Living the Lee Life

Grandma Helen

2012-01-16T19:03:00.000-08:00

On December 29th, 2011 Ryan's Grandma, Helen Baumgartner, passed away. It didn't come as a surprise, she was 91, and the last few weeks were very evident, but it's still always tough when it actually happens.
I was glad I got to know Helen for 8 years of our marriage and when I first met her she was a very smart, funny lady who's body was giving out much sooner than her body. She had lost her eye sight and her hearing quite a while ago but she always knew exactly who we were and was up to date on all that was happening in our lives. I'm honored that she was present at our wedding and got to know Andrea as long as she did.

The last time Ryan and I visited her was in October and she was the same old Grandma, was even kicking a ball down the hall with the grand kids, it's amazing how quickly things can change.

Ryan and I love trips to Cedar City, it's so nice to spend time with Ryan's brother Matt and his family. This time was different, no trips to St. George, no shopping, just a lot of family time, and time spent remembering Grandma :)

Each of the grand kids and great grand kids were able to write what they remember about Grandma on a note and place it in the casket. Ryan's note made me cry, he really is a sentimental guy even though most people would never know it. The things I remember about Grandma Helen is that she always wore a dress, she made cookies with gumdrops in them (which I had never experienced before), she could remember so much, and one day her and I were sitting alone and she told me all about her wedding day. She could remember every detail, the name of the store she bought her dress from, that her Mom didn't want her to buy a new dress, so she had to buy it with her own money, how most people gave them gas coupons for their wedding present. Made me realize our economy isn't quite as bad as we make it!

Grandpa wanted all the women in the family to go through Grandma's jewelry and Sara and I both agreed that our daughters should have some type of jewelry that belonged to their Great Grandma. The both of us also picked out a broach to were to the funeral while we sang a duet as part of a medley with the grandchildren.

Matt and Sara were such good sports to let us stay with them during the funeral, they immediately went from their Christmas/Anniversary trip up here to having relatives stay with them down there. I never tell them enough how much I appreciate the visits we have and what good hosts they are (hopefully Sara reads this post). Andrea just loves playing with her cousins and it takes her a few days to adjust being back home and entertaining herself again. I'm always sad I don't take more pictures while I'm down there, I know Matt does so I'll have to ask him for some.

Here is Meryn and Andrea in the bath and Daddy and Andrea wearing their shades before the funeral.

Christmas

2012-01-10T13:21:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's about time, I'm finally posting about Christmas. This year was so fun with Andrea! All month long she loved looking for "Christopher Pop-in-Kins" each morning, he is our elf spy sent by Santa. She loved doing the count downs each morning and she had a lot to do... Move the mouse to a different pocket, pin the bear to a different location, put an ornament on the countdown tree, change the dice to a different number on the nativity, and eat a chocolate.

Christmas Eve we spent with family. We watched Arthur Christmas at the movie theatre with Grandma and Grandpa Lee, Matt, Sara, Peyton, and Meryn. Andrea didn't make it all the way through the movie, it was during nap time, but the rest of us still enjoyed it. We also had dinner with the Lees, looked at some lights, and opened our Christmas Eve pajamas.

When Christmas morning finally came Andrea didn't even stop in our room, she headed straight for the living room where Daddy was watching TV, but she noticed the new presents pretty quickly. Santa didn't go overboard this year, which we are all happy about.

Andrea received:
A teaset
Mickey's Shoe Garage

New clothes
A Mobigo and two games
A suit case and sleeping bag from Grandma and Grandpa Lee

An Elmo puzzle from Grandma and Grandpa Williams
A doll and me dress from Grandma and Grandpa Williams

Ryan received:
A remote control car

A model truck with paints and glue
A sattelite receiver for the bedroom
An ipod alarm clock
A new bathroom reader
A new sander from the Lees
New gloves from the Williams
Kristy received:
Pearl bracelet and earrings (from Shane Co)
An ipod docking speaker for the TV
A home made jigsaw puzzle box built by Ryan

Boots
Picture frames for the hallway
A new bedset from the Lees
A new wallet from my parents

Christmas day was sure a frenzy with church interrupting things ;) I can't believe we had to go take the sacrament on Christ's birthday. After church we had lunch and more presents at the Lees. After that we were all exhausted and had a nice nap. We later stopped by my brother Eric's house to see what Santa had brought Brigitta and Roland.

I'm glad I wasn't sick this year, and although Ryan was feeling a little nausaus Christmas Eve he made through the holiday without incident which is pretty good for us!

Goodbye Tessy

2011-12-13T11:04:00.000-08:00

Sunday we had to say goodbye to Tessy. Wednesday she started showing signs of pain (shaking, not jumping) but we assumed it was a sprain or a sore muscle. I was giving her Andrea's ibuprofen and that seemed to help but by Sunday she could hardly stand. When we called the vet he figured it was her back, and Ryan and I can only assume she might have fallen down the deck stairs while going potty. By Sunday afternoon her pain was so bad that we both knew we should end her misery.

I wanted to give her all her favorite foods but she couldn't even stand to eat them. We had to carry her in her bed to the truck and of course then she got excited to go for a ride and did all she could to stand and look out the windows.

Ryan couldn't stay in the room while the doctor gave her the shot, it was his doggy after all, he was the one who wanted her and babied her. I, however, didn't want her to be alone while she passed, so I held her until the end.

It's still tough... I cried when I saw her footprints in the snow, I cried when I put Andrea' ibuprofen away, I cried when I was making tuna for Andrea and no doggy paws came running. She was a great dog, and mine and Ryan's first baby. Some things to remember about Tessy:

She never barked, only when dreaming would we hear an attempt at a bark.

She loved to play hide and seek with us. It always seemed to be Sundays after church that either Ryan and I would wait to open the kennel while the other one hid. She was always so excited to run up those stairs and search for us.

She got fed 4 times a day and she could tell time better than any of us. When it got to be feeding time she would crawl out of bed and start nudging our hands with her nose.

She was a cuddler, when she saw a blanket on the couch she took that as permission to come snuggle.

She loved her ears rubbed, she would moan and tilt her head.

She was obsessed with tuna, anytime we opened ANY can she would run to the kitchen hoping she got to lick the tuna can.

She never played with toys... she couldn't care less if you threw a ball her way or waved a dog toy in front of her she was too refined for that kind of thing!

She would sneak in Andrea's room and jump up on her bed during the day.

She would steal food from Bracken and Andrea when they got distracted.

We love you Tessy and you will ALWAYS be in our hearts! You blessed us with your joy for 7 out of the 9 years of your life and I hope we made your life a good one.

Christmas Fun

2011-12-13T10:31:00.000-08:00

We actually made it to see the Temple Square Christmas lights this year! I thought going on a week night would be less crazy so we decided to go last Wednesday. I think there really is no good time to go... not only was it the youth groups activity that night, but we also saw 3 school buses who unloaded even more teenagers for some kind of performance.

I could go into all the details of the night but let's just say that between no parking, two trips back to the car, inconvenient bladder needs from Andrea, too many teenagers, and it being REALLY cold... it will be a while before we do it again. Ryan got some really beautiful pictures of the temple that I'm excited to print and frame.

Andrea was more impressed by the releasing of birthday balloons through the skylight while having dinner at the Garden than she actually was with the lights, so I think we'll wait for HER to ask us to go again.

Later that week Andrea and I got into the Christmas spirit by decorating a gingerbread house. Now I am not one to make home made gingerbread, cut it, make frosting no no no. Costco had a pre-build one with candy and frosting included. That's my kind of project!

Andrea ate more candy than she actually put on but she really did a good job when she did actually place them on the house.

She's a Small Wonder

2011-11-14T11:17:00.000-08:00

There are things I am always telling myself to "never forget" about my little girl but I'm afraid I will, so I'm going to blog a few of them:

1. She is always singing... real songs, made up songs, it doesn't matter. I know she gets this from me, and I know I got it from my Mom. She even plays right along when I make up a song. For instance, if I sing "Let's go get your PJs on, do da do da" to the tune of Camptown races, she will sing right back "No, no, no, no, no, no, no do da do da".

2. She named her Baby doll "Sauel", pronounced like "Samual" without the M. Don't know where she came up with that, and this is the only baby she has named, of course it's the oldest and most worn out doll that she's attached to.

3. She LOVES puzzles, she would do them all day long if I had the patience. 12 piece puzzles she can do all on her own but more than that she needs to be handed a piece that can connect somewhere at the moment. Even when I do my 750, 1000 piece puzzles she loves to help and gets a few matches!

4. She has, what the doctor called, a "geographical" tongue. She gets ringworm-canker looking spots on her tongue randomly.

Here you can see one of the sores on the left side. The doctor said they don't hurt her but they will probably just make her taste more sensitive. Which leads me to my next quirk...

5. She will only drink milk if it has orange juice in it. 3/4 milk, 1/4 oj. It's been this way ever since she switched from formula and I've tried plain milk again occationally and she won't have it. Other than that her tastes are quite advanced for a 2 year old. She LOVES tuna, tomatoes, cooked carrots, and will try anything. The only thing I've found that she doesn't like is marshmellows, what kid doesn't like marshmellows?! Mine.

6. She rubs her ear while she drinks. It's usually her right ear but she'll switch if Ryan or I start rubbing the left one just to tease her. Ryan noticed this about her quite a while ago. Here is a recent photo, and one last Christmas.

Yes, she is a small wonder, but I love all her little quirks and look forward to experiencing all that her personality has to offer!

Halloween

2011-11-02T07:31:00.000-07:00

Halloween started for us on Friday, it was our ward's trunk or treat. The night before Ryan warned me that he might miss because of a big project at work. So I threw my big "you've missed the last two Halloween's because of work" tantrum and I think it worked. He was home by 4:30 the next day and I was very glad he got to be part of the fun this year! I stayed by our trunk and passed out candy and let Ryan enjoy taking Andrea trunk to trunk. The ward also had chili for dinner, a fishing game, a cookie walk, and a mini maze. I was very impressed by all the work that went into the night, thank you 3rd Ward!

It was fun to have my brother in the ward this year and have Amy and the kids at the trunk next to ours, they dressed as Batman characters and their trunk was the bat cave.

Saturday morning we all carved our pumpkins. Andrea chose Mickey (of course), Ryan thought he would try Perry the Platypus from Phineas and Ferb, and he had to out-do us both by using his exacto knife kit to carve through just the top layer. I chose a simple ghost but I'll show them both next year!

We continued our Halloween weekend by having Mummy hot dogs for lunch and baking some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.

When Halloween rolled around on Monday Andrea got her costume on to visit Grandma and Grandpa Lee, and Grandma LaVelle. By the time we drove out to Kristi's she was out! She woke up enough to go potty, but I guess she had too much excitement for one night. Each year she understands the holiday more and more and I'm afraid this was probably the last year that I got to choose what her costume would be :(

Bedtime Wishes and Fishy Dreams

2011-10-26T08:42:00.000-07:00

As you all know the Andrea-bed-couch struggle has been ongoing for some time now. I decided it was time again to try and get to her to sleep in her bed again. This decision usually comes when she will no longer sleep through the night on the couch either.

Ryan has wanted to get Andrea some fish for a while. She gets so excited whenever we encounter a fish tank at a restaurant or the doctor's office. I finally agreed that if she would sleep in her bed for 10 nights she could get some fish.

The qualification for a sticker on the chart was simple... she had to wake up in her bed. So yes, there were several nights that I had to take her back to bed, and sit there with her for a while. There were also some unsuccessful nights when she asked to go back to the couch. So it took about 2 weeks to get the 10 stickers, but she did it! And 6 of those nights were undisturbed genuine full nights in her bed, I can't believe it!

She ended up getting 3 fish, a snail, and we are still looking for a "pink mermaid" decoration that she thinks the tank needs. When we ask her the names of the fish they are "Mommy" "Daddy" and "Nemo". I just don't like that "Mommy" happens to be the biggest one!

Happiness

2011-10-19T08:08:00.000-07:00

My entire adult life I have felt inadequate. I think as humans we do. I constantly compare myself to others and am always searching for what needs improvement in my life.I judged myself when I was overweight.... so I lost weight.

I had a great job at the credit union, working for great people, but even then I was always asking myself if that was my "dream career"

Before having Andrea I always felt judged for not having children. Just when Ryan and I decided to create a life without a child the Lord stepped in and sent our daughter.

Having a baby brought on a whole lot of change at once. Less income, less adult interaction, more weight to lose, and the pressure of being the perfect house wife.

I felt that when Ryan got home the house should be spotless, Andrea should be fed and clean, and dinner should be on the table. These were all my expectations (and society's) and not Ryan's.

I stressed myself out with trying to find playmates for Andrea. This never worked out, I felt I wasn't really accepted into the "housewife" or "Mormon Mommy" world and had a lot of trouble making new friends after so many years loving my co-workers. Luckily I was able to tend a couple of days a week which at the time I did for Andrea, but I have grown to really love these kids! Andrea and I both look forward to the days Bracken and Leah come to play. I get to enjoy being a Mommy of 3 two days a week!

It's been a couple of years now that I have been forced into this housewife/daycare/Mommy world full time and I think I've finally adjusted to our routine and lifestyle. I've realized recently that if I stop putting so much pressure on myself to be perfect I can be truly happy!

Yesterday as Andrea and I finished grocery shopping and were in the drive up line to get our traditional Happy Meal I realized just how lucky I am. Ryan works so hard so we can have our everyday routine and loves me no matter how clean our house is or how thin I am.

I've realized that I love baking cookies with Andrea much more than I care being a single digit dress size! I've realized I love successfully grocery shopping with 4 dollars of my budget. I love tending two sweet kids who have accepted Andrea and I as part of their life! I love my calling in church and look forward to going. I love our home, dependable cars and really don't have a worry in the world. Well accept for finances but that's a worry for everyone, right? Hopefully I can keep this mind frame for a while, or if not I can look back on this post and remember to be happy with my situation!

Staheli Farm

2011-10-04T15:28:00.000-07:00

A few years ago I read a post on my sister-in-law Sara's blog about their family's visit to a farm down in Washington, UT. It had a corn maze, pumpkin patch, kiddie train rides, and more. I really wanted to take a trip down to join them this year. She suggested conference weekend since we would all have a Sunday off church. So we headed down Thursday down and had a packed weekend of fun! Friday we visited relatives (Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Sandy, Uncle Fernlee), went to lunch, ran errands, and Sara and I even got to do some girl-time shopping while the hubbies watched the kids.

Saturday we headed for Washington/St. George. After stopping for lunch we made it to the farm around 1:00, and boy was it hot! However, there really wasn't anyone there. I don't know if it was too early in the season, too early in the day, too hot, or just because it was during General Conference... but we weren't complaining! I think we all got a little bit of special treatment because we were some of the first of the day... no additional cost for the activities and we were invited in to pet the animals and no one else had.

As far as the farm, I could go on and on... you'll see from the pictures all the fun stuff to do. It was just so much fun!

The first thing we saw was the mini maze for the kids, I liked that one... you could just look over to see the dead ends.

Then we rode a tractor to the actual big corn maze. The aerial view was a tribute to the Staheli parents celebrating 50 years, we couldn't walk the whole thing because it was just too dang hot!

Matt and Sara suggested the corn maze first and I understand why, if we had done the other activities first the kids wouldn't have been up for all the walking. After giving up on the maze we head back to the farm to see what fun there was to be had.

The first stop was the rubber ducky water spout races. Once Andrea saw these she didn't want to do anything else. I tried to upload a video of it but gave up after two attempts.

We eventually talked her into going to the horsey swings with Peyton and Meryn and they all loved those. Matt got to be the designated motor and pull the kids around.

There was also a corn slide, well at least that is what you landed in.

And a LOT of animals. We were invited into the animal pen and Sara was the good sport to go in with the kids even though it resulted in a pig dirtying her leg and shoes.

The big hit of the day was the blob. Even the adults couldn't get enough of bouncing on this thing! I took a few pictures than hopped on myself. Andrea loved it, even when she fell down. She called it the "big pillow" and kept asking to go back.

The pumpkin patch was past all the cow pens, so a tractor drops you off and comes back later. The only problem was a big storm hit right after we arrived. So we took shelter under a makeshift corn husk roof and waited for the tractor. The kids picked their pumpkins from the pile that was out of the rain, and there were no complaints.

Afterwards the kids were understandably dirty, so they all had baths, we had some pizza, and the kids had a camp out in the living room. Peyton and Meryn had never seen Pete's Dragon, which was just upsetting to Andrea and I, so we set them straight. Andrea also watched the movie on the way to and from Cedar City, I'm so happy she loves a movie I never get sick of!

As you can tell we had a blast. Ryan was sick the whole time but was a good sport and did his best to ignore it. Andrea and I had allergies that seemed to turn into a cold once we got home. Traveling always seems to make us sick! Matt and Sara are always so nice to let us come down and visit and make us feel right at home. Thanks you guys for the fun time and the great memories!

Park City

2011-09-07T08:28:00.000-07:00

Park City has become an anniversary tradition for us. So we figured we would stick with it this year as well. Ryan's parents took Andrea for a few days so we could enjoy some time alone. We just love Park City, the weather is cooler, I love historic main street, and the outlets are a great place to buy Andrea some fall clothes. Last year we invited a few of our friends to go with us but it didn't work out. Kristi joined us for dinner however, and this year we talked her into staying up there one night.
The first day we did some shopping at the outlets, they always have great sales! We checked-in to the hotel and wanted to take Kristi to our favorite Park City restaurant, Baja Cantina. After dinner we killed time by walking old Main Street before our ghost tours began. We've wanted to do the tour in the past but couldn't bring ourselves to pay the price. Kristi got Park City ghost tours tickets 50% off, so we were very excited.

The ghost tour was... interesting. The history of the old buildings was more interesting than anything. Our tour guide was really enthusiastic about the ghosts, but we didn't see one :(

Ryan and Kristi with our tour guide Amanda.

The next morning after breakfast we headed to Midway for Swiss Days. The crowds were insane and so were the prices! I don't do very well with crowds so I really couldn't enjoy it. We bought some more iron flowers for our flower bed and were on our way. Kristi bought a "chicken crossing" sign from the same booth, so at least we spent a little money at the event.

The view of Midway on our drive back to Park City

After lunch, at another great restaurant, the Bridge, Kristi decided to head back home. That left Ryan and I with not much to do. So we took a nap, visited Main Street again, and then decided to try to capture a ghost. We took the better camera to the tour "hot spots" and think we may have caught something, but you decide...

We immediately saw a woman in the window. This school building is supposed to be haunted by the mean principal, I don't remember her name. But apparently she has tried to harm construction workers during remodels.

Saturday morning we had a nice breakfast on Main Street and decided to visit the Olympic park. Being a Utah resident it really is a shame that it took us so long to visit something that was seen worldwide. There were quite a few skiers practicing their jumps, so that was really fun to watch. The water is aerated, so it's soft when landing. We walked around to see the bobsled track but decided we should come back and do the whole tour sometime.

I tried to get a skier in the background but my timing was off.

Pretty cool!

We had such a great time, but I'm sad it's over. I guess I'll have to plan something else to look forward to now.

Tessaroos

2011-08-30T14:25:00.000-07:00

On August 12th we lost our dog Tessy. Ryan called me while we were swimming at Deseret Peak during my Mom's visit and asked where the dog was. I realized I never put her in her kennel before we left, but she wasn't around. She must have snuck out while we were all loading cars to leave.

2004- The first week she joined our family

This isn't the first time Tessy has run away.We've been lucky in the past, one time she just happened to be recognized my a family friend. We've learned that she usually sticks the sidewalk and ends up on the street behind ours. This time Ryan and I both drove around for a quite while, but couldn't find her. To add insult to injury, she didn't have her collar on that had our contact info. Any dog owner knows how noisy those tags can be... I usually have a piece of material wrapped around her collar to keep the tag from jingling but it had recently broke, so I just took off her collar until I could fix it again. PLUS... she does have chip, but it's not registered with us because I don't know the chip number.

2005

2006

I posted her picture on facebook and asked for help finding her. A friend from High School told me he saw the police loading up a dog like that just down the street from where we lived. I called dispatch and sure enough, they had picked up a beagle that night but we wouldn't be able to check with the animal shelter until Monday.

2007

2008

Needless to say the weekend was a little tense at our house. Even though Ryan said he didn't blame me, I sure felt guilty that I had lost his dog. To top it off, it was his birthday that weekend, so that wasn't exactly the best way to celebrate it!

2009

Monday morning I was heading to the shelter as soon as I could. As I was loading Andrea, the shelter called and said "we do have a beagle, but she had a blue and white collar on and no tattoo under her ear". I was feeling really discouraged, but headed down anyway to see for myself. When I arrived the attendant said "I think I was looking at the wrong beagle when I called". When she brought Tessy out, I couldn't help but cry. Seeing your dog, is like seeing your child, there was no doubt it was her.

2010

She was filthy (with urine) and her stomach was pretty bloated. I took her to Ryan's parents because I was heading to the zoo with my Mom and brother's family, and I really didn't want to put Tessy in her kennel. Gary helped me give Tessy a quick hose bath outside and we were off. When I came to get her that night her stomach looked worse and she couldn't really walk. Ryan and I were really scared, we didn't know if she was hit by a car, or was starved all weekend, but turns out she just needed to "relieve" herself. After a much needed potty break the next morning she was back to her old self.

2011- New Collar

Now you'd never know she left... she tells us when it's dinner time, follows Andrea everywhere, and still tries to run away when she is in the front yard. I've now got her a collar with her name and phone number embroidered on it from gotags.com, so no jingling! Plus, the shelter was nice enough to scan her chip for me so we can register her in our name. Her little adventure gave Ryan and I a glimpse of what it will be like when we have to say goodbye to our dog, and I don't think either of us are ready!

Mom's Visit

2011-08-19T13:15:00.000-07:00

Last weekend my Mom came to visit from Texas. It was really nice to see her again since it's been almost a year since she moved. She spent three nights at our house, and two night's at Eric's. We set up a double bed downstairs in our theatre room and not only did my Mom seem to enjoy it, Andrea loved jumping on it!
My sister-in-law Amy and I had discussed some fun activities to do with the kids while she was here and everyday we got to do something different for the kids. Friday (the day after she arrived) we went swimming with the kids at Deseret Peak. Saturday Ryan and I were having a date night for his birthday so we opted out of the activities, but My Mom went to a movie at the Clark Planetarium with the other grandkids.

Sunday we had a family dinner at our house where the kids got to enjoy the playhouse and bubbles. It was night to have everyone together. Since it was Ryan's birthday, his parents and Grandma also joined in the fun.

Eric tried teaching the kids crochet but I don't think they paid attention!

Monday we all went to the zoo. I hadn't taken Andrea yet this year so I was excited to go, but it was just too hot!

They had some new animated dinosaurs at the zoo, and it may sound evil, but I loved watching my nephew Roland scream and cry. He hated those dang dinosaurs. Of course my little Tom Boy wasn't bothered at all by them.

We didn't stay too long because of the heat, but we got all the important stuff in there... train, carousel, giraffes, monkeys, and elephants!

Tuesday my Mom headed back to Texas, I'm so mad at myself for not getting a picture of her and Andrea! I hope she enjoyed her visit as much as we did!

My Man

2011-08-17T11:28:00.000-07:00

Some of the many reasons I love my husband:
*He is the hardest working guy I know. He always ignores the pain of his crohnes disease to make sure his family is taken care of.

*He has such a weakness for Andrea. I could buy that little girl anything I want and he wouldn't say a word.

*He treats me like I am the most beautiful woman in the world.

*He has such a great sense of humor. He comes up with quirky come backs that I never would have thought of.

*He dreams big. He loves talking about our future and all the things he wants to accomplish (I just wish more traveling was part of those dreams)

*He is so smart. Whether it's a house repair, car repair, or computer repair. Ryan can fix it! And then answer most of the questions on Jeopardy while he's at it.

*He always says "love you" at the end of each phone call.

Ryan's birthday was on the 14th, his last year in his 20's. I am so lucky to have this guy as my eternal companion, he's a great Daddy and I know he would do anything for us. Happy Birthday Honey!

Flower Pillows

2011-08-03T12:57:00.000-07:00

Saw some adorable flower pillows on a friend's link and loved them. I felt Andrea needed something on her bed so it would look more "made" than just pulling up the covers. Mine and Ryan's bed has 10 pillows when fully "made", so I definately needed something on hers. They turned out ok, they photograph a lot better than looking up close.

They really were as easy to make as the website said, and I thought they were fun to do. The only think I don't like is that the petals are really floppy, so I have to fix them when I "make" the bed. The red one was made with thicker fleece and I liked working with that better. Also, I used felt for the middle yellow, instead of fleece. I just figured it was easier to purchase a couple of sheets of felt for such a small area.

This project did come with a few injuries. First, a blister from the hot glue on my thumb as I was folding the center pieces.

And as I quickly removed the material from the thumb, it ended up in my armpit (don't know how) and I figured I better let it stay there and cool before I do more damage. When I did remove the piece it took off some skin, so I figured now Andrea will know that I really put a part of me in these pillows for her :)

Andrea loves the pillows, one night when I carried her to bed she asked "where's my flower?" and then snuggled up against it. For those of you interested in making these pillows here is the orignal link http://cometogetherkids.blogspot.com/2011/03/fleece-flower-petal-pillows.html

Wood Workers

2011-07-26T13:24:00.000-07:00

Recently I was contemplating buying a cricut cutting machine. I got it into my head to make some seasonal letter blocking after I realized I didn't have any spring decor. My friend Kristi offered to lend me her cricut to see if I liked it. I am so glad I didn't buy one! After trying to scrap the vinyl off of the sticky pad without ruining it, and having to reprint a few letters because the "material saver" button didn't work like I thought it would, I was very frustrated! Not to mention the cost of vinyl and cartridges just isn't worth it to me! That being said, I am still very happy with my blocks!

Ryan was nice enough to cut the wood for me, but I should have thought to have him run the wood through the plainer first. The natural woodgrain often caused my paper to bubble and I had to re-do a few of them.

I think my favorite letter is the "a" in "Fall". You can't see it in the picture but it has a spider crawling down.

The bigger project finally done at our house is Andrea's playset. I've been begging Ryan to get this done, simply because I hate being asked to go to the park everyday (now I'm just asked to go in the back yard everyday). Originally Ryan wanted to design it and build it himself but we found this set at Walmart that was much more cost effective. We had set aside some of our tax refund just for this purpose, so even with all of Andrea's medical expenses lately, we could still afford it.

Andrea does well with climbing up the ladder and going down the slide but she still likes me to hold her hand so she doesn't go to fast, and of course, I have to push her on the swing. Hopefully one day she will go play by herself, but not quite yet.

I love the little playhouse in the bottom, and it also has a picnic bench on the backside. This was probably the first project in a long time that didn't cause marital problems for Ryan and I. We worked very well together, I would read the instructions and hand him what he needed. I just hope it holds up to the weather, and we need to figure out how it's going to work with mowing and watering the lawn, but that will come.

Girl's Camp

2011-07-15T13:15:00.000-07:00

Four months of planning and Girl's Camp is finally over! The camp wasn't a stake camp this year, just individual wards, which meant we got to pick our own theme. We chose Boot Camp, which ended up having a lot of possibilities. So the first day of camp we gave all the girls their "rations" packets. The packets had a hoodie, a t-shirt, a camo bandana, dog tag, canteen, and gun. Each leader also wore a certain color camo bandana that matched which age group they supervised.

The bandanas actually really came in handy. The girls usually had some kind of duty (make dinner or clean up a meal) that was pre-scheduled according to their year. I could just glance at their bandana and figure out who was who. The first years wore orange, the second years blue, the third years purple, and youth leaders were pink. I wore a purple bandana which meant I was over the 3rd years, handled their certification, kept track of their where-a-bouts, and such.

We also assigned each year a miltary rank: 1st years- Cadets, 2nd years- Sergeants, 3rd years- Majors, Youth Leaders- Colonels, and all the leaders were Generals. The girls had a lot of fun with this and came up with creative nicknames for each other. Ones like "Major Moustache", "Cadet Kitty", "Sergeant Smalls". I was given the nickname "General Goldilocks". The girls wrote their names on their dog tags and canteens, which I thought was really cute!

I've really struggled with my calling as camp director... I was positive that after I completed this years camp I would asked to be released. I felt that through the whole planning process, no trust was placed in me. I didn't get to choose the theme, the crafts, shop for food... the things I did get to plan happened because I just went ahead and did them on my own. Ryan said I should have been happy with less responsibility, but what's the joy in that? If I am asked to do something I want to do it whole-heartedly! One day at camp my assistant and I were surprised by a "heart-attack" on our beds from one of the tent groups. I literally had to get my composure before I went back outside. I doubt the girls thought it would have made me cry, but it made me realize that this calling is about the girls, not my own frustrations.

When I think back to my young womens years I can remember all of my leaders, but can't tell you who all the girl's were or what the themes or activities were. The leaders are what make it special, that's why I spent as much time with the girls as possible... hiking, around the camp fire, doing crafts. I was so happy I got to know them all better!

Thank heavens for my assistant Mickell, the Lord truly inspired me while choosing an assistant camp director. I hadn't even talked to Mickell when I gave her name to the Bishop, she had just moved in the ward. But she has helped me "keep it real" and listen when I was frustrated or needed someone to share ideas with. The day before camp she got us these cute shirts, and we must think alike because I also got us some hats.

Here are some random pictures of the activities at camp.

Hike

Prayer Rugs

Sword fighting

Certification

Snipe Hunting

We had some really creative meals, and that credit belongs to the YW President Tawna and her counselors Danielle and Janalee.

MRE's (we thought that was fitting for our soldiers)

Boiled omelets (put all your omelet ingredients in a plastic baggy and boil it.)

Banana boats and apple crisps in the fire

Walking tacos (place taco ingredients in a plastic bag, and some tortilla chips, mix it up and you have a taco salad). Plus the good old buddy burner burgers, and lots of more delicious goodies. I don't ever remember having a camp with so much delicious food. Tawna always made sure we had lots of additional side options as well as snacks to keep the girl's happy.

Our destiny topics each day also pertained to our Boot Camp theme with a gospel twist. Day 1- Battle Strategies, I spoke about the basic training we have been given to combat temptation: Prayer, scriptures, word of wisdom, the commandments, and self worth. Day 2- Armor of God, Mickell related the Armor of God to modern day army equipment: bullet proof vest, tank, helmet, gun. Day 3- Battle stategies, theYW stake presidency was kind enough to host this day's destiny, and talked about taking out specific temptations with specific gospel ammunition, and they stayed for dinner. The last night of camp the Blacks were so kind to make dinner not only for us, but all of our visitors... the Bishobric, and the stake YW Presidency, and even Ryan came up to spend the night and drive the storage trailer back home for me. We had delcious dutch oven chicken and dutch oven carrot cake.

We were very lucky to have Bro. and Sis. Black lend us their camping location for the week. They were such good sports to put up with all the girls and they really seemed to enjoy themselves. The girls slept in tents, the leaders slept in a trailer and Mickell and I were in the cabin. When I informed the other leaders that I like my sleep they felt that the cabin would be the best place for me.

Here is the whole group minus Jim (Tawna's husband, he was taking the photo) he was also such a great help all week, it was nice to have two priesthood holders there to help us out with whatever was needed. I was so impressed with the girls in our ward and their willingness to do anything asked of them. I think between the great leaders and the great girls everything went really well. Just a fun week of bonding and camping! I think I'll stick this calling out for a while :) At least now I know more what is expected and feel more confident in my abilities.

Independance Day

2011-07-12T21:07:00.000-07:00

Since my parents have moved to Texas, we weren't sure where to watch the parade this year. Their next door neighbors were out of town, and offered their curb to our family and friends.

Grandma Linda and Grandpa Gary were tending Petyon and Meryn while Matt and Sara were in California, so they got to join us for the parade as well. Linda had bought Andrea and Meryn matching outfits for the 4th.

My brother Eric's family came as well as my brother Brent and his wife Becky, my friend Kristi, her Mom Laura and sister Jenna, and Jenna's husband Carl. This is why the 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays... getting together with family and friends to laugh at the silly floats in Tooele's parade. Unfortunately there was no fly over this year by the jets, and no statue of liberty float doing the limbo under the power lines :( But the kids really enjoyed all the candy, even otter pops, flags, and necklaces were given out.

We really didn't do any other activities. Later in the day I had to help load all of the luggage for girl's camp and we had watched fireworks the Friday before at the high school football field. So a pretty relaxing 4th, the best kind of holiday!

Swim Lessons

2011-06-16T11:52:00.000-07:00

Since I've had a 3 month break from babysitting, I thought it would be fun to sign Andrea and I up for Mom & Tot swim lessons. The lessons last two weeks and luckily their first session was still during the time we had free. Andrea did so well on the first lesson, she did everything the teacher asked. The next day she realized she could say "no" when the teacher challenged her and I think she was onery from allergies. But as the days went on she got used the routine, got some allergy medicine, and we both looked forward to going to the pool.

I was a little nervous to have the classes at an outdoor pool but the weather was nice for the most part. The water was also heated so that helped.

The teacher had some really cute ideas for getting the little ones to learn the basics. We would sing wheels on the bus with varied actions to teach them the front stroke and back stroke. We also sang "I'm a little pancake on my back" to the tune of I'm a Little Teapot. This taught the kids to float on their back. Andrea's favorite was jumping into the pool to Mommy, and playing "Blast off" by pushing off of the wall and kicking.

The last day Grandma and Grandpa came to watch us and were nice enough to take some pictures. I hope we will get to do more swim lessons next year, it was a lot of fun!

Tonsil update: We took Andrea to an ear, nose, and throat Doctor who said as long as she is breathing ok, then there is no reason to remove the tonsils. The dr also gave us allergy samples (I love Doctors who are sympathetic to those of us without insurance) and even though Andrea's tonsils are still swollen, she is a lot happier!

Cedar 2011

2011-06-05T07:01:00.000-07:00

Ryan and I decided to take a trip to Cedar City over Memorial Day weekend. Our main purpose was so Ryan could help his brother Matt put in a back flow preventor. Which, I'm sure Ryan would be embarrassed to know, I still don't understand exactly what it does... but apparently it's useful.

Andrea did awesome on the way down, just watched her movies without much complaint. She used the potty in every town we came to, even was a good enough sport to go peepee in her potty chair off the side of the highway :) We arrived late Friday night and tried to get Andrea calmed down enough for bed, her and I spent the night in the spare bedroom and Ryan was a good sport to sleep in the recliner or on the couch, he tried both. I think it really helped Andrea sleep in being in the quiet bedroom.

The next morning Matt and Ryan began working on their project while the kids rode bikes and played. After they were satisfied with their work, we all decided to drive to Richfield to visit Grandma LaVelle. She had fallen while on a visit and hurt her hip. She is staying at a rehabilitation center until she is walking again on her own. So we piled all 7 of us in Matt and Sara's Durango and headed off. It was quite the trip, trying to keep 3 kids happy with ipods and making numerous potty breaks. I think LaVelle enjoyed her surprise visit and the kids were very well behaved. Afterwards they definitely needed somewhere to run around before we took the hour and 1/2 trip back, so we stopped at an Indian museum. They did have a small kids area to play in and a walking trail to look at petroglyphs. I think the kids enjoyed it enough, at least they could stretch their legs.

Saturday night we had some yummy pizza and visited Grandma Helen and Grandpa Ray. We were still debating whether to go home Sunday, and have Monday to work on projects at home, or wait until Monday to make the drive. We decided that the weather up North was even worse than down South so there was no rush to get home. So Sunday was a nice relaxing day which started with a visit to Aunt/Grandma Sandy and Uncle/Grandpa Fernlee's while the family headed to church. Grandma Sandy had a bag full of goodies for Andrea and a surprise for us all. Sandy, who's dogs are always a hit with Andrea, had a new puppy! Her name is cookie and she is adorable! Andrea wasn't too sure of cookie at first because Grandma Sandy warned her that she likes to bite. But Andrea enjoyed all the dogs, she made sure to check on Buster sleeping under the bed, she fed Teva lunch, even laid down with Cookie, when the little pup had been tuckered out.

Sunday we ran some errands, got Andrea some new DVDs for the trip back, and stopped at Beall's to check out the bargains. Matt and Sara had planned a nice barbeque (being Memorial Day weekend after all) and even though the weather brought us inside, the food was still delicious!

As you can see, Meryn and Andrea dressed up for the occasion in Meryn's princess dresses.

Monday morning we headed home and Andrea slept most of the way, that's always a plus! I thought it was a very enjoyable trip and although I wasn't looking forward to traveling with a two year old I was pleasantly surprised. Andrea adapted well to staying at Matt and Sara's and Ryan was, as always, a great help.

Now we get to deal with Andrea's mystery illness. Monday night after our trip she got a fever and since her tonsils have been swollen for 2 weeks I took her in the next day to check it out. The dr was very shocked to see the size of her tonsils but the strep test came back negative, so now we have to consider taking them out. I guess you'll all found out soon enough if that's the case.

Keeping Busy

2011-05-19T13:01:00.000-07:00

I've been a little stir crazy lately. Not only because Winter seems to be lasting all year, but also because I am currently a full-on stay at home Mom. Bracken's mommy is on maternity leave with their newest little baby girl, Leah, so I haven't had anything on my schedule during the days which is a little well... boring. I guess this is when most women say, "time to have another baby"... but not me :) So I've been trying to keep myself busy, church callings have helped. On top of preparing weekly singing time and monthly song charts, I'm also this years Young Women's camp director.

Being camp director has been a little frustrating because there isn't much you can do ahead of time. You have to plan a lot, but have to wait until a few weeks before camp to put it all together. I've been working on sewing the mailboxes for secret sisters. Yes, it looks like a shoe rack and that's is basically what it is but the girl's will put their name on a pocket and wait for their gifts. Glad this is almost done (just some dowls and ribbon left).

Andrea calls them my "pockets" when I work on them.

Next I'll cut out of wood location signs for the girls to paint, "latrine" "mess hall" "barricks" and "officers quarters". Our camp is Boot Camp themed, if you can't tell. Then will be the flag and schedule, luckily my assistant is handling those.

I've also been working on a few house projects... ever since Andrea has started sleeping in her bed again I've been anxious to get her more girly bedding, the Elmo stuff was driving me nuts. As I looked online Andrea wanted Dora, Princess, Backyardigans, but I wanted the ladybug one. Luckily she liked that one too! It works great with her lady bug tent and actually happened to be the same colors I used for her padded seat on the toy box.

Our masther bedroom is always a work in progress and when I found these 3D flowers at Bed, Bath, & Beyond I knew they would work great. I had some red, white, and blue stars there for a long time and as you can see, did not match the decor. I love these flowers and they were a lot of fun to put up.

On a completely different note, Andrea is potty trained! She actually has been for over a month. My friend gave me a copy of "3 Day Potty Training" and it was just what Andrea needed for it all to click. But while washing 10 dirty pair of brand new underwear after only 3 hours on the first day I didn't know if I could make it, but the next day she totally got it and I'm glad I stuck to the method. She still wears pull-ups at night and during naps but I couldn't care less. She does so well all day long, even tells the nursery leaders when she needs to go and is comfortable going potty at the store, the library, in restaurants, I am so proud of her!

Easter

2011-05-16T13:34:00.000-07:00

Easter really snuck up on me this year, but that made it an easy going week. I wanted to try coloring eggs with Andrea this year and kept trying to figure out a night when we could do it with Ryan, but between him mowing lawns in the evening and me going to aerobics it just didn't work out. In all honesty, I knew Ryan wouldn't care if we did it without him, so we did it during the day.

My first plan was to just let Andrea put stickers on the egss but I couldn't believe how well she did at carefully lowering the eggs into the dye. I only boiled about 14 eggs but I wish I had more, it was a lot of fun and Andrea loved it!

When I was young the Easter Bunny always hid the egss we had dyed. I don't remember getting plastic ones filled with candy. So I thought we would have the best of both worlds and re-use the plastic eggs from last year as well as the real ones. We heard the weather was going to be bad on Easter so we decided to let Andrea hunt for Eggs on Saturday, plus it would give us more time to get ready for chuch the next day. Even this 2 year old is too smart of the Easter Bunny... while hunting she told us "thanks for the eggs guys". And after she emptied the candy from the eggs she asked where the Easter Bunny went so she could give him his candy back :)

Sunday she found her Easter basket on the island after we had let her wake up for a while. The Easter Bunny left her a bunny Mrs. Potato Head, new sandals, Minnie pajamas, peeps, a chickie that chirps, and a chocolate bunny. Only a little girl would be most excited about the shoes!

Sunday we put on our most Eastery dresses, and Ryan put on his usual boring church clothes and headed to church. In Nursery they also joined in on the Easter fun. One of the Nursery leaders had planned an Easter party. They hunted for eggs and got to eat lots of candy. When I went in to do music time Andrea was wearing the funniest bunny glasses. The best part was... she was the only little one wearing hers and she never took them off, not even on the ride home.

Grandma and Grandpa gave us all our own chocolate bunny when we joined them for Easter dinner and even Grandma LaVelle had a little basket of coins for Andrea to put in her piggy bank. What a fun Easter weekend, I know we all enjoyed it, especially Andrea.

Hello, it's Me

2011-04-08T13:33:00.000-07:00

I often get depressed when I blog hop, everyone's life seems so perfect. Then I realize that my life probably comes off the same way. Most blogs are all about holidays, birthdays, vacations, and cute babies. My friend Kristi and I were discussing this one day at lunch and I was inspired to open up a little more. I use this blog as a journal and one day hope Andrea will appreciate the few things I wrote about. But I also want her to know that our life wasn't perfect, so I'm hoping to become a little more realistic.
First confession... depression. Being a stay-at-home Mom is so difficult emotionally. I know it's just a small moment in time, and I know it's best for Andrea, and that is why I do it but it would be so much easier to send her to a day care while I get paid and get some adult interaction. It's surprising when I talk with other stay-at-home Mothers and hear how many of them are on anti-depressants. I've been there, and don't want to do that again, so I guess the result is a lot of days that leave me crying at the drop of a hat. After a year of staying home full time, these day are getting farther in between and I'm adjusting to our routine and lifestyle. I think the cause for my depression is the feeling that I am a nobody. Most days no one calls me, no one even sees me. If it weren't for facebook I would feel even more alone. While working I talked with countless co-workers and felt like the job I did was important and necessary, now all the sudden the world keeps turning without me.

Andrea and I have a great relationship, we laugh together, we clean together, we cook together, we understand each other. When I do have those "breakdown" moments she come and gives me a kiss and says "are you happy again?", what can I do but say "of course that makes Mommy happy again!" so the plus of staying at home is to have a close relationship with my daughter. I can't wait til we can go shopping together, to the movies, on vacations...

My entire life growing up I dreamed of being a stay-at-home Mom and all my friends in High School know that I wanted to be a "walking, talking, baby factory". Now that it's all come to reality my dreams have changed. I really can see the benefits of an only child and right now without insurance it really does look like the way to go. So there you have it, a little bit of our real world, as a preview to more down to earth post yet to come.

St George

2011-04-07T08:20:00.000-07:00

Last month we were able to go on a fantastic weekend getaway with some of the owners/employees of Ryan's company. Going to St George in March was such a nice break from the winter weather. We started with some hiking in Zion on Friday afternoon.

Because it was still early spring the crowds hadn't invaded and it was nice to get a parking spot and the hikes weren't crowded. It was, however, colder than we all expected up the canyon so by the third hike we were all borrowing jackets from the only prepared couple Amanda and Chuck.

The Weeping Rock, left to right: Amanda, Chuck, Socorro, Josh, Jeff, Stephanie, Me, Ryan.

The Riverside Walk

Emerald Pools

Zions Park always surprises me with it's beauty, no matter how many times I've been, and seeing it in Spring was a nice change, there was still snow in places and lots of deer on the hikes.

That night we all had a nice dinner in St. George and rested for our next day of golf. Chuck, Amanda, and myself all went to the driving range before our tee time since we hadn't golfed for quite some time. This course was beautiful and had the coolest carts I'd ever seen. Each golf cart had a digital screen telling you the info for each hole: distance, par, your cart's location, and it kept score. The course was beautiful and none of us were prepared for the sun... we were all pretty red after 6 hours.

We played golf scramble style, which is my favorite type, in groups of three. Not only did we play off the best hit out of the group, we also each got one free throw (with each hand), a roll, a kick, three man toss, and 10 sticks of liquorice that could be used to measure the distance from the ball to the hole. So with all those freebies and our great coach Josh, mine and Ryan's team won, which meant we got 2 more cents than the other team :)

This was my golden shot of the day, I got this close to the hole with my drive!

One of my favorite parts of the course were the critters. Jack rabbits were everywhere and so were squirrels who were obviously used to mooching off the golfers.

The rest of the day Saturday was on our own so Ryan and I did some souvenir shopping for Andrea, had a nice dinner, and drove around the town (I really love St. George) dreaming about having a condo of our own there some day.

Sunday on the way home we stopped in Cedar City to visit with Matt (on his birthday, Happy Birthday Matt) and Grandma and Grandpa Baumgartner.

The weekend went by far too quickly, especially since it may be the only vacation we get this year. But I can say that I took in every moment... loved the scenery, the company, the weather, and a full night's sleep with no worry about when Andrea would come in the room saying "watch Mickey".

In Training

2011-03-08T07:37:00.000-08:00

This is week 3 of potty training at our house. It's been slow but promising. It began with entertaining Andrea as long as I could while she sat on the potty. After two days of that I needed a break to catch up on housework. Andrea, however, decided to bring me the potty and go peepee without being asked :) Ever since then it's been a "no pressure" situation with her going when she asks to or me sitting with her when she is willing to camp out there for a while. So far we have had a record of 3 potty peepees in one day.

When she does go she gets a chocolate chip, and a sticker on her potty chart. After filling up the chart she gets to go get a toy. We've also bought some Dora pull-ups and have treated those as a reward. She gets to put them on after a sucessful potty visit. I don't know how to get her over the last hurdle of recognizing when to go and going everytime, but I've been patient because I don't want her to hate the potty.

On a side note, Andrea is back to sleeping in her bed. A few weeks ago she began a bad trend of getting up several times each night even when sleeping on the couch. So we figured if this isn't working we might as well start the bed fight again. It went much smoother than I had prepared myself for, after one night of me sleeping on the floor, and another of putting her right back to bed when she got up, she had a successful third night. Ever since she naps and goes to bed beautifully in her bed.

Andrea's 2nd Birthday

2011-02-10T09:17:00.000-08:00

Andrea's birthday this year was so much fun! She was old enough to understand just about everything. When we were preparing her for the big day and would ask "how old are you going to be on your birthday?" she would reply "two candles". And when we asked what she wanted for her birthday she would say cake. Until about a week before, when she said she wanted a truck, and that remained her answer for quite a while. So Ryan and I had to go buy a last minute truck so she wouldn't be dissapointed.

Anyone who knows this little girl knows what kind of theme her party would be... Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. That was definately a no-brainer! So Ryan and I found some cute stuff from Zurchers: plates, cups, a banner, and a centerpiece. I ordered balloons from Macey's and told them I wanted Mickey Mouse birthday balloons, I guess they assumed it was for a boy because most of the balloons were blue, but she didn't care!

I had been wanting to attempt a fondant cake at some point after watching so many cake shows on TV, so I thought I would attempt Mickey's head. I must say I am very proud of this cake! Having never made fondant before and having the first batch of cakes fail, it's a miracle it turned out.

Andrea liked it so much she would keep asking to say hi to Mickey in the fridge and wanted to kiss the cake. We made sure to put her back on the floor before she witnessed the knife cutting through her most beloved friend.

She was spoiled, as always, by all the people that love this little girl. She got so many fun new toys, a couple of vehicles (which she has been in need of, our little tom boy), a new spring wardrobe, and even a mother-daughter apron set.

Thank you so much for all of those who came and celebrated with us, and for those who make sure she knows she is loved from afar, we really are blessed with great friends and family! I am so excited that Andrea is two, not really sad at all, I love seeing her grow and explore the world around her.

Sleeping Beauty

2011-01-24T13:11:00.000-08:00

I realized, as I was reading over past posts, that anyone reading this blog would assume that Andrea has been sleeping in her toddler bed like a champ for months now... you would be wrong. She does sleep through the night, and falls asleep on her own, but she sleeps on the love seat in the living room :)

It all started a few months ago when she got a 7 day stomach flu and I knew she wouldn't get through the night without vomiting. So we let her sleep on the love seat and I slept on the couch so I could be there when she got sick. Well since the flu just wouldn't go away she got in a bad habit of sleeping in the front room. We tried to do the "cry it out" thing that worked so well last time, but after a week there was no progress. So Ryan and I decided to "pick our battles".

She takes a nap beautifully, and goes night night without a fuss. We just learned to turn the TV to something she isn't interested in. If we turn on Mickey or Yo Gabba Gabba she doesn't fall asleep, but if we watch one of our shows she is asleep in minutes. It's also a benefit that I have the couch available for me, when she does have a rough night. Last week she had an ear infection and sore throat so I stayed in the living room with her to get more medicine during the night.

Her bed is now used as a bench for her stuffed animals and it's also where she prefers to have her diaper changed, instead of on her changing table.

I'm hoping one day when she's older she'll get excited about a new twin bed and we can work out a reward system. But for now, we'll keep our lives simple by letting her sleep where she feels safe.

Christmas

2011-01-13T09:37:00.000-08:00

Christmas was, well, interesting for me this year. It all began Christmas Eve when I was miserable everywhere. I had such a migraine that Ryan insisted I go lay in the bedroom til I could move again. I had such a bad sinus ache that my teeth hurt, and I felt a little nauseous. I didn't know whether to take pain medication, allergy medication, or pepto bismal. I thought all three might be a little to daring. So I started with Tylenol and got rid of the migraine in time to take our traditional Christmas lights drive around town. I sat in the third row of our car (because it's easiest for me to climb back there) so Ryan's parents could join us. My sinus' were so bad I couldn't stand it, and each turn was making my stomach a little more unpredictable. But I made it home without incident and we opened all of our Christmas Eve pajamas.

Christmas morning was a little better, no sinus pain, and no headache, just a little nauseous. Andrea woke up ornery but we finally talked her into opening some presents.

After she opened her lady bug tent and we put it up she wasn't interested in opening anything else. We had to put the tent in her bedroom to get the rest of the gifts unwrapped.

Besides the tent she received, a snow suit, an outfit, some DVDs, a coloring book, a rolling tigger, and some hippo bath toys.

Ryan received some Wii games, cologne, itunes card, and the annual Bob & Tom CD.

I received a jacket, a camera, slippers, and some DVDs.

After the first round of presents at our house the stomach flu hit in full force for me before we went to Ryan's parents. Andrea received even more spoils from Grandma and Grandpa and I think by that time she was just a little too overwhelmed with everything.

It took her a couple of days to truly appreciate everything and take the time to play with each new toy. I think we'll take it easy on her birthday, which is in a few weeks, good heavens!

Even with the stomach flu it was a fun day watching Andrea understand the idea of Santa a little better! I am so happy we have her in our lives, she makes everything so much fun!

Zoo Lights

2010-12-28T10:29:00.000-08:00

I've noticed a lot of blogs with the same header lately, so I guess it's becoming more and more popular to visit the zoo during Christmas. Neither Ryan and I had ever been, neither had our friends who joined us. We decided to all take our kids to dinner (which was choatic) and then go to the zoo (which was even more choatic).

Three sets of families all making sure their kids are warm and happy can be quite the challenge. It seemed just when we all thought we were ready to get moving again another child would have some kind of trouble.

I still really enjoyed it, having never been and Andrea seemed to too. I was actually very impressed with the lights and although we expected to see more actual animails I thought it was a fun new experience. All the kids of went wild, of course, once the carousel was in sight and we just couldn't buy the tickets fast enough. Once the ride was over, the screams started again (or at least Andrea was screaming) but I guess that's all part of the memories.

We managed to get one group shot, with Andrea still crying about the carousel. It's always fun for me to spend time with my friends and get to know their kids. I hope they all enjoyed it too.

Halloween

2010-11-08T09:07:00.000-08:00

This Fall has been full of fun activities for our Family. For the first time I thought I would go check out the Pumpkin Walk at the Benson Grist Mill. Ryan was sick that day so I was grateful that my friend Kristi was interested in joining Andrea and I. There were a lot of cute booths, one including a photo opportunity by Sundloff Photography, who did Andrea's newborn photos. Here is her cute picture with the pumpkins:

We tried to grow our own pumpkins this year and had no luck. We've done it before, so we'll try again next year I guess. Instead we decided to go to a local pumpkin patch that is right by our house to get some pumpkins. We happened to go on the last day they were open, they had run out of good pumpkins, which meant each pumpkin was only $2. We never even got to carve them between Andrea's 7 day stomach flu and Ryan being out of town we just never got the chance, so I packed the candles and carving kits for next year. Andrea still enjoyed the pumpkin patch and watching the dog who would run along next to the tractor.

Our ward's Trunk or Treat was on Tuesday before Halloween. I wanted Andrea to participate since I didn't know how much actual trick or treating she would do this year. I was hoping that she was over her stomach flu by then and it had been over 24 hours since her last episode so I figured we were safe. Ryan couldn't join us because it was his turn with the flu so I thought I would give it a go alone. I made sure our candy bucket was always full and took her around to the different trunks. Our trunk won the "Brightest", we had a light up strand of garland as well as a plug in Jack O Lantern to accompany our trick or treat figurines. Andrea seemed to really enjoy the evening and I'm thankful for the ward members who helped me with my single parent struggles!

Now for actual Halloween, geez I'm already exhausted... Andrea was a Monkey as you may have already noticed. I found the costume on sale and I figure I might as well get a bargain before she starts deciding what her costume is going to be. I added the bows since she didn't look much like a girl without them.

Our friends Opee and Tara invited us over for some homemade stew (which was delicious) before we all took the kids trick or treating on Main Street. Once we arrived on Main and saw what a mess it was we changed our minds. Not only was it raining but there were just too many people for it to be enjoyable. So we stayed long enough to meet up with my brother's family and take a photo and then we left. My neice Brigitta dressed as Fufa from Yo Gabba Gabba and her brother Roland was was Plex the Robot to match. My sister-in-law always impresses me with her sewing ability!

One last picture with Opee and Tara's children, Spencer the dragon and Abbie the princess. Andrea was over the idea of being a Monkey by this point! Ryan and Opee have decided that sometimes as parents Halloween just seems like too much of a hassle so they removed the "Happy" leaving you with... "Halloween Everyone!"

A Smaller To-do List

2010-10-13T15:17:00.000-07:00

If you are familiar with our blog, you should know that there is always a project going on at the Lee home. This past week we finally finished a project from February. Ryan wanted to make Andrea a toy box for Andrea's 1st birthday and the deadline came a little close. We still gave it to her, but knew we would have to finish it later. You can see it here, unfinished on the right.

So Ryan painted it white, and lined the inside with cedar. He also found a toy box hinge which causes the lid to hold in place no matter how far it's opened, so Andrea can't slam her fingers. We found some material we like for the padded seat and based the colors off of that. We painted the spindles and then it was my job to do some painting on the outside.

I'm not too pleased with the result, but it will have to do. Maybe some more grass along the bottom...

Andrea seems to really love it though, she isn't quite tall enough to get on it herself yet, but it does hold a lot of toys which is it's main purpose.

Now for a little Halloween fun. We have two little trick-or-treater figurines in our house and for some reason Andrea thinks that the little bags they carry are gloves.

So here she is trying to use these gloves to their full potential.

Lagoon

2010-10-03T17:00:00.000-07:00

Every year Ryan's Dad gets invited to Lagoon for a company day, and they never go. This year I wanted to see how Andrea enjoyed it and talked everyone into going. There really was no discount but the company provided lunch and games for the kids. I was dissapointed that there weren't more rides that Andrea would enjoy and that we could ride with her. The small rides wouldn't allow parents on, and the others were too wild. So she did ride the Carousel with Daddy, Puff with Mommy, and the train with both of us. Other than that, there wasn't much choice.

The company pavilion was fun though, we had Andrea "fish" for a free toy. Try to get the flying frogs into the bucket and toss the ring on the flamingos. We also gave Bingo a shot, but didn't win anything. I can't wait to take Andrea when she is older. Since Ryan is too wimpy to go on any fun rides I hope Andrea will be a bit more daring.

Boating

2010-10-03T16:45:00.000-07:00

We finally got a few boating trips in this year. Our first trip with friends was mid-August and we took Kristi and her friend Mark along. Kristi was the first one to try tubing and then I went next, neither of us found it very enjoyable because we were getting splashed so much we couldn't even open our eyes. Mark went next and decided to try it on his stomach, apparently that was the secret. I gave it another shot and loved it, although I couldn't lift my arms for a week.

After the first rough ride with our old tube we decided to spend some of our boating budget on a new one. And were excited to give it a run so we ignored the high winds forcast, and invited Kristi, John, and Ben. Well the wind was horrible, we could hardly drive the boat over the waves, so we took a long drive to Willard for nothing. It still turned into a nice evening with friends though. We played some poker and roulette at Kristi's house while eating the food we packed for the trip.

Because the tempurature still hadn't dropped by September we were lucky enough to try one last time. We invited Kristi (our faithful boating buddy) and had a great time. The new tube was such an improvement and Ryan even trusted me enough with driving the boat long enough for him to try the new tube. It was such a beautiful day on the lake and such a nice way to end the summer!

Big Girl Bed

2010-08-26T10:10:00.000-07:00

About a month ago I put Andrea in her crib for her usual noon nap, and after 20 minutes of play time, I gave up. When I opened the door to get her I saw this:

Talk about panic! I went right to work converting her crib into a toddler bed. She loved helping me do it and seemed thrilled with the final product:

But of course I couldn't get her to stay in it for her nap. So I let her fall asleep on me in the living room and carried her in for her nap. While she was sleeping I did some online reading about the best ways to make the transition easy for her. Most articles I read said, "don't jump to conclusions. Just because your toddler has figured out how to climb out of the crib, doesn't necessarily mean they are ready for a toddler bed. So I thought, "well she does have one more notch to lower the mattress. Maybe I'll try that". So I went to work converting it back to a crib.

The next day during nap time I watched through the door as she climbed out of her crib like a pro, walked to the door, opened it, and greeted me with "Hi Mama". Uggh! So here we go again converting the crib back into a toddler bed. Now it was just a matter of safety, I didn't want her climbing out while she was half asleep during the night.

The first night I let her fall asleep on me and then carried her to bed. She woke up around midnight wandering the hall crying, "Mama Mama" which broke my heart. My sister-in-law suggested putting a baby gate at her door so she would still be safe, what a great idea! She didn't feel quite so trapped as she would with a shut door. So every night I would lay her in bed and as soon as I shut the door, she would quietly climb out, grab her pillow, open the door and fall asleep next to the gate. When I would try to move her to her bed, she would wake up in a panic and the fight would start again. I quickly learned to just let her sleep on the floor. Time for the next idea...

I figured maybe if I bought some "fun" sheets that would attract her to sleeping in bed. I am not a big fan of any clothes or toys that are "commercialized" I tend to stay away from the Princess, Pooh, or Dora type of stuff. I found an Elmo set, which is a little easier for me to accept and she does love Elmo. So that night when we put them on I made a big deal about her fun new Elmo bed and even made Daddy come in to talk about how great her new sheets were. She seemed thrilled! As I was making the bed it finally occured to me.... "I bet if I move her pillow so she can see the door she just might feel okay about me leaving. I know, I know, wishful thinking... but I think it helped. She always let me lay her in bed but still spent most nights on the floor. Until this week. I am happy to report that the past 3 nights she has spent the majority, if not all the night in her bed! Wonders of wonders, miracles, miracles! It's amazing how such a thing could bring me so much happiness, but after all my work and concern I am proud to say my toddler sleeps in a toddler bed!

Girl's Day Out

2010-08-15T14:51:00.000-07:00

I am so lucky to have friends that will give me a break from being "Momom" and remember that I can have adult conversations too. Our last girl's date was during the fall so I was excited to enjoy the summer weather this time. Tara, Kristi, and I decided to go to Park City for shopping, eating, and lots of laughing.

We walked historic downtown and popped in the occasion shop. One of our favorites was a store selling all kinds of olive oil varieties. I would have bought a bottle, but I wasn't quite sure how quickly I would find uses for it, other than just dipping bread in it, which is always tasty! They had everything from blood orange to chocolate, yummy. I asked them both if they wouldn't mind riding the ski lift on Main Street that I had seen before but could never talk Ryan into. Kristi was excited and Tara was a good sport since she has a little problem with heights. It was a beautiful ride through the trees and we had a great view of Park City on the way down.

Next we headed to the outlets where it seemed I was the only one spending any money! I bought Ryan and I both a watch (how could I not? They were 1/2 off). Andrea some PJs, and a shirt. At least the girls bought a drink at Mrs. Fields and Kristi treated us to some bite size delights. What a great day with great girls! Time to start planning our next trip!

Summertime and the Living is Easy

2010-07-16T11:25:00.000-07:00

I have really enjoyed this summer so far. Now that Andrea is old enough to enjoy more activities I want her to experience everything. First off, the boat. Ryan's Dad has given us his boat, which has made Ryan so happy. I can't tell you how many hours he has spent fixing it up and cleaning it. Ryan has loved every minute, although I am growing a little tired of it, I just want to go play. Last month we took it for a test run and it was a good thing we didn't invite friends yet. It ran for 10 minutes and wouldn't run again. Long story short, Ryan has fixed it and another test run is in the works. Andrea loved the boat! She loved standing in the seat and acted as though she was queen of the water! I couldn't get her to sit down, she wanted to see everything! So once we get the boat running great I know she will definately want another trip!When her and I are just spending our days at home she has really enjoyed her little pool, and I mean little! It's just right for her size though, and she refuses to sit in it anyway. She still loves to stand it in and splash or she loves to go get leaves and branches and make a pool/leaf stew. I thought maybe if I put Bracken in it with her she would get the idea that it's okay to sit, but no luck! At least he loved it!

We've already taken 2 trips to the zoo. One with just us, and one with Grandma and Grandpa. The photos of Ryan and I are unaccessable at the moment, sorry. But here is one of her with Grandma and Grandpa. It was so cold when we first got there (even though it was July) we had to get her a sweatsuit from the gift shop. But I think Grandma and Grandpa always love the idea of getting her whatever she needs, and we all appreciate it! It's so much fun now to hear her say "Mumpy" (Monkey) or "Burry" (birdie) when she sees the animals.

Every year I like to do a hot dog roast up the canyon with friends and this year I was excited to let Andrea join in on the fun. We got her own camping chair and she loved her first hot dog, I didn't realize she had never had one before. I dressed her in grubby clothes so she could get as dirty as her little heart desired. Needless-to-say, she took full advantage!

Our last excursion so far this summer was swimming at Deseret Peak with Amy, Roland, and Brigitta. I'm sad I didn't get a picture of all of us. I was surprised when Andrea kept wanting to walk further and further into the water. She would get so frustrated when I would bring her back, so I thought I would see what happened and she got even more upset when she started swallowing water, what can you do?

As you can tell I'm just loving life and that may be why I don't post as often as I should. But I hope you all enjoyed this summer recap.

4th of July

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

Well another year of watching the parade at my parents house. I have really loved the tradition ever since they moved the parade route. We always invite Ryan's parents as well, so it's a great family moment. This year because Andrea enjoyed it a little more, and didn't fall asleep, I decided to sit on the curb instead of enjoying the shade on the porch with the adults. Although Andrea has thinned out enough she probably could have worn her shirt from last year, having a new 4th of July outfit is always fun (Ryan calls her my live Barbie). Here is a picture with Daddy last year...
And this year...

It's so fun to see how she's grown. She loves her new flag! Although her word for it sounds more like a prejudice remark (just drop the l). Even Amy and the kids were able to join us this year and I thought it was sweet that Brigitta wanted to sit with us girls. Brigitta was so cute about making sure Andrea got the candy that landed closest to her, but you'll notice there is some pieces still in the gutter.... Brigitta said that was no one's candy because no one is sitting there :) Plus, she made sure that all of our necklaces matched each of our outfits best.

Although Andrea did stay awake this time, she was pretty worn out by the end. We were going to head to the park for the activities but she just didn't make it! That night we did some low budget fireworks and although she enjoyed them, they just weren't too spectacular. Each year gets more and more fun and I can't wait until she loves the holiday as much as Ryan and I do.

Moab

2010-06-16T20:36:00.000-07:00

Ryan and I always try to plan one "big" vacation a year but this year our budget just wasn't up for it. So we were trying to think of somewhere local and realized we had done most of them... Jackson Hole, Park City, Yellowstone, St. George. Then one day when Ryan and I were discussing our "Bucket Lists" he said, "I've never been to the central eastern part of Utah, I would like to do that sometime". Well, duh! Let's do it now! So we planned our trip to Moab.

The first day we spent in the town of Moab shopping and eating then played in the hotel pool and hot tub. The next day we headed out for Arches National Park as soon as possible because the forcast called for rain in the afternoon. Since neither of us have been, we were really excited. Once I saw the first impressive figures of rock I thought, "this should have been on my bucket list!" I couldn't believe the size and beauty of the rock! The first stop we made was a small hike to Double Arch. Then we head to the most famous Delicate Arch. We thought since it was our first time there we better do the hike leading right to it. About half way up I regretted that decision. I couldn't imagine what it would have been like 3 years ago when I was in worse shape! I felt really bad about myself when we passed a couple that looked about 80 yrs old on our way down, good for them, geesh! Yes, I'm pretty red faced, I know, I know!

After our longer-than-expected hike we were starving, but managed to survive on a few granola bars so we could drive through the rest of the park. We decided to save the longest hike with the most arches for our next time down, and I think there will definately be a next time! The park was awesome and I just loved it!

Our next destination was "Hole N' the Rock". There are advertisements everywhere in Moab for it, and I thought it sounded interesting. Ryan made fun of me all day for wanting to go, and when we pulled up it was definately your stereotypical tourist spot... junk everywhere. But I think Ryan enjoyed it once we went on the tour. For those of you who don't know, it is a 5,000 square foot home built inside the rock. Originally a diner ran by the owners, but eventually expanded and is where they lived until they died. Sorry we couldn't take pictures inside, so I guess you will all have to go see for yourselves!

Earlier this year Ryan and I purchased some bicycles with part of our tax return money. We thought that Moab would be a good place for them and hauled them with us. We found a great biking/walking path right through town and spent the evening riding it.

There were a lot of mulberry trees on the path and I loved riding through the fallen berries. I realized I should have thought that through when we were loading the bikes back in the Acura!

Even though we didn't spend too much time in Moab, Ryan still took some days off work to get his "honey-do" items done and spend some time with the family. So one of those days we thought we would give Wheeler Farm a try. We weren't too pleased... Andrea loves animals so were were hoping to see more. She was excited about the few she saw so I guess we'll have to visit the State Fair this year. To make up for our dissappointing farm visit we bought her a bubble lawn mower and a swimming pool. Which means... more posts to come!

Sweet Child of Mine

2010-05-28T13:30:00.000-07:00

I posted three times in April and haven't yet in May, so I thought I better hurry and squeeze one in. I've been meaning to post about our new bikes, but haven't been able to take pictures yet. So I'm sorry Sandy, you may get to see them in person next month before I get them on the blog. Instead I will post on my favorite subject in the world, Andrea.

This dress was made by her Aunt Amy, I know, I'm jealous of her talent too!

Andrea's mind just blows me away. She is so smart! I can't believe she is only 16 months and knows so much. Even the doctor last month told me that we have a genius, I simply replied, "I knew it". Here is a picture after said doctor's visit, this was the first time I grabbed one of the free dum dums to cheer her up after shots. I guess it was too much excitement for her and she was out by the time we got home.
She has really thinned out now that she is running. Her weight is now in the 75th percentile, instead of in the 90s like usual. I actually pulled out her summer clothes from last year to use again. This is the first time since she was 3 months old, that her clothes size matches her age. Here is a picture of her wearing the same outfit last year and now. The funny thing is that the capri's are actually capri's now, instead of pants. I love seeing her in the same cute outfits.

She sure loves playing with Bracken, and thinks she is a big helper. One day while we were all playing her her room, I had Bracken in the Bumbo and apparently Andrea thought he could use some shoes. So she tried to put some of hers on his feet. I couldn't grab the camera fast enough, and she wouldn't do it again, but you get the idea.

And when she isn't trying to help him out, they are getting better at just playing together. Here is Andrea dancing and Bracken just doing his thing.

Although staying home is emotionally trying, I wouldn't trade these years with my little girl for the world! Everyday she amazes me! She is such a loving little girl and we have such a close bond. She understands everything I say and although she often shakes her head "no" when I ask for a kiss, it makes the unexpected ones that much better!

A Poor Man's Getaway

2010-04-22T12:54:00.000-07:00

My friend Kristi just turned 30, sorry Kristi, now the world knows. She invited myself and our friend Tara for a girls weekend in Vegas to celebrate/mourn. Although we desperately wanted to go, we just couldn't, for various reasons. So we put our heads together and started thinking of some other ways that we could show Kristi a good time. We decided Wendover would be a fun idea, and decided to bring the hubby's along.

So we headed out Friday night after work and started with a lovely dinner at the "Over the Rainbow" restaurant then some gambling at the Rainbow, where we were staying.
Opee was so excited about his players card he thought he would try it everywhere.Then we took the shuttle to the nugget, where our luck changed (at least for one of us).

Kristi and I were playing some slots next to each other and were both relatively excited when she won 10,000 credits. We both thought $10 was a pretty good win. Luckily, Ryan came along and helped us out with the math, it was actually $100 dollars she had won. I guess we should have been much more excited, but we made up for it when the ticket printed.Don't let Tara fool you, I think that ticket only says $5.00

Of course the most fun came when we headed back to one of the rooms to just play some games with our friends. It was a lot of fun memories and a lot of "one-liners" that none of us will forget. I know it was Kristi's party, but we all loved getting away. I just love that I have such great friends that make life wonderful, and such great in-laws that love tending Andrea so Ryan and I can do this. Happy Birthday Kristi!

My Side of the Family

2010-04-14T13:28:00.001-07:00

Technically, time wise, this post should go before the Easter one, but I guess you will all just have to pretend. My brother Ryan came down for a visit over spring break and I thought this would be a good chance to get some family pictures like we had with the Lees. So I asked my friend Kristi, again, if she would do the honors. Her and I were both worried about the amount of daylight since everyone's schedules didn't allow the photo shoot to begin until 6:00. So she suggested asking our friend/ex-coworker Emily to help out since she is also quite the photographer.
It seemed like everything went wrong that day... we had planned to do the pictures outside at a farm in Grantsville, but the wind was blowing so hard we weren't sure if it was going to work. Then a fire on I-80 (yes, that was the day) shut down the two main highways to Tooele. So both my brother Brent and my brother Eric (and family) were stuck in the mess. I thought for sure we would have to cancel, and I felt like crying because of the luck we were having. But just as I waved my white flag, the highway opened back up and everyone arrived just on time.

We were all still worried about the wind as we drove to the farm but I figured we would give it a shot before moving the photos indoors. Although it was a little chilly, the trees blocked the wind enough that the night was a success! I'm so happy that it was all able to work out and I'm so glad that I have such great friends who are willing to provide such great memories! I hope you both know how much it means to me and my family! So here they are, the photos that took a few years off my life, there are quite a few, but what can I say... it's a big family.

Here are my siblings:

My oldest brother Brent and his wife Becky:

My next oldest brother Ryan and his wife Melissa, daughter Sydney, and sons Andy and Taylor:

My brother Eric and his wife Amy, daughter Brigitta, and son Roland:

You all know our little family:

And all of the grandkids:

Hippity-Hoppity

2010-04-12T10:26:00.000-07:00

I was so excited for Easter this year because I knew Andrea would be old enough to understand it. Last Easter was her blessing day, and that will always be special, but now each year will be more fun than the last.

I ordered her Easter basket last year after the holiday, so I got a good deal, but it doesn't hold much. We may have to upgrade in a year or two. The Easter bunny left her a farm sounds puzzle, an outfit, a talking egg, a mooing/pooping cow, and a light up ducky. He placed them in her chair so she would know that it was all for her. It took no time at all for her to realize that there was something new and exciting in the room.Grandma and Grandpa Lee had planned a fun easter egg hunt for all of the grandchildren, but the weather just didn't cooperate! Although it was a nice day, there was still snow on the ground, so the hunt was moved indoors. Grandma entertained the kids downstairs while the parents hid the goodies (well, Matt and I did most of the hiding because Ryan and Sara were feeling a little under the weather).

Each child was given their own theme for their eggs: Peyton's were sports, Meryn's were flowers and butterflies, and Andrea's were animals. They were told to only pick up their own and they all did pretty well, Andrea did get a few of Meryn's but I re-hid them when she wasn't looking. They each also got their own bubbles, pez, pin-wheel, and kite. Yes, Grandma and Grandpa really went all out, and the kids loved it!

Here is some video of what it's like to get a 14-month old to hunt for eggs.

I just love Meryn's face in this one, like she's jealous of Peyton's goodies. So I think it was a wonderful Easter, the kids definately enjoyed themselves, and that's what it's all about. I'm so lucky to have my little cutie this year and to have such wonderful family to spend the holidays with!

The Newlywed Game

2010-03-03T13:30:00.000-08:00

Six years ago, when Ryan and I were actually newlyweds, we invited a few couples over to our small 100 year old rental house for a round of the Newlywed Game. Sadly, the couple who wasn't even engaged (yet) won, while another engaged couple (Opee and Tara) I thought would break it off after that night. Ever since I've been itching to play again. So last weekend I invited some of the same couples back, while inviting an old friend and his wife to join in the fun. Ryan and I had been studying for months, which I think was our downfall.

I asked my friend Kristi to host so that Ryan and I could participate fairly. She did a great job and had some great questions! Thanks Kristi for always being part of the fun, it wouldn't be a party without you!

I also invited James and Jackee, who won. Which means they won Hershey's Bliss chocolates. Those two made me sick :)Here is Opee and Tara who came in second, a big improvement over last time! They won a Symphony bar, because even though they are a little out of tune, they are still in harmony.Ryan and I took third, which meant we got the Nerds, the only candy I didn't want.
Burton and Lisa ended up in last place, the duds, winning the Milk Duds. They were so cute and funny, it was great!

So all in all, it was a great night! I love getting together with friends and having a good laugh! Thanks everyone for playing! We'll see you in a few years because I definately want a rematch!

I'm a Big Girl Now

2010-02-08T15:21:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone, my name is Andrea and I am now one year old! I can't believe how exciting this first year has been and I love being a big girl!
I can now say:

"Ruff Ruff" (eh eh)

"Dada" (yaya)

"Mama"

"Moo"

"Hi"

I can:

Walk about 10 steps unattended

Wave bye bye

Clap my hands

Dance

I understand:
"Will you turn the light on/off for me?"

"Where's the doggy?"

"Where's Dada?"

"Find your juice"

"Find your bink"

I have six teeth, I sleep through the night, and love to torment the dog (who lets me do pretty much anything to her). My mommy and I are best friends, and we love to play and laugh together. My favorite foods are yogurt melts, bananas, and anything someone else is eating!

Although Andrea's official Birthday is the 9th we celebrated early on the 5th. It was so much fun to have friends and family come over to support her. As you can see she was SMOTHERED with gifts which included lots of fun toys, a car, towels, bath toys, adorable clothes, and a toy box made by Daddy (on the far right) that just needs painted.

I decided to get some tools for cake decorating since I figured Andrea should have some more exciting cakes than Ryan and I usually make. And although I am pleased with how it turned out, it seemed a little amateur after watching cake decorating shows all the time on TLC. Also, please ignore the backwards candle. Ryan and I didn't even noticed until we looked at the pictures.
I think Andrea loved being sung to, and even though we had tried to practice blowing, she was way too distracted to realize this was the moment we had been practicing for.

Of course Andrea got to dig into her own piece of cake and seemed to enjoy it, or at least enjoyed sharing with Daddy (which I have a video of but gave up loading after 4 attempts). We didn't allow her too much since she was just getting over a stomach bug and I didn't want to suffer through that again.
It's so tough to believe that a year has gone by, but at the same time I love seeing her grow up! She is so full of personality and wants to explore anything new. I love having family near by to share these occasions with as well as my friends who have been like family. It just wouldn't be the same without them (you know who you are). Thank you everyone for the gifts, and especially the love you have shown for this sweet little girl.

Our Newest Addition

2010-01-13T13:25:00.000-08:00

I figured I would start off this post with a picture of Andrea's newest trick. She now loves to "smile" whenever a camera, or even cell phone, is pointed in her direction. So here is a picture of her all ready for church "smiling" for the camera. (And yes, that is a Tessy blurr passing by).
Next- Last Monday when Ryan said, "I really don't have much to do at work this week" I thought, "Maybe I could talk him into taking a day off". I really should ignore it when he says things like that! But he was able to come home "early" on Friday so we ran some errands in Salt Lake and I talked him into going to the Discovery museum at the Gateway. After taking a tour of it 2 years ago I knew I wanted to bring Andrea some day. However, Ryan and I soon realized she is still too young to fully enjoy the experience. So we didn't stay long but Andrea always likes watching kids play. Here she is driving one of the cars.

And this is Daddy helping her load balls into the beehive.So although it seemed to be a waste of money, at least we can look forward to going back one day.

Now for the title of this post, we have a new addition to our household...

Meet Bracken:

I was contacted by a co-worker about a month ago for advice as far as daycare once his wife went back to work. I was immediately excited about offering myself as an option. Bracken's mommy is only working two days a week and some of those days will be Saturdays when his Daddy will be home. So that meant a babysitter would only be needed roughly 6 days a month.

Ever since I decided to stay home full time again I had been praying for a way to keep our "fun" money available. This would be perfect! Besides that, I know how important it is as parents to find a babysitter that you feel comfortable with and allows you to relax while working. Brett and Dy seemed to like the idea as well.

So Monday was my first day with the little guy. The first hour was a little hectic when I had to soothe Bracken while I prepared his bottle, and Andrea was not happy seeing me hold another baby! But after both sweeties were fed and diapers were changed the day couldn't have gone better. Most of the day when Andrea was awake Bracken was asleep, and when Andrea was asleep I was able to give Bracken some one on one time. At one point they were both asleep and I didn't know what to do with myself!Andrea was so cute when he first arrived and wanted to keep holding his hand as you could see in the first picture. Then once I put him in Andrea's rocker she wanted to show him how it was done. By the end of the day when Brett came to pick up Bracken Andrea had really become attached and tried to get his car seat straps undone. I think it will be a lot of fun seeing these two interact!

Merry Christmas to all...

2009-12-29T20:07:00.000-08:00

This year's Christmas was so much fun with Andrea around and I can't wait for each Christmas as she grows! At least she is at an age where she can still get excited even if she doesn't understand all that is going on. We still waited to put our presents under the tree until Christmas eve, simply because we were worried she would open any present she found. It was fun playing Santa though, since we usually just throw presents under the tree as soon as they are wrapped. Christmas Eve also included our traditional PJs, which Ryan and I have always done anyway.

Christmas morning we started a fire and began opening the gifts. Andrea's stocking was full of baby treats and some new binkys while Ryan's had the traditional chocolate orange and Bob & Tom CD as well as other goodies and Jazz tickets. My stocking was stuffed with goodies that I probably shouldn't eat, and some pearl earrings from my favorite jewelry store, Shane Co. Let's not forget Tessy who, even though the Dr. told us not to, got her own special treat from Santa in her stocking.

Andrea really never got the hang of unwrapping the gifts, which shocked us all, but she was sure excited once the gift was open. She received some necessities, as well as a book, a bath toy, and a music table from Santa. Ryan spoiled me, as usual, with a DVD player for upstairs, a vest, levis, and DVDs. He received a new GPS, CDs, a Wii game, and a indoor/outdoor temperature gage thingy.

My favorite part about Christmas is that we live in the same city as both parents so it becomes a full day of celebrating. The Lees were so excited to spoil their newest grandchild and Andrea received a riding princess car as well as a rocking pony that sings and talks. She has got the rocking pony down pretty well these days and I know that in no time she will have fun driving that car around! Ryan and I were also spoiled, getting a lot of things which Linda considered "boring" but were very very much appreciated!

We discovered as we unwrapped the gifts at my parents that they had been very busy! Andrea received an adorable bank styled like an old money truck made by Grandpa Jim that was even personalized, it is being proudly displayed on the shelf in her room and will be filled in no time. Ryan and I received a beautiful Afghan which must have taken my mom more hours than I would ever have patience for. I've already used it and it definitely fulfills it's purpose.
Here are a few pictures of Andrea and her cousins, Brigitta and Roland. It's always fun to see them interact!

So as you can see this was a wonderful Christmas for us, and I think Andrea would agree that her first one was definitely memorable!

Ho Ho Ho

2009-12-17T20:52:00.000-08:00

Well it was that time I'd been waiting for all season long. Time for Andrea to meet Santa! Each year the Army Depot holds a meet and greet with Santa that includes a lot of great giveaways. I had heard other employees talk about taking their kids or grandkids in the past so I was excited to go this year. I was a little worried about Andrea's reaction, but she did very well. She seemed very interested in Santa and Mrs. Clause (what is her first name anyway?) and was in no hurry to come back to Mama. With the weather being unpredictable lately I was worried that Ryan may not be able to come with us and miss out on her first Santa visit. But luckily the snow stayed away ,and he was there. I wanted to take a picture to prove that Daddy always likes to be a part of things. Not only did Andrea get the creepy stuffed Santa you see in the photo, she also received a bag full of toys and goodies. Plus Ryan and I grabbed some cookies before we left. So I would say it was a pretty successful milestone!

On another note, I've decided to quit my job (again). I finally decided that I have been selfish in my desire to work. Home is where I need to be. I really do love my job and co-workers, but things at the credit union will be changing anyway, so I figured it was a good time to break away. In a way I feel like I am giving up my last bit of independence, but I guess that is what motherhood is all about. However, I am looking forward to getting a set schedule going with Andrea and I think after a while I'll get used to this staying at home full time thing.

Halloween

2009-11-01T07:42:00.000-08:00

Here are the photos that many of you have been asking for. I started sewing Andrea's Halloween costume the beginning of September and finished last week. The pattern wasn't too tough, but me being the picky person I am wanted to make it tri-colored, like a beagle would be. It was tough to figure out what colors were going to line up when I sewed them together. I am very pleased with how it turned out and maybe by next year I will have forgotten how time consuming it was.

Isn't she the cutest beagle ever! (No offense Tessy)

This was the closest I could get Tessy to come for a picture together.

Last Wednesday Ryan headed to Louiseville Kentucky for a landscape expo with his boss. I wasn't too thrilled about him not getting home until Halloween night but I guess I can't choose when the expo would be scheduled. While he was gone my days were filled up pretty quickly which is always good to pass the time.

Friday I took Andrea into the credit union to visit all of the departments. Another exciting year of creative themes! There were dead golfers, the H1N1 virus, Santa and elves, M&Ms, and more! My department dressed as Yankee fans, but since I normally don't work on Fridays it didn't matter much to me what they chose. I did go in for a few hours to work so one of them brought me a Yankee T-shirt. Andrea was distracted enough by the costumes that she didn't even mess with her doggy hood, any other time and she yanks it right off.

Friday night Kristi, Tara, and I decided it had been too long since our trip to Denver and it was time for some girl time. Linda and Gary actually suggested the idea and are always willing to give me a break. So we headed to Gardner village for some fun fall activities. We did a witch scavenger hunt with a reward of a chocolate chip cookie at the bakery for 25 cents (normally 90 cents, wahoo). We decided to get tickets for the "Witch-a-palooza" dinner show that night, I'm so glad we did because it was getting COLD outside! Now those of you who know me, know that I've seen a lot of plays, and been in quite a few too. I can honestly say that this was probably the funnest show I'd been to. My expectations were low, and maybe that helped, but I was blown away by the talent! Plus they involved the audience so much, we were all clapping and singing (well, except the young couple at our table who seemed "too cool" for that sort of thing). I would definately attend this show again! The food was good, the atmosphere was fun, the company was great, and the cast was adorable! So, to say the least, our girls night didn't dissapoint and we all agreed we need to get together again soon.

I think Kristi was in the middle of saying "Witchapalooza" when the picture was taken.

Once Halloween arrived it was time to take Andrea around to the family. I headed to my parents first, Ryan still hadn't landed. I always love seeing Eric and Amy's family costumes. This year they were "Little Red 'Hiding' Hood" (Brigitta), the woodsman (Roland), The Big Bad Wolf (Eric), and the Grandma (Amy). Amy chose not to wear her costume two nights in a row, which I don't blame her, but I think Eric always likes dressing up. Amy sewed all of the costumes and she does such a beautiful job!

Once Ryan landed he came to my parents to eat quickly before we went to pick up his parent's and head to his grandmas. Andrea got fun suprises from all of the family, we'll so did Ryan and I. It's good to have Ryan home and I really appreciate my family who helped while he was gone. Linda and Gary always made sure I had been fed and I know they are always there when I need them!

The House of Sorrow

2009-10-09T11:07:00.000-07:00

Last Friday Ryan and I thought it would be fun to let Andrea try Grandma and Grandpa's hot tub. We turned the temperature down to a reasonable temp for a baby, put her in her floaty swim suit from Aunt Sandy, and hopped in. We were suprised that she didn't have much of a reaction at all. She didn't love it, didn't hate it. She acted real listless and sleepy. Afterwards I noticed she felt quite warm and her cheekies were a little red. When we got home and took her temperature it read 99.9. I thought this was due to the hot tub and gave her a luke warm bath and Tylenol hoping that would help. In the middle of the night during a fussy spell I took her temp again and it was 101.4. After a while of snuggling up against me my chest was covered in drool... "teething" was my first thought. After another day of fussiness and Saturday night a temperature of 101.7 I was worried! We headed to the doctor Sunday as soon as they opened and found out our little one had strep throat. The doctor said it's unusual for any child under 2. I'm sure it was so frustrating for her not to be able to tell us what's wrong, just the fact that our little girl was out of sorts should have been enough of a clue. During this fun weekend of sickness the dog had peed in the kitchen and Ryan said it was mostly blood. We called the vet Saturday but they had no openings until Monday. We figured it was just a bladder infection and some antibiotics would do the trick. Monday afternoon I got ready for yet another doctor trip, this time dropping off our sick Andrea, well-druged, at the in-laws while I took our other babe to the doctor. As the vet, who graduated with Ryan and I (makes me feel old that someone our age has been through that much schooling), felt around you could literally hear rocks clinking in Tessy's tummy. She explained that those were bladder stones and that surgery was needed. After seeing the x-ray for myself, my heart broke. This poor dog had grape-sized rocks in her bladder that had been forming for years. So on Wednesday Tess went in for surgery and came home that evening. Her initial recovery was scary! She had the shakes, wouldn't open her eyes, and seemed ill-tempered. After an hour or two of rest she popped right up seeming her old self again. Grandpa Gary was kind enough to babysit our patient on Thursday morning while I headed off to work. Today it's my turn, and she is doing quite well. She wants to do more than she should and I'm trying my best to stop her from licking her wounds so we don't have to use the lampshade collar. We actually had to use the baby gate already, not for Andrea, but to keep the dog from going down the stairs.

Andrea is doing so much better, now she is just frustrated that she can't crawl or walk. It's been a stressful week but I am so grateful for my mom who can babysit Andrea while I work and give her the medication she needs, instead of dealing with a daycare that wouldn't give her the love a Grandma would. My in-laws are also such a huge help always begging to take Andrea or the dog off our hands to give us a break. Although we have so many helping hands I'm glad that as the mother I can have most days home to create some stability for my baby and some comfort for the dog.

We are Family

2009-09-21T09:01:00.000-07:00

It's finally time to catch up on my blogging. I tell ya... that Farm Town on Facebook really is a time eater!

More Family Pictures
First, family pictures. We've been meaning to take a big family shot of the Lee clan for a while now. Last month the timing and weather was just right to do it. Of course I asked my "go-to" photographer Sheri, but she had a last minute trip that changed her plans. She and I agreed that Kristi could do a fabulous job, if she was willing. After a little coaxing she agreed. We still used Sheri's farm while she was away and I think they turned out beautifully! Thank you so much Kristi, you don't realize how thrilled we all are with the photos and they will be displayed proudly! I think you'll agree that they are adorable, here is a sample, a large sample, but there are about 20 that I love!

Living Room
A lot of our summer was dedicated to remodeling Ryan's parents living room. We had been promising to help out with this project for a few years, so it felt good to get it done. It really was a family affair (I apologize for those who don't know the family ties of the following names)... Gary dad did most of the tear down of old paneling and patching of walls. Sandy and Fernlee made a special visit to help refinish the ceiling and get the project going. Rick helped install a window and Tyler helped texter the ceiling and walls. Then it was up to the Lee's to finish. Linda was always willing to babysit so I could lend a hand and that helped more than she realizes. They really were very patient in letting Ryan and I work on it when we could. Linda said she was hoping it would be done before school started and I think I was touching up the paint Sunday night before she started school on Monday, talk about cutting it close! I think it really turned out nice with the two tones. New carpet and furniture helped to finish it off. Now we just need to get the family pictures framed and up on the walls.

Linda may not appreciate me posting this one but I thought Gary playing on the floor with Andrea was cute.

Park City

This year for our 6th anniversary I told Ryan that the only present I wanted was a full night's sleep. So the in-laws were gracious enough to have a sleep over with Andrea, which they seemed to really enjoy. We chose to spend just one night in Park City, those church callings really cut into the weekend! You may remember that last year we chose the same destination, but I had the worst cold I had ever experienced and being pregnant I couldn't take much for it. So most of our time was spent in the condo watching movies, making hot cocoa for my throat, and trying to sleep. The sleep was interrupted by two fire alarms going off in the night and the fire truck lights flashing in the window. This year we thought we would give it another shot and I enjoyed every minute of it. My wish for a full night's sleep didn't quite happen, hotel beds are never as comfy as our own, but just knowing that it was possible was good enough. We walked Main Street (of course) had a delicious dinner and then soaked in the hot tub. The next morning after a yummy breakfast we realized that we got up before the shop keepers and headed back to the hotel for a quick nap. After check-out we headed back to Main Streeet for the mandatory Christmas ornaments and fudge. We made a quick visit to the outlets, but the crowds scared us away after picking up an outfit or two for Andrea. We took the long way home through Provo Canyon, stopped at South Towne Mall, and headed home. It wasn't a long trip but just what I needed after 7 months of restless nights.

Zoom, Zoom, ZOO!

2009-08-16T10:09:00.000-07:00

I apologize for my slacking... but when I slack at posting that usually means I been busy with fun things to post!

Andrea had her first visit to the zoo last Thursday. She wasn't able to spot the animals yet but loved looking at the people. This little girl is so interested in the world around her. If I had to guess her future occupation it would be some kind of inventor or engineer. I thought maybe after riding in her stroller around the zoo she would eventually fall asleep, no way! Not when there are new things to see.

We rode the carousel which she loved! And the train was too quick for her to really focus on anything flying by but she enjoyed the ride. As soon as we were back in the car she was out for the count! We used the rest of the day to look at car dealerships, which leads me to my next update:

New car! We loved our Mazda 3, we bought it brand new after 1 year of marriage so we thought we were pretty hot stuff. Although I thought I had planned for the future with 4 doors and a back seat we soon realized that it was not a big enough back seat when we actually had to put a car seat in there.

We started looking at BMW X5s and Mazda CX-7s. Ryan was a little turned off that the CX-7s looked exactly like our 3 inside, what's the fun in that? So Ryan was using his BMW mechanic cousin to decide on a good X5. Thanks Rusty for all of your help! While we were at a dealer looking at the best X5 we had seen, we noticed an Acura MDX on the lot. We briefly checked out the Acura and told them we would be back the next morning. Ryan said since it would be my car, it was my choice. I knew right away I wanted the Acura. It was newer than the beemer and was in better shape. Ryan had to do all kinds of research that night but ultimately agreed with my decision. This makes our sixth car in six years of marriage, what can we say.... we get bored easily I guess.
As you can see Andrea's car seat sits properly now, instead of hitting the front seats. We also have third row seating or "Tessy storage" when folded down. We tell Andrea that we bought this car just for her, because honestly we did. Talk about a high maintenance kid, gets her own car at 6 months old!

The Best of Both Worlds

2009-07-23T13:16:00.000-07:00

Why I love my days at home

All you have to do is watch the video to understand why I love my days at home.

I can honestly say that I cherish every moment with my little girl. It's never far from my mind what a miracle having a baby is. I've learned that every play time is a moment to teach her something new. Every fussy time is a chance to show her I'm here. Every content mood is an opportunity to teach her that quite time is good. Maybe it's the idea that she might be our one and only child, but I try to hang on to every milestone. She is already growing too big, too fast! This past week we put away her bassinet, baby bath tub, and baby carrier.

Why I love my days at work

These past few weeks at work our Marketing Department has encouraged employees to promote our "Take us on vacation with you" VISA push. Remember that if you use your HeritageWest VISA rewards card between now and the end of September you earn double points!

All employees were allowed to wear flip-flops and shorts on Fridays (which didn't include myself because I don't work Fridays) and wear "vacation" attire all week this week. Each department was also given $15 to decorate their area as some kind of vacation destination and the department with the most votes gets a free breakfast. Well, if you keep up on my blog you know how extreme the credit union gets for it's employee Halloween contest. So some department's really went all out. My department (Kathy and I) went with a camping/fishing theme.

The IS department decided to have a "BBQ" with hot dogs, root beer, and home made ice cream, yumm! Is it really that difficult to see why I love working there? Especially when they are okay with letting me work a day and 1/2 each week!

Photos, and Parade, and Fireworks. Oh my!

2009-07-05T11:01:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited about our newest family pictures. One of my co-workers Sheri does some free lance photography and she took some for us a couple of years ago with Tessy. Now that Andrea is old enough to hold her head up and smile, I was anxious to update our photo above the mantle. Sheri lives on a farm and it was great located to get some pretty scenery. I recruited my friend Kristi along to help get Tessy and Andrea to look in the right direction. It was quite the adventure! Andrea was well-behaved, but a little overwhelmed, so she didn't smile on cue too often. Tessy was so excited about new smells that Ryan and I had to force her to be a part of the family. So here are some of my favorites, although I have about 30 favorites. Of course these are the raw pictures, they have not been touched up yet.

Andrea attended her first parade on the 4th. A few years ago the city changed the parade route and now it comes right down my parents street. Andrea was a little scared by the first police motorcycles, then she got hungry, then fell asleep, then quietly watched the rest of the parade. What a good girl! I had bought her a "Daddy's little firecracker" shirt about a month ago, before I realized that she would be wearing 18 month clothes at 5 months old. I still managed to squeeze her into the shirt because, after all, she'll only wear it the one day.Ryan's parents were babysitting Andrea when the big fireworks started. We were hoping to watch them with her on their porch but I guess Tooele city doesn't know how to tell time and started 10 minutes early. When we got there she was sleeping anyway. We found out she had another one of her "stomach situations". It seems like once a week Andrea has a 10-minute session of screaming while releasing a lot of gas, the poor girl. Ryan's parents have been so patient and have learned to deal with it well, just like we have. It still makes me feel bad as a mother that I wasn't there to rock her and sooth her. I'm looking forward to next year when she'll be old enough to enjoy a little more on the 4th of July.

Gratitude

2009-05-11T09:36:00.002-07:00

It's been a while since I've thought about all the things I'm grateful for. So I thought I would make a gratitude post, it always helps me put things in perspective.

* A new roof.

* Baby monitors that light up, so I can shut both bedroom doors when I blow dry my hair.

* Grandparents who babysit Andrea so she doesn't have to go to daycare.

* A husband who ends every phone call with "love you".

* Grocery stores.

* Lunch dates with Kristi.

* A healthy baby.

* Healthy Choice microwave meals.

* Weekly walks around town when I get to see the train, Spiers farm, or the house with all the gnomes.

Isn't it great to think of all the things we have and take for granted!

Anywho, Andrea had her 4 month appointment last week and all is well. She now weighs 17 lbs 15 oz which puts her in the 98th percentile. Her height was 24 1/2 in. which is in the 75th percentile. We started some rice cereal, here is a video. And I added some squash today which she seemed to really like.

MacGyver Lee

2009-05-11T09:36:00.001-07:00

Pop some popcorn and get yourself a drink, it's funny story time! Last Sunday was a stormy day and the power went out while we were at the in-laws. Although we don't live too far from Ryan's parents, it's usually a big enough distance that our power is never off at the same time as theirs. Well, this was not the case, when we came home we realized we couldn't get into our garage with the automatic opener because our power was also out. I have the keys to the screen door and front door on my key ring, but we had Ryan's keys. No big deal, we figured we would just go for a drive and the power would be on shortly. After about a half an hour of driving through some of the same old streets (we really need to get some new hot spots in town) the power was still out. Andrea was sleeping, luckily, and I wasn't too worried because both of our parents have formula and diapers at their houses but Ryan just really wanted to get inside. He did have the key to his shop (his workshop in the back of our house) on his key ring and he thought with the help of some tools he might be able to open the back door to our garage, he realized another option was our bedroom window which we had open all day. However, our bedroom window is on the second story. So while Andrea and I waited in the truck, images of Ryan falling off the ladder and lying on the ground unable to call for help were racing through my mind. So I occationally went outside to see if he was okay. When he finally returned from the backyard he casually went up to the front door and unlocked it with his keys, I was so confused! So after he opened the garage door manually, he explained how he got the keys, "Well, I was trying to get in our bedroom window but I was too scared because the ladder wasn't quite tall enough. Then I remembered that when I was cleaning the front room earlier I put my other set of keys in my hat and set them on the dresser. So I got our tree prunner from the shop and fished my hat across the bedroom with the keys in it." I was dying of laughter. I couldn't stop laughing while I pulled the truck into the garage. What a funny guy, I wish I could have seen him on his ladder slowly pulling his hat across the bedroom. Oh man! So long story short (too late) we got inside and luckily the power came back on before "Breaking Bad".

Now for some cuteness:
When Andrea was first born, and we would set her in her bouncer, Ryan mentioned what a milestone it would be when she could pull on the umbrella to make it play music. Well it happened this week (tear) and I got it on video the second time around. Now when I set her in it she pulls it two or three times, the little sweetheart.

She has also become quite the chunk. She no longer fits in 3-6 months clothes and she is not yet 4 months. I just had to take some shots of her "chillin" in the tub this morning.Here is one of her and the dog staring each other down. I'm sure Andrea was giving a look of love, but Tessy was giving the evil eye. One more of Daddy with his girls.

Cedar City

2009-05-11T09:36:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Ryan and I decided we better get Andrea down to Cedar City to meet her great-grandma and grandpa. I love Ryan's grandparents and am so excited that they are still around to see our family grow. My grandparents had passed on many many years ago so I treasure the fact that Ryan still has his.

On the way to Cedar City I couldn't help but remember so many trips back and forth to college. One trip in particular when Sharol and I would sing along to musicals (we found out that the trip is pretty close length-wise to listening to Rent and Chess) in PJs, drinking Dr. Pepper, and pausing for the occational belch. I smiled as I spotted "my mountain" and then quickly looked to the left to find Sharol's mountain. I couldn't help but turn on some Chess on my ipod. This trip however I was sitting in the back seat with my baby, drinking diet Pepsi, and I couldn't help but turn on some Chess on my ipod. I'm sure one day I'll remember this trip and traveling with my little baby instead of my infant or teenager (yikes).

As I said before, our main purpose for our Cedar City trip was to see Ryan's grandparents but we spent a lot of our time with Ryan's brother and family. It's always fun to get a glimpse of what our life will be like in a few years. I love spending time with the kids and they were definately obsessed with "Baby Anya". I had a little 4 and 2 year old follow me wherever Andrea went, they wanted to watch me change her diaper, get her dressed, make her a bottle. Poor baby Andrea, I've noticed she talks a little louder now that were home, I think she got used to all the noise.

Ryan helped Matt put a roof on the kids play gym while Sara and I visited. I'm so glad to have a sister-in-law that I can talk to and her and I see eye-to-eye on a lot of things. We also visited Ryan's aunt Sandy and uncle Fernlee who were babysitting baby Cambria. So with 4 kids, 6 adults, and 4 dogs, it was quite the adventure! We then had lunch with the Grandparents at "Lucky Buffet" (which has become a tradition), they have excellent cream cheese wontons! Afterwards, Matt was nice enough to take some family photos. Ryan and I had already tried with the timer at home so we could get some with Tessy, but having a photographer means Andrea might actually look up. It was a really fun weekend but it's always nice to come home. Today I promised Ryan I would get everything put away and our house back in order but, as you see, I still found time to blog. Here are some family photos that Matt took for us and some with the timer.

Jibberish

2009-04-29T16:52:00.000-07:00

Well I try to post at least twice a month, and seeing how tomorrow is the last day of April, I better get on it! I love this video, and it took a few tries to get. Andrea loves chit-chatting with her Daddy. I can never get her to talk to me like she does to him. I always try to grab the camera but she gets fussy right when I hit record. But finally I captured her adorable way to communicate!

I had the opportunity to babysit my niece Brigitta yesterday while her parents ran some errands. It gave me a good glimpse of what having two kids might be like. It wasn't so bad, Brigitta is old enough to take care of most things herself. However, I discovered that messes seem to appear out of nowhere and by surprise. Just watching a movie ended up with 4 blankets spread across the floor, how? I found it kind of funny as I was folding them back up. She seems to be at the "asking questions" phase and I didn't have a lot of answers for her while we watched Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Like "how did chitty chitty bang bang get old?" How can you explain wear and tear to a 4 year old?

Blessings

2009-04-13T09:39:00.000-07:00

Lately there have been so many moments that I have wanted to post and just haven't had time. First of all, I took some video of Andrea waking up from a nap. I just love getting her from her naps, she is so happy. However, her happiness only last about 2 minutes until she realizes she is hungry but I try to prepare and get a bottle ready when I hear her waking up.

Tessy is really starting to warm up to Andrea now, some days when Andrea is in her nursery and I am doing chores I realize I can't find Tessy. Well, she is usually laying on the floor in Andrea's room. It's so fun to watch them slowly bond. To top it off, last week while I was getting ready for work I layed Andrea on our couch. When I went to get her to put her in her car seat I found this...How adorable! I can only imagine how much Tessy will love her when Andrea is dropping food on the floor.

This weekend was a special one for us, not only was it Easter, it was Andrea's blessing day. What a wonderful memory to think that her first Easter dress was her blessing dress. In all the years of attending other's baby blessings, I always looked forward to that special day for my baby and was anxious to hear what blessings her Daddy would give. Ryan gave such a beautiful blessing, and it was wonderful to hear in words all the hopes he has for our little girl. Family and friends came from all over, and we really appreciate them giving some time on their Easter Sunday to support us. I loved having everyone at our home and only wished I could have visited more one on one with each of you. What a great life we have to have such wonderful people surround us and so many blessings in our lives!

Hi Ho, Hi Ho

2009-03-31T10:25:00.000-07:00

Well, I've decided to go back to work. Part of me feels guilty after receiving my goodbye luncheon, and making all of the final tasks involved in quiting, but I want to. Ryan wasn't too happy about the idea but I think it will be best for me and help me be a better mother. Staying home all day was a lot harder than I thought, I need adult interaction. Not only that, I know how to do what is expected of me at work and it's very satisfying when I complete a project. I loved lounging with my little girl all day everyday, but I felt lazy and useless.

Luckily the credit union was in desperate need of some training, since my boss and I both left at the same time. They were willing to work with me and agreed to my request of only two 4 hour days a week. My mom is going to babysit Andrea on her days off which are Wednesdays and Thursdays and in the summer when my mother-in-law is home I might add one more day a week. Today was my first day back and I think I will really enjoy it. Leaving at 1:00 really made the day fly and it made me so excited to go pick up Andrea.

Here at home things are getting into a nice schedule and even the dog is starting to get used to the baby. Tessy is back to laying on my lap, even if Andrea has already claimed it.

It's funny how when I take pictures of Andrea, they just don't do her justice or appear the way I see her. However, this one is pretty darn close! This is a dress given to her by a family friend and she decided to show it off at church Sunday.

I was tagged a while ago for a survey, so I better get to it:

3 Names I go by
Kristy
Honey
Babe

3 Names I no longer answer to
No idea

3 jobs I've had in my life
Deli girl at Macy's

Muliple positions at HeritageWest CU

Stay-at-home mom (briefly)

3 places I have lived
Tooele
Cedar City

3 places I've really loved
Keystone, SD

Palmyra, NY

Jackson Hole, WY

3 TV shows that I watch
Little People, Big World

Jon & Kate Plus 8

Cash Cab

3 TV shows that I would still watch if on TV
Seinfeld

Home Improvement

The Drew Carey Show

3 places I have been
New York, NY

Mt. Rushmore
Washington D.C.

3 places I would go in a heartbeat
Hawaii
Germany
Ireland

3 People I e-mail regularly
Kristi

Opee

Sharol (sort-of, through facebook or myspace)

3 favorite foods
Chile Verde Enchilada from La Frontera

Grilled Chicken Sandwich

Fajitas

3 foods I should like but don't
Raw carrots

Cantelope

Cucumbers

(I still try to eat all 3)

3 friends I think want to do this
Hayley

Jen

Julie

3 things I dread

Cleaning the bathroom

Bathing the dog

Shaving my legs

3 things I look forward to
Holidays

Going out to dinner

Sandal weather

Adjusting

2009-03-16T10:19:00.000-07:00

Well, being a stay-at-home is a little more of an adjustment than I thought it would be but I think I'm finally getting used to it. I must say that it is so nice knowing that I can nap whenever I need and it doesn't really matter what time I get a chance to shower or brush my teeth. However, I think I'll enjoy it even more when I can feel more productive. As of right now, I get really excited with each piece of clothing I am able to hang or bottle I am able to wash while she's asleep, but it's just a matter of time until I hear that hunger cry.

Here are a few more pictures of our sweet girl.

This one we like to call her "O face", she does it when she first wakes up.

Her and Daddy taking a nap together, no one can put us to sleep like she can.

And last but not least, a picture of what I spend most of my day doing... kissing my sweetheart.

Super Model

2009-03-02T11:39:00.001-08:00

I'm sure you all realize that the majority of my posts from now on are going to be about our little sweetheart, having a baby will do that to you. Our lives now revolve around her, and we are not complaining! Although, I will admit that I am looking forward to our first date out alone, I still enjoy every minute with Andrea!

Now, of course I think my daughter is absolutely beautiful, but now we have some pictures to prove she's an angel! She had her first photo shoot by Sun-Cottage photography, click here to see some proofs. I'm so excited to get the photos! It was a little nerve-racking being a mother and hoping your child will behave, but Lindsay was so patient and did such a beautiful job!

This week we took a walk with her and the dog up Smelter Road, it was a very nice day and felt good to get some exercise! I wanted to make sure she stayed warm, so I put her "fisherman's cap" on. It made her look a little boyish, but was still adorable! Andrea slept, she just loves the vibrations of her stroller or riding in the car.

She also had her first opportunity to attend church, our nephew Roland was being blessed and I wanted to be there. It was fun to get Andrea dressed up in church clothes, and I wish I would have got a better picture, oh well, I'm sure she'll wear the dress more than once.

Life's Pleasures

2009-02-22T11:37:00.000-08:00

A lot of "firsts" have already come and gone with Andrea, which is both exciting and sad. She had her first bath at home, she's had her fingernails cut, and I think she may have already outgrown her first outfit. Even though these ducky PJs have been our favorite, she is maxed out in them now :(Ryan is under the impression that we need to take a picture of her everyday, and it really is amazing how much she changes!

She's Here!

2009-02-12T19:53:00.001-08:00

Andrea Lyn Lee finally decided to arrive on February 9th, 2009 at 12:36 p.m. After being sent back home Saturday night and suffering all Sunday through contractions, we thought we would try going back to the hospital again Monday morning around 2:00 a.m. Thank heaven that I had reached "admittance criteria"! And can I just say that the epidural is the greatest invention known to man! Sleeping through contractions and pushing absently when it was time to deliver was heavenly! Although the intitial insertion for the epidural wasn't all that pleasant, it was well worth it and made labor seem like a day in the park! And although I couldn't feel exactly where I was supposed to be pushing, I only had to try for 30 minutes before she was out.
What an incredible experience to see the miracle, who has been kicking and proding and doing her best to make me uncomfortable, finally laying on my tummy! She was a big girl, weighing 8 lbs 12 oz, and 21 inches long. But why shouldn't she be? After being nearly a week late!

She has been such a joy ever since her arrival and so well behaved! Nursing and dealing with the after pains has been a struggle, but she makes it all worth it! I love staring at her and getting to her know her personality.
Ryan was great through the whole thing, he never wanted to leave my side and suffered through two nights of an uncomfortable couch for a bed. He was first to get to hold her and went with her for her first bath (in other words he got to have all the fun, while I got to be stitched and kneaded). He has been so good to get me anything I need and take care of the household chores. How lucky can one girl get to have such a wonderful husband and now such a beautiful daughter?!

The Nursery

2009-01-19T07:53:00.000-08:00

Well, I know that some of you have been waiting a long time for pictures of the nursery. I am happy to say, it's finally done! After all the improvements that we have made to our house, we just knew that Andrea needed a re-modeled room of her own to welcome her into our family. After a few baby showers it took me a while to get everything situated but it feels so good to have it ready! Here are some "before"s and "after"s of each area.

Looking into the room before....

And after.....

We even changed the carpet, which made a huge difference! When we pulled up the old carpet we were so happy that we had decided to replace it. I think it was original which would be 30 years old.

Towards the window before....

And after.....Then....

And now....
I'm so happy I managed to get Tessy in both pictures, what a funny dog!

As you can tell Ryan did SO mush work putting up the bead board and shelving. He did the routing on all the shelves himself. I love looking at the perfect details of it, he curved each shelf at the end where the curtains and door would have hit, it looks so great! I felt as though I should put some work into the room so I chose to stencil her name on the wall, but it was Ryan's idea to overlap the squares, dang him and his good ideas!

I was also lucky enough to have a baby shower at work last week, I've always loved the people I work with and it was great to have so much support! So between the two showers this baby is ready! I just had to take a picture of her jam-packed closet. Notice the tupperware tubs filled with more clothes, and this picture does not include the drawers on the crib that are stuffed, and the diapers in the hall closet.

So now it's just a waiting game, all the bags are packed, and only 4 more days of work so we are ready! I just cannot believe this day is here! My entire life I have wanted children and to stay at home to raise them... I don't know quite how to react now that it's a reality.

Baby Shower

2009-01-05T05:19:00.000-08:00

This Saturday I had my baby shower, it was so wonderful! I had been looking forward to my shower more than I was looking forward to Christmas and it didn't disappoint! Of course the snow had to interfere with our perfect plans... Ryan had been up all Friday night plowing and then was a good enough guy to go make sure all the parents and grandparents driveways were cleared to get to the shower on Saturday morning. He even plowed out the church parking lot, which wasn't his obligation. I know that Kristi, Tara, and John were stressing and I felt so bad!When I first found out I was pregnant the thought of a baby shower occurred to me, and without sisters, I didn't know what might happen. Luckily I have the best friends any girl could ask for, Tara and Kristi were not only willing to throw a shower but just as excited as I was. My sister-in-law Amy also stepped up and wanted to make sure I had some fun games. All three girls did such a wonderful job! The invitations were perfect, the decorations were adorable, the games were so fun, and food was delicious.

I was so happy with the turnout, it was wonderful having so many women I love all in the same place at the same time. And, of course, the most important part is that Andrea has so many great items to welcome her into the world! Thank you for all those that came and to Kristi, Tara, and Amy for all your hard work!

The End is Near!

2008-12-19T20:53:00.000-08:00

I always try to convince myself to blog more often, but I haven't felt like anything "significant" has happened. Then I thought I could at least give some updates:

We've ordered new carpet for the nursery, the same carpet we installed two years ago in our front room and hallway. Hopefully this will make our house fill even more complete and to our liking. Once the carpet is in, we'll put up the crib, and I'll finally post pictures of the nursey which I already adore!

I've got 6 weeks left until the baby is scheduled to arrive. Hopefully she doesn't come TOO early because I plan on working 5 more weeks. However, I hope I'm not sitting home for 3 weeks twiddling my thumbs, or rather jumping up and down. We've decided to name her Andrea Lyn... hopefully the "girl" verdict is accurate because we have no back-up boy names.

In everything I've read about pregnancy, I've been told that the 2nd trimester is the easiest, I disagree! The first trimester was definately the worse with the fatigue and sickness. The second trimester had my back aching and I had trouble sleeping. The third trimester has been great (so far) less back pain and I'm sleeping pretty much all night. My only complaint is that I've finally given into using pregnancy as an excuse to eat whatever I want. I'm sure I'll regret this as I'm trying to take the weight off, but I have no longer have will power.

Ryan has been gone a lot more as the snow fall increases, and so I just know I'll go into labor during a snow storm. I have no worries though, that he'll put his work ethic aside and come to my rescue. He really has been extremely supportive through the pregnancy, even though I don't accept help easily. He told his Grandma the other night "she sure doesn't act like a pregnant woman". I've just never liked the idea of feeling helpless, so I try my hardest to ignore this big belly.

It's a Thanksgiving Miracle!

2008-11-26T06:01:00.000-08:00

I'm the type of person that likes to always plan things out in my head, I picture exactly how things are going to work. So I had this "timeline" laid out of when things would be done during the pregnancy. That timeline has gone out the window and I blame bead board! Ryan and I are working on the nursery. My "timeline" said it would be done before November, we'll that didn't happen.

We had been looking at our local Home Depot for the bead board we wanted for about a month and it was never in stock. So one evening we decided if they didn't have it (again) we would take a drive into Salt Lake. Well, 4 Home Depots later.... we came home with no bead board. So the next week we thought let's try it one more time on our way to pick up some dinner. Of course, the shelf was empty, however there were two new packets waiting to be stocked. Ryan found a worker and explained that "we are not leaving without it". So we waited for them to stock and unwrap it.

Finally our nursery has bead board up! And Ryan has been such a sport hauling the panels in and out to the shop to measure and cut, then putting up base molding to surprise me while I was at work and we finally have everything we need to finish!

And for a quick pregnancy update... here is a picture for those of you who have been asking, 7 months along.

Halloween

2008-11-10T19:14:00.000-08:00

My Halloween post is a little behind, I apologize, but better late than never! This year our department was not nearly as enthusiastic as last year. I will blame it on my boss, Stephen, and I'm sure he wouldn't argue. Last year he put a lot of time into making some videos and a website and we still didn't win. So this year, our department decided to be "supportive" and dress up as your typical Halloween characters.

My company goes all out for Halloween; departments start decorating their areas in early October and when Halloween actually comes around, it blows my mind how extreme some people get. This year's contest winners were Most Creative: Crash Test Dummies, Best Theme: 1920s, and Scariest: Scary movie characters. My friend Kristi and I had the pleasure of going to the different branches to take pictures for the contest and I was so impressed. My votes were for the department dressed as "McDonalds" including Ronald, the Hamburglar, and workers. Also, the "Western" with call girls, cowboys, a stick horse corral, and poker table. Here are a few of the photos, unfortunately the McDonalds group is on my boss' camera.

Paws and Fingers

2008-10-26T13:19:00.000-07:00

Isn't it great when you find a product that actually works the way it appears on the commercial? For those of you who haven't heard of it, let me tell you how pleased I am with Pedipaws!

Tessy's nails have been a problem for a while now, I used to take her to get her nails cut in the mornings on Tuesdays or Thursdays by a family friend. Well, my work schedule hasn't allowed that for quite some time and Ryan and I were getting fed up with the injuries caused by Tessy stepping on our feet or pushing off of our laps. After seeing the Pedipaws commercial, I thought we might as well give it a try. This tool, which is pretty much a Dremel with a cap on it, files the dog's nails instead of snipping them. The commercial claimed that dogs don't mind at all, but I was skeptical.

After following the instructions on "how to get your dog comfortable with Pedipaws" Tessy was fine with the device after only one sitting. We've used it a few times now and Tessy is so distracted by when she will earn her next treat that she doesn't even worry about the tool, it's been wonderful and I highly recommend it!

On the other hand, Ryan had a run in with a tool that was not so friendly... at work he gently bumped his finger against a hedge trimmer and ended up with 10 stitches on his left "birdie" finger. It's amazing how those 10 stitches can put a man down! Things have slowly improved, but the first days I had to spread cream cheese on his bagel, cut up his quesadilla burger, and help with hygiene issues. But I do enjoy taking care of him and it makes me feel needed when I change his bandages every morning and make sure he takes his anti-biotics.

We're all Making Sacrifices

2008-10-21T06:56:00.001-07:00

Well, it's been an interesting month here at the Lee home. A lot of new changes have begun, but not all of them bad. I've been having trouble sleeping, mostly because I don't enjoy sleeping on my left side. So Ryan and I switched sides of the bed, so I face the edge of the bed, and invested in a body pillow. The first night Ryan complained that my side was too hard, and I agreed that his side was too soft. But now, after a week or two of toughing it out I think we both get a pretty full night's sleep.

Tessy is also making adjustments... but even as I type she is wandering around wondering where to lay, let me explain: our "spare bedroom" is now becoming the nursery. We have always had a queen bed in there that we have let Tessy take over. So every morning as I got ready for work she would hop up on the bed, do a little scratching, maybe a little grooming and settle in. We'll our plan is to keep the queen bed in the nursery so I can just sleep in there with the baby during rough nights. I didn't want Tessy germing up the new bed so we thought we would try training her to lay in a dog bed. We started out by just putting the new dog bed on the queen bed to get her used to it, she would lay against it but never in it. Well, now the nursery has been painted and the queen bed is upside down on the floor, and she feels like she has no where to lay. I've tried putting her in her new dog bed but she hops right out. I guess that's what we get for treating her like a princess.

The last adjustment is one that I have really enjoyed! Ryan and I usually spend most of our evenings downstairs watching TV but we both know that upstairs is warmer in the winter. So Ryan's idea of preparing for a baby meant purchasing a TV for upstairs. So the past week I have loved cooking and cleaning with Ryan there to chat with. It's nice having the big living room windows open as well, and not feeling so cramped and cloomy downstairs.

September Summary

2008-09-15T09:17:00.000-07:00

During the month of September I had plenty of "I could blog about this" moments, but haven't had time to do it. So it took a sick day from work to begin a draft and a few mornings during breakfast, but here are the highlights.

United Way
On September 4th, I participated in the United Way Day of Caring with some other volunteers from my work. We enjoyed a free breakfast at the Gateway Mall and then stayed at the mall for our service project. Our project was assembling science kit project for 5th graders, but first we got a private tour of the children's museum. It was fun to see everyone enjoying the activities as much as any kid would. Once we began to work on the science kits, my table was assigned to writing letters on test tubes, it may not sound too exciting but the women at my table made it a lot of fun. At one point, I was asked to help in a different area (filing paperwork) and it broke my heart!

Peyton's Birthday
The following Saturday was my nephew Peyton's birthday, so we celebrated by going to the zoo and Chuck-e-cheese with the whole family. It was a fun day, I forgot how many exhibits there really are at the zoo. I think Ryan could have kept going for a few more hours but the rest of us were ready for lunch!Ultrasound

On September 8th, I had my second ultrasound, meaning we got to find out the sex of the baby. For those of you who haven't heard already... it's a girl! The ultrasound technician couldn't print a picture of the "gender" because of past lawsuits. She also emphasized that no ultrasound is 100% accurate when it comes to the sex of the baby, but said she was 90% sure and gave us the go ahead to buy some pink onesies. All other measurements during the ultrasound were where they should be and my due date got moved back up again by a week, wahoo! Here is my favorite ultrasound picture of her rubbing her eye.

Anniversary Weekend
Our anniversary happens to be the same day as Peyton's birthday, so we decided to celebrate it the following weekend and stay in Park City. Of course, Thursday night I started coughing.... this led to an interesting "romantic" weekend. Each day my cold got worse, and I tried my hardest not to let it interfere. We still hit the outlet stores and Main St, but we spent the evenings in the room just relaxing and trying to make the tissues last. Normally, I wouldn't consider going to Wal-Mart part of a "get-away" weekend, but we had stop there twice. Once for juice and hot cocoa, and the second time for tissues and a movie. Being sick is so different when you're pregnant. I had no appetite, but had to force myself to eat because I kept worrying about the baby, Ryan felt I still wasn't eating enough.

Canning

Last, but not least, my friend Kristi came over this past week and taught me how to can peaches. We canned peach halves and made some peach jam. I wish I would have taken more pictures of the process, but below is a picture of the "fruits of our labor". It was a lot of fun, and I think canning could be a potential hobby!

Baby blues

2008-08-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

I hate posting without pictures because that is always my favorite part when reading everyone else's posts, but I haven't had anything picture worthy.

I feel like there isn't too much exciting going on right now, which is always a good thing.. no news, is good news right? Mainly I'm trying to make it through another week. Pregnancy is full of adventures no one told me about! Flat hair, dry skin, acne, nose bleeds, congestion, and restless nights (just to name a few).

We should find out the sex of the baby in 3 weeks, I can't wait! Until then we've started a baby name book, we've made it to B, and have highlighted one name. I think it's going to be the hardest part of all of this!

My first time!

2008-08-03T19:16:00.000-07:00

Well this week I had a couple of "firsts" and I wanted to share my excitement. On Thursday I caught my first fish! Hooray! I had never been fishing before I married Ryan, so 4 1/2 yrs ago he equipped me with all the fishing necessities for my birthday. Since then, I've given it a good try (at least I think so). We had tried 5 different lakes/reservoirs throughout the state but no luck. Finally this Thursday, we tried the reservoir about 1 mile from our house and had quite a bit of luck. We each caught one, and had a lot of bites. We released them both because of their size, but I didn't care, my goal had been met! I promise that is hair in my face, not dirty teeth!

My next first was playing in a golf tournament. The credit union holds a golf tournament each year and this year was the first time Ryan and I participated. Each team consisted of four people, so Ryan and I played with my friend Opee and his brother Ben. It was a scramble format (play off of the best shot), which made the game a lot of fun! Let's just say we didn't play off of my shot that often, but I was pretty proud of myself. My teammates couldn't have been more supportive of me, so that really helped!

Would you look at that form!

My good-looking teammates.

To top the day off, Ryan and I both won a prize during the luncheon. He won golfballs and a self-powered radio. I won an "ipod touch", that's right folks... eat your heart out. I haven't had a chance to play with it yet, mostly because Ryan has. But I'll get my turn.

Updates

2008-07-23T11:47:00.000-07:00

Well, the play is over... Hallelujah! I thought being involved in Theatre in High School took up a lot of time, but with a job and a family... this time was so much worse! During the last few weeks of the production, getting there on time meant leaving work early so I could grab dinner at home and leave. I wouldn't mind sacrificing so much if it was something I was passionate about, but I have discovered I am not! At least now I know that the theatre does not need to be a part of my life, my husband and family are all that I need.

Speaking of family, the pregnancy is going well. A few weeks ago we were lucky enough to have an early ultrasound and see the little peanut. It made me feel so much better to see that there is actually a baby in there. I'm guessing I'll find out what sex the baby is around the first of September, until then... the collections department at work says it's a girl due to the results of "the ring test". It doesn't matter at all to Ryan and I whether it is a boy or a girl, but somehow I was determined it was a boy. So after the ring test results, I really had to rethink the possibility of a girl.

California Trip

2008-07-02T12:07:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's taken me so long to write about our trip, I've tried to numerous times but I can never seem to finish... a couple of weeks ago Ryan and I took a trip to California. We first drove west, far west, to San Fransisco. We had planned on touring Alcatraz but the tour was sold out for two days. Instead we took an hour boat ride under the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz. The boat went very close to Alcatraz island and slowed down quite a bit so we could get a good look. My only complaint was the cold weather, I rode inside the boat most of the time and only came out when Alcatraz was near, but I'm very glad we did it!

That night we drove down to Santa Barbara and stayed the night. This was one of our favorite memories, we loved the town, the hotel, the beach, and the food. I highly recommend visiting Santa Barbara to anyone!

We of course had to make a stop at Universal Studios, which we both really enjoyed. I like that Universal Studios has more activites and interactive attractions than Disneyland. The picture on the bottom right is the Waterworld show, it was very impressive! Plus, we met Marg so that was excited!

The next day was Disneyland and we hit all of our favorite rides first... Pirates of the Carribean, Haunted Mansion, the Jungle Safari. We went to quite a few rides and then had lunch, after that the lines were so long that we thought we would call it a day. So we picked some ice cream and headed out.

We came back home through Vegas and spent one night there. Then we spent another night in Cedar City with Ryan's grandparents and visited the rest of his family.

So, all in all, it was a really great time. The only thing I would change is the amount of driving, that got to be exhausting. And the morning sickness, I really hope it's over soon!

I can't... I have rehearsal.

2008-06-13T05:37:00.000-07:00

Well, it's happened, again, play rehearsal has taken over my life. However, it is so much worse. Now that most of us in the play are "grown-up" we work full time jobs, and then have to commit to rehearsal each evening and every Saturday morning. But now that scenery is starting to pop up and dances are being learned, it feels like this production might actually happen. The picture is an idea of how "crisp" our choreography is so far.

The best part of course is the people, I've met some really fun people. Last night we all went to dinner afterwards and it made me feel like a high schooler again. Michael and Lindsey are the two on either side of me, and they graduated this year. Opee and Lyle are a little "older" like me, but Lindsey and Michael think we're all pretty cool, so we try to take full advantage of that.

Ryan has been so supportive... some nights we don't see each other until after 9:00 because he has been getting home late as well. This month we are going on vacation to California and it will be interesting to see how we'll react to spending a full week together. I'm very excited though, next week won't go by soon enough!

Tag!

2008-06-06T10:40:00.000-07:00

This is a tricky one... you've got to read it to know if you're tagged.

A- Attached or single: Attached
B- Best Friend: Ryan
C- Cake or Pie: Cake
D- Day of Choice: Saturday of course.
E- Essential Item: Orbitz gum.
F- Favorite Color: Pink
G- Gummy Bears or Worms: worms
H- Hometown: Tooele, UT
I- Indulgence(s): Hot fudge sundaes
J- January or July: I think July
K- What happened to K?
L- Life is incomplete without: regrets
M-Marriage Date: September 6, 2003
N- Number of Siblings: 3 brothers, and 6 step-siblings
O- Oranges or Apples: Apples
P- Phobias or Fears: Fear of deep waters
Q- Quote(s): "It's fun, it's challenging, it's exciting, it's SEQUENCE" - Box of the Sequence board game.
R- Reason to Smile: A day off, being warm, taking a nap, taking a walk, a get-together with friends, Ryan opening the car door.
S- Season: Spring- not too hot yet.
T- Tag 4: Stacy, Kristi, Gregory, Jonathon
U- Unknown Fact About Me: I would like to be the Primary pianist at some point in my life.
V- Very favorite store: Probably Target
W- Worst Habit: picking at the bumps on my arms, I hate those things! I know I know, picking at them makes them worse but it's a boredom thing.
X Got left out as well!
Y- Your Favorite Food: Fajitas
Z- Zodiac: Aries

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

2008-05-20T11:47:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I was invited on a "girl's weekend" to Denver..."why Denver?", you ask. Well my friend Kristi had a friend getting married and wanted some company on the trip. So she asked me and our friend Tara (Opee's wife) if we would like to join her. It was so much fun! Tara and I were excited just to fly, Kristi is a frequent traveler, but it had been a while for us.

So Friday included, the flight, the car rental, hotel check-in, the wedding, outlet stores, and a comedy club. Pretty good for never visiting Denver before! Saturday we visited the "Unsinkable Molly Brown's" house. This was definitely a big highlight of the trip, I highly recommend it!

We also walked 16th street down town and then met up with OLD high school buddies. It was so fun to see Jared, Julie, and Marie again! Reminiscing with old friends does wonders for your happiness. It's sometimes sad to know that the old high school days are gone, but I am grateful that I had such amazing friends who still keep in touch!

There were so many fun little experiences and so many pictures taken, I couldn't possibly post them all. But I wanted to share the short version and tell Kristi and Tara how much fun I had. Being the only girl in the family, taking a girl's trip was a whole new experience and I know I'll cherish it!

Jared, Julie, and Marie: thank you for taking the time to visit with us. I love you guys so much and love all of the memories we have. It was great to see your lives now and Denver seems like a great place to live.

Hello Stage, I'm Back....

2008-05-13T12:08:00.000-07:00

Well, I wanted to share with all of you that I will be on the stage once more. I haven't participated in any acting since graduating High School 8 years ago. But Ms. LaForge is beginning a community theatre and I was persuaded to auditon. I will be playing the part of the "Kitchen Wench" in "Once Upon a Mattress". It may be a small role, but I am grateful to have received a part with a name, well sort of a name.

I am really most excited about being in a production with old Alumni: Opee, Andrew, Lyle, and Shauna. It will be a blast! The performances will begin in mid July.

My weight success

2008-05-02T06:51:00.000-07:00

Recently I have reached my goal of loosing 45 pounds, wahoo! Now my goal, of course, is to keep it off! To do so I have created Kristy's weight loss commandments. I figured if others actually read them, I will be forced to keep them:

5. If you are going to drink soda, drink diet soda. - This hasn't been a problem for me just because I am a soda craver, diet or not, the switch wasn't difficult. What makes me mad though, is that diet drinks have 0 caleries, where fruit juice, even gatorade carry calories. That's why I love finding other options like flavored water or G2, which both still have calories just less.

4. When at a fast food joint, order the grilled chicken sandwich and cancel the fries. - I have learned these are the closest thing to "healthy" you are going to find at fast food, unless they have salads (hold the dressing). I have actually come to grave grilled chicken sandwiches.

3. Eat Quaker Oats (lower sugar) oatmeal for breakfast. - This is another item I have come to crave, even after eating it nearly every morning for the past 9 months.

2. Days under my control, eat wise. - Somedays I don't have control over what is on the menu. Birthdays, holidays, trips, are all great reasons for me to give in and enjoy delicious treats. But during the work week, when I have control over breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I'm going to make wise choices.

1. Ask yourself "Is it worth it". - If the item in question is Tirimusu... the answer is usually "yes". But I try to think "eating this brownie, is worth a half an hour on the eliptical... is it worth it". Most of the time the answer is no, but if it's a rare treat I take the opportunity.

There you have it, my 5 commandments. So if you see me not doing these things, please tell me, the best success comes from support. Here is a before and after shot, I'm definately not bragging... I just never thought I would have a before and after when it comes to weight loss.

A Weekend Getaway

2008-04-22T07:02:00.001-07:00

I don't have much time to blog this morning, but I know I've been slacking. I wanted to share my fun weekend with you all. We were invited to go to Zion's National Park and St. George on a weekend trip with some friends to celebrate their anniversary. The first night we stayed in Cedar City in Ryan's brother's empty house, stopped by the Grandparents the next morning, and then made our way to Zion's. It was a beautiful day, where we actually got to wear shorts! We did the Emerald Pools Hike, and it was so much fun. It felt good to get out and active in Nature. The next day we spent in St. George, touring some historical sites and shopping at the outlet stores. On Sunday, we took a big detour back through Zions for a scenic route. It was too short of a weekend, but it felt so good to get away!

HIKING IN ZIONS
BRIGHAM YOUNG'S WINTER HOME

Movie Tag

2008-04-04T12:25:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged by Kristi, which I was excited about because I haven't blogged in a while, to take the movie survey:

Favorite movies you have to be "in the mood" for in order to enjoy:
1. The Simpsons Movie
2. The Music Man

Favorite movies that make you laugh out loud no matter how many times you have watched them
1. Wayne's World (both parts)
2. Christmas Vacation

Your favorite "Guilty Pleasures"
1. The Princess Diaries.
2. A Knight's Tale.

Favorite movies you have seen so many times, you can recite all the lines
1. White Christmas
2. Sleepless in Seattle

Movies that "Opened your eyes."
1. What Dreams may come.
2. Life is Beautiful

Most Overrated
1. Pirates of the Carribean (I do like it, don't get me wrong, I just think there are better movies out there)
2. Harry Potter

What were the last 2 movies you watched
1. Pirates of the Carribean, at World's End.
2. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (well I'm progressively watching it during my workouts)

Favorite "smart" movies
1. Any of the Ocean's movies.
2. National Treasure

Your spouse's/significant other's favorites
1. I'm guessing these but... Black Hawk Down.
2. Office Space.

Your all time favorites:
1. Back to the Future
2. Lord of the Rings

Wow, it was tough to think of just two on some of those.
Alright now I tag, Julie, Gregory, and Stacy. It will be interesting to hear other's answers.

Happy Valentines Day!

2008-02-14T10:11:00.000-08:00

When your husband's job is to plow everyone else's snow, you're forced to get pretty good with a snowblower. So after many storms of practice, I thought I would hurry and take care of the snow last night. I cleared the driveway, sidewalks, and of course, a path for Tessy to potty. This morning, you would have never guessed that I had done anything.

Since the school district called off schools, I figured I deserve a snow day too! Actually, I just knew I wouldn't be able to get out of the driveway, so I took half the day off and spent most of it snow blowing.

I just had to take some pictures, because it was quite a sight!

This is Tessy's path off of the deck, she disappeared when she first jumped in this morning. As you can see by the look on her face, she is not a big fan of the snow!

These were the snow drifts hanging of our roof, I thought it was impressive!

So I hope all of you have a great Valentine's Day, at least the sun is shining outside now. I just hope to SEE my Valentine today, poor guy!

A little smack talk

2008-02-11T20:42:00.000-08:00

So, rumor has it that there is some bragging going on in the blogging world about an arm wrestling match. Well, I'm here to set the record straight. Kristi will tell you all about how it got started but let me tell you when it really started:

Working for a company which employs not one, not two, not even three, but FOUR Kristys (or Kristis) makes a person feel defensive. So when one Kristi interrupts another Kristy, the game is on! So after winning a light-hearted arm wrestling match for the attention of the IS department my spirit was high. The second match involved a cell phone recording which I felt obligated to loose after such an easy overtaking of the first match. After sitting at my desk a few moments I realized, "I don't want the video to be of me loosing, when I can clearly win so easily". So yes, it's true, I called for a rematch.

That night while I was doing my weight training, songs such as "It's the Final Countdown" and "Your the Best Around" thumped in my mind... I was going to win. Long story short, I've got to hand it to Kristi, she was a worthy opponent and proved to be the victor. I now have even more respect for her, and the marketing department. And although she may have lost a little respect for me, I hope she can find it inside of her to bond together as the "upstairs Kristy(i)s". At least I know who to call if I need some back up in a rumble.

To check out the video and the full story, be sure to visit Kristi's blog.

Seeing the Big Picture

2008-01-29T16:57:00.000-08:00

Well, sorry folks. This blog may be a little depressing, so consider youself warned before you read on:

I went and saw my father in the nursing home this Saturday. I haven't seen him since his stroke a few months ago, in fact, I hadn't seen in over a year. It's funny how sometimes the Lord pushes you in directions you've been avoiding. I received an anonymous phone call letting me know that someone in the care center was using my Dad's account for their own expenses. So I figured I better to get to the bottom of this and had to go to the care center to question the accused woman.

I used to think I could never resent anyone as much as I did my dad. But seeing him that day I couldn't help but love him, and I don't know how to deal with those feelings. My heart goes out to him, although I keep telling myself that he created this horribly lonely life.
On the other hand, as I was feeding him, and rubbing his neck part of me was thinking "you've dragged me back into your life. You've got me worried about your financial situation, worried about your care, so I'm no longer able to ignore you" which made me infuriated. But that's life, and there are no words to describe how unexpected life can be. Just when you think life is easy and worry free, God throws a curve.

In the few days I've had to absorb the situation, I've come to terms with my father, and have decided I will do everything I can to see that this last chapter of his life is handled as well as possible. I have recieved numerous phone calls about his financial situation and have had to take on much more responsibility for my Dad than I ever wanted to, but he's a different man. Seeing him in the state his in is making me remember more of the good about him, and I am grateful for that.

It's taken 12 years to see why the Lord has given me this specific trial, but I know now that it has made me be more patient and forgiving of human imperfections. Thanks for listening (or reading I guess)

Christmas... a month after.

2008-01-21T08:35:00.000-08:00

I'm so bad at posting blogs because I feel like I never have anything new to say, but... hello! Christmas, I could post about Christmas! I have always loved being home for Christmas, Ryan and I have never traveled and we have no reason to. With both of our parents still living in Tooele we get to have our Christmas in the morning, go to one family's for more, and then the second family's for the rest. It's like one big long day of present opening and spending time with the ones you love, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

This year we had to wake up early to open each other's presents because our niece and nephew were at Ryan's parents this year, and we wanted to watch their excitement. So I think we started the day around 6:00 am and rushed to the Lees at 7:30. Santa was good to those kids, the living room was filled! We were cracking up at our nephew Peyton who said "Hey! Those aren't supposed to be in there" everytime he opened clothes. So after Santa time was over, we had to rush back home to get ready for brunch with my family at 11:00. We were having all of my family over to our house this year, so I had to prepare for brunch. I love the fact that all of my family is here now, by brother Ryan and his family lived in Washington for so long that we only saw them on Christmas occationally. But now, with the whole family living near Tooele, it finally feels right.

Although it was a great day, it felt like Christmas was over by 2:00, which I wasn't used to. Below our some pictures of Christmas with my family, I wish I would have thought to take some at Ryan's parents as well.

An original water color done by my brother Eric.

My brother Eric, sister-in-law Amy, niece Brigitta, Mom, and Jim.

My nephew Taylor, brother Ryan, and sister-in-law Melissa.

Marley was dead to begin with.

2007-12-08T07:10:00.000-08:00

This year I have struggled a little bit with finding the Christmas Spirit, and I don't know how to react to this strange phenomenon. Usually I am one of those people who loves the day I hear the first Christmas song on the radio and can't wait for that first snowflake to fall. This year, however, I think I litererally said "Ugh" when I woke up to "Angels we have heard on high". I don't know what's wrong with me. My Christmas tree is usually up the first weekend after Thanksgiving... I promise I will finally put it up today, along with the Simpson's Christmas Village, and my favorite Children's Theatrical Nativity.

So back to the snow, I used to love the snow! I would stare out the window on any stormy day in October hoping the rain would change to big fluffy flakes. Well, I married a man who is accompanied with a curse of "snow means work". Ryan worked with the school district for 10 years as a custodian, if it snowed he had to plow before any lawsuits happened. This fall Ryan took a job with "Turf-it" a landscape company, who also offers snow removal as a service. So now I find my self chanting "let is stop, let is stop, let it stop" when ever a snow fall begins. Deep down in my heart I still love the snow, I just wish that Ryan and I could sit home watching it out the window together for once!

A Redeemed Spirit

Last night Ryan and I were lucky enough to go see "A Christmas Carol" at Hale Centre Theatre. The gift card was a present from my boss, and one of the most thoughtful gifts I had ever recieved. See Stephen knew I loved the theatre and haven't gone to more than a high school production in many years. I didn't care what play I saw so Ryan and I agreed on A Christmas Carol. I was extactic at the thought of seeing some amazing talent. So all day yesterday the snow would come and go and my stomach was in knots at the thought that Ryan might have to work. He did get to come with me and it was a wonderful night! I think it really did help bring out the Christmas Spirit in me. The actors were spectacular, and our front row seats helped us catch every wonderful little detail. I loved every moment, and would love to see another one very soon!

Tag, I'm it!

2007-11-22T09:35:00.000-08:00

Well, Kristi has tagged me... and from what I understand that means I need to share 6 things about me that most of you probably don't know. This will take some thinking but I'll do my best:

1. I love old movies, some of you already know this because I have forced you to watch them with me. I don't go as far back as black and white movies but more 50s and 60s. To name a few: On Moonlight Bay, By the Light of the Silvery Moon, Tammy and the Batchelor, White Christmas, The Music Man, That Darn Cat, The Pajama Game, Calamity Jane, Come September, Pillow Talk, and so on. I love the Doris Day- Rock Hudson era.

2. I have a talent for impressions and remembering song lyrics but my childhood... almost completely gone from my memory. I lot of people tell me that once I have children of my own things will come back to me, I sure hope so because it really saddens me!

3. I cannot stand for my pillow and Ryan's pillow to touch. I know that I have OCD when it comes to a lot of things, but that is probably the most evident situation. I cannot sleep if his pillow is touching mine or if the mattress isn't perfectly aligned with the box spring.

4. I color and cut my own hair. It's so funny to me to listen to ladies talk about their next hair appointment, and the fact that they schedule them so frequently! I had a bad experience paying 40 dollars to have my hair streaked black when I wanted some "low lights", and a bad experience when I wanted "layers" and got a mullet. So I figured I am really the only person who knows exactly what I want, so I do it myself.

5. I don't like pie. It's quit ironic that I am posting this tid-bit on Thanksgiving. I would much rather have cake or cookies. It's not that I hate pie all together, there are a select few that I like, turtle (which is more like a cake), and berry pies are alright. But I don't like pumpkin, key lime, banana cream, apple, and definately not shoofly.

6. Okay last one... I better make it good. Well, I had my four front teeth knocked out when I was two years old. That's right, I went 5-6 years saying things like "thpoon" "thnoopy" "kitheth". It's amazing I don't have a lisp, I still have a little trouble speaking but not nearly what it could be.

All right so I am now tagging the only person other than Kristi who reads this blog.... JULIE! Jules it's your turn to name 6 interesting things about yourself.

This is Halloween

2007-11-07T20:20:00.000-08:00

Well, it was yet another exciting time at the credit union this year. It's always a big event when Halloween roles around. Employees get to vote for three categories: Best Theme, Scariest, and Most Creative. This year our department thought, "all we really want to do is win anyway, so why don't we "run" for Best Theme?". So that's what we did, we were politicians. My boss Stephen and I were a little more excited about the idea than our supervisor Kathy but she was a good sport! Feel free to check out our website with political commercials (I don't know how long it will last) www.spiritheroes.com/votehr/

I still enjoy the evening of Halloween simply because I get to have most of my nieces and nephews stop by and see their costumes. My brother Ryan's kids are getting older now and may not be trick or treating much longer but my brother Eric and his wife Amy are keeping the legacy going with their little girl Brigitta. I love to see what costume Amy has made each year. Amy is so talented, I am envious of her abilities, I just hope her family appreciates it. This year Brigitta was an elephant escorted by her zoo keepers.

So although I am a little late posting them I hope you enjoy the pictures, and Happy Holidays!

Family Pictures

2007-09-29T13:30:00.000-07:00

I don't know how many people actually read this thing, at least Julie... thanks Jules! So I really don't know why I am still going at it! I have a myspace, I have a facebook, I'm even part of WAYN (I think), and blogging. What has this world come to? That I have to be involved in four different internet-based lifestyles to keep in touch with past friends? It's a sad thought really, what ever happened to picking up the phone or even better taking a trip? Oh well, I'll do my best trying to create myself through a keyboard.
My point of this babble today is that we had family pictures last weekend, yay! It was a lot of fun and past due. It's been four and 1/2 years since Ryan and I had good, nice pictures done. Honestly it's difficult to be motivated to get up-to-date pictures without children. But I figured that I need to be proud of the life and family that I do have, and take advantage of it. So here are some of the pictures... I apologize if you have already seen them on myspace or facebook!

The House that Love Created

2007-09-03T07:38:00.000-07:00

Three years ago in October we bought our house. Any of you who own a house know what money pits they are! Our house was 26 years old but definately livable, we just wanted to do some updating. We had a list of 5 projects: paint the master bedroom, tile the upstairs bathroom floor, re-do the entire downstairs bathroom, put in a sprinkling system, and do some landscape changes. Consider those done! However the list has never stopped. Since then we have put in new carpet, created a built-in entertainment center downstairs, put in slate around our upstairs shower, re-decorated the laundry room, built a mantel for the fireplace, and built a 200 square foot shop in the backyard for Ryan's wood working.

Before

After

On top of all the projects there is the fact of simply buying new furniture, which I think we have taken care of for every room. I tell you... money pits! But it has been fun and I can only imagine how difficult it will be when we leave this house. Every room is a momento of the time we spent remodeling. We will be happy in our home for another good 10 years and I'm sure the projects will never stop!

Before
After
Current and future projects: Cement parts of the old drive way, build-out front porch, put in cedar fence on the south side of the house, new furnace, more new carpet, put up molding in master bedroom.

Our Dog Tessy

2007-08-18T08:19:00.000-07:00

As I sit in my bathrobe starring at the computer this fine Saturday morning listening to my dog moan and stretch on the floor I thought, "I need to tell her story".

Our dog Tessy has been a part of our family for 3 years now. We adopted her from the University of Utah. There she was used as a test subject for pain medications used for cancer patients. But before she began her career as a drug dog she was born in New York City and lived happily on a farm (or I imagine) for the first year of her life. On her first birthday she flew to Salt Lake City and spent the next year in a laboratory.

Approximately two weeks before the sale of our house was finalized we went to the U of U to pick out our Beagle. She was in a study group of five. George, Paul, John, Ringo, and our Yoko. When we came into the room Yoko was on the table getting an IV in her leg. She was such a good girl, didn't bother her a bit. While she was on the table we visited with the boys, but none of them struck us like she did. When she came down from the table she greeted us like an old friend. It was love at first sight. She still have a few more weeks of studies to do and then she would be ours.

Tessy the first few days at home

She moved in our new house almost the same day we did. The name "Yoko" had to go, so with the same process as naming a child (I imagine), we came up with the name Tessy. We actually heard the name on a "King of Queens" episode but it seemed to be perfect since her "testing" was now over. The first few days seemed a shock to poor Tessy, never having experienced carpet, stairs, grass, or couches. She also had just been "fixed" which meant carrying her up and downstairs while trying to potty train her and hand feeding her because she refused to eat out of a bowl. I thought, "what have we got ourselves into".

Now three years later, I can't imagine life without her. She has adjusted to this lifestyle just fine. She lays where she wants, goes outside when she should, and even let's us know when it's dinner time.

With no children yet, I'm so glad we have Tessy around!

Our family last fall