Celebrating with The Groves

This year we decided to combine our celebration for Thanksgiving and Christmas with Zach's family. It worked out the best with all our crazy schedules and travel considerations. We had a pretty good visit other than I was sick, Gunner wasn't feeling good, and everyone had to leave fairly early Sunday evening. All in all it was a fun visit and we were glad that we got to visit.

Modeling the outfit her grandparents gave her.

Tessa's Santa Hat on Boky's head. Too funny.

Chubby wubby Tessa with her santa hat on. I love it!

Carving the turkey. (This is the second time I have cooked a turkey and I must say it turned out awesome.)

*The pictures are not chronological, sorry!

The PuMpKiN PaTcH!!!

This year Grandpa Howard took everyone to the pumpkin patch to get our pumpkins. They have some already picked or you can actually go out pick one from the vine. We chose to go and pick our own and it was fun!!

looking for pumpkins

just me and my girls :)

she found the one she wants...

and this one is for lil sister

Blessing Day...

Tessa was blessed on October 10th, 2010 in the Elwood first ward by her Great Grandpa Jimmy. She shared her special day with her cousin Elliot Nicholas who was also blessed in the Elwood first ward but by his Great Uncle Jon. It was a very special day. I didn't get very many pictures due to the high stress/anxiety with everyone there but we do appreciate all of you who were able to be there and those of you who sent your love even though you couldn't be there.

The best family picture that we got that day.

Isn't she a sweetie!

My princess in the blessing dress

Tessa and her Great Grandpa James

September 12th, 2010

Esi turned 2!!!!
We had a little get together at Grandma and Grandpa's house to celebrate. These are a few pictures from that day...

July....

July has come and now it's half way gone and I haven't posted a dang thing! So here's my pathetic attempt to get a little caught up, hopefully I'll be able to add to this in a few days...

We had a check up of the 1st of July and it went pretty good. I have had a hard time lately being pregnant and that day was particularly difficult, so I let Dr. Housel know about it. When he walked in the exam room he asked if I was ok and if there was anything he could do to help me, I told him I wouldn't be happy until he started me! I bawled almost the entire visit and was sort of embarrassed about it. The girls at the scheduling desk probably thought I was a complete psycho, but then my mom reminded me that they probably see that sort of thing daily. I could never work at an obstetrician office, way to many hormones for me! Anyways, he said that Tessa is around 4 pounds 2 ounces and is growing well. He also said she is breach and that if she hasn't flipped by next appointment we would set a date to do a version (flip the baby the right way). I had the same thing with Brooklyn, so I'm really not too worried. One good thing would be that if he has to flip her he would be willing to break my water after the flip...meaning she will be coming sooner than August 18th :O) We'll keep you posted, we have an appointment this week!!

Happy 4th of July!

Brooklyn looked so cute on the 4th, her attitude wasn't too bad either considering we had to wake her up at the crack of dawn to go the celebration. We, like always, headed down to Hansen Park for the Elwood Town celebration. I had to head off to work after breakfast, but I did get to watch Boky do the children's parade (thanks Pam for covering me for a few). Zach did the trap shoot and actually did quite well. He always seems to do better when he doesn't go out and practice the days before the shoot. He won a little money, chocolate, and pop. That night after I got off work we went to my parent's for fireworks, Boky LOVED the sparklers.

Our garden has not been doing so well, I don't know if it's the fact that Gunner eats the plants, Brooklyn picks them, or the lack of constant watering. However, we finally got some peas!!! We also had some radishes, but they were way too hot (must not have gotten enough water). Brooklyn loved picking the radishes so much that she thinks she can pull other things out as well. The tomatoes are starting to get little green maters, but none of the other plants are really doing anything. Bummer. Next year we'll do better, because I won't be pregnant and hot.

We got Brooklyn a swing set ( I guess it was actually June, but hey I'm updating from the last time I posted :)). It has a slide on it, and that is her favorite part. She has started to get daring and go down on her belly, it's so cute. She also likes to stand at the top and yell at Gunner (who tries climbing up the slide to get her). And she gets mad when Gunner touches her swing set.

This past weekend we were able to go up to Idaho Falls and visit Mark and Tammy (oh and we can't forget Frodo). It was a good visit, the only problem is the drive. Brooklyn hates being in the car so long. We ended up buying a portable DVD player for the way home, and I must say it was well worth the money we paid. Anyways, we got to see the falls, they are so beautiful. I took a few pictures of the temple as well, and we even got a few family photo's (I will post them in the next few days). It was nice to get away and to see them, it has been forever since our last visit. Next time though we are going to try and get up earlier so we can spend more time, we didn't get out of bed until almost eleven that day and it's a 2-2 1/2 hour drive!!

Well, that's the begining of July in a nut shell... look back later for more posts this week!!

Good Weekend...

Just a note this is a journal type entry, feel free to skip it :O)

So I started this post once, but I lost it somehow... so hear it goes again...

This weekend was a super one! Nothing too special happened but it was so nice. Friday started out with me going to work (not my fave) but it was a pretty good day, nothing deadly. Then when I got off and went to get Brooklyn my grandparents were at my mom's, and they even waited up to see me!! We don't make it up there enough to see them so I am glad they are willing to make the drive down occasionaly. It was super good to see them. Also I must mention my Auntie Laurie had a birthday! Happy birthday to her! She was so good to share it with us. She even let Brooklyn help her make a cake on friday night (now Brooklyn wants the beaters all the time).

After we left mom's we ended up at one of Zach's friend's house (Matt and Kassie). Brookyln was tired but super thrilled because they have kitties (they are really 2 or 3 years old and pretty chunky). Matt even went above and beyond and got ehr a laser pointer to play with the kitties, it was funny watcihng her trying to use it and them trying to chase it.

Saturday we woke up early (especially after our late night) and headed back over to my mom's to try and get a few more hours in with Grandpa and Grandma Hodges and Aunt Laurie. We walked in to hot pancakes! Yummy. After they left Jade begged us to take her up to kings, and Zach can't say no so away we went... We ended up spending 10$ on a new Zhu Zhu Pet, but hey Brookyln is happy! Jade also bought another Zhu Zhu. If you haven't seen them take a look, they are pretty cool little creatures. I will post a video of Brooklyn with hers, she is so funny about it.

After that we came home and napped and it was wonderful! I love when me and Brooklyn can nap together. It gives me hope that when this next baby comes we will still get a little rest. Speaking of the baby, we get to find out on Thursday what sex it is! Can you believe it? It has flown by for me. I am excited to know so we can get things prepared and ge stuff arranged. Yay :O)

Sunday we rested a lot! We must ahve all needed to catch up on sleep or something because we normally don't nap everyday. We also played Lego's and went to McDonald's and played (I know). It was good to just spend time with my own little family, we don't do it often enough. Zach and I want to start doing date night at least every other week and I totally think we need to get in the habit before baby 2 is here.

Zach has been so good to me lately. I don't know if I am just realizing it more or if he is trying harder but I LOVE it, and him even more!



Things he has done that impress me...

Dishes. Every day before he leaves the house he doesn the dishes.

Garbages. He has been so good about staying on top of the garbages. It's nobody's favorite job around here but he has been taking all the trash out before I even get a chance to ask him.

Laundry. Sunday he did all the laundry for me. It didn't all make it on hangers or in drawers but hey it's clean and wearable.

Hair. He has been helping with Brooklyn's hair so that they don't have to make special trips to my work everyday, and I must say he is doing a pretty good job.

Last but not least he has treated me like a princess every day even when I am acting like a dragon! I love him soooo much!

Howard Family Halloween Party

This year at the annual Howard family Halloween party Brookyln dressed up as a kitty cat. I think Halloween will be interesting this year due to the fact that when we walked into the party and Esi and Boky saw Uncle Jon in his clown attire, they both started crying! Angie always does such a good job pulling this all together and she didn't disapoint this year. There was lots of yummy food before all the sugar (which every mom can appreciate) and fun games for everyone. Here are a few pics of the night....

I just love Halloween and not because of the dressing up and candy, but because it's the first fall holiday that brings our families together. I was sad that not everyone could make it but I look forward to the rest of the family oriented holidays this fall and can't wait to see EVERYBODY!!!

Back in August (I know I'm a slacker) Brooklyn got her very first HAIRCUT!!! We are so lucky that Sarah was able to do it, it made me way less stressed. It went pretty well, she didn't like it at first so Sarah let me hold her while she made the finishing touches. Thanks Sarah!!!

08.31.09

Happy 1st Birthday to Esi May!!!

Esi had her first birthday this last weekend!!! I can't believe I have a 1 year old niece...weird. It was fun to watch her open her presents, and especially fun to watch her eat her 'cake.'
She really has grown a cute little personality this last year. I am so glad that her and Brooklyn can play together and I look forward to the days of play dates, sleep overs, and all that fun big girl stuff.

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY TO ESI!!!

Esi being a share bear with Boky in her new Viper!!

Update!

Wow I haven't posted in forever so I thought I would do an update on what has happened the last few weeks.

Brooklyn has "graduated" to an upright, forward facing car seat. I have been hanging on and hanging on to her little car seat and Zach finally pushed me and gave me a reality check that she's not a baby anymore. She is a toddler. It's so hard to believe that my baby is already 15 months old. Another wonderful thing that actually just happened today was she peed on the potty chair!! Can you believe it?!? We bought it just to get her familiar with it and she loves sitting on it, whether she has a diaper on or not. Today we were running her a bath so we let her be naked and she sat on it and peed!! I was SO proud even though she has no idea what she did, it's a step in the right direction. Oh, and don't worry we aren't seriously potty training, I just heard that the more familiar they are with the potty chair the better they do when they are ready.

Zach got laid off from Autoliv, his official termination date was February 2nd. I was a little stressed about it but confident that he would get another job. Guess what? He went in for an interview on February 4th and got hired on the spot at Western Liberty Foods. It's going to be a bit of a change for him but it's a decent paying job for right now. I'd like for him to decide what he wants to be when he "grows up" so that he could go back to school, but so far he can't decide. I am happy though that he is such a good husband and father and is so eager to support us. He was officially unemployed for only two and a half days...what a man!

As many of you know Bear River Valley Hospital is going to be moving into a new building, and since it's my place of employment I am way excited!! I still have a hard time finding my way around the new building but it's SO nice and has a ton more space than what we have now. I think it will serve it's purpose well. The official move date is this Wednesday February 11th. It will be interesting to see how many people will use our new facility instead of taking their medical needs outside the valley. I have always had confidence in our doctors and nurses but this new building may be a way to open the eyes of the community and let them see how wonderful our staff really is. (If you can't tell by now I am REALLY happy about it.)

Another exciting thing that is going on is that my dad has started his own business, well sort of. He is still working for Autoliv, but at minimal hours, so he has started doing chainsaw bears. He is so talented. He only practiced like twice before he got it. If you'de like to take a look or even order/buy one here is his page: http://www.mychainsawbearnecessities.blogspot.com I think that my mom is still trying to help him get it up and running but check it out!

I can't really think of anything else exciting lately but if I do I'll be sure to post about it ;o)

Keyboard...

We got to take care of Esi May today and Brooklyn enjoyed (most of) it!

When Esi first got here Brooklyn was very grouchy so we laid her down for a nap and I got to have some one on one with Esi May. It was good but then Esi fell asleep too!! Funny girl. So Zach made lunch for us and by the time we got done everyone was starting to wake up and I still hadn't got ready for the day. Zach watched both the girls while I got ready, what a trooper.

The rest of the day went smoothly. Esi napped again and Brooklyn and I got some one on one. Then Brooklyn fed Esi while I changed her bum. That is one thing I learned today, with two babies you can change so many diapers that you are going crazy! (But we only had one blow out)

Over all it was a good day and I had fun. I must say I would do it again in a hearbeat!