Charles Family

Introducing........

2011-12-03T14:59:00.000-07:00

Maddox Dru Charles

born 11/11/11 at 7:45 pm

6lbs 13oz 21in long

First Bath

Getting ready to go home

1 week old

2 weeks old!!

Kenadee sure loves her baby!


Not sure how Maddox feels about all the love he gets from his sister!!!

We sure love our sweet little boy and feel so blessed to have him in our family!!!!

Halloween Fun!!!!

2011-11-05T19:52:00.000-06:00

The Saturday before Halloween Kenadee and I went to Boo at the Zoo with my mom and grandpa. Kenadee had a blast. She loved all of the decorations, people, and of course the animals. I was surprised at how active all of the animals were. It was a fun experience. I didn't take many pictures here because we were too busy having fun!!! :)

Dru carved a pumpkin for Kenadee and she was inspecting his work. We got this pumpkin at the U-Pick Red Barn. Kenadee went on a fun little train ride and went through the straw maze (she bawled during the maze). I didn't get any picutres here but she loved walking around by herself through all the pumpkins.

Halloween Night Kenadee went Trick or Treating at Grandma and Grandpa Ingram's. She went straight for the Reese's (smart girl!) Grandpa is helping her get her candy.

She snagged another Reese's from the candy bowl and took off as fast as she could!

Laughing as she runs to grandma to open another Reese's for her

Eating her loot!

My cute little pumpkin running from me as I try to get a cute picture of her!

She was wired when we got back to Grandma and Grandpa Charles after all of the candy she had eaten. Thank goodness her cousins came over and helped her run off all of her energy!

15 months old!!!

2011-10-13T14:48:00.001-06:00

I can not believe my little sweetie is 15 months old!!! I can honestly say these have been the best 15 months of my life. Kenadee is my little buddy. She is always following me around, bringing me books and toys to play with, or copying what I do. She is at such a fun age! I can just see the understanding in her face.

-She can follow simple tasks like, "Please go get your shoes, or would you bring me your toy or book." When I ask her if she wants to eat breakfast, lunch, or dinner she will walk to the pantry and grab at the door because that's where the food and her highchair are.

-Kenadee has discovered how to throw a ball and loves to throw the ball to her dogs. She giggles when they run after it. I have to remind her to be careful because sometimes she throws at the dogs and I'm sure they don't appreciate it very much. She generally does well when you tell her to be soft, but she does need to be reminded from time to time.

-She loves her little Mickey Mouse car and climbs on and off of it by herself. The other day I caught her trying to stand on it so she could climb onto the entertainment center!!! Naughty stink!!

-She still loves to read books but she wants to be the one turning the pages! If I try to do it most of the time she will get upset and take the book.

-She has learned how to get down from the couch or our bed by herself. She gets a big smile on her face every time she does it.

-Kenadee loves to "help" with just about anything I am trying to do. Needless to say this has made packing very interesting and I try to do most things while Dru is home or she is napping.

-Kenadee still takes 1 good nap during the day and sleeps 10 to 12 hours at night. She won't sleep without her teddy bear and her stuffed pig.

-Kenadee has started saying many more words. She now says: pig, ted (teddy bear), mom, dad, yeah, this, that, what, me, daw (dog), shoes, and she will randomly repeat words that Dru and I say. The other day she tried to say breakfast and it was pretty cute!

-She says "Me" when she wants something. She will then point at the object and repeat "Me" until you give it to her. If I don't want her to have something she will give me a kiss and start the whole process again.

-She gives the best kisses and hugs!

-Kenadee gets her feelings hurt when you tell her no.

-She talks the entire time she is in the car. She just keeps going like the Energizer bunny and it is hard to hold a conversation if someone else is with us.

-After she gets out of the bath tub (which she still LOVES!!!) she will grab the q-tips and pretend she is cleaning her ears.

-Kenadee loves to play peek-a-boo and to put things on her head as a hat. She likes to put "hats" on other people and animals too. The other day she put her beads around Marley, and a bracelet on her ear. Once she was done she stood back and laughed.

-Little Miss LOVES to get into my kitchen cupboards and her 2 new favorite toys are the cheese grater and flour sifter. She is constantly pulling those out and dragging them all over the house (don't worry I wash them after she plays with them).

-Kenadee loves to be around kids her age, especially her cousin Averie. She gets so excited and will just follow her around and laugh at what she is doing whether it's funny or not.

-Kenadee loves to smile and laugh! She is such a happy girl most of the time, though she does throw the occasional tantrum.

-Baby girl now has 8 teeth. She has popped 5 in the last 2 months and surprisingly hasn't been very grumpy.

At her 15 month checkup her stats were:

Weight: 25 lbs. 9 oz. (93rd %)

Height: 32 1/2 in. (97th %)

She is growing perfectly and we love our little Stinker more each day!!!!!

Kenadee is way too big for her bumbo but I always catch her sitting in it while playing with her toys or reading books. (Yes she wears the stacker rings as bracelets)

Grandpa Stan bought Kenadee this huge stuffed monkey and she loves to jump on him and give him hugs. If anyone else touches him or gets close to him she starts to cry and will point at them. She is very possessive of him.

She cracks me up in the tub. She was giving me really good cheesy grins on this particular day. She loves to run her hands under the faucet as the tub is filling up.

She loves her Mickey car. She pushes the same button over and over again that just happens to be the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme, but she doesn't let it finish playing before she pushes it again so we hear the beginning 20 times in a row. Sometimes it makes Dru and I want to pull our hair out, but you look at her smiling and you can't help up laugh.

12 and 13 months old!

2011-08-24T20:08:00.002-06:00

So I have been such a slacker on the blog lately! My baby girl turned 1 over a month and a half ago and I haven't blogged about it yet. Oh well, better late than never!!!

I can't believe my sweet baby girl is 1!!! Time has gone by so fast. Kenadee is such a cute little girl and we just can't get enough of her. She does the funniest things all of the time.


We love our big girl!!!

-Her biggest achievement as of late is.....WALKING!!!! She took her first couple of steps on her birthday but was very timid about it. Then, on August 16, she just started walking around. It really took my be surprise.

-She has 3 teeth now. She is working on 2 more, but they haven't come through yet. Despite only having 3 teeth she can gum just about anything to death, and by just about anything I mean she ate pork ribs the other night and did great with them. She also loves to "brusha" or brush her teeth.

-Kenadee is a very happy little girl and can entertain herself for quite a while (she is usually doing something she shouldn't be). She loves to read books with mom or by herself.

-Grandma Deborah gave Kenadee some necklaces for her birthday and she always has those things on, along with her bracelets. She is already showing signs of being a girly girl and this mamma loves it!!!

-She will sit really still and let me style her hair in all sorts of ways as long as Special Agent Oso or Little Einsteins is playing.

-Kenadee loves to make us laugh. Sometimes she will just look at us and start making a fake laugh so that we will start laughing at her.

-She is such a busy body and I often find all of my tupperware on the floor, along with measuring cups, sandwich bags, aluminum foil, and other random items.

-Kenadee knows where mom's nose is, but she hates to play that game and won't do it in front of anyone else.

-She loves her teddy bear "Ted" and has to sleep with him every night. Speaking of sleeping, she is still an amazing sleeper (anywhere from 10 to 12 hours a night). She doesn't let me snuggle her to sleep like she used to. She will let me snuggle her until she starts to get tired and then she wants to go lay in her bed. She only takes 1 nap a day now, in the afternoon, and it is usually 2 1/2 to 3 hours long. This is so nice for me because I can get a lot done in that amount of time.

-Kenadee still loves her dogs. She often throws food to them from her highchair. She gives them lots of loves and pats too. They are so good with her, and I am so thankful for that!!!

-As of late, my little monkey loves to climb on things. She is always testing the stairs. The other day she climbed onto the couch while I was vacuuming the cushions. She even climbed into grandma Deborah's kitchen drawer after she emptied it out. She has such a sense of accomplishment after she has climbed into or onto something.

-Little Miss LOVES to eat!! She is an amazing eater and it cracks me up. The only food she has ever met that she didn't like was watermelon. Aside from that she goes to town when we give her food. She can eat a 4 piece nugget from Burger King, drink all of her milk, and eat applesauce too. She doesn't snack much during the day so at her 3 meals she likes to take advantage I guess. She loves Goldfish crackers as snacks and will whine when she sees someone with a Goldfish box. Needless to say I usually have some on hand. She also loves GO GO Squeezies (applesauce in a little squeeze container so I don't need a spoon).

-At her 1 year appt she was 31 1/2 inches tall (99th percentile) and weighed 22 lbs 11 oz (85th percentile) so she is still one healthy girl and we could not be more thrilled!!!

On to the Birthday Party:


Birthday Girl with her presents from mom and dad! This kid was spoiled rotten!!!

We had 2 birthday parties for her. One at each set of grandparents house. Here she is opening presents at Gma and Gpa Charles house!

She loves her little frog bath toy from Uncle Ryan, Aunt Nikki, and their girls!

We are getting ready to sing Happy Birthday and she has no idea what all of the fuss is about!

After Kenadee decided to stick her finger in the cake!

Coming up with a game plan on how to tackle that piece of cake!

"You talking to me? Yeah I ate the whole piece, what's it to ya?"

At Gma and Gpa Ingram's opening her presents!

2 peas in a pod checkin out her loot!

She loves this picnic basket from Gma and Gpa Ingram

Getting ready to sing Happy Birthday again! (I couldn't get the pic to cooperate so it is sideways)

Chowing down on piece of cake #2 (Hey it was her birthday. I wasn't going to deprive her)

"Yep, I finished that one too!!"

Kenadee was so lucky to have so many family members come to celebrate her birthday with her. At Gma and Gpa Charles house Uncle Brandon and Aunt Ashley came over, as well as Uncle Ryan. At Gma and Gpa Ingram's house her visitors included Aunt Linds, Uncle Rob, and Cousin Averie, Great Grandma and Grandpa Ingram, Great Grandpa Grimaud, and her Dobsons! Alli and Brycen even stopped by for a couple of minutes before her second party! She had a very fun day with all of her family and was exhausted by the end of the night!!! I was worried about her sleeping well with all of that sugar in her system, but she fell asleep on the way home from Gma and Gpa's and slept until almost 9 the next morning!!!

Independence Day, Summer Fun, and a Baby

2011-07-16T10:40:00.000-06:00

I love the 4th of July! It has to be my favorite holiday. Nice weather, parade, BBQ, and fireworks. What's not to like? This year was no exception, it was quite possibly the best ever!!!

Kenadee at her very first parade! She loved waving her little flag around and watching all of the floats.

She got a little tired and took a nap on grandpa. She just woke up in this picture.

Best Buddies and Cousins

At the Annual Grimaud Family Picnic. Kenadee loves Hailey!!

Firework time! Kenadee was so funny at the fireworks. She LOVED them!!! During the Grand Finale she was jumping up and down! I am so glad that this sweet girl loves the 4th as much as her mom does!!!

Kenadee finally smiling at Cheri. She was very grumpy with her all night and then she finally warmed up.

Aside from Independence Day we have been very busy having fun. We bought a zoo pass and like to go just about every week. Kenadee LOVES the monkeys. Her favorites are the ring-tailed lemurs. She loves to watch them.


Averie, Brooklyn, and Kenadee at the zoo

We have also been up to the cabin a couple of times this summer. One visit we headed up with Dru's sister Krista and her kids, as well as our other niece Beth. We went to West Yellowstone and visited the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center. Kenadee enjoyed going down the slide with her cousin Beth.

Kenadee also loves to play in Grandma's pool with her cousin Averie. She really enjoys the water. We are having so much fun with her this year and enjoy watching her little personality develop more everyday!

Last but certainly not least, we went in for an ultrasound on June 28th and discovered that Kenadee is getting a baby BROTHER in November!!! We are so excited to have this little guy in our home and know that Kenadee will be an amazing big sister to him!!!

Getting So Big

2011-05-06T14:53:00.000-06:00

Little Miss Kenadee Rae,
You are turning into a toddler right before our eyes. You are such a fun, sweet thing. I have been slacking on updates lately, but most of this is due to the fact that you are such a busy body! So, this will be an update for months 8-10 since you are officially 10 months in a couple of days!!! You had a 9 months Dr. visit and here are your stats: 20lbs 12oz. (82nd%), 29 1/2 in. tall (95th%), and 19in. head (99.96%) You are such a big growing girl!!!!

You have had many firsts the last couple of months, they are:

March 1: You army crawled for the first time. You were a week shy of 8 months old!!!
March 10: (8 months 1 day) You said your first word, it was MA MA!!!! You can now say Mom and Dad. You also say Bob a lot but I'm not sure you know what you are saying. You are such a jabber jaw and will just talk away!
March 13: (8 months 4 days) You crawled for the very first time. You are quite the little pro at crawling now. You are a quick little bugger.
March 17 (St. Patrick's Day): (8 months 8 days) You pulled yourself up to a standing position for the first time. Watch out now!!!
April 1: (Almost 9 months)You cut your first and only (so far) tooth. You were such a grouch!
April 5: You started clapping for the first time.
April 14: You got bronchitis!!! You gave it to mom and dad as well. It took a good two weeks to get over but you were one happy little girl for being so sick!!!
April 19: (9 months 10 days) You walked along the entire couch all by yourself!!!
May 4: (Almost 10 months) You walked across our family and living room with your little push toy!
I would not be surprised if you are walking all by yourself very soon!!!

You have the funniest personality little one. You still love Justin Bieber and when you hear one of his songs you get the biggest smile on your face and start dancing. You also love Special Agent Oso (on Disney) and will dance to that theme song as well!

Aunt Terri took 8 month pictures of you! I love how these turned out!!!

Good morning sleepy head! What I find every morning when I come into your room! Look at that crazy hair!

At the zoo. You will be going there a lot this summer!

Getting ready to get in the bath tub.

You love to go for rides in cardboard boxes or laundry baskets and you love to play with hangers!

At Garcia's for Grandpa Adrian's birthday. You love the refried beans and rice

In your Easter dress. (sadly you didn't get to wear your dress on Easter because we all had Bronchitis)

Another picture that Aunt Terri took at 8 months with cousin Averie

Bouncing away in your jumper. Sadly you won't play in it anymore so there aren't many ways to keep you contained!!!

You LOVE food. You don't care what kind it is, you just love it. If someone else is eating they better be sharing with you, or you can get pretty upset!
You love to torture your dogs. If you see them lying down you will crawl after them as fast as you can. You love your mom during the day, but when dad gets home you turn into a complete daddy's girl. I love it!
You fight your naps and bedtime now. You just want to be around everyone. I really can't stand this and hope that you get over it soon.
You love people but sometimes you have a killer stone cold face and won't smile at all. Other times all you want to do is smile. You especially love your cousins and grandparents. They always know how to get a smile out of you!!! :)
You love to be outside, but sadly there haven't been many nice days. When the dogs go out you will pound on the back window and talk to them.
You drink out of a sippy cup most of the time and love to try new solid foods.
You love to "help" mom with the laundry, or unfold as I fold. It cracks me up!
You are constantly on the go and I love to watch you look at new things. I can see those little wheels spinning as you try to figure things out! I cherish our cuddle time because there is becoming less and less of it! I enjoy every minute of you and am so blessed that I get to be your mother!!! I love you sweet girl!

My Little Valentine

2011-02-18T11:11:00.000-07:00

My little valentine is getting so big! Last week she turned 7 months old!!! She celebrated her very first Valentine's Day by going to lunch at Garcia's with dad and mom and got a Valentine's day shirt and her very own stuffed Mickey and Minne Mouse!

My little Valentine!

She loves to give her Mick and Minn hugs. She giggles and smiles when she sees them.

She also loves to eat them!


Here are all of her Valentine's. Gma and Gpa Ingram gave her Minnie's Masquerade on DVD and Gma and Gpa Charles gave her some cute boardbooks. Once again she was spoiled rotten!

This week she also had her first playdate with her buddy Brycen! It was so fun to watch these two. (Thanks for the picture Al)

Kenadee is becoming such a fun little girl and continues to do new things everyday. She is learning to hold her bottle all by herself and will even drink juice out of a sippy cup (when she feels like it).

Such a big girl!

She is always getting up on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth. It's only a matter of time before she crawls. In the meantime she just rolls where ever she wants to go. She is such a busy body and gets into everything! Kenadee is very good about entertaining herself (for the most part) and is content to roll around or play with her toys. One of her favorite things to do is pull hair. She loves it. I tell her no when she does it and that little stinker laughs at me.

Kenadee also loves to roll onto the hardwood and smack it! When you catch her on it she gives you the cheesiest grin!

Kenadee loves the baby in the mirror!

Kenadee loves her puppies! She loves to pet them and grab their paws. They are very good sports with her!

I can't believe my little girl is 7 months old already! I love her so much and love being her mother more each day!!!

6 months old

2011-01-10T16:31:00.000-07:00

Kenadee Darling,

You are getting so big and are turning into my best girlfriend. I LOVE spending time with you as you are little miss personality. You are doing new things everyday. I hate to even close my eyes at night because I'm afraid I might miss something, and let's face it.... I miss you even though you are just in the next room. This month you....

Got your 6 months shots at the Dr. I made dad go with us because last time you cried so hard and it was horrible driving home listening to you scream, but this time you surprised us. You had a delayed cry after your shots for about 10 seconds and as soon as mom picked you up you were fine. I know you were just being tough because your dad was there. Your stats were impressive......

Head Circumference: 18 inches (99th %)

Weight: 17 lbs 9 oz (80th %)

Height: 27 1/2 inches (96th %)

The Dr.'s exact words were.... "She is a big healthy girl. If you sat her by 100 other 6 month old girls she would be bigger than all of them. There's nothing wrong with that, she's just a big girl." I don't think you look chubby at all though (aside from your cheeks that I adore). You are very proportionate and healthy.

Rockin your Buckeye gear from uncle Rob! I love this picture of you.

You love love love to eat. You enjoy all kinds of baby food except....meat. If I mix it with veggies we are good to go. I really don't blame you because I don't like meat without seasoning so I understand the problem.

Eating some grub at the cabin over New Year's

You are quite the little jumper. You would jump all day long if I would let you.

You are trying so hard to crawl. You can move a little on your own so I don't think that day is too far away.

You mastered the art of sitting by yourself last week (Jan 4, 2011).

Sitting like a big girl!

You roll all over the place, but you only roll to one side so you get stuck often. It's quite funny to see you stuck up against the couch.

Tummy time. You are all over the place!

You are teething and are so ready to pop one of your teeth, but it just won't happen. You chew on everything! Thank goodness you have been happy for the most part.

You are the most smiley little girl. You are always flirting and that grin of yours is contagious.

Such a little smiler!!!

You love to talk. Sometimes you just go on and on. Last Sunday you were talking to the wall at church. It was pretty funny.

You love to read books. If someone tries to talk to you while you are reading....you often ignore them.

You love your pups. You will reach your hands out for them to come and play with you. You love to pull on their ears and jowls. They love you too and are constantly trying to bathe you in kisses.

Your favorite time of the day still has to be bath time. You kick in the tub and giggle away.

You have the cutest little laugh. I love to tickle you just so I can hear it.

You love to play games with mom and dad. You give mom your binky and take it away from her as well.

You still LOVE Mickey Mouse and must watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on a daily basis. (don't worry, I don't let you watch too much TV)

Watching the Grinch for the first time. You were very captivated.

It is so fun to watch you grow little miss. We love you very much and feel so blessed to have you as our daughter.

Love, Dad and Mom

Kee Kee's First Christmas

2010-12-29T11:36:00.000-07:00

Kenadee is turning into such a fun little stinker. We were able to enjoy this Christmas with her and I think Christmas is so much more fun as a parent. She really didn't understand what was going on, but she loved it and got spoiled rotten!!!

We had so much fun with family this year and were thrilled that we were able to continue to participate in many of our traditions. On the 23rd, Kenadee and I attended our annual cousins lunch with my mom, sister, Averie, my aunt Barbara, my cousin Cheri, and her 3 wonderful girls. We went to Olive Garden and had a great time catching up and enjoying each other's company. I look forward to this time every year.

On Christmas Eve we exchanged gifts with Cheri and her family (another wonderful tradition) and then we spent some time with Dru's family. Kenadee had such a blast with her cousins on both sides and loves all of the extra attention she gets! Kenadee also got to open her Christmas Eve present from Daddy and Mommy and they were her very first pair of Christmas Jammies!

On Christmas morning we went over to my parents and opened presents and talked to my brother Robbie on the phone. It was so good to hear from my little brother, but I am so excited when he will actually be here for Christmas again. It feels so much different without him!

Kenadee enjoyed unwrapping all of her presents (it took her like 10 minutes to do each one, but she was in Heaven). She wore herself out so much that she fell asleep in the middle of present opening. It was hilarious!!!

We went up to Egin for Christmas dinner with Dru's grandmother and many of his aunts, uncles, and cousins. I must say that I really enjoyed spending time with some of Dru's extended family (we don't do that very often). Some of them I had never actually met before. Kenadee again had a blast. She loves watching kids play and even got in on the action a little bit with her cousins.

Needless to say that as wonderful as the day was it was completely exhausting and we came home from dinner and took a long nap!!!!

Kenadee opening presents at Gma and Gpa Ingram's Christmas morning. She is getting a little sleepy at this point.

And she is out! All of the excitement was exhausting! (Look at her cute Christmas jammies!)

Candy Cane with her cousins Kenna and Brenley! (Her cousin Clay thinks Candy Cane is her name! So cute!)

Kens rocking her cute smile because she is spoiled rotten!

Kenadee and Averie with the cute Dobson girls on Christmas Eve!

Kee Kee (Averie's name for her) playing with her kitchen from Grandma Janny and Grandpa Stanny

Concentrating while dad helps her open her present from the Dobsons

All of her loot from Dad and Mom, Santa, Gma and Gpa Ingram, Gma and Gpa Charles, Averie, and the Dobsons!

The day after Christmas was almost as busy as Christmas day filled with much more family time! We enjoyed it very much and now we are looking forward to our annual New Year's weekend at the cabin!!!! We just love the Holidays at our house!!!

The 3 of Us

2010-12-13T23:07:00.001-07:00

I was looking at baby pictures of Dru and I the other day and decided to put them right next to Kenadee's to see the similarities. It is so much fun to see our different traits in this sweet little baby! The bottom picture is what most of my day is filled with....SMILES!!!! Love my little girlfriend!

Exciting News!!!!

2010-11-16T09:59:00.001-07:00

I have recently started using Shutterfly and I am so in love with this site. I used it to make a storybook documenting Kenadee's birth and first few months of life. I read it to her all of the time and I love having those memories readily available to look at anytime. I also just made a book for my little brother who is serving a mission for our church. I was able to use pictures of his companions and use neat sayings and quotes I found about missions. You can check out their books here http://www.shutterfly.com/photo-books/simple-path

Shutterfly is wonderful for beginners (they have an easy route you can take) or they give you more creative control when you are more experienced. That is one of my favorite features of shutterfly because they make things easy for people who are creatively challenged like me.
My sister in law made the cutest calendar using shutterfly. You can check the calendars out here: http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars/wall-calendars

I am so in love with their holiday cards. Check out their fabulous cards here http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-cards

I love this card!!!!

The great news is that bloggers get 50 free Shutterfly Holiday Cards just for blogging about it. Go here to sign up http://bit.ly/sfly2010 and enjoy making your cards as much as I have!!!

4 months old!

2010-11-14T14:30:00.000-07:00

Dearest Kenadee,

On Tuesday you turned 4 months old! You are such a big girl! When we took you to the doctor, you weighed in at 14lbs 5oz and are 25 1/2 inches long! The doctor gave us the go ahead on rice cereal and your 1st foods. You hate to eat rice cereal plain (I guess your dad was the same way) so mom has to mix a little bit of fruit into it. It took you a while to get the hang of the spoon but you are getting much better at it.

You are usually a pretty happy baby these days and we are so thankful for that. You LOVE to smile and just talk away. It is the cutest thing and it makes my day every time I see that little smiling face. Yesterday I woke up to you patting my face, and when I opened my eyes I saw that gorgeous smile of yours and thought I was in Heaven.

(this is only a partial smile, but I had to get one of you in your owl hat!)

You are quite the little mover. You love to play in your exersaucer and when you are not doing that you love to be on the floor all stretched out. A couple of days ago you rolled from your back to your tummy. I am not ready for you to crawl any time soon, so please hold off on that for a few months baby girl.

You love to take in the world around you, especially when it includes your pups wrestling. You are so much more interactive these days. I must say I am really enjoying this stage because you are so much fun to play with, but you still love to cuddle. I know the cuddling is going to be short lived so I will take all that I can right now. You have a new found love for books. You love to be read to and will just stare at the book or the person reading it.

We gave you your first ponytail this month! Probably could have done it sooner but this is when mom tried. You look so stinkin cute. We also did piggies too and that was fun as well!

We continue to fall more in love with you each day and are so grateful that we were blessed to be your parents!

We love you Kenadee Rae,
Dad and Mom

Seriously!

2010-11-12T20:17:00.000-07:00

The Best Sound in the World!

2010-11-01T09:57:00.000-06:00

I have been enjoying an especially chatty baby for the last few days! Being a mommy gets better everyday!

Happy Halloween!!!

2010-10-31T11:57:00.000-06:00

3 months old!

2010-10-09T15:28:00.001-06:00

Kenadee my love,
You are growing up so fast! I can not believe that you are 3 months old already. You are turning into the funnest little baby! You have had many firsts this month.
-You are a curious little soul. You love to be up looking around. You will watch TV (love the Disney Channel) so that mom can get ready. This is a really nice change.
-You love when mom or dad stand you up so you can check out your surroundings.
-You love to smile and when you do it lights up the room!
-That being said you also LOVE to let us know when you are upset and still throw some amazing fits! You are very dynamic and dramatic in all of your moods!
-You are a little jabber jaw and love to babble to whoever will listen.
-You can sit in your bumbo all by yourself. Your head is still a little wobbly but you are doing really well with it.
-When you are on your tummy you can lift your head all the way up and look at everything around you.
-Two days ago (10/7/10) you started rolling over. The first time you did it you looked at mom with a puzzled look on your face. You weren't quite sure what had happened. Last night while you were doing tummy time you kept rolling over. It was so funny. We would put you on your tummy and two seconds later you were on your back. I am a little worried for when you can make it from your back to your tummy... you will then have a way to get around and I don't know that I'm ready for that yet.
-You love to go for walks in your stroller.
-You sat in your exersaucer all by yourself today and you loved it! You are too small for the seat though so mom had to pack it with blankets so you could sit in it.
-Last week (9/29-10/3/10) you went on a vacation to Califoria and had your first airplane ride. You did wonderful for the most part (had some issues with your ears taking off and landing). You went to the San Diego Zoo, the Long Beach Aquarium, and Disneyland. You were so amazing the whole trip even when you weren't feeling well.
-You got sick for the very first time. You started getting croop when we were in California and it hit in full force when we got home. I am not looking forward to the next time you get sick because it makes me so sad!
-When you went to the doctor for croop you weighed in at 12lbs. 1 oz. Most of that is in your cheeks! :)
-You are still an amazing sleeper! Last night for example was 10:30p to 8:00a. (We don't usually put you to bed that late but we were having too much fun with you).

You are such a happy sweet baby and we love you so very much!!! You have changed our world so much and we could not imagine our lives without you!
Love,
Mom and Dad

looking at the seals and sea lions at the aquarium

Tummy Time

checking out your exersaucer

California Girl

Sitting by your bunny

Standing Up (you didn't like the flash on the camera)

Bumbo Time!

Smiling cuz you're at Disneyland

Chillin in your diaper

The Big 3-0!!!

2010-09-26T13:19:00.000-06:00

On the 23rd this guy turned 30!

We had a wonderful week spending time celebrating with family and a weekend getaway to Island Park and Yellowstone with just the 3 of us. I could not ask for a better man to spend Eternity with. You are the most amazing husband and father Dru, I love you!!

2 Months Old

2010-09-10T12:20:00.000-06:00

Kenadee,
We can not believe that you are 2 months old. Yesterday on your 2 month birthday we celebrated by taking you to the Dr. to get a well child check and to get your shots. I felt so bad when they poked you and you started to cry. You were so upset you did your favorite cry (the one where you stop breathing and turn bright red). Mommy and Daddy hate that one! This month has been a very fun month for us, but also a very challenging one. This month you:
-Smiled a real smile at us for the first time. You smile quite a bit actually and you melt our hearts every time you do. Your little smile is one of the highlights of my day.
-You started cooing. These sweet little noises are so fun. Sometimes I feel like we are having a little conversation although I have no idea what you are trying to say and I'm sure you feel the same.
-You love tummy time! You also love to look at yourself in the mirror while on your little play mat.
-You are a very very good eater and sleeper. You eat 5 times a day, 4 oz. each time. Every 4 hours like clockwork, then you sleep at least 7 hours a night. Although sometimes you do fight your naps and it can be a struggle to get you down.
-You can see much better now and love to look at the things around you. You love the ceiling fan and would stare at it for hours if we would let you.
-You love noise and don't usually cry unless someone raises their voice.
-You have also started getting a little bit of colic. This is very hard for mom and dad. Thankfully you are easily comforted (for about 5 minutes) and then you scream your head off again. You get the worst tummy aches and mom and dad feel so bad for you. You cry the most in the evenings and right after you eat. These are the times that your tummy hurts the most.
-Sorry to embarrass you, but you have the loudest and smelliest burps and farts. I hope you grow out of this because it isn't very ladylike!:)
-You will let just about anyone hold you, but you definitely know your mom and dad and like them the best.
-You are a little cuddle bug and I love to cuddle with you. Sometimes I just sit and watch you sleep. You are so precious and do the cutest things while you are sleeping (your little facial expressions, your funny stretches, and your cute little yawns).
-You went on your first trip to the cabin. You did really well there too. You really enjoyed sitting outside.
-You are such a wiggly baby. You squirm all of the time and sometimes it is hard to hold on to you.
-You love when we hold on to you so you can stand up or sit up like a big girl. I have a feeling you will be walking early because you like to move around a lot.
-You go to grandmas all by yourself 2 times a week for a couple of hours so that mommy can go to work. You are really good most of the time and I think quite enjoy the attention you get when you go to grandma's.
-You still love your binky. I swear it is permanently attached to your face.
-You love to ride in the car, and you love your Baby Einstein mirror. Whenever the music and lights on it are playing you are nice and quiet. As soon as the timer turns them off you start to cry.
-Your hair is turning brown. Mom is a little sad about this. I do have hope that it will turn black again eventually (daddy's did the same thing). It is still as unruly as ever, but you still have all of it. I love that you have so much hair and hope that it stays that way. You get so much attention from it. It's always the first comment people make.
-I have no idea what color your eyes are. Hopefully one day we will be able to tell.
-You are growing like a weed. You now weigh in at 10lbs 11 oz. (47th percentile) and are 24in long (93rd percentile).
-You can finally wear your 0-3months clothes. You didn't start doing this until you were 6 or 7 weeks old.
We love you more and more each day little stink bug and are looking forward to all the new things you will be able to do next month!
Love,
Mom and Dad

Maddie watching you while you play

Still a crazy sleeper!

First time at church

Right after your bath

Getting kisses from Aves

Naptime with daddy. Mom loves this picture!

Wardrobe Malfunction. You hate wearing your headbands and bows but you are a good sport about it most of the time

Getting loves from Averie while you two posed in your cute GAP jackets from Grandma

Update on August

2010-08-29T11:10:00.000-06:00

August has been a busy month for us. August 1st Kenadee was blessed by her dad. He gave the most beautiful blessing. We had the support of many family members. August 4th Dru and I celebrated our 3 year Anniversary. We celebrated by dropping baby off at my parents and going to dinner at the Outback. It was really nice to spend some time alone with Dru. August 5th was Ray's birthday (Dru's dad). We celebrated by going out to dinner with some of Dru's family. August 10th was my mom's birthday and we went out to dinner with my family.
I also have to give shout outs to both my parents and Dru's parents who had Anniversaries this month. Dru's parents have been married for 39 years as of August 14th! My parents have been married for 30 years as of August 15th! Both sets of parents are examples to Dru and I on what marriage should be. Yesterday (August 28th) was little Averie Jae's 1st birthday and we had a bbq and opened presents for her at my parents house. She was so cute and got spoiled rotten!
Kenadee has been struggling with a little bit of colic for the past 4 or 5 weeks. It has been difficult to console a screaming baby, but thankfully she only does it for a few hours in the afternoon and evening and then sleeps like a champ all through the night. Aside from the screaming we are really enjoying our little one. She changes so much everyday.
I can't believe how quickly summer has come and gone, but I must say that I am looking forward to the fall and the holiday season. Tomorrow is my first day back at work since I was put on bed rest. Wish me luck!
My mom and dad at my mom's birthday dinner!

Kenadee and Great Grandma Carol

Tired from all of the action

One Month Old

2010-08-07T11:06:00.001-06:00

Kenadee,
On Monday you will be one month old! Time has flown by for us. We can not believe how big you are getting and how much our little girl is changing. You are our little miracle and our world. Your daddy and I would both do anything for you.
This month you:
-squeak when you are waking up. It is the funniest thing!
-have a head full of black hair that is uncontrollable like Albert Einstein most of the time. We try to tame it with big headbands and flowers.
-your nicknames are baby, sqeaker (or squeaky), ducky, gizmo, and boogey. Sorry baby, you are destined to have many nicknames.
-went from being a lazy eater to a really good eater
-went from sleeping most of the day and being up most of the night to only waking up once a night and being more alert during the day. Mom and dad love this one.
-hate to be swaddled most of the time (mom did manage to get a picture where you let her swaddle you). You love your arms out and sleep with them in crazy positions. You also love to sleep on your side.
-had a struggle with constipation and didn't poop for 8 days. This made mom and dad really sad because you would scream every time you tried to go to the bathroom. Mom was never so happy to clean up a blow out!
-throw some pretty wicked fits when you are upset. You kick your right leg like thumper, throw your arms everywhere, arch your back, and just scream. Sometimes you get so worked up that daddy and I just have to laugh. Sorry baby, I think you got your temper from mom. Most of the time you are a really good baby though.
-have the cutest little smile even though I know it's just gas I laugh every time I see that little grin (I think you got that from me too!)
-started focusing a little better on things and actually look at mommy and daddy. We love when you stare at us. It melts our hearts!
-got to know your puppies a little bit. They sure are excited for you to grow so that they can play with you. You don't cry at all when they bark, but you do cry when mom gets mad at Maddie for barking. You even let your puppies lick your toes a little bit.
-love your bouncer and your swing. If you are not being held these are the places you would rather be.
- LOVE LOVE LOVE the bathtub. You sink down in the water and just relax. Your favorite part is when mom washes your hair. It's so cute to watch.
-LOVE your binky! That's ok though because when you don't have that you try to put your fingers in your mouth and mom doesn't want to start that business!
-went to the zoo and to bear world. These outings were more to get mommy out of the house, but you enjoyed yourself (slept the entire time both places).
-went to both of your grandparents houses. Grandma Janet even babysat you a couple of times.
-were blessed by your daddy on August 1st (the same day mommy was baptized)! He gave you the most beautiful blessing and you were so good during all of sacrament meeting. You had quite the circle (13 people) and the support of many family members that came to watch your special day. Of course one important person was missing, your uncle Robbie who is serving a mission in Ohio. (He was there in spirit though).

We are so blessed to have you in our home baby and we love you more and more everyday. We are so excited to see what month two will bring. We love you Squeaker!!!
Love,
Mom and Dad

Newborn pics

2010-07-14T19:55:00.000-06:00

Today we went over to my aunt Terri's to get some family pictures and newborn photos of Kenadee. Here are a few...(I'm sure there will be more to come).

Kenadee Rae

2010-07-12T21:38:00.000-06:00

Our Sweet Baby Kenadee Rae made her grand entrance into this world on July 9, 2010. She weighed in at 6lbs 12oz and 20in long. We could not be more excited and in love with this little girl. Labor and Delivery was not bad at all and I feel very blessed about that. We came home from the hospital on Sunday and are just adjusting to life with this sweet new baby. She LOVES to sleep during the day and it is quite a chore to get her to eat. Since she sleeps so much during the day she obviously LOVES to be up at night. Fun for mom! Today she has been much more alert that she has been so we will cross our fingers that she has a good night tonight! Even with the lack of sleep and the other adjustments parenting has brought we feel so blessed with this little girl. We love you baby!!!

Bed Rest

2010-07-02T15:32:00.000-06:00

This last Wednesday I went in for my weekly Dr. appt and was told that I now have the lovely opportunity of being on bed rest because I am in the early stages of toxemia. Great!! I went in this morning for another appt and was told that my blood pressure is actually higher than it was on Wednesday (140 over 90) and it is 146 over 100. Not bad you might say, but my blood pressure is usually 100 over 60. She said my liver and kidney function looks great but that when they tested my blood sugar it was 43! I had just eaten an hour before I had my blood drawn. Needless to say, I am going incredibly stir crazy at my house, but luckily I have my sweet husband at home to entertain me. Poor guy! He has a long weekend and we get to spend it at home. I am really bummed that we have to miss the 4th of July festivities, especially since it's my favorite holiday, but baby girl is so worth it. I am under instruction that I am to go to the hospital if I feel any worse at all. Now let the waiting game begin!

37 weeks

2010-06-24T14:45:00.001-06:00

Need I say more? We are so excited to meet you little one!!!! You could come just about any time and we would be thrilled!!!

Update

2010-06-12T15:56:00.000-06:00

Things have been busy busy at our house. We are frantically getting ready to meet our little one. We have exactly one month left until she is scheduled to make her arrival.
A few weeks ago I was able to have a baby shower with friends and family. Sadly I didn't get any pictures, but I think I can track a few down. We are so grateful to the friends and family that came and spoiled our little girl rotten. Here is a picture of her nursery so far. I have everything put together and almost everything is ready to go. I have to put a few things on the walls, but I have no idea what I want to do yet. Oh well, I'm not too worried about that part.
I am also frantically trying to get my house as clean as I can before she comes. I am definitely in the nesting phase. I have been able to cut my hours down at work to 10 a week and it has been nice to have extra time to do things around the house and spend time with family. Especially since my swelling is in full force so I have to take breaks often. Otherwise I look like an elephant in my legs and feet. I have to keep telling myself that this has been the worst part of my pregnancy and I am blessed because it could have been much much worse. Still, I am excited to get back to my normal size and actually be able to see my ankles again.
Dru is working away out at MFC. He officially finished training a few weeks ago, but is waiting on the rest of his clearance to come through before he can actually get to work in his facility. His should be good to go in about a month. He has to have the highest clearance available so it takes some extra time.
We are anticipating the 4th of July Celebration (it's my favorite holiday). I am trying to focus on being excited for that so I don't keep thinking about how ready I am to meet this little girl. But I guess she will be here before we know it. It seems like just a few days ago I looked at the ticker on my blog and I had 100 days left, then only 50, now we are just about to 30. We could not be more thrilled and are excited to see what this little one will look like and how she will act. I can already tell you right now from the way she acts inside of my belly she is going to be like her daddy!

Momma

2010-05-09T19:03:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to say a huge THANK YOU to my sweet mother. She has been my lifelong best friend and will continue to be. She has always done so much and I just want her to know that it is noticed and is appreciated! Mom, you are the best! Words can't even describe how much I love you and how blessed I am to be your daughter. My little one is one lucky lady to get you for a grandma. I just pray that I can be the kind of mother to her that you have been to me! Thank you for everything, I love you!!!

Cravings

2010-05-04T11:33:00.000-06:00

As I come closer to the end of my pregnancy I decided that I should write down some of the cravings I have had with this baby. This is more for me to remember so you don't have to read on.
In the Beginning
-Johnny Carinos (I wanted this just about every night during the first trimester and still find myself craving it sometimes)
-Pizza (this craving has come and gone through the whole pregnancy)
-Beefy Mushroom soup (only during the first trimester)
-Just about anything Spicy (Oh how I love you spicy food!)
In the last few weeks
-Arby's (normally I hate this place)
-Chocolate milk (last week I went through 2 gallons by myself)
-Rocky Road Ice Cream
-Reese's Peanut Butter cups
-Pretty much anything else Chocolate
-and the worst craving of all..... Mac N Cheese. Don't ask why but I have eaten this 4 times in the last week!!!

Oh baby I love you even though you make my body want crazy foods!

Our little Rocky Balboa

2010-03-24T19:18:00.000-06:00

Today I went into the Dr. to get an ultrasound on their cool new 4D machine. I was very excited until I got there and the tech said that after doing the training he learned that it is optimal to do one of these things when you are at least 28 weeks. He said that we could try it anyway so I gladly went along to see my little one again. This little thing is definitely her father's daughter. While trying to get a good face shot she kept putting her hands over her face (Dru HATES his picture taken). The tech decided to push on her a little bit to get her to move and she started punching back. I love seeing her little personality and got a really good laugh out of it, but I'm afraid we have a little Rocky Balboa on our hands!! Needless to say that we got a really good shot of her ear!

This is the picture of her lovely left ear with her hand covering her face! It's hard to make it out, but it's the best that we could get. Luckily the tech said that we could try again when I was 28 weeks.

Baby Charles

2010-02-16T21:58:00.000-07:00

Dru and I went to the greatly anticipated ultrasound today and found out that we are having a GIRL!!!! I am so excited to have a little buddy. I have always wanted to have atleast one little girl and I am thrilled that I get to have her first. I don't have a scanner so I can't post ultrasound pictures yet, but they will hopefully be up soon.

This One's For Chelsea

2010-02-15T18:43:00.000-07:00

Today I was informed that I was a loser because I didn't put any pictures up of my pregnant belly. Here you go Chels, it might be the only one you get! :) Oh by the way I'm 18 weeks in this one.

Exciting News!!!

2010-02-06T09:17:00.000-07:00

I am so proud of my sweet husband. Yesterday Dru was offered a new job out at the SITE! We are so excited for this opportunity, and the blessings that are being poured out on our little family. It is such a financial relief, especially with a baby on the way. He has loved working at Westmark, but he is so excited for this new adventure. He starts March 1st. Congrats Dru!

I believe in MIRACLES...

2010-01-04T10:57:00.001-07:00

Dru and I have had an amazing last couple of months. We had a wonderful Christmas, sharing it with family and friends, and we also had a great New Year Celebration. We hope all of you did too!

I want to let everyone know that I believe in miracles and that they do happen today, especially my Aunt Debbie who has lovingly reminded me of this for about a year now. Many of you know the struggles Dru and I have had to get pregnant and to keep a baby. After two years and two miscarriages, fertility drugs, and many tears, Dru and I were frustrated and turned to a laproscopy to get the results we hoped for. One week before I was scheduled to have surgery we found out some exciting news... We are pregnant!!!! Things are going so well and we couldn't be more thrilled. We are expecting our first little one in July!!!

Time to Give Thanks

2009-11-09T20:52:00.000-07:00

Dru and I have so much to be grateful for in our lives and I just wouldn't feel right if I did not express my gratitude.

~We have a wonderful Temple Marriage that I am daily grateful for

~We have a home and food on our table

~In this rough economy we both have jobs

~We have a wonderful family

~We have two sweet dogs that bring joy into our home

~We have trials to help us grow

~We have the Gospel

~We have a living Prophet who gives us guidance

~We have a Savior who made the Ultimate Sacrifice for us

~We have a Heavenly Father who loves us so much that He sent that Savior for us

~We have Hope

~We have Faith

~We have Love

~We have so many more things that we have been blessed with

I am so grateful that the Lord sees fit to bless us so abundantly. My heart is so full and I am in awe of all of the things we have been given.

~THANK YOU~

Mean Neighbors

2009-10-26T19:40:00.000-06:00

So I am having really big issues with some of our neighbors. A couple of weeks ago we received a notice on our door. It was from the City of Ammon saying that our neighbors had complained of barking dogs. Did I mention that the complaint was at 3:00 pm. Really? dogs bark all day in this neighborhood. Madison does love to bark, but most of the time she only does this when there is another dog outside or when she feels threatened (e.i. the neighbor kids are sticking their heads over our fence and tormenting her) or when one of our neighbors or Dru is mowing the lawn. After we received this notice we tried really hard to make sure that Maddie was not distrubing anyone. Well, tonight I have decided that I have really had it with these neighbors. Dru was on his weekly duty of dog poop pickup (garbage is Tuesdays) and he called me to the backyard. On the side of the yard where these horrible neighbors live we found almost 20 rocks in our backyard. THESE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN THROWING ROCKS AT MY SWEET DOGS!!!!! I am SOOOOO mad right now! I can't believe that people are so mean! I have decided that tomorrow morning I am going to call the City of Ammon and ask what can be done because I don't want anyone hurting my dogs!

Better Late than Never

2009-09-30T10:36:00.000-06:00

Last Wednesday, Sept 23, 2009 my Druster turned 29! I just wanted to wish him a Happy Birthday and tell him how incredibly much I am in love with him. He is my best friend in the whole world and the love of my life! Thank you for being you and I hope you had a great birthday Dru!

I chose this picture because it fits Dru perfectly. He HATES his picture taken which is why there aren't many to choose from. This was taken on our honeymoon on our way to a reef to go snorkeling. I laugh everytime I see this picture because he was trying so hard to cover up!

Good Times in Tahlequah

2009-09-12T18:43:00.000-06:00

Warning: This post has more pictures than I have ever put in any post!

This is a stop sign in Cherokee. The top are the actual characters from the Cherokee alphabet, the middle is how you say it phonetically and the bottom is obviously English. This stop sign was right outside the Restaurant of the Cherokees. We only ate there one time but I loved it. They had really yummy INDIAN FRY BREAD. I also had fried catfish there. I despise fish, but this was actually really good. I thought it tasted like chicken.

This is a statue of Sequoyah on the Northeastern University Campus. He created the Cherokee alphabet so I thought this was a very appropriate tribute to him.

This is my niece Kenna modeling our earplugs. There were 5 of us in our suite and we all snore, so earplugs were a must, at least for light sleepers like me!

This is a picture of the Cherokee Chief Chad Smith. I didn't get to meet him, but I thought he looked really nice!

This is a float from the Cherokee parade. The theme for the National Holiday this year was "Learn from All that I Observe". This was one of the best parades I have been to. Not because the floats were extravagant, but because they threw out a lot of good candy and other items including tooth brushes, pepsi, orange juice.

This is a picture of Ray, his sisters, and his stepfather. In order from left to right: Mona, Marlene, Ramona, Ray, Charlene, Coco Chanel (the little pup), and Chief (Dru's Grandpa).

This is a picture of the Cherokee Museum and Heritage Center. The museum was all about the Trail of Tears. It was very interesting and sad to see what happened to the Cherokee people. I wanted to take pictures but they were not allowed inside the museum. At the Heritage Center they had a replica of a traditional Cherokee village. It was a guided tour where we learned a lot about their traditional way of life.

This is a picture of our tour guide. I will never forget this woman because she hated my husband's guts. For those of you who know Dru well you know that he can be quite stubborn when he does not want to do something. This poor woman tried to get Dru to participate and when he refused her love for him was nonexistent. It was so funny!

This man was making arrowheads and he demonstrated his bow and arrow skills for us. He missed the first time but he did much better than I could have ever done.

One of my favorite activities was the Pow Wow we went to. We didn't stay for the whole thing because it was really long, but I enjoyed watching all of the dances and seeing all of the costumes. I did not realize that a Pow Wow is like a giant dance competition. I was so excited when I found out because I love dancing and I have a feeling this will be one of the only dance competitions I will ever get Dru to watch!

This picture is part of what is called Grand Entry. It is where all of the dancers parade around in their costumes. It is the best part. I was very impressed that the first part of Grand Entry included the American Flag and the National Anthem. Many of the festivities began the same way. These people have been greatly persecuted and pushed out of their original homes, but they are incredibly patriotic! Sorry it's not a very good picture. I had a couple of videos but they would not load.

We were able to see Ft. Gibson Cemetery. For those of you who don't know it is a military cemetery and I was amazed at how big it is. Ray's dad is buried there so it was a really neat experience to be able to visit his grave.

This is a picture of us at Lake Tenkiller. It is very beautiful there and there is a huge man made dam that is very impressive. It was really nice to stick our feet in and cool off a little. Oklahoma was so HOT and HUMID!!! I definitely appreciate Idaho weather.

This is where we spent a lot of our time, Del Rancho Restaurant. We ate at this restaurant 3 or 4 times on our vacation. We had many good laughs there. The first thing I learned about Dru's family is that they love to laugh. The first evening I laughed so hard that my face hurt. Each day after that was the same. They are amazing people and I enjoyed getting to know them better. I hope that we can see them soon.

TAHLEQUAH

2009-09-08T09:22:00.000-06:00

Dru and I spent a long weekend in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, home of Cherokee Nation. We went down for the Cherokee National Holiday which is celebrated over Labor Day weekend. We flew out of Jackson Hole with Dru's dad, sister Heather, and her daughter Kenna. While there we were able enjoy the company of Dru's four aunts, an uncle, 2 cousins, a great aunt and her family, as well as Dru's Grandpa.

It was fun getting to know these family members and enjoying their company. Dru had not seen many of them for 10 years!

This is a picture of most of us at some property that Ray and his sisters inherited. I will post more later with many more pictures of some of the things we did and more about the people we saw!!!

8 Things Tag

2009-08-25T21:00:00.000-06:00

K Chels This One's For YOU!

8 Things I did Yesterday:
1: went to spinning class
2:worked a 10 hour day
3: ate some Fiesta Ole
4:talked to Dru
5:played with my puppies
6:read a few chapters in a book
7:folded a load of laundry
8: went to sleep

8 Things I am looking forward to:
1:my sister having her baby/meeting my niece (Friday at the latest)
2:being done with work for the week
3:the weekend!
4:going to sleep tonight (if you can't tell I'm really tired)
5:Powercut on Thursday
6:going to Oklahoma next week!!!!
7: New Grey's Anatomy
8: being a mom

8 Favorite Shows:
Grey's Anatomy
Friends
Law and Order SVU and CI
Drop Dead Diva
Private Practice
Real World/Road Rules Challenges
Sadly Reality TV Shows on VH1, MTV, A&E and E! (including the Hills, Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Gene Simmons Family Jewels, the First 48, etc)

8 Favorite Resturants:
Johnny Carinos
Fiesta Ole
5 Guys Burgers and Fries
Outback
Canton/Hong Kong
Wendy's
Garcias/Jalisco's
Pizza Hut

Time Flies

2009-08-08T11:17:00.000-06:00

On August 4th, Dru and I celebrated our 2 year Wedding Anniversary. We have been through a lot in the last two years, but I wouldn't trade any of that time because we have grown so much and I feel that our experiences have only made our marriage stronger. I love Dru very much and am so excited that I get to spend eternity with him! Happy Anniversary Druster!

Happy Birthday To Me!

2009-07-25T12:37:00.000-06:00

Yes that's right, today I turned the big 25. I must say that I am having a great birthday! Last night Dru took me to dinner at my favorite resturant, Johnny Carinos, then to the movie (it was a chick flick, poor Dru). It was a great date night. He gave me a gift certificate for a day at the spa including a facial, manicure, pedicure, and massage. My husband knows me well and I am so blessed to be married to such a wonderful generous man. Today my mom took me to lunch at my other favorite place, Fiesta Ole, and gave me some more awesome gifts. Thanks Mom! In a few hours we are headed off to my parents cabin for the weekend. It has to be one of my most favorite places because we can get away from everything. So, I am having a great birthday and I'm so thankful to my wonderful family for helping to make it that way.

Fourth of July Weekend

2009-07-09T21:34:00.000-06:00

I know I haven't been posting very much, but I am so horrible at taking pictures that I feel bad just writing all of the time. Today I decided that I don't really care and that I am going to post anyway.

Dru and I have had quite an eventful week. Over the weekend we were able to celebrate my very FAVORITE holiday, INDEPENDENCE DAY!!!!!! We partook of many of the festivities that Idaho Falls has to offer. We enjoyed the parade, well I enjoyed it, Dru endured. Then we played a great game of miniature golf at the Riot Zone with my parents, Lindsey and Rob, and Robbie. Dru won the game! Even though I didn't win, I impressed myself because I had a tie score with my dad and I even got a hole in one! That evening we went to the annual Grimaud Family BBQ and the watched the Freedom Celebration down at the River with the Ingram side of the family. We had a great time.

I am so grateful for the country that we live in and for the brave men and women who work so hard to protect the freedoms that we old so dear. God bless America!

Yesterday we were able to spend the day in Lake Town, Utah (Bear Lake) with Dru's sister Heather and her family. Although we did not get to do much boating (way too windy) it was nice to spend time with them and enjoy their company.

We are enjoying the summer weather (FINALLY!!!) and are looking forward to other small getaways throughout the summer.

Dru's DIYing it again!!!

2009-06-18T23:02:00.000-06:00

Dru recently renovated our guest bathroom. I know what you're thinking, our house is only 2 years old, but the original blue/grey paint color never did go well with the tile/cabinets/countertops. We finally settled on a chocolate brown paint and a new tile backsplash. We also purchased a new shower curtain, rugs, and towels. We still need to add a couple of decorations, but I think it turned out quite well. I am so glad that I have such a talented handy husband who did all of the tile, painting, and beadboard in our bathroom.

Here's the backsplash!

Another view

Growing Up

2009-05-08T17:38:00.000-06:00

I'm having a really hard time because my baby brother is getting ready to graduate from high school when I want him to stay a little kid forever. I can only imagine what my mom is going through. She loves us girls alot, but he is her baby and her only boy so I know this is killing her. Anyway, my talented aunt Terri took his senior pictures and I just wanted to brag and show everyone how big of a babe my little Rob is! We are so proud of him for the man he is becoming even though I am sad that he is already 18 and that we only have 9 or 10 months left to enjoy him until he goes on his mission. Love you Lobster!!!

Jellystone here we come!!!

2009-05-06T16:22:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago Dru and I bought our season pass to Yellowstone National Park. We love it there. We go up there at least twice a summer. We had never gone in April before so were a little hesitant because most of the park was still closed and it was snowing like crazy. Much to my surprise it was AMAZING!!!! The park was beautiful and there was no one there. Best of all we saw lots of animals. We saw this cute little black bear that just sat at the side of the road for almost 30 minutes trying to find some food.

We saw a couple of coyotes, some elk and buffalo (of course), and my very first GRIZZLY bear!

We actually saw him twice.

The first time we saw him he was off in the distance eating something, and the second time he was right on the side of the road. It was so much fun to see those animals. The buffalo were not used to sharing the road with cars so they made it very difficult to get around. One charged at our car and then veered off, while another one kicked at us as we drove by. We were lucky that they did not do any damage to our car or us, but it was quite an adventure. We feel so blessed to be able to stay at my parent's cabin in Island Park so that we are a little closer to Yellowstone. We have so much fun there and it is quickly becoming a tradition for Dru and I. Sorry the pictures aren't very clear, it was snowing really hard.

Sweet and Innocent

2009-04-13T19:12:00.000-06:00

Picture Tag

1.Go to your documents/pictures

2. Go to your 6th file

3. Go to your 6th picture

4. Post it, and blog about it

5. Tag 6 people to do the same

6. Name your picture

This is a picture of our puppy Maddie on one of our visits to her before we took her home. She appears to be so sweet and innocent. The couple we bought her from originally named her Dora the Explorer and always told us how curious and mischievious she was. We did not believe them because everytime we came to visit she did this (snuggled with us and slept). We obviously should have listened! Despite her naughty behaviors we sure do love Maddie and Marley!

I'm going to tag: Britt Barrett, Brooke Floyd, Chel Gambles, Jenn Barbo, Liz Curtis, and Ronda Ingram

What a day/Feather Fun!!!!!

2009-04-02T16:51:00.000-06:00

So I have had the most incredible day today and I would like to share it with all of you. Disclaimer: I am on medication that makes me crazy. Insane even. You must keep this in mind while reading this post because it magnifies every situation 100x.
First of all, I must say that everyone and thing relating to my job today decided to gang up on me and make my life difficult. Obviously due to the nature of my work I would be breaking confidentiality if I went into further detail, so you are just going to have to take my word for it.
Second, I received a call from Dru on his lunch break along with a picture message to show me what the dogs had done to our house. More on that later.
Third, I went to fill up my gas tank today and one of the employees was absolutely certain that I still owed the store $10 even though I paid at the pump. Needless to say, I was very frustrated because I knew I had paid for my gas. It turned out that I was right and had indeed paid for my entire tank, but it was not until my client informed me that I realized I was yelling at the poor man. How embarassing!!!
Back to my sweet adorable puppies! It turns out that my dogs decided to play tug-o-war with one of my throw pillows and since a picture is worth a thousand words I won't say more.

I have cleaned up the feather mess after emptying the vac. 3 times. While cleaning Maddie and Marley both jumped in the feathers and pounced on the vacuum (never know how to spell that word) barking the entire time. I swear they were mad at me for taking away their fun and were telling me off.
I have obviously had a rough day and you will be glad to know that I will be taking the rest of the night off before I start again tomorrow, but I must point out the bright side of everything today. Maddie and Marley had a blast with those dang feathers! Mind you I was only able to recognize this with the help of my dear friend Chels!

2009-03-15T21:18:00.000-06:00

Last week we decided that we were going to keep Marley, so yesterday we signed the adoption papers and now we officially have 2 dogs! The deciding factor in this was when Josh and Lindsie dog sat for us (Thanks again Josh and Lindsie!) and Marley hung out under their coffee table most of the weekend. We knew that Marley had been through so much in her life and she was loved and comfortable with us, so uprooting her was not a good idea. We are having so much fun with the both of them and they love eachother as well. Maddie has definetly loved having someone home with her all of the time and she does not destroy our house as much!

Last Wednesday (11th) my baby brother turned 18. This has been a hard thing for me especially since my baby sister turned 21 last month. It is a constant reminder that I'm getting old! Life seems to be moving faster and faster and sometimes I just want it to slow down. At any rate I am so grateful for both of my siblings and for the wonderful people that they are turning into.

Valentine's, Life and Basketball

2009-02-20T09:45:00.001-07:00

Dru and I had a great Valentine's Celebration, we actually did not Celebrate on Valentine's Day, but a few days before. Dru took me out to eat at the Outback. We rarely eat there, but it is so yummy. I love it. I enjoyed going on a date together to a nice resturant since it is not something we do often. As for actual Valentine's Day we brought home some Wendy's and watch some of the All-Star events for the NBA. My sister and her husband were in town so they came over to our house to watch the festivities with us. It was actually a really good time and I loved being able to spend time with Linds and Rob. We don't get to do that much.

As for other news, Marley is adapting well to our family. She has quite the little personality. Her and Maddie are definetly two peas in the same pod. They love to play together and it is nice that they have eachother while Dru and I are at work all day. My parents' new house is finally finished and they get to move in sometime next week. We are so excited for them!

Last, Hillcrest Basketball has been doing extremely well in District Tournament and after their big win against Blackfoot they are now advancing to the final round (they won by 12). We are so proud of this team, especially Rob, for all of their hard work this season. Last year they struggled so much and it is nice to see them winning and enjoying themselves. We told Robbie no pressure but that Dru and I have both gotten time off to watch him at State! I believe their regular season record was 16-4 (the highest of Coach Baldwin's Hillcrest career) and in the District Tournament they are 2-0. (don't quote me on those numbers) We are so proud of you Lobster! You are the best little brother in the world and we love you!!! Linds you are the best sis in the world too!

Marley's Story

2009-02-07T19:36:00.000-07:00

I love animals, especially dogs. This is definetly something I got from my Grandpa Bob. When you own a pet it is part of the family, equal to any human. That being said, I went to the pound with a little client and came across a little pup who touched my heart. Marley is a pure bred boxer who was picked up by animal control about a week and a half ago. She was found so malnourished that most of her little bones are visible. She was curled up in a little ball in the corner and at first I thought she was probably an agressive dog. Something about her piqued my interest so I asked about her at the front desk. One of the officers told me that she was not violent, just scared and unresponsive but that I could take her out into the play yard and see what I thought. They also told me that she did not have much time left and that if someone did not take her she would be put down on Monday morning. They were amazed that someone had not taken her already because she is a purebred and quite a nice looking dog. She is black with a white chest and paws. Usually I am saddened by these type of things, but am able to distance myself since we have such a sweet boxer at home that has a good life, but as it came time to leave I started crying. I knew we could not take another dog so I tried to keep under control, but as the afternoon wore on I found myself unable to control the emotion I felt seeing this dog that had been treated so badly on the verge of losing her life. I just kept thinking that she would make a really good pet for some little boy and she would never get the chance unless I did something about it. I asked many people I knew if they were interested in her, but did not get the feedback I was looking for. Finally, I called Dru in tears well aware that he would never agree to what I was going to ask him, but for some reason I asked him if we could take her in as a foster dog. Dru reluctantly said that we could so I made all of the arrangements and she was able to come home with me last night. At first she was very scared, but she is warming up to us more and more. She is still a little unsure of Maddie, but we were able to get both of them running around in the backyard together chasing a ball. It has been so fun to see the changes this little girl has made so quickly. I have high hopes for this puppy with a sweet demeanor despite all of the struggles she has had in her life. She has a rough road ahead of her because of all of the obvious abuse that she has endured, but I know that she will make a great dog for someone one day soon. We are so excited to have Marley with our family until she can find the perfect one of her own!

Jason Wolfe Story

2009-01-27T10:37:00.000-07:00

For Christmas my cousin bought me The Sound of Rain by Anita Stansfield. I am such a huge fan of her books and I must say that I was not disappointed by this one. It is a three part book about the journey of Jason Wolfe, a musician who meets many hard times in his life. I fell in love with the characters and cannot wait for part three to come out next week. Did I mention that it is a love story? What can I say I'm a sucker for romance.

Update

2009-01-26T11:09:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted for a while and although there is really nothing exciting to post about I thought I would update everyone on our lives. The last month I have felt like I am going 100 miles an hour. Since Lindsie and Josh had Lola I was nominated by my boss to work with two of her clients until she comes back to work. One of my other clients is going through a very hard time and needs extra time with me as well. I am sure I'm going to love the extra hours on my pay check, but by the end of the day I am so mentally exhausted that I don't even want to think. Despite this, I do love my job and the change that I get to see in children's lives when they learn new skills.

Dru is enjoying his job at Westmark, although he is looking forward to a promotion (hopefully sometime in the near future). Until then he will continue to put in his time.

Dru and I also got to move up in the Primary to the CTR6 class. (We taught CTR 5 last year). We get to enjoy some of our kids from last year, plus 4 more very energetic ones. Our class is very active so we have all of them there almost every week. So far it has been a fun experience but we are very drained after church each week. Sometimes I wonder if they learn anything from us because they are so busy, but then they surprise me and answer our questions perfectly. Even though they take a lot of energy I love our little Primary class.

Needless to say we are in need of a getaway!!!

Happy New Year!!! 2009 Baby!

2009-01-02T08:54:00.000-07:00

I must say that I am so very excited to say goodbye to the year 2008 and start fresh. 2008 was definetly a year of trials for Dru and I. Despite all of the heartache we have learned to rely on one another so much and I feel that our marriage is much stronger. I am so grateful for him and for his love and support through very difficult times. I am very grateful for fresh starts and for the hope that they bring!! Yay for 2009!!!

Spoiled Rotten

2008-12-29T17:42:00.000-07:00

Dru and I had a great Christmas and were both spoiled rotten. Between new purses, new miter and table saws, clothes, DVDs, and a sweet watch we both received much more than needed. We enjoyed the morning with my parents, Lindsey and Rob, and Robbie. Then we went to Dru's parents' for some Christmas Turkey and it was so good. Dru's brothers Ryan and Brandon were there with their families as well as his sister Heather with her family. It was quite a full house. The only downside to the day was that I was so sick. Despite all of the family and things to do all I wanted to do was sleep. I spent most of the day lying down and sadly did not get to see many of the people that I was looking forward to seeing.

Dru's new table saw that I bought him

Dru's new miter saw from my parents

Dru got me a sweet Louis Vuitton purse! (He is so thoughtful. I'm impressed that he remembered!!!)

This watch is from my parents. It's a Tissot and I have wanted one forever!

Christmas Time

2008-12-11T22:33:00.000-07:00

For some reason it has not felt like Christmas time and I have been procrastinating anything that has to do with Christmas. Dru and I finally got our tree on Monday and I just finished decorating it tonight. It feels good to have some Christmas Spirit and enjoy the holiday season a little bit. Now I just have to finish my Christmas shopping and I can relax and enjoy.

Here are some pictures of my efforts.

This is my poinsetta that Dru bought me the other night. I wanted one very bad so I was excited to finally have one!!

Since we don't have a fireplace I decided to hang our stockings on my entry table (one of my Christmas presents from Dru last year)

My Nativity Scene courtesty of my wonderful mom who has 500 of these things

My Christmas tree. This is take two. I decorated it once with different decorations and hated the way it turned out so I ripped them all off and started again.

Yeah for Christmas!!!

Layton and Boise

2008-12-07T16:04:00.000-07:00

The last two weekends have been very eventful for Dru and I. The weekend after Thanksgiving we drove down to stay with Dru's brother and his family in Layton. We went to Temple Square and saw the beautiful light display they had there.

It was such fun to spend time with Trent and Sarah, their three boys, and their dog Cocoa (a boxer just like Maddie). Other than our trip to see the lights we spent most of our time at their house just enjoying their company. We do not get to see them as often as we would like so we took advantage of the time we had. Their boys are so cute and full of energy. They were all the entertainment we could ever need. Maddie was in heaven playing with Cocoa and the boys. I wish we had pictures but our camera ran out of batteries.

This last weekend Dru, my mom, and I headed over to Boise to watch Robbie (my brother) play basketball. Their team really struggled last year so it was nice to watch them win both of their games this weekend and their game at Hillcrest last Thrusday. Rob pointed out to us that that is half of their winning total last year (they won 6 games) and so far they are undefeated! It is still the beginning of the season, but they are looking very good and working very hard to play like a team. Rob did very well in all of the games and is quite the little rebounder. He is playing a different position than normal this year. He is used to being a guard (which he is very good at) but this year they needed him to be a forward because he is one of the bigger boys on the team. I must say he is doing a very good job with it. We are so proud of him and were glad that we got to watch him play! GO HILLCREST!!!!!!!

Christmas Tag

2008-11-10T20:33:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I posted and really have nothing exciting to say so I thought I would do a Christmas Tag since I get tagged all of the time and never do them.
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?I love the convenience of gift bags, but at Christmas time you definetly have to wrap everything that you possibly can.
2. Real tree or Artificial?Artificial trees are very easy and last much longer, but I enjoy real ones so much more. They smell so wonderful. Dru and I had a real one last year and I think that will be a tradition that we hold on to.
3. When do you put up the tree? Usually the week after Thanksgiving, but sadly we have not put our tree up yet. We were out of town last weekend and will be again this weekend so I plan on getting it up soon. I am so excited to decorate it again.
4. When do you take the tree down? We take it down right after New Year's.
5. Do you like eggnog? I don't think so but it's one of those things I refuse to try so I guess I'll never know.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Any of my barbies. I loved when Santa brought me those.
7. Hardest person to buy for? My dad, my dad, my dad. What else can I say? You can only give one person so many books.
8. Easiest person to buy for?Dru and my brother. Dru always tells me exactly what he wants so all I have to do is go and get it. The hard part is surprising him.
9. Do you have a nativity scene? I have a beautiful one that my mom gave us last year. She has about 500 and didn't need them all so I gladly took it from her.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards?Mail them of course, all though I don't usually take the time I love to receive them.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Maybe an ugly shirt or something I don't really remember receiving anything that I didn't really want.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? I love Miracle on 34th Street and of course the classic cartoons like Santa Claus is coming to town.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? usually around Thanksgiving but I'm really slacking this year. I think it's the lack of snow, it just really does not feel like Christmas time.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?Nope.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Turkey and Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Ham is good too.
16. Lights on the tree?Of course! Ours are white.
17. Favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night, without a doubt.
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Staying home. Dru and I are so lucky that our families are so close.
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?Of course! Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and Rudolph (my favorite Christmas Character of all time if you can't tell by the picture of my dog).
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? I love a star, but we actually have a big Santa Claus.
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Growing up we always opened 2 on Christmas Eve these included one present from the sibling of choice and Christmas Pajamas!! The rest on Christmas Day. Last year Dru got his present 2 weeks before Christmas because it was his TV and he was WAY too excited to wait. Trust me, I tried.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?The stress.
23. Favorite ornament theme or color?I just love red on a Christmas tree. I love my mom's Christmas Tree she has a candy cane theme going on and I think it's about the cutest thing in the whole world, but ours are Gold and White and I love those too (my mom's old ones I love hand me downs).
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner?Turkey and Mashed potatoes and Gravy.
25. Favorite family Christmas tradition? Looking at the Lights and all of the Sweet Christmas stories we would read.
Happy Holidays!

Service

2008-11-10T09:34:00.000-07:00

Dru and I teach a primary class and this week is was my turn to prepare and teach the lesson. The lesson was on Service. Each week I try to think of the topic as it relates to my life. I realized that this past week I was the recipient of such great service from friends and family members. I had a very bad week last week and was not feeling well at all. I received many sweet phone calls from friends and loved ones who were concerned. My mother also came over to my house and took care of me. She went to far as to do some of my laundry and my dishes. What a sweet mother! My husband took a day off of work to stay with me and take care of me. He has been very sweet about things this week and did not expect me to do anything around the house. He cooked dinner and made sure that we had something to eat every night. On Saturday Lindsie Curtis (my cousin and close friend) came over and took me out of my house for the first time all week (other than car rides and appointments). She took me to lunch at Johnny Carinos and then took me for a manicure. That meant the world to me. How lucky I am to have all of these people who love and care about me and are willing to serve without expecting anything in return. Thank you all for looking out for me! I love you!

I am thankful for the Sabbath Day

2008-10-26T15:40:00.000-06:00

I know it is not even November yet, but I have been thinking of the many things that I have been blessed with and that I am thankful for. I am so grateful that Dru and I were able to find one another and marry in the temple. I am thankful for loving family and friends who are always there when they are needed. I am grateful for our home and our sweet little puppy, the jobs that we have and the promise of a family.

Most of all I am grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ and for His Atonement. I feel so blessed to have been born with the Gospel in my life. I had the opportunity to finish reading the Book of Mormon a few weeks ago. Each time I read this amazing book I am touched by the faith of those righteous people, and I marvel at the strength of those who were persecuted or who endured much to have the Savior in their life. My favorite person in the Book of Mormon is Alma the Younger. He was so wicked that he led many away from Christ but was able to repent and to become such a great leader in the church. What a sweet example of how the Atonement can change our lives if we will just turn to Christ.

Today in our ward Dru and I had the opportunity to help our class put on the Sacrament Primary Program. As I listened to the children speak and their voices as they sang about beautiful Gospel truths I was touched and felt so blessed to be apart of that program. This is a wonderful time of year and our little family has much to be thankful for. We appreciate all of your and the love and support you have given us. We love you all.

Fall: the most wonderful time of the year!!!

2008-09-30T14:36:00.000-06:00

Ok, so I wasn't going to post about this, but I decided to anyway. I love the fall. It is a great time of year. Perfect weather, the leaves start to change, I can start making chicken noodle soup and other warm foods, but most of all my favorite television shows start again.

The season premiere of Private Practice is tomorrow night and I am so excited, but my all time favorite next to Friends is Grey's Anatomy. The much anticipated season 5 premiere was last Thursday, and I must say that I was not disappointed. I love the show and my Thursday evenings will once again be consumed by it. Season four came out a few weeks ago but I couldn't bring myself to spend money on it so I thought that I would just have to wait until Christmas. On Friday night Dru came home and decided he wanted to buy me something, so....... I now have season four!!! I'm very excited and happy that my sweet husband decided that I needed something new. Yay for great husbands!

Happy Birthday Dru!!!

2008-09-23T17:13:00.001-06:00

Today is my sweet husband's 28th Birthday. We are going to dinner tonight to celebrate. I hope he enjoys his day! Since he will probably not let me take any pictures of him tonight I thought I would post pictures of him at random ages. Enjoy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DRU, I LOVE YOU!!!!

This is Dru on our wedding day just coming out of the temple! This is one of my favorite's. (taken by my talented aunt Terri)

I think he's at a picnic but not for sure. It's just a cute pic

I love this picture of Dru and his kitty BJ (stands for Blackie Jr.)

Dru and his sweet mullet!!!

Dru on the mish! I think he looks like a babe!

LA here we come!!!

2008-09-15T15:44:00.000-06:00

This last weekend Dru and I were able to take a much needed getaway to none other than Los Angeles, California! One of Dru's mission buddies was getting married and he came to ours so we figured we'd repay the favor. It was a short weekend, but quite adventure filled. We left Idaho Falls on Thursday night and stayed with Dru's brother in Layton because our flight left at 8:30 am on Friday morning. When we arrived in LA we headed straight for our hotel to drop off our things and make a game plan.

We stayed at the lovely Westin Inn where our California King-sized bed was the best thing I have ever slept on in my life!! It was so comfortable and even had a down comforter on the bed! I felt like I was livin the good life except for the fact that we were about 2 blocks from Inglewood. This is a very scary part of town and we accidently drove through it a couple of times. Everyone had iron fences around their entire yard. We locked our doors and got out of there as fast as we could!!!

That afternoon we decided to hit up In N Out Burger for Lunch! It is so yummy there. Then we went and saw the Dark Knight at the IMAX because I had never been to one before (weird I know). The theater that was showing it was huge and amazing I wish I had taken pictures because I have never seen anything like it. After the show we decided to take a drive down RODEO drive in Beverly Hills. I only took one picture there because we did not stop. (I was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt and felt extremely underdressed).

That evening we decided to eat at In N Out Burger again because we did not know where anything else was. We did have a GPS that saved our lives many times on the trip, but In N Out was just so close!

Saturday was filled with Wedding things. We woke up bright and early and decided to catch the 7:30 temple session. It is such a beautiful temple and did I mention that it is HUGE!!! The Idaho Falls Temple is around 90,000 sq feet give or take and the LA Temple was around 190,000 sq feet. I was awestruck. After the session we were able to watch Dru's friend Doug be sealed to his wife Kelsey for time and all eternity. It was a great experience. That evening we drove out to Santa Clarita/Valencia area for the reception where Dru ran into some more of his mission buddies. It was neat to meet them and to hear some of the good times that they had in Virginia.

After the reception we got some dinner and Dru of course got In N Out Burger again. I opted for a chicken burger at Wendy's but it was a burger none the less.

Sunday we went to tourist attraction called the 3rd Street Promenade that was filled with shops and musical entertainment on the streets. Dru and I enjoyed the atmosphere although it was very dirty. We took a walk down Ocean Avenue and I was so sad to see how many homeless people there were in a park by the beach. Dru and I had a fun time on our trip, but when it was time to go home we were glad because LA is so dirty and there is too much traffic.

Our plane was also delayed 1 1/2 hours so it made for a really long day. We arrived in SLC at 11:00 pm last night and are still trying to recover from our vacation!

Poor Puppy!!! (and HOUSE)

2008-09-02T17:30:00.000-06:00

Today when I came home from work I was greeted by my furry friend as usual. She is always full of energy when we first see her because she has missed us so much. Once she calmed down I saw what appeared to be dirt on her face. This meant she had been digging in our back yard again so I was preparing to find a hole in our backyard and this made me upset. When I WAS able to get a closer look I realized that she had somehow managed to rub some of the skin on her face raw.

I could not figure out what in the world she had done, until I walked into my front room. I went to put all of the throw pillows back on my couch (because Maddie takes them off while we are at work) and noticed blood all over my cushions. I guess Maddie was trying to get something between them and rubbed her face raw in the process, but I can't for the life of me figure out what she wanted. She must have really wanted whatever it was if she was willing to hurt herself in the process. Poor little puppy!

Now my big issue at hand is finding out how to get the blood stains out of my couch. If anyone has any ideas please let me know.

After examining the rest of my house I realize that my front couch was not the only thing to suffer this fate. My other two couches, throw pillows, and a priceless quilt that my grandmother made me were also covered in blood! So far most of this mess is coming out of my furniture, etc. but it has been alot of scrubbing on my part.

A Weekend Away

2008-09-01T20:40:00.000-06:00

This last Saturday after Dru finished work, he and I joined my family up at our Cabin in Island Park. That night, my dad, Dru, and I set off to our special fishin spot to kick off our adventures. It is quite a little hike down to our spot but it is not bad because it is downhill, but the way back is a different story.

We enjoyed the evening on the water though the guys didn't have much luck with the fish. My dad caught two little guys and Dru didn't catch anything.

When it was time to leave I decided to get a head start because I am a lot slower than they are. Shortly after I began my walk back to the truck I heard Dru yelling for me. I decided to keep walking and told him that I was not going to turn around so he needed to come to me. He came running after me and I soon found out that there was a black bear not far from where I was and it had just torn up the seats on a couple of four wheelers! I am one lucky duck. I almost had a run in with what sounds like a fiesty bear.

The next day we decided to drive through Yellowstone Park. Dru and I drove ahead with my brother and his friend Nick so that we could stop in West Yellowstone and walk through the shops. Rob and Nick found these Ninja stars and decided that they had to buy them. Rob bought one that was shaped like Batman and the entire time we drove through Yellowstone we were cracking up as they talked about their ninja stars.

On the way back they had to stop back in West and buy a dagger and a spikey ball with a chain attached to it. I'm sure the man in the shop thought they were some crazy, but it was hilarious. We enjoyed our time with them!

I was so excited because we got to see a bighorn sheep while we were in the park. We go through Yellowstone so much that I have seen many animals and my goal is always to see something new. I had never seen a bighorn before so that was neat. Dru and I had a really eventful weekend but we were glad to return home so that we could get some much needed rest.

Dru and Colin Farrell?

2008-08-16T15:09:00.000-06:00

MyHeritage: Celebrity Morph - Free family tree - Free genealogy software

Me & Jennifer Garner?

2008-08-16T14:24:00.001-06:00

MyHeritage: Celebrity Morph - Geneology - Free family tree

Anniversary

2008-08-08T14:25:00.000-06:00

This last Monday, August 4th. Dru and I celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary. It is crazy to think that we have been married for over a year now. In that short amount of time our lives have changed tremendously and there have been many growing experiences along the way. I am looking forward to the next year and feel blessed that I can honestly say that I love my husband more now than I did the day I married him.

Twilight Series

2008-08-08T13:39:00.000-06:00

So, for my birthday a couple of weeks ago my little brother bought me the first three books in the Twilight Series (Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse).

I reluctantly started reading them hoping that they would keep my interest enough to get through all three.

I have to say that these books are awesome. I am completely addicted to them. I read all three of the books from my brother and then decided to go buy the last book (Breaking Dawn).

Yep, finished that too. These just might be my favorite books ever. I have a feeling that they are Dru's favorite too because I didn't bother him about doing things all the time, instead I was content to read my books.

If you haven't read these books I suggest that you do because they rocked my world. But, I must warn you that you need to have a fair amount of time set aside to read because you won't want to put them down. I had a very hard time doing anything but read until I finished them.

More Cabin Memories

2008-08-08T13:20:00.001-06:00

Maddie and Dru trying to figure out exactly what is out in the woods.

Dru's mom, his brother Trent and wife Sarah, their three boys Nate, Christian and Jameson, our nieces Taitum and Beth, our puppy Maddie, Trent's dog Cocoa, and of course Dru and I.

My brother Rob enjoying himself in a game of LIFE more than words can describe!

Cabin Memories

2008-08-08T13:02:00.000-06:00

Dru and I love spending time at my parent's cabin in Island Park. It is such a nice place to get away from reality for a couple of days. There is so much to do there. We enjoy fishing, four wheeling, boatin, snow machining, campfires with smore's and hotdogs, and going through Yellowstone National Park. Here are some pictures from our various trips.

Bitter Sweet

2008-06-27T20:35:00.000-06:00

(My Grandmother and I when I was a baby)

My sweet grandmother Carolyn Grimaud passed away Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 7:37 pm. She was only 72 years old. This is a bitter sweet time for all in our family because for the past seven years my grandmother has suffered from Alzheimer's disease. She was an amazing lady who loved everyone she met. She is an angel and I am so sad that she has left this earthly life. However, I am comforted to know that she is in Heaven without pain and with a sound mind. I know that she will be with us always and that someday I will get to see her smiling face again. I love you Grandma and I will miss you very much!

Work Work Work

2008-06-27T20:25:00.000-06:00

In May Dru just graduated from ISU with his Bachelor's degree in Finance. I am so proud of him! To make things even better a couple of weeks ago he started a job with Westmark Credit Union and LOVES it. I am so excited for him to be done with school and enjoy the workin life. It will also be nice to have some extra income. As for me I am still working as a PSR worker and trying to keep a clean house (it is much harder than it seems). I planted flowers in my yard for the very first time a week before Memorial Day and I haven't killed them yet. They are actually looking really good and I am proud of my efforts. So as you can see we have had a lot going on lately but it's always good to stay busy.

Blessings

2008-04-18T12:42:00.000-06:00

I have just recently had a sweet manifestation of my Heavenly Father's love for each of us and I wanted to share how greatful I am for such spiritual experiences. Despite our shortcomings and faults Heavenly Father loves us unconditionally and will help us through everything if we first turn to him and ask for help. Sometimes things can be difficult to endure and we want them to come to pass on our time. We must remember that things happen on the Lord's time and that he can see the bigger picture. This has been the hardest lesson for me to learn, especially recently, but I am coming to grips with it and am beginning to understand that there are reasons for everything. We must continue to have faith in the Lord and endure to the end and someday the things we have been praying so hard for will happen. Just wanted to put that out there!

A new addition

2008-03-29T13:51:00.000-06:00

While we were engaged we decided that we wanted a dog. Dru hates dogs with a passion but for some reason he really wanted a boxer. I also love boxers and am an avid dog lover so I was all for getting a dog. We kept our eye on the newspaper for a good price, and about a month before we got married we found our good deal. We called the number, but all of their puppies were spoken for. I was crushed. About 10 minutes later I got a phone call saying that one of their puppies was going to be available after all. We could come look at her that night and decide. I did not get my hopes up because I was very specific about what I wanted. I wanted a fawn boxer with a black face, and white paws. When we went to look at her she was exactly what we wanted and she would not be ready to go with us until we were back from our honeymoon, so the deal was even more perfect. We were going to get our puppy after all. We went to visit her once a week so that she could get to know us before we took her home and on August 13th, 2007 we welcomed Madison into our family!!

She wasn't even as long as my forearm when we first took her home and now she's almost 50 lbs and around 2 ft tall (on all fours). What a growth spurt!

I know it sounds like we just had a child, but in a lot of ways we did. Dogs are so much work. We have finally through the potty training and the anxiety of leaving her home alone. Maddie is such a sweet good dog. She loves people, especially children. She knows many tricks and is very smart. She loves to play with her ball and with my mom's new beagle puppy Tugger. The only struggle with Maddie is that she refuses to sleep in her doggie bed and has to be cuddled up to us. I guess this is our fault because when she was small we let her.

This is Maddie cuddling with her Dad!

A home to call our own

2008-03-29T13:42:00.000-06:00

While Dru and I were engaged we purchased a town home that was in construction. We were brave and decided to do much of the work ourselves to save some money. We painted the entire house, and put in all of the trim pieces (ie moldings and doors), did all of the tile in our bathrooms (floors and showers), and Dru put hardwood floors in our kitchen and dining room. We did not realize what we were getting ourselves into, especially while trying to plan a wedding. We finished our home and were able to close on it 3 days before we got married. We had most of our belongings moved in before we did, so although it was very stressful, it paid off in the end.

Honeymoon

2008-03-29T13:27:00.000-06:00

This is a picture of the swimming pool at our hotel.
The day after we were married, we were lucky enough to spend a week in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, which is just an hour away from Cancun, but not as wild. We stayed in a hotel right on the ocean. We spent time snorkeling off the coast of Cozumel, touring the ancient Mayan Ruins Tulum and Chichen Itza (one of the 7 Wonders of the World), and at an amazing conservation park called Xcaret. Xcaret had a great night show and many wild animals to see. You could even swim with the dolphins for a small fee, but we opted not to do that. They also had a cenote that you could snorkel (an underground river). We enjoyed our trip very much and would love to go back again someday.

The beginning

2008-03-29T10:22:00.000-06:00

Well I finally decided to take the time and start blogging. I love to read what my friends are up to, so I thought that maybe you would like the same courtesy. I guess the only place to start is at the beginning of our life together.

Dru and I met officially on our first date. It technically was not a blind date because Dru already knew who I was. We grew up around the corner from eachother and attended the same church. We hit it off immediately and the rest is history. Dru and I were married in the Idaho Falls Temple on August 4th, 2007.