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An update

So I know I said I would post some pictures of myself with my big ol' belly, yet I still haven't found time to take some pictures, then post them and do a whole write up. I did find my camera though. I guess that's my project for the weekend. We'll see if it actually happens. By the way, this is a long post, so apologies if it's too long for you.

A lot has been going on lately and I have felt like a crazy person at times. My grandfather passed away recently and the funeral was Monday. I was able to go up to Ogden on Saturday and spend some time with my parents and all of my siblings. I think it was the first time in a very long time that it was just the 8 of us. We had some good laughs and enjoyed being together. My parents rented a minivan. We never owned a minivan or any type of van growing up. My mom always preferred the suburban. Of course Sunday the weather decided it better dump a few inches or more of snow. My aunt and uncle (where we were all staying) live on a mountain so getting to church was a bit of an adventure because said minivan did not have all wheel drive. We did a little slipping and sliding but in the end (after missing a turn, trying to go up a road and getting rejected, finally taking the long way around) we made it in. My little brother Matt was the only one not with us since he had slept at my cousin's house. So, of course, we had to all cram into the van after church, just because we had never experienced that. My brothers thought it would be helpful if they all sat in the back. This did backfire, however, as the minivan was front wheel drive and they just added more weight to the back of the van. It was nice to laugh and joke and have a good time. Sunday night was the viewing and I got to see a lot of cousins and aunts and uncles. I headed back to Orem that night so Paul and I could drive up together Monday for the funeral. Unfortunately around midnight I started to throw up, not sure what it was, but ended up staying home on Monday to recover. I was sad I couldn't be there and heard the service was really nice. I love my grandpa, but I am happy he is now not in pain and able to be with his sweetheart again.

As far as the pregnancy goes, things are looking good. I am now on the 2 week doctor visit schedule so that's fun. My next appointment is on Christmas Eve. It was better than Monday at 2:00pm since my doctor is quite popular and Mondays are never a good day to schedule an appointment unless you are the first one. Plus we have Jackson and I am hoping we can do an ultrasound so he can see little Dixie on the screen. We'll see how it goes. I am also in the process of grading Dixie's movements. Each day I take time to count her movements. If she does 10 movements (kicks, stretches, etc.) in 15 minutes, she gets an A. If she does 10 in 30 minutes it's a B, 45 minutes a C, and within an hour a D. Basically, this is to make sure she is moving plenty. Also, if she goes from A's and B's to C's and D's, then something is wrong. The first 2 days she had B's but since then it's been all A's for this girl. Yesterday was a bit rough. I almost felt beat up by the end of the day because she was moving so much. The stretching is the most uncomfortable for me because it's usually felt in 2 places. For example, this morning I was sitting here at work and felt the stretch right under my ribs on the left side and the lower right side. I end up pushing her so she'll stop. She has pushed back a few times. Perhaps we're already butting heads on some issues. :) I am loving it so far. Except I am getting more and more uncomfortable. Paul is so wonderful. He sees me struggling to get my shoes tied and comes right over and ties them for me. He's such a great husband and already such a great dad! So I think I've gone on long enough. I will try to post some pictures this weekend.

Jackson Turns 6

Monday was Jackson's birthday but we celebrated over the weekend. We decided to try out a party at the Legacy Center, where I work. There is a Rock Wall there and that is one of the party packages. We had him invite a few friends and cousins. His best friend, Ty, came all the way to Lehi from Springville. We thought that was pretty nice. The Rock Wall was a lot of fun. Well, I think they all had fun, I wasn't about to try that with a huge belly and all this extra weight. Paul and his sister Liz did have a go though. The boys had a lot of fun and competed to see who could climb the highest. I think they got fascinated with the fact that the rope had a pulley so they could let go of the wall and slowly come down. They all got pretty good at it in the end.
After the Rock Wall we went to the room and had pizza, cake and opened presents (pretty sure this was Jackson's favorite). He got a LOT of Bakugans and some other toys. He was very happy. After that we took them swimming (how could we not :)). We only let them swim for an hour and they spent about 45 minutes going down the big green slide. They had a blast.
Sunday we had a family party so the adults could participate. Our nephew Mark recently returned from his mission and had his homecoming that day as well. We got plenty of family time! Jackson got plenty of other presents from this party.
We are so happy he had a great time. We are so proud of him and how well he's doing in Kindergarten. Paul was able to go to his classroom with him. I guess the students take turn being captains of their tables. He's captain of his table now. This means that he goes to get paper and supplies for his table when it's time. He was proud of this and we're proud of him too. Happy Birthday Jackson!

And then there were two...

Well, some people think we're crazy, and we very well may be. But we got yet ANOTHER dog. This time, we didn't go with a puppy. We found out they put Bryant down and it was so devastating to us both. We had been beating ourselves up about taking him right to the shelter rather than looking into other options, like rescues or trying to find him another home. And the shelter was so unemotional about it. They simply told Paul, "Oh him, he's dead. He wasn't fit to live in society." It still breaks my heart a bit. Well, it motivated us to rescue a dog and give some other dog a second chance at a good home. I had in mind what I wanted. I have loved holding Tucker but he's growing and so is my stomach and soon I fear he will be 50 pounds and want to still sit in my lap! So I wanted a small breed. My aunt Karen had a dog Buddy who looked like an Ewok and I loved him. He was so much fun. Well we found one at Petsmart that a rescue was trying to adopt out. His name is Brutus. He's 4, still young enough to play with Tucker but not a wild man. He's housebroken, up to date on shots and neutered. It's been a week today since we got him and it has been so much fun. Tucker doesn't quite know when to quit and is constantly biting his tail, sitting/laying on him when he's trying to relax, or just wanting to play. Brutus is so good and patient (much more than me I must admit cause it drives me nuts that he won't leave him alone). He has gotten after him after he's taken 30 minutes of it and they did get in a fight where they both yelped and ran to opposite corners, but overall Brutus will play. The funniest thing he's done so far is put Tucker in a head lock. I need to get a picture of this and post it. Tucker is already bigger than him but he's still a puppy so he hasn't figured it all out yet. Brutus will put his head on Tucker's head and then wrap his paws around his neck and he's in a head lock. But we are loving having the two and training has been going well. So there's the update. Next I need to post pics of my big belly and whine about how I can barely get my socks and shoes on anymore...

The First Kicks

So just 5 minutes ago, Paul and I were able to feel Dixie kicking on the outside! What an amazing experience! You could even see the stomach move. I thought I felt it and then it was a definite kick. Paul came over and put his hand on my stomach and he felt it too. Oh my goodness! I am loving this experience! This was my first time, that I can remember, that I have felt a baby move on the outside...and it's my own baby girl. Anyways, after it happened I told Paul I had to blog about it so everyone else can know she has started kicking.

Tucker Pictures

Here are some pictures of Tucker:

A favorite place to hang out...except of course if he needs a bath!

Hiding under the bed is also a favorite right now. He sure is tough when under there.

Up close and personal

There he is, our little puppy

Long Weekend

This past weekend Paul and I flew out to Oklahoma. My sister Jana got married on Friday in the OKC temple. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of it since I can never remember to put new batteries in my camera at the right time! I am hoping some people will take pity on me and send me some pictures. :) Anyways, it was a busy busy time. We got in about 11pm on Thursday night. My brother and SIL were so kind to let us stay with them. As we walked into the house 2 of the 3 boys were up crying so they got to deal with that as we got settled in. We went to sleep shortly thereafter.
Friday morning I woke up at about 6:45 and was the first one up. I got some water and Tiff came out to greet me. We were chatting a bit when sleepy eyed Brandon came stumbling in. He didn't even look up and went straight for me. I happily obliged of course. I think my hair was the first thing to tip him off as mine is to my shoulders and Tiff's is getting long. Then he saw his mom, got down and immediately went to her. We got ready, ate some breakfast and headed to the temple. The ceremony was great, it was freezing outside (of course I forgot my sweater!) but luckily pictures didn't take too long. I was one of the bridesmaids with Kathleen my sister and then there were two matrons of honor (Jana's two best friends Jessica and Patsy). We headed to my parent's for some lunch and RockBand. We had some fun hanging with the family and eating some delish sandwiches on homemade rolls (well some of them were and they happened to be the best ones). Then, slackers that we are, headed to get a gift (really, I didn't feel like buying one in Utah and flying it out there). Then it was time for the ring ceremony. We got to the church and everyone got ready. The ceremony was nice and a lot of Jana's friends came to it. She had a nice tribute for them at the end. The reception went well, it was just a long time on my feet in 3-4 inch heels and 5 months pregnant. After standing in the line there were the usual things but luckily I got to sit at the table and eat a bit. It was just a nice time.
Saturday Paul and I spent the morning together. It was nice to spend some time just shopping around. First thing we did buy was some new church shoes for me. I only have heels! We ended up spending some money on some Keens but they were worth every penny, so comfy and cute enough for church. My feet were so swollen the rest of the weekend but they are much better now that I've been wearing "real" shoes. We had a baby shower at noon that my friend Samantha threw for me. It was so nice and Paul was excited to open gifts since he's never gotten to do the baby shower or bridal shower or any of that. It was really nice and great to see some family again as well as good friends and their parents. I got some cute outfits for little Dixie as well as some practical things. Sammy Jo made me a diaper cake (a tiered diaper contraption) and she put in some cute onesies and bibs. I think my favorite came from my mom and dad though. There is a picture of me at about age 1 wearing this little red and white checkered dress. My mom framed it in a double frame, left the other side blank and gave me the dress to put Dixie in when she's old enough. The dress came from her best friend Noelle, who sadly passed away almost a year ago. It was thoughtful and meant a lot. I'm so excited to see how Dixie does or doesn't look like her mom!
The rest of Saturday was spent at my parent's house with helping Jana and John load up the moving truck (she moved to Reno, NV), eating dinner and taking family pictures. Again we played some more RockBand. Sunday morning we left to come back to Utah and I was actually sad to leave. I enjoyed spending time with my nephews, especially Andrew because he is the best baby ever! But now we are back and it even snowed today...it's still October, can't it wait a little longer! I'm glad we had such a nice time in Oklahoma.


Here's some pics from the shower.

My Alabama boy

There's the diaper cake from Sammy Jo

Some toys for the car seat from Luff


Here's the dress from Noelle

THE MOST AWESOME DOG EVER!

So this is what Paul refers to Tucker as, due to the following story. Yesterday Paul called me about 4 or so at work. He told me he had good news and bad news. I like to get bad news out of the way so I told him to tell me the bad news first. He explained he was going to take an invoice over to a client and had Tucker with him in the back of the truck. He was on a semi-busy road going about 30 or 35 miles per hour and the dog fell out of the truck! He hit the ground (mind you his lease was still on so how it didn't get caught on the truck tires amazes me) and proceded to roll across the median then to the oncoming traffic lane UNDER a moving car and finally smashed into the curb on the other side. He was yelping and whining and Paul of course slammed on the brakes and ran across the street. Tucker had a cut on his lip which was bleeding pretty bad and was pretty shaken up. When Paul picked him up he was yelping so he was sure that he was going to have to take him to the vet and maybe even put him out of his misery. He decided to do a little rub down and check ribs and things. To his amazement, it seemed nothing was broken. He took him to a field and let him run and he was going full speed. Not a thing wrong with him! If he shows any signs today, we'll of course take him into the vet. But he seems completely fine. He didn't want to get in the cab of the truck last night when we went to run an errand, yet once he was in and on my lap he was fine and the longer we were there the more comfotable he seemed. So we are VERY HAPPY our puppy is fine! Paul was talking about how much they have in common, seemingly invincible. Paul has sustained many injuries that probably should have killed him, ie ran over by a tractor (not a broken bone), been hit by a car, shot, stabbed, several motorcycle accidents. Glad I have some tough boys. :)

One YEAR!

I can hardly believe that it has been one whole year since Paul and I married. We spent the weekend reflecting and setting goals. Saturday night we went up to Salt Lake to a bed and breakfast and went to dinner at the Roof Restaurant on Temple Square. It was nice to be with him and to talk and just spend some quality time together. I feel like I've known Paul my whole life. I feel my love and appreciation for him growing and growing. He's the best husband a woman could ask for. He's so patient and really tries to help me see all sides of a situation so I can work things out. He's such a wonderful father to Jackson and I can't wait to see him with Dixie. I feel blessed to have him in my life. I'm looking to many many many more years of struggles and accomplishments with the love of my life. Because honestly, I know we are much better together than we ever were apart. I love you honey!

Yet another new puppy...

Well, it's taken me a week to write this because I was so emotional last week. Tuesday Bryant growled then bit Jackson in the face. After that, we knew we couldn't keep him with us. He just didn't fit with our lifestyle and definitely we can't have him biting in the face of our kids.
We did some major research to find out what dogs might best suit us and our kids. Paul did most of the work reading up and searching to find out what might work best. We narrowed it down to a miniature schnauzer or a chocolate lab. As we did more research on the schnauzer we found they are not the best dogs for families with small children, but got a suggestion on English Springer Spaniels. As we looked more into these dogs, we felt more and more confident this would be our choice. So we picked up Jackson on Saturday, drove to see a few litters and let him pick out the one he wanted. We ended up picking him up Sunday since it was our anniversary. We are in love with our 3 month old puppy. His name is Tucker and he's so SMART. Potty training takes lots of patience, yet he is catching on quite quickly. We are realizing what mistakes we are making and correcting them and seeing the difference. We also have begun crate training and that is going well. He's definitely a puppy and wants to be held still and played with and we are happy to oblige. I will post some pictures later.

Ultra Sound and a Bit of a Scare...

Last Thursday, as most of you know, we found out we're having a little girl. Paul called this from the day we knew we were pregnant. I wanted a boy, but of course I am thrilled with a little girl. Now I can spend way too much money on dresses and girly things. As we were sitting in with the technician, the baby didn't move much. At this point too, I wasn't sure I had felt her move at all. One of my favorite moments came when we got to the heart. You could see all four chambers so perfectly and actually working! The technician explained that her heart was about an inch long! AN INCH and it was pumping blood already! What an amazing experience. Since she wasn't moving around much, the technician started pushing my stomach a bit to try to wake her up. It worked a little bit. I'm pretty sure when she moved her feet they were doing a bit of the backstroke kick! THAT WAS AMAZING TO SEE!!!! To know that she is growing and moving and really ours. Near the end, however, we got some bad news. The technician told us my fluids looked a bit low. The baby didn't seem affected by it, but she knew the doctor would want to see me. Turns out he was out of town so the nurse basically wanted me on bed rest but I told her I work. She said she wouldn't make me not go, yet I had to be laying on the couch or on the bed when I was home. I was supposed to drink LOTS of fluids and take 3 baths a day. She said the baths are like osmosis and it helps increase the fluid. Well, I figured I could do that and spent the next two days at work relaxing as much as I could then all weekend at home in bed minus going to Church. Yesterday and today I started to get more and more worried and more and more emotional. Paul was my rock, constantly reassuring me and reminding me that we really didn't know it was a big deal since we hadn't seen the doctor yet. He gave me a blessing this morning and at noon we headed to the doctors office. We got there only to see a sign stating that my doctor was an hour behind schedule. We left and went to BabysRUs to check out strollers and stuff. We came back only to wait another hour then another half hour or more in the room. Finally the doctor came and we did another Ultrasound and the fluids were much better, nothing to worry about! What a relief! And little Dixie (that's her name in case you didn't know) was moving around like crazy. He was having a hard time getting some pictures. I love watching her move. I could sit and watch it all day! I just feel so blessed that I don't have to be on bedrest! I'm also grateful for such a wonderful husband who is so supportive and patient with a pregnant emotional wife! Love you babe! Here are some pics of our little girl.

And it is...

A GIRL!!!! We are so excited!

2 Days...

In just 2 days we find out if it's a boy or a girl. Any guesses?

Happy Birthday Kathleen!

Today is my sister's birthday. I can't believe you are 24. I hope it's a wonderful day for you. Love you sis.

A New Addition

Tonight we added to our family. We talked about getting a dog and well, tonight we went and adopted one. He's still a puppy and the previous owner just kept him in the bathroom all day long. He's a boxer/pit bull mix (from what we can tell). Since he's still so young we are changing his name. It was Sid (kinda dumb if you are trying to teach him sit). We chose Bryant. He follows me around and wants to be near me. Paul is in heaven and I think Bryant is getting all my back rubs now...not sure I like that. But I can't wait to see Jackson's reaction tomorrow when we bring him home to a puppy. Here are some pictures.

Bryant relaxing

My boys relaxing, Bryant getting my back rub...

Mowers or Shampoo Talk

So recently we have been in the market to buy some new mowers. We own a lawncare business for those of you who didn't know. Paul, of course, was in heaven. He got to go around to all these different dealers and checked out all kinds of mowers. He went to one dealership in Salt Lake called RMT. They specialize in Grasshoppers, which are huge mowers that they use in the south a lot. He was so excited to talk to these people. He walks in with his normal attire, work jeans, work t-shirt and McBee Lawncare hat. The salesman walks up wearing designer jeans, long sleeved Utah shirt (tucked in just the front so his belt buckle showed), Nike's and frosted tips. Of course, Paul's first reaction is, this guy has never mowed in his life. Turns out he's the regional salesman for RMT and knew a bit, mind you not much, about mowers. Well, Paul asks him what the difference is between two comparable mower brands, one being more expensive than the other. And this was the guy's explanation. He says, "Well you know there's White Rain Shampoo and then there's Paul Mitchell. They both get the job done, but one just does such a better job." Well Paul is so lost with that explanation, he's thinking Paul Mitchell is a mower brand he's never heard of. So he asks the guy what Paul Mitchell is. Frosted Tips is like, you know, Paul Mitchell, the hair product brand. Paul looks at him confused, points at his "hat hair", and says, "Does it look like I use hair products?" I mean, seriously, who uses a hair product analogy when talking to a guy wanting to buy a mower? Frosted Tips does, that's who. So ridiculous. Obviously, we didn't go with them...

September 11

As today has come closer and closer, I have been thinking a lot and maybe pushing away some memories of what happened. My best friend Sarah sent me this link http://attacked911.tripod.com/ and man is it powerful. It brought me to tears but I think sometimes you need to remember things, even if they are hard. It brings back memories of good people sacrificing as well.

California Trip

This past weekend I took a trip out to Los Angeles to visit my best friend Sarah. She's getting married a week after my due date so I won't be able to be there. :( Her bridesmaids (2 of them) threw her and Foti an engagement party Saturday night. I thought it would be fun to fly in and surprise her. She certainly was! I loved spending time hanging out and catching up and being able to be a help. So congrats to Foti and Sarah! I'm so happy for you both. Good luck planning and preparing!

Second Baby Appointment

Yesterday was my second Dr. appointment. This time was so much faster. I told Paul that if the rest are that quick that would be great. Basically they just weighed me, checked my blood pressure and checked the baby's heart beat. Everything is looking good and normal. I had blood drawn last time and wanted it tested for a few things. I wanted to know if I'm a carrier for CF (Cystic Fibrosis). Paul's sister has a son with it and we just wanted to be prepared for the possibility of it. Both parent's have to be carriers for there to be a 25% chance of the baby having it. My test came back negative. Of course there can be other strands they don't check for but I figure if the baby has it, we'll deal.
I set up the next 2 appointments, the baby appointment and the ultrasound to find out if it's a boy or a girl. We find out September 24! I am so excited to know what to start calling the baby. I love that my belly is continuing to grow and can't wait for the first movements. I did have an uncomfortable night last night. So if that gets worse and worse or more common, I don't think I'll enjoy that as much. Anyways, there's the update.

Las Vegas Pics

Cowboy Party Pics

McBee Reunion 2009 Pics

A New Addition

Well most of you if not all of you who read my blog already know this, but I am expecting my first baby! Since I've been so far behind on posting I just haven't done this post. The baby is still a little bean, but according to the calendar book my doctor gave me, during weeks 11-13 the baby forms it's finger nails. Just a neat fact I thought you'd all enjoy. I'm excited beyond belief. Being a mom is something I have always wanted, and while being a step-mom is great, I don't always feel like I fit in like I want to. Being a mom to this baby will be such a different and amazing experience.

Some may think we are rushing into having a baby, yet as Paul and I discussed and pondered and prayed, we felt it was time to start trying. We are both 28 and Jackson is almost 6 and we just felt it was the right time. EVEN with a brand new business that isn't as stable as we'd like, EVEN though everything costs money, we felt it was right.

My belly has started to grow, I'm pretty sure it was already growing before I got pregnant. :) But now clothes aren't fitting quite right but I'm not to the point that maternity clothes are quite appropriate. Luckily I have a few dresses for church that allow for some growth. I guess I want to wait until it's cooler before buying new clothes since I'll be bigger all through the winter.

As far as morning sickness, sorry to all you who have it so rough, like my SIL. I was expecting the worst but have fared well. I have felt some nausea but overall I haven't felt sick. I have been tired. I'm used to going 90 miles an hour 90% of the time and now my body gets pretty angry. Weekends are used for relaxing and sleeping. I took 2 naps yesterday! I find that I eat all day long but when it comes to a meal, I can only eat half of what I used to. Some things I can take one bit and that's it.

It's been an awesome experience. I am due February 13, 12, or 11 depending on which ultrasound you go off of. My grandpa, bless his heart, has always wanted to share a birthday with a grandchild or great grandchild. My aunt said she missed it by one day, her daughter was born February 14. His birthday is February 15, so I guess we'll see what happens. The next ultrasound could change the day too and not many babies are born on the date anyways, right?

Okay, well I have rambled enough. Here are a few pics of my "bean". Enjoy!

Las Vegas Family Trip July 2009

So we took our first ever family vacation. We left on a Thursday evening and drove straight down to Las Vegas. We stayed at the Excalibur hotel on the strip. It was much nicer than the hotel we stayed in back in March. We got our room upgraded, I'm guessing since we came on a Thursday night and it's not as busy as a Friday night. I did a ton of research of things for us to do while we were there...especially since I've never had a 5 year old in tow before and they need constant entertaining. We definitely learned a lot about what to do next time and what never to do again, ever. I'll start with the bad, in case anyone is planning a trip in the near future.
NEVER go to the Las Vegas Zoo. It had chickens and pigeons all over the place along with their poop on the sidewalks. It was just so trashy. The animals were in cages rather than habitats, which I'm used to seeing. The monkeys looked just plain depressed. Of the 20 places snakes could be, there were about 10...just a bunch of empty cages. The only entertaining thing we saw was while leaving there were some turtles and we watched on go down this rock (rather slide down the rock) into the pond of water. What a waste of money!
IF anything is FREE in Las Vegas, it's really not much of anything. There is a free aquarium at Caesar's Palace and it was more like a fish tank. I'm pretty sure the aquarium at Cabela's was more entertaining. After that one, we decided against any other freebees.
DO go to the Sigfried and Roy Secret Garden at the Mirage. It was awesome. It's a habitat for dolphins, tigers and lions. The dolphins did tricks, but not like a show, just natural flips and stuff for exercise. There were white tigers, other tigers and a male and female white lion. They were so cool to see and the place was so nice. It is definitely worth it.
DO go to Tournament of Kings, even if you don't have kids. We went last time and this time. They do dinner and a show and it's a lot of fun. You get a whole cornish hen and soup they call dragons blood, yet you eat the whole thing without silverwear. It was a lot of fun and Jackson enjoyed it.
DO go to the Hoover Dam. I wanted to go really bad, Paul was a little leary. It was then that we realized we should have been asking for a veteran discount everywhere we went...of course it was the last thing we did too. But with 110 degree weather, going down underground where it was 72 was most pleasant. It was so interesting to learn about it as well. Cool historical stuff. I'm not sure how much Jackson liked it, but we did. :)
DO take advantage of the hotel swimming pool. It entertains kids as well as helps with the heat. They had a slide at ours and he really enjoyed it. I tried to do some swimming lessons but alas, I am his step-mom and he didn't really want to focus.
I am trying a new slideshow for pictures so I will post them later, but I'm trying to get in all the events we've been doing since the 4th of July!

4th of July

I'm so slow at posting! Last weekend we had the McBee Family Reunion. We had a fun two days spending time and talking with Paul's family. Friday we took off work and went up to Heber to ride the Heber Creeper. Luckily we got seats on a car that was mostly outside with a canopy so we got a good breeze. It was 3 hours! 1 1/2 hours to Vivian Park in Provo and then 1 1/2 hours back to Heber. It was fun to watch the neices and nephews and their facination. We drove alongside Deer Creek Reservoir and people on their boats waved as we passed. That was kind of fun. I had missed riding on trains, since I did it almost everyday in Germany. It brought back some good memories.

After the ride we drove the Alpine Loop which starts in Provo Canyon and goes to the American Fork Canyon. We stopped about half way at Cascade Springs. It's a park with lots of little water falls and water with fish. The kids were again facinated with it. I could tell how out of shape I am as we walked and how out of breath I got. Paul was teasing, luckily there was a water fountain!

After that we met up for dinner at Golden Corral (spelling?). Some more family members met us for dinner that weren't able to be there for the day activities. I really just had a nice time getting to know the family more. They don't get together all that often and this gave us a whole 2 days to spend with them. I was ready for bed that night for sure!

Saturday morning we just relaxed. Some of the family members met in Provo for the parade. We drove up to Paul's brother Bill's cabin in the afternoon. It is up there too! It is past Park City but it was a nice drive. We got to hang out and chat, take turns riding 4 wheelers (let me tell you, I was in love with it!), and play some horse shoes. We had some burgers and salad and other yummy things for dinner. After that we just headed home. I think some of the family went to Bill and Melanie's later that night for fireworks, but we were so exhausted that we decided to head home and went to bed at 8:30! How lame are we?! But it was nice to get some sleep. All in all, it was a great weekend. I will add some pictures later when I finally take them off my camera!

Cowboy in Training

For months now, we have been talking about going down to Spanish Fork to visit my Uncle Jeff. He's my favorite uncle and recently got hitched. His wife and step-daughters have moved into his bachelor house so it's been a bit crazy for them. We knew Jackson would love seeing all the animals and riding a horse so we talked them into letting us visit when they probably weren't quite ready for us. The above picture is of Jackson feeding Bud. Bud is my Aunt Cindy's horse and he's such a good horse. So calm and friendly, especially when you have food! It was so fun to watch him. At first he was a little nervous, to be honest, I still get a bit nervous at first. But after some help from Jeff he was a pro!

Here Jeff is showing him how to hold the brush and how to talk to the horse. He didn't really say much to Bud, but did a good job brushing. Can you believe that Bud used to be black? Eventually he turned gray. What a pretty horse though!

Jackson brushing Bud.

Alexis fixing the saddle so he fit on it. I did a little video of him riding but I am not sure how to post a video so sorry you won't get to see it.

Look! We have a family picture! Cindy was so nice to give him some boots. He's so excited and they are a bit too big but who cares?! He's a cowboy in training!

These two were hanging out chatting and waiting for the horses and I thought it was so cute! I am in love with my boys! We are so happy that Jeff and Cindy let us come over. Cindy said she would teach Jackson how to ride so I think we'll be taking her up on that offer. We hope to have some land and horses of our own one day. One thing that was cute, after riding Bud it was time to eat. Jackson was washing his hands in the bathroom and Cindy was helping him. He looked around the bathroom (mind you, Jeff has been living in this house alone for 15 years) and it's decorated in Cowboy stuff. He asked Cindy, "Why are there cowboy boots everywhere?" She replied, "Cause Jeff is a real cowboy." His eyes got huge and he said, "He IS?" He loves the animals and was able to feed the rabbits, ride Bud, help Alexis feed and water the other horses, run around the yard with Maggie (their yellow Lab) and just be a boy for the evening. It was wonderful! I was just having a blast watching and taking pictures.

Batman Costume

For my birthday party, we picked up Jackson. He bolted out of the door and came running for the car. He was sporting a batman costume. His grandma was laughing and said to Paul that he insisted on wearing it. So I want you all to see my little batman!

Summerfest 2009

This weekend we had Jackson and Paul's sister, Liz, invited us to go to Summerfest with them. For those of you who are not familiar with Utah County, I will explain. Each town/city has their own little celebration week or weekend. Lehi has Round-up week (I only know this since I work for the city), Pleasant Grove has Strawberry Days, etc. For Orem, it is the Summerfest. This is the shortest one I know of since it is only Friday and Saturday. They had a carnival in the park and so we went to that. We had some delish and very bad for you food, let Jackson ride some rides with Seth (his cousin), and played on some old vintage army trucks. Sadly my camera needs new batteries (this is a recurring problem, I think I need rechargeable batteries cause I'm spending a fortune on them!) so we weren't able to take any pictures.

When we were just about to leave, some dark clouds were gathering. We didn't park particularly close, so we had a ways to walk. As we walked, it started to sprinkle. So we picked up the pace. Well then the rain started. Paul ran ahead to get the car. Seth wanted to come over and play so he was with us. I'll tell you what, I'm from Oklahoma where the best rain storms occur. Living in Utah is tough because there are no thunder storms. Usually it doesn't dump like it did on us that afternoon. It was crazy rain.

We got back to the house and the boys wanted to build a fort. Last time they wanted to build a fort, I built the fort. So this time, we gave them what they needed and I gave some suggestions but then we left it all up to them. We went downstairs and we could hear furniture being moved all around. Jackson came down and took all 5 of the blankets we have downstairs and we asked if he really needed them all. He insisted that he did. A little later they came down saying they were hungry and wanted a snack. I headed up. Man, they sure did move the furniture around. The kitchen table was pushed back up against the wall, all the chairs were in a circle in the living room, the other furniture was all moved around...it was pretty funny. They had been busy! The suggestion I gave them was to put the chairs in a circle and then to drape the blankets over them. Well they certainly did do that! The only problem was, instead of putting the backs of the chairs towards the middle of the circle, it was just the opposite. Then they had draped at least one blanket over each chair. So it didn't quite look like a fort. I asked if they wanted some help and they said yes. Just a few arrangements and BAM, we had a fort. As I looked around, they had gathered every blanket in the house, including the ones from our bedroom and Jackson's room. It was cute. What they weren't too excited about was the clean-up. But they were good boys and did it. :)

That night there was a parade. We went to watch and lasted an hour before the dark clouds reappeared and yet another downpour commenced. This time we were smart, though, we had jackets at least to keep us warm. All in all it was a lot of fun. Jackson had a good time and that makes us so happy. Tomorrow we are going horse back riding at my uncles, I promise to get some batteries and take some pictures.

Birthday Fun

Last Saturday I turned 28. Sometimes I think, really I'm 28? But really I don't feel old even though in 2 years I'll be the big 30. We had a nice day full of fun shopping. Paul didn't enjoy it much, but he was a good sport. Really I just wanted to look around at some kitchen stores to get some ideas. We went to Williams Sonoma, Let's Cook and the Bosch store. I didn't really find anything I really wanted there, but I did have fun looking around. The coolest thing I found was an ice cream maker that you can attach to the mixer...sadly not to mine. I might have bought it otherwise. Then we drove up to Salt Lake and went to Tai Pan Trading. I had never been there before and I could tell Paul was getting sick of all the different stores. It had some cool stuff but since I'm not trying to set up a home, we didn't stay long. Then we headed to Bed, Bath and Beyond and I got a few things there. We went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner and MAN it was awesome. We went all out with an appetizer, steak dinners and dessert. We were stuffed to the MAX! I love that place. If you have never been, I strongly suggest you do.

Sunday we had a little gathering to celebrate. My SIL Liz made me a delicious chocolate cake and lots of friends and family came. We had a Guitar Hero challenge and it took a while for anyone to dethrown me. It's a fun game. We were so happy Jackson could come to celebrate as well and hang with his cousins. I just love anytime that we get to spend with him. Overall it was a great birthday. Thanks for all the phone calls and birthday cards.

Yes people, we are still alive...

That is a tribute to my cousin Rach. I know it's been a while since the last post. Our lives have been crazy. May is by far my busiest month at work. I have hired more than 20 people and have more to hire still. I also taught a Water Safety Instructor course the past few weeks. Teaching this class is fun, but at the same time stresses me out...I never have time to do my real job. I got to feel the effects of it this morning as I arrived at work and got to spend the whole day trying to catch up.

This past weekend we went to Lagoon. It's a theme park near Ogden. I don't remember the last time I went there. I do have proof that I have been there, a picture of me on a ride all of 3 or 4 years of age. We had Jackson this weekend and thought it would be a fun outing. And that it was. I don't know what my problem is, but I got some cheaper tickets through my bank and then left said tickets on the kitchen counter! Good thing they are good the whole season. Anyone want to buy them? Jackson was so excited, he was full of energy. We rode lots of rides and spent most of the day there. I'm not really one for theme parks (most of the rides make me puke) but it sure is fun with kids. In the middle of the afternoon we rode the Rattlesnake Rapids. We all got soaked! Afterwards, Jackson was so cute. He kept yelling, "I'm soaking wet!" He's so much fun!

We are also happy to announce that we will be seeing a lot more of Jackson. His mother has agreed to every other weekend and once a week, plus some holidays. That means we get him 3 weekends in a row with Memorial day this weekend. We are planning on going camping on Friday until Saturday. Paul has to work on Monday so Jackson and I will go swimming and play. I am so excited about this time with him. He's such a character. We started reading the Chronicles of Narnia (if I spelled that wrong, I'm sure one of my siblings will catch it and comment). He is facinated by it. It's fun to read the book. I've never read it before and it's fun to watch his excitment. I'm just in love with both of my boys!

Mother's Day was a great day. We had Paul's sister and her family over for dinner and I loved cooking for them all. We played some RockBand and I think Liz and Matt really enjoyed it. The kids got to play a bit but of course we had to help them. Paul got me a Baby G watch. It's awesome and perfect for work. He's so good at picking out gifts. It's something I never would have gotten myself but it's so practical and great! I married the greatest man in the world. He's so thoughtful and caring and helpful. Not to mention the best listener ever!

So there is a little update on our lives. We are healthy and happy and loving our little boy. Here are some pictures of Lagoon. One day we will get a decent picture of the three of us together.

This was a swing ride that I didn't go on because I didn't want to puke. Paul is helping Jackson get settled before the ride.

This was on the Rattlesnake Rapids near the end. The boys got soaked under the waterfall.

I took this picture in commemoration of my picture, only I was on an elephant if I remember correctly.

Snow Day

Well this morning Paul woke up to get to work and of course it had to be snowing! He decided to take the day off...not that he could do some spring clean-ups or anything. But yesterday he wasn't able to work and still did some estimates. He decided to be the devil and ask me to call in sick. He was tempting me with thoughts of lunch at Olive Garden and shopping at the outlets at Park City. Stupid me was strong and braved the snow and came to work.

My computer is broken and who knows when I'll get it back! The IT guys took it yesterday since it shut itself off and then wouldn't reboot itself...rather it kept rebooting and shutting down. Travis told me he finally got it started up and figured out and then as he put it, "It gave me the finger and died." Sadly it's still not fixed, and probably won't be today! Yuck. Guess I have to be creative with what I do here. :)

Farewell Talks and a bit of an update

Yesterday Sam and Sondra spoke in church. Luckily Jackson came with us. We went to Sacrament meeting and took my grandma as well. We haven't had Jackson in church with us for a while. He's gotten much better at sitting quietly, but still asked a lot of questions. Some were gospel related, like "What is the burning bush Grandpa is talking about and who is Moses? I never met him. Did you meet him?" It was fun to TRY to explain that Moses lived even before Jesus and it was a very very long time ago. He asked if it was in 1981. It's fun to see him try to put things in terms he understands. Then we told him it was before Grandpa was even born and he was born in 1933. Hard for a 5 year old mind to comprehend.

We went over to Sam and Sondra's and had some lunch with them. Since the XBox isn't there, Jackson actually played with his toys. He also learned how to climb a tree. Paul helped him the first time and then he did it all by himself! I love to see him so boyish and adventurous. He and Paul also discovered a "fort". It's basically some huge evergreens across from the townhouse and underneath there is some space that is great! We should have some fun times there in the spring and summer.

For his birthday, we bought him some bionicals. They are kind of like Legos in that you put them together but they are so much cooler. Well, he wanted me to play with him but I told him since I'm a girl I should probably play with Barbies instead. He put his head in his hand and started to shake his head in disappointment and said..."Oh my gosh!" It was so funny! It was so hard to keep a straight face. Adorable! Later Seth came over and they had a blast playing together. They wanted to build a fort and since all our stuff is in boxes in the bedroom downstairs I arranged the boxes around the bed to put blankets over. This allowed the bed to be the fort. As I was working on, Jackson went out to the living room to Paul and said, "Dad, we making headway, it's starting to look real good." Who knows where he learns stuff like that, but it was so cute! We really love every second we have Jackson with us. What an amazing and smart boy he is!

Congrats to Sam and Sondra

My in-laws got their mission call! They are going to Talahassee Florida and leave March 21. We are so excited for them and know they will do a great job. It is like going home since they both grew up in the south. This also means we will be moving in a month into their townhouse. We both hate moving but are excited for Jackson to have his own bedroom, a washer and dryer, a dishwasher and an OVEN! Finally I can make some bread and various other tasty treats! We will, however, miss them dearly. Good thing it's only a year and a half.

If I have a brother then he'll probably be my twin...

Tuesday evening we had Jackson and it was such a great time. As we were driving to P's parent's for dinner, I was telling Jackson how I had a new nephew born on Saturday. He then proceeded to tell us that he doesn't like babies, except Madeline (his cousin who is around 2 I think). Then he said he's just waiting for his mom to have another baby so he can have a sister. P explained that when I have a baby, it too would be his brother or sister. He quickly said, if it was my brother then he would probably be my twin. We thought that was so cute but also clarified that it would not be a twin but a brother who he could teach all kinds of things to. We also told him that it would not be for a few years. Man I love this kid!

Las Vegas Fiasco!

Cool ship at one of the hotels

Same ship, different view...

I was telling P that we don't have enough pictures of us. I don't think he likes pictures but he was a good sport this past weekend...at least for 2...

We went to one show while we were there, Tournament of Kings. We sat in the Hungary section and cheered on our king...he wasn't very impressive. Russia had the most ruthless king and I was telling P that at least he would win at any cost! Anyways, it was a good show and I recommend it, especially if you have kids. We didn't have Jackson there with us but we had fun. They feed you dinner, a cornish hen, a roll, brocolli, dragon's blood soup (tomato), and drinks. They don't, however, give you utinsels. It made it quite fun. We sat next to a family from Spain and their daughter was totally grossed out by the soup and wouldn't even try it. The only thing that kind of put a damper on it was the kings guards. They were shirtless, pretty ripped, with spandex pants and leather underwear. A little too Vegas for my taste. And since they were going with the whole medieval theme, why not stick with it and put some clothes on the men!


The second photo I talked P into. This one was actually taken first, but you know...

This is the heaviest American Flag. It's hanging in the Harley Davidson Restaurant and is made completely of chain. It has a Missing in Action symbol in the middle of it. It's so cool to see.


Over all we had a TERRIBLE time in Vegas. These pictures are just of the things we enjoyed. We came home a day early because our hotel was the worst! Don't ever stay at the Harrah's. Poor customer service all the way around. Even with us leaving a day early they charged us tax for Sunday night! Ridiculous! We've decided we aren't really Vegas people.

Monster Jam!

A few weeks ago Monster Jam came to town. P and Jackson had never been to a Monster Truck rally so of course we had to go! Jackson kept asking us to go home throughout it and then at the end talked about how much fun he had. I think it was just a little loud for him.

Sad that this is the only family picture we have so far!

Jackson kept getting mad at me for taking pictures while he was eating cotton candy. Talk about sticky fingers!

This was the only picture I could get him to smile in.