Nate, Emily, Trace & Rylee

Welcome Welcome

2011-12-04T09:16:00.001-08:00

Rylee Marie Walter

Born November 24, 2011

Weight: 6 lbs 14 oz

Height: 19 inches

Rylee decided to join us on Thanksgiving Day!
Her entrance into the world was... quick! I guess I expected I would have more of a warning that it was time to head to the hospital (like when I had Trace). But this time we barley made it. We were getting ready to head over to M.Jay's for our Thanksgiving Feast when I started feeling contractions (1:00pm). I continued getting ready and was foolish enough to think I would still get to eat my Thanksgiving meal! But the contractions were coming too close together, so instead of heading south to Payson (M.Jay's place), we headed North to American Fork (our hospital). It was a pretty scary drive from then on and by the time I got to the hospital (3:15ish) I was fully dilated. Rylee was born at 3:49pm. It felt like a mad dash to get her here but once we got her everything has been nice and calm. So far she is a relaxed, easy going, sweet baby girl!


Trace wasn't super interested in Rylee at the hospital. There were other things that caught his eye, like the buttons on the bottom of the bed or getting a snack from his bag!

But once Rylee came home with us he became very interested! For the most part he is dealing with the new addition very well. He loves to give her kisses!

Looks like we are going to have a keep a close eye on these two! Rylee is in for a treat with a big brother like Trace.

Its a baby girl!

2011-09-12T10:21:00.000-07:00

We are...

Due November 26, 2011

Baby Number 2

2011-07-06T15:02:00.000-07:00

Its a bit of a late announcement but we are expecting baby number 2!

This was a bit of a surprise even to us! In fact we found out on April Fool Day that we were pregnant and weren't sure what to think! But we couldn't be more excited for our little family to grow!

Trace is so excited to be the...

Even if he doesn't really understand what that means!!

Next questions is will he get a little sister or a little brother!
We find out soon!

New baby's due date: November 26, 2011!
Age difference between Trace and new baby: 16 months!

Little Monkey

2011-04-18T10:25:00.000-07:00

What a little monkey! Ever since Trace turned mobile he has been interested in the TV stand and all the fun gadgets that go with it (DVD player, DVR, DVDs, stereo, etc.). Nate and I have been talking about getting a new entertainment center for awhile now to help baby proof the house. In the meantime however we attempted to put barriers in front of the TV to help keep Trace out! These worked for a little while. But obviously not anymore!! Trace is figuring out new ways to get around them (or over them!).

Half a year old!

2011-01-17T14:16:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! My name is Trace and I turned 6 months old on Janurary 7, 2011.

My mom says I'm going to have to start carrying my own weight on the blog updates since she never seems to get the job done. So lets get started.

First lets start with some stats:

At my six month apt, on 1-11-11, (the same day my new cousin Grant was born- cool birth date by the way) I went in for my six month check up. I don't really like these check ups, they strip you down to your diaper so your cold and miserable then poke with things that really hurt! So I decided the second they took my diaper off I'd get' em good! And I did. Sorry mom, no harm intended!

But anyways these are my new stats...

Height: 25

Weight: 14.2

Since my last apt I've gained 3.1 lbs and grown 1 inch! Although I'm still accused of being younger than I really am, I'm still growing at a normal rate!! :)

Next, what I've been up too!

Eating- Sleeping- Pooping

Eating (my favorite thing to do)

Sleeping (my second favorite thing to do)

Mom says I get a little crazy in my bed now that I can move around more!

Pooping (my third favorite thing to do)

Over the past few months I've learned too...

roll over:

sit up:

laugh:

stick my foot into my mouth:

I can even hold my own bottle for a little while:

I also...

talk... a lot,

cry... a little,

and smile... all the time!

I love my lips!

2010-12-14T20:49:00.000-08:00

You may or may not understand why I'm posting this... and no time to explain!

But I now feel for the cucumber and understand completely.

Live and Learn

2010-11-19T22:41:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you have to fall on your face a few times before you get it right!! :)

Chicken or a Bat

2010-11-06T12:49:00.001-07:00

For Trace's first Halloween we couldn't decided.... chicken or a bat!

So he wore both for a little while!

The chicken: so cute but too big!

The bat: so cute and just right!

It all worked out!

Happy Halloween!

Tis the Season

2010-10-26T18:58:00.000-07:00

I snapped this picture on my drive home from work today. It is definitely hunting season in Utah! I told Nate this is going to be him soon if he doesn't ever buy a truck!

Happy hunting!

And in the spirt of weird pictures... check this guy out!

I finally took a picture after the second time I saw this truck around town! Sadly though I have never actually seen the driver.

Smiles

2010-09-14T13:06:00.001-07:00

Trace has started smiling for us- but it seems he is camera shy (like his mom) because whenever the camera comes out the smiles go away!

Then the other day Nate FINALLY caught his smile on camera.

Bath Time

2010-09-14T12:49:00.001-07:00

The Grotto- Trace's first hike!

2010-08-17T16:26:00.000-07:00

Trace went out for his first hike at three weeks old! Here he is taking a peek at the world!

When mom, Jen and her family where here to visit we hiked up to the Grotto, in Payson, near where M.jay lives

Mom and Dax on the trail

The big black cow that everyone passed without noticing until Jennifer spotted it. It was right next to the trail, dont know how we missed it.

Mom says "that could have been a bear".

We made it to the waterfall... it was a pretty easy hike

Dax trusting M.jay!

M.jay and Jennifer

Shelbi and Dax

Trex showing us his move on the way back down!!

Two years well spent! Welcome home Adam!

2010-08-17T15:23:00.000-07:00

What felt like not too long ago...

Adam (Nate's little brother) received his call to serve! He was called to serve the people of the Dominican Republic to speak the Spanish language.

Here he is opening his call over two years ago!

We said our goodbyes at the MTC!

Then waited two years for him to return!

I forgot my camera at the airport- (oops)

So here is the only picture I got at his homecoming

Welcome home, Adam!!

Time to go home

2010-07-16T15:52:00.000-07:00

Finally... we got to go home!

All dressed and ready to go!

Proud grandma holding Trace while Nate gets the car seat ready.

Into the car seat he goes...

"Wait... we can't leave without my binki!"

Now we are ready!

Look at those wide eyes, he wasn't going to miss a thing!

You always sleep better at home in your own bed!

Life in the NICU

2010-07-16T15:28:00.001-07:00

The rest of the story...

After Trace was born and we got to take a peek at him the nurse took him away because she concerned about his breathing, he wasn't keeping his good coloring. Nate went with them when they took him down to the NICU to check things out. I wasn't too concerned, just thought they needed to clear out his lungs and he would be alright but when Nate came back with a worried face I knew that wasn't the case.

Turns out Trace had pneumonia and spent his first week of life in the NICU. This was a bit of a rollercoaster ride. He would look like he was getting better then something else would come up. Not to mention how stressful life in the NICU can be, on baby and parents. We had a strict schedule to follow. We didn't get to hold Trace much either, he was hooked up to so many tubes and monitors. I got to hold him more and more once they finally let me start feeding him. He eventually developed jaundice and had to be put on two sets of bili lights. That cleared up within a few days, the anitbotics they had started giving him was clearing out the infection in his lungs, and slowly they were able to take him off the oxygen. Things continued to get better and better and he even gained some weight! Turns out he was able to go home after he finished his antibiotics with no medication and no oxygen. We are so grateful he was able to pull through this like a champ!

Room #2

Trace's room!

Trace's information board- Trace is the BOSS!

So many tubes! :(

We were so excited when one of the nurses put him in an outfit!

Here is the luxury "hotel stay" I had at the hospital, where I tried to get some homework done!

Trace getting his hearing checked!! He passed his OAEs and Abaer test!

Bath time!

Trace was under strict Dr. orders to get enough calories, so every time before I fed Trace they would weigh him on the scale behind us, then I would feed him and then they would weigh him again to make sure he was getting enough.

Trace holding Daddy's hand (my favorite pictures!)

Our newest member of the Family

2010-07-15T14:16:00.000-07:00

TRACE OWEN WALTER

Our story... began at about 4:00 in the morning when I woke up feeling some pain, or what I didn't really know to be actual contractions! Sense I've been in Logan at school and Nate has been in Spanish Fork for work I decided to give him a call even though I wasn't sure if this was real thing or not. We started timing the contractions, they were about 8-10 minutes apart. The Dr. said wait until they are 3-5 minutes apart. Nate decided to jump in the car and come up anyways but we were both worried we were jumping the gun and that I might not even have the baby for another day or so. But to be on the safe side he headed up to Logan.

I was schedule to give a presentation that morning in class, so I went ahead with my plans. When I got to class with my roommates (classmates) they arranged with the professor to make sure and let me and my partner do our presentation first.

When she announced it to the rest of the class she said "we're going to let Emily and Tia go first because... well... Emily is in labor!"

I'm sure they all thought I was crazy, but I really wanted to get as much school work done as I could before having the baby. So I stood up and said "I have no idea if I really am in labor but I I do know we only have 8-10 minutes to finish our presentation!" (With all the questions it ended up being much longer).

That was probably the worst presentation I ever gave. I did feel some contractions but they weren't bad at all and we finished the presentation without incident!

After Nate showed up and I finished wraping some things up with my professors, we went to get something to eat, picked something up from the bookstore then headed to my apt. I tried to take a nap, it had been a late night and an early morning so I was already tired. At about 3:00 that afternoon my water broke. This happened just as Nate ran out to get the laundry he had started. I was mad at him for not being around when I yelled for him, you know because it was all his fault!! :) So we rushed to the hospital. When we got there they took their time getting me checked in, of course. This was all new to me and though I may have looked calm I was kind of freaking out and didn't appreciate their lax attitude about getting me ready for this. Turns out I was already dilated to a 5 1/2. Once they figured this out they picked up the pace!

Trace was born later that evening at 9:45 pm!

Weight: 6 lbs 7 ounces

Height: 19 inches

Here are the proud and happy parents with the screaming and unhappy baby!

The small, temporary move!

2010-06-06T22:12:00.000-07:00

School starts tomorrow! A few months ago I received a letter in the mail from Utah State University that I was accepted into their Speech Language Pathology Outreach Masters Program! It has been crazy every sense- deciding on rather or not to go, getting ready, deciding, getting ready! I've almost backed out a few times because the timing is cutting it really close for when the baby is coming. But here I am, ready to give it a go! I thought I would share just a few pictures of my new temporary life!

On our drive to Logan... its so pretty here!

Where I'll be spending a lot of my time... with my nose in a text book!

or at my desk on the computer (how sad does the chair look with a small tilt to it, supposedly we are getting new chairs soon- sure hope so!)

My hopefully (but doubtfully) comfortable bed- I didn't forget all my pillows!

Glad this is only temporary- maybe six weeks...ish? Nate is going to be living the bachelor life, but basically only on week days. We'll see how everything goes. All I hear about this program is how drilling it is and how often you'll cry, but not to worry... "you'll make it through", or "you'll survive" they say. Is that suppose to be comforting??

We are excited for this opportunity and its only summer time that I'll have to spend time on campus, everything else will be on-line or broadcasted classes that I can do from home. So for now we'll just hope I can "survive" this summer- especially with a little one on the way!

Memorial Camping

2010-06-02T08:19:00.000-07:00

For memorial weekend we went camping with some friends.

There were 12 adults, 16 kids, 8 horses, 7 dogs, and 1 sheep!

Yes... a sheep! And I didn't even get a picture so you'll just have to believe me! But needless to say we had a full camp!

Again... I didn't do a very good job of taking pictures! But here are a few to paint a small picture of what our trip was like.

Horses come with horse trailers! Here they are all lined up.

The horse coral, where we keep the horses.

Nate and Janice getting ready for their horse ride

Our nephew, Hans- who everyone kept saying looks just like his Uncle Nate!

Hans again after he feel and scraped his elbow (he walked around holding his injured arm like this for a while!)

Little Cash- our friends little boy- being shy when I got the camera out!

There was two of us there that are about 7 1/2 to 8 months pregnant! We faired pretty good considering. I made sure I had my father-in-laws comfortable cot with extra pads and a couple pillows to sleep on. It was perfect, minus the midnight trips to the outdoor bathroom (a tree!).

It was a fun trip and a last yah-hoo before I start school... next week!

Ryan's Graduation

2010-06-02T07:25:00.000-07:00

My little brother, Ryan, graduated from High School! We took the long trek to Arizona to see him in his cap and gown... and then didn't even get very many pictures!

So here are the whole... two.... pictures we took of him!

Here he is getting ready for the famous graduate walk across the stage to get his diploma!

He was the very last name called.

Before the graduation we had been teasing about having a last name that starts with "W" and how you are always at the back of the line in grade school... but usually there are still those few who came after you that have a last name that starts with a "Y" or "Z". I didn't think Ryan would literally be last... but turns out he was!

After the ceremony with the nieces and nephews (we were still in the stands so he came to us).

And... some Future Graduates!

Harlee

(I have a feeling thats what her brothers will still be doing at her own graduation!)

Trex

Dax

Congrates to Ryan, who I can't believe is old enough to be a HS Graduate!

PBR - Vegas

2010-04-19T18:24:00.000-07:00

Back in April... a couple friends of ours called us up to go to the PBR- Professional Bull Riding- that was going on in Vegas. Being the huge bull riding fans that we are (we don't really know anything about it) we were all for it! A trip with friends- why not?! And turns out the bull riding was the best part of the trip, we loved it!

A little PBR fire to welcome all the bull riders!

Nate and I in the event center!

An American bull rider! I'm pretty sure he rode his 8 seconds!

Nate and Dan- why take a picture with your wives when you could get a picture with the Tecate Light girls!

To bad they didn't really win anything and the trophy was just a prop in a picture!

One of the bull riders was signing autographs outside- its one of Staci's favorite riders so I took her picture with him!

The whole trip was fun, but these are all the pictures I got. I've made a bad habit of forgetting to get out the camera for more things. But we did get to see a couple shows- The Mentalist and a Hypnatist show- plus some good swimming and a (long) walk down the strip!

Steamboat Springs, Colorado

2010-04-08T14:40:00.000-07:00

For spring break this year we wanted to plan something different and exciting. At first we looked into places like Hawaii, California, or Florida... where things are warm! But as plans kept falling through we ended up finding a place that wasn't too far of a trip but was somewhere new!

Steamboat Springs, Colorado

Well... this is what we saw when we arrived! Snow, lots of snow! This is the view from our room!

So it wasn't exactly what you would call a "spring" break- a little more like a "winter" break- though it wasn't a break from winter at all!! In fact it was a little confusing as if we had traveled back in time a few months!

So instead of looking for things to do such as surfing, wake boarding, or hanging out on the warm beach... we had options such as skiing, tubing, or ice fishing!

But not to worry, we still got to break out the swimming suits when we visited the hot springs! Here is Nate checking things out!

Danielle, Nate's sister, came along.

And also a good friend of ours, Micah! (who isn't looking at the camera)

Here are some fun views of the place!

Where else can you build a snowman in your swimming suit! (girls pictured are unknown)

Happy St. Patty's Day

2010-03-17T18:03:00.000-07:00

This morning Nate had to remind me twice that I needed to wear green! After the second reminder he said "those kids will eat you alive if you forget". True, my job is not exactly ideal for those who forget to wear green!

Well I found the only green item that will still fit me- and off to work I went. Nobody said one thing to me about wearing green... so its either a good thing I didn't forget or it just wouldn't have mattered.

But there were some cute outfits, it was fun to see the kids at the school all decked out!! And the lunch... all the food was green! The mayo looked like green frosting!

Well it got me in a festive mood.. so for dinner--- GREEN PANCAKES!! :)

Its a....

2010-03-04T14:56:00.000-08:00

Its official.... we are having a boy!

At our previous apt the Dr. told us that the ultrasound room would be open soon and if we wanted to wait he would slip us in there and take a quick peek to see what we were having. We weren't expecting this so we were super excited and of course said yes! Well turns out the little guy was being shy- sitting low, breech and indian style. The Dr. wasn't certain but told us if he was a guessing man he would say its a boy.

So... for four weeks we were telling people "Its a boy...Maybe!!" Even though we felt pretty sure the Dr. was guessing right I was still scared to completely believe it just in case the next time they happen say... "its a girl!" That would just be confusing! I was honestly excited for either- boy or girl, just didn't want to have my mind on one track and have to change to another!!

Well... our next apt finally came (it was a long four weeks) and he wasn't so shy this time! First picture up on the screen the Dr. says "Well thats pretty clear, guess the first thing is to let you know that you are having a.... boy!"

We are so excited and are now completely thinking... all things boy!

I've waited too long...

2010-02-16T19:09:00.000-08:00

Its been awhile... (thats about how I should start every one of my posts!)

I figured I've waited far too long to announce, what most everyone probably already knows... me and Nate are going to have a baby! We are pregnant!!!!!

It occurred to me the other day when I was at work that I've waited far too long to announce this. For those who may not know I am working for a school district as an SLT (Speech Language Technician). I work with all ages of kids from k-12 on there speech and language skills. I love it!

Well this day in-particular I was working with a first grader on saying his "sh" sound- which he tends to make a "s" sound for instead. We had about finished our five minutes of work for the day when he suddenly stopped talking (but didn't stop moving of course)... this happened just when he had looked down and noticed my stomach. He got a funny look on his face, realization and then a connection I guess because he proceeded to tell me how his mom was going to have another baby!

Hmmm... I wonder what stirred that thought! :)

Guess its starting to look obvious... we are pregnant!

We can't express how excited we are about sharing this news! The odds weren't exactly in our favor. In fact the Doctor had given us a 2% chance of ever getting pregnant on our own just two months before it happened. So even though we had been trying for 3 years the news still came as a complete surprise and shock!

It was good surprise and we will welcome our newest member of the family in July!!

(Our scanner to computer connection is not working right now so I may have to post some first baby pics later)

To come... Boy or Girl??!!

(Our apt is today- another reason why I've waited too long to announce this!)

Skunked and.... skunked again!

2009-10-28T15:42:00.000-07:00

Can you find the deer?

Don't worry, neither could we!! :)

Wait...

Nope, just a doe (who got away too fast for me to get a picture)... and then later some other fellow hunters!
But otherwise we got skunked! No deer this year. But we got to go camping, ate some good food, got in some hiking, nice scenery...

and good company!
Here is our underage hunter- who wasn't allowed to carry a gun of course, but he did have a tomahawk! Which he planned to put to good use when he said:

"I'm going to kill a squirrel with my tomahawk!"

Bridal Veil Falls

2009-10-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

The other weekend Nate and I went for a hike. We hiked near Bridal Veil Falls. It was only the two of us so our pictures were... "okay, now you go stand over there" while the other would take, pretty much, the same picture! Needless to say the pictures all turned out looking... similar!!!

But the fall colors were beautiful and it was a good hike!

California Beach Time!

2009-10-02T10:26:00.000-07:00

This is us just before the cruise- we got to stay a night in San Diego with Nate's sister, her family and some friends of theirs because it just so happened they were vacationing at the same time! Lucky for us! They had an awesome place on the beach for an awesome deal! It was great!

We loved getting the chance to go boogie boarding!! (plus we saw something in the water- I was freaked out and so excited all at once! I have such a thing for sea creatures- its weird!)

We loved doing one of my favorite things- running from waves!

And of course we loved burying Tye in the sand!

The only thing we didn't love, or rather I didn't love was when Hans and Hansie decided to start throwing that sea weed stuff (whatever its called) on me to freak me out! :) It worked! I hate that stuff, especially when your out in the water and it touches your leg- gives me the chills!

We had a lot of fun- and I figured sense it has pretty much turned from summer to winter in one day up here in Utah I better get my summer pictures posted fast! Seriously- its freezing now! One day it was 85 to 90 degrees and the next it was 45 degrees... what is up with that. Guess we decided to just skip fall! (I should have taken a pictures of everyone bundled up at Nate's flag football game last night- everyone had broken out the winter jackets and I came home with numb feet) I'm not ready for winter- but I always start getting excited for Christmas about this time anyways, so I guess its time for the weather to change- but I'm not too excited about it.

So now I'm looking at these warm summer pictures with a cup of hot chocolate, a sweater and warm socks on!! :)

Carnival Cruisers

2009-08-19T18:59:00.000-07:00

Back in July... we went on a cruise! Kind of a graduation gift, but really just something we've always wanted to try. It was great! Jen and Nate also came, so we got to have them as our neighbors for a few days!!

Here we are in front of the boat- it was crazy, we watched some guy get tackled and handcuffed! Then when Jen and Nate arrived they told us that they heard that someone had been murdered on our ship on the cruise just before ours. Scary- here is an article on the murder.

Some of the best parts of a trip are of course the moments when you dont have a camera! For example, when Jennifer got called up to play in the game show because she was the only one who could identify the theme song for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! And she took first... no picture, but she brought home a trophy to show off! Next would be when she volunteered to be hypnotized on stage and did a great impression of a Michael Jackson dance! It was great.. but again, no picture! And last when we saw all the whales out at sea... well ok, we didn't actually see any- but I really badly wanted to and kept a good eye out! No luck. Maybe its because I had my camera!!

Elegant night was interesting... and we didn't seem to forget the cameras this time! I was a little over dressed in a fun "prom" gown... but it was either that or way under dressed. I felt a little silly- so needless to say I wouldn't have minded forgetting the camera at this event- even though it was fun to be all dressed up and have people look at you funny! O well, what can you do... it was fun anyways!

Nate in front of "The Arch at Land's End" in Cabo San Lucas!

In Cabo we decided to go snorkeling for our excursion. It turned out to be a bad time of year to go because the waters were rough and not very clear. All we saw were some fish... that even though are not very scary, still made me scream... and a few small sting rays. But I'm so freaked out about ocean water and creatures that it was an adventure just to get me in the water swimming around... so I guess we can say the trip was a success! I was the last one in the water and the first out of the water! Well almost!

The oh so very talented staff would fold towels into sea creatures! I only took a picture of one but they were all pretty creative!

Sweet Addiction

2009-08-19T14:45:00.000-07:00

So yeah I am addicted... my name is Emily and I'm an avid homemade cereal eater! Thats right, homemade cereal! This all started, in a sense, some time ago when Jennifer, Nate and their little family came for a visit!

But first... a side note... I have to share a picture I took of Jen and Nate during this visit... it was just after Nate had taken a PERMANENT marker and drew a MUSTACHE on Jen's face... WITHOUT waking her up! Talk about a hard sleeper! (Its just like the time when we were young and she feel off the top bunk bed and I had to wake her up and tell her to get back into bed, then the next morning she didn't remember a thing about it?!!)

In this picture she is awake but has no idea about the cute drawing on her face! She just couldn't figure out why we were taking pictures and laughing... so she asked "what, did I fart in my sleep"... yep, and we figured we could catch it on camera! :)

Anyways, back to my addiction... while they were visiting Jennifer began her creation of this wonderful homemade cereal. She started by simply taking bananas and strawberries, cutting them up and then adding milk. Simple enough, but I couldn't get over how much she raved on how good it was... well she was on this crazy diet and I figured everything is good when your on a diet!

But this was only the start, after returning home she perfected her creation! First she started by adding blueberries... yum! Then almond slivers... which is essential for a nice crunch! Then add a few craisins or chocolate chips (semi-sweet, dark chocolate when sticking to the diet) depending on your mood and WA-la! Your homemade cereal is ready just after you top it off with a little milk!

Once I started I couldn't stop! Seriously, I have it every morning and sometimes later for a snack to curve any sweet cravings! It works too, thats the beauty of it! Love it, love it!

Utah Summer Games

2009-06-29T16:09:00.000-07:00

Volleyball is so much fun! I love this game!

This year I got onto another team for the Utah Summer Games down in Cedar City, I played last year too-- it is so much fun to play volleyball again!

This years team name: Watch Out!

Last years team name: Blockbusters!

(you've got to love the creativity of a team name)

So After a few days of constant play, soreness and complete tiredness... the end results were:

third place winners....

we wont mention that it was in the lower division! :)But that was alright with us, we got a really cool bronze medal anyways!

Its that time of year... again!

2009-06-11T21:52:00.000-07:00

So I'm a little behind on the blogging... but better late than never! A couple weekends back we took another trip down to Zions! We got a group together, friends from here and there and headed back down to Zions to hike the Narrows just like last year. But this year was a little different for me... first, there was no way I was going to hike the Narrows again- once was good enough for me- its beautiful and a really neat hike, but really tough and an all day event. So I stayed back and played chauffeur with Ashley. We dropped the group off in the morning at the top and then waited for them at the bottom!

Here is the one picture I got of everyone after we dropped them off!

So in between drop off and pick up we had some time to kill. Guess we wanted a challenge because we decided on hiking Angles Landing! If your afraid of heights then this is not the hike for you... but I loved it!

I went out on a limb for this picture!

Ashley got a little crazy too! But the sad part is that we weren't even close to the top yet... we just didn't know that!

We still had the strip behind Ashley in this picture + whats in front of her to go!

Here is a good picture of the chain they made to hold on to. We were real careful to follow the advise of the sign that said something about "veering from path may result in death". Yikes! We stayed really close to that chain!

I liked this hike so much that I got up the next morning and did it again with Nate and some of his buddies.

Here we are at the top... I'm holding on to Nate for dear life!

Me and Ash at the top

And...

Me and Nate at the top!

(Here is Nate after the hike with Angels Landing behind him.)

When I was on my mission I would get a letter from my dad every once in a while, but when I opened it all I would find was a picture with small note on the back that said "a pictures is worth a thousand words!" All I could think was "gee, thanks dad!" Well when I was looking through the pictures of our Zions trip I thought of that saying and yeah a picture is worth a thousand words but not when it comes to Angles landing! The pictures we took I thought were so amazing but they don't even begin to describe how crazy this hike was!!! Really, its just something you have to see for yourself! And I would recommend it!

$10 unlimited ride!!!

2009-05-26T08:44:00.000-07:00

Cord and Whit came up to visit the other weekend. They came without Avery... bummer for me, I would love to see her, but a great break for them! While they were here we decided to go to "Sliding Rock" a place up in Alpine where Nate is from that has a small waterfall you can slide down into a little pool! Here is a picture of Nate standing in front of it:The problem was that the water was still freezzzzzing and it was running way too fast... so nobody dared try it. We were afraid that might happen... but we had another plan! Not to far from this place is a pond, with a pretty good ramp.

Here is Whitney in front of the pond.
Here are the boys standing on the ramp checking it out.

Here is Ransom with his brand new... $10 bike! We needed an old beat up bike so Ransom went down to DI to see what he could find. Any bikes he found wouldn't work but when he was leaving he saw someone donating one, so he bought it off them for $10 bucks! I Bet when that family left for the DI they didn't know they were going to make a profit for their unwanted stuff!!! You've got to love the duck taped seat!

And finally, here are our three riders... Cord, Ransom and Nate.

VIEWERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED

The following videos have been rated PG-13 for some language and a very small amount of nudity!

Cord...

Nate...

Ransom's 3rd jump... with a little surprise!

The bike got a little beat up, mainly the handle bars were bent way back. But it held up pretty nice for a $10 unlimited ride!

For Mike

2009-05-20T09:12:00.000-07:00

I wouldn't want to leave out any of our fun adventures! So to make up for lack of pictures in the previous post I found some different adventures! :)

I dont know what was more fun... being superwomen and batman.... or our dome experience, playing settlers, driving to mesa where we stopped to have some yummy Mexican food and the best rootbeer I've ever had but then got stuck in road construction (all the while of not having any air conditioning!!) Only to make it to Mesa just in time for you to be late to work!! But it was good company and I would do it again any time! Besides eventually we got in a good movie and an even better game of ultimate Frisbee!

Even still... nothing beats being superwoman and batman! Besides we could have made our trip in your batmobile, saved numerous lives on our way, finished the road construction to make things move a little quicker, created our own air conditioning (even though it wouldn't be broken in the batmobile) and you wouldn't have had to go to work because you would already be at work... job title: Superhero!! Of course we'd have to come up with some sort of character for Ashely, either batman got the girl or she could be Robin... batman's side kick! I'm sure she would probably show us both up in her superhero skills... even if she is a rookie!

Life was so much more fun as a kid, we had it all figured out and then had to go and get all adult like!! But what can you do... here's to all the many more adventures ahead!!

Do you remember this pictures? I set the timer then told you both to duck a little because the camera might cut off our heads... clearly I was way off! :)

From Utah to RV to Mesa and back to Utah

2009-05-18T15:25:00.000-07:00

After graduation I took a trip home! First I got to hang out in RV with the fam, here we are cooking a little dinner with Tammy's girls.

Boys will be boys... what would going home without a wrestling match be like!! As long as they keep to themselves, which is not always the case, I'm alright with it!

Marian and Alex showed me a few tricks on the tramp...

But you've got to watch out for the hole!!!

Trist showed me a few Tech Deck tricks!

I wasn't very good at it!!

Then off to Mesa I went for a few days... I pulled into town just in time to jump into a swimming suit and get to the lake! Nate and Jen taught me how to surf... it was a blast and the kids got in on some pretty fun rides too... one of which was being dumped off the tube! Oops!

Here is Nate surfing, this is what I got to do! One day this will be Trex instead of Nate... but the picture will probably look the same!

I think Harlee loved the tube the most... check her out!

The kids loved the pet store, exspecially the fish!

Harlee and Shelbi are imitating how their brothers were sleeping!

We also got in a good movie and fun game of Ultimate Frisbee, sorry no pics... but happy birthday to Mike and Ryan!!!

Nate has a sister down in Tucson (soon to be two sisters) so we got to hang out with them for a little while! Here we are at the pool!

I love the hair Danielle!!

And finally... Happy Graduation

2009-05-08T13:23:00.001-07:00

Convocation!

The long awaited day finally came! And it started early... 8am to be exact! Here is me and Nate before it all began!

And here we are with the Fam afterward! Thanks mom and dad for everything (and Trist for coming along!)
First pair of high heels!

For graduation I bought my first pair of high heels, probably not the smartest idea! My feet were killing me... and I didn't get a whole lot of time to practice walking in them!

A close up!

But lucky for me I didn't stumble, trip and fall flat on my face when walking across the stage... you can even see for your self!

Here I am waiting for my moment of glory...

And here goes nothing...

So far so good... just a little further to go!

and safely back in my seat, thank goodness!

I seriously got so nervous! I told the guy in front of me, "if I trip and fall, I'm taking you down with me... just so you know"!!

After the ceremony we ran into Elder John H. Groberg, from "The Other Side of Heaven"! We had to snap a picture! Here is Cristina, Elder Groberg, Melissa and me.

Eric, Laura, their boys and Kapu were all there, thanks for cheering for me when my name was called... I was hoping it wouldn't be quiet! :)

me and Cristina, before it all started!

Commencement!

The day before the convocation we had commencement, which I wasn't planning on going to until some friends talked me into it and I figured sense the parents were coming I might as well go all out! Elder Deiter F. Uchtdor and Elder Russell M. Nelson spoke, here they are in a picture Melissa took. All the graduates got to "march" right by them before going into the Marriott center.

Cristina and me on our little "march" into the Marriott Center

And then sitting patiently waiting for the meeting to start! It was so hot in there.

Cristina, me and Melissa

We did it!

Mom, Dad and Trist drove into town just in time to make it!

It was time for a break! And then a little food!And to top it all off... a birthday treat!

Next... Finals

2009-05-08T13:00:00.000-07:00

Finals week came and left! I'm so glad its done. What a painful week it was! I had six finals with only five days to take them... but I survived. Wednesday April 22 was the last day of finals and the last final I'll ever take (for my bachelors at least!). At 11:00 we had a 130 question final that was a beast... so afterward it was time to celebrate!! A few of us friends got together for a little Mexican food!

Here we all are, full of relief... and food!

Melissa and Matt... graduating together!

Ally and Cristina... moving away so soon!

Me and Shari... the only two staying in Utah!
Me and Kapu! Kapu just graduated from BYU Idaho and is moving back to Africa and getting married! She just happened to be coming through town to catch her flight and got to hang out for a few days!

So much to update... first

2009-05-08T12:28:00.001-07:00

I wanted to say "thanks" to both my mom and Nate. On April 9th (just a few weeks before finals) I had my first surgery ever, and hopefully the only one I'll ever have! They had to remove a HUGE cyst that was actually causing me no pain but it needed to be done. Mom came up to help out and help she did... so thanks mom!

And Nate.. well here he is chowing down on cookies right in front of me when I wasn't allowed to eat for the past 12 hours or so... such a sweet guy!! But besides the cookies he is pretty wonderful, thanks Nate for all you do!

Here is the so very cute bracelet they made for me, even had my name engraved on it! :)

basking in the sun, on a snowy mountain

2009-03-21T13:25:00.000-07:00

The day before me and Nate took our trip to Sundance I was talking to Jennifer on the phone. She mentioned that they were getting reading to go camping. So I told her our plans for the weekend were to go snowboarding. She acted shocked for a minute then said "thats weird... we're going to lake and your going snowboarding"! We really do live in two different kind of places. But dont be fooled, even though we were on the top of snowy mountain it sure was warm! But not exactly warm enough for a swimming suit! :)

Nate has been working a lot up at Sundance, doing some engineering mumbo jumbo that I dont always understand! But one thing I do understand is the benefits! they gave us two free passes... sweet! So whatever he is doing it must be great!

I've never been snowboarding with a skier! Nate skies and I snowboard and this is the first time we have ever been together so I had to snap a picture of our gear.

We stopped for a short break on one of our trips down... enjoyed the warmth, ate some peanuts, took a few pictures... it was great!

Every time I try to take a picture at the same time as trying to be in the picture I always end up looking like an idiot!! :)

Nate did a lot better job when he was in charge of taking the picture!

Emergent Literacy, Phonological Awareness and Word Recognition!

2009-02-27T15:42:00.000-08:00

Earlier on this semester I was looking through my planner and realized I was going to have one of those "I want to die" kind of weeks at school. It consisted of taking 5 test and doing a 45 minute presentation. Well that dreaded week showed up last Friday! So I've been pretty busy doing one thing after another. I wasn't home as much and when I would call Nate he would answer by saying "my long lost wife, how are you?!" But I made it, I survived... now I only have one test left do on Mon or Tues and it feels so good to be, for the most part, finished with Midterms!

It was in my pediatric audiology class that I had to do a 45 minute presentation. Me and my partner were given the topic of "Literacy in the Hearing-Impaired". It turned out to be pretty interesting learning about how the hearing impaired and/or deaf child learns to read and write. In our presentation we had to include the normal development of reading for a hearing child to help understand why it might be difficult for the hearing impaired child. So for the presentation I decided one night when we went to Nate's sister house that I would record their little boy Hans reading. Here is one of the clips we ended up using, I thought it was cute and funny!

Belly Laughs!

2009-02-12T09:07:00.001-08:00

When you have those long, hard, stressful, tiring or however you want to explain it days... sometimes you just need a good laugh!

A game of twister, anyone?

2009-01-31T10:40:00.001-08:00

During our trip down to Arizona over the break we got caught in a game of twister! Never thought I would be playing this game again (even though it was my idea to try it). I wasn't very good at it and was always the first one out! So during this game after I had gotten out I sat to the side taking pictures of the boys (Nate, Mike and Cord) playing while Whitney was the "spinner". And there was nothing they could do about it either! There hands and legs were all tied up!

Here they are while all three of them are still in...

but Cord was down and out quick!

Nate and Mike are still going...

and still going, until...

the winning shot!

And that was it for Mike!

Candle Light Breakfast!

2008-12-16T22:44:00.000-08:00

Today is our three year anniversary!!!!

Because we decided to get married in December... every year we get to celebrate our anniversary, Nate's birthday, and Christmas all within a couple of weeks of each other! Which then pretty much leaves very little to celebrate for the rest of the year! But what can you do, what is done is done!

Another thing we've noticed is that every year finals always seem to mess up our anniversary! Today I spent the evening in the lovely testing center cursing my professor for giving us so much to study for one test! But I had anticipated that this is how the night would go... so this morning I made breakfast to celebrate the big three years!! It was still dark out so I turned on the Christmas tree lights and set out some candles! That was our romantic breakfast! But with the table set all nice and the candles lit we sure didn't fit the part having our PJs on, hair a mess and morning breath! But I guess after three years that works! And what a great three years its been!

Nate made dinner for me, which I had to heat up because I got home so late. And he bought me my favorite ice cream! We also have plans for the weekend to officially celebrate it but you've got to actually do something the day of right?! Well we tried to anyways!!

Here is a few pictures from the big day!

THE CHRISTMAS SEASON IS HERE!

2008-12-04T20:21:00.000-08:00

Its that time of year! I love Christmas and I sure wish my house could look like this one! Nate sent me this video in an email and I thought it was pretty cool! So to kick off the Christmas season I thought I would post it! Enjoy!!

We had a nice trip to AZ for Thanksgiving, really enjoying the good weather and good company. But I didn't take any pictures! My camera was low on batteries and I hate having people hold that pose while I reopen it to get one good picture just in time for it to die again! So instead of pictures I'll just mention a few highlights of the trip:

A definite highlight was when Tammy almost set Grandma's kitchen on fire... twice in one night! Not to worry though, Grandma was quick with the baking soda to put it out!

Putting together a puzzle.... crazy I know that this would make a highlight moment but you should have seen how many of us were surrounding that table fighting to get the last piece in! Nothing else mattered but finishing that puzzle! They can get addicting!

Watching Bolt with all the kids!

Seeing Ashley Shanghai twice in one game! Way to go Ashley!

Happy late Thanksgiving to everyone but more importantly the Christmas season is here!

Fans from Idaho!

2008-11-20T11:10:00.000-08:00

So the other day when I got to school I parked by this car and just happen to notice the licence plate! What a strange combination, IDAHO... GO SUNS... and BYU COUGARS. Luckily I had my camera because I had to take a picture. I miss Idaho, I route for the Suns (even though the Jazz beat us the other night) and I'm a student at BYU! I wondered where I could get one of these, guess we'll have to move to Idaho!

HUNTING

2008-10-30T14:42:00.000-07:00

For the past two weekends we been out hunting for deer! No luck though, it was a bad year for hunters... to hot I guess! We saw one two point opening morning but Nate wanted something bigger so he didn't take the shot. Other than that all we saw were doe...

Here is one looking at us now!

The first weekend we went camping and had some friends come along. Micah had a tag and Dan and Stacie brought their horses in case we needed to haul anything out! We had a good time around the fire and camping out even though it was a little cold. The other non-campers meet us early Saturday morning to hunt for the day.

While we were out hiking around we decided to split up into two groups. Me and Nate went higher up while Micah, Dan and Stacie stayed lower... that way we could push the deer to each other. While we were separated they called us on the Rino or "walkie talkie" to tell us they had just seen a young bear. Me and Nate thought they were just trying to scare us so we didn't believe them at first but turns out it was true. We meet back up with them and the those who had a gun had them out and ready to fire. Who knows if there was a "mommy" around so we were being careful! It felt like we suddenly became the hunted rather than the hunters! So needless to say we didn't see any deer on this hike! Here we all are...

The next weekend we decided not to camp and only went out Saturday morning and afternoon. Again all we saw were doe. This time Nate's dad brought the horses. Kent and Danielle (Nate's dad and sister) rode in on the horses then later me and Danielle traded and I rode back out with Kent. It was great, the horses do all the work!

Here is me and Nate in our cool orange!!

This is random, but can you see whats wrong with this picture?!

FALL IS MY FAVORITE

2008-10-30T14:24:00.000-07:00

This fall has been so pretty! But I guess it probably is every year and it must just be that this year I'm actually paying attention! I've had my camera on me so I've snapped a few random pictures of the fall colors... I'm just sad they will be gone so soon!

GIRL FUN... BOY FUN

2008-10-11T10:03:00.000-07:00

Last night me, Laura, Jenny, and Heidi had a girls night! Its been awhile sense I had one of those. We went to Gardner Village in SLC to watch A Witch Palooza A Music Dinner Show. Laura had gotten free tickets that Eric had won at work. It was well... ummm... interesting! And the food was... Ok, I guess! We did get to stand up and dance a little, which is never good in my case. I hate looking like an idiot! O well, it was still fun to have a girls night anyways.

So the reason we decided to have a girls night was because the boys were away on their own trip. Nate and his dad along with Eric went down south to do their 120 mile bike ride! Which in my mind is madness... but for some reason they seem to like this stuff! They ride 60 miles a day to make a round trip back to where they started. That means that once they start they have to finish! Last night on the phone Nate said they survived the first day... so we'll have to wait and see how today went.

At least it is a pretty ride through Zions, here is a picture of them on last years ride Last year it was Nate, his dad and brother Adam. This year Adam is gone on the mission and Eric was crazy enough to go with them. If I get any pictures of this year I'll have to post them later.

Guys are crazy, sometimes I just dont understand them! :)

Demolition Derby

2008-08-23T08:33:00.000-07:00

We went to the Demolition Derby here in Spanish Fork at the Utah County Fair and I have to say that it was pretty entertaining. I've never seen one before so I didn't know what to expect and I kept calling it the pinewood derby, Nate would just laugh at me. But I loved it. It was a lot of fun, how could watching a bunch of old beater cars bash each other in not be fun! I found this picture on the Internet until I can download the pictures Nate took on his phone... it pretty much looks like what we saw. They had firemen and EMTs all around just in case something went wrong.

Janice and Hans told us about it so we decided we would go and meet up with them. Eric and Laura called us later and told us they were going too. Eric told me that a couple of people that he works with and that I actually use to work with were going to be driving in it. It turned out that one of them won the whole thing... way to go Kurt! Actually knowing who was in the car made it even more fun to watch. Here are the winners:

August 16, 2008-Utah County Fair
1st Kurt Zabriski '76 Impala
2nd Johnny Gullo '74 Oldsmobile
3rd Billy Bowman Shocker
MAD Brad Bowman '78 New Yorker

So if you ever get the chance to go to a Demolition Derby you should defiantly go!

That same weekend we got to have Tammy, Brando and Brando's nephew Marcus come to visit us (to bad they didn't get here early enough for the Derby). Brando had tickets to the Jack Johnson concert so that was fun for him and Marcus and it turned out great for me because I got to hang out with my sister! I love when family comes to visit!!!! :)

ZION NARROWS

2008-06-25T20:16:00.000-07:00

The weekend after white water rafting a group of us got together to hike the Narrows. It was me and Nate, Andrea and Eric, Mike, Ash and Dallen, Adam, M.jay and Hans (A little of Nate's family and a little of mine). If you haven't ever hiked the narrows I totally recommend it...but... don't be fooled by the down hill, along a river idea- this was no easy hike. It took us all day to get to the bottom, I didn't think we were going to make it out before dark. That river just kept going and going... and going and going! But... it was beautiful as you can see from the pictures and far worth it!

Here we are crossing the river in the beginning.... easy!

And here we are crossing the river in the end... hard!

Its a good thing we got these walking sticks. At first I felt like a nerd hiking with a stick but I was soon grateful!

This picture of Adam and Andrea (Nate's brother and sister) was actually taken before the hike had even started!

I guess Hans got board with the norm and decided to change a few things up! :)

It was a great hike and one of the best parts about the whole trip is that the boys made breakfast the next morning!

White Water Rafting

2008-06-17T16:00:00.000-07:00

So I'm a little behind in my blogging. A few weekends ago M.jay planned a white water rafting trip in Moab. We've never been so we were excited to go! A pretty big group turned out, most of them I didn't even know. We had a blast and would do it again anytime!

Here we are on our way to the river in our "cool" life jackets!

Jayni Dowse and Becky Huff

Me and M.jay ended up on the "flip boats" (in separate boats while Nate road the ducky with Crazy Carl). Both mine and M.jay's boat's goal was to flip, obviously!! The first time my boat attempted it a few of us messed up and high sided to the wrong side (me included) so we only "dumped trucked" as they call it. Those of us still in the boat had to help pull in those who got dumped!

But here is an action shot of the second attempt. We all squished to the back of the boat so the front tip would flip over backwards! The water was freezing but it was worth it! You can check out the fun club blog for more fun action shots!

Camping and more fun!

We camped outside of Moab and the next morning we went for a short hike and did some repelling with M.jay's gear!

Here is M.jay leading me to my death! What a great brother!

Nate and Seth.

You can actually see our camp site in this picture (just to the left of Nate). We camped right on the river. There were no trees though so it was pretty hot but most everyone had fun jumping in the river to cool off.

Nate doing a fancy trick before diving in!

And David catching a Frisbee!

And of course there had to be a seed spitting contest...!

Five years old!

2008-06-15T19:04:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we got to go to little Hans's birthday party. He is five years old now and that means he can do everything a five year old can do... you know run faster, jump higher, throw further... the usual stuff! He could even race Eric on his bike down the sidewalk!

Here are all the spectators!

I also wanted to wish Andrea a Happy birthday!

And a late birthday to Alex! Crazy kid.

Allred Family Reunion

2008-06-03T18:28:00.000-07:00

Two years in a row, now that's a record! :)

First I wanted to recap a little on last years reunion. It was held in Cedar City. We went skeet shooting, played around the world ping pong, ate some good food, played a lot of games, looked at old pictures and just hung out! Here is a slide show to see it all and a highlight of what happened that year.

(Emily's) Allred Family Reunion 2007 Highlight

While we were all skeet shooting much to our surprise (and at the same time not surprising at all) Grandma Mary stood up and said "isn't it my turn?!" I know she just had another birthday but if you think this lady is getting old you better think again! It was great! :)

This years reunion was just as great! This time it was held in Mesa. Thanks to Jen and Nate we got to go boating. We also got to ride the four wheelers, BBQ, play a few paintball games and some got to go golfing. It was a busy weekend and so much fun being around the family! Here is another slide show of all the great times we had and another highlight.

(Emily's) Allred Family Reunion 2007 Highlight

So this years highlight was definitely when Doug and Caroline rode on the tube at the lake and totally biffed it (we all did but theirs was the best)! I wasn't actually on the boat when it happened but I could hear Doug hit the water from the shore! That had to of hurt. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of this event, but it was fun watching the video Mike took.

Birthdays for Four Generations

2008-06-02T22:09:00.000-07:00

Four generations of women all born in the month of May! Grandma, Mom, Tammy and Elyse. Just wanted to wish you all a (late) Happy Birthday!!!

A few more birthdays in May...

Happy Birthday Danielle!

Happy Birthday M.Jay!

Paintball Weekend

2008-05-19T21:55:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken about 10 minutes before I got pelted right in the butt! Thats what I get for acting all tough, it stung a good one! Me, M.jay and Whitney thought we had Ashley and Jordan surrounded, they were dead for sure, but our judgment was a little off and I ended up walking right into their line of fire! The game had just started and I hadn't even gotten the chance to shoot my gun. I felt like such a loser walking off the battle field so early in the game! But not to worry after that sour defeat I never lost again!!

I didn't know paintball would be so much fun! It was too bad that Nate had to miss it all but I loved every minute! I'm so glad Cord and Whitney put it all together. Thanks guys!!

But... however fun paintballing was, I have to say that the best part of the trip was getting to see little Avery! She sure is a cutie!

Suns Fan Jazz Fan!

2008-05-19T21:39:00.000-07:00

While me and Nate were shopping for a couch we found these chairs sitting right next to eachother, how perfect is that! A Suns chair for me and a Jazz chair for him, who needs a couch! But now that both teams are out of the playoffs I guess we'll have to wait until next year to buy them! :)

Vegas Vacation

2008-05-17T19:48:00.000-07:00

Its still too cold in Utah.... so we decided its time to leave! Well just for the weekend. But it was a great weekend in Vegas. Just the two of us! Hanging out at the pool, shopping and watching movies is really all we did. We also found some time to visit the Vegas Temple where Cord and Whitney were married. It was great and just relaxing!

ON THE WAY HOME.....

We decided to stop in Cedar and visit Mike and Ash. We delivered birthday presents and played a little Guesstures!

HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY ASHLEY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKE

2008-05-03T08:19:00.001-07:00

The month of May is one big birthday party! We've got birthday's back to back, on the same day or just close to each other. Everyday of the month I worry "did I forget to call someone to wish them a happy birthday, or is that tomorrow!" But it also makes it easy to remember everybodies birthdays, just as long as you dont mix up the dates!
Happy birthday Mike, do you remember when you were so young you could ride on dad's shoulders?! I do because it was the day that I didn't get to anymore. Someone stole my seat so I had to walk! :)
Today you are a quarter of a century old, how do you feel about that?!

Hope you have a great birthday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RYAN

2008-05-02T14:48:00.000-07:00

Remember Ryan... when you were so cute! :) I do!

16 years old today, I cant believe it. To me you will always be the little boy in this picture!

So how many dates do you have lined up?! You better call me and tell me all about them!

Hope you have a sweet 16!

GOOD TIMES

2008-04-30T21:46:00.000-07:00

First I just want everyone to know I survived my first semester at BYU! It was a rough one, Anatomy kicked my butt. Poor Nate had to deal with all the stress, but WE made it. It ended last Wednesday and it feels so good to be done! Mike came up to visit us but I hardly got to see him I was so busy taking test, sorry Mike! But he got to go golfing with Nate and Eric so I hope he had a good time anyways. After all the stress I got to celebrate with my family coming to town for a visit. What a treat... I'm so glad they all came.

While Jennifer went to the graduation (congrates to Tori) I had the privilege of babysitting! I dont know how she does it, Jennifer you are a champ. But it was a blast hanging out with the kids. After all the kids were bathed, dressed and ready (that was an event!) I sat them down to take a picture (above) of my hard work, its the only time Dax and Trex cried?! The girls were begging to go to the park. I finally got the boys loaded in the stroller and the girl’s coats on and just as we were about to roll away Jennifer pulled up!

I cant believe the boys are so big already!

KIDS LOVE BIRTHDAYS!

I dont know how excited I was that it was my birthday but the kids sure were excited and if you dont act excited they look at you like you are crazy! Thanks Laura and Eric and the boys for the cake!

But Nate must not have been as excited as the kids were! :)

Are we Jazz fans or were we just in it for the fun! :) Here is me and Shelbi at the Jazz game.

Dad taught Nate and Tristan a new way to practice on their softball skills. Its called pepper (I think). They stand up against the wall and catch the balls dad would hit to them. Nate said it was like dodging bullets at a shooting range. He must need to practice more!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RAQUEL

2008-04-18T18:06:00.000-07:00

It must be the birthday season in my family. I've only just gotten started, May is always fun and full of birthdays too. This is Raquel and she turned 3 years old today! She is so dang cute! So is her older sister Sierra. Here is a few pictures of them. They live in Arizona but have been visiting us here in Utah for the past week and we've been so excited to have them around, we love seeing them.

This pictures is a little old, but its one of my favorites. They came to visit us when we were living in Telluride.

Raquel with Uncle Nate.

Raquel with Aunt Danielle.

Sierra and Raquel kicking back on the love sac at our place! (This is going to be me as soon as finals are over--soon!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENNIFER

2008-04-16T22:17:00.000-07:00

So I searched and searched for a picture of Jennifer holding a homemade sign that mom would make every birthday. It would say something like "I'm 6 years old today". But I couldn't find one. These two pictures were the best I could do to maybe embarrass Jennifer a little just for her birthday! :) The problem is that I'm in them and I look just as goofy! But that’s alright, we had some good times!

Happy birthday Jennifer!

My Little Pillow

2008-04-16T15:58:00.000-07:00

This might seem like a weird post, but o well. I have this pillow, it’s my favorite pillow. In fact I have to sleep with it every night, sometimes I feel like a little kid who cant go to sleep without their doll or blanky or like little Hans and Ty who couldn't go to sleep without their lightning McQueen toy cars (boys??). Well I feel the same way about my pillow! But this pillow is no ordinary pillow, actually its half a pillow! A few years back for Christmas grandma Mary bought a pillow and sewed in half. She gave me one half and Jenna the other (we are her favorites, right grandma! :). She also made pillow cases with our names on them. Well I've become very attached to mine-- I love it, it’s great! For a long time it was the only pillow I owned and it was all I needed. Any other normal size pillow I would sleep with would end up on the floor or to the side or anywhere except for under my head. Well Nate likes to make fun of me for how much I love my pillow. But there have been many nights that I have woken up and found him sleeping on it. He denies this ever happened but finally came around and said that it is a pretty comfortable pillow. So last night when I was getting into bed I notice my pillow over on his side of the bed hidden under his pillow. I know he wanted to see how long it would take me to notice it was gone and see how hard I would look for it, what a terd! But I caught him red handed... he just laughed and gave it to me. You could hear behind his laugh, you are crazy! So that’s my story about my little pillow. Thanks Grandma for the gift, I will pass it on generation to generation so everyone will always know who my favorite was! :)

Now that you’ve read my story (sorry it was a little long) you can think about how you say the word pillow. Does it sound more like “pill ow” or “pell ow”??!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARLEE

2008-04-11T12:07:00.000-07:00

When Harlee was born I had just gotten home from my mission (this is how I remember how old she is or how I remember how long I’ve been home from my mission—so if Harlee is 4, then I’ve been home now for 4 years—I am getting so old!). Jennifer allowed me, mom and Colleen to come into the room when she was born. But before they took her into the delivery room I remember Shelbi being so scared and sad for her mom, I don’t think she knew what to think of the situation but it was pretty cute to see her be so worried about her mom! I remember the doctor let Nate help deliver Harlee, lucky for us she made it! :) Just kidding Nate! After we left the hospital we saw that same doctor flying through the parking lot in his little spiffy sports car. I swear he almost ran us over! I couldn’t believe that we had just trusted him to be Jen’s doctor!! We all just laughed about it, one minute he is delivering a baby the next he is sporting around in his fancy car. Made you think how delivering babies was just part of his daily routine. “What have you been up to today?” “Oh, just delivered a few babies, how about you?” How strange would that be! :)
Well that is just my memory of it though, it all might be a little foggy—I had just gotten home from the mission and was still a little weird!! So anyways, here are few favorite pictures of the birthday girl! (They aren't the most updated, but I like them anyways!)

Check out that tongue! This is at the twins blessing in Cedar City.

Nate and Harlee.

Harlee with her cousins.

FORCED TO BLOG

2008-03-24T21:36:00.000-07:00

We had some visitors this weekend, thats right... the Mike and Ash came to see us! (along with their new puppy, which has yet to be named-- see mike and Ashley's blog to give suggestions) We've had some good times, played a little Frisbee, had some good laughs, ate some good food. Its been nice. That is up until they decided it would be a brilliant idea to start a blog for Nate and Emily. Then things got boring! :) Well it hasn't been that bad, I guess! So thats my story, we have officially been forced to blog! Well I guess I should say I have officially been forced to blog, I dont think Nate is to interested and has been staying clear from any participation!

So a thank you to Mike and Ash for showing us a few tricks and getting us started!