bad news. I was very discouraged and didn't know what to do. My grandpa suggested that we drive around town and see if we could find out anything for sale or rent by owners. We had just always assumed that we would buy because there are hardly any rentals up in Lander. The only problem with buying is that the housing market up there hasn't dropped at all and most house that were in our price range are fix uppers. It was really discouraging me because we know that we were suppose to be up there. I just kept praying that something would work out and we would be able to find an affordable place to live.As we were driving around, I saw a sign for an apartment for rent that was a 3 bedroom 2 bath. I was so excited. I call and found out that the rent was in our price range. We then met with the landlord and looked around the apartment. It was perfect. It is brand new, it was just built in July and still has that brand new house smell. We accepted it right there. The blessing just kept pouring out. They aren't making us pay rent till we get up there in December and they will let us take our kitty with us. Another amazing thing is that the landlord is from my old ward up there. He said that he had already handed out four or five other applications for this apartment but hadn't gotten any back. Casey said that he believes that apartment was just waiting for us. It is amazing how well things turned out. Once we move up there I will post pictures of the apartment, I forgot my camera when we went to go and look at it.

Big Changes

2008-10-23T20:20:00.002-06:00

Yesturday we found out where I would be getting a job. We will be moving back to my hometown of Lander, Wyoming. I was offered a position as a staff accountant at an accounting firm up there. We are so very excited and scared about this move but we know it is right. We know that there is a reason that we need to move up there, whether it is just for this job oppurtunity or something else. We thank everyone for their prayers in helping us make this decision. We kinda always knew where we were going to end up...which is a story that I will tell another time. I will be starting this new adventure on January 5th. We will keep you updated on where will be living and such. We love everyone and will really miss everyone when we move.

Three years ago I married my best friend

2008-10-22T09:51:00.005-06:00

Today is mine and Casey's three year anniversary. It has been an amazing three years. We have been through so much together, and those trials and happy time have made us closer than I would have ever thought possible. I love Casey so much and I am so lucky that I get to be with him through all eternity. I am so very lucky that I married my best friend and I have such a loving husband. The main reason for this post is so I can brag a little about the amazing things I love about Casey. Here are just a few:
1- He is so loving
2-He is very empathetic
3- He puts my needs above everything else
4- He has such a strong testimony
5- He is my best friend
6- I got to watch him grow in the gospel from the very beginning (trust me it is the coolest thing ever)
7- He is a worthy priesthood holder
8- He is always willing to give me a blessing if needed
9- He took me to the temple
10- He is so great with kids
11-He is very sexy
12-He brings me chocolate when I have had a bad day or when I just need some
13- He takes care of me when I am sick
14- He is so very supportive of all of my dreams and goals
15- He is realistic about things
16- He stays positive through all of the hard times
17- He carries me through those hard times
18- He lets me cry on his shoulder and just vent when I need to
19- He can't wait to someday start a family
20- He is so respectful of his mom and family
21- He is an amazing kisser.... :)
22- He loves me no matter what
23- He is accepting and forgiving
24- He treats his great grandma like she is the most important person in the whole world
25- He give me great back massages
26- He will cuddle with me all night long
27- He is tender hearted
28- He is stubborn ( trust me it is a good thing)
29- He is very in tune with the spirit
30- He is all mine forever and for all eternity

Casey I love you so much thank you for asking me to marry you and then asking me again to marry you for eternity. You have made all of my dreams come true. You are my knight in shining armor. You are more than I ever deserve, thank you for all that you do. I LOVE YOU BABE!!!!

One Year Ago Today

2008-10-20T14:14:00.002-06:00

One year ago, Casey gave me an early 2 year anniversary gift, and I personally think that it is the greatest gift that I could have ever got. On October 20, 2007 we were sealed for time and all eternity in the Logan Temple. It was so amazing to have our friends and family there with us to celebrate this amazing day. We were able to have some people there that were not able to come to our "first wedding" and that was such a blessing. We joke that we are so lucky because we got the blessing of two wedding days. I still remember the day that Casey told me that we were going to the temple for our anniversary, we were sad that we couldn't be sealed on our exact anniversary because it was on a Monday, but it is fun to have them as two separate dates also. I am so grateful for a husband that is a worthy priesthood holder and that encourages me to be my best. I am grateful that he didn't rush into the eternal commitment until we both truly understood everything that we could about it. Most of all though I am grateful that he chose to have me in his life for all eternity. I am so glad that we are able to be together and that our family will be together forever. Thank you Casey for the greatest gift I could have ever gotten...Eternity with you...it has been and will be an amazing ride.

PS I will post picture of that day when I can find them. :)

Anniversary

2008-10-19T20:42:00.002-06:00

This weekend, Casey and I celebrated our anniversary (which is on Wednesday, October 22nd). It was so amazing. Casey surprised me by taking me to the Anniversary Inn in Salt Lake. We stayed in the Bridal Veil Falls Loft room there. It was so amazing and romantic. I loved the time we got to spend together and I love how my husband made it so romantic. Casey had them put rose petals all around the tub and leading up to the bed. It was so amazing. We then went to the Macaroni Grill for dinner. I had never ate there before and I loved it. The only problem we had with that place was our waiter. After we were done eating, we waited about 10 or 15 minutes for our check. I then went and asked the hostess if she could please find our waiter so we could get our check. When he came back he reeked of smoke. I am fine with people smoking that is their choice but please don't come back to work and wait on people still smelling like smoke and having the smell so strong it made my eyes water. After we paid, we left. As we were walking towards the car, Casey said that he had took the guy's pen. I asked him why he did that and he told me that if that guy is going to have and cigarette, then I am going to take his pen. We had a good laugh and then enjoyed the rest of our anniversary weekend. I am so lucky to of married such a great, amazing and loving man. I love you so much Casey.

Still Waiting

2008-10-15T18:57:00.002-06:00

For those that have been keeping tabs on my job search, I did hear back from the accounting firm in Lander, Wyoming yesterday and it seems that it will be at least another week before a final decision is made. We are okay with that though, we know that what happens, happens and there is a reason behind everything. Update will come once we know the final verdict.

Free Handbag

2008-10-11T15:27:00.000-06:00

Handbag planet is giving away a FREE handbag every hour on the day of their launch. Who doesn't love FREE stuff? I sure do! Check it out here!

Waiting

2008-10-11T14:25:00.004-06:00

All of my interviews went good. We now just have to wait and see where we end up. I had one interview with Flying J.

My second interview was with and accounting firm up in Lander, WY. For those of you that don't know of our connection with Lander, it is where I grew up. I lived there before we moved to North Ogden almost ten years ago. It was kinda a shot in the dark, but we ended up going up to Lander this past week for my second interview.

There are pros and cons with each place, but we just hope that we end up where we are needed most. We will update you next week when we know more. Hopefully it all goes well.

A Moment of Peace and an update

2008-10-02T12:52:00.003-06:00

This past month and a half, life has been absolutely crazy. I have not only been busy with classes, but also interviews and trying to figure out where we will end up. Right from the beginning, Casey and I both had a feeling on where I would end up working and where we would be living. While we still don't know if it is a guaranteed thing, we are still preparing ourselves for it. This past week though, I started having very mixed feelings about where we would end up and getting very stressed out, with homework and interviews, I finally reached my breaking point. After my interview on Tuesday, I just felt like going home, laying in bed, eat a candy bar and crying. Everything had start off bad that day and I didn't know what I could do to turn it around. While in my last class, I was trying to plan out the rest of my week and figuring out when Casey and I could possibly have time to go to the temple. I then got the strongest feeling to just go today. Me being the stubborn person I am, fought that feeling justifying that I had way to much homework to take time out of my busy day to go to the temple. The feeling came again this time though it was even stronger. I then realized that this was not a coincidence, earlier that morning I had driven half way to Ogden when I realized I forgotten my change of clothes, so I could change after my interview into something more comfortable, so I could study up on campus. I was already in my dress clothes, so why not? I ended up attending the temple, by myself for the first time ever, and it was an wonderful experience. I left the temple feeling not as confused and more at peace than I have felt in the past month. I love that there is a place where I can go to get away from all the things going on in the world and feel so much peace and love, it is such a comfort. I think that sometimes many of us take for granted the fact that we have a temple only 15 or 20 minutes away. We can go whenever we want, but how often do we take advantage of that. I learned from this experience, that no matter how busy I am I need to take advantage the closeness of the temple because I never know when I will be living in a place where there is not a temple close by.

An update on us......School is still as busy as ever. I am finally getting control of my homework and schedule. Interview season is almost over, I have two 2nd interviews next week and should hopefully know where we will end up within the next two or three weeks. Casey's health is doing fairly well, we appreciate the prayers and help we have had from family and friends. My weight loss program is still in full swing...I try to go running 5 days a week and really try to stay away from my cherry coke and sweets. Since January I have lost 20lbs and have 10 lbs to go until I reach my goal of 130 lbs. Even if I don't reach that goal, I still love the way I am starting to gain my muscle back and the way all of my clothes are getting baggy on me (that means an eventual shopping trip to get smaller clothes :). I am also starting to realize that excercise and eating right is not a short term thing but will probably just become a lifestyle for me for the rest of my life. Casey and I are also coming up on our three year anniversary. It is amazing how fast time has flown. What also amazes me is how much our love has grown. When we got married, I didn't think I could love him anymore than I already did, I was so very wrong. Our love has grown more everday that we are together. I love how much he supports me. He is an amazing guy and treats me like a queen. He is so much more than I ever expected. Love you sweetie.

Quick Favor

2008-09-21T21:06:00.003-06:00

So interview season is in full swing for me and we have a quick favor to ask of you guys. During this time, please keep us in your prayers that we can find a job in a location that is where we are needed the most. With the economy being the way it is, we don't know how many job offers will present themselves. As of right now, I have an interview in Wyoming with the partners of an accounting firm, I had a first interview with a firm here in Ogden and am waiting to hear back from them, and I have an interview with Flying J this week. We let everyone know where we end up. I know everyone has busy lives, but we appreciate any prayers and happy thoughts you can send our way. Thanks for all your support.

Update

2008-09-12T15:20:00.002-06:00

Okay so I know it has been a while since we posted. Things are pretty much the same except we are really busy. What I thought would be my easiest semester, is actually the hardest one I have ever had. For those of you that don't know, September is recruiting season for accounting majors. I have therefore been busy with open houses at accounting firms, events I need to go to and a lot of other recruiting obligations. My course load is also so very heavy. I am once again grateful that I am not working. This blessing in disguise has been one of the greatest blessing ever, the only one better, is my amazing husband. I come home from school around 4 or 5 almost everyday. When I get home, the house is cleaner and he usually has dinner started. I have the best husband who has supported me and made is possible for me to finish college. I hope that someday I can repay him. Once again sorry that we haven't posted, hopefully things will calm down soon and we can keep everyone better informed.

Back to School

2008-08-23T09:20:00.002-06:00

I am starting my last semester for my bachelors degree on Monday. This has brought on a lot of mixed emotions. I am sad that summer is over, happy that I am almost done, unsure of the future...and so many more other emotions as well. The one thing that I am really sad about is I don't get to spend all day with Casey anymore. Since summer semester ended at the beginning of August, we have been able to spend a lot of time together. Neither of us are working so we took this time to just enjoy each others company. The other day, I realized that this is really my last week of free time. I start school Monday, then after I graduate I am starting a job and then eventually we will have little kiddos around. I am so excited for all of these things to happen but I will miss the days when I can just sit and read all day or we can go on spontaneous road trips and not worry about when we come home. I am so excited though to start this new chapter in my life. I do want to thank my husband for all of his support and love during all of this. He was patient as I changed majors and has supported me through all of the tears of confusion and frustration and celebrated with me when I finally understood. I truly love him with all of my heart and hope that I will be able to be such great support to him during his trials. I am truly grateful for the amazing husband who loves me so much, I know that I couldn't have found a better man to be my husband. Also thanks to all of my family for their support as I have been working on my degree.

Craziness

2008-08-08T13:54:00.004-06:00

In addition to our trip to Twin Falls, this week we were also able to go to Colorado Springs. The reason that we went to this far away place, is because my Dad hit a mid-life crisis time in his life ( just kidding) and decided that he needed a bigger toy, so while on Navy duty, he traded in his Harley Sportster for a Road King. You may ask what our participation in this little adventure was? Well we were the lucky people that got to ride along in the truck to Colorado Springs with the Sportster in the back of the truck and then the following day we drove the truck home and my Dad and Cindy rode off on their Road King. Seriously though, it was an awesome trip. We left Monday morning and drove all day to Colorado Springs. We were able to say goodbye to my sister Makayla and her hubby Kyle, as they head off to Yale. I was so lucky because I got to spend so more time with her. We were also able to spend more time with my Dad and Cindy. After the trade off, Tuesday morning, we headed back up to Wyoming and then on to Utah. Along the way, we stopped in Laramie, WY so Casey could show me where he went to school and where he hung out while he was up there. I was also able to met his cousin Alissa and her boyfriend Damon. It was fun to take a little while to get to know this person that my husband talks about all of the time. It was also cool to learn that Damon grew up in Lander, WY and knew me when I was little. We finally got home at about 12:30 that night. We rested on Wednesday and headed up to Twin Falls on Thursday. It has been a busy week, but it has all revolved around family, which makes everything worth it. We are just hoping that these next two weeks that I have off are not as hectic.

Twin Falls Temple

2008-08-08T13:46:00.006-06:00

So Casey and I had the opportunity of going to the Twin Falls temple open house. We were not able to bring our camera along, but all I can say is that it is amazing inside. We also had this time to spend time with Rachel and Chance. It was awesome getting to know them better. We has an awesome time while we were up in Twin Falls. I would encourage everyone to go and visit this sacred place and feel of the Spirit that is there.

Talking in Church

2008-07-27T13:50:00.003-06:00

So today Casey and I had to talk in church. It actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. We talked about the talk given by Elder Russell M. Nelson in the April 2008 General Conference. It is an amazing talk, read it if you have a chance. Talking in the ward actually helped me feel a little more at home. We have been going to this ward for almost 8 months and have felt kinda on the outside of things. hopefully that will change in the near future.

Discouragement and Uncertainity

2008-07-23T22:11:00.002-06:00

The two feelings that have seemed to consume my thoughts the past few weeks are discouragement and uncertainty. The discouragement has happened from my constant battle with losing weight. While I have yet to gain any weight, I also have not lost any weight the past few months. All of my efforts seem in vain except for the fact that I am actually feeling better overall and I guess that should count for something. I am grateful for the fact that I actually feel healthy and have started having a healthy lifestyle. Now for any of you who have changed the way you eat and you husband has also done so, you may know the feeling of bewilderment that comes for the fact that your husband does exercise and eats the same food as you and loses more weight. You on the other hand either stay at the same weight or lose maybe one or two lbs. The benefit from this is my husband is getting sexier everyday.

The feeling of uncertainty is coming from the fact that the long awaited day of graduation is approaching. As I look at job markets, I am wondering if I choose the right major. My graduating is also opening up many opportunities that we have put off until school was done. These are: buying a house, having kids, maybe buying a new car....a whole new life is opening up and it is exciting and scary all at once. We cannot wait and yet wish the day was years away.

Though everything above may seem a bit negative, there has been blessings mixed in with these feelings. I am so grateful for the hardships that we have gone through because my marriage is better than I ever thought it was, I love my husband more than I ever though possible, and we both have gained the certainty that we can get through anything together. We are both looking forward to the future with anxiety and hope.

Tag...Fives

2008-07-08T20:05:00.003-06:00

Five things I was doing ten years ago:
1. Living in Lander
2. being together with my sisters and brother...I miss that
3. Having a crush on my best friend
4. Busy with basketball, swimming and track
5. Hanging out with friends in Lander

Five things on my To Do List:
1. Finish Homework
2. Clean house
3. Work on resume
4. Endure the last 5 months of school
5. Be more patient

Five of my favorite snacks/food:
1. Anythings Italian
2. Steamer Fresh peas and corn
3. Sorbet
4. Ice Cream
5. Chocolate, Chocolate and more Chocolate

Five things I would do if I was a billionaire:
1. Pay off student loans and other debt
2. Buy Casey the things he wants but sacrificed while I was going to school
3. Build a house
4. Have some kiddos
5. Travel

Five bad habits I have:
1. Getting my priorities right
2. Stressing to much
3. Comparing my life and trials to others
4. Procrastination
5. Not appreciating my hubby as much as I should and taking him from granted

Five places that I have lived:
1. Salt Lake City Ut
2. Green River Ut
3. Lander Wy
4. Ogden ( north and South)
5. Brigham City Ut

Five people I tag:
1. Mallari
2. Makayla
3.Harmony
4. Stephanie North
5. Reagan

Traditions

2008-07-06T10:12:00.002-06:00

One thing that I have noticed that is kinda hard when you get married is to blend the traditions of both families as well as making your own traditions. For the 4th of July my family always goes up to Lander Wyoming to visit our family and friends that we have up there. It is also alot of fun because all of the fireworks that are illegal in Utah are legal up there. Casey's family however will do a BBQ and fireworks down here and then on the Saturday after the 4th we go up to Logan to the Cruise In, which is a big car show and a parade afterward. This year we chose to spend our 4th in Utah. It was alot of fun though. The car show was awesome and then seeing people's faces when they see our Volkswagen ( the car that Casey shows...I'll post pics sometime). The way that people's faces light up makes the show and parade even better. I did miss my family and friends but still had an awesome time. I am so grateful for this wonderful country we live in and for those who defend our freedom.