Heathies

Spirit of Boise

2011-09-02T22:53:00.000-07:00

I love the hot air balloons! I didn't get my tired self out of bed early enough to watch the early morning business, so we all went to watch the night light balloons. It was so cool!

{Hooray}

Aubakins Baby Shower

2011-08-20T22:00:00.000-07:00

Aub's sweet little boy is on his way so we got together to celebrate!

Even though we live so close it seems like it is hard to get together.

We had a great time. We had delicious food and cute little owl cupcakes. Little baby boy Mayes got a lot of clothes, little toys and beautiful handmade blankets. This little guy will be equipped and ready to take on the world.

We're excited to see him Aubs, good luck, we hope everything goes well!

{Squirmy kids}

Oregon Here We Come!

2011-08-19T19:06:00.000-07:00

We decided to take a vacation this year right before Brandon headed back to school. We thought it would be fun to go see Mike and Sarah, hit the coast and visit the Dickens as well.

We rented a car so we had a little more room and because we didn't want to worry about breaking down. After we loaded the car we were really grateful we had a bigger car because it was packed to the brim.

Jack did pretty well on the drive, we made frequent stops to eat, stretch our legs and get some fresh air (read: diaper changes).

We made a stop at a random rest stop that was literally right off the freeway, there was a chain link fence between us and the freeway, Jack loved it! He was so excited to watch the cars racing by and the river was on the other side of us.

The night we arrived we stayed in and visited with family. When my brother came home he was all scruffy and scared the dickens right out of Jack.

The next day with made plans to meet Dickens, Adam and Gigi at the beach. We stopped first at Mo's for lunch and Uncle Mike made a new best friend by sharing his food. The beach was so nice and the weather was pretty good too. I love me some beach, feels a little bit like home. It was so much fun to see the Dickens and finally I met little Gigi!! She is just the cutest little thing, and did not want anything to do with the water. She has her mother's independence and does not hand out her smiles to just anyone, that didn't stop me from loving her little cuteness.

Jack absolutely loved the beach! We set him down on the sand and he immediately headed for the water, Brandon grabbed his arms and let him walk into the water and he wouldn't stop. The kid is crazy, the water was so cold, my feet were getting numb and he just kept going. He must be taking after his cousin, Topher took off into the water and before we knew it he was clear out having a good ol' time.

{jellyfish}

We pulled him out of the water and let him run around on the sand, but he did less running and more double fisting the sand into his mouth. It was a blast, but like all good things it had to come to an end. We wanted to get back for another visit before we left, but it didn't work out. We're all looking forward to the next time we can take a trip over there.

{crunchy and delicious}

{Topher digging a hole, and the beautiful beach}

After the beach we headed down the coast to Tillamook and to the cheese factory. They didn't have all the machines so all we saw were the big blocks being bagged. We headed downstairs so we could taste some cheese samples and get some ice cream. Jack got a little taste of ice cream and was not so excited when the ice cream ran out.

We spent some time with Topher while Mike and Sarah went out to dinner, hit up Ikea, OMSI, this great Hawaiian BBQ place, went to church, spent some time at Dickens house, saw a wounded falcon, Multanomah Falls and had just a great time on our trip.

{falcon}

{OMSI}

{Gigi would rock back and forth when the "earthquake" shook}

{robot connect four}

{bath time!}

{only in Portland}

{Multanomah Falls}

{stop on the way home, this kid is always hungry}

Thank you to Mike, Sarah and Topher for letting us stay with you even though our little stinker woke up screaming in the middle of the night, and to Mike for working early so you could spend more time with us. And thanks to Dickens for making time for us as well. It really was so wonderful to see all of you, we miss you all and hope to see you again soon.

Jack: 8 Months

2011-08-02T11:00:00.000-07:00

This kid does not stop!

Jack is all over the place, he army/crawl crawls and pulls himself up on things and can walk around stuff although a bit unsteady and still prone to crashing.

He loves to be thrown around and giggles every time, and who doesn't smile when a little baby giggles!

Bath time is probably his favorite activity, and by bath time I mean anything involving water.

Jack is getting more mischievous, he's learned to pull himself up onto things, which means our bathroom barricade is not so much a barricade anymore but something to climb on. He also loves the swings and going to the park (read: more things to climb on).

And, as I've said over and over before, he is such a joy in our lives, we just love him more and more and it is so exciting to watch him learn something new.

We are so grateful to be his parents!!

Can you tell I love this owl beanie? Totally bought it after I saw it on my friend Tammy's kid.

LOVE IT!

Family Dinner and Cousins!!

2011-08-01T23:55:00.000-07:00

It's not very often that I see many of my cousins, most of them live far away and they, like all of us have so much going on. However, this past year we have had cousins, aunts and uncles come to visit and it has been so much fun to see them and catch up every time!It was after the Swiss picnic, we headed over to my cousin Savannah's house. It was great to have Janeil, Kaylynn, Brenda, Tyler, Allison and Shauna all from out of town and of course the townies, the grandparents and Savannah and Clayne.

We had delicious food and all kinds of fun in the grass, sand, swing set and trampoline. The weather was perfect and we all had a wonderful time!

Thanks to everyone for coming and making schedules work so we could all get to see each other, It was wonderful to see each of you!!!

Swiss Picnic

2011-08-01T22:17:00.000-07:00

I always love the annual Swiss Picnic! This year was another great year and we had little #9 to fill his shirt. Too bad Mike, Sarah and Topher weren't here to complete the picture.

We had fun and Jack enjoyed the food, people, dogs and alp horn. We saw all of our old friends and we had a lot of new people again this year. This is one of my favorite family traditions and I am so grateful we live close enough to enjoy this year after year.

Happy Independence Day Switzerland!!

Feeding Geese and Ducks

2011-07-27T22:42:00.000-07:00

We had a nice day with no work, school or other obligations so we took Jack out to the park to feed the ducks and geese. I think Jack ate more of the bread than the ducks and those geese, you gotta watch out for those things, they attack!

Time to Unpack

2011-07-26T21:36:00.000-07:00

Jack is becoming more and more mobile, he pulls himself up onto things and really loves to help unload anything; boxes, laundry basket, purses, and anything else that contains items.

{he also likes to chew on things}

Happy Pioneer Day!!

2011-07-24T23:30:00.000-07:00

They left a legacy of strength, faithfulness, endurance, sacrifice, and a love for the Saviour that we should all strive to emulate. A day to celebrate those who made long treks across, through, over rough terrain, expansive seas, in all kinds of weather in order to gather as saints in the Salt Lake valley. I am grateful for my pioneer heritage, for the sacrifices made by these stalwart saints.

My parents, Jack and I started off the day going to Twin Falls to celebrate George Haney's 90th birthday!! 90 years and runnin' like he's 40. It is always a joy to see George and Ruth Haney, such kind, generous people who love you like you're family. While I was there I also met Frank Vandersloot, pres and CEO of Melaleuca! That was pretty cool.

It was unfortunately a short visit and we were back in the car on the way home. While we were driving I remembered my ward's Pioneer day celebration was that evening and did the math and we would make it home just in time to get in on the festivities there. We stopped by and had some food and enjoyed some wonderful company.

It was the end to a great day!

"As an ensign to the nation, they unfurled the flag of truth. Pillar, guide, and inspiration to the hosts of waiting youth. Honor, praise and veneration to the founders we revere. List our song of adoration, Blessed, Honored, Pioneer!"

-They, the Builders of the Nation (hymn 36)

Water Baby

2011-07-17T22:00:00.000-07:00

Jack loves the water so much. His Gammie bought a little wading pool for him to play in at her house and he had a wonderful time playing. We had a wonderful time watching him.

Look How Big!

2011-07-11T23:00:00.000-07:00

This little boy is growing up too fast! We were just sitting at home and Jack was playing around on the floor and I looked at him and realize he pulled himself up on his knees. I don't think was the first time, but it just hit me how big he is getting!

SWIMMING!!!

2011-07-11T21:33:00.000-07:00

Folks, we have a regular ol' water baby! Today was Jack's first day in the pool and he LOVED it! We put on his little hat, lubed him up with sunscreen and headed to the pool. The cool water was a little bit of a shock to one and all, but after we all adjusted Jack squealed and laughed and had so much fun. I think I love the water even more. This baby needs his mama to take him to Hawaii!

Precarious

2011-07-08T13:16:00.000-07:00

Our little climber likes to get himself into precarious situations. In the morning when he gets up we get him changed and feed him in bed and then he usually climbs all over the place. Here he is climbing onto my nightstand, without a care in the world or any thought of safety. He is an active boy, always keeping his parents on their toes.

4th of July!!

2011-07-04T23:30:00.000-07:00

I had the day off!! Sometimes I feel like I work all the time and miss all the fun activities. Brandon, Jack and I walked downtown and met up with Brandon's family for the parade. Jack had a wonderful time, it was so fun to go to a parade, however they were kind of chintzy on the candy. We walked home and had a nice relaxing day and headed over to Capener's for a BBQ and fireworks.

{Heidi, Sheena and I used to watch these guys do drills when we lived by Quinn's Pond}

{ look at those knobby legs!}

Jack had a little too much fun (the whistling fireworks scared his pants off) and was plum tuckered out before the fireworks were over.

We had a wonderful day, full of activities. What a great day to celebrate this wonderful nation we have the opportunity to live in. We are so grateful for the freedoms we enjoy, for those put their lives on the line daily to keep us safe, and for a loving Father in Heaven who continues to shower down his blessings.

God Bless America!

Happy 60 Years Grandpa & Grandma Barrus!!!

2011-07-03T23:09:00.000-07:00

We celebrated my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary! It was such a wonderful thing to celebrate. My grandparents are such great examples of love and devotion. We had a fun evening with family at my cousins house and listened to the story of their courtship.

We missed much of the family, but many are far away. We are grateful for the wonderful posterity; aunts, uncles, cousins, seconds and on and on.

{ raaarrrrrrrrr, scary baby!}

{Grandma, digging into s'more}

Jack: Seven Months

2011-07-02T23:43:00.000-07:00

Jack loves to talk, talk, talk (we love to listen to it in the car) and he gets around really well with his new found army crawl. He is such a good boy and eats anything (and likes to shares with his daddy). He is sitting up, crawling off the bed (aw, the joys of new found mobility). He played swiffer sweeper during our move and was scared to death of the orchid I got for mothers day. He also has the new addition of a couple of little teeth, sharp little teeth!

{always going for the edge}

Jack's Very Own

2011-07-02T17:02:00.000-07:00

I spoke with Mike to see what kind of "extras" he had in the way of computers and he had the old laptops from our Dad's cell phone store, that were basically paperweights. However, the computer still turns on so Jack has his very own computer that he can push whatever button he wants.

It was wonderful, for a little. He pounds on the keys, makes it beep, then he pulls the screen down and closes it. His latest discovery is popping off the keys. I'm pretty sure he ate one of the little rubber things that pops the key back up after you push it.

Needless to say he would still rather get at our computers when we are using them, but sometimes we can distract him for five minutes.

We now have five computers in the house, we are still working up to Mike's current number (I don't know what that is, but I know it is more than five).

Another Move

2011-06-29T23:53:00.000-07:00

We moved yet again. In two years of marriage Brandon and I have already moved three times and we have at least one more before he finishes school. We moved into a bigger place a few months after Jack was born. It was nice and big and beautiful, however, it was expensive and they wanted to up the rent. We have been looking for a place to buy, but with no luck. We moved into a small little apartment while we figure out where we will go next.

{swiffer: note the dirty belly}

Our families have always been so willing and ready to help with all of our moves. Even Jack helped, he was our little "swiffer sweeper". We are so grateful for all the help. We look forward to the day we will be settled with room to grow.

Shrine Circus

2011-06-24T23:24:00.000-07:00

The circus came to town and Julie took us to the show! We went with her and Gayle and her two grandsons. We had such a great time. We went out to eat at the Brick Oven and then found so seats for the show. I remember the circus being so big and spectacular, but that was when I was young too.

Jack enjoyed the elephants and even did well with all the noise and bright lights. Jack especially liked the cotton candy, he got a little taste and that was all. By the end of the night he was plum tuckered out and crashed. He is such a trooper!

{ Gayle and the boys}

{what a cute little goofball!}

{gimme cotton candy}

Jack at the Zoo

2011-06-23T22:08:00.000-07:00

We had a family fun day at the Zoo and oh what fun it was. It was a hot, hot day and a lot of the animals were parked out in the shade (who blames them). We were really excited to see the monkeys, we wanted to see how Jack handled all the "wooping". There was not a monkey to be seen! I have no idea where they were, but they were no where to be found.

{can you find the ocelot?}

{Jack and Daddy posing with the giraffes}

{king of the jungle}

{Billies!!}
I need a house with some land so I can have some goats!

{Jack cared more about the fence than he did the animals poking their heads out}

Father's Day

2011-06-12T22:08:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day!!!

To my very own father, the father of my husband and especially to the wonderful father of my sweet little boy!

I am so grateful for all the wonderful fathers in my life, for the priesthood they hold and the examples they are to me. I am grateful for their love and support, my life would not be same without them.

We had a wonderful dinner at my parents house, my in-laws, and grandparents and a cousin and her family all joined us for a fun evening.

Jack-In-The-Box

2011-06-05T21:55:00.000-07:00

Friends at the Park

2011-06-04T00:49:00.000-07:00

It was a fun night at the park with some of my friends I grew up with and their families. We ate, played and then took off because baby chernoble started to come out.

It is always fun to see old friends, we had a blast and their kids are awesome!

{This kid is so full of energy! He loved it when those buckets dumped on him!}

{my posers, loved it. I will be borrowing these kids when I need to practice with my camera}

Jack: Six Months

2011-06-02T00:32:00.000-07:00

Jack keeps getting bigger and bigger. He is finally fitting into some of the clothes I bought him a year ago! He squeals more, talks to himself, hums himself to sleep, rolls all over the place, loves to get his toys, loves giraffe sophie and to chew on her feet, loves the heat registers (he stares and laughs at them, funniest thing), always looking around taking in all the sights, easily distracted when nursing (so he can look around), talked to Uncle Jesse, lights up when he's with his Daddy, is a Mr Pee-Body! This kid can soak a diaper like nobody's business, he wakes up every night with his clothes soaked through. I guess his kidneys work.

Stats:
Height: 26.25 in
Weight: 15 lbs 14 oz

{my two sleepy babies}

He is such a good little boy and although we all have our moments we are continually grateful for such a great kid!

"Thumb" Sucker

2011-05-30T22:11:00.000-07:00

He's such a funny little baby. He loves his little binks and has started putting his thumb in the whole to suck on it. It's really funny when he gets it in there really good and it just stays on his thumb. He'll drag himself around on the floor with that binks stuck to his thumb.

Silly little boy brightens each of every day of mine!

2nd Cousins

2011-05-29T21:48:00.000-07:00

Some of my cousins came into town and we all got together for dinner and the little 2nd cousins had a little play time.

Jack: aspiring pianist

Baby Babushka

2011-05-22T21:47:00.000-07:00

Heart Walk

2011-05-21T00:50:00.000-07:00

Jack and I joined "Team Tachycardias" for a little Heart Walk. We gathered together at Julia Davis park. We had to really look for our whole team because you can never find your co-workers when they're dressed in regular clothes!
We had a fun time, it was great to spent time with my co-workers outside of work. We had four new babies "walking", Jack was the "2nd littlest Heart Walker".

WICKED!!!

2011-05-12T20:41:00.000-07:00

Wicked came to Boise! Finally! I have been waiting for this and so was Brandon's aunt Julie. She hooked us up with great tickets and Julie, Gayle and I had a great time at the show.

My First Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T22:53:00.000-07:00

By far my FAVORITE job in the WORLD!!! I am so grateful to have such a sweet little boy. He is such a joy and I could not be more grateful to be his mother.

{A whole bunch of Mothers}

{Grospappi's got your nose}

{Hangin' with Auntie}

{My Grandpa showing us his "magic", this man always has a trick up his sleeve}

{Brad trusting Jana with some "magic" of her own}

Of course the one behind the camera has no pictures with her son!
He is my sweet little angel and I love more than I could have ever imagined.

Rooster Tail

2011-05-07T00:48:00.000-07:00

When Lucky Peak is too full water has to be released, when it is the pressure is so great it shoots out like a "Rooster Tail" and creates one of the areas historically popular attractions.

See the pictures here:

Jack: Five Months

2011-05-02T21:16:00.000-07:00

I just can't believe how this kid grows!

Jack has found his feet and he loves to play with them and is always trying to get those things into his mouth, he is sometimes successful. He has also found his voice and loves to make noises. He still loves the bath and sitting in his bumbo (I think because it means he is getting food) and loves to ride around in the baby bjorn. He still enjoys taking walks and is always looking around at everything with such amazement in his eyes.

One of his favorite things to do is to hang on the back of the couch or sit out on the balcony and watch the cars drive by. Sometimes he pumps his legs like he is going to bounce after them.
He also LOVES his family. He smiles and squeals whenever he sees them.

Not a moment goes by that our love for this little boy doesn't grow.

Aaron & Dejah

2011-04-30T22:30:00.000-07:00

We have this great new couple in our ward who had a quiet little marriage back in February. They were planning for a celebration in June and they let me take some pictures to send out in invitations. We had a good time down by the river and downtown and they were a great and very photogenic couple!

Jack Eats Solid Foods!

2011-04-25T23:12:00.000-07:00

Jack had an appointment with the GI NP and she said "go ahead and start him on solids!" I wanted to wait until I talked with them before we did and I'm glad. I confirmed with her that I thought he was ready, he has been staring at our food for a couple of weeks now. The NP said to start with orange and yellow veggies. I asked about rice cereal and she said there is no need to even try that, it has no nutritional value and she doesn't know why anyone bothers with it.

So, sweet potatoes it is! We started with those and it went ok. Mostly he just pushed them back out with his tongue. He didn't seem disgusted with the taste, just not interested and maybe a little confused at what his parents were shoving in his mouth. I tried some too and there is good reason we add salt and sugar and such to food. It tastes better!

{For ME!?!}

Good thing babies don't know about all the garbage we fill our food with. We'll keep with the sweet potatoes for a few days and move onto something else.

It really is so thrilling to watch a little one grow and learn, I am just so excited to raise this little boy and teach him and to watch him experience all the wonders that life has to offer him! What a blessing it is to be a parent.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T22:53:00.000-07:00

Jack's first Easter

{Easter outfit}

{not really sure what to do with the "grass". I don't think he likes it.}

After a wonderful day at church we had all the family over for dinner. After dinner Jack had his first Easter egg hunt. Jack even "found" the egg with the 5 dollars in it!

{"What is going on?"}

{who do you think is more into this Easter egg hunt?}

{Jack would rather spit up}

{Uncle Ty: The competition}

We Miss You Jana in Montana!

2011-04-09T20:43:00.001-07:00

Jana is headed off to Montana to nanny three little kids on a ranch in Chinook. We are so excited for Jana and this new adventure she is about to embark on.

We sure are going to miss you!!

We hope you have a wonderful time!!!

We celebrated Jana and Ty's birthdays together (Jana would be gone for her birthday)

Ty wanted cake smashed in his face, but we couldn't just do it because he wanted it so we faked him out and ambushed him.

{the fake out "oh Ty show me what you are making with your new legos"}

{smash}

{brother and sister}

Jack: Four Months

2011-04-02T21:09:00.000-07:00

Time just keeps on ticking and Jack keeps getting bigger and bigger. What a joy and how amazing to watch him grow! I can't believe all the changes in just a few short months!

Jack is sleeping like a rock star! He pretty much has since we started at three months having him sleep through the night. He takes great naps during the day too. We are so grateful that he is such a good sleeper.

Jack still doesn't care for tummy time, he tolerates it ok, but it's not his favorite time of day, however, he will roll over on his belly and stick him bum up in the air to sleep?! go figure!

Jack loves the bath, he splashes all around and likes to look at himself in the drain.

He did not like Pia on American Idol. Jack has been watching Idol with Gma Patty and Auntie Jew and apparently he screamed when Pia sang.

Jack also caught a little cold from his mom. His poor little throat was sore and scratchy, it was so sad and so cute his hoarse little cries, poor little thing!

Jack loves to look at himself in the mirror and ride around the house in the baby bjorn, his dad will put him in the bjorn and Jack practices his boxing in the mirror and just loves it!

He also loves to sit in his bumbo and watch his parents get ready in the morning and he loves to dance!

One thing he does not like at all is the organ at church! We have an amazing organist who pulls out all the stops and just lets the organ soar and Jack looks at his parents and then the lip comes out and he just starts crying. It really is the funniest thing to watch.

He is just an angel!

A Present for Baby Gigi!

2011-03-20T21:03:00.000-07:00

Finally finished!!!

Now that baby Gigi's first birthday has come and gone I finally finished this blanket I have been crocheting forever! Good thing you never really grow out of blankets. I also made a matching beanie. Hopefully I get it to her before she grows out of the beanie and/or it is too hot to wear it!

{could I get this in the mail already!!!!!}

I guess I should get off the computer and get to the post office!

I hope you like it Gigi.

Auntie Heathies still needs to see you!!!!

Happy Birthday Saint Grandma Patty's Day!

2011-03-17T21:01:00.000-07:00

I don't know what it is about this holiday, but I just love it!! Most likely it's just that I love holidays in general and if I had the time and money my house would look like it threw up holiday every holiday that came around.

This day is especially holiday-ee, it is also Gma Patty's birthday! Jack had to have a couple of outfits to commemorate the holiday. Auntie Jew gave him one and his mom had to buy him one as well.

We had a nice dinner and celebration at Julie's house for Gma Patty.

{Great Gma Purvis with baby Jack}

We are so grateful for Gma Patty, for giving of her time to watch Jack and for her constant love and support of us and all we do.

Happy Birthday Mom and Gammie!!

Jack: Three Months

2011-03-02T21:07:00.000-08:00

We just love this boys more and more. It's such a joy to watch him discover all the wonderful new things. Jack has found his hands! And his hands have found his mouth. He is pretty determined to get his whole fist into his mouth, sooner or later it is bound to happen.

Three months also means mamma goes back to work :( Sad times. I sure do miss that little boy. Work is work and it pays the bills, but I can't wait till I can be a stay at home mamma. The benefit to going back to work and working nights is that Brandon was put in charge of sleep training. Brandon puts Jack down to bed and lets him cry himself to sleep and I don't have to listen to my sweet little boy crying. And Jack is a rockstar sleeper. He barely cried at all before falling asleep and slept all night long, and continues to be such a good sleeper!!!

Jack also loves to look at his parents (or not look at them when we want him to), melts your heart just like warm butter!

Have I mentioned how much we love this little boy?

Well we do!!!! Such a joy!!!!

GGGGammie and The Jew

2011-02-24T00:01:00.000-08:00

Jack's "Gammie" comes and watches him on my sleep days while his dad is in class. Sometimes The Jew plays hookie and work and joins them. Jack has so much fun with his girls; they go for walks and look at pictures and play with toys.

{Bundled up and ready to go on a cold day}

{GGGGammie and The Jew (benny and the Jets)}

We sure are lucky to have them!!!

Grossmami and Grosspapi visit

2011-02-22T20:55:00.000-08:00

Both sets of grandparents can't get enough of our little bundle of joy, can ya blame them!? :)

Just a few pictures of a visit with the grossparents.

Jack just loves all of his family, he gets so excited whenever they come to visit. He is such a lucky little boy to be loved by so many wonderful people.

Jack Has a Bed!!!

2011-02-22T20:24:00.000-08:00

Ok, so he has had a bed since before he was born, but now he has a room for it to be in and it is put together!

He also has an awesome crib bed set compliments of Auntie Mrs (yes Mrs, I will teach him to call you that :) ).

{thank you Mrs, we LOVE it!!}

I am still working on his room, getting things put into it and getting the decor put together. Like most things in my life, it is a work in progress.

Gma Barrus turns 80!!!!

2011-02-18T23:02:00.000-08:00

You'd never know by looking at her, but my Grandma Barrus is 80! We had dinner and gifts for her at my parents house and some time to visit.

Gma, we are so blessed to have you in our lives. Your kind, loving spirit always encouraging us to eat our vegetables and to do our very best, to love and stay close to the Lord. You are such a great example of all the things you encourage us to do.

We love you so much!

Happy Birthday!

For Uncle Jesse

2011-02-11T21:00:00.000-08:00

Hi Uncle Jesse!

We are so proud of you serving a mission out in San Fran/Oakland. We know you are having a great time working hard and telling people about Jesus Christ. We miss you so much and Jack can't wait to meet you. We know you are doing some important work right now and we look forward to seeing you in November! Here are some pictures of Jack wearing your skull cap!

Out for a Walk

2011-02-10T20:54:00.000-08:00

Jack loves to go for walks. He chills in his car seat, looking around and eventually the roll of the stroller lulls him to sleep.

On Jack's very first walk his eyes were so big trying to take everything in. Brandon and I had to put the blanket over his car seat half way so he wouldn't freak out on us because he was over stimulated.

For a while after that he would still go out for walks all big eyed. He loves to take in all the new things he sees and all the new sounds he hears.

I Love My Boys!!!!

2011-02-06T21:44:00.000-08:00

I just can't get enough of these two! Jack loves his daddy so much and I just love to watch the two of them together.

Jack: Two Months

2011-02-02T20:10:00.000-08:00

It is so much fun to watch Jack grow. He smiles at his parents and gurgly goos. I haven't been eating anything for a month now. I live mostly off of smoothies and steak. I have tried some bread and ice cream from the Coop, they tasted funny. I've been adding things back in each week, but really you need it all combined to get anything good. The pediatrician finally referred us to the Gastrointerologist group because after all this effort of not eating, nothing has changed significantly.

We went to the GI doc and Jack instantly won over the nurse practitioner. She thought we should try supplementing with formula, she wasn't satisfied with how small he still was. There was some consideration of admitting him to the hospital, but I wasn't down with that, especially since all we were doing was supplementing. I can do that without the assistance of a nurse. I also didn't want to risk my kid getting RSV while in the hospital.

After supplementing for a week we checked back with the GI NP and Jack had gained 13oz in a week!!! Hooray!! We were all so happy including Jack! Apparently he wasn't getting enough food!
He is still small (I think in the 3rd percentile for weight). However, he is growing sufficiently and happy.

Jack's little face lights up when his Daddy comes home from school, he still doesn't really like tummy time and voices his opinion about it the whole time, he still spends a lot of time whacking himself in the face with his hands, but he is getting stronger and can hold his head up for short periods of time, and his parents love him more and more each day!

{for some reason he doesn't like his monthly photo shoots}

{I love rapid fire, I can get all the shots working up to the screaming}

Jack's Blessing

2011-01-30T22:40:00.000-08:00

Today our little boy was given a name and a blessing by his father. It was an intimate group of family and friends in the Bishop's office. We decided to wait to bless Jack till the end of January because Mike and his family would be flying and we didn't want them to have to pay holiday fares at the beginning of January. We then got bumped into the Bishop's office because of multiple changes of our Ward conference dates that landed it on Jack's blessing day. I think it worked out for the best, Brandon didn't want to do it in front of a big crowd anyway.

{Jack wore Topher's blessing outfit}

Mike and Sarah arrived on Friday, just in time to help us move! Sarah didn't seem to mind much (she was put on baby duty), she held little Jack for three hours while the rest of use moved stuff. Mike wasn't so excited. We basically got everything moved except for a few things Brandon and I would get later. Now we just needed to get things cleared out of the living/dining/kitchen area enough for people to come over.

{the guests}

{We had a few more at the blessing who couldn't make it in the afternoon so I don't have pictures of everyone}

We blessed Jack pretty early in the morning, went home to rest/feed/and turned around and went back to church. Ward conference was so so good! The main themes were listening to the Holy Ghost and agency. What an awesome gift agency is! The opportunity to choose for ourselves if we will follow and serve the Lord or follow and serve Satan. Sometimes I think it would be so easy if someone would just tell me exactly what I should do and I would do it, but by taking the "easy" path we give away our freedom and essentially give Satan control of our lives. Allowing someone else control of our lives is no way to live. How can we know if something is good or evil? By their fruits!

3rd Nephi 14:17, 20
17 Even so every ^agood tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
20 Wherefore, by their ^afruits ye shall know them.

After church everyone came back to our house for food and visiting. It was a nice day filled with family and friends. We are so grateful for all the help we had this weekend, for all the love and support and that our families could be with us at this joyous time!

Happy Birthday Brandon!!

2011-01-07T22:49:00.000-08:00

Well, today Brandon starts the last year of his twenties!

Brandon's not one for a big to-do for his birthday and even if I pulled out everything I had I couldn't have thrown a party for him, and everyone would be tripping over baby stuff at our house so Brandon's mom made a wonderful dinner for all to enjoy.

{Jack was sleeping, that's why he's not in the picture}

{four generations}

Happy Birthday Brandon!
Jack and I love you more than we can tell and we are so grateful to have you in our lives!

Jack: One Month

2011-01-02T13:24:00.000-08:00

Wow! One month. Can you believe it? This past month has kind of been a blur. Luckily for most of it Brandon has been home (winter break) which has been absolutely wonderful. Aside from the busy holidays we have had quite a bit of time together as a family trying to adjust to a new addition around. It's been hard; little sleep and recovering from giving birth, lots of family, bills, looking for a bigger place to live and trying to give everything you have to this sweet little angel.

{his mom loves to snuggle with him}

It's amazing to watch Jack grow and I get so excited to take him to the doctor so we can weigh him and find out how much he's gained. And then there was the issue with his poo. Yes, another joy of parenting. Jack's poos changed and it was concerning so we took pictures (wanted to know that didn't you?) and we're checking with the doctor to see if we could remedy the problem. She thought maybe a food allergy. Well, all Jack "eats" is breastmilk so it meant a no food diet for mom. We start out removing all common allergens; dairy, wheat, soy and eggs, for a week and then each week after we add something back in.

side note: I HATE DIETING! I don't believe in it. I like to eat what I want. I try to be conscious about what I eat, but if I want to enjoy a sweet, fatty little treat, I do.

that said...

Here we go; meat, fruit and veggies! I hope I don't starve to death!

He is just the sweetest little thing and he has the cutest little sad face when that bottom lip sticks out. One night Brandon and I were watching a movie and I was holding Jack, he was sleeping. Out of no where he lets out this "waaaa", and back to sleep, not another peep! Silly kid. We just love him to pieces.

Here is Jack at one month old...

{This one did not enjoy his 1 month pictures}

{monkey toes}

Jack's New Ride

2011-01-01T22:52:00.000-08:00

Jack also went out for a ride in his stroller with his Grosspappi on New Year's. I think he had a good time. Grosspappi also ran across an old Fiat, like what they used to drive on his mission.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T13:19:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty sure New Year's Eve consisted of something along the lines of feeding, trying to sleep in the rocking chair, changing diapers, throwing back some Martinelli's, ooh we might have watched a movie! I really can't recall, kind of a blur.

{here is what we did, someone didn't like being laundry, but I had to get him and the clothes upstairs,
two of my favorite pics with his dad!}

Ring a ding ding...Happy New Year!!!!

Here's how Jack spent New Years Day...

looking at his mom's face that oddly enough looks like a camera lens.

Bitsch Christmas

2010-12-25T23:19:00.000-08:00

We headed to my parents house after the Jew's. There we met up with my grandparents, cousin Savannah and her family and Heidi came a little later.

It was of course time for Jack to eat, which was an ordeal (it's enough of an ordeal at home, try doing it on the go). After he ate we changed him and there was pee everywhere. Once we finally got the kid squared away there were plenty of arms to hold Jack.

We dived into the food, opened gift, watch Kade have a ball with the marble game and light up the tree. We missed Mike, Sarah and Topher and hope they had a magical Christmas as well. After we headed home for some much needed rest. It was a busy week of Christmases and with a brand new little one I was grateful for a day to stay home and rest.

We are so grateful for wonderful family, for the fun and celebration.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a GOOD NIGHT!

Christmas With The Jew

2010-12-25T23:18:00.000-08:00

Christmas day started at the Jew's house. We had a little to eat, opened gifts and we talked with Jesse!

{four generations}

We had a wonderful time and the Jew gave Patty, Jana and I cookbooks that she compiled of Gma Purvis and other family recipes. I love cookbooks! Now I just need to get cooking.

{Jack was so excited to get his stocking from Auntie Jew}

It was great to hear Jesse's voice as well. He is doing so well, working hard and having a great time serving the people of Oakland/San Francisco.

Baby Jack Photo Shoot

2010-12-25T13:23:00.000-08:00

Heidi came over on Christmas Eve for a Baby Jack photo shoot. We had a lot of fun messing with him and he liked some of it. He is not however, a fan of being naked in a cold glass bowl. We should have used the white blanket in the glass bowl, but I didn't think of it until it was too late. Oh well. We got a lot of really nice pictures, now I just need to pick my favorites and get em' framed.

Merry Christmas, Mele Kalikimaka, Manuia Le Kerisimasi!

2010-12-25T13:21:00.000-08:00

{subway art by Craftily Ever After}

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!!!

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

We got to spend the day with almost all of our families. It was wonderful. We are so grateful to have so much family close by and we are missing those far away.

We hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!

Let us all remember what we celebrate this time of year, the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Look here for stories, traditions, videos and more about Christ and Christmas.

Gma Judy Christmas

2010-12-24T23:17:00.000-08:00

We attended the annual Christmas Eve party at Brandon's Gma Judy's house. It is always a fun time to visit with her and to see Brandon's dad's family. This was also the first time Gma Judy saw Jack and she was just tickled to spend some time with him.

Sheila was there along with Melissa, Annie and family and Erin. It was great to see everyone and very entertaining to watch Annie's little boy. He thoroughly enjoyed all his presents and was so grateful for them all. So Cute!!!

Later Brandon entertained the troops with a little ventriloquist act with Jack.

Capener Christmas

2010-12-23T23:16:00.000-08:00

Our first Christmas of the year was with Brandon's family on Thursday night.

We started off with dinner and then gathered in the living room for a Christmas story followed by the opening of gifts.

It was wonderful to spend time with family and share gifts with each other and of course to watch Ty in a sea of paper and boxes enjoying his loot.

Brandon playing with Julie's phone, trying to decided what kind of phone he wants to upgrade to.

Jack Attack!

2010-12-17T13:16:00.000-08:00

After Brandon finished up the semester we had a whole month of family time to spend together and getting use to baby Jack. It was wonderful to have so much time together. Brandon took very good care of Jack and I.

It is so fun to watch little Jack as he learns and grows. He is so adorable, we really can spend hours just watching him sleep.

Here are some pictures of our sweet little angel.

hangin' with his mom after a feeding : Sleeping with mom

Most of Jack's clothes were big on him. He wiggled his arm out of the sleeve, and it came up through the neck hole and he stuck his finger in his mouth.

Auntie Heidi came for a visit. After holding Jack for a bit she felt something on her leg. She lifted Jack up and he had peed on her, ran right out the back of his diaper!

getting ready for a ride : getting mad : Wrinkly forehead

more sleeping

Just can't get enough of this little guy. If possible I think we love him more and more each day.

Baby Showers

2010-12-07T04:34:00.000-08:00

I was lucky enough to have three baby showers. Some of my friends I grew up with threw one for the Caldwell people, my mother in law and aunt in law threw one for the Boise peeps and a couple of friends from the ward threw a ward one.

The Caldwell shower was at Shauna's house. We had a small intimate group, it was nice to get together with the girls I rarely see. We had a wonderful time and I received some very nice gifts for baby Jack.

The Boise shower was so nice and it was great to have family and friends around to celebrate the impending arrival of baby Jack. We made him a little baby book like they made Brandon back at his first birthday. More wonderful gifts were received.

Baby Jack decided to come a little early and put a little cramp in the ward baby shower plans. Brennan and Bonnie were kind enough to still host the shower and they visited with guests as they dropped off gifts for baby Jack.

We are so grateful for all of our wonderful family and friends for such great parties and generous gifts. We have been so blessed with such amazing people in our lives and especially sweet little baby Jack.

A great big THANK YOU to all!!!

And Then...

2010-12-06T21:47:00.000-08:00

all hell broke lose!

It. was. so. hard.
I don't think there is anything that can really mentally prepare someone to bring home a new baby for the first time.

I was so hopeful and felt so good about how everything went in the hospital, literally the picture of perfection, as far as deliveries can go. Maybe we are all blessed with some ease at one point in bringing children to this earth, labor and delivery was mine.

We had more than enough help when we got home, my mom was cleaning and doing dishes and laundry which was so wonderful as well as being such a great support to me. Brandon's mom was bring meal after meal, each night we had something new and different which was so wonderful.

Jack on the other hand decided he wasn't going to be a good eater (he did so well in hospital) and of course we were trying to feed him often, which meant little sleep. Brandon had to finish up his semester and was busy studying and doing homework and taking finals, I was exhausted and trying to figure everything out along with my hormones being totally out of whack. We also had a lot of visitors and too many all at once. Jack went six or seven hours without eating one day and then he wouldn't eat when I tried and I was stressed and tired and completely breaking down.

It was Sunday night and amidst a complete breakdown/panic attack, Brandon called the new parent line and spoke with a nurse. She asked a lot of questions, but couldn't pin down what the problem could be and suggested we bring Jack into the ER just to have him checked out. Jack was given a blessing and we headed to the hospital. Once there we found out his blood sugar was 46, which is low even for an adult. He was given sugar water, which he LOVED, and formula. His blood sugar came back up to and acceptable level and after working with a few different OB nurses to try and get the nursing thing down again, we went home.

side note: being a nurse does not make you any more capable of handling such situations with your own children. I could be as cool as a cucumber with anyone else's child, total mess with mine.

I've been questioning whether or not I can do this. I've been talking to my friends as much as possible looking for reassurance that this too will pass. It seems as though it will and eventually we will get the hang of things. I guess it's just a matter of making it through the first few months.

Yes, we are still so grateful for little Jack, he is such a precious little angel and we are so blessed that he has been placed in our care. It really is so hard and such a struggle and all we want is to do the very best we can in raising this child of God.

Baby Migs Arrival

2010-12-02T17:07:00.000-08:00

4 hours later...

I arrived home from work about midnight and we went to bed. I woke up at 4 o'clock in the morning because I had to pee so bad. I get in, sit down, relieve and realize that my pj's are all wet! I couldn't believe it (secretly didn't really believe this baby would ever come). I sat there for a while dumbfounded that this was in fact happening, assessed the situation repeatedly for a good 5-10 minutes, finally I decided my water had in fact broke and I should probably wake Brandon and head to the hospital. I disposed of the wet things and went to get Brandon. I woke him up and told him my water broke, he said "ok" and then laid his head back down to go to sleep. I stopped him from drifting off and said "no, we have to go to the hospital", he said "really?". He woke up, I think in shock too that this was really happening, and we got ready to go.

We arrived in Triage at 5 o'clock. They tested the fluid to make sure it was amniotic (it was), started an IV, put on armbands and drew blood. The next shift wasn't due in until 7 o'clock so the triage nurse told us to walk around for about an hour to see if we could get some contractions going. There are very few places to walk around on that floor, most boring hour of my life, and no progress.

At seven they transferred us over to Labor and Delivery where we met our nurse Hope. She was so wonderful. They started the pitocin, called the doctor with updates, gave Brandon the tour of where the ice and jello was, and hooked me up to all the monitors; baby was fine, no contractions, blood pressure was a little elevated. I held off on the epidural for a little, just to see how things would go. By ten o'clock I was feeling the contractions in my lower back and I thought I was going to die! When Hope came in I told her I was hurting pretty bad, she suggested sitting on the exercise ball. I tried the ball, it didn't work. Bring on the epidural!

It took a couple of sticks to get the epidural in. Brandon sat in front of me until he started getting nauseous and had to sit away from the action (Brandon and needles, especially large ones, don't mix). Once the epidural kicked in I could rest and relax.

{note the pump in the background (epidural), this is why I'm smiling. Monitor showing contractions on the bottom, baby's heartbeat on the top}

Brandon and I both got a little rest after that, but not much.

The resident working with Dr West came in, sometime around noon and said I was about 4cm. Not long after Dr West came in and said I was about 9-9.5cm and could probably start pushing soon! I could not believe it! I said "are you kidding me?" and Dr West said "I would not kid about this". By about 1 o' clock the doctor was in the room and we were ready to go. I don't recall exactly what time the pushing started, but it only took six pushes before baby Migs was out (1:36pm).

It was so amazing and so surreal, this little angel was finally in our arms. He was placed on my chest while they dried him off and then they wisked him away to do a more thorough clean and apgars. Next came the placenta and the doctor had to stitch up a couple of small tears (TMI? too bad, it's my blog ;)). Brandon had the camera and was taking pictures of Migs getting cleaned and checked out.

Migs was given back to me to nurse and cuddle.

I couldn't have asked for a better delivery. I had such a wonderful nurse and a great doctor. Everything went so well. I'm so grateful for Brandon's wonderful support, he even cut the cord! My mom was hoping to be with us as well, but when I called her in the morning she said they had a busy surgery day and would get to the hospital as soon as she could, but she didn't make it until after Migs was born. Brandon's mom was in the waiting room and came in before we headed up to the next room.

We had to wait in L&D until I could walk and use the bathroom before they would transfer me to the post-partum floor. My first time up made me a little woozy, but I made it to the bathroom and to the wheelchair and off we went to our new room.

We had a whole herd of family waiting up there for us and once we were settled with vitals and assessment out of the way we were able to visit with everyone and Migs was passed around from one person to the next. Food was brought in for us and I was so happy to eat something other than Jello.

The rest of the evening was spent resting, sleeping and enjoying this wonderful new addition to our family.

We are so grateful for all the wonderful love and support we received from family and friends in person and through texts and calls.

Brandon stayed the night in the hospital with us and we had another really great nurse. We were well taken care of and even got some sleep. The nurse brought Migs in for feedings and we all went to the nursery for his first bath.

{someone cute and little didn't like his bath}

Everything was going so well; feedings and all his assessments, and the doctors gave us the all clear after 24 hours so we decided to head home the next day.

It was a quick in and out, now off to home, let the fun begin!

The Big Snow!

2010-12-01T17:03:00.000-08:00

The Weatherman said we would get a lot of snow, but I'll tell you right now I don't trust that Weatherman (because most of the time a "lot of snow" turns out to be a little skif). Well...this time he was right!

We woke up this morning to 6-8" of snow! It was amazing and a lot of snow for the valley. I don't remember the last time we had so much snow. Schools were canceled, including BSU! Another bonus, I didn't have to work! I was so happy to have Brandon home for the day. However, I couldn't get him to come play in the snow with me. This was not going to stop this pregnant woman. I squeeeeeezed into my snow pants and found a long shirt and hoodie (to cover the fact that nothing under the sun was going to get my zipper up), and I headed out into the snow. It is a lot of work to walk through six inches of snow! I brought my camera to take pictures, but have few to show because it was still snowing/raining a bit and I didn't want "snappy" to get wet. I was going to head over to the river (I knew it would be beautiful over there), but trapesing through that much snow, with a belly, was more than I could handle. Instead I headed up to Warmsprings and home. It was a nice walk and to be honest I was going to do whatever I had to, to get this kid to come out!

the view outside our window

We spent the rest of the day watching movies and I worked on Christmasy things. My boss called that afternoon to ask if I could come into work and help. I agreed to work from 7p-11p. I wasn't too excited about it because I was enjoying my time with Brandon, but, with a little one on the way I figured it would be beneficial to work a few extra hours.

It was a fun day, I couldn't believe all the snow, I absolutely loved it!!!

Side Note: I love a ton of snow so long as I am with my family and we don't have to go anywhere. Otherwise I can do without it and prefer the warmth and sunshine!

Thanksgiving

2010-11-29T11:09:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving was kind of a bust, but only because I was working and I had cousins and my brother all in town. Brandon went to the movies and dinner with his family while I stayed home and slept. I didn't even get off work in time to enjoy black Friday (I don't usually leave work until a little before eight, and by then you've missed the really good deals). Luckily Brandon's Aunt Jew was willing to take my wish list and pick up the items I wanted that were on sale.

Friday evening after I got some sleep we went to my Grandparent's house for dinner and were able to spend time with some of the Petersens, Comstocks and Bitsches. There were little boys running all around. We had a wonderful time. I was bummed Friday was the only day I had to spend with everyone.

So glad to see all who were able to come! We love and miss you and look forward to seeing you again soon.

I am so thankful for wonderful families, especially my love Brandon and Migs (who we can't wait to hold in our arms). I am also so thankful for the gospel in my life and for the redeeming love and atonement of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I am one blessed girl!!

Hoping everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, spending time with those you hold most dear.

Gma with her Christmas cactus (only blooms in the winter).

Topher, caught red handed. Travis and Sam playing with their "Black Friday" steal.

Quinten givin' the Renew some love.

Workin' on the Night Shift

2010-11-19T04:34:00.000-08:00

I have officially finished my second week of night shifts, and I'm off orientation (scary). Thankfully, not as bad as I had expected. I guess it helps to be on your feet for 12 hours, makes it kind of hard to fall asleep. Brandon has been so wonderful too and gives me all the peace and quiet I need to sleep during the day. My days off are a different story though. I don't know if it is the night shift or the pregnancy (probably both), but my sleeping is so out of whack. I keep waking up at the most ridiculous hours of the night, wide awake! The one thing I absolutely despise about this night shift business is the traffic!! It is horrible! When I am driving home in the morning I am driving with everyone else and their dog who is trying to get to downtown Boise. It's painful!

All in all it has been good. On the way home the other day I even got a little treat, and the light stayed red long enough for me to pull out the camera.

I love where I live! It is not uncommon to find deer just hanging out. One day while I had been out on the greenbelt and was on my way back home a couple of deer crossed the street right in front of me! I just think it is too cool! These deer were just eating some grass on a small vacant lot next to some office buildings, at a very busy intersection, smack dab in the middle of morning rush hour.

Cooler Weather Brings...

2010-11-04T16:44:00.000-07:00

SOUP!

I love a good soup, but Summers are just too hot so I love it when the weather cools a little and I bust out my soup recipes. One of my favorites is Zupas Wisconsin Cauliflower soup. If you've had you know it is to die for! I've been known on more than one occasion to buy it by the quart and freeze it so I could bring it home to Idaho with me. I have searched high and low for a recipe and finally found one! And, I made it today and it is delicious! If you can't have the real thing this is a delicious close second.

Photo via Zupas

Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup
Yields: 9 cups or 8 first-course servings (or 4-5 hungry adults :)

2 tablespoons margarine or butter (1/4 stick)
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1 can (13 3/4 to 14 1/2 ounces) chicken broth
1 head (2 1/2 pounds) cauliflower, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup pepper jack cheese

In 4-quart saucepan, melt margarine or butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until golden, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in flour and salt; cook 2minutes, stirring frequently. Gradually stir in milk, chicken broth, and 1 1/2 cups water; add cauliflower and heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until cauliflower is tender, about 10 minutes. In blender (with center part of blender cover removed to allow steam to escape), blend cauliflower mixture at low speed in small batches until very smooth. Return cauliflower mixture to saucepan; heat over medium heat until hot, stirring occasionally. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in mustard and 1 1/2 cups cheese until melted and smooth. Garnish soup with remaining cheese to serve, salt and pepper to taste.

I probably added another 1/2 - 1 cup more of cheddar cheese and I used sharp cheddar cheese for more taste. I would also adjust the amount of pepperjack depending on how much kick you want your soup to have.

I'm not sure who originally posted this recipe, but I found it at Just Cook Already

here are some of my other favorite soups for Fall

Chicken Tortilla

Italian Sausage and Potato
This one was delicious, but I would put in about half the sausage, maybe even 1/4 of the amount and add more if you like, but the whole amount was a little overwhelming

Chili
This recipe is one I came up with by taking a few things from a variety of other recipes

1pkg Chili Seasoning

Chili Powder

Salt / Pepper

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

2lbs ground beef

2lbs ground pork

1 can black beans

1 can pinto beans

1 can navy beans

1 can kidney beans

2 cups whole kernel corn (I use sweet/frozen)

3-4 Tbls Brown Sugar

2 Tbls olive oil (aprox.)

2 – 4oz cans Tomato Sauce

1 – 4oz can Tomato Paste

2 cans Diced Tomatoes

In a large pot saute onions and garlic in olive oil. Add meat and chili seasoning, sprinkle in some chili powder, salt and pepper. Let cook until meat is brown. Add all beans, water in can and all, tomato sauce, paste, diced tomatoes and corn. Stir well. Add brown sugar. Let simmer for a couple of hours. I continue to add chili powder, salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with cheese, sour cream, chips, cornbread or just eat it straight.

Heidi's Halloween Birthday Party

2010-10-30T16:35:00.000-07:00

We went out to Heidi's to celebrate her 29th birthday. She did a costume party and everyone really went all out and did a great job with their costumes. I'm not one who cares a whole lot for the costume part of Halloween so mine was simple and I thought was pretty clever (not my own clever idea, I found it online). Brandon on the other hand I think you would have to hog tie and knock out in order to get him into a costume so he went as himself.

Annual October Birthdays Dinner

2010-10-25T23:02:00.000-07:00

For quite a few years now we have celebrated Heidi and my birthdays with a family dinner out. This year we went to Asiago's. It was delicious and as usual the company was excellent!

{can you tell I touched up?}

{it was too dark even for the new lens so we had to bust out the flash, which always messes with peoples faces, closed eyes, and silly looks}

Maternity Pictures

2010-10-23T13:54:00.002-07:00

Heidi wanted to take some maternity pictures and I'm usually a very willing subject to have my picture taken, to prove I did things. Usually I feel like I spend more time behind the camera than in front.

We drove around to a few places and then drove a few more looking for this specific spot on the greenbelt and it took forever!! But, we found it!

We had a fun time, Brandon would have rather stayed home and crashed on the bed, but he was a good sport and we came out with some great pictures.

{Brandon and his many cute little faces}

{this is my favorite}

{even Heathies was spent}

Birthday Present

2010-10-21T22:50:00.000-07:00

I just asked for money for my birthday because I've been wanting to get a prime lens for my camera. Here is what I got...

{playing around with the new lens}

This lens is great for low light situations and gives you that great focus, with a blurred background, or bokeh.

I love it!

Now I just need some willing subjects... Anyone?

More Fall Pics

2010-10-20T13:54:00.000-07:00

Brandon went on a bike ride with me to the "fire trees", that's what I call them. I saw them on the way to church the other day and they are my favorite in the fall. The leaves have this monochromatic thing going on and you can see all the colors the leaves are changing from yellows to oranges to up on the top beautiful reds. It looks like the trees are on fire!

{I'm in love with the sunburst}

{Brandon, patiently waiting for Heathies under the "fire trees"}

Halloween Decor!

2010-10-15T12:29:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would post some pictures of my Halloween decor. I love looking at the posts of everyone's amazing Halloween decor and I have so many ideas, but it is getting a little late in the season so I am adding to my long list of ideas for next year. I'm pretty sure I have more stuff in the garage too, just not quite sure where it is.

{a view of the living room}

{close up of the scary vase of branches, I think I first saw this idea on Martha, but I've since seen it on other blogs as well. Next year I will try some filler in the bottom of the vases and maybe hang some little ornaments from the branches as well}

{the glitter words I found at Target at the front of their store in the couple of dollars sections as well as the tins below and the candy dish. I am all for cute cheap decor}

{the pumpkins were made by my friend Tricia, I absolutely love them! And, once Halloween is over I'll turn the faces to the back and they will just look like fall decor, it's like two in one!}

Some other ideas I will try next year; you can buy plastic miniature skulls at a variety of places that I thought would be fun to fill the glass bowl on my coffee table and kava bowl on my kitchen table with. I want make one of these and these, and a few other things that I don't have links to. Rest assured I'll come up with even more in the next year.

I love Fall and Halloween and everything about this time of year. I think the warm days and the cool nights are spectacular and the changing of leaves is so magical.

That's Nurse Heather to You!

2010-10-10T12:30:00.000-07:00

I figure I should do more updating on this blog, for crying out loud the year is getting away from me.

As I posted back in April, I graduated from ISU with a BSN in nursing and spent the summer, well, mostly exhausted and nauseous. I also spent some time studying for my nursing boards which I so luckily was able to take twice (read this with as much sarcasm as you can muster). And, to make it even better, both times I took the test I had ALL 265 questions. It is the most insane test and the minimum number of questions you can get is 75, the max is 265. Thankfully that miserable part of the year is over, I have my RN license and I've started orienting on my floor (Telemetry) as a nurse. It has been great, albeit overwhelming at times, and I think things have been going well. I will go to night shift here in a couple of weeks which will be another new adventure, we'll see how that goes.

and the date today is 10/10/10, how cool is that!

Birthday Dinner with the In-Laws

2010-10-08T10:15:00.000-07:00

We had a birthday dinner with Brandon's family last night, my mom, sister and Kristen came as well. Unfortunately my dad was unable to make it because he is driving cross country in a bus! We missed him, but still had a wonderful time!

We ate a very delicious dinner of steak, potatoes, corn and rolls and had our choice of two desserts; cake or dulce de leche yummy goodness from Argentina that Brandon's sister made. Delicious!

Ty had some of his friends over that had to leave before we were ready for cake so we made them sing Happy Birthday so they could have their cake early. :)

Always a fun evening surrounded by family and friends!

Happy Birthday...

2010-10-06T13:12:00.000-07:00

to me!

Well, who else is going to blog about it?

I went to work for four hours for some education and was able to observe a cath lab procedure, which was so cool. But, the best part of the day was when Brandon got home from school and took me out to dinner. We ran a few errands and stopped at the mall before heading to Cheesecake Factory. I have been wanting some Crispy Chicken Costoletta. It is so delicious!

{this is what I had for dinner, mm mm good}

After dinner we headed home and Brandon gave me a box of Lee's chocolates (yep, cheesecake, chocolates and I am sure more fatty goodness desserts at his parents house tomorrow). Let's just say I'm trying to help baby Migs put on that fat he needs to fill out.

It was a wonderful day and I received calls, emails and facebook messages from so many wonderful friends! But birthday week/month isn't over yet! More celebrating is on it's way!

IT'S FALL!!!!!!

2010-10-01T12:59:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love, love, love this time of year, it makes me so happy!!! I love the nice, just cool enough for a jacket days and a little cooler nights, fall sweaters, colors, the changing leaves, the fresh crisp smell in the air, pumpkins, Halloween, corn maizes, cider, hot chocolate, everything about it I just LOVE!

I thought I would share some of my fall photos...

Indian Creek Festival

2010-09-19T16:28:00.000-07:00

The Indian Creek runs right through downtown Caldwell. It used to be covered up by lots of buildings and a car wash. One day, the car wash collapsed into the creek. This opened the door to uncover the creek and do a little beautification. Caldwell has done a bang up job and started a festival to celebrate the ongoing economic and aesthetic resurrection of Caldwell city center.

I met up with my parents to enjoy the festivities. We watched the cardboard kayak race, ate a delicious polish sausage and smoothie, checked out the old cars, visited with friends and called it a day.

The creek really looks great and they have done a great job in good ol' downtown Caldwell.

Idaho Day of Service

2010-09-11T15:55:00.000-07:00

Today was Idaho Day of Service. Last year I was working so I didn't get to participate. I had no idea what a huge to-do this was for my stake. There were people busy sewing and quilting and cleaning inside the church, down the street cleaning, mowing and washing windows at the school, cleaning, cutting, trimming, hanging lights and more at the Old Penn and Botanical Gardens as well as others setting up for the Green Jello Festival. It was really quite a production.

{beautiful botanical gardens, I've never seen them in bloom, only with Christmas lights}

I signed up to hang lights at the gardens, but they had plenty of people there and the current project was on ladders up in trees. I'm all for climbing ladders, but not in my pregnant state. I headed back to the church and one of our friends was busy painting faces so I took over watching her kid since he does best with those he knows. We had a wonderful time in the bounce house, music time and going for a walk.

{the cute little squirt I got to hang out with}

There was a great band there, wonderful food, cotton candy, popcorn, homemade rootbeer, a dunk tank, pulled pork sandwiches, corn, jello. It was such a great time and I am grateful I had the opportunity to participate.

Remember

2010-09-11T08:49:00.000-07:00

Nine years ago I was fast asleep in my bed. It was four o'clock in the morning and my sister was calling me on my cell. All I remember thinking is "why on earth are you calling so early in the morning, you know there is a huge time difference". I answered the phone and she told me of the tragic events that were unfolding on the East coast. I said "ok" and got off the phone. Still not completely with it I laid in bed thinking terrorists had somehow crashed these planes just so in order to get important documents and information from the pentagon. Clearly not thinking straight. I kept thinking I should get up and wake my roommate Tex and tell her what had happened, her family had recently moved back east. I felt so scared though and couldn't get out of bed. I finally fell back asleep until it was time to get up for the day. When I got up most of the house was already up, the TV was on and we were all glued to it. I don't remember much else from that day.

It was so tragic, so unreal, so terrifying that people could be so awful and bring upon others such horrific tragedy. My heart goes out to those who lost and to those who continue today to fight to protect the freedoms we enjoy.

It is my prayer that we each can do our part in defending freedom, to stand up for what we believe and protect this precious land we live in.

Labor Day in Portland

2010-09-09T11:15:00.001-07:00

My parents had some thoughts of going to Portland over labor day so I thought I would help encourage them by tagging along ;) It worked!

We headed up Friday afternoon. It sure is a long drive over there, but worth it. We arrived late to a little boy patiently waiting, looking out his parents window. Topher ran down to greet us and promptly asked Grosspappi if he could play with his iphone. Makes you wonder who the kid misses more, you or the electronic device.

We talked for a bit, oogled over my brother's ginormous TV (seriously, it's out of control, I want one!), then hit the hay.

Saturday morning we got up and went to the farmer's market (love farmer's markets!), bought peaches, nectarines, blueberries, donuts, tasted bread and sausages, got chocolates and vegies. It was fun. After we got home we changed, dropped Topher at a friends house and headed off for a temple session. We stopped briefly at Mike's work so we could have the grand tour (only got the grand tour because Brandon was with us, Brandon was also the only one who understood what Mike was talking about). We had a wonderful session at the temple, took some pictures, stopped at Burgerville for shakes, tried to find some Thomy mustard to no avail, then to get Topher so we could go to dinner. Dinner at Outback was yummy, I love a good steak and potatoes. Stopped for a few things at Fred Meyer where I literally had to use the bathroom twice (could have done a third) in about twenty minutes. Note to self: don't drink so much water when you have a little one pound weight sitting on your bladder. Back to Mike's where we all crashed quickly.

{what a bunch of goofballs}

{That's Brandon's GQ look in the first pic}

{Spider workin' on his web, OH NO! SARAH, RUN!!!, gone like a blue streak!}

Sunday was a nice chill day. We slept in a little, went to church, ate yummy lasagna, naps, trifle for dessert, seconds and thirds on trifle, movie, Topher found out that Uncle Brandon's itouch is not kid friendly (no games), continued to drain Grosspappi's iphone battery, bed.

{the morning wake up call sounded something like this... "Grosspappi? Can I play with your iphone}

Monday was just a pack up and head home day (after Topher spent more time on Grosspappi and Auntie Heather's ipods). We stopped in The Dalles (last burgerville stop) for lunch, and continued on home.

{beautiful row of Hydrangeas along one side of the house}

{with spiders making their intricate webs, so long as the spiders and the webs stayed far far away from me}

It was a quick weekend, but so much fun and we all had a wonderful time together. Our family weekend was short Heidi and we missed her!

Thanks Mike, Sarah and Topher for a good time and for your hospitality!

Spirit of Boise

2010-09-03T11:14:00.000-07:00

The hot air balloons are back in Boise!! The spirit of Boise is a great event that I believe used to be apart of the River Festival, back in the day.

{these are from the first day, I woke up a little late so most of the balloons were gone}

I went down to the park one morning to watch them launch and take pictures. It really is quite a great sight to see all these balloons up in the air. Apparently it was a dangerous sight because there were five accidents on the connector because people were looking at the balloons instead of the road.

I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed being there. Can't wait for next year.

MMMMM, Crookham Corn!

2010-08-17T11:13:00.000-07:00

We did not make it to the Caldwell Night Rodeo this year, but we didn't want to miss out on the Kiwanis chuckwagon dinner and Crookham corn. Brandon's mom, aunt Julie, sister and brother Ty met us there as well as my parents.

There is nothing like that sweet, sweet, Crookham corn.

Painting for The Jew

2010-08-10T20:16:00.000-07:00

Brandon's Aunt Julie (who we lovingly call "The Jew"(there is no cultural or religious reference to this)) needed some painting done. Brandon was enlisted to earn some extra money for school, I was enlisted...for fun! It's always more fun to work with your family (I even made some money too, Yay for paying for school!).

It took about four days, some we were both painting and some one or the other of us was out there painting by ourselves. Brandon finished up last Friday while I was working and he painted the doors. I haven't seen those finished, but I hear it looks great!

Thanks Jew for the opportunity to earn some extra money!!

{worker bees painting away. I know, I know, very attractive. Migs first time painting}

Swiss Picnic

2010-08-01T15:21:00.000-07:00

Another Swiss Picnic has come and gone. We had a wonderful time as usual. Lots of food and families. We even had everyone from my family there this year to participate in the festivities. It was so much fun and we made a showing with our new Swiss Picnic shirts.

Baby Mig's shirt for next year's picnic