Mike and Shara

Blessing Day

2011-11-16T11:28:00.000-07:00

Firsts

2011-10-28T09:14:00.000-06:00

I took the kids to visit my family during sugar beet harvest. Here's Hallie with Uncle Derek.

The boys loved helping their grandma at the weigh station.

Hallie got her first ride in a tractor with Grandpa.

We also took the family to the zoo for Carson's birthday. All three kids did great!

More Pictures. . .

2011-10-28T09:09:00.000-06:00

New Addition

2011-09-19T16:14:00.001-06:00

Even though I am super behind on blog posts of our summer adventures, I wanted to announce the arrival of our little girl:

Hallie S. Holt

Born Sept. 18, 2011 at 9:26 pm

6 lbs. 15 oz. and 19 inches long

We already love her tons!

A visit from cousins

2011-06-13T20:14:00.000-06:00

We got a very fun visit from Mike's brother and sister-in-law and their kids last weekend. The kids played together so well and we had a great time with Josh and Katie as well! Thanks again for coming!

Sarah was so nice to play with Blake. He loved all the attention and that she would do what he wanted to do!

Carson, Dallin, and Emma played really well together and had a blast playing on the helicopter. They also made up a new trampoline game and some silly songs.

Carson and Dallin decided to share a stool during breakfast. So cute!

Catching up

2011-06-01T18:21:00.000-06:00

I had a lot of catching up to do on the blog! Below are quite a few new posts. Enjoy!

San Diego

2011-06-01T18:19:00.000-06:00

We had a great trip to San Diego in May. We did a lot of relaxing and playing. Mike and I kept commenting how it was probably a perfect trip for our family at this stage.

We planned the trip in January and fully intended on driving. A few weeks before we left we decided we were crazy to drive and bought plane tickets. Here's Carson relaxing on some of the seats.

We spent a couple of days at the beach. Carson was super excited for the beach. We left our house around 6 a.m. to catch our flight and Carson was asking before we got to the airport if we were at the beach yet. Umm. . . no! We knew we had to get to the beach as soon as possible. Luckily we have some friends that live at the Marine base near Oceanside who took us to the beach there. We also went later in the week to a beach in La Jolla.

We took some time to see the San Diego temple and then we went to the Mormon Battallion visitors' center as well.

We stayed at Paradise Point Resort for a portion of our trip and we loved it. The weather turned cold the first day and it was great to be at the resort because there was plenty to do. Our kids found this white duck and named it Fluffy. They fed Fluffy and all the other ducks quite a bit of bread and duck food before our time was over. The resort also had fish, turtles, and sharks to look at.

Below is a view from the front door to our room. The pond was really neat and the resort had several of them.

We found this duck and her little ducklings. So fun to watch!

Here are some ducks (and a seagull) coming for their food. It got to be that when we we open our door several ducks would flock to it.

Paradise Point also had a really fun pool with a sand area at the end of it.

The kids were sad to say goodbye to Fluffy and their other friends at the hotel, but our next stop was SeaWorld. Here's Blake picking up a starfish.

We learned from our last experience at SeaWorld in Florida that our kids would need a stroller. We got a double stroller and bribed the kids to get in it by giving them popcorn. It worked great and we had a fabulous day.

Carson feeding the seals.

Blake feeding the seals too.

Mike going on a ride with the kids.

Carson surprised us by asking to go on Journey to Atlantis, one of the big rides there. He was barely tall enough and he and Mike rode it together three times. They had a lot of fun and Carson admitted he only screamed a little bit. In the picture below they are seated in the back.

Blake loved SeaWorld and here he is with his souvenir, a cute penguin.

Pretty much every night ended like the one below.

At our last hotel they had a waterworks feature at the pool. The kids really enjoyed playing in it as well.

It was a great trip and we're glad we were able to go!

Farming

2011-06-01T17:42:00.000-06:00

In April, I took the kids to my parents' house so they could ride on the tractors and do some "farming." From the report I got--Carson loved every minute of it. He got to turn the tractor around at the end of the rows and talk on the two-way radios as much as he wanted. He rode with my dad and so I didn't get any pictures of him. Blake and I rode with my brother Derek and so I was able to snap a few shots of the two of them.

Derek looking slightly worried as Blake tries to steer.

Checking out the buttons.

Checking the seed levels.

Soccer

2011-06-01T17:33:00.000-06:00

Carson started playing soccer at the end of March. Mike was the coach. Carson had fun, but we're kind of glad it's over for now so we can have our Saturday mornings back. He starts T-ball next week.

Blake

2011-06-01T17:24:00.000-06:00

I thought I would showcase some of the things that Blake does that show his independence. He started dressing himself a few months ago. Here's one of his initial attempts:

If you can't tell his pants and shirts are on backwards. He eventually learned how to get it all straight.

This is his attempt at opening the oatmeal box.

We also transitioned him to a more real bed. He has done pretty well with staying on his bed unless he wakes up in the middle of the night, then he usually makes his way into our bed.

Day at Discovery

2011-06-01T17:19:00.000-06:00

In March we headed to Salt Lake because the Discovery Children's Museum was having a free day. We rode the train from Ogden and spent a couple hours there. It was a lot of fun, but of course it was also incredibly busy. It was also St. Patrick's Day and this added to some of the confusion because everybody seemed to be dressed in green.

Conner's Farewell

2011-06-01T17:10:00.000-06:00

My brother Conner left for his mission in March. We headed to my parents' house to help them with the farewell and to say goodbye to Conner.

Mike was a big help in the cupcake decorating department.

The boys found other ways to keep themselves amused with this mattress converted into a slide.

My siblings (minus Clay who lives too far away) and parents.

Our attempt to get a family picture with Conner.

Update on us

2011-03-01T10:38:00.000-07:00

I thought I would do a little update about our family.

Mike and Shara
Mike got an opportunity to find a new job last October. This is a nice way of saying he got laid off. We found lots of nice ways to say it (and a few not so nice ones too!). He did lots of job searching and landed a new job in Logan in November. We were really excited that he found one so quick. He really likes it. It is with a smaller company and so that has been a good change. The one thing we don't like is that his schedule is different than we are used to. He used to work from 6:30 a.m. 'til 4:00 p.m. and have every other Friday off. Now he works from 8 am 'til 5 pm every weekday. It's definitely an adjustment, but we're getting used to it.
I (Shara) have been keeping busy with the kids. We've had a very flexible schedule since none of the kids are in school. That will change this fall when Carson starts Kindergarten. I also work a little from home by writing content for websites. It earns us a little extra money that we save for our fun trip fund and lets me use my brain a little bit. Speaking of fun trips, we're planning a trip to San Diego in May!

Carson and Blake
Carson is a great kid. He is getting ready to do Kindergarten testing and he's very excited to get to go to school. We'll see if the excitement lasts! He and Blake love to play together and they usually get along great. This helps me out a lot because I don't have to follow them around or come up with things for them to do all the time. Carson is always giving me hugs and saying that he loves me. He loves to hang out with his dad and help him fix things. He has loved the winter weather and going outside to play in the snow. There are probably a lot more things I could say about him--we're so glad he's in our family!
Blake is so funny. He is talking quite a bit and he has the cutest personality. He is definitely in the independent "I'm 2 years old" stage. He often likes to do things by himself like put salt and pepper on his own food and pour his own milk on his cereal. He loves kids that are smaller than he is. The nursery leaders say he will help the younger kids if they drop a toy or need help with something. He will always point out the babies that he sees at restaurants or at church. If he is close enough he sometimes takes their hands and tries to walk them somewhere. It's pretty cute. He is really going to miss his buddy Carson when Carson goes to Kindergarten.

Playing at the Peak

2011-01-28T11:09:00.000-07:00

We have a gymnastics place in town that opens up for a few hours a week for kids to come and play on the equipment. My boys love it and so do I. It gets us out of the house and lets them run around as much as they want. So much fun. We went this week and I finally remembered my camera to take some pictures.

Blake on the balance beam.

Carson playing on one of the trampolines.

Relaxing in the foam pit.

Blake jumping into the foam pit.

Carson on the climbing wall.

The rings. The boys both love to swing on these.

Carson jumping into the foam.

Haircuts

2011-01-28T10:50:00.000-07:00

I took the kids to get haircuts last week. Their favorite part is the sucker they get afterwards.

Christmas Snowmobiling

2011-01-28T10:47:00.000-07:00

For Christmas we went to Island Park. It was tons of fun and there was a lot of snow to play in. The cabin has a new addition which made for fun game nights and more room for watching movies. One day we took the kids to Big Springs on snowmobiles.

Blake fell asleep on the ride there. It was so cute!

Here's Carson pointing to the fish and ducks we fed. We also saw a muskrat.

Carson and Mom on the way home.

Blake and Dad giving us a wave.

Here's our attempt at a family picture.

Gingerbread Houses

2011-01-28T10:31:00.000-07:00

We received a gingerbread house kit for Christmas. We've never done gingerbread houses as a family before, so a kit was a perfect way to get us going this year. The kids had lots of fun and we want to make it a tradition now!

Birthday Ice Skating

2011-01-28T10:27:00.000-07:00

Mike's birthday was also in December and we decided to go ice skating. In theory it sounded like lots of fun, but when we got there we realized it was also a lot of work to get two kids stable on skates. We ended up getting these ice skating walkers to help us out. Carson loved ice skating and often asks when we are going back. Blake lasted about an hour and then we took his skates off and let him walk around in his shoes. It was a fun adventure, and hopefully we'll do it again!

Afterward, we all enjoyed some cake and ice cream at home.

Christmas Trip

2011-01-28T10:11:00.000-07:00

In December I invited my family to have a Christmas party with us. Our town does a Christmas movie (free movie at the local theater) and we went to that and then we rode FrontRunner to Salt Lake City and saw the lights on Temple Square. Then we ate at the Lion House Pantry. It was a fun day and the weather was great for walking around.

Here's my brother Conner. He got his mission call in December. He's going to Tegucigalpa, Honduras. He leaves for the MTC in March.

Here's the best we could do for a family picture!

Snow Day

2011-01-28T10:02:00.000-07:00

These pictures are from December. We had a few big snowstorms and Carson loves to play in the snow. He went out as much as he could.

A Fishing Tale

2010-11-20T20:41:00.001-07:00

We have been fishing a few times this year and having a great time. It seems like I never have my camera with me or just forget to take pictures. So, we went the first part of November with the kids. The kids lost interest after a while (that's pretty typical--they really want to go and then they end up throwing rocks or playing with the fish we catch instead of actually fishing). Mike and I kept going and I was ready to go home when Mike pulled in the biggest trout that we've seen caught from the reservoir we were at. We were really excited about it. We decided to fish some more and I was about ready to be done when I felt something on my line. It ended up being a huge fish (for us!) and dwarfed Mike's big fish. I definitely took some pictures when we got home to document this trip.

My fish was about 18 inches long and we think it weighed about two pounds. Earlier in the year we caught trout that were only 6 inches long so this was a big difference!

Carson's birthday

2010-11-20T20:32:00.000-07:00

Carson turned five in October. He was really excited to be five, but on his birthday he commented that he really didn't feel any different being five instead of four. We have a tradition that you get to blow out the candles a lot on your birthday and we put candles in every meal. Above is a picture of Carson's breakfast. Below is a picture of one of his presents. He kept asking for a "bone and arrow" set. He was really excited to get it along with lots of other great presents.

Here is his cupcake bulls-eye cake with one of his arrows sticking out of it.

This picture was taken a few days after his birthday. He got this little plane that he could paint and he and Mike had a great time assembling it and painting it.

October

2010-11-20T20:18:00.000-07:00

In October we kept busy doing some fun autumn activities.
We had to make our annual trip to the straw bale maze down the road.

We also had a fun time decorating and carving pumpkins before Halloween. Carson was sick on Halloween, so we didn't go out and I didn't get any pictures of their costumes.

Harvest

2010-10-20T19:59:00.001-06:00

For the last couple of weeks we have been visiting my parents in Idaho. My dad is a farmer and grows grain, potatoes, and sugar beets. While we were there they were harvesting sugar beets. Here are some pictures of the tractor and beet harvester. I got to drive a truck. I used to drive truck during harvest when I lived at home, but it's been about 10 years since I last did that. So, I got to drive for about a week. Mike was a good sport to take care of the kids and bring them to the field for visits.

Carson showing off the sugar beets he found.

Here I am climbing into my "10 wheeler" truck. Carson loved to ride with me in the truck and he loved to visit Grandpa in the tractor, but I'm pretty sure his favorite thing to do is pictured below. My mom worked at the sugar beet dump (the place where the trucks would deliver the beets that had been dug up) and Carson liked to sit with her and help her. He got to talk to the truck drivers on the microphone and tell them how much the trucks weigh. I got many reports of funny things he would say to people as they were driving on the scale.

Hanging out in the truck:

Pumpkin Picking

2010-10-20T19:45:00.000-06:00

We have been visiting a friend's garden recently and picking cantaloupe, raspberries, corn, and watermelon. Then last week he invited us over to pick some pumpkins from his pumpkin patch. The kids loved it. Blake liked picking the little gourds and Carson kept wanting to take the biggest pumpkins.

Elephant Parade

2010-09-23T14:34:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I was checking my email and I received a notice that there was an Elephant Parade in downtown Salt Lake. It was sort of a teaser to entice people to come to the circus, which opened in Salt Lake last night. So, I sat there and thought that I should try to go with the boys. Then I looked at the time. It was 9:26 am and the parade started at 12 noon. Great, I should be able to get ready and get there on time. Then I decided it would be easier and more fun if we took the Frontrunner train to get there. I checked the train schedule and found if I wanted to get there before the parade started I would need to get to the Ogden station by 10:17. I got ready as quickly as possible and threw a bunch of stuff in a bag and told the boys to get in the car. We barely made it on the train--As I was running up the ramp to buy tickets a very nice UTA worker yelled to me and asked me how many tickets I needed. I yelled back and he punched it in. I whipped out my credit card and slid it in the machine. Then the train started to whistle and we ran to the train. The conducter opened his window and told me not to worry, that he would wait for us. I was so glad because the boys were so excited to get to ride the train. I was also exhausted from our fast pace and being worried about not making it. We had a great ride and the boys were fantastic!

We hopped off Frontrunner and got on TRAX and went to the Planetarium to check it out and wait for the parade. We had a great time there and then found a place to sit and watch the parade.

Then the parade started. A man on stilts (pictured below) was walking by and I said, "Carson, look how tall he is." The guy then looked over at us and started walking really close. Pretty soon he was almost stepping on us. It scared us. (Yes, I was as nervous as Carson! I kept thinking that he should be pretty good on those stilts, but then he kept getting closer and closer!) After he almost stepped on us and walked away (with us huddled together for protection) I looked up at him and he was laughing and mocking us. Thinking back on it, it really was pretty funny!

The elephants came last. They were really neat to watch go by. The elephants in back held the tail of the elephant in front with their trunk.

As they were walking by, the elephant in front stopped. The elephants behind it stopped too. I thought, "Uh oh, something's wrong." Well, the elephants turned and faced us. They were close enough to touch us. It was awesome and kinda scary at the same time. (I mean, the elephants are surrounded by men and women with little teeny whips. These elephants weigh tons and they're going to keep them from trampling us with little sticks? Yeah, made me nervous.) After I got over the fact that it was scary, I told the boys, "We had the best seats!" The elephants only stopped about once per block.

It was a great day and I'm glad that we decided to do it!

Birffday Boy

2010-09-23T14:01:00.000-06:00

Blake's birthday was this month. He loved having a special day all about him. We put candles in his food at every meal and sang to him. He would run around saying, "Birthday!" It sounded more like "birff-day!" He's so much fun to have in our family.

Last Bit of Summer

2010-09-16T09:23:00.000-06:00

We've been enjoying the nice weather around here. We set up the slip 'n slide on the hill at the side of our house. Carson loved it. Blake wasn't so sure about it. We also got a trampoline. It's been a lot of fun for the kids (and adults). Below are some pictures of when we put the sprinkler underneath it.

Camping

2010-09-16T09:11:00.000-06:00

We decided to go camping at Willow Flat (near Preston) last month. It was an awesome trip. We did a lot of fishing and the boys loved playing near the water. Mike took his hammock and we set it up and that was a big hit too. Mike's parents came for part of the time and so did his grandparents. Unfortunately, I got very few pictures, though! Below is a picture of the boys playing in the stream with Mike's dad. Mike brought some string and tied stuff to it and then the boys would let it out and pull it back. It entertained them for hours. Literally. Who knew that some string, old toys, and pop bottles could be so fun?

Temple Square Visit

2010-09-16T09:05:00.000-06:00

In August we had the opportunity to visit Temple Square in Salt Lake City. It was really fun. We spent a lot of time at the Church History Museum in their children's exhibit.

Carson finishes playing T-ball

2010-08-27T15:41:00.003-06:00

Carson's T-ball season ended on a very high note. Mostly because his coach gave each player a trophy with their name on it. Carson was so excited about that trophy!

Here are some links to videos of Carson playing T-ball. There is also a video of Blake playing in the dugout.

Blake playing in the dugout

Temple Groundbreaking

2010-08-27T15:34:00.000-06:00

We attended the Brigham City LDS Temple groundbreaking ceremony in July. It was really neat to be there. We sat on the lawn of the Box Elder Tabernacle. We feel very blessed to be getting a temple in our midst. We love driving by the site and seeing the progress.

No trip to the Tabernacle would be complete without playing in the ditch that runs in front of it.

A Sod Story

2010-07-19T14:57:00.005-06:00

This story begins a year ago when we bought our house. We knew that we would have to put in a yard. Couldn't be too big of a deal, right? This past spring we had a few landscaping people come and give us bids on the project. Turns out it was a lot more expensive than we were hoping. So, after some help from my family, we decided we Mike could do most of the work ~~ourselves~~ himself. It was TONS of work and took TONS of time, but it saved us a lot of money and we really like the way it has turned out so far. Mike literally spent hours upon hours working to build a rock wall, install a sprinkling system (that works great, by the way!), prep the ground, and get ready for the grass. This past weekend we installed the sod (with help from my brother and our ward) and we love the way it looks!

"Before" and "after" pictures:

Front of the house:

The "during" pictures:

The sod truck arrives:

King of the sod: Installing it:

We hope to enjoy it for many more years to come!

Family Pictures

2010-06-22T12:11:00.002-06:00

We went to Target last night and got some family pictures taken. Carson was wonderful and Blake didn't really want to be there. Oh well! Here are a few of them:

Carson and T-Ball

2010-06-19T14:20:00.000-06:00

We signed Carson up for his first organized team sport-- T-Ball. I think he likes it. But, I'm pretty sure he doesn't understand what's going on half the time! Here he is taking a swing at the ball and heading to first base.

Ahhhh--Safe!

Here he is in the outfield. After playing two games, I believe he has yet to touch the ball. Mike and I were watching him play and noticed that he does not move to get the ball. He just stays in one spot. And I mean one spot. No shuffling his feet or moving anywhere. So, I pulled him aside and asked him why. He explained, "Mom, if I move to get the ball then I will lose my place." He's so cute. Apparently when the coach assigned him a place he didn't want to get in trouble by moving and losing his "spot". I guess we'll work on that one!

Blake's Hanging Skills

2010-06-19T14:03:00.000-06:00

Blake loves to hang from things. When we go to the park he always wants to hang from the monkey bars. We went to visit some friends who moved into a new house and they taught him that he could hang from the closet rods. This week I caught him hanging from our countertop. He grabs on, lifts his legs, and swings away!

Lagoon

2010-06-19T13:58:00.000-06:00

Mike's grandparents took the whole family to Lagoon two weeks ago. We all had a good time. Before we went we thought that Blake would love going on the rides. The first picture is the first ride he went on. He was okay until it started moving up and down and then he wanted out! He did better with rides that stayed on the ground like the cars in the picture below:

Later in the day we met up with some of Carson's cousins and Carson loved having them go on rides with him.

Caught with the kids

2010-05-22T13:54:00.000-06:00

Mike caught me with the kids in our bed. He thought it was cute and snapped this picture:

A different time I caught him reading some books to the kids. I thought it was adorable and snapped this picture:

Children's Museum

2010-05-22T13:48:00.000-06:00

We haven't only been doing yard work. About a month ago we took the kids to the Treehouse Museum in Ogden. They loved it! Mike and I had a good time too.

Yard work, continued.

2010-05-22T13:43:00.000-06:00

With all the rain we've been having lately, our yard has been coming along slowly. Here's some more pictures of the progress.

We had a lot of dirt delivered and then we hired this guy to come and spread it around.

Then we had even more dirt delivered and Mike had to use this roller to flatten it a bit better. Blake loved helping.

Then a few weeks later Mike rented a trencher and dug all the trenches for our sprinkler system that we'll put in next.

If the weather holds and Mike doesn't have to travel for work too much then we will install the sprinklers, get some topsoil, and finally plant some grass! (I use the term "we" loosely--really it's Mike who is going to do the most!) We're all very excited for the day when we have some actual grass that we can use.

The Yard, part 1

2010-04-11T17:56:00.001-06:00

We have begun the task of growing grass in our yard. It was feeling really overwhelming to me but then my family offered to come and help us with some tractor work and get us started. My dad brought a tractor from the farm and helped us get the big rocks off our lot and do some grading work. Here's the only picture I got that day because the camera battery died. If you look close you can see the boys riding with grandpa in the tractor. Behind the tractor is an empty lot--that's what our lot used to look like with tons of weeds and rocks. Next door to that is what we want ours to eventually look like with some actual grass!

Then, this weekend the dirt man cometh! We ordered some fill dirt to get our yard more level and they delivered it yesterday. The boys were in dirt heaven!

Below is a picture of the truck that delivered the dirt. It was awesome. It had a boom out the back that could throw the dirt really far and it was fun to watch. The driver could even drive the truck with a remote control while he was standing outside of it. We were impressed.

So, now we need still need some more dirt and then we can move on to the next phase: sprinklers.

"Hide and Sink"

2010-04-10T17:52:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago Mike, Carson, and Blake were playing hide and seek in the house. Carson actually calls it "hide and sink". Anyway, Blake decided to hide under Carson's bed. All was well and funny while Mike came to show me and grab the camera, but it was a little tricky trying to get Blake out.

Our Trip--San Juan, Puerto Rico

2010-03-24T21:35:00.001-06:00

We took a fabulous trip/cruise this month to the Caribbean without our kids. Don't worry they were very well taken care of (spoiled!) by their grandparents.

First stop--San Juan, Puerto Rico.

We arrived in Puerto Rico and had a day to explore old town San Juan before boarding the ship. It was awesome. Well, except for the fact that it rained--which explains my hair/makeup in the following pictures.

Here's a picture of Mike at the San Cristobal Fort. It was really fun to spend time with just the two of us. He is so sweet--on the airplane ride to Puerto Rico he got bumped up to first class and he didn't hesitate to trade with me cuz I've never flown first class before.

Here's some more pictures of us and the forts we went to in Old San Juan. We also ate some yummy food (mallorcas and fresh OJ) and rode on the city bus before heading over to our ship--the Caribbean Princess.

St. Thomas

2010-03-24T21:34:00.000-06:00

The first stop our ship made was in St. Thomas. We went into the downtown area and did a walking tour. Here's a picture of me overlooking some boats and then a picture of Mike in front of Blackbeard's castle. We didn't want to pay $12/person to go inside the castle, so this was as close as we got.

After the tour we took a taxi to Coki Beach and enjoyed snorkeling. The sand was so nice and the water was so clear. It was lots of fun.

Tortola/Virgin Gorda

2010-03-24T21:33:00.000-06:00

Next stop--Tortola. In Tortola we took a boat to another island called Virgin Gorda. This is us on the boat--we had front row seats!

Here's our ship as we rode past it. All these pictures were taken with our underwater film camera, and the quality isn't the best but it gives you an idea of what we were experiencing.

Once at Virgin Gorda we headed to The Baths. It's a place on the beach with really large granite boulders that we climbed on and through. We walked on the sand and in places we also waded through water. It was really amazing and really fun. A lot of our pictures didn't turn out, oh well!

Antigua

2010-03-24T21:32:00.000-06:00

In Antigua we went to the beach. It was very relaxing and hot.

St. Lucia

2010-03-24T21:31:00.000-06:00

In St. Lucia we went on a driving tour. Our guide had lots of information about the island and it was interesting to learn about it all. I couldn't believe all the windy roads though!

We saw a banana plantation.

We stopped at some fishing villages and bought banana ketchup. In this picture Mike is being shown how cassava bread is made.

We also got a great view of the Pitons, the pointy mountains in the background.

We visited a botanical garden with this waterfall. We saw lots of different types of plants and flowers and trees. We toured a drive-in volcano, went to a beautiful beach with black sand and saw where parts of the most recent Bachelor TV series were filmed. We also went snorkeling and saw some neat coral.

Barbados

2010-03-24T21:30:00.001-06:00

In Barbados we went snorkeling with sea turtles. It was amazing! I couldn't believe how big those turtles were.

The Ship

2010-03-24T21:30:00.000-06:00

The two of us on one of the formal nights:

Our dinner companions. The ones pictured here were from New Brunswick, Canada.

This next couple was from Buffalo, New York. We thoroughly enjoyed everyone's company.

The view out of our obstructed view window:

We met a lot of nice people everywhere we went. Most often their first comment to us was, "Oh, so you're on your honeymoon?" Nope, folks, not even close!

Back to Puerto Rico

2010-03-24T21:24:00.007-06:00

We loved Puerto Rico! It was so pretty and fun. When we got off the ship, we rented a car and drove to the rainforest. We hiked some of the trails and had a good time exploring.

After the rainforest we checked into our hotel. It was so nice. Below is the view from our balcony. I got it on Priceline for a really good rate.

That night we went to a bioluminescent bay. Simply put, it's a place where bacteria (or something!) live and they glow bright neon colors when they are agitated. So, we went swimming in it, in the dark, and we glowed and the water around us glowed. It was one of the highlights of the trip. We couldn't take any pictures cuz our camera wasn't able to capture the images. But, if you're interested, I found some pictures on www.biobay.com/cd/webhtml/right.htm

that might give you an idea of what it was like.

We flew home the next day and we were glad to get back and see our kids. A big thanks to our parents who took such good care of them.

Winter

2010-03-03T13:25:00.000-07:00

Just a note to let you know we are great! Not too much to report but here are some pictures from the last few months.

Family Pictures

2009-12-21T21:14:00.003-07:00

While we were with Mike's family (see previous post) we had some family pictures taken. Here are some of them:

Mike's parents and siblings:

House of Fun

2009-12-21T21:05:00.002-07:00

The first weekend in December we spent the weekend with Mike's family. His parents rented a house (Three Peaks Lodge) to enjoy. It was perfect for the kids. Everyone had a great time. One wall in the living room had been converted to a small climbing wall and there were two slides and lots of fun toys.

Here's Blake trying out the slide:

Thanksgiving and Trees

2009-12-21T20:47:00.003-07:00

We spent Thanksgiving with my family in Island Park. We had a wonderful time. We rode four-wheelers and played in the snow and even cut down our Christmas Tree.

The tree:

The tree turned out to be a lot larger than it appeared in the forest. It takes up a good portion of our living room. A lot of people's first reaction to it has been, "Wow, that is a big tree." And, yep, it is! I dare say next year we will try for a smaller one.

Blake

2009-11-06T15:58:00.006-07:00

We just really love Blake at our house. He's so much fun.

One of my greatest (ok, maybe the only) ideas I have had since moving to the new house was to put the kids' drinking glasses down low. That way when Carson wanted a drink he could just go get his own cup and fill it up from the fridge water/ice dispenser. For a while, Carson was climbing on the counter to reach his cups. He kept promising me he wouldn't fall, with words like, "Mom, I'm big now, I won't fall." but I knew a little better, thus the cups-down-low approach began.

About a month ago, Blake discovered the cups. He now crawls to the cupboard, picks out a cup and bangs it against the fridge until someone fills it for him. Pretty darn adorable if you ask me.

Also, one Sunday when we were rushing to get out the door for church I walked out and saw this. He was soooo excited about it. Mike ran and got the camera and I'm glad he did, cuz now I think it's pretty darn adorable too!

Halloween

2009-11-01T18:50:00.003-07:00

A belated Happy Halloween from a lion and Spiderman!

Carson practicing his Spiderman moves before the big day.

At the trunk-or-treat.

Carson

2009-10-26T14:15:00.004-06:00

Carson turned four years old last week. Unfortunately he was sick on his birthday and his party with our families had to be canceled. He was terribly disappointed and told me, "Mom, but today is my happy birthday and I don't want my party another day." Pretty sad. Here are a few pictures of the very low-key evening with just the four of us.

Getting ready to open his presents. He kept pulling funny faces when I would take the pictures.

Carson and Blake sitting by Carson's new train set.

Carson wanted one of these train sets (it's a GeoTrax set) ever since he saw one at a friend's house. I told him every time he was extra good that he could have penny to put in a certain penny jar. Then when he earned a certain number of pennies he could have his train. So, he happened to earn it a few days before his birthday. Then Mike and I bought him some extra tracks that he opened the morning of his birthday.

On Sunday some of my (Shara's) family came to visit and Carson was so excited to have people here. He opened his presents and got some pajamas and a new train to add to his train set.

As a side note, we really love this train set! I would recommend GeoTrax to anyone! We have another train set that we bought a year ago, and we like it, but I would definitely recommend this one.

Sugar Beet Harvest

2009-10-19T15:11:00.003-06:00

My parents and younger brothers are currently super busy with harvest. The farm is done with grain and potatoes, and last week we went to check out the sugar beet harvest. We visited Grandma F. at the beet dump (the place where harvested beets are gathered before being sent on the train to be processed). We saw a truck filled with beets and Carson commented, "Look at all the coconuts!" Yep, not quite coconuts, but really cute.
We rode with Grandpa F. on the tractor. Carson wanted to steer, but it wasn't necessary because the tractors are GPS guided.

Derek was also on a tractor pulling a new harvester.

We took a break because of a truck shortage and Carson pulled this beet out of the ground. Lookin' good!

Things have changed since I was at home and working in harvest. There's more technology, bigger equipment, and my younger brothers were driving tractors! But, the dirt still smelled the same (yummy!) and I loved being able to be there.

Friends

2009-10-17T13:49:00.002-06:00

A week ago my friends from high school/growing up came for a visit. It was great to see all of them and catch up on what they're doing. Most of their families came too. We were only missing one fiance, one husband, and a couple kids.

Janeal, Shara, Brooke, Marci, Kayla, Becki.

Unexpected Florida Adventure

2009-10-01T13:55:00.008-06:00

When we returned from our camping trip, Mike was scheduled to go to Florida for 10 days. We were sad to see him go. But, he called us when he had been gone for a couple days and mentioned that he wouldn't have much to keep him busy over the weekend. Then he casually asked if we wanted to come see him. I think he was shocked (and thrilled!) when I called him back the next day to say we were coming. We bought plane tickets on a Tuesday and left two days later--last Thursday. Carson was so excited! He kept telling everyone that we were going to Florida to see his dad and play on the beach and build a sandcastle. We were in Wal-Mart buying a few last minute things and I saw someone I knew. I chatted with them for a while and when we walked away Carson said, "Why didn't you let me tell her that we're going to Florida? Mom, you better go back and tell her!"

After I bought the tickets I started getting really nervous about taking the boys by myself on the airplane. I kept praying that everything would work out and that someone would help us if we needed it. Everything went great and we were very blessed.

We got to the airport early enough and the kids played for a while in the play area.
Then we boarded the plane. We were some of the last people on and the flight attendants asked Carson if he wanted to come meet the pilots. We headed up to the cockpit (I thought they wouldn't let you do that anymore--post 9/11) and the pilots let Carson push two buttons for them. The flight attendant told me to take a picture.
The boys did great. We never even got out of our seats. We were all very excited to see Mike at the airport.

The next day we went to our hotel on Cocoa Beach. We played in the sand and ocean a lot.

Or we played in the pool. They had a kids pool that was pirate-ship themed. It had slides and was a lot of fun (even for the parents).
Blake really liked the slides too.
We really wore Blake out. Here he is after one of our beach adventures. He just rolled over and fell asleep.
Mike and I decided to take the kids sailing one of the days. They weren't so sure about wearing the life jackets, but eventually they warmed up to the idea. It was very peaceful and relaxing and we saw a few dolphins playing in the water. Carson got to steer the boat with Captain Greg.

On our last full day we went to Sea World. We liked all the animals, rides, exhibits and shows. Here's Carson feeding the sea lions.

Touching a sting ray.
They had a Shamu-themed roller coaster that Carson loved. He and Mike rode it several times. It was a great time to be on vacation because nothing was crowded and it wasn't terribly hot.

On the way home. Blake fell asleep almost immediately on the first flight. Blake, Carson and I all slept on the last flight.
We had so much fun on this last-minute, unplanned adventure! Sometimes it seems like a dream. Can't believe we did it! Now we're still waiting for Mike to get back. He got delayed because of some extra work.

Camping Trip

2009-10-01T13:45:00.003-06:00

In the middle of September we went camping with a lot of people from our old ward. It was great. It was especially nice to have Mike home to camp with us this time. (Last time he was on a work trip).

We stayed in our tent. Notice I didn't say we slept in our tent. Not a lot of that was going on. It was cold and unfamiliar, especially for Blake. But we survived! We had a great breakfast and had a wonderful time swimming, playing and visiting with our friends and former ward members.

Carson learned he could climb trees.

Blake hanging out in his chair.

Eastern Idaho State Fair

2009-10-01T13:31:00.003-06:00

On Labor Day we ventured up to the fair. I love going to the fair. To be more specific, I love the food at the fair. Mike and I went by ourselves for a few hours and walked around all the booths and ate some food and then my parents brought the boys in to walk around with us. It was lots of fun. Carson especially enjoyed the petting zoo.

Then we ventured over to the tractors.

I don't have lots of pictures from the day but we had a great time!

A Zoo of a Birthday

2009-09-09T11:09:00.006-06:00

Blake turned 1 last week! We went to Hogle Zoo to celebrate. I knew Carson would love it but I was pleasantly surprised that Blake loved it too! He kept pointing at the animals and wanting to get closer. But if any animals came close to him he held on to us really tight! We saw a lot of baby animals and had a great time.

That night we had a party with a "Zoo" cake. Mike did a great job on it!

Carson and Dallin patiently waiting.

My favorite picture of the night.

I have to show off the hooded bath towel I made for Blake.

Blowing out the candles (with a lot of help!).

Summer

2009-08-31T09:21:00.006-06:00

I've tried to write this post a few times, but our computer is having a few problems. I have a lot to catch up on.

In July, Mike went on a work trip to Florida. It was last-minute and coincided with a camping trip that we had planned to go on with his family. So, while Mike worked, ate seafood, and stayed next to the ocean at the Hilton, here were our accommodations:
Not bad, but definitely not Cocoa Beach. We had a great time but missed having Mike there.
The first week in August we went to Idaho. We went to Sarah's baptism, to see our friends and former Aggie Village neighbors--Adam and Melissa, and then on to Island Park to spend the week at a cabin that my relative owns. It was really relaxing and beautiful.

Mike and Carson spent most of the week in the canoe fishing.

We also went to Big Springs to see and feed the fish.
We also made the drive to Mesa Falls. A kind lady offered to take a family picture for us, but we couldn't get Carson to look.

He much preferred to take the pictures, so he took this one:

I just LOVE being in Island Park. It's so pretty and I have a lot of great memories of going there throughout my life.

Moving on, Mike's sister Kacey had a baby boy this month and so we went to see them. Carson wanted to hold him a lot and Blake wanted to touch him over and over. Kacey and Tyler were good sports to let us come!

Just a random picture of the boys. Blake is not walking yet, but Carson likes to encourage him.

Carson and Blake needed haircuts and so I took them to my friend Lauren. She did a great job. Here are Blake's before and after pictures:

He wasn't completely excited about the process:

My family came last week to help us celebrate Adam's birthday and Blake's birthday. Here is my brother Derek with Blake and his cousin Justin.

Pretty crazy month. We'll celebrate Blake's birthday on Friday. A whole year old! Stay tuned.

Blake's 10 Month Update

2009-07-21T09:28:00.006-06:00

Blake is now 10 months old. We took him to the doctor for his check up (it was supposed to be a 9-month check, but with all the moving and craziness of summer we delayed it a bit).

His current stats:

Weight: 16.81 pounds (1st percentile)
Height: 28.5 inches (40th percentile)

He's kinda skinny! We're not worried about it though.

We also took him to get his pictures taken. Here they are:

Softball Summer

2009-07-12T17:34:00.001-06:00

Mike and I are playing in a summer softball co-ed league. We're having tons of fun and our team is pretty good!

Swim Lessons continued

2009-07-12T17:27:00.002-06:00

We finished our first round of swim lessons this past week. We'll go for round two in August. Carson did level 1 and Blake and I did Mom & Tot, a.k.a. sunbathe with your baby :)

Blake, Carson and my shadow!

Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House

2009-07-09T07:49:00.002-06:00

A couple of weeks ago we ventured down to the temple open house. We thought Carson would like to actually see inside of a temple. I don't know if we just confused him more with statements like, "We can go inside this temple, but not other temples" and "See this water, this is where people get baptized, but not where you'll be baptized". Oh well, it was neat to see!

Isaac

2009-07-08T19:00:00.000-06:00

Today marks 5 years since the birth of our precious little boy Isaac in Renton, Washington. He was born prematurely and did not live. We think about him often. Happy Birthday, little guy!

Fourth of July Extravaganza

2009-07-07T09:00:00.012-06:00

We had a busy and fun holiday weekend.

On Friday we went to Jackson Hole to see my sister and go to the Bar-T-5 cowboy dinner show. We stopped on the way in Swan Valley to get a square ice cream cone. Blake was pretty insistent that Mike share his cone.

Blake with cousin Justin:

Riding with Aunt Shanae:

I looked over at these two during the show. Uncle Derek was teasing Carson pretty much the whole night!

Then on Saturday morning we woke up early and headed to Aberdeen to go boating at the reservoir. The weather was perfect and we had a fabulous time.

Carson loved playing in the sand and the water:

This is Carson and Mike trying out Derek's tube. It seats three people and can spin when pulled behind the boat. Lots of fun!
My friend Jessica has more pictures on her blog. So, if you're not sick of seeing these check it out!

Swim Lessons

2009-06-30T14:36:00.002-06:00

I'm loving swimming lessons. I could get used to coming home, eating, and then witnessing this:

Pictures

2009-06-29T09:05:00.003-06:00

Here are two pictures of our new house. I made a little video tour but it wouldn't load (I have slow Internet, I guess) this will have to do!

Our family room:
Our kitchen/dining area:
These two rooms connect to form one big room. I'm having tons of fun with all the new stuff and the kids love having so much room to play in. Mike is definitely enjoying the garage and unfinished basement and all the projects I want him to do.

We're In!

2009-06-24T08:39:00.001-06:00

We got to move in last Friday afternoon. I'll post pictures and maybe a video soon.

The Home Stretch

2009-06-16T11:11:00.002-06:00

We haven't moved into our new house yet. So, there are two versions of our current situation--a short one and a long one. I'll share both here. Feel free to read either one or both.

The Short Story:
Our new house is finished! Yay! But, no we're not in it yet. We hope to sign all the paperwork this week and move in the day after we sign (whenever that is!). I'm just waiting for a call to let me know that the loan has been processed.

The Long Story:
Our house was not supposed to be finished until the end of June. But, in the middle of April the contractor said that he was ahead of schedule and that we would probably move by the end of May. This got us very excited. As it got closer we confirmed with him that he was still ahead of schedule and planned to be done the end of May. We had to give 30 days notice to the landlady of the rental house we were living in. We told her we would move out June 6th, figuring this would give us a week wiggle room in case the house wasn't done. I didn't want to be paying rent for too many days that we wouldn't actually be in the rental, so I was a anxious to give notice. A little too anxious, it turned out.
The end of May came and went and the house wasn't quite done (for various reasons). We asked the landlady to give us another week. She was great and said that would be fine. The house got finished (which felt like it took forever, but it was actually ahead of the original timeline) and now we are stuck waiting for the loan papers to go through.
In the meantime, we had to ask the landlady for a little bit more time because we had told her we would move by last Saturday (the 13th). She informed us that we couldn't really have any more time in the rental because she scheduled someone to come in and replace the floors in the kitchen and bathroom. She said we could store our stuff at the rental for a few days, but we obviously couldn't stay there with no functioning bathrooms. So, last Saturday we moved our stuff to the garage of the rental and moved ourselves to Mike's grandparents' house in Logan. So, now we are staying here until we get a call saying that we can come sign the papers. We were supposed to be signing today, but that's not happening. Oh well! We're excited to move into the new house and happy to have such a great place to stay in the meantime.

A Mother's Day Conversation

2009-05-10T15:58:00.002-06:00

Me: "Oh, Carson, what a beautiful necklace. Did you make that in Primary for me?"
Carson: "Well, um, yes."
Me: "Thank you so much! Can you help me put it on?"
Carson: "Uh, no. See your head is too big and this necklace is little. So, I'll just wear it. Help me put it on, Mom."

Mother's Day Gift Idea

2009-05-02T08:45:00.002-06:00

My sister-in-law, Alice Furniss, wrote a children's book, called The Happiest Mommy Ever and it was recently published by Deseret Book. It's super cute and would make a great gift for someone else (or yourself!). Carson loves to have me read it -- over and over and over again! I know you can get it online or at Deseret Book and I also saw it at my local Wal-Mart.

She is also doing a book signing today (Saturday) in Tooele at a children's bookstore called The Purple Cow.

To check out some of the illustrations, go to the illustrator's blog. She has a few recent posts about the book and several pictures of it in older posts.

The Insides

2009-04-29T09:06:00.003-06:00

Some pictures of the inside of our house. It's changing so fast. Last week our fireplace looked like this:
This week it looks like this:
No walls:

Walls! (I know it's not the same angle of picture as the last one, but you get the idea!):

Like Father, Like Son

2009-04-29T09:04:00.000-06:00

Baby Animal Days

2009-04-29T08:47:00.004-06:00

A couple of Saturdays ago we went to see some baby animals at the American West Heritage Center. We had a lot of fun.

On a wagon ride:
Checkin' out the chickens:
Shanae came with us:
Carson loved the baby rabbits. I think he's making that face because the sun was in his eyes:
This is our 3rd year of going to Baby Animal Days. The past two years we have gone during the big festival weekend where there are a lot of activities in addition to the animals. This year we tried going to the "Just Baby Animal Days." It was wonderful. Cheaper, a LOT less crowded, and the weather turned out to be better to. So, I would recommend this for anyone who has little kids and loves to just see the animals.

Easter Weekend

2009-04-15T12:49:00.007-06:00

We had a busy and wonderful family filled weekend. On Friday we went to Logan to see Mike's family. Mike's mom received the Silver Beaver for her service in Boy Scouts. Here she is with Mike's dad and grandpa (both previous Silver Beaver recipients!).

Then we went to see my family. The boys had a great time seeing their cousins and being spoiled by Grandma and Grandpa. Here's a picture of Blake and his cousin Justin. Justin is 3 months younger and outweighs Blake by about 3 pounds.

Carson and cousins Adam and Logan decorating Easter eggs. These boys were soooo good and had a great time with each other.

Here they all are going for a ride in Grandpa's "big red truck."

And finally, here's the latest house picture that I have. It's really coming along!

House Progress

2009-03-24T12:47:00.004-06:00

Here is the progress on our house:

This is from last week. Carson is walking towards what will be the garage. The foundation is completely finished.

This is also from last week. It's a view from the back corner of the house. The door is framed for the walk-out basement and the framing for the basement walls is up. The contractor also added some small rock retaining walls as you come out of the basement that we really like.

This is a picture from today. The floor joists are in. I'm standing in the future garage and they are laying the sheeting for the main level floor. Pretty soon we'll be able to walk on it!

Perfect Picture

2009-03-19T11:18:00.003-06:00

I was trying to get that "perfect" picture. You know, the one that you can't believe you captured, even after 10 tries? Well, I didn't get it. But the process was pretty funny. Mike put Blake on his shoulders and told me to look. Then Carson saw that Daddy and Blake were getting attention and decided to climb on as well. I ran to grab the camera, but Mike was my only cooperator through all attempts. He's cute too!

Couldn't resist. . .

2009-03-05T22:37:00.004-07:00

. . .posting these cute pictures of Blake!

Weather and House Stuff

2009-03-04T14:08:00.002-07:00

Yesterday felt so great! The weather was warm and we actually made it to the park. When Mike got home we broke out the bike trailer which doubles as our two-kid stroller. They were so cute as we went for a walk around the neighborhood.
The builder has made some progress with our house. They dug the hole for the basement, poured the footings and today they were putting in some stuff to start working on the foundation. Here's more pictures of that:

Movie Recommendation

2009-02-21T12:20:00.002-07:00

I rarely recommend movies to others, but last night Mike and I watched Fireproof and I really liked it. It's a Christian-themed movie and has Kirk Cameron in it. The acting is not the best, but the overall movie is great. Rent it. Soon. It's good. I promise!

A House!

2009-02-20T13:29:00.003-07:00

I'm excited to announce that we are buying a house. The only problem is that it hasn't been built yet. A minor detail, sort of. They are going to start digging the hole for the basement/foundation on Monday and I'm going to try to document the entire process in pictures. So, this probably won't be the last post about the house that you read. We expect to be finished sometime this summer. (I'm being vague so I won't be disappointed if it's not done by when the builder said it would be.)

Our Future Homestead!:

Valentine's Weekend

2009-02-18T09:39:00.004-07:00

Decorating cookies with Aunt Shanae. Carson kept saying, "I'm decorating cookies, this is a party." He was excited to have a part in the festivities.
Carson riding in the sled with Grandpa Furniss while Derek drives.
All my Valentine's boys!

My Latest Creations

2009-02-10T08:57:00.003-07:00

I sewed a denim quilt for my brother-in-law's family. It was a Christmas present, but they live in another state and so I was just able to give it to them when they came to visit a couple of weeks ago. My mom and I designed the pattern ourselves and it was a lot of fun to do.

Finding a place to put grocery bags was a problem at our house until a few years ago when Mike engineered this:

It was great and served its purpose, but then I got this idea from makeitandloveit.blogspot.com and created this:

A Tooth!

2009-02-02T20:22:00.001-07:00

Blake had his first tooth poke through last week. We both felt like he's too little to have a tooth. It's just hard to accept how fast they grow up!

January

2009-01-26T12:03:00.002-07:00

Some random pictures of the month:

Mike's parents gave us a huge tent for our birthdays. Mike set it up in our living room. It took up the whole room--we had to move our couch out. Then Carson and Mike slept in it.

Carson was entertaining Blake by singing and leading music last Sunday.

Carson always asks to hold Blake. This time Blake actually appears like he's enjoying it! :)

The Blake-ster

2009-01-16T09:35:00.002-07:00

Blake is now 4 months old. He's so much fun and we all really love him. We took him to the doctor yesterday and found out some new stats:
Weight: 13 lbs. 11 ounces (18%)
Height: 25.5 inches (63%)

Some other stuff about Blake:
*He smiles a lot now, I love it when he looks at someone (especially me) and smiles. Good stuff!
*He laughs more often. When one of us gets him to laugh, the rest of us come running to watch.
*He has been more fussy these last two months (not a complaint, just a fact) but I think he's getting MUCH better. It could be that he just likes the familiarity of home, cuz he wasn't the happiest baby during our holiday travels.
*He's likes to suck and chew on toys and fingers (his own and others' if you let him!).
*He doesn't sleep through the night, but is getting closer, and I can't decide if I'm excited for him to sleep better or sad cuz I'll miss the extra cuddle time.
*I think he already admires Carson. For example, when they are in the car together, Blake will just stare at Carson and Carson can usually make Blake happy by singing a song.

Snow Much Fun

2009-01-15T11:18:00.005-07:00

I'm so behind! Here are some pictures of the rest of our December (FINALLY! I know!).

We went to Island Park to celebrate Christmas at the cabin. It was tons of fun and there was tons of snow!

Christmas morning pictures:

We cut the top of our tree off and brought it. It added to the ambiance.

Blake was pretty excited to be there with us.

Blake and I modeling our new clothes.

When we woke up Christmas morning I was pleasantly surprised to see this much snow on our car: (Notice that you can still see the outline of the vehicles.)

Then I took the following picture at 1 pm. No one in my family had ever witnessed this much snowfall in such a short period of time.

Carson loved the cabin. He loved to play outside with his dad, uncles and grandpa.

One day we went sledding at a friend's cabin. That was great. Even Mike and I got in some of the action.

This is what we did mostly. Relaxed and spent some quality time together. Look how excited Carson is! :)

Birthday Flight

2008-12-18T09:33:00.005-07:00

December is a very busy month for our family. Two birthdays, an anniversary, and Christmas. We love it. Mike's birthday was this week. He turned 30! We went out to dinner and then I surprised him with a trip to the iFLY in Ogden. It's an indoor skydiving wind tunnel. Carson was very excited to see Daddy "fly".

Carson making a birthday sign (yes, that's permanent marker on his face, and I even gave him the offending instrument, oops!)

Opening his gift

Getting suited up

Carson waiting to see his dad fly.

Mike in the wind tunnel

A short video of one of his flights

He had a great time and said he would recommend it to anyone!

Let's Snuggle 'til It's Christmas

2008-12-16T08:46:00.001-07:00

Carson is constantly saying cute slash funny things. I often forget them so I'm going to write them down in an effort to do better.

Yesterday while I was loading the dishwasher Carson was in the kitchen with me. He looked at me and said, "Mom, let's snuggle 'til it's Christmas." So precious!! I said I would, of course!

Last night I was trying to get Carson excited to go to bed and so I told him that I had just washed his sheets, blanket, and pajamas. Here's the conversation that ensued:

Carson said, "Mommy, you washed my sheets and blanket and jammies?" He was very excited and I felt good that my plan to get him to get in bed would work wonderfully.

Then he hit me with, "Wow! I'm so PROUD of you!"

Not exactly the response I was looking for. But, I guess it has been a while since I've done the laundry. . .

New Hobby

2008-12-05T12:10:00.002-07:00

I have a shocking secret! I know how to sew. Yes, it's true. And, I actually like it! Since we've been married Mike has occasionally suggested that I learn how to sew. I always brushed him aside and thought that I would hate it or that I wouldn't be very good. I didn't even take home-ec in junior high. Then after helping my mom make a quilt, I caved in. This sewing thing actually looked like something I would like. So, last year for Christmas I received a sewing machine and have since taken a class on sewing. I'm definitely not the best at it, but I am trying to improve. I don't consider myself crafty or anything like that so that's why this is such a big deal to me.

My most recent project is that I made a rag blanket for my new nephew. It was easier than I thought and I just watched an online video to figure out how to do it. Thanks for letting me showcase my new hobby!

Recovered

2008-12-01T13:43:00.005-07:00

I think this word best describes how I feel today. We've had an eventful week and a half and now we're home and I'm starting to feel a little more back to normal.

Here's what we've been up to:

We went to Mike's brother's wedding on the 22nd. It was in Logan. After the reception we were headed to Preston to spend some time with his family when I looked back at Carson in the car and he threw up all over himself and the seats. So, after a quick clean up we kept on going. We thought he was better and maybe it was just a fluke but later that night he got a fever and kept throwing up. It was really sad to see him so miserable. We decided to come home Sunday morning.

Carson was sick until probably Tuesday and didn't feel completely better until Wednesday night. We were glad his sickness didn't upset our Thanksgiving plans and we headed back to Preston on Thursday to be with the Holt clan. We had yummy food and a great time visiting with family.

Friday we braved some crowds and tried to do some shopping. We didn't get too many things but we had a great time with each other (we left Carson with his grandma).

Saturday we went with everyone to cut down Christmas trees. I had fun, but pretty much just stayed in the car with Blake. There was a little bit of snow and from what I heard the kids had a fabulous time.

We came back that night and on Sunday set up our Christmas decorations. It's been fun to have something different to look at around here. Now I'm just dealing with mounds of laundry and errands to do.

Now for some pictures:

Some of the grandkids helping Grandma make pancakes. If we have any more children, she'll have to buy more stools!

19 people + 3 vehicles + 5 Christmas trees = Lots of holiday fun!

Carson "helping" clean up the mess we made setting up the Christmas stuff!

Doctor Visit

2008-11-14T12:47:00.002-07:00

Mike and I took Blake and Carson to the doctor yesterday for their check-ups. It was Blake's two month visit and Carson's three year visit.

Their stats:
Carson--30.7 pounds (38th percentile), 36.5 inches (24th percentile)
Blake--11.56 pounds (35th percentile), 23.5 inches (60th percentile)

All was well until they ushered us in to get shots. I got a great idea from my sister-in-law who told her older son to be brave and show the younger son how not to cry when he got shots. It worked great for her. Mike and I tried the same trick on Carson and it didn't work at all. Carson cried a lot more than Blake. We promised Carson some soda pop (one of his favorite treats) if he would stop crying. He eventually calmed down and on the way to get some soda I started reading a pamphlet from the doctor that said children his age should "avoid sweets, especially sugary drinks". I guess it's too late for us, Carson likes his treats. Does anyone really deny their child sweets at this age?

Blessing Day

2008-11-03T13:56:00.004-07:00

Blake was blessed on Sunday. Earlier in the week I had a great idea to get someone to take a picture of the four of us. The weather had been great and we don't have many pictures of our family because we don't usually have someone to take them when I get the idea. So, Sunday was going to be the day. And then it rained. I mean it poured! I spent quite a bit of time on my hair and I just got drenched. Oh well! We got a few pictures inside the church, so it worked out, just not like I had it imagined in my mind.

Many of our family came and Mike did a great job on the blessing. Then we had a fun visit and meal after church.

Halloween 2008

2008-11-03T13:43:00.004-07:00

We had a great Halloween full of pumpkin carving, a ward party, trunk-or-treating, dressing up as a bear (Carson) and a bee (Blake), and touring the local pumpkin patch.

You can click on the collage to make it bigger. I realize the one picture is on there twice, but I'm new at this so please overlook it!

It's a Wonder "Fall" Life

2008-10-28T13:48:00.003-06:00

Our neighbor's tree shed a bunch of leaves this week and we've had a lot of fun playing in them.

Grandpa and Grandma Crockett came for a visit and got a surprise: