The Archibalds

I Know.

2011-08-02T08:45:00.003-06:00

I do. I know. I know it is my fault that Elsie "changed" Sam's diaper this morning while I was editing some photos on my computer. I know that it was a BIG mistake to ask her to go talk to him while I finished up. I know that I should have been more aggressive when I told her to stop climbing in Sam's crib (which is a fun, new thing in our house). I now know what all the other mothers in my life feel like when their kids get waaay too quiet, and walk in to find baby poop smeared all over the place. Kids, blankets, walls. SICK. I also know that those of you who have had kids, are quietly chuckling to yourselves (just as my kids were at the time) as you read this. Lesson learned.

July

2011-07-31T18:51:00.012-06:00

Started out hot and fun in a mud puddle in my parents driveway. When I was a kid we irrigated our lawn. When we did this, my Mom would send all of us outside to play in the HUGE mud puddle that was usually our driveway. We would play in that for hours. Giving us some great time as a family (the neighbors would also join the fun) and my Mom some precious time to herself. Those days are long gone, as my parents now have a sprinkler system. However, each summer we flood the driveway (as well as we can with only a hose) and send the kids out to play. It took very little persuasion from me to get Sam involved in the fun.These girls are a different story. It took about 30 minutes for them to warm up to the idea. It wasn't until I jumped in and started building a dam that they started to see the purpose to it all. Oh! We get to get dirty!?! Once the Moms got involved the girls started to have a much better time.As you can see here... On another morning Elsie started the day off right (at 6:00 a.m., of course) outside. Here she is sporting her "princess" skirt from my sister (which was seldom taken off during the whole month of July), Shoe Shoe (her stuffed puppy), and Cutie Pie (her pink pony). 4th of July parade. Fireworks at the reunion. When they would go off, and make loud noises, Elsie would cover her mouth. Weird. Sam waking up from his nap, and Grandma. Elsie was a stinker when we were trying to get our family picture taken (shown above!), Tyler is trying to get her to laugh here. Which, of course, she does. Great shot of our little guy. A brief glimpse into our future of having a girl, I am sure. Sam splashing in the water.

June!

2011-07-31T18:27:00.015-06:00

Here is what happened in June. Make yourselves comfortable. This is going to be a long one.... I went to girls camp this year as the Assistant Camp Director. I loved it, because I got to go, but I wasn't "in charge". It was just the right blend of responsibility and relaxation. I took some good advice from a friend of mine, and made sure I didn't do as good of a job as I could have, in an effort to avoid being called into the YW Presidency. Kidding. I'm kidding, right...? Anyway, we did our hike before we went up to girls camp (weird, I know). Tyler took this picture of me with Sam. We did a pre-hike to make sure it wasn't going to be too difficult for the girls. It was a great evening spent in the Boise foothills. Sam did well in the back pack, and was only a little fussy when we were at the top where the wind was stronger. This is Tyler with Daryl. They are 2 peas in a pod. Daryl is my cousin Emily's husband. He is a lot of fun, and Tyler loves having him around. So do I, of course. Here is Elsie with her cousins eating ice cream. She ADORES these girls. They have a lot of fun together. Sam, playing outside with Elsie & Mommy, waiting for Dad to get home. I like this picture. Elsie chased a squirrel up a tree in the park. She is yelling "Squirrel! Where are you!?!" trying to get it to come back down so she can play with it. At the zoo with Kelli and Co. The girls are taking a snack break here in the stroller. On our way from the zoo, back to the car. Elsie was too tired to walk the remaining 10 feet to the car at this point. Hence the meltdown that ensued as soon as we got her buckled into her car seat.I was making bread, and caught Elsie in the flour bucket. I thought I had taken care of the mess (putting the lid back on the bucket). Only to turn around and find this. Elsie had filled her own "tiny" bowl of flour (just like mommy!), and was sharing it with Sam. Mommy's helper. LOL! When in Rexburg my sister drew kitty faces on all of the kids (and adults). I love this picture of Elsie, because of the way her lips are puckered. The entire time Teresa was painting her face Elsie was puckering up. I have no idea why, other than she wanted to make sure she looked fabulous! Sam playing in the water at Beaver Dick Park. The Snake river is SUPER high this year, so most of the park is flooded. We walked through the water to get to the playground, and he is splashing around. He LOVES water! Elsie and her 2 cousins. That's the update for July. Hope you enjoyed!

Three Amigas

2011-07-31T18:20:00.004-06:00

Wow. I can't believe it has been since May since I last updated our blog. I thought I would start the blogging marathon I am about to embark on with a picture of some of my favorite people. Who also happy to be family. Just coincidence? I think not. I am so grateful to have such great friends/family so close to me in Idaho. This was a hot day that we got together to visit, eat food, and splash around in the wading pool. It was a blast.

Elsie's latest love

2011-06-25T17:19:00.004-06:00

Recently, Elsie has discovered Cinderella... Oh wait-sorry. Wrong image. I'm sure later in life we'll have to address the 'real' Cinderella issue.

Morning snuggles

2011-06-13T07:00:00.001-06:00

We have been opening our windows at night, so it is freezing in our house first thing in the morning. On this morning, Elsie wanted Sam to sit by her, so he could warm her up! It was so cute.

Work tour!

2011-06-12T21:45:00.010-06:00

The office, exterior. Where I spend most of my time. The workspace. Modern amenities. Free hantavirus! Some of them didn't make it. Come out and visit some time!

Solid

2011-05-23T06:52:00.003-06:00

Sam has been on solids for a couple of months now. He loves them, which is a nice change from when I tried getting Elsie to eat solid food. He is also finally sitting up. It's been a pretty exciting couple of months for our little guy.

Divalicious

2011-05-23T06:50:00.002-06:00

Recently our little Diva has been insisting she sit at the table (no booster seat allowed) with a plate, fork and napkin just like Mom & Dads for all of her meals. It's especially fun when she insists we all wear our sunglasses as well...

Prairie

2011-05-23T06:36:00.009-06:00

My brother has a great piece of property outside of Boise. He took us up their with his family last weekend, and we had a great day relaxing and hanging out. Here we are, the current baby boomers of the Powell family. We love our matching Snugglies, and adorable babies.Unloading wood for future camping. The girls were a big help. Especially Rachel and Elsie in their matching shirts. All aboard the choo-choo train! Lunch Rachel and Sam Observing the boys hard at work. The noise from the saw was pretty loud (in the Urt), so Addie is covering her ears. Cute! And of course, you can't have a relaxing day with the Powells without a little hard labor in the mix. Here are Tyler and Shaun putting in the chimney for the new wood stove.

Siblings

2011-05-04T21:15:00.005-06:00

More and more people have been commenting on how Sam is starting to look more like Elsie as he gets older. I wanted to post some comparison pictures to see what your thoughts are... This is Elsie around 6 1/2 months And here is Sam around the same age. At any rate, they are both adorable. At least, we think so.

'lil Sam

2011-05-04T21:11:00.002-06:00

Here's our little guy and his great big smile. He is starting to babble a lot, and I can barely get him to eat in-between conversations. He lights up every time he sees Elsie, and Elsie completely adores him.

"I'm ginna gitch you"

2011-05-04T21:05:00.002-06:00

Elsie loves playing "I'm ginna gitch you!" with her Dad. Every day when he gets home from work she gives him a hug, and as soon as he puts her down those are the 1st words out of her mouth. On this fateful night, however, we had a mishap. Elsie ran into our closet, stumbled, and SMACKED her head right into our wooden shoe rack. She came up howling with blood pouring down her poor face. I gasped, and told Tyler we should probably put some butterfly stitches on. He thought we should take her to Urgent Care. We did, and I am glad. After they stemmed the flow of blood (FYI: Head wounds bleed a lot) and cleaned the wound, it was quite a deep gash. I could see all the layers of tissue, and then a dark...space (before the skull I am assuming). She has healed up great, and I hope there will be minimal scarring. Even if there is a scar, bangs are back in style, right?

New hiding place

2011-05-04T20:57:00.002-06:00

I thought Elsie would steer clear of the fridge/wall spot after she got stuck there a while back. However, the other day she was being very quiet (too quiet), so I went to check on her just as she was heading down the hall. She saw me, got her wide-eyed "uh oh" look and went trotting by me into the kitchen. I told her to stop, and she went right to this spot, between the wall and the refrigerator with her Dad's Carmex. I snapped a shot, then dug her out from her hiding spot and let her have it. Oh yeah, she's also been dressing herself lately. As you might have guessed based on the green shorts over her kimono-type pajamas.

Grandma comes to town

2011-05-04T20:53:00.002-06:00

Here is a couple of quick shots with Grandma when she was in town at the end of March. The kids had such a good time doing puzzles and playing. We love you Grandma!

I can't believe...

2011-05-04T20:43:00.003-06:00

she's already 2. Here she is on her 1st birthday. And here she is on her 2nd.

Bike trailer/stroller

2011-05-04T20:40:00.001-06:00

Took Sam & Elsie out in the double stroller to see how they would fit. They did great! Sam loved it, and Elsie didn't start smacking him until we were on our way home.

2 Stomach Flus & 4 Molars Later...

2011-03-04T18:46:00.006-07:00

Elsie hasn't been eating well over the last couple of weeks. I thought it was because she had a terrible cold. Until she woke up hacking and puking last Saturday (2/26) night. At first we were hoping it was because she had so much mucous draining down the back of her throat (from her cold), which made her gag. So, we snuggled back in to go to sleep and 20 minutes later same thing. She continued to puke throughout the night, and was in terrible shape the following day (as were we). Understandably. Monday I was getting pretty frustrated with her whining, because she should be all better now - right? Right. She has had 2 days to recover from her flu. In one of her few good moods she was laughing, and I caught a glimpse of her teeth. Only to discover her bottom 2, two-year-old molars had come in, all the way, sometime in the last week. That couldn't have been comfortable. So, I rummage around in her mouth and find that not only have her bottom molars come in, but her top two-year-old molars are just starting to poke through as well. Ugh. More whining on her part. More patience on mine (and Tylenol, of course). Things seemed to be looking up.... Until her father came down with the same (if not worse) flu. Here she is comforting him on the couch, watching sports. Since feeling better, Elsie has made it known that there is now a new Sheriff in town. Little does she know I am the Warden, which I am pretty sure trumps the Sheriff.

My turn!

2011-02-19T19:39:00.006-07:00

Elsie has started asking to hold Sam more and more. It is always in the middle of when I am feeding him. The first time it happened I didn't believe she really wanted to. So, I told her to wait until he was done eating, then I would let her hold him. She said, "K", and went and sat on the couch. He finished eating and I was getting up to make some breakfast (sure Elsie had completely forgotten), when she shouts, "My turn!" Surprised, I took Sam over to her and she LOVED it. She asks all the time. And of course, it's the cutest thing ever.

Not advisable

2011-02-19T19:37:00.001-07:00

I know. This is not a good idea. BUT, just after I finished unloading the dryer and turned to put the clothes from the washer in the dryer, she climbed right in like she owned that thing. So, I snapped a quick picture (which turned out pretty adorable), and told her to never do it again.

Buckling

2011-02-19T19:28:00.002-07:00

Elsie learned how to buckle things. I remember when Elsie was around nine months old and my sister came to Colorado for a visit with her two-year-old daughter, Ivy. Ivy had just learned how to buckle things. It was so frustrating. Every time I would go to put Elsie in her bouncer, her swing, or her car seat, I would settle Elsie in and reach for the buckles, only to find that they were already buckled. At first it was funny. Ha ha. Ivy is so cute. That is so cute that she goes around and buckles everything. After the 5th time of this happening it was getting less funny. By the end of the first day I was so frustrated that every time I put Elsie ANYWHERE I would then have to pick her back up, put her somewhere, unbuckle the damn thing, then put Elsie back in, and buckle her up (I know, this is a really long sentence); that I was having to make a SERIOUS effort not to swear out loud, at Ivy, in my frustration. So, now Elsie is buckling everything she can get her little mits on. Sam's bouncer, his swing, his car seat.... Damnitall. Awe. So proud of herself. And so am I, I guess. Another stage of development complete. Sigh...good for you sweetie.

The Park

2011-02-19T18:11:00.006-07:00

We went to the park by our house a couple of weeks ago. Elsie loved it. She played on every inch of that place, despite the cold temperature and blowing wind. We tried bundling her (and us) up as much as possible, but it was obvious we left far too early. We haven't been able to go again since. It took bribes of cookies and candy at home to get her to follow us. Poor thing is so over winter. Here's Sam in the snugly. He did pretty good during the walk over, but once the sun dipped below the horizon he got pretty fussy. So I turned him around and he snuggled right in for a nap. We had such a good time, and can't wait for the weather to warm up so we can make this part of every day.

Updates

2011-01-15T20:31:00.010-07:00

I have a very talented friend that made me the hat Elsie is wearing in this picture. While I was packing up our winter gear to go to Rexburg for Christmas I turned around to see that Elsie had rifled through it, and had put on this hat. She loved it, and wouldn't take it off for the rest of the morning. This last week I brought out the Bumbo for Sam to start sitting in. He is doing pretty well in it, for a 3 month old. Elsie loves sitting next to him and playing. She also loves it when Sam is not in the Bumbo. She will jam her chubby little legs into the Bumbo and sit in it to color, watch T.V., eat dinner, etc. In the picture below she put it on the couch to watch T.V., but put it on backwards. Instead of turning the Bumbo the right direction she chose to sit in it backwards, and turn her head to catch one of her favorite shows, "Timmy Time". Here's a recent pic of 'lil Sam and his 'Archibald Afro'. Looks like it's coming in even better than Elsie's did! Elsie is showing more and more interest in being potty trained. We decided it would be a good idea to move her from her crib into a regular bed before we start the (dreaded) potty training. I am hoping that this way she will feel like she can get up and use the bathroom at her leisure during the night. In order to make the bed transition more fun for her, we purchased some super cute new sheets and bedding. She LOVES them and is now spending more time in her room playing than ever. I should have done this a long time ago! This weekend we watched my brother's kids for him while he and his wife had a new little baby. Here's the super cute new addition to their family. She's a doll. Here is the happy family!

Stuck

2011-01-12T15:33:00.004-07:00

When I am in the kitchen cooking or doing dishes Elsie likes to play between the space between our fridge and the wall. It is just the right size for her (or used to be) to play with her magnets. Today when unloading the dishwasher I heard her grunt a few times, then shout "STUCK!" I went over to see if it was another false alarm (she likes to cry "wolf" a lot) and found that she was, indeed, stuck. Her shoulders have gotten a little too broad for her to sit like this now. I took a couple of snap-shots, then helped her get out. She wasn't too pleased to see me grab the camera before helping her get out....

Yeah Sun!

2010-12-20T11:24:00.004-07:00

The sun finally came out on a day that wasn't -15 degrees outside. We donned our coats, hats and gloves and hit the street. It was so fun to get outside. Poor Elsie (and I) have been cooped up in our place since moving here due to tiny babies, extreme weather or crappy fog. We had a great time exploring our neighborhood, and hope it doesn't take another 2 months for the sun and warmth to come together in a wonderful day again. Here's the little squeaker just delighted to be outside. Here she is dressing up the fire hydrant. It was fun to watch her, watch her shadow. She splashed around in the puddle you see ahead of her, but I wasn't fast enough to catch it on camera. Here are me and Sam sporting Elsie's hat after she took it off. What a great day!

Tummy Time

2010-12-13T19:44:00.006-07:00

Samuel having some tummy-time. He is actually pretty good about it. I just have to keep Elsie from throwing too many blocks on him.

Bruiser

2010-12-13T19:32:00.005-07:00

Anytime Tyler or I go out the door Elsie gets excited and will stand right in front of it with her shoes in her hands and say "Go Go Go!" It is very cute. We tell her every time not to stand so close to the door. Usually we are pretty good about opening the door slowly and she has only been knocked (relatively gently) in the head a few times. UNTIL the other day... I was in such a good mood, despite my kids both being sick. I went running out to take the garbage out and came running back in (it was chilly and I didn't have my coat on). Upon reaching the door I slammed it open (it wasn't closed all the way) and saw my sweet, sick daughters legs go flying up in the air, heard her slam onto the ground, and saw her shoes flying out of both hands. She immediately started crying (understandably) and had a big, blue goose-egg on her forehead. The shots aren't the best, but you can kind of see it on the right-side of the picture. These shots were taken within minutes of the incident, so they are not the best... Too much flash, but look at those beautiful blue eyes. Gladly, this is the worse it looked. It has healed up quite nicely, so I won't be able to post any better shots of it getting yellow and green. Bummer.

Dinner Theatre

2010-12-13T19:29:00.003-07:00

We have a table straight out of the 50s. No kidding. We got it from Tyler's Grandfather and it is so . . . fun. Elsie loves playing underneath in this little square when we are eating dinner. She bumped her head trying to get out. The fun comes to a quick stop. As does dinner.

The Peanut Butter Alternative

2010-12-13T19:25:00.005-07:00

Nutella. We love you. Thank you for your delicious, chocolate-flavored protein. This is a great shot because you get a glimpse of how much is up her nose. A little on the difficult side to get out. Waiting patiently for Dad to clean her off.

Sharing

2010-12-12T18:20:00.005-07:00

Usually we keep Samuel up pretty high so Elsie doesn't maul him when our backs our turned. Lately, I have been putting him lower so she will have a chance to see and play with him. She loves it when she can lay next to him, or lean over and give him hugs and kisses. On this day I was cleaning out the front closet and turned around to see Elsie sharing all of her toys with Sam. She was really piling them up... Awe When she grabbed the pillow to add to the pile, I decided that was probably enough sharing for the day, and moved Samuel back to his spot on the table.

6 weeks already!?!

2010-12-01T19:37:00.003-07:00

How the time flies. I can't believe Samuel is already 6 weeks old. He is cooing, smiling and so much more alert now that just last week. The other day I walked by and his little face lit up. It was the cutest thing, and it made me feel so bad. I have been so busy with the move and chasing Elsie around when I'm not with Samuel that I had no idea he was already growing up so fast. Since realizing this I have taken a bit more time to spend with him when he is awake and alert. He is so much fun, Elsie just loves him - and so do we!

More pics of Sam

2010-11-10T20:43:00.009-07:00

Finally, more baby pictures

2010-11-09T21:09:00.011-07:00

Both mom and baby Sam are doing well-we'll try and get more pics up soon. Thanks again for all of your thoughts and prayers during this very stressful time.

Our new little one

2010-10-18T23:57:00.004-06:00

Here is our sweet new baby. Born 10/18/10 @ 5:51 a.m. 7lbs, 15oz (exact same weight as his older sister!); 20 1/2" long. Lots of black hair. Mother and baby are doing fine so far. Thanks for all of the prayers and support over the last 24 hours!

Will I ever be cool again? Literally...

2010-10-06T15:04:00.004-06:00

Today is the first day in quite a while that I have braved wearing pants. Over the past 10 or so years I have never been a shorts girl. Or a short(er) skirt girl. However, after embarking on this summer pregnant I am both. I only wear shorts and skirts, and even then it is sometimes too much for my body temperature. I had no idea how uncomfortable being pregnant in the summer could be, and have been swearing throughout the summer that I will never again carry a child during the hot months of May - October. So, today I wear pants, thinking it is supposed to be in the high 60s, low 70 (which is quite comfortable under normal circumstances). Well, it has turned out to be a SCORCHING 68 degrees today, and I have not stopped "glistening" (as my sweet Grandma Gladys would say) since 10:00 this morning. Here's hoping I go into labor tonight, since it is supposed to be a record 72 tomorrow. Have mercy!

KMA Reunion 2010

2010-09-19T21:09:00.010-06:00

As soon as we arrived at the cabin Elsie could not be kept away from the stairs. She loves stairs to begin with, and when we have visiting people's houses that have staircases she will spend most of our time there climbing up and down them. She especially liked the stairs at the cabin, because she could see people downstairs as she was climbing them. She spent most of the reunion on them. Here we are getting ready to make our ninja headbands for the treasure hunt. Dad and Elsie playing around while Mom dutifully works on the headbands. Elsie is getting some serious air out here in the great wide open. Ninja-time! The final product. Elsie's ninja name is 'Pink Ninja'. Mine ended up being 'Amberlicious Mamber Ninja (long story)... Here is Elsie with her Uncle Sam on the stairs outside. Adorable.

E'Dawg

2010-09-19T21:01:00.007-06:00

Here's our little squeaker dutifully helping her dad load the fridge with soda. She loves this hat, especially when we help her put it on backwards. Our little hommie!

Larimer County Fair

2010-09-19T20:50:00.007-06:00

I love the fair. All fairs. I don't care how small or smelly they are, they just make me happy. Since moving to Colorado I have wanted to go to the local county fair. However, we always seem to be out of town during the big event. Not this year! 7 months pregnant I decided to drag my poor husband and daughter to the fair, and we (well, I) had a great time! Excluding, of course, the fact that it was over 90 degrees, humid, I am pregnant (so running about 10 degrees hotter than everyone else) and a bit on the grumpy side.... In an effort to cheer me up, my sweet husband bought me my favorite of all favorites - Pina Colada shaved ice. Suddenly, the day is cooler, and so I am. Here we are checking out some livestock. Elsie was given a sucker earlier in the day by a friendly cowboy and was quite content to lick and let lick (ha ha) as we strolled around. Taking a shade break under a canopy. Overall, it was a great day.

Visit from Uncle Sam

2010-08-07T20:05:00.002-06:00

Sam drove up early one morning to go golfing with Tyler a couple of weeks ago. He arrived around 7:30 in the morning, which is Elsie's prime-time. She always has SO much energy first thing in the morning, and loves to laugh and play as much as possible before her morning nap. Sam showed up and she ran to the other side of the room and stayed there. Finally, Sam went and picked her up and set her on his lap. She kept her little body rigid and was looking at me like, "MOM!?! Who IS this???" Then she would look out of the corner of her eyes at Sam (without turning her head). It was really funny. I took this shot after she had been sitting on his lap for a while, and had relaxed a bit. She still doesn't look too thrilled (as you can plainly see), and there is NO WAY I was going to get her to smile. After we had breakfast she finally loosened up, and was very sad to see Sam go.

The "pool"

2010-08-07T19:59:00.002-06:00

I got this cheap pool for Elsie to play around in in the backyard on the days I didn't want to take her to the real pool. She didn't like it at all. I put her in and she gave me a look like, "This is LAME". After giving her all the encouragement I could manage, I gave up. We went back inside, I let the air out, and stored it under the bed. The next day, however, she pulled it out from under the bed and into the living room. Tyler pumped it up for her again, and she played in it most of the evening. Even grabbing Dad's Sports Illustrated and perusing the articles while "chillin'" in her new arena. We left it up for a few days, until she lost interest, then quietly stored it back under the bed. While it was fun for a few days, we definitely do not have the space to host that kind of party on an on-going basis.

The new baby-pack

2010-08-07T19:50:00.007-06:00

My sister gave us her baby back-pack. I remember seeing her use it with her kids, but certainly didn't remember how nice it was. I was pretty excited when she said she would give it to us, and even more excited (if that's possible) when I saw how nice it was. After getting home from Idaho we went on a family hike up to Bobcat Ridge. Elsie and Dad both loved the baby-pack as much as I do. We have already used it a lot, and love it more every time we take it out. Thanks Dave & Teresa! Our little cutie-pie.Elsie & Dad at the historical cabin we hiked to. Elsie looking like she is doing something she shouldn't be. Nope, just exploring the cabin. On our way back down the trail. She was mumbling to herself in this picture as she was falling asleep. It was super funny. Out like a light.

The rest of our Idaho trip

2010-08-07T19:25:00.016-06:00

Starting the day early with a jelly filled doughnut. She is definitely her father's daughter. She loved every bite. My sister used the be the queen of the outdoors. She loved hiking, camping, etc. Since getting married and moving to Arizona she has forgotten EVERYTHING about camping. When we had our family reunion three (I think) years ago she showed up to camp with FOUR suitcases of clothes, shoes, and unnecessary gear for her and her kids. This year she proudly announced she had come prepared for camping. Shortly after making this bold statement her daughter (Eva) prances up the stairs in this adorable "camping" outfit. You can't really tell in the picture, but Eva's shirt has a blue glitter collar, and she is wearing blue glitter flip flops. I laughed out loud when I saw her, and HAD to take this picture. Here are my stud brothers at the Rexburg parade, getting all amped up for the "gun show".... My oldest nephew Zac and our sweet niece Addie. Teresa kept trying to get Elsie into the spirit of the parade by helping her pick up candy. Elsie wasn't too into it. I took this great picture of the 2 of them, though. They were super cute together. Me & Elsie at the parade trying to stay warm. It was a chilly one this year. My big bro Russ and niece Rachel. One of my favorite childhood memories is when we would irrigate our back lot. This consisted of diverting the water in the ditch and letting it run down the side of the driveway until our back field was flooded. Since then, we have covered the irrigation ditch, so my mom improvised and let us leave the hose on for a while to get the driveway nice and muddy. I was so excited for Elsie to play around in the mud, since she had loved getting into the dirt, and would beg to go outside from the moment show woke up to when she went to bed at night. To my surprise, she wasn't too jazzed about the mud. She kept walking over to the dry dirt and playing in that. I kept picking her up and setting her back in the mud. She wasn't too happy with my attempts at "fun". My nephews and niece building a dam. Elsie complaining about my moving her to the mud. We ended up in the back yard in the wading pool. Much happier... ...until she decided to take a nose-dive out of it. I L-O-V-E-D our trip to Idaho this year, and can't wait to go back next summer. Thanks everyone for making it so great. We miss all of our cousins and family.

Splash Park

2010-07-01T22:08:00.010-06:00

After painting our nails Teresa put cat-faces on all of the kids (Porter has a Tiger face). I am reading a story to my neice and Elsie while she finishes up.Here is adorable Addie (my brother's daughter) with her cat-face and purple eye. She was hit in the corner of her eye by the swing Grandpa put up the day before. She hardly even cried, I couldn't belive it. It's hard to tell she was even hit because of the great cat-face.

My adorable neices.

Elsie & Rachel splashing around.

Addies, trying to convince Porter to go down the waterslide.

Porter, trying to warm up (Arizona boy!).

Kelli catching up with an old friend.

Sharing in the fun.

What a way to start the day

2010-07-01T22:05:00.004-06:00

The girls got up waaayyy too early this morning. I helped them paint their nails on the kitchen floor in an effort to cheer everyone up. It worked, thank goodness. This is around 6:30 a.m. Here are the little cuties showing off their new toes and stickers.

The ultimate diva.

Trampoline

2010-07-01T22:01:00.004-06:00

Elsie's first time on a trampoline. She had a great time. Was timid at first, but quickly warmed up to the idea. Here she is cooling off in the reflection of the wading pool with a popcicle.

Finished it off just in time for naps.

The Swingset

2010-07-01T21:52:00.008-06:00

As we were sitting around watching Elsie toddle around the yard my sister & I commented on how much we miss the swingset that used to be in my parents yard. My Mom said that since my dad ran into it with the tractor a few years ago they just haven't been able to find a good place to put it. Pine trees are now nestling where it once stood. After careful review, Teresa & I found the perfect spot. Grandpa got out the tractor & the fun begins (not even 9:30 a.m. yet)! Here come all the kids to see what is going on in the back with the Moms, Grandpa and tractor.

Porter, trying his hand at farming.

Grandpa & Porter getting the swingset loaded onto the tractor.

Teresa, helping Dad get the swingset around the back fence.

The perfect spot for the perfect swingset.

Alas, all is complete once again in the backyard.

You know you're at Mom & Dad's when...

2010-07-01T21:47:00.005-06:00

It's not even 9:00 in the morning and your daughter is already covered in dirt... ...she grabs the nearest mug and starts chugging.

It only took seconds for her to figure out how to hold, and drink at the same time.

Don't worry... it's ice water.

Pre-Birthday, Birthday Party!

2010-07-01T21:36:00.004-06:00

I am out of town again for Tyler's birthday, so my Mom made a cake and here we are celebrating how much we all love Tyler a couple of days early. The big 3-1!

Good times.

RJ & Emily Ball Reunion 2010

2010-07-01T21:33:00.005-06:00

Just a few pictures of family during the RJ & Emily Ball reunion this year. Here are the kids dividing up the candy after candy-mountain.

Elsie, taking a load off.

Cousins are just too much fun!

Starting young

2010-07-01T21:32:00.000-06:00

Elsie with Dad, catching up on all the latest sports.

Father's Day

2010-07-01T21:24:00.006-06:00

Celebrating Father's Day with great friends. Ryan, Tiffay and Fisher Snow

DeNae, Elsie's BFFChillin' with Brendon

Swimming

2010-07-01T21:23:00.000-06:00

Our new pool floatie. She loves it!

Withdrawl

2010-07-01T21:18:00.002-06:00

We weaned Elsie (and us) off of her binkies. It was quite dramatic for the whole family. In this picture she is chewing on the stub of her binky. We cut off the ends of all of her binkies when we started the process. She wouldn't settle down, even though she was so exhausted. Finally I got her out of her crib and within 5 minutes she was OUT. 3 days of no naps for Mommy or Elsie and we are free of the binkies - yeah! Now we are back on schedule and napping like champs.

Soakin' up the sun

2010-07-01T07:54:00.010-06:00

Here we are getting out in the sunshine (finally!) and trying out our new BBQ. Elsie is having a great time chillin' with Dad. Playing around in the grass.Elsie licking her Dad's salad bowl. She loves Ranch!

Here we are saluting the birds.

Oh boy!

2010-06-21T13:51:00.001-06:00

The results are in, and we will be having a boy in October! We'll try to post some ultrasound pics later.

Take our poll!

2010-06-13T08:11:00.002-06:00

We will find out what we're having on June 21st. Cast your votes now!

The pins are out!

2010-05-27T19:40:00.007-06:00

Here is Tyler, post-op. He was in surgery for an hour and the Doctor said everything went fine. This was 2 weeks ago (sorry about the lag in updates). They didn't have to open his hand up or anything. Just put Tyler under a "real-time" x-ray machine and shoved the pins into place. They did give Tyler the option of just having local anesthesia or going under completely. He elected to go under completely, which was probably best for everyone. Tyler was trying to sleep off the drugs and Elsie kept slamming into our bedroom door (which doesn't latch anyway) as hard as she could. The door would slam open and Elsie would go crawling in there as fast as her little legs could carry her. After this happened a few times I decided to let her play with dad for a few minutes so she wouldn't be so curious and he could finally get some sleep. In this picture, she is making sure he knows she is definitely here to help. And here I'm sure she is congratulating herself on what a great job she does of cheering up her dad. This is the day he got the pins taken out (Tues, 5/25). This is supposed to be a shot of the pins in Tyler's thumb, not of the Doctor's fancy shoes. However, I was rushing and so his thumb is fuzzy while the Doc's shoes look nice and shiny. Anyway, Tyler kept asking if I thought they would give him anything when they took the pins out. I said no. He was very worried. The Doctor asked Tyler if he would prefer to lie down, but Tyler elected to remain sitting. He said it did feel weird having the pins come out, and although it didn't hurt, he was getting a bit queasy just by the feeling of having them pulled out. He didn't pass out, thank goodness. Now he is pin free! He does have to keep wearing the splint for a couple of more weeks when he's working, but other than that the splint is off and Tyler is trying to get some range of motion back into his thumb.

Snack Time, Take 1

2010-05-03T21:03:00.001-06:00

After watching Rambo for a few days Elsie decided maybe she could start sharing her snacks with him. At first it was a little scary. You can see her snatch her hand back as soon as he takes the goldfish. However, after a few times she warms up to the idea and starts having fun. Rambo was very well-behaved, and patiently waited for her to hand him the snacks, instead of snatching them off of her "snack stool" which was easily within his reach. It was very cute. We weren't able to upload the video directly to our blog, so we posted it on You Tube. Follow the link- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFzzT2jsmq0

Snack Time, Take 2

2010-05-03T21:02:00.001-06:00

After finally getting the hang of sharing her snack with Rambo, Elsie decided she wanted the last goldfish. Rambo, on the other hand, had something else in mind- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrHYvrl8-f4

Dog Sitting

2010-05-02T13:00:00.006-06:00

We have been watching Sam's dog the last week while they were out of town. We asked Sam to bring Rambo's stairs so he would be able to get up on our bed (which we had to raise up pretty high so we could store boxes underneath) and away from Elsie. Well, Elsie thought the stairs were just about the best thing next to 'Nilla Wafers. As soon as we put the stairs up she was trying to figure out how they worked. She would usually get stuck on the 2nd step. After attentively watching Rambo go up and down them several times she finally figured it out, and was scrambling up the stairs and onto our bed before you had time to turn around. Poor Rambo. No where was safe from Elsie this time. Rambo, making sure Elsie doesn't fall (or waiting for her to). Elsie, making sure her little hombre is right behind her. I was a little worried about how the dog sitting would go this time, since Elsie is a lot more mobile, and aggressive, than she was last time we watched him. We only had one incident where Elsie was on the bed and trying to get over to pet Rambo when she lost her balance, fell, and grabbed onto Rambo in an effort to save herself. Rambo (who was surprised, and probably pretty irritated) nipped at her hand that was clutched tightly onto his hair and skin (ouch). No bleeding, just a few welts from where his teeth scraped. She was a little more careful after that, and Rambo was well-behaved the entire weekend. Even bringing his toys and setting them in Elsie's lap so she could throw them for him. It was super cute.

Already into Mom's shoes

2010-05-02T12:58:00.004-06:00

The other morning Elsie was showing interest in my slippers. So, I let her put them on. She had a pretty good time crawling around in them.

Thumb Status

2010-05-02T12:50:00.003-06:00

Still broken. Still waiting for the surgery date to be scheduled. I called & talked to the surgeon's office last Thursday who said they were just barely getting the claim info (10 days after the accident), even though they had been calling every day. Seems there was a delay with the city filing the original claim. So, here we are, nearly 2 weeks post-accident. Needless to say, no one in this household is very happy about this. When talking to the surgeon's office the scheduler sounded just as irritated as we are. She said that now that the paperwork has (FINALLY) been filed as soon as they receive the approval Tyler is top priority. The pain has been continually declining, meaning it is most likely in the healing process. Which could mean they might have to re-break the bone in order to set it properly before they put the pins (or plate) in. Crappy.

It's what separates us from animals....

2010-04-20T15:50:00.004-06:00

This is what the nurse splinting Tyler's thumb today told us. Oh, REALLY!?! I had NO idea! Well, in that case, we'll take EXTRA good care of it from now on. Tyler broke his right thumb today at work. Yes, he is right-handed. He was lifting (team-lifting) a log into the chipper when it slipped and crushed his right hand between the log and the metal on the chipper. That was at 11:00 this morning. He tried to shake it off and continued to work. When they took a brief respite he took his glove off and saw (along with one of his co-workers) that it was pretty swollen. He continued to work as well as he could until lunch, then asked one of his co-workers to drive him back to the shop. He called and asked me to meet him at the Dr's office so I could fill out the paperwork for him. They took an x-ray and he has a pretty bad fracture in 2 (possibly 3) spots on the bone between the 2 thumb joints. They put him in a splint and said they were referring him to a hand specialist, which we'll be seeing later this week. We'll keep you posted!

Winding Down for the Night

2010-04-18T21:06:00.002-06:00

Here's the crazy baby winding down after a big day with her good friend DeNae.

Boxes

2010-04-18T21:01:00.006-06:00

With our tax refund we decided to get a DESPERATELY needed new vacuum and splurged on a two-seater bike carriage. Here's the little squeaker checking out her new gear. Her little squeal of delight - too cute! Here she is helping me break down the vacuum box. Here we are actually getting ready to move some boxes of stuff to a storage unit. She was having a pretty good time climbing on them.

Never Say Never....

2010-04-18T20:57:00.002-06:00

I swore I wouldn't be one of those moms that stripped their kid down when they ate. However, on this day, we had already been through 3 outfits. It was almost time for bed and I didn't want her to get Clementine juice all over her PJs. And so here we are, eating in the buff (with her diaper on, of course).

Easter dress

2010-04-12T14:54:00.008-06:00

This is an adorable Easter dress sent to Elsie by her Grandma Archibald. Actually, it is her birthday dress. When Grandma Archibald called to see what Elsie might want for her birthday I thought, of course! An Easter dress! And, of course, it is adorable. It has a cute, wide yoke collar that Elsie loved, and kept playing peek-a-boo with during church. Thanks Grandma Archibald! Awe! Here she is with daddy.This picture cracks me up. It is Elsie squealing, laughing, and slapping her little hands together because she is so excited. All ready and on our way to church!

My little helper

2010-04-12T14:51:00.002-06:00

Here's the little squeaker helping me load the dishwasher. We took the regular silverware out so she could put in her utensils. So much fun... I turned my back for a second, and surprise! Mommy's little helper.

2010-04-12T14:49:00.001-06:00

Easter Basket Fun

2010-04-12T14:39:00.006-06:00

This seemed so harmless when I got the Easter basket down for her to play with. Tyler, who was reading, cautioned me against this as I quickly lowered the basket to the floor. Oh, she'll be fine... And she was. It was a lot of fun. She played in it for a whole 10 minutes while I watched, smiled and took pictures. After we finished I started to pick things up, and this is where it took a turn for the worse. I don't know how many of you have tried picking up the super-static pieces of Easter basket stuffing, but it's a pain. Once I had all the most offensive handfuls in the garbage I took a lint brush to get the strays that were still in the carpet. Needless to say, a week has come and gone and I am still finding and picking up the stupid strands of Easter basket fun (ugh). I'm sure Elsie's thoughts were somewhere along these lines: "Oh! What's this!?! Mom got it down for me and it's so shiny and clingy. Oh look, there's mom now. Smiling and laughing... ...Oh my goodness, there's so much!......hm. That was fun. Next?"

Vacuuming

2010-04-06T09:51:00.003-06:00

Elsie is helping Tyler vacuum. Her mouth is open because she is mimicking the sound of the vacuum. "Ahhhhhh" "Ahhhhhh" . She's got perfect pitch!

Birthday Girl!

2010-04-06T09:24:00.012-06:00

Snarfing down her breakfast. Gotta love that hair! Birthday bath! We can't have you turning 1 without cleaning off all that food! All dressed up and ready for church. She was so happy all day. Until.... She has one of those clips that you can clip her binky onto her clothes so she doesn't lose it. Well, I had just come down from saying the closing prayer at the podium and was clipping her binky onto her sleeve. Unbeknown to me I had gotten some of her skin in the clip and as I shoved the clip closed she gave me this horrible "what are you DOING!?!" look and totally started to scream her head off. Luckily, it was the end of the meeting and I was able to make a dash for the door. She had a hard rest-of-the-day after that. Even after a good, long nap. Poor thing. I felt so bad. Especially since she had been so cheerful for so long prior to that. It left a pretty bad bruise. Good thing we're getting rid of the binkies this weekend, so we can hopefully avoid something like this happening when we doll her up in her Easter dress this Sunday. This is her sign for "More". More food, more drink, more fun, more.... whatever. It is helpful, and funny. She will give you a really intent look if she doesn't feel like you are paying enough attention and just keep digging her finger into her hand until you get her what she's looking for. Since I was taking the picture, Tyler is the one that is getting the "look". We had some great friends over to help us eat cake and ice cream. We had her hair in pig-tails (as seen above). By the end of the party she had pulled them most of the way out, so I took them out. This is her post pony-tail crazy hair.

Bedroom Wall

2010-04-06T09:14:00.002-06:00

Poor Elsie is sharing her room with our food storage, desk, and whatever else we can find to shove in there (which is a lot). I finally took pity on the girl and decided to jazz up one of the (only) bare walls in her room. It turned out super cute. I wish there were more room so I could put more stickers up, but this will have to do for now.

Organizing

2010-03-20T08:55:00.004-06:00

For the last several months Elsie has been helping me find her outfits for the day. We keep her clothes in bins on the bottom shelf of our "clothes shelf" (an old bookcase converted to the cause due to extreme lack of closet space). She loves to pull the bins out, one by one, and then quite methodically pull one piece of clothing out at a time. Once all the bins are empty, she'll select one piece of clothing and thrash around with it; clearing the space all around her. Once that is cleared, she'll pick a new piece of clothing, move to a different pile, and repeat the process. I don't get it, but I do appreciate that it keeps her busy for quite some time. And me, I guess, since I then go behind her and clean it all up. Hmmm...who's keeping who busy? Anyway, now that she's pulling herself up on things and standing up, she is starting to reach the higher shelves, which belong to Tyler's clothes. Needless to say, the "cuteness" of this is wearing away quickly.

Joys of the buzz cut

2010-03-20T08:47:00.003-06:00

When Tyler puts Elsie on his shoulders after he has a freshly cut buzz, she LOVES licking his head (as you can see here). The first time she did it we thought it was funny, but that she probably wouldn't do it again. Since then, she continues to do it right after he has cut his hair. Only then. Could it be the lingering smell of the clippers on his hair that draws her taste buds to it, or the short, spiky hair? At any rate, it is funny - every time.

Little Cutie

2010-01-18T15:05:00.006-07:00

Tyler's brother took some pictures of us over Christmas. This is us being goofs (obviously). This is a super cute one he got of Elsie when we were up at the cabin. She loved it up there!

2009-12-01T08:49:00.005-07:00

Here is Elsie with her AZ cousins, Porter & Eva. She loved having them around, and would get so bored when it was just me and her. I think she is still going through withdrawals. My sis, her daughter, Ivy, and Elsie. Early morning risers! Elsie & Ivy takin' a bath. They love splashing around together. We took them for a bike ride. Elsie's first. She LOVED it! When we first put her in the carriage she was super fussy. Once we started going she got really quiet as she was trying to figure out what was going on. Then she got super excited and stuck her toes out of the side of the carriage so she could feel the wind on them. She made lots of cute noises and little squeals of delight. I will definitely be getting one of these for next summer. Here's the little squeaker after the long ride.

Halloween

2009-11-01T19:54:00.014-07:00

Here we are in costume. Tyler and I went as Forest Service agents while Elsie was a little lamb. Our outfits just couldn't be bleat (ha ha)!

Sunday, Sunday....

2009-11-01T19:50:00.006-07:00

Here are some pics of our little doll right before church. This is easily my favorite dress she has. OK Mom. That's enough for today... Get that camera out of my face and give me some food!

Crazy Hair

2009-10-28T09:50:00.006-06:00

This is one hair-do she definitely gets from her father. I am so glad she has his hair, since it is so much thicker than mine. I am looking forward to the day when it is past the "koosh ball" stage, however. It is at times like these that I think she looks more like her father than me... Here she is with a super cute bow that one of my good friends from Arizona sent me. I love it! And here she is getting caught with mom's camera bag.

How many binkis does it take....

2009-10-24T08:43:00.003-06:00

...to get this little stinker to go to sleep?!? Well, this day, it took 3. One for each hand, and one for her mouth. Finally, 45 minutes of crying, and we have success.

Updated pics of Elsie

2009-10-11T20:35:00.009-06:00

One of the last days in the stroller before the weather turned for the worse. She loves this thing! After bath-time. She is very tired. She's a little more lively in this pic. Elsie at Warren's wedding. Amber & Elsie hamming it up for the camera.

Elk Festival

2009-10-11T20:23:00.010-06:00

We spent last weekend in fabulous Estes Park/Rocky Mtn National Park during the Elk Festival. We went up with a bunch of friends/family and enjoyed the last weekend of decent weather. The elk were pretty impressive. The crowds of people were obnoxious. To start the day off our sweet baby girl is hitching a ride with daddy. And here she is with mommy, who is trying to keep her ears warm. Daddy and daughter in the park. Elsie & some creepy guy that kept asking to hold her. Elise with sleep lines. Elk on the golf course. Brendon & DeNae Brendon pushing poor DeNae into the falls...

Visit from the Powells

2009-10-11T20:12:00.009-06:00

My (Amber's) parents were in town for a couple of days. While here we went to the Swetsville zoo. It is a local farmer's welding hobby. He has created various animals, monsters, musical instruments, etc. out of old junk, or "supplies" as he so fondly referred to them. My dad loved it! Elsie having a good time in the stroller. We had some time to kill while my dad talked shop with Mr. Swets himself. These are a couple of his creations. The creativity throughout was pretty impressive. Our new van!

Some pics from this summer

2009-08-29T10:31:00.014-06:00

Here we are after a pretty full day in Yellowstone. Poor little Elsie - pretty tuckered out. Yes, that is her behind that hat... This is at family reunion #3, the one Tyler & I were in charge of this year. We spent the day in Yellowstone. Elsie is looking like quite the trooper here, she tanks out later in the day. Elsie's cousin (on the right) is only one day younger than she is. I don't know if you can see the difference very well here, but this little guy has got some serious cheek action going on. Elsie looked so little next to him! They had a pretty good time with each other. Trying to 'up' one another during tummy time. I just love this picture of them playing together. Matching shirts and all!!! Elsie Jean & Daddy. Ready for the family pic. Yeah! Dad is here!!! After 4 weeks away from each other we are too too excited to be reunited. This is reunion #2 of the 3 that we went to this summer. As you can see, Elsie is really feelin' the reunion spirit!

Elsie's Blessing

2009-07-19T21:17:00.009-06:00

We had Elsie's blessing about a month ago at our home. Our family and our favorite stop sign. (Don't mind Elsie's possessed look) Another fine instance of Archibald family teamwork... Proud mama and Elsie in her beautiful dress. Winding down after the party. Things got a little carried away until security showed up. Thanks to everyone who traveled from near and far to be here with us on our special day!

Cutest little baby WE'VE ever had!

2009-06-04T18:05:00.007-06:00

Perfection. Absolute Perfection. All dressed up and too pooped (literally) to play. Tyler thinks this bow looks like I shot a whole bunch of whipped cream on her head... Still a little young for that, I think. Mom & Elsie getting ready for some serious mini-golf. We won - baby on board and everything. What a super cutie!!! I can't believe she is already 9 weeks old. This picture totally cracks me up. Already a little bit of attitude.

Oh it burns, burns, burns...

2009-06-04T17:25:00.009-06:00

On Tyler's last day of work with Rocky Mountain Wildlife Services his boss (Brett) was going to be out of town. So Brett has his crew go up to his family cabin with Brett's dad to clean up the property. Most of the work consists of burning slash piles. One of the guys Tyler is working with (Nate) has a water tank with a sprayer attached, and is working on one of the slash piles. Tyler is working on another located closer to the stream. Since there is only one water tank Tyler is using a 5 gallon bucket which he fills with water from the stream. As Tyler is walking around the slash pile he is working to keep under control, he moves to throw a bucket of water on it in order to keep the grass surrounding the pile from catching fire. Just as he goes to throw the water on the pile, a gust of wind swirls around the slash pile and re-directs the flames; directly into Tyler's face. Tyler is hit with a super hot gust of air from the fire, and pulls away thinking, "Wow. That was really hot..." As Tyler is walking down to the stream to re-fill his bucket with water, he smells burning hair. He realizes that it is probably his own, precious hair that he has been dutifully growing out on his wife's behalf for over a year now, and rushes the rest of the way to the stream and promptly submerges his head in the water. He stands up, a little concerned, turns to his co-worker and asks, "Hey Nate, did I just light my hair on fire?" Nate doubles over laughing as soon as he sees Tyler's hair. And, as you can see here, it is perfectly clear why. Luckily, Tyler didn't actually catch his head on fire. This time. He singed most of everything on his face: Hair, eyebrows, secret beard, beard, etc. We hope you get as much of a kick out of this as his crew did....

All dressed up!

2009-04-24T13:46:00.004-06:00

These are pictures we took of Elsie on the quilt made by Grandma Archibald. Elsie looked so cute we thought we should go ahead and post some of them...

More pics of Elsie Jean

2009-04-18T16:45:00.009-06:00

Here are a few more pictures of our new girl, Elsie Jean: Taking a nap with Dad Thanks to everyone for all the meals, cute clothes, blankets, emails and phone calls.

She's finally arrived!

2009-03-30T12:06:00.006-06:00

We welcomed our baby into the world on Saturday night.

Home Tour

2009-03-02T14:28:00.017-07:00

This post is mainly for my mom, who was wondering what our new apartment looks like. But, if you've never been to our apartment, I'm sure you'll find it very interesting. The exterior. We have better neighbors here than at our last apartment. We live in the basement. Entry. Front room. The kitchen. Laundry facilities, just off the kitchen. Our bedroom (what a nice quilt!). Although we are from Idaho, the boxes on our clothing shelf do not contain potatoes. Mini-hallway leading to our mini-bathroom. Mini-bathroom. One more room to go! Home office/baby's room/storage room. Amber, hard at work. Come visit soon!

Have the Celtics lost their mind?

2009-03-01T18:39:00.004-07:00

The Boston Celtics recently signed one of the worst basketball players I've ever seen: Stephon Marbury, or as Sam refers to him, "Starbury". I'm pretty sure this signing will be the downfall of the 2009 Celtics, who are already struggling with Kevin Garnett out with an injury. I hope Danny Ainge, the Celtics GM, knows something that I don't, because this move just seems crazy. The Knicks, Marbury's former team, paid him $21 million dollars to NOT play for them. The rest of the NBA season is going to be rough. On a side note, he does have a fine scalp tattoo.

Tag Results

2009-03-01T18:30:00.003-07:00

Here are the results of your tagging, Wendy. Hope you're happy. (L to R: Billie, Eva, Teresa, Ivy, and some random neighbor kid)

The Belly

2009-01-12T17:57:00.006-07:00

For all of you that have been asking - here are the pictures of my belly. I don't know where it came from. It seems like just the other (blessed) day that most people were surprised to find out I was pregnant. Then, overnight, I have a balloon for a belly. No more asking or silent wondering on the part of others if I am just packing on the winter weight, or if I'm pregnant. It is now abundantly clear that I am gonna be a momma!!! We are so excited, and can't believe that in a mere 3 months our lives as know them will never be the same again....

Christmas!

2009-01-12T17:46:00.009-07:00

Me and my huge belly (which I just love) and my new Christmas shoes!

Tyler's long-awaited for XBox live subscription. Life is now complete.

Tyler has been collecting golf balls in the fields where he works for the last 9 months or so. I am so glad he was able to give some as Christmas gifts. Only one box (yes, box) of recycled golf balls left. I can't wait until next year - even though I'm sure he will have replenished his supply by then...

I love this picture of Tyler's dad! It makes me laugh every time I look at it!

We gave Tyler's mom a potato, potato peeler for Christmas - brilliant!!! Why can't I think of these clever things?

The Flat

2009-01-12T17:33:00.005-07:00

We caravanned up to Idaho with Tyler's brother, Sam, and his wife, Collette. They live in Colorado Springs (about an hour South of us). On the way up Tyler looks in the rear-view mirror and watches in horror as Sam goes careening off of the highway (at 75 mph), thru the median and into oncoming traffic. Luckily Sam was able to get his truck stopped just inside the yellow line. Sam had hit some black ice and his truck went out of control. We are so glad he was able to regain control of the truck and that they were all safe. After getting control of his heart-rate, he drove back thru the median and pulled ahead of where we had stopped. He had blown out his rear tire. No biggie, right??? Well, his super-sweet truck has custom rims, which apparently did not have the right size lug wrench to along with it. Tyler and I ended up driving about 10 miles back to Rawlins, WY to get the right tools, and after a mere 2 hours we were back on the road - yeah!!!

Christmas Tree Hunting with the Camerons

2008-12-13T18:44:00.011-07:00

Last Saturday (12/6/08) we went with some friends of ours up the canyon to pick out and cut down their Christmas Tree. It was such a beautiful day! After some looking, DeNae called us over to inspect her find. After DeNae cut the tree down, she and I "measured" it (with our arm-span) in an effort to figure out how much she would need to trim off the bottom so it would fit in their house. We had such a great time, and really enjoyed getting into the mountains for the afternoon.

Thanksgiving Weekend

2008-12-07T19:52:00.005-07:00

Getting ready for dinner. We had to clear out our living room so we would have a place for the tables. We ended up having about 11 people over for the big Turkey day. Great food and great friends makes for a great time. Tyler - sampling the whipped cream. Post-feast visiting. Our Dentist and his wife - actually it's Tyler's brother, Sam, his wife Collette, and Rambo. We love having them close enough that we are able to get together with relative ease, and share the holidays.

Trip to Steamboat

2008-12-07T19:40:00.005-07:00

We took a trip over to Steamboat Springs Colorado over Halloween weekend with some friends. We had such a good time! Most of our morning hike was spent throwing rocks on the frozen river. Who knew how fun that could be? DeNae, Amber & Erika