Sydney Walking!

I wish I had a camera a few days ago to catch her when she was really shaky, but this is still way cute.

The video on this new camera isn't as nice as our old camera, but I knew it wouldn't be when I bought it. I gave that up for some other nice things. Hopefully I don't regret it! =)

Coming soon...

We just bought a camera so updates will be coming soon!
It doesn't have as big a zoom as our other camera, and it doesn't have an LCD screen that pops out and flips around, but it has many things I'm really excited about so hopefully I won't miss the other's too much.

Sorry about the big picture. I tried to fix it but it's not working and I don't feel like trying harder. =)

Kid updates!

Sydney's walking! The day before yesterday was the first time she trusted herself to take some little steps on her own, and now she's already pretty confidently walking across the living room. She's still a little shaky(mostly at the end when she get's excited), but she's improving very quickly. Her birthday isn't for another 8 days so I have another 11 month old walker!

Sydney also loves our banana chair. She's sort of claimed it as her own you might say. She plays around it for a lot of the day. It's against the wall when we're not using it so she can't rock it back, but she likes to sit on it(she's sort of laying back with her legs sprawled out comfortably) and eye everyone like she's the head honcho just taking a break. It's REALLY cute. I'm very sad I haven't been able to get video or pictures(I got one on our phone but it won't let me transfer) of any of these things!

On Saturday we went to the Green Canyon hotsprings and it was Sydney's first time in a pool. I was so happy because she loved it! She would splash her cousins with her feet and then laugh.

David has always been pretty afraid of the water, but we found the cure. Cousins and jumping. As soon as Scott showed him he could jump off the edge into our arms and the water he was SO into it and didn't care(miraculously) that he was getting water in his face. He didn't even care if he went all the way under for a second, and even tried to run to the side of mom and jump in before I could get there to catch him! Luckily I was always able to get him up after just a second though I was diving to do so. It was so wonderful to see him get past this fear he has exibited for so long, though I hope he doesn't get totally reckless! haha

I love my kids!

Last Pictures on our Powershot S2 IS of 4 years

These are the pictures I was taking when the camera died. We're hoping to get our new camera this weekend but who knows for sure! Right now the Canon Powershot SD 990 looks pretty awesome for us, but we might change our minds.

Looking for a Digital Camera

As I said below our camera broke and we are looking for a new one. As much as I would love a digital SLR, we just can't fork out that money right now. I have a film SLR, and I mostly like film better anyway so it will be fine for nicer projects. We're looking for a point and shoot digital camera for every day use with these requirments:

-at least 5x optical zoom, preferrably more
-in the $200 range or less, preferrably
-image stabilizer
-manuel setting option
-around 10 mega pixels
-great quality video recorder
-macro setting
-no delay in taking the picture after I push the button

Maybe this is too much to ask for for the price we want, but I would love to hear about any camera's you know of(or have used/owned) that fit this(even if it doesn't have everything I want), or any camera's I should stay away from. I'm looking online but it would be great to have some help. Thanks guys! I really appreciate it!

Kisses

Here's a cute video from a little over a week ago. I forgot about it!

And just heads up, our digital camera broke, so until we get a new one my blog will be much less interesting.

Dirt and Bugs

Sorry family for not posting in over a week! I have been completely out of ideas! So here are a couple things my kids are doing now.

-Sydney loves to sit in the dirt, cover herself in it, and eat rocks and bark. Luckily she hasn't swallowed any yet, but she is so fast! She knows I don't like her to do it so she'll move quick as lightening to get it in there before I can stop her. The little stinker!

-David is now very afraid of bugs. Although, they're not usually bugs. Yesterday he was pushing his car in the kitchen and all of a sudden jumped up and ran away crying saying "Scary bug! Scary bug! Scary lizard!" I checked and there was absolutely no bug anywhere. He did it today with a down feather that was kinda stuck to the slide today. He sees little specks of dirt and freaks out that it's a bug! I don't even know where this came from seeing as how no bug has ever hurt him! Funny guy!

Here is a picture that I had taken while we were dressed up for Scott's cousin's reception last weekend. It's not the best but it's all I got.

Mother's Day

I have decided that I love Mother's Day! I am so grateful for my own wonderful mother, know so many great other's, and being one myself is even more special. I am so blessed for this opportunity, and am trying my best not to take it for granted.

Yesterday morning I received chocolate and strawberries on pancakes(Scott said he thought anything sugar inducing would probably be good) and it was delicious, and Scott's gift to me was a "Willow Tree" statue called "A Child's Touch". I was so excited when I saw it! I have wanted something like that for a long time.
Funny Story:
I also received a dark chocolate bar from Scott, and then I noticed an almost half eaten one sitting on the counter with smudged up sides. Scott said that when he wasn't looking David climbed up, opened it(this is one of those HUGE ones) threw away the evidence and went under the kitchen table to snarf it down. Even though I think it's naughty, it's funny when you're just told about it! I laughed!

After church we went over to Rick and Heidi's house for a family dinner, and my brother J joined us as well. Scott and Russ barbecued Mesquite marinaded pork chops and we had tons of other amazing food(provided by the husbands) to go with it. I should have taken a picture of them barbecuing but I have a hard time remembering to get everything and everyone. We love hanging out with Rick and Heidi and kids though, and it was also a blast to have J there as well.

J helping Sydney walk.
Hilary holding Sydney, talking to J and Naomi.

Rick and J talking very intensely about the show Hero's with Calvin looking on.

David and Naomi on the back steps with the little kitten "Snickers". It's taken through the door in case you're wondering.

My New Do

Tonight I got a long needed haircut! My friend Tristan, who is amazing with hair, cut it for me and I LOVE it! It's quite different than what she's done for me before(though it's harder to tell in the pictures), and what's also awesome is that I can still pull it into a pony tail. Woohoo! She said that there are 3 different kinds of layers in different parts of my hair. Don't really get it, but I like it! Sorry I have no good face on shots. I need to do it in day light otherwise you just can't see it really. Thank you so much Tristan!

David also got an adorable hair cut but I haven't gotten a good picture of it yet so I'll have to post later. He was so good for her, and loved all the sweets he got!

Last Week

I asked David to put his arm around Sydney one morning for a picture and this is what I got. =)

David with his Aunt Hilary who is expecting a baby in August. I told him this before hand and he told her after she came, "Baby in your tummy."
On Saturday we were cleaning house(I was vacuuming) and I accidentally sucked up a little toy canoe(about the length of a pencil). So then we halted to take the vacuum apart and fetch it back(it got caught just before the compartment)! Yay me! It was cute to watch David help though.

This morning we went walking as usual and it was sunny, but soooooooo cold! The darn wind! Sydney leaned forward in her swing and just enjoyed hanging there and I covered her in a warm blanket!David enjoying the swing. He can do the regular ones but I like doing these so Sydney can swing as well. David kept saying, "Push higher! push higher!" Like the shorts and snow coat combo? Crazy weather.
Here are some things David has said that I want to record:

-A few weeks ago we went to the park in St. Anthony and found a cool place where we could play right on the river and throw rocks in. David especially enjoyed this. At one point he goes over to a boulder the same size as him that's half buried in the ground, attempts to pick it up, looks at Daddy and says, "Help please!"

-Also a few weeks ago David was being a little sad in nursery. The teachers were talking to him and he finally calmed down and said, "Mommy later?" They were like "yeah mommy later!" Then he said, "Daddy too." This is one of his most favorite things to say lately. He says it if he asks for a movie and I say not right now. He nods his head very deliberately and says, "later." Or tonight he asked for medicine because he got some last night, I said next time he got sick he could have some, and he just kept repeating, "Later." Same sort of thing happens involving food, our walk, books. Anything.

-His other most favorite thing to say is "Hi" to everyone he sees. Everyone within 30 feet of us, he says it to. Or yells it. It's really cute and has gotten many people to look at him, smile, and say hi back. He'll continue to say it even after they have passed a lot of the time too, leaning his head out of the side of the stroller to see them.

The only way Scott would let me take this video is if he was wearing his hat. David doesn't normally need this kind of encouragement, but I think it was because of the camera.

The Best Day In Quite A While

I grew up on a farm where gardening was just a part of life. I learned to plant, weed and harvest. I think I gave my parents grief for most of those years, but I did always enjoy going to the garden while out playing and pulling out a huge carrot, or picking a bunch of sugar snap peas with the delicious pod, to eat. Then my family moved to Houston, and though I eventually loved being there, I always missed our garden and freedom to roam. I think that might be why, when we returned to the same farm and house before my Junior year of high school, I fell in love with gardening. I can't remember how soon after moving back, but I took it upon myself to keep the flower garden around our house looking nice, and though we didn't do a garden in our yard anymore, I loved helping in my Grandpa's garden on the same farm. I'm sure my parents wish I was that enthusiastic several years earlier! Pulling weeds is now one of my favorite things to do. If it hadn't have been for my parents making me help with the garden all those years, and then tasting the delicious results later, I wouldn't be confident about doing one now, and probably wouldn't care to either. Thank you Mom and Dad for teaching me the importance of hard work, the joys of gardening, and to really love God's creations!
Anyway, sorry I'm being so nostalgic! This weekend just brought back so many memories. We are blessed to have Scott's older sister, her husband, and 5 kids living only ten minutes away now, and they offered to let us do a garden together with them. Needless to say I was SO excited and started planning everything involving it immediately. This last Saturday we started early and got our garden all ready and planted with the things that can handle frost. I loved being outside in the sun, at a house surrounded by open spaces, birds chirping, and no public parks as we gardened. Thank you Rick and Heidi!
I took pictures, but I don't want to show them until I have a during and after shot as well, so that'll be another post later. Though you can get a glimpse in the background of one of these pictures.
David had a blast and actually got down into the dirt with mini trucks and LOVED it. I loved seeing that. He also went to a puddle under a water spickett and got all wet, and went back to the dirt and I didn't try to stop him. The poor boy has spent too much time in places where there isn't the option of getting really dirty. Anyway, here are some pictures from later in the afternoon/evening when we were all done.

By now the dirt that had caked on David's pants and shoes after getting wet had dried and fallen off.

When I first stood Sydney in the grass she did not like it at all! She picked one leg up as high as she could and refused to take a step no matter how far forward I leaned her. It was SO cute. She'd spin her little toes around as she held it up.

After about 10 minutes though she let me walk around with her.

Scott being silly with Sydney and my nephew Justin's air soft gun.

Saying Goodbye...Again

As I have mentioned in a previous post about our friends the Howard's, we say goodbye to people often here. One of the not so fun aspects of living in a college town. This last week my best friend Kelly moved away. I feel a real sense of loss, and I'm not sure it's even quite hit me yet. We have spent the last 2 years and 3 months speed walking together almost every day(only missing if someone was really sick, or Fridays during the winters when community hour isn't available at the indoor track), and having our social hour at the same time and after while the boys played on the playground. I do feel so blessed though that we were able to be friends and workout partners for so long. It really helped having her there to make me really want to go every single day. We had so much fun! Even when we were pregnant with our second we walked, slowing down gradually together as we were only 3 days apart in our due dates, and as soon as the six weeks post partum was near we started up again. Despite moving to Rexburg, a place I couldn't believe I was moving to, I really have loved it a lot more than I thought I would, and a large part of that is because of Kelly. Thank you so much!

Here is a look at us and our kids through the last couple years.

May 16, 2007 David with Tanner and Kaylee(she and her Mom were also our walking buddies from Feb '07 to about July '07)
May 20, 2007
May 24, 2007 Hanging out with Kelly and Tanner after a walk.

September 20, 2007 Tanner giving David a hug. They weren't quite crawling yet!

September 23, 2007

November 6, 2007

February 11, 2008 Playing on campus after our indoor walk. Look at the difference 3 months makes?

March 7, 2008 Hanging out on a Friday when we couldn't walk.

April 4, 2008 Playing on the tennis courts cause we were still nervous about letting them climb on the toys. It wasn't long though before they were trying it out.

May 3, 2008 Kelly and I with our friend Tiffany at my baby shower.

Kelly had me take pictures of her with her belly. That was so fun!
July Then I took pictures of her new son at a month old.
July 12, 2008 Enjoying the beautiful summer every day on our walks...

July 18, 2008 Our babies at the ward campout

August 7, 2008 Taking pictures of the whole family...


August 21, 2008 Our families hanging out outside her apartment with some other friends as well.

September 11, 2008 The boys playing around after Kelly took pictures of our family.
November 25, 2008 The last of the warm(enough) days.

January 23, 2009 Hanging out once again on a Friday. I'm not a big TV fan, but they were watching Baby Einstiens and I thought it was cute.

March 18, 2009 The first warm day("warm" meaning lower-mid 40's-that's warm after the Rexburg winters) where we decided to walk on the outdoor track rather than the indoor one.

April 18, 2009 Our last day with our friends. David already misses Tanner so much!

Kelly and I. It's a really bad picture of me but that's ok!

I miss you Kelly but hope you're having a great time!

Bath Time

Ken and Misty's Wedding

Over Easter weekend Scott was able to go to Texas for his brother's wedding. From what I have heard and seen in pictures, it was a beautiful wedding. We are so happy for Ken and Misty. Last summer Scott and I were able to meet Misty at his family reunion and are so happy to have her as a part of the family now. Congratulations!

Scott taking a picture of himself in the window reflection of where the family stayed on Lake Conroe(?).The beautiful ceremony setting.

Scott with his little brother Russ. I think this was before the wedding when they were helping get ready.
The ceremony.

Scott's Dad with Ken's son.

I'm not sure this is in the right order but oh well! They did a thing where the parents of the bride and also the groom took little candles and lit a bigger one.
Everyone from Scott's family who was able to go.

Cutting the cake!
Dancing...

My brother and sister-in-law at the reception.

Scott and our brother-in-law Rick having some fun.

Scott with his parents and all of his siblings.

Even though it was a very short trip Scott had a great time with his family and we look forward to seeing them again. Thank you Scott and Hilary for the pictures!