Memorial Day

Every year over Memorial day weekend we go to St. Anthony, Idaho. What's there? The Sand Dunes of course. All the sand, bikes and drunkerds you could ever ask for. The kids love the sand. The boys love to ride. And us girls, well, we're just there for the food. No, not really. It really is a fun weekend. It's a tradition that's been around for years. Have a look at our sand filled weekend...

She's her daddy's girl.

Hangin' out by the fire.

Our tent that my sister-in-law had to chase down. Thanks Beck.

The lake.

CCCHHHHEEESSSEEE!!

Awwww, kisses.

The whole gang.

Loving the sand and water.

All warm and dry by the fire.

It decided to pour on us the day we were heading home.

This is how we all felt after a long, fun weekend.

Baby #2

I can't believe how behind I've gotten. I've blogged nothing about this summer, at all. Not even the most exciting news. So while Chase is on the big deer hunt, lets see if I can get caught up. First things first. We're having another baby. We decided in the spring that we would start trying for another baby in the summer. Spare the details, lets just change my name to Fertile Mertile. Enough said. I took a pregnancy test at the beginning of July and it was negative. I doubted the test because I had been so tired and super hungry. We had a dentist appointment at the end of July, and it was my turn to get x-rays. I decided I had better make sure that I wasn't pregnant before they did the x-rays. So I took a pregnancy test. This one was positive. Super exciting! Chase and I both were a little unsure, so the next day, I took another test and that one was positive. I couldn't believe it. In fact, to this day, it still hasn't sunk in that I'm pregnant again. This pregnancy has been different than the last one. With Paisley I threw up a few times each day from about week 7 - week 16. After week 16 I had really bad heartburn. From there on out I lived off tums. I remember that I wasn't super tired with Paisley, just sick. With this one however, I've been extremely nauseous and, if I don't find a pillow and blanket right now I think I might die, tired. We're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel now, cross our fingers. We've been to the doctor twice now, and so far so good. I go again on the 7th of October and then next appointment after that one is the "big" appointment. That's where they do the 3d ultrasound and tell us the sex of the baby. I've felt like this one is a boy. So we'll see.
I don't think Paisley quite knows what's going on. If you ask her where Mama's baby is, she'll pat my tummy. But other than that, she has no idea. She'll be a big help though, when the baby arrives.

5 YEARS!!

A couple of months ago I started asking Chase what we should do for our 5 year anniversary. We had talked about going to Vegas for Mark's graduation, but decided not to since we went to San Diego a few weeks ago. I stopped bringing it up and decided we would just wait until it got closer, then decide what to do. So last week I brought it up again, but he never really gave any suggestions as to what we could do. This week came and he still hadn't said anything. I finally said "It's our 5 Year anniversary and we're not going to do anything?" But he continued to not really have any suggestions. So on Thursday I said, "seriously, what are we going to do tomorrow night?!" He said "Well, I know my Mom is off tomorrow, let me see if she'll watch Paisley while we go out." So he called his Mom. Then yesterday while I was reading the newspaper I saw the movie section and suggested that maybe we go to the drive-inn. He said "We could see if Paisley could stay the night with Grandma Lori and we could go out to eat and to the drive inn." I was ok with this idea, it was better than nothing at all. A night out, just the two of us.
We went yesterday morning and bought some more plants and decorations for our yard. When we got home, I fixed all of us lunch. While we were eating, Chase asks if I want to know what we're really doing for our anniversary. I said "you have something planned? " He told me I better pack a bag for Paisley... and one for myself... we're dropping Paisley off at Grandma Lori's at 4:30.
I got us all packed and put on a skirt and some heals. We dropped Paisley off and my mind is just wandering. "Where are we going? What does he have planned? Etc." We used Mark's Nuvi that we've had at our house since our trip to San Diego. The lady is directing us to get on the freeway and head north, 9 miles. Chase asked if I knew where we were going. I did. Maddox! He made reservations for 5:00. We got there about 5:20. I ordered Salmon and he ordered the Turkey steak.
Once we finish and get out to the car, it's only like 6:00. My feet were hurting because I'm not a big heal person. I asked him if we were going somewhere I could change to be more comfortable for the rest of the night. He said we could go and check into our room and then go to the movie and to coldstone. So we get driving on the freeway, heading south. The nuvi tells us to drive 40 miles. We're going to Salt Lake! We exit at beck street and drive 4 miles, then turn left and drive 1.2 miles to destination on right. The Anniversary Inn!! That's where we stayed on our wedding night. We stayed in the Hayloft on our wedding night, and last night we stayed in The Secret Garden. We get checked in and find our room. The room is really pretty, spacious and has a jetted tub. So we put on more comfy clothes and went to Leatherby's for dessert. There's a Leatherby's in Taylorsville, but I remembered seeing one on North Temple. We decided to go to the one on North Temple. It actually used to be a Frontier Pies. Not a lot of cars in the parking lot, pretty empty inside, not real clean, but also not worth the drive to go the one in Taylorsville. So we stayed. We shared Gretchin's Golden Nugget and left. Chase couldn't believe the part of town I took us to. We got in our car, locked the door and drove back to the safe-er part of town. I decided I didn't want to go to a movie. I wanted to just spend time together and talk. So that's what we did. We went to Smith's on 4th South and bought some treats and picked up a redbox. The funny thing about going to this particular Smith's is, this is the Smith's we came to on our wedding night to buy some water because our room was blazing hot and we were so thirsty. Anyway, after Smith's we stopped at Maverick and bought a drink and went back to the our room. This night was such a special night and very much needed. We were able to just spend time together and not worry about anything else.
This morning they brought breakfast to our door. We had orange juice, milk, sick hot cocoa, a ham and cheese croissant, a cinnamon roll and a parfait. After breakfast we got packed up and left to go pick up our little stinky... whom we missed so much.
There are many things I love about Chase. I love his sense of humor. I love his personality. I love that he'll talk to just about anyone. I love the Daddy he is to our little girl. I love watching him play with her. I love that he has a desire to further his education and also his career. I love the way he treats me. I love that he listens to me and he knows when something needs to be fixed and when to just listen. I love that he has hobbies and interests... hunting, dirt bikes, etc. I love that he has a strong testimony and he's a worthy Priesthood holder. I love that he and I have the same goals and desires. I love that he wants more children. I love how patient he is with me. We've had such a blast these past 5 years and I hope for many more. I love you Chase!! Thanks for a wonderful anniversary!!

She did WHAT?!

Saturday night, after we got home from our vacation, we got Paisley all ready for bed. She was being pretty booby. I put her in the crib and walked out. She cried and cried. Chase told me to just leave her be for a few minutes. We waited about 5, maybe 10, minutes. We were sitting on the couch getting ready to eat our home made pizza, when we hear this loud THUD. Chase goes running into her room, with me right behind. We go in to find Paisley on the floor. She fell out of her crib. She was a little shocked I think because she wasn't crying. I sat with her in the recliner and decided that we couldn't leave her in there crying by herself because she would more than likely fall out again. So I rocked her until she fell asleep. (Which was actually quite enjoyable because I've never really been able to do that. We've always had her fall asleep in her bed so she could get used to falling asleep on her own.) Once she was asleep, I would get up to put her in the crib, and she'd wake up and cry. After a while of doing this, I decided it wasn't working. So... I climbed in the crib with Paisley and laid in there until she fell asleep. Once she was asleep, I called Chase's cell phone and he came in and lifted me out. I was worried that once she fell asleep, I would wake her up when I climbed out, so he pulled me out. Yes, I know, this is rather silly and strange. But Paisley has been such a good sleeper, and we wanted so badly to keep her that way. I think she got used to falling asleep on the bed in the hotel, plus it was only 7:30 California time and she was never in bed before 9:00 California time, so she probably wasn't very tired.
I am happy to announce that she is finally back to her normal, happy self.

What I've learned...

I've decided that I'm going to start adding "What I've learned" to this blog. It seems I make some kind of a mistake/regret on a regular basis. Rather than beat myself up over these things, I want to learn from them. So lets start with the most recent.
What I've learned...
I've learned to NEVER EVER subscribe to the Disney Movie Club again. We subscribed as a Christmas gift for Paisley because I thought it would be fun for her to collect Disney movies and have a good collection for our other kids as well. When you sign up, you get 4 DVDs for $1.99 each, plus no shipping. Just this alone sucked me in. Then you agree to buy 5 regular priced DVDs throughout the span of 2 years. No biggie right? Wrong! First of all, the regular price of most movies is $21.95, much more expensive than say Walmart. This isn't all. They mail you a packet each month advertising a "Featured title". You must fill out the form and mark whether you want them to mail you the featured title or not. In January I didn't do this... I wasn't fully up to speed on what a ridiculous contract I'm bound to for 2 years. So they mail me this movie and charge my account... a movie I don't want. I referred back to my Membership booklet and sure enough, if you don't fill out the card and mail it back, they will automatically send the movie and charge your bank account. So I pay to have the movie sent back and I proceed to wait 4-6 weeks for my bank account to be credited. In the mean time, it's February, new month. I receive my packet in the mail and I immediately fill out that blastid card and mail it back... THE NEXT DAY! Well I checked my bank statement today and the movie from January has finally been credited, however, there's a new $35 charge. And just what is this? That February featured movie that I declined about oh 2 weeks ago. I check my Disney account, and sure enough, it's been shipped. I tried calling customer service to yell at them, but they are closed for the weekend. I WILL be calling on Monday and I'm canceling my membership.
I read the reviews about this company and the majority of them have had the same problems I have. I guess what I've learned from all of this is...
Read all reviews before joining any club or making any large purchases on-line.

Always something new

On Saturday, February 6th, I was feeding Paisley some applesauce from a small plastic cup. She didn't eat all of it, so I let her go play and I left the applesauce on the table. I went to the bathroom, and when I came out, Paisley had pulled the place mat with the applesauce off the table and dumped it on the carpet and was sitting in the middle of the mess, eating it, with a big smile on her face, when I came out of the bathroom. I quickly snapped some pictures and began to clean up the mess. While I was cleaning, well, let me back up. When I opened the bathroom door and saw the mess she had made, I didn't think to close the door. So while I was cleaning up the mess, Paisley went into the bathroom and was washing her hands in the toilet.
On Sunday, February 7th, I was getting Paisley ready for her bath and I let her run around for a minute without a diaper on, while I started her bath water. I turned around and she was standing in the bathroom, but she was standing in water. I thought to myself, "where on earth did that water come from." As she proceeded to get on her hands and knees and rub the "water" all of the floor as if she were using it as soap, I realized it wasn't water... she had peed!
Paisley did her first summer-salt all by herself this past weekend. I don't know if it was on purpose, but she did it. You can ask her to stand on her head and she will. She's so smart!

Reverently, Quietly...

For months now, Chase and I have worked with Paisley to try and teach her how to fold her arms during prayers. Saturday night (13th) we went through our same routine. Paisley was sitting on her daddy's lap and he said to her, "Paisley, can you fold your arms?" Immediately she hurried and folded her arms. Chase and I just looked at each other in shock. Did that just really happen? Now, anytime you mention the word 'prayer', she folds her arms.
This taught me that kids really do listen, but they learn by example.

BOOOOO

Paisley loves to scare and get scared. Tonight she was doing the funniest thing. She would run really fast over to the side of the chair, as far in the corner as she could get, and just stand there. So I would sneak around the front and say boo. She would laugh, then do it again. We did this for a while. Soon enough we were playing hide-n-seek. I didn't know you could have so much fun with a 14 month old. It keeps us entertained while Chase is at work I guess.

New Beginnings

We had our New Beginnings tonight for Young Women's. Our Young Women President's mother-in-law (Jeanne Hall) came and spoke to the girls about Testimony. She did an amazing job. She told about her conversion to the church.

We did a shoe theme. We collected 1 shoe from each girl and had them displayed on a table. We asked the girls how their testimony compares to a shoe... is it too wide, too tight, too big, too small, etc. In the end we wanted the girls to learn that they can make their testimony to fit like a glass slipper. Anyhow, it was really good... totally cliche here, but it really was a good program.

Our Stake Young Women's president spoke to the girls about the new personal progress books and the importance of personal progress. One of our Young Women who just recently received her medallion bore her testimony and a member of the bishopric gave the closing remarks. It was a nice, spiritual boost that I so needed. It made me think about my testimony and what I need to change.

I love the gospel and I'm so thankful to be a member. I'm thankful for the opportunity it gives me to serve others. I have personally found that I'm TRULY happy when I'm serving others.
What a great night!!

Curious George...

I think this is only the beginning. We have a curio cabinet in our living room where I keep all my Precious Moment figurines. Earlier today, I'm not sure where I was but I wasn't in the room, Paisley opened the curio cabinet and took out my figurines and had them laying on the floor. I ran in and told her NO, and put them back inside. Well, later on this afternoon, I had to run outside and put the car seat in the car because I had to take Paisley up to my in-laws while I went to Young Women's. When I came back, she had them all out again. So I put the foot rest in front of the cabinet so she can't open it. I think we'll be moving it downstairs.
While my in-laws were watching Paisley, my mother-in-law (Lori) had showered and came out in her robe with her hair wrapped in a towel. Paisley looked at her and started crying. She went to my father-in-law(Drew) and wouldn't let go. So Lori went and took the towel off her head and combed her hair. She came back and Paisley was still terrified. I guess it took a while for Paisley to act herself.
So a little while later, Drew was in fixing himself something to eat and Paisley was opening all the cupboards and getting into things. So Lori took her into the play room and shut the door and stayed in there with her while she was on the phone. Lori turned her head for a minute and Paisley had climbed on top of the little plastic picnic table. When Lori noticed, she dropped the phone and went to get Paisley off the table. What a little stink!
I've been thinking about all the words that Paisley can say and I'm going to try and remember all of them. Lets see how I do.

Mama
Daddy
Ball
Bye-bye
Nana
Dee (a.k.a Cheese)
Dog
Bird
Duck
Deer
Bear
Baby
Sues (a.k.a Shoes)
Socks
Nink (a.k.a Drink)
Night-night
Car
Book
NO
No (a.k.a Nose)
Bath
Moo
Arf
Ba
ohne (a.k.a phone)
More

She is so smart. She's learning how to understand some sentences. I'll ask her to go get a book from her room and she'll do it. I'll ask her to bring me a particular toy from across the room and she'll bring it to my. I'll tell her it's time to eat and go get in her chair and she'll go stand by her chair. I'll tell her it's time for a bath and she'll go to her room so we can change her clothes.
She has 8 teeth now. She has a big one coming in on the bottom, right hand side of her mouth. She'll let you brush her teeth now, but not for too long.
She keeps me on my toes but I wouldn't trade being able to stay home with her for anything in the whole world.
On a different note, Chase started the Bachelors of Nursing program on Monday. It's a hybrid program so he only goes to the school a handful of days throughout the semester. The rest is all on-line. It's only 3 semesters, rather than 4. This will allow him to continue on if he wants to go to P.A. school or do the nurse practitioner program or whatever else he chooses. He's been really stressed. He's going to do a great job because he's smart, dedicated and he's got his priorities in order. I'm so proud of him and all the hard work he's done for Paisley and I. He's made it possible for me to stay home and not put Paisley in daycare. I love him so much. He's an example to me and to Paisley. We are blessed to have him in our lives.