David and Telena Hall

I'm Over at my Other Blog

2011-09-08T19:55:00.000-07:00

For those of you who may have been wondering where I've been for so long, I have another blog that has been keeping me busy. Actually, I started it as a place to record my thoughts on motherhood, and is has simply replaced this blog. So, come check me out there. The address is www.mygreatesttreasurescallmemom.blogspot.com or click HERE!

Sweetheart Swing Prom

2011-05-17T14:13:00.000-07:00

A friend and I came up with the idea a while back to hold a Prom. Well, the day finally arrived and we held the dance this last Saturday. We had so much fun! Dave has never been crazy about dancing, but I put him in charge of the music play list and he got so excited. (I was glad because the music was one thing I was really overwhelmed about.) I got excited and made a new dress. It seemed to take forever, but I learned a lot in the process. I even made Dave a tie to match. So, here are just a few picts. of Dave and I before we left for the dance, and then at the dance in the picture area. We'll definitely have to do this again!

Family Pictures

2011-05-01T20:11:00.000-07:00

My wonderful sister in law, Ann, was so kind to take some family pictures for us on Saturday. Here are a few of my favorites.

Oh my heck, he looks soooooo grown up!

Love his eyes in this one.

I think it is nearly impossible to get all 5 of us to be looking and happy at the same time. But, we'll take the best we can get. I love how these turned out. Our last pictures of our family other than snapshots are before Greyson was born. I think it was time. Thanks Ann for your time and expertise.

Easter and Greyson's Birthday

2011-05-01T19:52:00.000-07:00

Oh what fun . . . Greyson's one! I literally can't believe that!!! Wade and Joan (Dave's parents) came down a few days early and we celebrated and then we celebrated again with my family on Easter weekend when we were all together already. Here are a few picts of our festivities.

Chad wanted to have a piniata for the party. I didn't want to smash up a $20 purchase, so we made our own. It was a lot of fun, and a lot of mess. It didn't last long once we started taking swings at it. But, everyone had a lot of fun with it and I'll have to remember to do another one.

My parents put on an egg hunt at their home this year. It was a lot of fun and everyone of their grandkids were there. That doesn't happen very often. Here is all ten kiddos (9 boys and only 1 girl) with my parents. It was a lot of fun.

In order to make it fair, my mom had printed a sheet for each kid with how many of each color of egg they were to pick up. It was so fun to watch each of them refer to their list and search. Of course, the littlest ones just loaded up and we had to sort them out later. Here is Chad consulting his guide.

Is It Spring Yet?

2011-03-14T20:09:00.000-07:00

Greyson will be 11 months this weekend. WOW, wow, wow!!! That means that a year ago, my neighbor and I were laying out on the grass each day so pregenant and just waiting to pop. And now, almost a year! Crazy! Greyson is busy, but he has his own style of crawling which doesn't get him very far. He lays on his tummy and uses his hands to turn himself in the directions he wants to go and his toes to push himself, usually backwards. When he gets up on his hands and knees, he only stays for a minute and shows no interest in using them to propel himself forward. Although this method of crawling keeps him more confided and out of things, it also makes him pretty angry. He wants to GO places. But, he is still so fun and so sweet. He has three teeth now, two on the bottom and one on the top to the left of where his front teeth should be.

We have been wishing Spring to come our way. Several days last week were nice and the boys even went outside to play in the backyard. Even Greyson has spent a few afternoons outside and he loves it! We did plant some seeds indoors to get them going for when it does warm up. The boys had fun putting the seeds int he soil and we even have a few sprouts. We also have several empty holes in our planter because I have yet to get to the store and buy my cilantro seeds. Put that on my to do list.

What we've been up to . . .

2011-02-02T18:51:00.000-08:00

We have had a great January and are excited to see what February brings. We have celebrated the new year, 2 birthdays, a pay raise and positive 90-day-review, snowman season, gone sledding, you name it. Here are a few pictures to show our fun.

Two silly boys! Tyler came out one night with his jammies pulled up to his armpits, honestly not realizing anything was funny about it. Dave and I had such a laugh that Chad joined in the fun.

Sledding! I have promised the boys I'd take them sledding for a while now, but then the day turns into cachos and we never go. One Saturday, we finally made it out and we had such a fun time. I mostly sat in a chair and held Greyson, but I got to go down a few times. Chad would have never left and Tyler could have been happy just walking on the trails. Fun memories.

We've been parting! Greyson looked so darling in this party hat, and surprisingly, he didn't try to take it off. We also have a tradition of having a snowman party each January. This year, we ate our snowman. We had snow (mashed tatos), carrot nose (carrots), coal eyes (roast), and his scarf (rolls-you gotta think outside the box on this one). We watched the movie The Snowman and cut out snowflakes form paper. Then we went out for Coldstone. It is always fun and makes the cold seem a little less unwelcoming for an evening.

This is Dave's birthday party. He turned 31! Old man, huh! :) Happy Birthday to ya.

Hope you all had a wonderful start to your year as well. We enjoy reading about your happenings on your blogs.

New Blog

2011-01-18T20:54:00.000-08:00

So, I am starting a new blog. No, it is not one to replace this one, but rather one to share thoughts on being a mom. I actually started it a while back, but used it more as a journal to write my thoughts. I realized that if I share it, I may find that others also share many of the same feelings as I do. It is not perfect, and it is a work in progress, but I am sharing it anyway, so go and check it out. It is titled "My Greatest Treasures" and you can find a link on the right of this blog. I plan to update it often, so leave comments, share your thoughts and struggles, etc. and let's do this journey together.

Tyler's 3rd birthday

2011-01-15T18:47:00.000-08:00

It is hard to believe that it has been three years since I was in the hospital with this guy. My, how the time has flown. He is truly the silliest little boy, and also the grouchiest, sweetest, most destructive, etc. He makes me laugh every day! (And I can't deny that he makes me frustrated probably every day too.)

I love to make birthdays feel like they are a special day. I asked Chad if he wanted to help me decorate once Tyler was asleep, but told him that I wanted to keep it a surprise. All day, he'd say to Tyler, "I'm not going to sleep with you." Then he'd remember the "surprise" part and look at Tyler and sweetly say, "I'm just kidding." He did stay awake and help me and I think Chad was probably more excited about the party than Tyler. This year for his birthday, Tyler was very adament that he wanted a "Mater and the Ghostlight" cake. So, here is how it turned out.

I thought it was acceptable. It was supposed to be covered in fondant, but for some reason, the recipe that I used before with no trouble was a disaster. So, we went with plan B and I think it worked. The sucker hanging from his hook is the "ghost light".

Just had to put in this last little picture of Tyler being Tyler. He loves to "cook" things with me and I find bowls, little cups and everything you can imagine full of water all over the house.

Christmas and New Year Celebrations

2011-01-15T18:15:00.000-08:00

I know Christmas was a month ago; I feel like things are finally getting back to normal and I am playing catch-up. We had a great Christmas. Our boys are getting old enough to be excited and look forward to the celebrations. Here are a few pictures. So I don't know where I went wrong, but my boys are afraid of Santa. In past years, Chad has expressed that he didn't even want Santa to come into our house. He never wants to go and see him, so when he told me he wanted to see Santa this year, I was blown away. Once we were there, it took him several minutes to decide to get near him, and no way he would sit on his lap, but he did talk to him. That is a big step.

For New Years, we went bowling. It was a lot of fun! This was one of our traditions when I was a child. The bowling alley did a count down at 8pm, and handed out noise makers and hats. Our boys thought it was the most fun. Greyson fell asleep at 7 and slept on coats on the floor. I don't know how anyone does it with little ones. But we had a ton of fun.

Dave, me and Tyler all decked out for the count down.

These were the hats the boys got at the bowling alley. I'm sure this picture was taken at about 12:30 after we celebrated till the real new year at my sister in laws house. I can't believe they were still awake.

We sure had a fun holiday and look forward to a wonderful new year!

Christmas Preparations

2010-12-22T12:46:00.001-08:00

It's the most wonderful time of the year! I do so love the Christmas season, and each year, I long for that feeling I had as a child when Christmas would come. It just "felt" different. I think as a kid, it was different because you were out of school. The house smelled and looked different. I have such good memories. Now, I work hard to create memories for my children. I hope they grow up to feel as I do, that Christmas time just "feels" different.

So this has nothing to do with getting ready for Christmas, but it was so cute, I just had to post it. Tyler loves to be pushed around in this laundry basket. Well, one night, Dave found him like this. He did it again the next night. I can't imagine that it is very comfortable, but oh so cute!

Gingerbread houses . . . what a mess. I always want to make them but they are always so messy. I just thought this picture showed how my two boys differ. Tyler build his house, then destroyed it, then broke it up, then ate it, then used the pieces to make a new "pile" and then ate it too, all in one day. Chad's house would still be here next Christmas if I didn't throw it out at some point when I can't stand it anymore.

Family picture. We tried to do a nice one, but someone always had their tounge out or eyes closed. This just worked better. One day soon, we'll go and get one done and then I'll post those. This picture is one of the reasons why I'm not sending Christmas cards this year.

This is our downstairs tree. Each year, I debate on whether to get a live tree for downstairs, or use our fake one. Note: our fake one was only $5 after Christmas our first year and it looks like a $5 tree. I hate it. I love live trees but I hate paying $55 + for one. And I can't seem to make myself pay $200 or more for a nice artificial one. This year, we found this beautiful tree for just $20. I was so proud, and I think it is more beautiful than any we've had before. Wishing you all a wonderful Merry Christmas!!!

Halloween

2010-11-01T20:16:00.000-07:00

This year for Halloween, Chad wanted to be Woody . . . AGAIN! So, after much convincing, I swayed him into being Buzz instead. Well, then Tyler wanted to be Buzz too. Problem-only one Buzz costume. A great neighbor lent us the Buzz costume in return for us loaning her a Woody costume. New problem-Tyler decided to be Woody instead. So . . . I had to make a new Woody, but I thought that was a fair deal; I'd much rather make Woody than even attempt to make Buzz. Here are their picts.

Chad with his pumpkin.

Tyler with his.

Greyson was a cow. It was what I had in the costume box that fit and that seems to be the way I operate as of late.

Here they are together. We had big plans that I was going to be Jessie and Dave was going to be Lotso (the big purple bear from Toy Story 3) but, those costumes never made it past the discussion table.

One last picture: At Chad's school, they did not get to dress up for Halloween. (Trust me, I was really bumbed. Really.) Instead, he got to do "crazy hair day". So, I had to paint Greyson's hair blue just to convince Chad it was cool enough to try. Then, Tyler never wants to be left out, so he did it too. Before the night was over, I had blue bangs too. We had a lot of fun, and Tyler and Greyson still have slightly blue scalps.

What we've been up to . . .

2010-09-12T19:19:00.000-07:00

Summer went so fast!!! We can't believe that fall is upon us. We kept busy, although we don't have anything special to report.
Greyson is growing like a weed. At his 4 months appt., he weighed 17 lbs 9 oz. He is in the 95th percentile. We love his smiles and laughs. We are so glad he is part of our family!

We took a trip to Bear Lake. The boys could have spent all day at the beach playing in the sand. I must admit that our own "Bear Lake" has appeared in our sandbox several times since we have returned home.

This was one of the rides at the KOA campground in Bear Lake. It was by far the most fun, interactive, family friendly KOA I can remember staying at.

Chad just started Kindergarten. Seriously. I cannot believe I am entering a new phase of my life. He goes all day every other day and seems to love it so far. Tyler misses him so we "play" school together when he's gone.

Chad in front of his classroom on the first day of school. When I was teaching kindergarten, I remember so many children (and parents) crying on the first day. Chad said "bye" and that was that. He even rode the bus home the first day.

We went to the fair. I grew up going to the state fair nearly every day. Now, we usually go once each year. I still love the atmosphere. This year I entered some of my canning in what is called "4-star canner". I had to can a pickle, jam, fruit and veggie. I was surprised to find that out of 8 entrants, I took first. Kinda fun and I learned a lot from doing it all.

This picture is of the boys at the water fountain in the Culligan booth. You can't see it but at the top is a faucet, so it looks like a floating faucet with water coming down. Probably one of the favorite spots in the fair.

We planted a garden. This has been by far our best garden! It is beautiful, including this sunflower (on of 3) which is taller than our house.

Lastly, we said goodbye to friends. Our next door neighbors and good friends just moved away to Utah. We are sure sad to see them go. It was Chad's best friend, and mine. So, to the Jeffery's, we hope you love your new neighbors. We miss you already!

In all, it has been a good summer. Now, we begin the decent to the new year that from now to then seems to go in a blink.

Chad's 5th Birthday!

2010-07-12T20:26:00.001-07:00

Wow! It is hard to believe that our beautiful "baby" boy, Chad, is now 5 years old!!! I can't say that it "feels like yesterday" but I can still remember that day in the hospital like it was yesterday. I guess the birth of your first will probably never be forgotten.
Here is Chad on Sunday before church. He looks so grown up!

Chad wanted a Chick Hicks cake from the movie CARS. I tried my hand at fondant, and it actually was quite simple to use. I made the marshmallow recipe and it turned out cute. Dave had a hard time cutting it because he was so proud of our creation.

This was the first time I have ever done a party with friends. (And maybe the last!) It was a TON of work. Next time, I'll just do it for 30 minutes. Two hours was WAY to long!!!!!

Here is the whole birthday party clan. It was fun, but I was ready for it to be over. Don't you love Chad's smile! Happy birthday bud!

Summer Fun

2010-07-08T20:39:00.000-07:00

Well, I wish I had some really fun things to share from our summer happenings but it is all just same old hat. But in no particular order, here are some things we have been up to. We had a good 4th of July. It is one of my FAVORITE holidays. This picture of Tyler was taken just before he burned his foot with a sparkler-ouch! It looks awful! Aside from that, we had a good time. The fireworks in Pocatello were wonderful!

Me with Tyler waiting for the fireworks to start.

I had another birthday-they are not as fun when you keep getting older as when you are young. Dave is always so good; he even makes my cake each year. Here is him and the boys just getting ready to start baking.

Greyson is getting bigger every day! He is so fun and smily now! 2 1/2 months-WOW!

For Memorial day, we took a camping trip. These pictures show what happened-it snowed!!!

Chad finished preschool. He has loved the two years he has attended, but he is so excited to go to kindergarten in the fall. I just with I could get him to stop having accidents (potty) and then I'd be excited for him to go to school too. Ah, why don't they come pottytrained?

Greyson getting in on the fun with the big boys. Actually, Tyler and Chad are constantly putting toys and things in his hands for him to hold.

Bubbles!

Well, that is pretty much the last 2 months in a nutshell. Dave is looking for a job-not an easy feat. I just don't know where he is supposed to get all this "experience" that is required for every job. I guess I need more faith.

Graduation

2010-05-23T19:46:00.000-07:00

This was a big day. It has been nearly all of our married life that Dave has been in school. On May 8th, he graduated from ISU. We are so proud of him. Now, we have a wonderful summer to spend with him before he begins grad school in the fall.

The whole Hall clan: Dave, me, Chad (4-almost 5), Tyler (2 1/2), Greyson (2 1/2 weeks)

Pictures of Greyson

2010-05-12T15:28:00.000-07:00

Everything seems to take longer with #3, but I finally got some pictures taken of Greyson. I had my sister in law, Beverly, take them for me. I thought they turned out pretty cute.

2010-05-12T15:26:00.001-07:00

2010-05-12T15:26:00.000-07:00

2010-05-12T15:24:00.000-07:00

Baby Greyson

2010-04-22T19:12:00.000-07:00

It's official! Baby Greyson has arrived! We headed up to the hospital after church on Sunday. The delivery went well, long, but well. Greyson put up a good fight. (I honestly thought this delivery would be so quick because Tyler's was a breeze. I labored 15 hours and pushed for a full hour! It was so much like a first delivery.) Dave and I getting ready to head to the hospital. One last picture of me pregenant-I was sooooo ready to be done!!!

Dave and Greyson. They are both exhausted!

This picture is a few minutes after he was born. This was the first baby I have had that came in the day time. Both Chad and Tyler were born in the night! It felt weird to have the whole day ahead of me once he was born. He weighed in at 7lbs, 2 oz and was 21 1/2 inches long.

He is such a good and easy baby so far. He sleeps tons and I have to wake him to feed him.

Chad and Tyler at the hospital. They were/are both so excited. Chad is a baby kid! He wants to hold the baby all the time. Tyler will give him loves but then life goes on as normal for him.

To those who have 3, I am already asking myself the question, "How does anyone get anything done with 3?" I guess I'll learn soon enough, or find that the answer is, "They don't!"

Baby's Room

2010-04-04T11:36:00.001-07:00

Remember when you were expecting your 1st baby? Everyone said things like, "Oh! Congratulations!!!" and "That is so exciting." They threw you a baby shower and you anticipated how life would change with the addition of your new little one.
When you are expecting your 3rd baby, you hear a lot of things like, "Wow! Another one. Good luck!" and "How soon after the birth are you going to be back at church?" In other words, nothing is changing and you don't need any time to recover, figure this out, or even be excited about another baby. The fact that I am having a 3rd boy only compounds the issue.
So, I decided that for my own sake, to help myself feel like this was a new experience and just as important at our previous 2 children, I opted to redo the nursery for this baby. I have used the same bedding with both of my other boys and it was just time for a change. With the help of several others, I have a had a lot of fun creating a space for our newest little one.
I made all of the bedding. I had found some I really liked in a magazine, but saved myself over $100 by doing it myself. I was pretty proud of that!

My sister in law, Ann, cut out these vynal letters for me. I think it turned out so fun! Thanks Ann!!

Rocker from my sister. I hated the one I had with my other 2 boys. This one is so comfortable. Chad and Tyler and I havve enjoyed rocking in it on the little bit of lap that I have left. So my budget for this room was so small, and became smaller as I went. I was able to purchase the crib and rocker from my sister for a great deal and repurposed other things I already had around. I love how it turned out!

Dave made me do this!

2010-02-28T19:10:00.001-08:00

So, I realize that the title makes this post sound so . . . um . . . exciting! But the truth is, Dave made me do "this" meaning update our blog. I don't know what my problem is, but I have been so bad at posting anything. I have not even posted Christmas, so I am officially not going to do so. But, here are several picts from Tyler's 2nd birthday, a snowman we build and it perished the same day, and one Christmas family picture. Hard to believe that this little guy is 2! We had 2 celebrations: one with just us, and one with family. Chad was determined that we would have a cake at both, so I made 2 train cakes. I swear I never want to make another one. Dave, however, has decided that each of our children will have a train cake on their 2nd birthday, whether they are a boy or a girl.

Chad and I had the most fun building this snowman. It turned out so darling. That afternoon, we ran some errands and when we got home, it looked like this . . .

I thought Chad would be dissapointed, but instead, he excidedly said, "Mom, we need to take a picture of it now!" It met an early demise.

Our one and only Christmas picture. Just know that we had a great holiday and a lot of fun. (I just realized I am the only one smiling in this picture.) -oh well!

Snowman Party

2010-01-24T19:21:00.001-08:00

"Snowman come from heaven; some assembly required." Tonight, we had a snowman party. David's mom sent us some fun ideas and we had so much fun with it. First, we ate a snowman dinner. We had snowman soup, which was actually chicken noodle with dumplings (snow balls) instead of noodles, and snowman pudding cups. After dinner, we all watched "The Snowman". It is a cute show, but a warning . . . the snowman dies! (aka. melts) After watching the show, we opened several snowman gifts sent from Dave's mom, and finally finished by eating snowball cake. The boys had a good time! Thanks Joan!!! Chad opening a snowman book. He was really excited to open gifts!

This is Tyler's snowman pudding cup. It is supposed to look like chocolate pudding on the bottom with a cool whip snowman on the top, but Tyler promptly used his spoon to squish the snowman. I guess we could call it "melted".

This is the snowball cake. Dave made it from scratch. It was really yummy, almost like a chocolate cake with cheesecake in the center.

Snowball soup!

The boys getting ready to eat our snowman dinner. We had so much fun! Joan, thanks again for such a fun idea!!!

It's A . . .

2009-12-07T21:36:00.000-08:00

BOY! Yes, number three. We are excited and all looks good. I do have to admit that after having the same decor for nearly 5 years over 2 boys, I am going to make a change. Call me crazy, but I am starting over with the room this time. Wish me luck!

Catching Up

2009-12-06T20:31:00.001-08:00

I don't know where the time goes!!! 19 days till Christmas-WOW! So, here are a few quick picts from the last few months. Chad wanted to be Woody again for Halloween, and Tyler wanted to be nothing; but once Tyler realized that he would get lots of candy, he was willing to wear anything I put him in. They both look so cute!

Chad had another field trip with preschool. We went to the pumpkin patch. Tyler even got to come. I am realizing how quickly Chad is growing up. It is strange to realize that next year, I will have a child in elementary school.

Our last bit of news will come tomorrow. I am expecting again, and tomorrow we find out what we will be having. I'll be sure to post then.

September 2009

2009-10-14T20:01:00.000-07:00

I have been accused of not posting in a while. I don't know where the time goes. However, I am ready to play catch up. So, here is recap of the last several months.

Chad started preschool. This is his second year and he loves it! Tyler also loves the idea of school, and has to take his backpack every time I go to take Chad. Chad had his first field trip for the year. His class went to the fire station. He had a really good time, and when he got home with all of his treasures, he let each of us pick one to keep. I was supprised that he actually let Tyler pick and keep the firemans hat. This week, he will go to the pumpkin patch with his class. Should be fun!

Other events that kept us busy were the fair. The state fair runs the first week or so of September. Since my dad has a booth there, we go and help set up early. I also run part of the Mary Kay booth there, so we stay busy. It is so fun to go. The boys love the animals and seeing all the fun things there. Of course, you have to each when you go, but the food is really not as good as I remember as a kid. It has been a busy fall, and we are already getting ready for the holidays that are almost upon us. Do you realize-only 10 weeks till Christmas!

Yellowstone!

2009-08-12T19:11:00.000-07:00

Yellowstone Park is literally one of my most favorite places on earth. I could live there and be perfectly happy. Dave on the other hand is quite content only visiting once every couple of years. Here are some picts of our most recent trip.

Thanks to my parents, we had nice living quarters. I am a big tent camper, but with kids, I'd prefer a dry and warm place to sleep and a place to clean up dishes. This was more than we could have asked for. Good thing to, because it rained one night so much that our fire put and campsite were floating. We would have packed up and gone home if we had been in a tent. Thanks mom and dad!

We had a lot of fun at the water. Lake Yellowstone was really high but beautiful. The boys loved throwing rocks into it.

One thing we did different this year was take our bikes. We did a lot of biking, which was nice for seeing things further off the beaten path. Plus, we didn't have to carry the boys or wait for them.

This picture was Dave's favorite. You can't read the sign behind them very well, but is says, "Beware of wild animals." They are being the wild animals.

This is the "Lion King" picture. Chad found some rocks to climb on. They were about 8 feet off the ground. He was so funny. Normally he would not have dared climb up them, but he reminded me that he is 4 now, and he is braver. Aparently there really is something magic that happens on your birthday.

Tyler, Chad and me at Old Faithful. We always have to get an ice cream cone at the Inn.

All the boys were a big help in setting up. Chad and Tyler wanted to do everything that dad did.
We had a great time. The only mishap was that I forgot to take Pull Ups for Chad for night time. Just a word to others, there are no Pull Ups for sale in the park, and the nearest store is about 1 1/2 hours away. We made do. I hoped Chad would learn to stay dry at night because he had to for 4 nights, but no such luck. We had a great time and are looking forward to going again, hopefully next year, although Dave will probably convince me to wait 2.

Summer Birthdays!

2009-07-12T19:11:00.000-07:00

July is a busy birthday month in our household. My birthday is on the 5th and Chad's is on the 12th, followed by several extended family birthdays. While in Boise last week, we celebrated my birthday. Chad was so cute to write me a birthday message on the sidewalk with chalks. I think you can read what it says, "Hape BDY Mom." He sounded it all out and then went back because he remembered the "dot" (period) at the end. He is awefully proud of his work.

Today was Chad's turn for a birthday. He turned 4! We had a lot of fun with his cake. At first, he wanted a cake shaped like Mader when he was still blue. I thought about it, but it was WAY too much work. After going through many ideas and several prototypes, here is the finished product.

It is a mini Radiator Springs. There is the "new road" and "Luigi's" tire store as well as the "Cozy Cone." Chad was so excited and the best part was the toys on the top were part of his presents.

Here is Chad with his cake. He picked out his own shirt to match it.

Finally, Chad got to play with all his presents. He got a lot of fun things and it was so thoughtful of everyone who brought gifts, cards and thought of him. In his own works, he was "SO EXCITED!!!" Happy Birthday Chad!

Balloon Farm

2009-07-12T18:56:00.000-07:00

We recently took a trip to Boise to visit Dave's family. While there, we had the fun adventure of planting a balloon farm. There is a book called "Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm." It tells the story of a man who farms balloons, so we thought we'd try our hand at it. We planted the seeds (colorful cake sprinkles) and watered them. Then we waited for them to grow.

The first morning after we planted them, we awoke to find this. Little balloons had popped up all over. The boys had so much fun, and each of them had to pick just one.

The next morning, they had come all of the way up. Again, everyone got to pick one and it was just fun. To this day, I am sure Chad thinks balloons grow from seeds.

Tyler had fun too. He always wants to be in with the big boys. Whatever they are doing, he is going to do to. He is getting so busy and so grown up.

Camping (of sorts)

2009-06-14T18:01:00.000-07:00

This weekend, we took a trip camping with my family. Both of my brothers and their families were there with my parents. We stayed in a campground just south of Provo, Utah. We got to stay for 3 days, and everyone else continued on for 8 more days. There may be a time in our lives when we can leave home and work for 10 days, but these are not those times. We did have a lot of fun though. We have a wonderful tent that we so enjoy. However, we have realized that we need to upgrade to something with more storage soon. We barely got all we needed into our vehicle and car carrier. Tyler is a true camper. He loves being dirty and enjoys walking all over the campsite. While in Utah, we had planned on going swimming at 7 Peaks. However, the weather did not cooperate, so we headed to Thanksgiving Point to the botanical gardens. We did get to enjoy a little of it before the rain hit. My favorite part was when we entered an area that looked like a maze. Chad kept saying, "Where do I start?" I didn't understand what he was referring to until he entered what he saw as the maze and started to weave through it. He absolutely loves mazes!

This is us in the rain. You can't tell, but it was pouring. We had a long way to go to get out of the rain and eventually gave up the umbrella and ran. We were all soaked by the time we got to the car, but it was a lot of fun. (Chad would disagree with the "fun" part.)

This was the other family picture we got before the rain hit. I had to tickle Chad's legs to get him to smile and he is almost falling out of my arms.

Finally is Chad on his bike. We got him this bike for his birthday last year. It took him a while to learn to ride it (or even want to learn for that matter). Now that he has figured it out, he is a biking machine. He wants to ride it everywhere, and has ridden it to my parents house about a mile away twice. On one bike ride, he wanted me to come over and see a puddle he had discovered. I told him that I couldn't because I had Tyler on the back of my bike and my bike would tip over. His simple response was, "Oh, you need training wheels, huh." I love how his mind works. Of course I need training wheels!

A Day Out With Thomas!

2009-05-24T18:50:00.000-07:00

My favorite part of motherhood is making memories with my family and children. Growing up, we did a lot of things together as a family and I love to sit with my siblings and reminisce. I want my children to have those same opportunities. Well, Chad LOVES Thomas the Train. When he turned 2, Dave's parents gave him a "Take Along Thomas" train set. He loved it instantly! Since then, he has added A LOT to his collection. Each Memorial Day, Thomas comes to the Heber Valley Railroad. So, after all that had happened on Thursday, we hopped in the car Friday morning and headed to Utah to ride on Thomas. I decided that no matter what had happened, Chad still needed to ride Thomas. We had been talking about this event for several months. Dave got to pose with the boys in front of Thomas. I got to ride next to Chad on the train. The fun part is that young children have such fun imaginations. It didn't matter to Chad that we just rode Thomas through town and back, he was happy just to be riding a train.

Chad did not want to meet Sir Topham Hat, but we had a lot of fun looking around and playing with Thomas train sets. There was even a Lego train set that Chad was fascinated with. Chad has developed a new found love for Legos since Dave got his out for Chad several weeks ago.

The hardest part for Chad was the gift shop. Everything Thomas! He wanted to buy a new train, which cost twice what it does anywhere else. I wanted him to get a shirt, which was also overpriced. Ultimately, Chad picked a Thomas whistle, which I'm sure I'll regret, and a few other souvenirs. It was a lot of fun to get to experience the magic of Thomas with Chad. I am sure this is a memory he will cherish for a long time.

Our little angels

2009-05-24T18:28:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, May 21st, we went in for our first ultrasound. The truth is, 14 weeks is a little early for an ultrasound, but since we had not yet been able to detect a heart beat, my doctor wanted to check on everything and be sure my dates were correct. Our first surprise was that as soon as we saw the image, we noticed that there was not one baby, but two! I knew something had been different this time around. I have never been so tired in my life. There were times when I would sleep 12 hours at night and be ready to lay down by 9am. I could hardly eat because I was so sick and I was just beyond exhausted. Since we had not been able to hear a heart beat at the doctor's office, I asked the ultrasound tech. if he had found one. They are so helpful-not really. All he could say was "I'll have your doctor give you a call. I can't really say much." So, we left the ultrasound not sure whether to be excited or devistated. About an hour later, we got a call from my doctor. Indeed, our worst fears were confirmed, as both babies had stopped growing at about 10 weeks. There really is not words to describe that call. Even though the babies had not been born, I felt a terrible loss. I had to have another ultrasound to confirm the miscarriage and was then scheduled for same day surgery. What a whirlwind of emotions a day like that can carry. One moment, I felt alright and knew that I would be fine. The next, I just couldn't control my tears. I wish the ultrasound picture came through better. It looks like two little babies with their legs crossed at the ankles. I guess only a mother can love her unborn children. So, as we cope with the loss of two angels, we wanted you all to know that we will not be welcoming our third child until a little later down the road.

Warm Weather Fun!

2009-05-17T08:29:00.000-07:00

We have been waiting for warm weather to come for quite a while. It seems to come in spurts and be warm for a day just to get us excited, then leave us cold for several more weeks. These last 2 weekends have been nice and we have enjoyed being outside more. We were able to get our garden planted (hope it grows) and build a new sandbox for the boys. Chad also got to take a field trip to the zoo with his preschool class. Here are some pictures of our most recent adventures.

Chad with his preschool class. He is the one with the blue shirt and hat on. They are looking at the ducks.

This is the only picture of Chad actually looking at the camera. He just wanted to look at the animals. Tyler on the other hand was excited about everything. He wanted to walk all by himself and see everything. He is a "I don't want to be left out of anything" kind of kid.

When we were about to leave, I found this beautiful tree. Chad opted out of the photo but Tyler joined me for it. It was a beautiful day.

This is our new sandbox. It is HUGE! I think most things are better big and a sandbox is no exception. It is 8 feet X 8 feet. We have yet to get more sand so what we had from our old sandbox barely covers the bottom. But, the boys love to play in it and it is a great reason to be outside.

All in all, we are loving the warmer weather. Next weekend, we are headed on our first camping trip of the season and will be taking a ride on Thomas the Train. Let's hope the weather holds.

Family Pictures!

2009-05-03T18:20:00.000-07:00

In March, I finally decided it was time to get a new family picture. I can't tell you the number of appointments I have set and then canceled. It is just so much work to get everyone ready and keep their clothes clean. Mostly, I kept thinking I would finally loose the rest of my pregnancy weight but I gave up and we went for it. I will admit that they turned out alright, although the experience was less than pleasant. The photographer would not listen to what I said and the first pose she did was to lay each of the boys down on their backs and take a picture from above. My boys don't love professional pictures as it is but that was a bad start. They were both bawling and that continued for the rest of the photo shoot. I have learned a few things through my several photo sessions. First, I always need someone to help. I usually tell my mom that I can do it on my own, but this time I was prepared. She came with me! My favorite part of the whole experience was when I had to sit with the photographer and choose my prints. After the screaming and mayhem, and I was over the top frustrated, she had the nerve to offer me a portrait package costing $900! Are you kidding me? I wouldn't spend that even if the pictures were stellar, but screaming kids blown up to 20x24 and framed--- no. Anyway, we now have a picture with all of our children in it. At least for now, we are up to date.

P.S. You can expect us to get a new family picture in about 1 year. We will then need to update it to have a new addition in it. Yes, we are expecting our 3rd in November. (My doctor said that 3 would put us over the top, and I can only imagine how we are going to handle 3. Wish us luck!)

Easter Fun!

2009-04-12T19:30:00.000-07:00

We don't do much for an egg hunt at our house, but what we do is enough. Chad, Tyler and I spent Thursday coloring eggs. I use Tyler's name lightly as the dye was so far away from him that he couldn't even reach it. The Easter Bunny visits our house on Saturday. Chad had a lot of fun collecting the eggs. Tyler mostly enjoyed putting the eggs back in hiding once Chad placed them in his basked. Tyler also loved the basket itself. He enjoyed playing peek-a-boo with it. I think he kept doing it because we kept laughing. It was so cute! On Sunday, we had several good visits with Chad about why we celebrate Easter. I don't think it sank in. Growing up, our egg hunts were awesome. I think we even hunted for eggs into my college years. My dad would always find himself a basket-usually one that was a decoration in our home. That meant that it was either so small it couldn't even hold one egg or so large it could hold the cat. It was probably more fun as I got older to watch my dad than to collect eggs as a kid. Fun memories.

Winter Wonderland!

2009-03-29T21:01:00.000-07:00

This is really not what I expect for weather in March. On Saturday, we had nice weather and spent some time outside. This is what we woke up to on Sunday. I think it is caused by Global Warming! So, to ease the irritation, I put on some Christmas music. I really contimplated setting up the Christmas tree, but opted for Christmas lights outside instead. We have still not taken them off the eves of the house so Dave got the extension chord back out and plugged them in. I won't be surprised when my tulips bloom through the snow.

Valentine's Day

2009-02-15T12:43:00.000-08:00

Dave and I took advantage of a casual weekend together to celebrate Valentine's Day. Since the last time we took pictures of just the two of us was probably our engagement pictures, we went out to a park and snapped a few. It was SO COLD! We went do dinner and a movie and just enjoyed time with no kids. Some much needed R and R.

Happy 1st Birthday Tyler!

2009-01-15T19:31:00.000-08:00

The face says it all! Tyler turned 1 year old on January 14th. The time has flown!!! It really does not seem like a year since he joined our family. He was okay with the cake, but once the ice cream was served, he would not be left out. He made a royal mess, as one should on his birthday!

Here is Tyler with his cake and presents. We had a fun time being together just us and the clean up was so much easier. We'll celebrate with everyone later this month for our January birthdays party.

Messy! Messy! Messy!

2009-01-15T19:14:00.000-08:00

Tyler's favorite place in the whole house is right here at our dog's water dish. If we couldn't close the door, he would be wet constantly. The problem is, this dish holds a lot of water! On this particular occasion, Tyler got a little too far before I caught him. He had the dish dumped, the clean dishcloths in the water and he and the floor was soaked! You can see how proud he is of his mess! At least he had fun in the process.

Happy New Year!!!

2009-01-15T19:03:00.000-08:00

Our New Year's Eve tradition has become bowling. My entire family heads to the bowling alley and we throw a few balls. The kids love it most and Dave. I get bored after a while. Last year I was so pregnant that I couldn't get the ball to go straight. This year, I was busy keeping Tyler from crawling down the alley.

Tyler's favorite place was at the ball return. Thank goodness, there were no smashed fingers. We just had a good time.

The rest of the evening is just family, food and not much else. We all visited and some played games. I am proud to say that my family was the only one to stay until after the ball dropped. I guess that means we are still young!

Christmas Morning!

2008-12-27T16:57:00.000-08:00

I don't know who is more excited on Christmas morning-us or the kids. Dave and I cannot sleep and are always the ones to go and wake up the kids. Chad has been dying to get Thomas and the waterfall from Santa. First thing Christmas morning, we heard the sound of chugging. We woke Chad up and he rushed down stairs to see what it might be. Since he has been checking each day for weeks, the reality if it must have been too much. He stood speachless for several minutes and then sat down on the stairs. It wasn't until Dave called him over that he went to see Thomas up close.

Chad literally spent the entire morning playing with his new train set.

Tyler also had a good Christmas-his 1st. Santa brought him a little ball popper set. Santa actually called us at 11:30 on Christmas eve to let us know that he forgot to check what batteries this toy might need and could we run to Walgreens to get some. So . . . off Dave went for batteries at 11:30. Aparently he was not the only one to get a call from Santa, as Walgreens was packed with last minute shoppers. :)

Each Christmas Eve, I make everyone a set of matching pj pants. This year I veered off of the matching part, but here are the boys in their new jammies.

Tyler even opened his own presents, with occasional help from Chad. We all had a wonderful time and just enjoyed being together. Mostly, we feel very blessed. Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

Sleigh Ride

2008-12-21T21:43:00.001-08:00

This past week, Pocatello got a dumping of snow. Since I have been a little less busy, we found a fun way to fill some time. Our home is in a wonderful spot, just 10 houses from our local library. I thought it might be fun to visit the library on our sled. Chad helped me get all of our books and we packed them in a bag. Then, he and Tyler loaded up for the walk. Tyler kept his eyes closed most of the time to keep the snowflakes out, but all in all we had a blast. I figure, God sends the snow. Might as well get out and enjoy it!

Christmas Vacation

2008-12-21T21:04:00.001-08:00

This weekend, we took a much needed family vacation together. With Dave's schooling and all of the craziness of the season, we needed a get away. Our vacation took us to Salt Lake City. Growing up, my family went to see the lights on Temple Square every year. Dave and I have not been back since our first Christmas together. When we first arrived, Chad nearly wore out the carpet in our hotel room looking out the window at the trains going by. Needless to say, we also had to ride the trains several times.

We had a great time. The night we visited Temple Square, it was snowing a lot! There were not many people there, but it was beautiful. Tyler was very bundled and cozy in his stroller.

Chad really loved eating the snowflakes. I had forgotten how beautiful and peaceful it is there.

On Saturday, we spent some time at the Discovery Center. I had never been there. In Pocatello, we don't have cool places like that. Chad had the time of his life. He loved every minute. We were so excited for him to see everything that we were running him from one thing to the next. His favorite was the "Kid's Eye View." This is where everything is in minature. Chad got to build the city with cranes and blocks. There was a kid sized house and a kid sized grocery store.

Chad especially loved shopping for food at the store. Then he would take his basket of food to the house and put it all away in the fridge there. I could just see the gears turning in his mind as he played "grown up."

This was the kid sized car. You could fill the tires with air, put gas in it and then sit in it and drive. Tyler even got in on this one.

Tonight as we drove back home, I asked Chad what he liked most about our trip. His answer . . . "All v' it!"

Chad's 1st Christmas Program

2008-12-21T21:00:00.001-08:00

Chad has been enrolled in a little pre-school this year. He absolutly loves it!!! On Thursday, he got to do his first school program. It took him most of the program to warm up enough to actually sing and I did have to sit with him the entire time, but it was cute. All leading up to the program, he would sing me his program songs. He was so excited. Then, again, when the program had ended, he sang me all of his songs (the same ones that he refused to sing during the actual program). This picture depicts "Rudolph". And sorry for all the blurry pictures-I need a new setting on my camera but I never think to find one until I am ready to take the picture.

Is Santa Here?

2008-12-13T13:07:00.000-08:00

This morning, Chad woke up to a fresh blanket of snow. He was so excited. The first thing he did was tell dad that he needed to check downstairs where our tree is. When he got to the tree, he simply said, "Nope!" Dave asked what he had expected to find and he cooly replied, "I thought Santa might have come." We decided that today was as good a day as any to begin an advent calander. 13 days to go!!!

Homespun Christmas

2008-12-13T10:49:00.001-08:00

Christmas is my favorite time of the year! I love the feeling in the air and the way people act and treat each other. Chad decided to get in on the fun this year by making his own gifts to give. Together, we made some Christmas ornaments. He did all the work and he even chose who he would give them to and wrapped them. I think he is really beginning to understand how Christmas works and looking forward to Christmas morning.

Chad was just so proud of his gifts.

Halloween!!!

2008-11-01T08:33:00.000-07:00

For Halloween, Chad wanted to be Buzz Lightyear. I opted for a compromise. He got to be Woody. He looked so good!

Of course, we all had to match, so Tyler was Mr. Potato Head (he looked like a brown sack with a face), Dave was Woody with Chad and I opted for Bo Peep. We had a great time.

We went up to Boise for the weekend and got there in time to do trick-or-treating. We all went out together. Chad had a great time!!! He and his cousin, Ryan, went door to door. Chad would not say anything, and Ryan was so excited, he said it for himself and for Chad. When we got back, Chad had to dump his candy on the ground and look at it all. First he asked if he could eat it all. I told him he needed to eat some dinner and then he could have some candy. So . . . off he went. A few minutes later, he came and told me, "I ate all my dinner. Now can I eat all my candy?" I guess next time I'll have to be a little more clear.

This picture is a little blurry, but this was the last stop. The bags are full and the noses are cold. We had a great Halloween!

Pumpkins! Pumpkins!

2008-11-01T08:17:00.000-07:00

I love this season! All the leaves changing and the feel of the holidays approaching. From now until Christmas - time just seems to disappear.

This year, our pumpkins in our own pumpkin patch grew mostly vines, so we headed off to a pumpkin patch to get pumpkins to carve. We enjoyed the corn maze, which took forever. I quit halfway through, but Chad kept on running. He just loved it!!!

Next, we picked some pumpkins to take home. Chad always describes the size of items by referring to them as compared to the size of each of us in the family. For example, we had to get a daddy pumpkin (the biggest), a mommy pumpkin (middle size), a Chadder Box pumpkin (small) and a Tyler pumpkin ("little tiny").

It has become our tradition to have my parents come and help us to carve our pumpkins each year. This year, Chad chose a face design from the comics I had used to cover the table.

They're done! Chad and my dad hold their pumpkins to display. Chad was so proud. I needed to put in a picture of them all lit up on the porch. Maybe next year!

A weekend at Grandma and Grandpa's

2008-10-20T09:12:00.000-07:00

This last weekend, we were able to spend the weekend in Boise, Idaho with Dave's family. We just don't get to see them enough. On Friday, the day we were planning to leave, Chad woke up at 6:30 so see if it was time to go yet. I told him that when the small hand got to the 5 on the clock, it would be time to go to Boise. Then before leaving for work, Dave told Chad that when he got home, it would be time to go. Chad watched that clock all day!!! It was a crazy busy day getting things ready and I had a ton of MK appointments. Then out of the blue, Dave showed up at 1pm. He usually does not come home for lunch on Fridays and the minute he walked in the door, Chad was jumping up and down saying, "Horray! Let's go to Boise!" The bad part was that it wasn't time yet, because Dave still had to go back to work. Oh, the look on Chad's face said it all!!!

Chad is a "grandpa kid." He loves both his grandpa's and would prefer to spend all his time with them if he could. Chad is on the left, and his cousin is the one on the right.

At Grandma and Grandpa's, there was a HUGE pile of leaves. I set Tyler in it thinking that he would protest. Boy, was I wrong!! He loved it! I think he ate about half of the leaves. He was just so happy.

This pumpkin is HUGE! It weighs 15o lbs. The picture just does not do it justice. And finally, our whole family. We had such a great time with family. And I always feel so rejunivated after a trip like that. Now I am ready to tackle the mommy thing again.

Read me nother one

2008-10-12T18:26:00.000-07:00

I (Dave, yes I have been assigned the task of writing about this picture that I took) was reading the Comics and as he usually does Chad wanted me to tell him about them. Well I told him about the good ones but he wanted more. So he decided to read them on his own. Afterward he crumpled them into a big ball. I was in the kitchen making brownies and he brought the crumpled comics in and I asked why he had crumpled them. He kind of got that sad am I in trouble look and said he was done reading and so he crumpled them. I told him that was fine and then we laughed at the crumpled ball of comics.

SNOW!!!

2008-10-12T18:08:00.000-07:00

Ya, it snowed!!! In October!!! On Saturday at about 4pm, it started to snow, and it just kept snowing. It really does feel like Christmas. Today after church, Chad wanted to go out and play in the snow. He has sure grown up since last year, when he refused to put on a coat or warm clothes and so never really got to play outside much. He had a blast today and both Dave and I came in before he did. Because of the snow, we also had to finish harvesting our garden. Not exactly what I had in mind-brushing off the snow before we could dig the carrots.
Here, Chad and Dave are beginning the snowman. Chad told us before he went outside that he wanted to put the carrot on.

Chad putting the carrot on.
A very proud Chad and dad. Chad has since checked outside several times to make sure that his snowman has not melted. Unfortunately, I don't think that it is going anywhere!

So Handsome!

2008-09-30T07:34:00.000-07:00

For the last few weeks, Chad has put up a fight to get ready for church. He does not want to wear his church clothes. Two weeks ago, Dave offered to Chad that mom buy him a new pair of church pants. Chad agreed and said that would help him to get ready better.
Well . . . here they are!

I found these two outfits and they matched. I just couldn't resist! Chad of course wanted to wear his tie out so he "can look at it." They looked so handsome. And yes, it did help Chad to get dressed without a fight-at least for one week.

Preschool

2008-09-14T20:39:00.000-07:00

Chad began preschool this last week. Of course, he had to have a Lightning backpack. He attends 2 days a week with our neighbor and his friend, Gavin. I was really nervous that he would have a hard time. He is very open about how he hates nursery at church and he seems to have a hard time adjusting to new situations. We really put him in preschool to help him develop the social skills. He had an open house last week, which really helped. He was most excited to see if there would be a sand box outside. (There wasn't.) On the first day, I expected him to cry-probably for a long time. I was even planning to stay the whole time if necessary. Well, I dropped him off and . . . nothing! His only request was that I leave baby Tyler behind. No tears! Nothing! To be honest, it did make it easier for me. I sure missed him while he was gone, but I was glad that he was having a good time. As it turns out, the woman who worked as my kindergarten aid when I was teaching is his preschool assistant. It is so fun! She knew him as a tiny baby (5 weeks and on) and now to see him so grown up is crazy. Chad is mostly looking forward to taking snack this week. He gets to choose a yellow snack and he has already picked bananas and popcorn. It is fun to be starting this new adventure in our lives.

This is Chad with his friend from next door. I think it has helped him to have someone familar there.

Chad and daddy at lunch, just before Chad left for his first day.

A big project

2008-09-07T18:27:00.000-07:00

With the long weekend last week, we decided to take on a project. When we were first married, all we did was home projects. I think we burned ourselves our. We finally got in the mood to once again try our hand at a project in our 2nd home. Since we moved here nearly 2 years ago, we have done nothing. The walls were white with stencils on them-grapes stenciled on the walls in the kitchen and the far wall was green. The weekend project was to paint the entire living space-living room, hall and kitchen/dining room. We also added a wood wall and shelf to the far (previoulsy green) wall. It is not done but it looks great so far. And it is a good fix for that itching to move. Just a little change and you feel like you live in a new home. We sit on the couches every night after the boys are in bed and admire our work. What do you think?

Stage 1

Stage 2
I wish I had a before. I'll have to post again when it is all finished with pictures hung and everything.

BUBBLES!!!

2008-09-07T18:18:00.000-07:00

Do you remember as a kid blowing bubbles in your milk with a straw. The other day, Chad was having a bad time . . . really grouchy. I made the mistake of showing him this trick to distract him. Well, it worked. He was really happy! But, now he wants to blow bubbles with everything he drinks. He had a really good pile of bubbles going.

Going to the Fair!

2008-09-07T14:21:00.000-07:00

The Eastern Idaho State Fair is a big old deal here in Pocatello. I have been going since I was a little girl. When I was younger, I would go with my dad to set up and take down his booth, the Culligan booth. I also participated in 4-H. Now, tradition continues. Chad loved the "waterfall" at the Culligan booth. I continue to enter sewing and canning out of tradition. We had a good time this year going up with my parents.

When my dad is around, Chad will always choose him. Here he is with my dad in the cattle and sheep barn.

Chad had a great time looking at all the animals. We watched the cows get milked. Here, I thought Chad was watching a sheep get sheered. I realized later that he was more interested in the trailer the sheep was standing on.

Looking back

2008-08-23T15:27:00.000-07:00

When Tyler was smaller, he had one of those diapers that no one wants to change. We actually stood up to get ready to leave and this is what we discovered. The picture says it all-it is the worst "blow out" I have ever seen.

2008-08-10T18:56:00.000-07:00

It has been such a busy summer. Telena has attended seminar for her Mary Kay business and she and Dave each spent a week at camp with the young men/young women. Now Dave begins school again in just 2 weeks. Wow! In July we celebrated Chad's 3rd birthday. He wanted a Lightning McQueen cake. We also took several family trips camping. It has been a fun time together this summer.

One last project

2008-06-08T19:36:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, we are currently in the process of selling our first home. It has been a rental property for 1 1/2 years now and we are ready to let it go. We were very blessed to find a buyer very quickly, but the process has been a slow one. Just last week, we got word that they were approved for the loan, but it is a FHA loan. One stipulation on an FHA loan is that the home can have no peeling paint. Well, if you have ever seen this home, you know that all it has is peeling paint. So, thus commenced the final project. The family buying the home is doing most of the work but Dave went over on Saturday to help pull down the old siding. We had talked about doing this for a long time, so it is fun to see the home get its final face lift.

No more naps!

2008-06-08T19:30:00.000-07:00

Chad has surpassed the age where he will take a nap, but he will fall asleep if we put him in the car at certain times of the day. The problem then is that he will not go to sleep at night. Here is one of the days he was exceptionally tired. Can you tell?

2008-05-25T13:05:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, we took a trip to the zoo. Chad loved it! We are not sure if he loved the animals as much as the other cool things there, like the water and the train. He said his favorite animal was the zebras, but the elephants took a close second.

Here is Chad with daddy in front of the train at the zoo. He loved it!

It seems to hold true that the simplest things matter most. Of all the animals at the zoo, Chad was fascinated by the squirrel.

Baby Tyler

2008-05-25T12:46:00.000-07:00

This is Tyler at 4 months old. He is such a chunk! We call him skinney man-so he doesn't get a complex about being chubby.

We finally did it!

2008-05-11T19:47:00.000-07:00

Well, as much as I have teased about blogging, I finally took the plunge-more for myself than anything else. To update those who have not heard, we had a baby in January-Tyler. He is a big dude now. Dave just finished one more semester of school. We are so grateful. We figure he has one to one and a half years left. It has beena long road, but we are enjoying the journey. Telena stays home now full time and works Mary Kay from home. She loves it. We are excited about the business. Today was Mother's day. It is always a good day to reflect. I am grateful to be a mother-even when it is really hard. I hope each of you feel blessed by that opportunity.