Jon, Jalynn & Cayson

Posts

2010-12-10T13:12:00.002-07:00

I finally got my posts updated with pictures be sure to check them ALL out (there's a few). Hopefully I will get them all finished by the end of the week. Be sure to check back.....

One Year Pictures

2010-11-07T20:53:00.014-07:00

I totally forgot to post Caysons One Year pictures. Here they are, ENJOY!

Signs of Fall

2010-11-07T00:12:00.016-06:00

Well..... The leaves have changed and are starting to fall and now we get to PLAY!!! Can I just tell you how much I Love fall? The crisp air, beautiful colors and playing in the leaves. We got to go to Bear Lake today and rake leaves and we had a grand ole time. The pictures pretty much tell the story, so enjoy! Cayson had his own little rake too.

Story: Michael said we "had" to rake all the leaves into a big pile under the tree so we could jump into them from up high. Well, when it came time Kaliko was the first to climb in the tree. He chickend out, so Michael went up there to show him how it was done. He jumped and Kaliko still waited..... I was thinking in my head the whole time what a pansy i'm gonna do this. So, I climbed up the tree and then Kaliko and I were both sitting there too chicken to jump. -From the ground it doesnt look bad at all, until you actually get up there. I finally junped after about 10 minutes of everybody talking me into it and then i jumped again and again and again. Don't know what I was so afraid of.......

The best one yet.....

2010-10-24T22:57:00.009-06:00

Cayson Birthday party turned out PERFECT, It couldn't have been any better! We had family and some friends over for dinner, opened presents, and ate cake and ice cream. (mmmmm) as Cayson would say. He did awesome opening his presents-knew exactly what to do. There were so many though, by the end Jon and I had to open them cause he lost interest.
Funny story though: I was talking to Cayson last night before we put him to bed and asked him if this was the best birthday party he's had? He looked at me with a blank stare on his face and then shook his head NO. Silly Boy!!

Let's CELEBRATE

2010-10-21T12:02:00.016-06:00

My baby is ONE. Where did the time go? I seriously cannot believe that it has been a whole year since Cayson has graced us with his presence. It's amazing how he has gone from a tiny helpless newborn to a constantly moving, exploring little boy full of personality. He keeps me on my toes that's for sure. I wouldnt have it any other way though. HAPPY BIRTHDAY my sweet MONKEY!!

Since we were in Ogden during the day we took him down to the Union Station to see all the trains. He was a little more interested in the gravel than anything, but we had fun none the less. In the evening Cayson had a date with Miss Adrie to the Pumpkin Walk. -In the rush to make it to the shuttle on time I forgot my camera in the car- So, you'll just have to take my word for it that we were there. I have never been to the Pumpkin Walk, I don't know why, it was the coolest thing. We will definitly be making that a yearly tradition. I think that Cayson liked it, he didn't cry at all ( it was late when we got there and way past his bedtime). He seemed pretty interested in everything, or maybe he was just trying to impress his HOT date!
We had such a good day with Cayson doing whatever. I can't wait till Saturday when we will have his 1st Birthday party! I love you monkey and LOVE being your MOMMY! I can't wait for what this next year will bring.

Oh, and as of Late.......
Towards the end of August Cayson started walking so he has been pretty busy lately. He thinks he is so cool now and struts around the house, it is so cute! He also is talking/babbling so much too. He says "mama", "dada" (sometimes), "mmmm" whenever he sees or wants food , "ba" for ball. He gives five and will also shake his head NO (so cute). We are trying to teach him to nod YES right now, but that doesn't seem to be working.

His 1 year stats are...

Weight: 21 lbs. 25%
Height: 29 3/8 inches 35%
Head: 17 cm

3 Months Late.....

2010-10-19T17:21:00.009-06:00

But, better late than never right? Here's Caysons 9 month pictures. Sorry for the overload but they are so stinkin cute I couldn't pick just a few.

Teeth.....

2010-08-27T22:54:00.005-06:00

The never ending story...
So today Jon and I discovered 2 more teeth. Where are these things coming from? They just pop out of no where. Cayson now has 4 top teeth and 1 bottom. And as a side note, he bit me last night for the first time while i was feeding him. I'm thinking I'll have to stop nursing him if this keeps up cause I'm not dealing with that..... Anyways, I also must say I am the worst mom ever. Once again he had nothing to ease the pain while they came in. He was really Onry Wednesday and my first thought was to check his mouth and there was nothing, his gums weren't even swollen so I figured that couldn't be the problem. Guess I was wrong. Maybe with his next tooth I'll have learned from both my experiences and I'll have a happier baby. I'm just glad that babies don't remember these experiences or I'm pretty sure he'd remind me every day of the pain I let him go through and how miserable he was:(

Discoveries

2010-08-25T23:45:00.005-06:00

One of the most rewarding things about being a parent is watching your babies learn and discover new things. This one particular instance though has got to be by far the best.....
This morning I was giving Cayson a bath. While he was sitting there playing with a toy he got excited over something and started flapping his arms up and down, dropping the toy. He leaned over and on his way down to pick it up he discovered something...... His MAN parts! He sat there inspecting and playing with "it" for a good minute and all during this time I was laughing my head off. Cayson looked up and saw that I was laughing and he started laughing too.( I love that little dude) After he relized he lost sight of "you know what" he reached down to play with it again but it couldnt be found..His cute little Budda Belly was covering that area so he tried moving, pushing, and pulling his belly out of the way. After a few seconds he gave up, thank goodness.
I love this stage right now, watching Cayson discover new objects and try to figure out how they work. I love how he's starting to "remember" things he's playing with. I love how he sees something or knows somethings somewhere and he'll do anything to get it..pulling stuff off shelves, moving something out of the way or pushing things over. I just plain LOVE this kid!!

2 More......

2010-08-24T15:13:00.003-06:00

Teeth, for a running total of 3 now. Can I just say though I am not a fan. They are sharp little buggers and my fingers, nose, and cheeks don't like them either. I am very proud of my little man though he cut these last 2 without any pain medicine or anything. I had no idea he was Even getting more. He was a little onry and clingy but I didn't think to check his mouth like the last one. On Monday the 16th we stopped by my moms and she is the one that discovered them. So he now has one bottom and 2 top and LOVES to bite EVERYTHING!
On another note, I weighed him today and he is 19lbs 12oz. When did my baby get so big? It makes me so sad to think about how much he has grown up an changed.

Books, Books, & More Books

2010-03-17T17:39:00.002-06:00

I have been looking for the longest time for some books for Cayson and yesterday my search came to an end. Check out all these baby books that I picked up. Yeah, it's a lot I know, 41 to be exact but I just couldn't pass them up. Now for the kicker, guess how much they cost?.........

Yep that's right seven whole dollars, that's a whooping 6 cents per book. They are all used but in excellent condition. There is this new book outlet here in Logan and they sell pretty much any type of book you can imagine. Most of them are $1 or you can fill the bag provided with as much as you can fit for $7. You do have to look through lots and lots of shelves and boxes but the deal is pretty worth it, I think. If you're interested in going it is over behind SEI to the left. If you wanna go let me know and I can find out the exact address for you.

The Zoo

2010-03-17T16:18:00.005-06:00

On Monday me and my friend Morgan took our little ones on an adventure to Willow Park Zoo. We walked from Morgans house to the zoo which is a little over 1.5 miles one way. The boys did really well, they both fell asleep on the walk there and woke up when we got there. We sat and played on a bench in the sun, looked and all the little birdies (pretty much all that was there) and had ourselves a relaxing, fun afternoon. Cayson was pretty fascinated by the birds for a minute. Then he fell asleep again. The only bad thing was that I forgot sunscreen so by the end of the day I had a rosy red baby. I know, I'm a horrible mom but lesson learned. I now have some in every bag, car, and baby thing where we may need it so we will NEVER leave home without it again.

Lucas and Cayson just chillin!
Cayson staring at the birds

This is the bird he was fixed on. It was pretty cute, too bad I couldn't get them both in the picture.

4 Months

2010-02-25T15:19:00.008-07:00

We took Cayson in on Monday for his 4 month check-up, you never really understand when people say they grow SO fast! He's still a little Monkey but I can't believe I've been a mom for 4 months now.. and I'm loving every minute of it. Anyways- these were his stats:

Weight: 14lbs 3oz 40th percentile
Length: 26 1/4 inches 90th percentile
Head Circumference: 16 inches 15th percentile

We weren't able to get his shots yet because he has been acting pretty fussy the past week and was running a little bit of a fever. So, the doctor wanted to make sure that he wasn't coming down with anything. He hasn't gotten anything thing that I know of and has been pretty normal for 2 days so we go in tomorrow morning. What a great way to kick off the weekend huh? (an onry, sore, crying baby). Hopefully it wont be too bad for him, he handled his 2 month shots pretty well actually so maybe these ones won't even phase him.....yeah right, but a mom can wish. Let's just see how well I can handle them, I've already informed Jon that he will be coming and he will be the one to hold him down when he gets poked. Wish us luck!!!

A Breath of Fresh Air

2010-01-23T22:32:00.011-07:00

For the first time since Cayson was born I have finally been able to actually get out of the house and do something. I have been getting a little stir crazy lately so today we took Cayson to Jons parents and me, Jon, Michael and Jen went snowshoeing. We planned on going up Blacksmith Fork Canyon but with all the snow we got lately there were avalanche warnings for both canyons so we were a little lost on what to do. We deicded to just drive around and we ended up in Avon and found the perfect spot. I'm not exactly sure how far we hiked but i'll tell you what, my legs are KILLING me! We had a great time though and the weather was perfect, it snowed but nothing we couldn't handle.

We decided to build a snowman in the middle of the trail and then we played dress up with our new little friend. Check out his looks!

It doesnt look that bad, but this hill was monsterous. I'm pretty sure that it was after this climb that we decided to be done and headed back to the car.

Mr. Cayson

2010-01-21T14:15:00.008-07:00

My little monkey is 3 months old already. I have no idea where the time has gone. He has grown so fast and it has been so fun to watch him learn new things and develop his own personality. He smiles and talks so much now, I can't get enough of it. Jon can really get him going , I love to just sit and watch the 2 of them interact. Cayson sure loves his daddy!

He is starting to not mind tummy time now. Although he does have his fits every once in a while. He LOVES to put anything and everything in his mouth. If something even touches his face he grabs it and into the mouth goes. His fist is a big hit right now. He can almost fit the whole thing in, it is pretty funny to watch. When I'm feeding him he will sometimes try to nurse and put his fist in his mouth and then he cries because he's hungry but doesn't want to stop sucking his hand.

This teddy bear is his favorite toy. We have tried giving him all sorts of things to keep him entertained and he just pushes them away but for some reason he loves his teddy. I had it sitting on the changing table shelf just for decoration and one day while I was changing him he was throwing the biggest fit. It was the closest thing to me so i grabbed it and handed it to him. For some reason he thought it was the funniest thing ever and has loved it ever since. He will hug it and hold it like this for hours if we let him. Oh, and of course he eats this too. I am not sure who gave us this but if you read this and remember giving it THANK YOU!! It has been such a life saver and makes for one happy baby.

Baby Einstein has been a big hit too! I usually put it on for him when he's on his tummy to keep him entertained. It has helped him to keep his head up cause he has something to look at. He also gets really excited and kicks his arms and legs and talks to the computer when they show lots of colors and spinning things. It is so funny! I know this looks bad setting my child infront of the computer, but until I can get to the library and check some movies out youtube will have to work. It is a GREAT 10 minute babysitter.

Overall, Cayson is doing Excellent! He has doubled his birth weight and weighs 12lbs. 4oz.. Last week he started sleeping most of the way through the night, only waking up once a night instead of 3-4 times. He doesn't spit up as much which has had 2 wonderous benifits.... Less laundry for me and now he doesn't think he needs to eat every 2 hours, YAY!! He loves to be naked and loves his baths. He hates to lay flat on hos back and is always trying to pull himself up. So, we have to prop him up with pillows and his boppy. Well, that's Caysons last 3-4 weeks in a nutshell. Life is great:)

A Miracle Has Happened!

2010-01-14T21:51:00.005-07:00

I have waited for 3 VERY long months for this to happen..........For two nights in a row Cayson has as slept 6 hours or more straight. I am one very DELIGHTED mom! Tuesday night I had a really hard time getting Cayson to go to sleep. Around midnight he finally fell asleep and woke up at 6am to eat and fell back asleep about 45 minutes later. Last night he zonked out about 10:30pm and slept till 7am. I am so used to him waking up every 2-3 hours that I kept waking up and looking at the clock wondering when he was going to wake up. I know that I should't get my hopes up and think that this will keep going but I wont complain if it does. Even so, I am just very greatful for a full nights sleep 2 nights in a row. That hasn't happened in a LONG time.

On another note, last night we went down to Ogden to celebrate Kalikos birthday. We went to Javairs for dinner with my family and Ronda and her family,then had cake and ice cream. I LOVE birthdays, yummy dessert and family time! HAPPY BIRTHDAY KALIKO, we are so glad you are part of the family and hope that you had a GREAT day.

I Love My Family

2010-01-12T05:10:00.004-07:00

2 weekends ago we went down to my familys to visit. On Saturday night one of Michaels friends called him and said that he had some stuff from work that he was taking to the DI and wondered if anyone wanted it. So, Jon, Michael and my dad went up to Petersen Farm Supply and just took the box of everything not knowing what was in it, and here are some of our treasures........

This is a little Christmas decoration rocking horse, just Caysons size. When my dad was rocking him on it he was kicking his legs and bouncing his arms, he loved it. After we all had our kicks with everything we sent most of it to the DI, but it was sure fun to play with. Thanks Quin!!

Great Grandma & Grandpa Howell

2010-01-05T20:13:00.005-07:00

Today we took Cayson to Rexburg to meet his great grandma and grandpa Howell. They couldn't come up for his blessing because of a big snow storm and we have been trying to get up there ever since. I think that it is very important for them and Cayson to have a relationship with each other. I never really got that with my great grandparents and it is my only hope that he will have that opportunity.

We were only 3 weeks short of getting a 5 generation picture of all Howells. I was a little bummed to say the least, but I am sure Great Great Grandma was taking good care of him before he came to us!

The Best Christmas Ever!

2009-12-27T10:03:00.010-07:00

We had such a great Christmas I can honestly say it was probably the best one yet! We were able to spend it with both our families and a brand new baby, Santa Claus came and totally spoiled us. What more could you ask for?

Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning we spent with my family and had a great time. It was Michaels first Christmas since his mission so he was very excited! We had our traditional Christmas Eve dinner with my Grandma King and Aunt Kathy and her family. That to me is the best part of Christmas, yummy snack food, dinner and family time. After dinner and visiting, we all sat around the Christmas tree and opened our one present, PJ'S (that's another favorite part). Then it was off to bed so Santa could come!!!

Cayson was pretty darn excited aparently, he didn't go to sleep till 1am and then was up every 2 hours after that. Finally, about 6:45 we just decided to wake everyone else up so we could open presents.

After presents Aunt Ronda and her family came over for our traditional breakfast. We had to scarf it down and head to Hyrum so we could be there when Jons brother called from Brazil. He was only able to talk for a little less than an hour so it was a short but sweet call.

Then we spent the rest of Christmas Day with Jons family. We opened presents, ate yummy cheese fondue, read the christmas story with flannel board and all.

Cayson with Grandpa howell and his sweet new cowboy boots and glow worm

I hope that you all enjoyed the holidays as much as we did!

2 Month Pictures

2009-12-22T22:51:00.004-07:00

2 months

2009-12-21T18:31:00.005-07:00

My sweet baby is exactly 2 months today! Time sure has gone by at lightening speed. It is getting hard for me to even remember him as a newborn, it's crazy. It truly seems like it was only a few days ago that we brough him home from the hospital, but maybe it's all those sleepless nights and my ability to differ time is gone...

We also had his 2 month well check today. Talk about the saddest thing EVER!!! Cayson is doing great though. Length: 24 1/2 95 percentile, Weight: 10lbs 9oz. 25 percentile. So I guess even though he spits up gallons at a time he is gaining something, he is almost double his birth weight. We did find out though that he has an immature colon which is causing all his fusiness and gas. The only thing that we can do for that is to stop breasfeeding and give him a special kind of formula which is expensive or tuff it out for a few more months. We opted for the tuffing it out. I feel so bad for our little monkey and his gas.

He also got the first 4 of his immunization shots, which was so sad. I knew that he would be getting them so I made Jon come with us for moral support. Jon had to help hold his head and the doctor held his feet while i sat back and tried not to pay attention. I knew that if I did I would probably end up bawling. His cry was the saddest cry I have ever heard (it was so cute though). I will admit, I did cry a little when he wouldnt calm down and then Jon had two babies to comfort. We were able to get him to sleep before we left the doctors office and he has pretty much slept all day today. He has been such a trooper and not really fussy at all since we left.

Tomorrow I am taking him to have his 2 month pictures taken so check back to see the little monkey!!

Great Grandma King

2009-11-29T22:00:00.003-07:00

Over the weekend we were also able to take Cayson to meet his Great Grandma King. She is currently in a nursing rehab facility so she had not been able to come see him. She has become quite the crazy old lady lately so I was a little worried about going there and having her hold him. When we walked into her room and she saw that we had the baby with us she was so excited and happy. As she sat there holding him she talked so sweet to him and couldnt have been prouder.This picture is so special, she harldy ever smiles or laughs anymore and holding Cayson that smile never left her face. She was just so peaceful!
4 Generation picture

Cayson, you have such a loving family and I hope that one day you relize just how special you are to your parents, grandparents and great grandparents,

Thanksgiving fun

2009-11-29T21:59:00.007-07:00

We had great thanksgiving! It was very relaxing and just what we needed. We spent the day with Jons family and had lots of yummy food. Jon played video games with his brothers, I looked and looked through the ads and Cayson slept the day away.

Jons mom with the 2 grandkids, Felix & Cayson

In the evening we went down to South Weber so we could do some Day After Thanksgiving shopping with my mom and brothers. We planned out our attack (which was very small i might add, there really wasnt anything that was a killer deal and worth dying for) and went to bed. We were up at 3 and ready to roll.
My sweet dad offered to watch Cayson for us so both Jon and I could go and because he didnt want to wake up early. Cayson usually wakes up around 3 to eat so i fed him right before we left and put him back to bed. Unfortunately for my dad, he didnt stay asleep and was wide awake the whole time we were gone. (Guess he should have come afterall) He was a trooper though, he even fed him a bottle and changed his diaper. Thanks dad!!!

3 years already?

2009-06-17T17:55:00.007-06:00

Yesterday, the 16th, Jon and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary. I seriously can't believe that it has been that long already. I guess it's true what they say" time flys when you're having fun!" I can truly say that the past 3 years have been a blast and I can't wait for the MANY more years to come.
Celebrating this year was a little harder than it has been in the past because we really wanted to go on vacation but had to be back today to welcome home my little brother. Yes, we could have gone somewhere after but who wants to leave on a vacation after not seeing someone for 2 years? NOT ME!!! I wanna spend every available day I can getting reacquainted.

We woke up early and drove down to Ogden to go to Dennys for breakfast. (Jon loves this place and would probably eat here everyday if he could but, since the closest one is an hour away, special ocassions will just have to do). Later in the day we drove to Park City to do a little baby shopping and get me some new clothes too. I had a really hard time though finding any maternity clothes that I liked. I guess I am just too picky. I ended up getting a few shirts and a new swim top. Jon, on the other hand, made out like a bandit. You would have thought that he was pregnant and out growing all his clothes! After a long day in Park City we drove to Salt Lake for dinner and to sleep. While there Jon had to take me to all the "cool" places he used to play at when he was little. To be honset I was a little scared to be wandering around where we were but he loved reliving his childhood for a few hours.
All in all we had a great day! Even though it was short, it was so nice just being able to spend the day with my sweet Hubby uninterrupted and just doing whatever we felt like. Marrying him has been the greatest thing that's ever happened in my life and there's not a day that goes by that I'm not entirely greatful that I am married to my best friend for ETERNITY!!!

He's HOME

2009-06-17T17:54:00.004-06:00

Finally, the day has come, today we welcomed home Elder Calder! It was actually really weird but exciting to say the least. When we got to the airport (an hour early due to the stupid flight updater thing) it really hadn't hit me that we were there to pick up Michael. Until we waited, and waited and waited ever so impatiently for him to walk down the stairs. Every person in a suit that came down to the baggage claim area got a rise out of all of us, especially my dad. It was pretty funny watching him, he was like a little boy waiting for Santa to come. It was torture though. All those days of counting down and being excited that he only had a week left was nothing compared to how I felt when we got there.
There were 4 other families waiting for missionaries to come home while we were there and luckily Michael was the first one. I don't think that any of us could have handled seeing them with there missionary while we waited. But, at last he finally came and it was quite funny to watch him.... He was just following the traffic to the baggage claim and started going down the escalator (where there was a traffic jam), he got a few steps down before he even saw us and when he realized that it was gonna be awhile he turned back around and started running back up the escalator, pushing everyone out of his way. It only worked for a second and then he just jumped the rail and ran down the stairs. The reunion was great and we were all so excited. Oh, and the other missionaries came justa few mintues after Michael so the other families didn't go through too much torture.

I will admit that it is a little akward having him home. He is so quite and humble and actually willing to help out. I am sure all he needs is a few days to warm up and get used to normal life again but either way, WE ARE SO EXCITED TO HAVE YOU HOME MICHAEL,GOOD WORK!!!

I guess it's time

2009-06-10T22:43:00.003-06:00

Some of you already know that Jon and I have been keeping a pretty BIG secret for a while now, almost 22 weeks to be exact. So, for those of you who haven't heard.........we are going to have a baby! He will be making his way into this world on or around October 23, 2009. That's right, you read correct it's a BOY!

I do apologize for not telling all of you sooner but I have seriously been struggling with this. I know that this should be one of the happiest times in our lives right now but it's just not what I expected at the moment. Not that I don't want children, I just didn't plan on one coming anytime soon. I have become so used to it being just the two of us I am a little selfish and don't want to share my sweet hubby, but I guess that the Lord had other plans for Jon and I and I am doing my best to adjust to the idea of us becoming 3.

As far as the whole pregnancy thing goes it has been interesting to say the least. At first, everything made me nauseated and I mean EVERYTHING. The thought of all food, the smell of food, the smell of the shop, Jons deodorant, even the smell of my own house. Lets just say that I was pretty miserable the first 14 weeks and to make things worse I didn't throw up so there was no relief. Things are great now (other than frequent trips to the bathroom) and I can't complain. Hopefully they stay that way....

Memorial Day

2009-06-07T21:01:00.006-06:00

Memorial day was also our friend Ben's birthday so we had double celebration that day. We woke up early and went to Ben & Jen's for a very yummy birthday breakfast and then planned out our day of hiking/bday celebrating. We decided that we were going to do the White Pine Lake trail up by Tony Grove, so we got all our gear and lunches made and headed up the canyon. We got half way up the road to Tony Grove and saw the strangest thing.... Snowmobilers. That's right, it's the end of may and we see snowmobilers. We all laughed at them for thinking they would have something to do this late in spring and continued on our way, Well we tried at least. As we came around the bend we saw the worst thing possible, a snowed covered road. I couldn't believe it, here it was almost June and the road is still closed because the snow pack is still too much. So, we ended up having to turn around all broken hearted and figure something else out. After exhausting all our options we decided to just go for a scenic drive up the canyon. When we got the top of the canyon I remembered this trail that my grandpa took me on when I was little so we decided to give it a try. There was still a little snow on the trail, but hey, at least we were able to drive all the way to trailhead. It wasn't what we planned on, but it was so nice to just get out and finally enjoy the fresh mountain air and have a fun day with friends.

New and Improved

2009-06-07T18:34:00.003-06:00

Ok, maybe not improved but definitely new. Qualified Auto is officially Aatopia Auto Care. I personally really HATE the name but am also out numbered by the boys who like it and therefore, was out voted. Sad day!
Business is doing really good which is why we had to change the name of the store. At the end of summer we will be opening a new location in Ogden and then hopefully a few more after that. In order to grow out of state we could not use the name Qualified Auto because there are over 100 other Qualified's across the nation and for legal reasons we couldn't have the same name and have more stores. It has been really hard for me to deal with the name change but if it means that soon we will be able to have lots of stores and me not work anymore I guess I will deal with it.

We have taken the graphics off the truck, changed the banner on the side of the building, and gotten our new shirts. I will admit though, the shirts look pretty dang good! I really like the truck without the graphics and even better without the shell. I think that Jon has fallen in love all over again with his truck, which makes it even harder for him to want to part with it. ( We are trying to sell it, so if you know of anyone who is looking for a truck send them Jons way)

The end is in sight!

2009-06-05T21:51:00.003-06:00

I can't believe it, 12 more days and michael will be HOME!! It's crazy how fast time fly's.The past 2 years have seriously gone by so fast. Everyone says that when it is your own missionary it feels like they are gone for 10 years but I do not feel that way at all. The fact that I dont live at home anymore probably plays a little into it but being able to email him every week for an hour really helped too. I am sure that for michael though they have gone on and on, but either way, we are so excited to have him home. Keep up the good work Elder, only a few more days. We are all so proud of you and your decesion to serve our Heavenly Father and the people in Canada. See you SOON!

Right now Michael is in a litle town called Peace River. Its more north than the Indian Reservation where he last was. He has recently picked up fishing and can be found at the river every chance he gets.

Disclaimer

2009-06-04T22:57:00.002-06:00

Just so you all know Jon and I are alive and well just super busy with work and everyday life. I know that I have fallen so far behind and really have no intention on catching up on the last 6 months. (You're not missing out on too much though, so don't worry) But, going into this I never said that I would be good a keeping this updated. I do really well with things like this (scrapbooking, journaling, blogging) for a while until something comes up and I fall behind. Once I get too far behind I really have no desire to catch up and then fall further and further behind. I am going to try this again and hopefully can keep you posted on our happenings, but I can't make any promises.

2008-11-19T16:51:00.004-07:00

You have all heard this time and time again "don't run with a sucker in your mouth or mess around when you are brushing your teeth" but yet, you still do it and what happens? NOTHING! As kids, I think that most of us are immune to the bad stuff that your parents say will happen, but as adults.......I think that it is a different story. Everything thing that I was told not to do growing up I did and nothing ever happend. So, as an adult I do the same things and the bad happens. It's crazy how that works out.

About a week ago I was getting ready for bed as I usually do, brushing my teeth and tormenting Jon cause he takes FOREVER. I don't really know how we got into the situation we were in but, Jon kept poking me and waving his hand all around while I was brushing my teeth. After a while I told him to be careful cause I had my toothbrush in my mouth and didn't want him to shove it down my throat. Not even 30 seconds after I said that what does he do? Flings his arms in the air and hits my toothbrush, making it go down my throat. Toothpaste and blood went everywhere and Jon starts freaking out which starts making me freak out. It wasn't that bad a first and i brushed it aside. About a half hour later though it was all swollen and red. I couldn't talk, swallow and was just plain uncomfortable:(

Here we are almost a week later and it still isn't better. I have been living off Popsicles, Smoothie King, and slushies. The cold numbs it so I can have some relief for a little bit at least. I thought I was starting to feel better so I tried to eat a piece of pizza but I think I scratched my throat. So, I will now be patient and hope that it heals sooner than later.

There you have it, and next time someone tells you not to play with objects in your mouth maybe they really do now what they are talking about.

Leaves, Leaves and more Leaves

2008-11-16T20:12:00.015-07:00

Last Saturday Jon and I went to Bear Lake with my mom and dad to help them rake leaves and get everything ready for winter. This is one working task that I actually don’t mind doing because I get to play while I am doing it. Jon and I did one half of the yard and put all our leaves into one BIG pile so that it was soft enough for all our sweet tricks. The pictures don’t do it justice but it was pretty big. In all, with raking the whole lawn we filled 21 large leaf bags. One day I really want to rake them all into one HUGE pile under the tree and jump out of the tree into the pile. Wouldn’t that be so fun?

Jon actually working get a good look cause it doesnt happen too often!

Just playing in the leaves

My dad thought that it would get done faster if he used 2 rakes.

Clippers vs. Toilet

2008-11-16T19:20:00.012-07:00

You know when you remember that you have to do something and if you don’t do it right away something else comes up and you don’t do whatever it is you needed to do? Well, for over a week I have been needing to cut my toenails (I know that may be too much info but it is what makes the story) and every night I forget to do it. The other night Jon and I were watching a movie and I suddenly remembered that I needed to this. While it was still on my mind I ran up stairs and grabbed the clippers, but after I did I really needed to go to the bathroom and those of you who really know me know that I can’t wait (when I gotta go I gotta go). I didn’t want to put the clippers down cause then I would forget what I went upstairs to do, so I opted to hold the clippers while I peed. (I think by now most of you know where this story is going) When I turned around to flush the toilet I somehow forgot that I was holding the clippers and next thing I know I hear the big “CLANK”. Yep, I dropped the clippers in the toilet. It was so GROSS but so FUNNY at the same time. I screamed for Jon to come upstairs and when he saw what I had done both of us were rolling on the ground laughing. After I realized that I needed to get them out it wasn’t so funny, there was NO way that I was going to stick my hand in the toilet. This is how I finally decided to get them out…….Don’t worry whoever comes to our house for a BBQ, I made sure that the tongs were cleaned very good.

The Day I Peed my Pants

2008-10-31T17:04:00.007-06:00

I am sure that many of you already know about my very small and even weaker bladder so this comes as no surprise to you, but yes I actually did it, I really peed my pants. To make things worse it was at Jon’s parents’ house too. I had just gotten done drinking a can of soda and an even bigger glass of water when his little brother said something so funny that I started laughing and it just came right out. I was so embarrassed and of course didn’t have anything to change into so we had to go home, but not before his loving mother could take advantage of this great photo opportunity.

Haha. I am totally kidding, but I wouldn’t put it past me to do something like this because I really do have a small and weak bladder. Here’s the really story….. We were actually at Jon’s parents house (his mom was making him a birthday dinner) and I was playing with one of those balls that is filled water and if you squeeze it, it bulges out and is very entertaining. I know you know what I am talking about. We had just started to sing happy birthday to Jon and Poosh… It burst open all over my lap. I let out a big scream and everyone stopped singing and started laughing. I must admit, it was actually pretty funny and Jon even warned me not to do what I was doing with it because it would probably break, but did I listen? NOPE! And we didn’t run home either. Jon made me stay like the entire night and his mother really did take advantage of the photo opportunity, in between her laughing fits.

Happy Birthday Jon

2008-10-31T16:10:00.011-06:00

Jon’s Birthday was on Tuesday the 28th, but we did most of our celebrating last Saturday. We went down to Salt Lake with my mom and dad, and Jon’s family. We at lunch at Hard Rock Café ( I don’t know why but for the last month Jon has just been dying to go there) and then went to my parents house in South Weber to open presents and have cake and ice cream.

When we told our server that it was Jon’s birthday he kept asking us all these questions about him and then disappeared. When he came back he handed Jon some ice cream and turned like he was walking away…we were all a little disappointed cause we wanted them to sing, but all the sudden we see our server leaning over the balcony and yelling to the entire restaurant everything that Jon had told him and that it was his birthday and he needed their help to sing. So, he made Jon walk over to where everyone could see him and they wished him a happy birthday. It was so funny, our whole table couldn’t even join in cause we were laughing so hard. Jon doesn’t get embarrassed often but his face turned beat red, it was hilarious.

Jon, for a very very long time has been asking for an ipod ( like for his last 2 birthdays and last Christmas) and this year I finally gave in and that is what he got (from everybody I might add). Since the box is so small and that was his only present we wrapped it inside 3 bigger boxes so he could unwrap more, but he didn’t think that it was as funny as we did.

I even made his cake. After the last cake I made I swore that I would never make a birthday cake again, but since it was my hubby’s birthday and I know how much he LOVES cake I figured I’d better give it another try. It didn’t turn out as bad as the last but it sure did have some problems. The two layers would not stay on top of each other so thanks to my brilliant brother Luke; we stuck toothpicks all around the cake to hold it up. When we were eating it we forgot to tell everyone what we did until Jons mom freaked out and yelled “there is a toothpick in my cake” Oops! Oh, and the stupid frosting kept melting as you can proably see in the picture.

Jon you are such a great husband, Thanks for all you do. HAPPY 26 BIRTHDAY SWEETIE!

Pumpkin Carving Party

2008-10-31T15:42:00.009-06:00

This last week we went and carved pumpkins at our friend Morgan’s house, and we brought along our friends Matt and Jess. I really suck at carving pumpkins and can never think of anything COOL to carve. All growing up we always used those stencils (of ghosts, and witches and stuff), but Jon will never let me buy them because they are not creative enough. So, as I am carving my jack-o-lantern face and jess painting her poke-a-dots our talented husbands are sketching all over their pumpkins. Let’s just say that they were better at this than we were, and yes, they both did this free hand. It took them half the night to do this though, so while they were carving we were pigging out on Morgan’s yummy cookies and candy. Thanks Morgan and Jer for a great time!

My Boring little guy

It took 3 of them to carefully construct Jons masterpiece

Jons, Mine, Jess's, & Matts pumpkins

Las Vegas, Arizona, & the Jonas Brothers....What a weekend

2008-10-19T22:33:00.006-06:00

So I know what most of you are probably thinking…. The Jonas Brothers? Yes, I actually went to a Jonas Brothers concert. Jons sister-in-law and I took his little sisters to the Kristi Yamagouchi and Friends ice show featuring the Jonas brothers and a few other Disney channel star singers. As most 12 and 13 year old girls are, they are obsessed with the Jonas Brothers and are constantly talking about wanting to go to a concert. I am sure a lot of you already know that this is just something that their mother would never take them to. It was a big pain to even get her to agree to let us take them, but after much and I mean MUCH arguing from all sides of the family she finally broke and for once decided to let the girls experience the fun of LIFE.

Side note: This whole trip was a surprise to the girls so they were a little confused when we left Provo and drove for about 2 hours before we told them what was going on. We made these folders for them with pictures of things that we would be doing and gave them their tickets and they actually had to figure it out for themselves.

We left early Saturday morning (the 10th) and drove to Las Vegas for the night. (another place that their mom would never allow them to go). We took them to M&M World, the Coke Factory, Circus Circus, and walked down the strip. They were also able to experience their FIRST buffet ever, what sheltered lives they are forced to live.

Sunday morning, (Oct. 11) we drove the rest of the way to Arizona where the concert was which was another 5 hours of driving. Thank goodness for Jon’s radar detector which allowed us to speed a little and cut down some driving time. We stopped for a few minutes at Hoover Dam because the girls remembered it from transformers and wanted to see it. I wasn’t to impressed with it because they had so much construction going on there were very few spots that you could even see it, but anyways……..

When we got the hotel Anya and Elena primped for about an hour and then we were off to the concert. I really can’t complain because it wasn’t too bad. Half the show was Olympic medalist figure skaters and the other half was the Jonas Brothers. Actually, I am very grateful that they only sang half of the show because I don’t think that my ears could have handled much more of those screaming teenage girls. Funny Story: There was a couple behind us who kept getting mad cause girls were screaming and standing up when the Jonas Brothers came on. They even asked on of the ushers to tell everyone to sit down and she was like “NO, I cannot do that, this is a concert”. They got so mad that the got up and left half way through.

After the show got over at 7:30 Alex, our sister-in-law and driver of the car, wanted to go back to the hotel and take a hot bath. WHAT THE HECK?? The girls and I were so mad; there was no way we were going to sit in that dive for a hotel all night. We were so bored that we wandered around and took pictures of just about anything we could find to entertain us. We even spent $1.50 on a little thing of starbursts so we could have races to see who could open them the fastest. Yes, we are lame we know. It was so boring that the stupidest things made us laugh and roll on the ground. (See pictures) It is just a good thing that there were very few rooms filled because we were so noisy running up and down the halls.

Monday we had a very very long, mostly uneventful drive home. It did take us several hours longer to get home due to several NOT NEEDED (and this is me being nice) stops along the way. As we are driving in the middle of the desert we see this random gift shop and Elena asks to stop. As we pull up we see this dog, and of course my SIL has to go up to it and start playing with it. To make a long story short, this dog follows us where ever we go and the clerk at the stores tells us to take the dog because it has been there for weeks. Me being the responsible adult I am says absolutely NOT (and you all no how much I LOVE dogs and so desperately want one) but, I was out voted 3-1 and the next thing I know this dirty and I am sure disease infested animal is occupying one of our seats. Talk about GROSS! He (the dog) ended up being a very good dog, he slept the whole way home, didn’t bark, or mess in the car. The girls have now fallen in love with this dog and Alex is STUCK with him.

Because of other stops we “HAD” to make we took the frontage road most of the way home. Once we got to Utah the GPS took us on all the back roads and we were far from I-15. Well, someone decided to take a “shortcut” in the middle of no where to get closer to the freeway rather than just follow where it was taking us. To make another long story short we drove for about 45 minutes and then ended up turning back around and going back the way we came and following the GPS. At 10 pm we finally arrived in Provo (where Jon’s brother lives). Ok, I am done ranting and raving about the end of the trip now. Sorry for all you who actually read this, but just know that it really was fun and a great way to get to know the girls better!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Elder Calder

2008-10-16T17:15:00.009-06:00

Since so many people have asked me how Michael is doing I figured I would update you all. Currently he is in a town called Wetaskiwin and is traveling out to an Indian Reservation in Kobbema. He seems to really like it out there and they (the Indians) are teaching him lots. Once a week he goes to “Cree” lessons out on the reservation and he really enjoys that. Last week he was made District Leader and also got a new companion, with whom he seems to be getting long with. (His last companion gave him lots of problems and he was down a lot). Since the change he seems to be doing tremendously better. I don’t know too much other than that but as soon as I can get more out of him I will be sure to update those who wish to know. We are so proud of you ELDER, keep up the HARDWORK and DEDICATION.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Fall……. Already?

2008-10-03T15:00:00.003-06:00

Can you believe that it is fall already? It seems like it was just the other day that we were out playing on the beach and enjoying Bear Lake and now the weather has cooled off and leaves are dropping. A few weeks ago Jon and I decided that we had better take a drive up the canyon to see all the fall colors before the leaves fall. While we were driving we decided that we should get out and walk around a little cause is was such a nice day. We found some pretty cool trails and a cave even with beautiful fall colors. We captured some of them before my oh so LAME, stupid, and did I mention LAME camera died. Hopefully before they leaves fall we will be able to take a drive again.

Dutch Oven Cook-Off

2008-10-03T14:56:00.003-06:00

Jon and I have been on the activities committee in our ward for a few months now and are now planning a Dutch oven cook-off. We were nominated to make the posters to remind the ward members. Here they are…. After we finished making them we thought we probably should have made them a little-not so nice, so that we wouldn’t be nominated again to make them because they took us FOREVER. Too bad we wont even be there to enjoy the fruits of our labor:)

I’m NO Betty Crocker

2008-09-14T20:13:00.007-06:00

Jon’s mom's birthday was a few days ago and me, being the nice daughter-in-law that I am, decided that I would make her a birthday cake. After days of searching on the internet to get ideas on how to decorate the cake I found the perfect one, easy and fool proof.

So, Thursday morning I made the cake so it would have so time to cool down before I started my masterpiece. Late afternoon rolls around and I was ready to put the cake together. I go to grab the laptop (because that is where I had the picture saved to) and it is no where to be found. Then, after a second of panic I remembered that it was getting serviced because of other problems that it has been having. Not knowing what to do, I figured that I could just do it from memory, so I started putting it together and frosting it. One thing led to another and I was only able to get it frosted (no decorating) , but it was perfect because later on that night I was supposed to get my laptop back and I could decorate it exactly like the picture. When I did get it back I found the picture and soon discovered that my memory proved me WRONG. It was ok though I figured I would just improvise and finish my creation Friday morning before we took it to Jon’s mom.
Well…….. Friday morning comes and I walk into the kitchen only to discover this.

I have no idea how this happened or what could have caused it to happen but I was in complete shock and in a panic needless to say. I called Jon, our friend Morgan and my mom looking for ideas on what to do now, how to fix it, creative ideas on what to turn it in to and they were all of NO HELP!! To make things worse, as I am trying to fix this problem, Jon calls and needs me to come help him at the shop (it was only supposed to be a few hours, or so he said). At 4:30, a half hour before we are supposed to be a Jon’s parents house I am finally able to come home. There was nothing that I could do now to fix this so I threw some sprinkles on and ran out the door. I was so embarrassed to take this to him mom but she loved it and it at least tasted good! We called it the California cake because it looked like an earthquake had taken place. Sorry mom, I apparently did not inherit your cooking or cake decorating skills.

Labor Day

2008-09-04T18:44:00.013-06:00

So, jon and I were very excited that we were going to get a long weekend and even more excited that we were going to get to spend an extra day at Bear Lake. We were very bummed when we checked the weather and saw that it was supposed to rain and even more bummed when the weather forcast was true. Saturday we were lucky to get at least somewhat of a good day. The lake was very cold and rough but the sun was still shining (well kinda). We sure beat ourselves up and were definitely sore the next day.

We were also able to get one last bon fire in right before the storms blew in. Just a little side note about campfires, The other day I was reading in the paper about hotdogs and what the FDA requires manufactures to put on their labels and it totally grossed me out on the things that are in hotdogs but not known. -I mean i already knew what was in them but not to this extent- Well to make a long story short I have decided that I am not going to eat them anymore and thankfully back in the day, when I didnt like hotdogs, my dad bought me this cool little grilled cheese maker for the fire. That is what i am swinging over my head.

Right after we left the fire to go to bed a storm blew in and stayed with us the whole rest of the weekend:( Here's some pictures we took while watching on the beach. Too bad it was freezing cold or we would have gone swimming in the waves. Even though our weekend was cut short and we got soaked to the bone we had a great time watching a different side of mother nature and playing in the Rain!

Snowbird

2008-08-20T21:52:00.013-06:00

This last weekend we were able to spend a few days at my grandmas time share in snowbird. Jon has never been up there with my family so I was very excited to show him around and make him do all the things that I did as a little girl. We got up there late Saturday night so after we checked in and unpacked we watched a little Olympics and then went to bed, but little did Jon know that I had the next 2 days planned packed for us!! First thing Sunday morning we walked to the center and then rode the Tram to the top of the mountain 11,000 feet up ( a little scary i might add but totally worth it)

After we finally caught a tram ride back down (we missed three trams back down so we sat up on the mountain for a little while) we went on a little nature walk to an observation deck. Jon wasnt that impressed since we had just spent over an hour on the mountain all he could think about was eating lunch. So we went back to the room and ate and watched more olympics. Later we went to the arcade room, swimming and on a drive up little cottonwood canyon to see the other resorts. We really had such a great time just being up in the mountains enjoying the beauty and getting away from every day life!

These are some of the views from our room and what our room looks like.

I'm a blogger

2008-08-19T14:46:00.002-06:00

After months of wanting to set up a blog I have finally found the time to sit down and get it done, I feel so accomplished! I've had so much fun reading everyone's blogs and I think it's a great way to stay in touch with everyone. I hope that everyone enjoys reading ours! You'll have to forgive me if I'm not totally up to speed with this whole blogging thing, I'm still learning and it is very frustrating.