tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14051409149253593172024-03-12T20:59:24.431-06:00Hogge HappyBeckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376800609919338088noreply@blogger.comBlogger77125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405140914925359317.post-1640191638695301402012-02-16T13:00:00.009-07:002012-02-17T18:22:59.852-07:00Baby CalebPregnancy is really hard on me. And being pregnant in my 30s has been even more difficult. But seeing Caleb's fat cheeks, and being able to kiss his adorable little nose, and smell that newborn head, I can say it is worth it!<br /><br />I'll admit that having given birth to 35- and 37-week babies has spoiled me. My last two pregnancies were so mentally and emotionally challenging because I was thinking "any day now" for the entire last month. And Caleb decided he wasn't ready until 4 days before my due date--the longest I've ever been pregnant! <br /><br />I’d been pretty discouraged that I was quickly approaching my due date and NOTHING seemed to be happening! I'd experienced some good contractions, but hadn't had those "false labor" episodes that at least signaled that the end was near. I became increasingly discouraged as my due date grew nearer.<br /><br />So I spent a lot of time praying and trying to be patient. It was actually at church on Sunday, while I was reading the words to the Hymn “Master, the Tempest is Raging” during Sacrament Meeting, the words at the end of the 2nd verse struck me as profound: A plea to the Lord to “Hasten, and take control!” I’d been frustrated that I had no control over this life-changing event. I was anxious about when things would happen. I was frustrated that I couldn’t plan my life. I was anxious about how things would play out. As I started to remember more vividly the pains of childbirth, I began to question my desire to have another natural birth, and I started doubting my ability to handle it. I worried about caring for a newborn again, and how my life would change. But as I read the words to the Hymn, the thought came into my mind, “You want to be in control of this, but aren’t things always better when He is in control?” And the chorus reminds that all of the elements sweetly obey His will. And Peace, be still. And I did feel peace and trust again that He knew what was best.<br /><br />Interestingly enough, it was that very night that I began labor. I’d had a few contractions in the evening, which wasn’t unusual. I went to bed for a few hours and awoke at about 2am to a hard contraction. I laid in bed for about 45 minutes until I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep through them as they became increasingly more intense. So I got up and read for a while.<br /><br />This labor was very similar to Rachel's. The contractions became more and more hard, intense, and took much more concentration to get through them. But they didn't get close together. In fact, they were still quite irregular. I went to the bathroom around 4:00 and chatted with Vince about what to do. As I laid in bed again, the contractions actually stopped. After about 1/2 hour I decided this must not be the real thing, so I thought we should just go back to sleep. But then at 4:30, I got hit HARD by a very strong contraction. That was the turning point for me! I knew then that this was it.<br /><br />So we made calls to the midwife and my mom and got ready to head in to the hospital. My sister, Beth, came to stay with the kids and Mom followed us to the hospital. We got there a little after 6am. I was still worried about them checking me and hooking me up and that the contractions would stop and I'd be sent home. So I was anxious to see if I'd progressed from the 3 cm I was at my last appointment. Fortunately, I was already at a 6, and they let me stay!<br /><br />I was able to get in the tub around 7:00. I tried that for a while, and made some progress, but my contractions were still far apart and a bit irregular. When I was around 8 cm I decided to get out and try sitting on the birthing ball and standing to help move things more quickly. <br /><br />The last hour was definitely the most difficult. That was the point in which my brain turned foggy. And although I could hear and was aware of things going on around me, I became so focused on myself and what was going on in my own body. I knew I wasn't thinking clearly. I remember people asking me questions about trying different positions or techniques, but I couldn't answer except for "I don't know." <br /><br />Up to this point, my water was still intact. I had a hard time feeling the overwhelming urge to push, so I asked my midwife to break my water. (I was almost fully dilated.) The same as with Rachel, as soon as she broke my water, Caleb's head descended quickly. I definitely felt the urge then! Pushing was more difficult with Caleb than with any of my others that I can remember. But it didn't take very long. And at 9:52 am a beautiful baby boy was born into our family! It was a very emotional experience for me as they laid him on my chest. I cried a lot. I went through so much to get him here, and was so happy to finally have my baby boy.<br /><br />At first I thought we would name him Adam, but when we saw him, it just didn’t fit. After much discussion that day, we decided to name him Caleb. He was 7 lbs 11 oz and 19 ½ inches long. He looks a lot like his daddy, and similar to his siblings, but with his own unique Caleb look. We are already so smitten with this new little bundle of joy!<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 239px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709826873767647442" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu-OBNpNlxROpuFVYoUjfEv6JrOFckIymqNSGMx1-Jsdow4WMI21NQqPGqkFxgnOJ93kqfsXn1ykmtnXtZ-uM6_abcaaIHS4Z3avJn_biPfMvvAl75FDfY6BPputh4QvEqx62MbYZs0D65/s320/Caleb+Hospital.jpg" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709826384152285922" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAJ_UFw1lP6y5W_T0kiewUeJYZuiYso-381YuvlVHNo9BEY_oMt6uP1AFSNtnWf5XaGICNcLFs0P2iHubpDkbU1LR38DJqJn4YKlU7XxUrBodIBEuDohqEv1h0ZF_tB3ov574ySaF6cJdC/s320/Caleb+Carseat.jpg" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaHA0VulMLl_vRshSnEgKZUXzRzRSBFht0Ae6-3nCZ-ZnLT_-a1OqC86OA3LGj5lmopmL9k23EHRcw0nY1BmMcdeSjdpXUxFcdF5mudjOcSWJtd1vUnhqVB9Cl1zJbsyjeIVGlB9Z5vB4q/s1600/Family.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709860676405086866" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaHA0VulMLl_vRshSnEgKZUXzRzRSBFht0Ae6-3nCZ-ZnLT_-a1OqC86OA3LGj5lmopmL9k23EHRcw0nY1BmMcdeSjdpXUxFcdF5mudjOcSWJtd1vUnhqVB9Cl1zJbsyjeIVGlB9Z5vB4q/s320/Family.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijZ7AEOiJl-Vz-TbtSoPBBbPd9OjhVddZ-GCChH93up5zkNJfGK9BJQtGzY1ocZLPIZxsziqhlYfCenofAIAn19VFLhoTmHpFdWHBsSgL6Ac7owRoSQkQXCBnPxc9Gl0Znngpr0cX4ZIYJ/s1600/Caleb+Vince.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709826908634076194" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijZ7AEOiJl-Vz-TbtSoPBBbPd9OjhVddZ-GCChH93up5zkNJfGK9BJQtGzY1ocZLPIZxsziqhlYfCenofAIAn19VFLhoTmHpFdWHBsSgL6Ac7owRoSQkQXCBnPxc9Gl0Znngpr0cX4ZIYJ/s320/Caleb+Vince.jpg" /></a> <br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzP8hdUKsDWjc7Lw13ii1wKRBHARoS2pTjJs3Edxk0ZOOWypFi45GlDZwpwEIlk4BqQjDIJ0qhH8TslADnydm1xR7tr3i0b8IxTP5ADIr1tA1ogQmYysJJmbc7Tl3gQ3lU4-HNX1h030DQ/s1600/Caleb+Grammy.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709826899904456738" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzP8hdUKsDWjc7Lw13ii1wKRBHARoS2pTjJs3Edxk0ZOOWypFi45GlDZwpwEIlk4BqQjDIJ0qhH8TslADnydm1xR7tr3i0b8IxTP5ADIr1tA1ogQmYysJJmbc7Tl3gQ3lU4-HNX1h030DQ/s320/Caleb+Grammy.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkKspUI_NGKJQYMFJ6sMABEIfrdmH7KJDm0oMxaO0wAt2Y9sQzNFcEpdUR0sjot4XfJmzaop1m7Vnv_AJ42d5T0_2BqVSAtBV-iTTfTp-Hnoi6954uHcjCEC083E0WgosVjTEo-yZx6QGJ/s1600/Caleb+Opa.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709826885152072146" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkKspUI_NGKJQYMFJ6sMABEIfrdmH7KJDm0oMxaO0wAt2Y9sQzNFcEpdUR0sjot4XfJmzaop1m7Vnv_AJ42d5T0_2BqVSAtBV-iTTfTp-Hnoi6954uHcjCEC083E0WgosVjTEo-yZx6QGJ/s320/Caleb+Opa.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><br /><div><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709826374844104802" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYJfJIuBc02qsLNa0wud-H6cmQ0xAP0O4uwQLq90rn04CdV4FsEB468gaIKMdiH5Ha0En37_K6fA7OnEAnmfpl0xKlGmA5_sgywEbcmv9JG1zcAtASijnAIpjtWIsJiegAup3W6Z-Ez78B/s320/Caleb+Brooke.jpg" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709826403354344578" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir_Toe8i3EHQtUstjB5C1nUwhOU_3Pv7BGEoGpM1mcWgP2H2fZa0V1v3vtM0avEpQv49mHErIy-0hTJDdepl92fNluOwYWj3tLQJj9qgXMo6ZTqz53TP4zbPLE7j5SOPdM-O1MPJXVzB4u/s320/Caleb+Evan.jpg" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijVpft8O3sIjpBebWF5KtNyHjssxJXAuFXcOvVJKsNAHGpyMex1NT8WDlCvj_NkUyCC35YcoPLL-Zfb0DysqHnydZugK5F__C_4KBchOlGyRgKwZw0CahFfJX29J3MB_6wnu5gyYyiMFDd/s1600/Caleb+Rachel.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709826411572020914" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijVpft8O3sIjpBebWF5KtNyHjssxJXAuFXcOvVJKsNAHGpyMex1NT8WDlCvj_NkUyCC35YcoPLL-Zfb0DysqHnydZugK5F__C_4KBchOlGyRgKwZw0CahFfJX29J3MB_6wnu5gyYyiMFDd/s320/Caleb+Rachel.jpg" /></a>Here he is at one month! This month has gone by so fast already! (Much faster than the month BEFORE he was born!)<br /><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 239px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709826865755151970" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF8Dwvs_PeaOsydCYa6A9oTtCFYYPkAs56nzAJXmtp5L5fUIrPsZd5_WHOOVSPrhsCy-8T1q3BuqQquFXU07nxr5o2ZKpJkV7X_kmjN_LrQssl2y1Wh78auJXajGIH_Lwu44MOGMzbKhHO/s320/Caleb+Happy.jpg" /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij3z4opSunhiD4jcFTar_74ERTNvq27JdBZhSfwicmwLrNHhuyAq-4VdSoirjtnLH3mnqlbfL5MZUzxAlv8dCr_nKAVK1Z8M9He25MKitwPJeVfF92TbhIk88cUmoNcuzOnAxEVFxy7CC1/s1600/Caleb+1+month.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 239px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709826374115040946" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij3z4opSunhiD4jcFTar_74ERTNvq27JdBZhSfwicmwLrNHhuyAq-4VdSoirjtnLH3mnqlbfL5MZUzxAlv8dCr_nKAVK1Z8M9He25MKitwPJeVfF92TbhIk88cUmoNcuzOnAxEVFxy7CC1/s320/Caleb+1+month.jpg" /></a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br />We’re especially grateful that he is here! And that he is healthy. And that I am healthy. We truly have been blessed.Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376800609919338088noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405140914925359317.post-20842556435790264132012-02-16T12:35:00.017-07:002012-02-16T16:31:05.563-07:00Catching Up--2011I have been horrible about blogging this past year. It's been an intense year. I had a hard time coping from my miscarriage, and suffered another in April. My church calling has been quite demanding, and I didn't feel like I had much to contribute to the blogging world. So forgive me for neglecting 2011. Here are some highlights from last year to catch you up:<br /><br />Evan turned 8 this Spring and decided to be Baptized! It was wonderful to have so many people come to support him on this special day.<br /><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP6f4sU6OCPmPVFIHCqmVit6Holvq_6SUvKAKr7Qoa_Kxd4tLhQbFiUfHxuBaoo_sMZnxfZD1Q4uTY0yT4NXfSiuJaHzmyBCgL6z61Vgw1UYEEOaAY1u_98W0TClnPdbz6Haj0QT0SC5DL/s1600/Evan%2527s+Baptism+035.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709822204647182930" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP6f4sU6OCPmPVFIHCqmVit6Holvq_6SUvKAKr7Qoa_Kxd4tLhQbFiUfHxuBaoo_sMZnxfZD1Q4uTY0yT4NXfSiuJaHzmyBCgL6z61Vgw1UYEEOaAY1u_98W0TClnPdbz6Haj0QT0SC5DL/s320/Evan%2527s+Baptism+035.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Zj_lO9m7Rk8g_eblstKwROENBOEPPSI_ZDq3EQF1ux1u-h4cyD-JtfHwakkUg4rLBb4Li9l8IrqQn93jUFzletgBNdveVfH8MIMIWi3cjV7NKfK_7py9GAGSNC9EtrPLCId0DJk9FChO/s1600/Evan+Vince.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 239px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709822201748889666" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Zj_lO9m7Rk8g_eblstKwROENBOEPPSI_ZDq3EQF1ux1u-h4cyD-JtfHwakkUg4rLBb4Li9l8IrqQn93jUFzletgBNdveVfH8MIMIWi3cjV7NKfK_7py9GAGSNC9EtrPLCId0DJk9FChO/s320/Evan+Vince.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsHHZCE7jVoxbJ0bauaZtC0mZ4J0nPYyIwMo1Ut0IgtqYAVZeZipfCQqdUI9DIjarjWQpsB79briGUfFvDQ2lw0dXgfaF8pAVXiU82hH40cx1ldcgRyy48SU2KUQORI2EQt-O5WudcfBbY/s1600/Evan%2527s+Baptism+Our+family.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709822823501263698" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsHHZCE7jVoxbJ0bauaZtC0mZ4J0nPYyIwMo1Ut0IgtqYAVZeZipfCQqdUI9DIjarjWQpsB79briGUfFvDQ2lw0dXgfaF8pAVXiU82hH40cx1ldcgRyy48SU2KUQORI2EQt-O5WudcfBbY/s320/Evan%2527s+Baptism+Our+family.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh05SdYAD8P6POp5KUbC10l9eqvWQiwGPXWfyaG0CaTAc7aWbWJJqfq5T45qYdastNGA5a-pKRnjfZ1ibMCBxG2AE0dpazHlI6JeDeAfux87StZ1ODf3b86l5l5iyWNlBm4-a0Myf-rfPN3/s1600/Evan%2527s+Baptism+Mom+Dad.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709822821317195938" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh05SdYAD8P6POp5KUbC10l9eqvWQiwGPXWfyaG0CaTAc7aWbWJJqfq5T45qYdastNGA5a-pKRnjfZ1ibMCBxG2AE0dpazHlI6JeDeAfux87StZ1ODf3b86l5l5iyWNlBm4-a0Myf-rfPN3/s320/Evan%2527s+Baptism+Mom+Dad.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsiKw5joM_qAkL4_f1qwTP5vR2G3pVAJJwUYyGW8ndbbPq_-N-BxGPZ1pkMbuF1I0E6vxLuzY7qST74BoiimjquIWAj-VrKVAfqYBFeM9XJu6oN6T2Q8gOp5eH9kutbTChJp2ZtTWiRWnE/s1600/Evan%2527s+Baptism+Meyers.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709822788156515890" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsiKw5joM_qAkL4_f1qwTP5vR2G3pVAJJwUYyGW8ndbbPq_-N-BxGPZ1pkMbuF1I0E6vxLuzY7qST74BoiimjquIWAj-VrKVAfqYBFeM9XJu6oN6T2Q8gOp5eH9kutbTChJp2ZtTWiRWnE/s320/Evan%2527s+Baptism+Meyers.jpg" /></a> I love this picture of Evan with Vince's Grandma: Great-Grandma Aldridge.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjooIrLJeDEMpqAQ5RpR2N4iO_-OjrXUjUT2b5-gnex2GJjrUFdF8zHfQ2Hy3whyphenhyphen9d5oXBXGvIqAHR6PIqaioQYSQ1fzotiXMKz18GTIFwFE6_7GY3sUtqBOvHXjQFF5aigKY8YNBoK-KXd/s1600/Evan%2527s+Baptism+Grandma+Aldridge.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709822765943320802" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjooIrLJeDEMpqAQ5RpR2N4iO_-OjrXUjUT2b5-gnex2GJjrUFdF8zHfQ2Hy3whyphenhyphen9d5oXBXGvIqAHR6PIqaioQYSQ1fzotiXMKz18GTIFwFE6_7GY3sUtqBOvHXjQFF5aigKY8YNBoK-KXd/s320/Evan%2527s+Baptism+Grandma+Aldridge.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMd25_UXhBfo6CdaL9osU5L4y3LkbBrOr_X0pQcp4RyMfxbm5se7ZNc83BdTsiL8uN4psSlZeBdDPa7pUPJQ3LUpyjEaRkeEPNcvKg_ToY-kon0dLO5DtLQu8NFUaEmUKpVDrZs28C6qs0/s1600/Evan%2527s+Baptism+Grandkids.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709822753769565218" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMd25_UXhBfo6CdaL9osU5L4y3LkbBrOr_X0pQcp4RyMfxbm5se7ZNc83BdTsiL8uN4psSlZeBdDPa7pUPJQ3LUpyjEaRkeEPNcvKg_ToY-kon0dLO5DtLQu8NFUaEmUKpVDrZs28C6qs0/s320/Evan%2527s+Baptism+Grandkids.jpg" /></a>Evan with his Grandparents: </div><br /><div><br /><div><br /><div><br /><div><br /><div><br /><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709821167546161858" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheGt1d-Prv-cMQ0P4LUfsaEd0eiPu0bpMeOjBumjuzvlBPCHM08aWtwdu4ls1ppw5mfyNlqatKHuEKuNtSJZq3rtkU9i4ltICZqeB35rglJN4QVb4MmCAEYd9oQQqJrDQazEFMsEmZypFU/s320/Baptism+Grammy+Opa.jpg" /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-7kx-8MxdG300wFIwGqAbQJciBimObZnGDjcaYnXXsiDL-BLFcoyi67HyQ7WJvHpyUvai9cO65faZ3b7FO5ctUO2ZMjZvCdgL_S8uaIU19yELvOihpnJcvGZOgwnT9i1RAcvynGSJLAkg/s1600/Evan%2527s+Baptism+Gradma+Grandpa.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709822265378211730" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-7kx-8MxdG300wFIwGqAbQJciBimObZnGDjcaYnXXsiDL-BLFcoyi67HyQ7WJvHpyUvai9cO65faZ3b7FO5ctUO2ZMjZvCdgL_S8uaIU19yELvOihpnJcvGZOgwnT9i1RAcvynGSJLAkg/s320/Evan%2527s+Baptism+Gradma+Grandpa.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwFbiwXsqfl_kX8LmxoF2OeDqHx3viiNTsRA-phwRNpVRWRPF1xdnBsFibGvI5k56GUAMi_0TqlRMoiHRQCiqwm-I1ux05EjlkFGJ-jC2xcUZ15R9oEHt8EtlOPuK1n2lkCw4lu5zb5Cgn/s1600/Evan%2527s+Baptism+Family.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709822237030995938" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwFbiwXsqfl_kX8LmxoF2OeDqHx3viiNTsRA-phwRNpVRWRPF1xdnBsFibGvI5k56GUAMi_0TqlRMoiHRQCiqwm-I1ux05EjlkFGJ-jC2xcUZ15R9oEHt8EtlOPuK1n2lkCw4lu5zb5Cgn/s320/Evan%2527s+Baptism+Family.jpg" /></a> Our three amigos! (Or perhaps the three stooges?)</div><br /><div><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj57bphRgmA-JbV1Mb0x49amnKxFnT2Z3LIpb-SG1e0PDsrybIXeIyEdyZ5UQSrtg8duIy_y8YN_EGCwIJSIyeE5hLB2Ehzk3yVQIp5xFfKQzGj1P-FH08CjNKzvfi0JGJ5AoKU-pqWkwrB/s1600/Evan%2527s+Baptism+Boys.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709822232613099362" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj57bphRgmA-JbV1Mb0x49amnKxFnT2Z3LIpb-SG1e0PDsrybIXeIyEdyZ5UQSrtg8duIy_y8YN_EGCwIJSIyeE5hLB2Ehzk3yVQIp5xFfKQzGj1P-FH08CjNKzvfi0JGJ5AoKU-pqWkwrB/s320/Evan%2527s+Baptism+Boys.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><br /><div>Turning 8 also means becoming a Cub Scout! Evan's first Pack Meeting was the Pinewood Derby. He won 2nd place!<br /><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 239px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709821672569271058" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyTqGPh6gMZeFwWSe1up7-JNPbLdVqDp45-t9rF_-jeM6Bv_R9bAKJEueAsZT_moNI4gMsNtG5aBtw8tOpiEjaOduwxly0s1wD81_zQ97R7X8lCegdMj3AGeNwAcXWHIhHIpe-lX1aVe9y/s320/Evan+Derby.jpg" /><br />Grandpa Hogge has a wonderful tradition of taking the grandkids to General Conference after they turn 8. Evan was so excited to go!</div><br /><br /><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709821648114107474" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgic_A3l35zlppyXDS80YBZx2RqToy8U0eHWeQA321uUbuLqEtySNOy2NJKZkrLwqrBFhYGNKoxbF6C6Ol3quoVXx9A6TefHunCAbVEiTNFSk6UkQlN77UgWOWpIrPTJChPX0JRVe1EwYl0/s320/Evan+Conference.jpg" /></div><br /><div>We had a great vacation at our favorite Montana lake!<br /><br /></div><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709823401267689314" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixOZMjxqJSGfSC2fw3Gl739EglgL_xIDItkA0z3CgpFMmdeUDwodb5SGtLudaxQzQ93p9pyEzj9mdf-Rj04AGfl6Wmk6buA_K1WBnP4UIuHpjyMDbevoQbOav8B3tXfPUQ8pcZSRPLJTFl/s320/Holland+Lake.jpg" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709821682729067778" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz2uqqap0dGnG0Og6Gg1eQjCyr_p7NQ9RL14or7GZX7JSal5vH4VZXJdXLcEFFeijfxWiyCG36xQ8fazIxf9G5ghjnVkGoU3QGS0_vHnXGma0QvUwmsJhiBeAG4rzT2-vWHPa32_j4K9lM/s320/Evan+skiing.jpg" />One of our most exciting (and most expensive!) events of 2011 was the purchase of Vince's new toy! </div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-6Kr7pIUKENFg2hSRgEnEC8ylY1VT2Bu2VFMaO29TJqXwu7s42e8RttmwlUg4Fb1loBWs2ny5zD-a2nO8T8JvMaIaTUCCiYbn0785ZFqTjsPvQHDn-JRBneV4YzgaKPern-yKHQvemAs9/s1600/Boating+Vince.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709872588763822738" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-6Kr7pIUKENFg2hSRgEnEC8ylY1VT2Bu2VFMaO29TJqXwu7s42e8RttmwlUg4Fb1loBWs2ny5zD-a2nO8T8JvMaIaTUCCiYbn0785ZFqTjsPvQHDn-JRBneV4YzgaKPern-yKHQvemAs9/s320/Boating+Vince.jpg" /></a> We've been waiting (and saving) for this baby for a L-O-N-G time! And although we didn't get the boat until the end of the summer, it still got plenty of use before it got too cold. Here are some of my favorite pictures on the lake:<br /><br /><br /><div>Notice Vince's awesome grin...</div><br /><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709824005740849026" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinXWOi975Buily3Gb3JvBLiU9LEpGFqm_PN7EjkglOGhTVReut7XSjKOT72ivM4FNysyemUC3xj8GXUyNjE7ZGGpArqi9rqeo0PyNb4Rdq-VqnlVOtEQ9BwHxHxmkYeTizINJOgwmVZXzn/s320/Vince+Grin.jpg" /></div><br /><div><br /><div><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOU1zsYOVZd8BbrGMio8MT8X6TVGht4bUzqEaM-eFs8lRyPF6nBhunNfGVN_hEVAwR9_9or-IVt4kG0LVsAXLSwQTjjbeRBN7aN4or2jyhAgdhYTkR9aUFwZZ2-eLlELplYfWhEko7rPga/s1600/Evan+Boarding.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709821658391824498" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOU1zsYOVZd8BbrGMio8MT8X6TVGht4bUzqEaM-eFs8lRyPF6nBhunNfGVN_hEVAwR9_9or-IVt4kG0LVsAXLSwQTjjbeRBN7aN4or2jyhAgdhYTkR9aUFwZZ2-eLlELplYfWhEko7rPga/s320/Evan+Boarding.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFZEC2yIFhEbT00CxHAxgbPUNgo3shnTpuSAsAkcRIGZMU8wHGSFMR7G_Vlg_1Od90a3JHmCO7eTGAMLHml3opYFnGMQgkjlD6KYWD6YG24Jpctwldan7A8jkRk8aeEyZdNN0g253k1oVS/s1600/Boating+Sleep.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709821176055852418" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFZEC2yIFhEbT00CxHAxgbPUNgo3shnTpuSAsAkcRIGZMU8wHGSFMR7G_Vlg_1Od90a3JHmCO7eTGAMLHml3opYFnGMQgkjlD6KYWD6YG24Jpctwldan7A8jkRk8aeEyZdNN0g253k1oVS/s320/Boating+Sleep.jpg" /></a>A few GREAT crashes! </div><br /><div><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLdJGLQ3VABCWOzmmdNkrbqt0P_RH3Oei1lwJxhFLOsoMoUi4tTVxBNValzdumrHlIuMfRAl3V8M-ylhuTRzxt9JO-UVUBTRpSWfZYxixiPet0aQeEx_B-KbmSVo_S_wuOpOQO-lK0ITKY/s1600/Crash.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709821639501967826" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLdJGLQ3VABCWOzmmdNkrbqt0P_RH3Oei1lwJxhFLOsoMoUi4tTVxBNValzdumrHlIuMfRAl3V8M-ylhuTRzxt9JO-UVUBTRpSWfZYxixiPet0aQeEx_B-KbmSVo_S_wuOpOQO-lK0ITKY/s320/Crash.jpg" /></a> <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709823990020951906" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTiBJtBtl1g_5XgsUPf37WmFlYBqI8lbcmkrBxbrS_gkAbfSPpEbYvyWUmPMgK54P6A4lxItUK7Z-z3z2PrxDrkkMjcFre0haVTQdxvYtB7u9lgK-OdEcx9E4X498KtOMR9lJQMf5OtQQX/s320/Vince+Falling.jpg" /><br /><br /><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtMsmDet55E6Ofyh1tEvdiQUeRNN8ZH9SuyUJRC_izaVouPde4oyrOmmvfuJRoqOcDcZSZaj1fFjT5OaTaib1rvxqkp0O7FRgFzbNYFsMYKqhDIERGL7RDmW0lqTPWz6_vQChKOXhCvlgL/s1600/Vince+Glass.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709823997756340562" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtMsmDet55E6Ofyh1tEvdiQUeRNN8ZH9SuyUJRC_izaVouPde4oyrOmmvfuJRoqOcDcZSZaj1fFjT5OaTaib1rvxqkp0O7FRgFzbNYFsMYKqhDIERGL7RDmW0lqTPWz6_vQChKOXhCvlgL/s320/Vince+Glass.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709823974834514226" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaNx2Cqj7mhRouCh49ipOYbvB0CS4h-NsCIdayPmu4mx7zWIegpN-OAvAVTtWYPBnMlafro6MWDoj9H-Zi0535516b5bWIJ8t9wiCRIhpJs1eWy0rl1N2GfO2HVYWv69pjTVa_6lB2h1QD/s320/Vince+Boarding.jpg" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOMPsXEAh9M54lnDz2IXPyP-Fqto9Y9XCaEstjWRtPmOtI0seaI4NRwyr5l7S_SPYRboJUmaYx0bodoXc66hr6D6YW1aUlh64frqlEAFVZo4AMy7Rn_pcJUsRV-o-X1tPfe72ghHjK5-gf/s1600/Rachel+boating.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709823421319722642" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOMPsXEAh9M54lnDz2IXPyP-Fqto9Y9XCaEstjWRtPmOtI0seaI4NRwyr5l7S_SPYRboJUmaYx0bodoXc66hr6D6YW1aUlh64frqlEAFVZo4AMy7Rn_pcJUsRV-o-X1tPfe72ghHjK5-gf/s320/Rachel+boating.jpg" /></a>And a few more of my favorite pictures of 2011:<br /><br /><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709821196307356018" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG0zNy3sUcw4kpmvsfLs6Hwc8U_66tnuWxYAwsK-8yu68Q-YIVqtb0N89L157lWFFIKJeNVgQx753GptF1j388jghidV3A6YD6AP2uz9YkddCGUNQHL0Ayv8esb10euv6FnftNJ1UFNvqf/s320/Brooke+Cats.jpg" /></div></div></div></div></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709821215109813698" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR8NBKHaDkcrhSMlragTCx4rNhS58EjRYI0YCdOyRULgI1-7A_Byd0oPkUHuQl3GVmDdL84f6mZrtTyT5L-uaACclXib-WsBaY-oldLkSqEmhG_Vre2AXsv-CX0ydby3XMGew-YBiqh1vu/s320/Cornbelly%2527s.jpg" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709823970710508258" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYb6Pwc6u10pTCSQnESrpCz7T-KqPdRYpZVpgvUd3R7YpEKS2I-bzZmGPL5QVLBScXDyx7qoz_CWuLEq01AlwlhJ7KySbA3gLHoXPSYi-h064VXkF155M-8SsCTTQF1MiHSCLCltwPTsQw/s320/Sillies.jpg" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709872605140490914" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPjbeywCYsos-K5kP47g_d1YxQA7o7DzYhL-S5S89VSGaf4iV9i9E-L6Om8y8s3r5YE8RaBt6eohOv1fMCfHKLqUtIg1cakmn-9GxfVlUips1mEi_BbzY4WP_PE8GpevEx0TrHQK1sjJbG/s320/Rachel4.jpg" /><br /><br /><div>Brooke & Evan's first day of school:<br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiz4634xIGSv4W-qBVTRGW4tS05MvJ2xP5ZaoAJyixaSBnJB9mPogiiWC2c2K-UWwmLjDRY7hl-qJtsBr4hn5V0ib8FIdBrFg5lfEhsknv6RXl53n-aura_HAPzhY1R0qRi5zp5jC_Pj7u/s1600/School+Kids.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709823427966709378" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiz4634xIGSv4W-qBVTRGW4tS05MvJ2xP5ZaoAJyixaSBnJB9mPogiiWC2c2K-UWwmLjDRY7hl-qJtsBr4hn5V0ib8FIdBrFg5lfEhsknv6RXl53n-aura_HAPzhY1R0qRi5zp5jC_Pj7u/s320/School+Kids.jpg" /></a>Halloween:<br /><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmzKk3pW8ERVrr9wMQnZ4cG2EmQErEAMzC-KbB9gCZjaMp6IQ53SCPnYE5z7atGuMeCuKvou6WE3sU-5b2CUQG0C6bii9DJsGXHSsaDtZQx0lG1QqwNuq7UFqgoJF84MriHE6ZGYlPYP6U/s1600/Halloween+kids.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709823389342920818" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmzKk3pW8ERVrr9wMQnZ4cG2EmQErEAMzC-KbB9gCZjaMp6IQ53SCPnYE5z7atGuMeCuKvou6WE3sU-5b2CUQG0C6bii9DJsGXHSsaDtZQx0lG1QqwNuq7UFqgoJF84MriHE6ZGYlPYP6U/s320/Halloween+kids.jpg" /></a>(Notice my lovely costume!)<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709823384977677586" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh09ybkX2Q-G3sH-I1B22y3TvVKhTX2B3tg1dfvSP1vUr1JgitJb7md1zF14efFT7iRQsa9tMZ-ZfYWeHgPpwSnT6OJcUN0PuZSY1-RHet6Iqy3n2jYW_RywrXwaVoBQFWL6EDC3_NIiNPm/s320/Halloween+family.jpg" /></div><br /><br /><br /><div>And our last family pictures of the year!</div><br /><br /><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 239px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709825091421545218" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-AkrZzxa0Kz44buTRxnL9ShHSJZg4KBqhzawAKzrtgJyxozATDgrDnFSsM5uNNDzA4PkHbD77EnyX7rnf1vHHnpiisa1li_f8-KbmxaT14M851mTk8w6BlJwilsyPNBTQu7DPGwuBJz1p/s320/Family+Christmas+2.jpg" /> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhntOLTJmdoH63VQZV8R2ztBePAC0H7Wc0PzNWG0LUUDS391hGtKnuJAGr7iPQb7ZeuDzCH-AOuvMZegybEtgacOdsvX2kxmH-J7FgiZ9frdf5h4BF_VNA0k8C8lgb7-Es78k3psmUiZm4O/s1600/Family+Christmas.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709825083630261410" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhntOLTJmdoH63VQZV8R2ztBePAC0H7Wc0PzNWG0LUUDS391hGtKnuJAGr7iPQb7ZeuDzCH-AOuvMZegybEtgacOdsvX2kxmH-J7FgiZ9frdf5h4BF_VNA0k8C8lgb7-Es78k3psmUiZm4O/s320/Family+Christmas.jpg" /></a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376800609919338088noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405140914925359317.post-29798472055437830232010-11-20T15:22:00.007-07:002010-11-21T21:34:28.481-07:00Give Thanks in All ThingsI've debated whether or not to post this, and how much to say. But I feel that part of the grieving process is me sorting through my thoughts and feelings and getting them written down. Skip the details if it's too much. And know that this is more for me than anything.<br /><br />It's been quite the whirlwind of a week. Probably the scariest experience of my life. I miscarried on Wednesday morning. I was 14 weeks. It was my first miscarriage and has obviously been rough. I didn't have much time to prepare, even though I spotted early on in this pregnancy for several weeks. Once I stopped (it's been over a month of no signs of problems) and hearing and seeing the baby's heartbeat, and moving into the 2<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">nd</span> trimester, I figured I was out of danger.<br /><br />I was getting ready to go to yoga on Tuesday night and discovered some brown spotting around 8pm. I was concerned, but not too worried. But as the evening went on I realized I'd been cramping that evening. Went to bed and woke up at 1am because the cramping was painful. Really worried as it seemed to come in intervals too. Didn't see any blood, in fact I'd stopped spotting. Went back to sleep until 2am when it was so painful I couldn't sleep. Still no more bleeding. But called the midwife on call and as I was talking to her, I started bleeding. Rushed to the bathroom and miscarried right away. It came so fast, I really didn't feel prepared.<br />After about 1/2 hour I realized it wasn't stopping. I fell on the floor close to passing out, and called to Vince to get my mom here fast. They helped me to the car and I spent the next 20 minutes with the A/C blowing on me trying not to black out.<br /><br />I about passed out again in the ER. They pumped me full of fluids and I <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">stabilized</span>. They tried to see how much placenta was still in, did an ultrasound, and found some left. The bleeding had slowed down at that point, but then around 4:30 I started cramping a LOT. More painful than before even. Over the next hour to 90 minutes I began bleeding again. The DR suggested a D&C, but then came back upset. Because of hospital policy, I wasn't an emergency case so they had to wait for the OR staff to come in at 7 to do the procedure. But by 7:00 I was crashing again. Willed myself to not go unconscious. I think my <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">BP</span> was around 40/19 at this point. They again pumped me with fluids and put me on oxygen till I could <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">stabilize</span>. But because they'd had to wait to get me to the OR for the procedure, I lost a lot of blood. My <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">hemocrit</span> levels went from 36 when I came in to 18.5 when I came out of surgery. I'd lost 1/2 my blood. They ended up doing a transfusion, and I had to be admitted for several hours. Levels looked better by later in the afternoon and I went home around 3:00.<br /><br />I've been trying to process the fact that I could have bled to death, and that I lost my sweet baby. Experiencing the miscarriage at home was enough of a trauma. But I spent several days not being able to sleep well because of worry. I didn't want to have that scary experience again. And part of me had fought so hard to stay conscious that it was difficult to let it go and sleep. But the trauma of it has slowed way down, though now the grieving part has hit.<br /><br />But through all of this I have come to be so thankful. I am so very grateful to be alive. I am grateful for modern medicine. I know without medical and divine intervention, I would have bled to death. So many things could have gone much worse. I'm so glad Vince was here, as he was 5 hours away all the week before. And I was grateful this didn't happen in MT for Thanksgiving next week.<br /><br />Another great blessing I've come to appreciate is the amazing outpouring of love. I am so overwhelmed. I have loved the sweet notes, phone calls, hugs, tears, babysitting, clean bathrooms, chocolates, cupcakes, LOTS of cookies, and SO much food that has been given to us. (We really have no more room in our fridge!) I have been so amazed at all the love and concern I have felt from so many. I have seen so many other women and families who have experienced similar or worse tragedies, and have come to mourn with me as I mourn. These are examples of true Christians--true disciples of Christ. And most of all I have felt literally strengthened by many, many prayers offered in behalf of me and my family. I know that we are an eternal family. I know that the Lord feels my sorrow and I have felt the Comforter lift and sustain me through all my grief. I have been amazed also to feel such grief and such gratitude in the same moment. I am so blessed. There is much to be Thankful for.Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376800609919338088noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405140914925359317.post-76901313457237821242010-10-18T22:52:00.003-06:002010-10-18T22:55:37.583-06:00Six Little Pumpkins<img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529615973514843474" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-KG3ub4QqMFcWHdf3mPSZ6cRW5cjhpm6j1c2iu0NUMZ5VSJul9dbovCMlsmtEW1ZsRVQa5qXq_qrmgQWdLOgaUWSgRmuudMPzEB0-6eaVRKbJCAR0KKtVz1V8wc6I-aMvWYkBsl7IH6qA/s320/PumpkinFamily2.jpg" /><br /><div><div>We went to the store tonight and bought pumpkins--one for each member of the family. :0)<br /><br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529615969855495522" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOQcRWxotS3V48RuwS4l9OA0oTiovRPeT1bgg-e_bSK3-MZwPLj0t_NgCQ8XYnIUy8fNiUwDBAJVWsdyEEXu787Hfp9yiUdEivaQ3xTJThCTZVbUKa4kYyF87XL3kn5lHWBvIWF11AZRi2/s320/Pumpkin+Family.jpg" /><br />Happy Halloween!</div></div>Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376800609919338088noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405140914925359317.post-62241966199341939502010-05-18T13:22:00.010-06:002010-05-27T13:03:27.366-06:00Goodbye 20's, HELLLLOOOOO 30's!!!As soon as I found out the Ogden Marathon was going to be on my 30<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">th</span> Birthday, I just KNEW I had to run it! Ogden was my favorite race--great volunteers, well organized, beautiful course, perfect time of year! So I signed up a good 6 months in advance. Good thing too, since it filled up so quickly this year.<br /><br />I started training in the winter with a pretty good running base. But it was about mid-January, when I started running further AND trying to increase my speed all at once, that I began feeling pain in my left knee. It quickly turned from a nagging ache to a sharp, stabbing pain that forced me to stop completely. It got to the point that I couldn't run more than 2 miles without stopping. It was SO extremely frustrating. I knew my weeks were limited and that I couldn't just wait it out for several months while waiting for my knee to heal. The hardest part for me was that I felt so confused. Everyone seemed to have an <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">opinion</span> on what would help, or who to see. Rest it. Don't rest it. Ice it. Heat it. Stretch it. I was afraid to try anything because I just wasn't sure what would help and what would hurt it more.<br /><br />But I'm so blessed to have a good, loving husband who gave me some wise counsel. After complaining through tears, he gently suggested that I just do all the things I know I should be doing (staying hydrated, warming up and cooling down, stretching, icing it <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">consistently</span>, etc.) and, with a little rest, see if that would help.<br /><br />During this time, I'd also been struggling emotionally. I felt overwhelmed with my life in general. I felt that there was just way more to get done than I had the time to do. I felt so stretched, that I was doing so many things, but not doing any of them well. Not being able to run (which is such a stress-reliever for me) didn't help. It was around this same time that I was reading an article in the Ensign magazine about being Spiritually prepared. As I read, Vince's words came back to me: "Are you staying hydrated, warming up, stretching <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">consistently</span>? Are you doing those things you know will keep your knee healthy?" And I thought about how I'd been doing spiritually. The words came clear into my mind: "Are you reading your scriptures, praying, attending the Temple <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">consistently</span>? Are you doing those things you know will keep your Spirit healthy?" It was a huge moment for me. I know there is a strong connection between my physical and spiritual well-being. And I know that even though my problems with my knee didn't matter to my eternal well-being, because it mattered so much to ME now, I knew it mattered to my Heavenly Father. I knew it was important to Him because it was important to me.<br /><br />So I began stretching and drinking more water. I also began praying more fervently and consistently. I originally thought it would be ONE key event, and my knee would be "fixed." But I began to see this as a process. I realized that it probably wouldn't click and be healed, that I'd probably have to baby it and work on it all along the way, and that I would still feel it, but that it would be manageable enough that I could run.<br /><br />I had lots of thoughts of giving up. Maybe this was a sign that my body wasn't ready for a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">marathon</span> right now. Maybe it was too much too soon. But I wanted this SO much! After all, this was MY marathon! This was my birthday gift to myself.<br /><br />I've spent most of my life looking ahead to being a young, married mom. I'd always longed for the days that I'd have babies and start to raise them. I never really looked beyond that. (Who knows, maybe no one does.) I think turning 30, even though it's just a number, forced me to see beyond that. Once I get comfortable in a situation, I'm usually content to stay there. Why change if things are good? It's hard for me to step out into the unknown. Getting old seems so unknown to me!! And I know 30 isn't old. But it's made me realize that changes are ahead. And I hate change. So I wanted so much to run this as a celebration of my 30 years! Rather than mourn the loss of my youth, I wanted to celebrate what I've done, where I've been, and how I've lived!<br /><br />These were the thoughts I took with me to the starting line.<br /><br />The day started bright and early. (Well, actually DARK and early. Way too early.) I met my good friend, <a href="http://thevawdreys.blogspot.com/2010/05/enjoying-journey.html">Heidi </a>(pictured at the end in yellow) at 4:30am and we were able to load on the buses and take the long ride up to the start together. It's so fun to be in her company. She's upbeat and has a wonderful perspective on life. I love chatting with her. We huddled as close to the fires as we dared, trying to keep our muscles semi-warm. I was lucky enough to run with her for the first couple of miles, until she bolted ahead for her big finish.<br /><p>Those first miles flew by so quickly! I was trying to suck in all the beauty of every mile. It's fun to see all those runners; I wondered what each of their stories were. I wondered at the lady who had pictures of a woman and the words, "Running for Robin" on her back. I wondered at the woman who was running for Huntsman Cancer research, whose note on her back said that one year ago today she was diagnosed with cancer, and here, today, was running for her own cause. I wondered at the couple who ran (and walked) hand-in-hand for much of the race. I wondered at the couple who carried the flags all 26.2 miles. Actually, I wondered enough to ask them. This was their 10<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error">th</span> year running with the flags! How cool is that? I loved listening to the stories of the first-timers, and I tried to give them encouragement and told of my first experience, and how much I love marathons! All these helped me remember why I do this.<img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472693212624937922" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1gsu-26PUIH2GUl0Bkjuqx5MMwTxq5ampYzzcd5fZSzYBcg9em52H64DivD8__taWTDYW1OHGRMZxij2k5pGt5H3GcWk63XPHyMIWqs8Vkff864zid8-Lyn3yMk8w0CZ1bHHhj0zv4Mut/s320/Marathon2.jpg" /></p><p>I wish I could say it was all easy and enjoyable. It wasn't. Inevitably my legs got tired, then sore, then fatigued, then painful! But I love that when it got really tough, I'd see a gorgeous bird, or a sparkling lake, or get a downhill section to help kick me past the hard spots. And if there wasn't something to distract me, that's when my thoughts would turn to my parents, siblings, friends, in-laws, Vince & my kids to help me through. I knew they were cheering me on and had faith in me to see this through. It helped so much to have Vince & Rachel jog along with me at the halfway mark. It was so good to see them and help me transition to OVER halfway there! <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472693226149797170" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVSkjKpOa02N2H-aaz3rTO7qCimvi1IqLR-SGbenSVml2ETOcsdDrQIzPQ8Nz9pzcKcNV9HBf9RCOdQ78OhQksL7mn9NGYma6pvj0GoIMmf9kaRV_ar1F0jZle0LLC3ZEr4jpx3OF3_eHS/s320/Marathon3.jpg" /></p><p>I found it interesting that the hard sections came at different points for me this time than the last time I ran Ogden. It was the hardest from about miles 10-12. And then again from 14-17. But once I got to the dam, I felt great! I started to pick up speed again. The last 4 miles, though, were really rough, whereas last time I finished strong. But this time I was tired and ready to be done. I first thought that I'd at the very least, be able to break 5 hours. I missed it by 3 minutes. :( But I was okay with that, all things considered. Plus it gives me another goal to shoot for next time! <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472693207186373858" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8v1jF5W7XKbFoW-oQJljdhKVES8FuJ6N4kw-BZqEmDgXYEZa8vWOrfob_y8nrLKFNlUSTGBL9ejLYUaw0mOJ2m49Ao-DJXHUIrQDnv0aHxSxaXBNa9VBDmP3edTVKeu_VwqBkbC_e8nUp/s320/Marathon1.jpg" /></p><p>But this race was a real emotional one for me. I spent a lot of those hours and hours reflecting on how blessed my life is. I was so grateful that my prayers were answered, that my knee healed so well that I could run! I thought a lot about these last 30 years. I thought about my childhood, and how simple and fun life was then. I thought about my adolescence, and my childhood friends. I thought about getting married and how blessed I am to have found Vince. I thought about my kids and how wonderful they are and how much I need my family. And it hit me over and over again how incredibly lucky I am! I have been given so much! It has been a wonderful 30 years. And yet I still have so much more to look forward to.</p><p>When I finally reached that last long stretch to the finish line, feeling so grateful, I couldn't help but spill out all those emotions when I saw Vince, & <a href="http://lizardbreathblog.blogspot.com/">my sister</a>, & <a href="http://bradyboyznme.blogspot.com/">sisters</a>-in-<a href="http://shalonhogge.blogspot.com/">law</a> & their husbands, & my dear friend, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-error">Vanasa</span> there cheering for me! <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472693242864595858" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifSaAm5Cg47JJ_bpwO3-LzCfdt72xagWXKRml3Q0w_pLR1aT0yyklHNHPGod1MCzQSbVORZ0_P01x0gCW9ftBBBmnThTokNPx3nMgiEKB5VzcBuaxxaobSNPS9FQO7BrpDkSztnMyg_4Yb/s320/Marathon5.jpg" />And I thought of how far I'd really come getting to this point. Not just getting to this point in the race (which was a huge relief), but in getting to this point in my life. Things aren't perfect, and never will be in this life, but they are so, so good. And I am happy. <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 229px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472693539289846802" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgebWjHFmeEt96plCaXH6A_odstyV5UtBnpAYBd1kymimFBmpNQ8O3btG4k6i9t0p1yJQ7iGBOnYwiFpDp6VyG0seG75KG1-57xjBhtirUzwyF55iUUz4ZUplTrhhnwqhoP8lxTu7y-zBaw/s320/Becky&Heidi.jpg" /></p>Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376800609919338088noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405140914925359317.post-78184520702954587322010-05-13T21:42:00.002-06:002010-05-13T21:45:43.442-06:00LONG overdueIs anyone still out there? Blogging has now sadly sunk to the bottom of my priority list. But I at least wanted to let you know I'm still alive! Here's my quick update:<br /><br />After serious issues with my knee, I was considering dropping out of my race. But with lots of rest, hydrating, stretching, physical therapy, and LOTS of praying, it's healed enough that I'm going to be running the Ogden Marathon in 2 more days! It's been a long journey, but I'm happy to be able to make it. Now let's see if I can finish it!Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376800609919338088noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405140914925359317.post-11392434020618686772010-01-29T16:17:00.003-07:002010-01-29T16:30:40.348-07:00Rachel's TricksSorry, friends. I know I don't post much these days. But I wanted to do a quick little update on Baby Rachel. She'll be 8 months tomorrow, if you can believe that! Here is a short little video of her performing her new tricks. Enjoy!<br /><br /><p><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzhCB1mYZDFRoiLtHXInA66NYS9kZdbb5f0SCdm7FLn0SJL-MyD5NR0AclZChzRZExW31AQeCDKplg4rpnsOg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></p>Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376800609919338088noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405140914925359317.post-64765382727775330602009-12-23T23:15:00.002-07:002009-12-23T23:23:31.908-07:00Merry Christmas!Thanks to Vince's sister, Shalon, for taking these pictures for us. We had a fun time doing our cold little photo shoot.<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418683131925695330" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNuuhLQblZfIhR5zbZsDlXDxcdhmk9mu0uzSdzIyBJNeeJPm8sOUZUFNO0fn59CuV1nljtqgg5vktVUUqGoWwIjjibauiOXV4Gix7BvYfzaieNSORB4hOXvTQanBgL8-WoKoswMfldvArL/s320/Family+Redone.jpg" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrKoU4Skx46oLSlB5zZ4nFVGf9NYEvK99_6Iq5T1X3-vJpFveOMGpJOICIsgdA2MgiqY0d64_J17764YF1Gh5yRIrFyk4md7e0WsubwHflwDzrbPnUhHyRaONUacOodTqZ13cNTER6BVUe/s1600-h/Fam3.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418683155745315474" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrKoU4Skx46oLSlB5zZ4nFVGf9NYEvK99_6Iq5T1X3-vJpFveOMGpJOICIsgdA2MgiqY0d64_J17764YF1Gh5yRIrFyk4md7e0WsubwHflwDzrbPnUhHyRaONUacOodTqZ13cNTER6BVUe/s320/Fam3.jpg" /></a><br /><div>We got the best smile out of Evan when he found a warm pocket of air!</div><div><br /> </div><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418683144316990642" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8wsurSrSrbDrE8R0S1Y0NUrRsFc971DfKrTkP43yLr7vrcjna_ZJpRXAgEoFtJj7gutk0xM4ostgWInhl5ykVP0oN39kQuTs91N6Fv-zRzia_YSmJHgxfMf0HnC73ieq9mHxia0M_-ltW/s320/Warming+Up.jpg" /></div><div>The ONLY one of Rachel smiling, which is funny because she's such a happy baby!</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLeZIZQB3mOEOVSyUYEKIE-Mc8WyB7VzwBFzLQl1ZTez9suBst20wTn6HWCXh39OxWONTHyomyCOWkv-Gfu9A-3Muu1xrlsARis29ONzbe2q8TLlxxXsVgXhhEeaYv6rJYXdJau9fb0QBV/s1600-h/Kids+Redone.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 254px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418683138099464978" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLeZIZQB3mOEOVSyUYEKIE-Mc8WyB7VzwBFzLQl1ZTez9suBst20wTn6HWCXh39OxWONTHyomyCOWkv-Gfu9A-3Muu1xrlsARis29ONzbe2q8TLlxxXsVgXhhEeaYv6rJYXdJau9fb0QBV/s320/Kids+Redone.jpg" /></a><br /><div>And of course, by the end, we were ready to strangle each other! But we had a great time.<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHkhxXNGYPsFh7y2EyhOhYuyuJVtEsAg_CnX3_HPFtiKzm9avawp-HhhnSpP1k_rQp5YEPZ3evKoUOxD8EfeATaVgLLuqq3W92XFZ67PtQIMRgvZUMCfm8MmWbX4-SkN5_SSs38ahsN7IH/s1600-h/Crazy+One.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418683122418299522" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHkhxXNGYPsFh7y2EyhOhYuyuJVtEsAg_CnX3_HPFtiKzm9avawp-HhhnSpP1k_rQp5YEPZ3evKoUOxD8EfeATaVgLLuqq3W92XFZ67PtQIMRgvZUMCfm8MmWbX4-SkN5_SSs38ahsN7IH/s320/Crazy+One.jpg" /></a>We hope you all have a wonderful Holiday season! We love this time of year when we get to celebrate the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ! Merry Christmas!<br /><div> </div></div></div></div>Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376800609919338088noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405140914925359317.post-14604127902285001092009-11-20T12:28:00.002-07:002009-11-20T12:31:31.776-07:00Happy Birthday to ME (in 6 more months)So I gave myself an early Birthday present. I signed up today for the <a href="http://www.ogdenmarathon.com/">Ogden Marathon</a>. The best part is, it's their 10th annual Ogden Marathon on my Birthday! How fun will this be? 26.2 Here I come!Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376800609919338088noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405140914925359317.post-40094640408240810662009-11-14T17:01:00.009-07:002009-11-15T16:33:41.113-07:00Strange Things Are Happening...We've had quite a few exciting adventures around here lately! We had a lovely Halloween, complete with a fun party at the cousins' house, pumpkin carving, and a run through the cemetary at night for a Halloween 5k! It was very fun! I ran my fastest 5k since Rachel was born. (I've dubbed it my 5k PPPR, or Post-Partum Personal Record!) 30:13 is certainly not where I WANT to be, but getting there. Slowly! (Hardy-har-har!) Vince did great though. He came in at 22:20, and earned a 4th place (pink) ribbon!!<br /><br />I'll have to get more costume pictures soon, but here's the one from the 5k at least!<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404472694420260802" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOSHiWrJ8hy10a_tP21FkFsAEEpMOdldXcutKL03-bo5t9oaVI9IQjaF4qndXMHb83-TFyjbQT-Q6z5QhcMe33x_avrY6ga7TJxGzRAGeG6xlSLPIbS5aL7HXmrM9Tcmg4bFaw9Q-6n1qh/s320/Halloween+5k.jpg" />Carving pumpkins:<br />I thought this was an interesting view of our activity!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic9QH9g_WdV2R1PMfFTWmMi89x4wIKSJXvaTxpDhGbYHW2HDVpOaQo2z9wxmT6gadf1ZHEU-iXJg1YFN2Opas_z9Rju9ybC1hf1jhyOIjFHVglO8_-Xfn1cjgibvEIJTBPJYkvLMy9sA2g/s1600-h/Table+View.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404114989872898450" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic9QH9g_WdV2R1PMfFTWmMi89x4wIKSJXvaTxpDhGbYHW2HDVpOaQo2z9wxmT6gadf1ZHEU-iXJg1YFN2Opas_z9Rju9ybC1hf1jhyOIjFHVglO8_-Xfn1cjgibvEIJTBPJYkvLMy9sA2g/s320/Table+View.jpg" /></a>Pumpkin Brains!<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404114962737165970" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivm7P4I5bcKRPR0jeHIas8VOq9LeYSSTJXmQfCSzK-jNUujktAkR1hO2sjeXtFMUjsCI3tmmIcLzBYFVPdVfxJJxApKkgd14ny7ijKbW5e2aspd3Yf6rEYJg98gxi4nq9qrTzClFk4cnWt/s320/Brooke+Eww.jpg" />Evan was so grossed out when he first stuck his hand in!<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404114966633190626" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4InM9ahDE81lJhHW74usuwU5Jx-Lj257eB0WVAqYtT69hVtStHANDFQj80bXnIG5fx8-CaIwdcXcoNe_Xut8R2twN34QANOyUbrLyA7GUSVF-oGJiN-9C-OjtLO2g2cbq6wh-5N-EUUxi/s320/Evan+Eww+2.jpg" />Brooke took this picture; I love it!<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404114978417836594" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg14euKALrXqiV9rrVHyuk2NHpLcQhLnE8taYwqfjcAvohUme2yd0NNnTxoFahR0jVvFWLCTWqu9r0e0-Nvn7u0tw-E1xXL-ZEJGIJhW3yOXZ9mADnAdtA5ghauRWyIq41468ULtWcVtq3E/s320/Evan+Pumpkins.jpg" />Our pumpkin family! We all (well, except for Rachel) designed our own faces. I thought they all turned out so fun! And I love the creativity of my kids!<br /><br />From Left to Right--Rachel, Evan, Brooke, Me, & Vince!<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj34gMvWgkonFreRnSG0VZ3vHgBW5N9QIJh-MCtYr4Yk2j6bPyOVAHNl0BFr723AAu05BmPBlXijUDQLgxBhaFeQc5iNttfQa21pKCG1Y-G8zypqOAApgtZmp9hgjRcZ-UbjmLL716LT8Er/s1600-h/Pumpkin+Family.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404114980057875810" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj34gMvWgkonFreRnSG0VZ3vHgBW5N9QIJh-MCtYr4Yk2j6bPyOVAHNl0BFr723AAu05BmPBlXijUDQLgxBhaFeQc5iNttfQa21pKCG1Y-G8zypqOAApgtZmp9hgjRcZ-UbjmLL716LT8Er/s320/Pumpkin+Family.jpg" /></a> And just for fun, I wanted to show you the spooky thing my broom can do! I took pictures from different angles just so you can see--no strings attached, and I didn't alter the photo at all! (Now if I can just get it to sweep up Vince's hair...)<br /><div><div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGzFgOuqNm9m2c0LrbqsEid4HRmJ1QYuoaUWhbvY-FB1Qzd2WZKL83Q6ljIhXmV3grJbPE0R4afad8BkjYViMcgtVA9jX-Wme3QUNXZOviltlC-OVXHMRm7dfxhfkKwAJL0qx0_ulpJBYq/s1600-h/Broom+3.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 239px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404117915638712530" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGzFgOuqNm9m2c0LrbqsEid4HRmJ1QYuoaUWhbvY-FB1Qzd2WZKL83Q6ljIhXmV3grJbPE0R4afad8BkjYViMcgtVA9jX-Wme3QUNXZOviltlC-OVXHMRm7dfxhfkKwAJL0qx0_ulpJBYq/s320/Broom+3.jpg" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRWe4M6Hb2G9VHzti-E_aMdNPnFwxk9RNqeAFmvYAcodhVpXy6vOWSCd5tuMOHZH-i1Xsqe_XjikJc3z8t5PT0CzB2Hwt-s3LcEzITmVKwlGGF57A71H0XLLnXzLbsu1e_Xupr2eDhCm5Y/s1600-h/Broom+2.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 239px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404117910042371506" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRWe4M6Hb2G9VHzti-E_aMdNPnFwxk9RNqeAFmvYAcodhVpXy6vOWSCd5tuMOHZH-i1Xsqe_XjikJc3z8t5PT0CzB2Hwt-s3LcEzITmVKwlGGF57A71H0XLLnXzLbsu1e_Xupr2eDhCm5Y/s320/Broom+2.jpg" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4DmTlhhNei7_UayS6TvbbwgAEhrWmx5f3dIulyO0UWGBkoUYJZPJ63EMxNA6e_EWU3gFNIJ8JEF4yopqE6E1sIZW-i-NNLiQ073XDUZqUqNQ3UDVcwM7IbKbDm-JUfkTASlWRIvGH3l8v/s1600-h/Broom+1.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 239px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404117902173903138" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4DmTlhhNei7_UayS6TvbbwgAEhrWmx5f3dIulyO0UWGBkoUYJZPJ63EMxNA6e_EWU3gFNIJ8JEF4yopqE6E1sIZW-i-NNLiQ073XDUZqUqNQ3UDVcwM7IbKbDm-JUfkTASlWRIvGH3l8v/s320/Broom+1.jpg" /></a> And lastly, Evan. Poor kid. We went up to Vince's sister's house in ID last weekend to see their brand new (and ADORABLE) little baby. The kids were outside playing. Just before lunch Evan started bawling. He came in saying he'd been running outside, tripped (on his growing feet, apparently), and fell on the grass and hit his shoulder. I looked at it--no scratches or scrapes. Just a bump and maybe a bruise--so I THOUGHT! He cried for a while and I told him to not think about it, it'd stop hurting soon, etc. Well, about halfway through lunch I looked over at his poor, sad face and the giant alligator tears welling up in his eyes, and I realized, he's really hurting! After church the next day, I took a closer look again, and saw that the swelling was getting worse, and he still couldn't even raise his arm up. That's when I realized this was serious! So we took him to the doctor on Monday, who sent us to the hospital for x-rays. Turns out he BROKE HIS COLLAR BONE!! I felt so bad! I hate those "bad mommy" moments! But he's well and dandy now with his sling. So Evan wins the prize for the first broken bone in the family! (And hopefully it'll be the last!)</div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404117928221096290" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzOUse22gmvUELYK1w4jEQERFur-xORW0Fv43UYEv0-CgiACbZ7fB_klVd5auSDKMftpm0YIG9A-zD3XG0T4avmsJAWt9d-_voXV0w__8pKMMQxUTqswUuucreIWeovam3yEPTAKWuk2oM/s320/Evan+Sling+2.jpg" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKC_0GuL8cDX_9311DhF3SQHk3XLsUyDp9dK_iYmqLeZtIWv0jYa4ul1UGlAdi4lBDngkg7iBeOn1_1R2Jg9KVH_Q8kPYSB-ZOXwBUIXrzPgMHvgJlBPwdTC-ZmN4XlyoXBwGiUBitC6p7/s1600-h/Evan+Sling.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 239px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404117924794199986" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKC_0GuL8cDX_9311DhF3SQHk3XLsUyDp9dK_iYmqLeZtIWv0jYa4ul1UGlAdi4lBDngkg7iBeOn1_1R2Jg9KVH_Q8kPYSB-ZOXwBUIXrzPgMHvgJlBPwdTC-ZmN4XlyoXBwGiUBitC6p7/s320/Evan+Sling.jpg" /></a>Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376800609919338088noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405140914925359317.post-11304221302284707112009-11-11T21:37:00.004-07:002009-11-11T22:17:41.762-07:00Happy BabyThere are so many things to blog about! But because I'm short on time (since it's 9:45, and I'm just now posting this today) I will make this quick. But I did want to get this video on for Grammy tonight, as promised. So just a quick update on my pretty Baby!<br /><br />We tried out some rice cereal the other day. She LOVED it! I'm not sure she's ready for it on a daily basis yet, but we'll keep trying every now and then to see if her body is ready.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN09JRUCe9gBlIz_CpK8mb1TSv_BuUnYFEJotGVf9yY80Cv50AYy2wU1aRI1wbNdtlhffn65-WiIQj33295ivlx5hlBysWKclnMlN09motdfCOMExgEpMPqGoieB_skHysLcG4WyogpmHi/s1600-h/Baby+Food+3.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403074122855961026" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN09JRUCe9gBlIz_CpK8mb1TSv_BuUnYFEJotGVf9yY80Cv50AYy2wU1aRI1wbNdtlhffn65-WiIQj33295ivlx5hlBysWKclnMlN09motdfCOMExgEpMPqGoieB_skHysLcG4WyogpmHi/s320/Baby+Food+3.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj89o1E6MFU4gpPfs3mZaigsiNxftGXJ0Cg3K9DrA4Yc-SMNRo5XWvkdDyawEO35YaG25-t3W437CPwstSzvgBjgOKnTcQxKK6bCFmSMcOnivOLQ2rZt4L4NtsEbbFT46cUt5VjDqcsD4i3/s1600-h/Baby+Food+2.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403074118080363938" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj89o1E6MFU4gpPfs3mZaigsiNxftGXJ0Cg3K9DrA4Yc-SMNRo5XWvkdDyawEO35YaG25-t3W437CPwstSzvgBjgOKnTcQxKK6bCFmSMcOnivOLQ2rZt4L4NtsEbbFT46cUt5VjDqcsD4i3/s320/Baby+Food+2.jpg" /></a> Mmmm!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOZPEo-rcP2lLEMmM37xnnAcgj07opL7gOZkGMDmhRWzJ5wt6Psth60RlOLPrqkmS0zhHFEkaiSIqZ20sNsXSmscYzQKE0-jcQHOwvL96Q5CCaztkSst18r9XE6MfqVuMCWPSF9fidDJk9/s1600-h/Baby+Food+1.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403074107565137762" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOZPEo-rcP2lLEMmM37xnnAcgj07opL7gOZkGMDmhRWzJ5wt6Psth60RlOLPrqkmS0zhHFEkaiSIqZ20sNsXSmscYzQKE0-jcQHOwvL96Q5CCaztkSst18r9XE6MfqVuMCWPSF9fidDJk9/s320/Baby+Food+1.jpg" /></a> I'm also THRILLED to report that she's started sleeping through the night!! *happy dance* She goes to bed around 7:00 or so, and usually wakes up just once, around 5 or 6 am. But we've learned that Vince can get up, wrap her up, stick binky in, and she'll just go right back to sleep until 7 or 8! I'm so glad she's figured out that sleeping all night makes for a happier mama and baby! (And I have to say, I LOVE Vince for being willing to do the re-wrapping! What a good Daddy he is!)<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh68Zbvoiu494kWMJu8J4MHR0eorZhzxE_Nks1xd63YDUeMHQdgYR65ed1X02sn7zhlljkZdzeiLolWG33qw4cWP0uXh90_LOxgf_XTG5L3SkqbcTHstq6Ko3HnGfO4jzSBQE3arT1Abie1/s1600-h/Happy+Baby+2.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 239px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403074101804419282" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh68Zbvoiu494kWMJu8J4MHR0eorZhzxE_Nks1xd63YDUeMHQdgYR65ed1X02sn7zhlljkZdzeiLolWG33qw4cWP0uXh90_LOxgf_XTG5L3SkqbcTHstq6Ko3HnGfO4jzSBQE3arT1Abie1/s320/Happy+Baby+2.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCtPWGCoj19gxveCShPJ6xllPtwYiV5Va4FRARt3-dITA6IeElZ9YA-LTccOrQiHDRryqfVlQYCFSTLOEGvcRrMcQCWo5gxs7-daTASHSBE_mLtfQhbECJIqpf2Kof1seg2DbgGbNVsJFT/s1600-h/Happy+Baby+1.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 239px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403074094398159106" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCtPWGCoj19gxveCShPJ6xllPtwYiV5Va4FRARt3-dITA6IeElZ9YA-LTccOrQiHDRryqfVlQYCFSTLOEGvcRrMcQCWo5gxs7-daTASHSBE_mLtfQhbECJIqpf2Kof1seg2DbgGbNVsJFT/s320/Happy+Baby+1.jpg" /></a><br />Rachel's other new tricks: She can now roll over both ways. She loves to smack her rattles around. She loves to play with her toes. She still doesn't laugh very much, but she LOVES to GROWL! (It's very cute.) I think she should've been a bear for Halloween instead of a ladybug! She also just recently started fake "coughing" to get our attention. My favorite is her new way she expresses her love! She reaches for me when I walk by! And just the other day she very deliberately grabbed my face, leaned in, and planted a big, wet, juicy, slobbery, open-mouthed baby kiss all over my cheek! Who knew I'd melt so much while getting slobbered down my shirt??<br /><br />Here is a little video of her performing some of her new tricks. It takes her almost a minute, but she does cough and growl a little! (Oh, and um. My apologies for MY fake coughing and growling! I had no idea it would be so loud--and scary!) Enjoy!<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz08IiuAkWyHbUeHFVPUNt7fjIh4axNWrd52-zxpmKuTicsjAMdGG7ES3MhJuvgXUq2D2KbjUXjOmqhSQmqaw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376800609919338088noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405140914925359317.post-27921104834211529272009-10-08T21:44:00.004-06:002009-10-08T21:52:11.864-06:00Proof That Women Are Born This Way...A friend of mine shared this on Facebook. I watched it several times. You may have seen it, but it really makes me laugh every time! Rachel's not quite there yet. But I'm guessing it's only a matter of time...<br /><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/zRRkJ95RxIo&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/zRRkJ95RxIo&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376800609919338088noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405140914925359317.post-44862719296425543782009-09-04T16:25:00.006-06:002009-09-04T17:24:21.986-06:00Nothin' Like a Cooing Baby!<p>You'll have to indulge me a little. I know every parent thinks their child is the cutest and the sweetest. I wanted family and friends (especially those who live too far away) to get a little taste of what I get to see every single morning! So if you want to skip the 2 minute videos of me talking baby talk to Rachel, and her cooing back, I won't be offended. (But I do have to say, you'd be missing out; she is really cute!) ;0)</p><p> </p><p><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxdOWv7V4Ef4fw6t-WP5VW11QMJvPtvMPPH3Xq4Hi0E6wnCwA15RM0IQNNAASd4Ogg6MDmQpf2-hPpnHEWcMA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></p><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxpzop0iiLcFRq9lEEVes-PCluHtOfls15IH45dsub_b4IOya5dyZtvOzP53mapeYtAdV10FJSVPnfpNpzjjA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376800609919338088noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405140914925359317.post-75660130880421218632009-08-25T09:05:00.003-06:002009-08-25T13:25:58.778-06:0012 weeks. 13.1 miles.I have a lot of blogging to catch up on. Vince and I concluded that we packed a month's worth of stuff in about 1 1/2 weeks! And we're still trying to catch up on everything! But now that the kids are in school ALL DAY I'm hoping I'll have a little more time I can sneak on and post about our exciting month.<br /><br />But for now, I wanted to give you my race report. Mostly because I'm so excited that I accomplished something that for a while I was afraid might not happen!<br /><br />I had really planned on running throughout my pregnancy. I ran a few times at the beginning, and immediately noticed how tired (and slow) I was! Then the morning sickness hit, and I couldn't do much of anything, let alone run 15 miles a week! So I gave it up for a while. When I hit my 2nd trimester I started feeling much better. But I also got my appetite back and gained a lot of weight in a short amount of time! I knew I needed to get back into a better exercise routine. From then till about 35 weeks I ran as much as I could, but was still really cautious. I only got up to about 2 miles at a time. There were just so many unpleasant factors that kept me from running the way I wanted to! And the last month, I just walked for exercise, and decided to pick up running again as quickly as I could post-partum.<br /><br />So when May came around, I had the opportunity to sign up for the Hobble Creek Half Marathon. A bunch of my running friends were doing it. It wasn't until August. I was convinced my Baby would be born early like her siblings, and told myself that recovering from a baby really isn't <em>that</em> hard or take <em>that</em> long. I thought it over for about a week. At that point I was missing running so much, and I had such fond memories of running this race last year. What really convinced me was that I actually talked Vince into running it, and then I knew I couldn't let him do it on his own! So I signed up! (I had to sign up quickly because registrations are limited, and it usually fills up within about 24-48 hours!)<br /><br />And then, of course Baby was stubborn and only came 5 days early. And the woman's mind has a way of forgetting the unpleasantries of post-partum recovery! It took me longer to get back to running then I thought. And we found out my little brother was getting married the week before the race in <em>San Diego!</em> And with reunions and vacations and midnight feedings, I started to worry about how in the world I was going to have time and energy to train for this thing! And what the heck was I thinking? (Vince said the same thing too, by the way: "What the heck were you thinking?")<br /><br />But we'd paid the money, and I really wanted to get back into my old clothes. So I took it slow (very slow) and walked a lot of my long runs, but kept plugging away at the miles. I became familiar again with how my body works, and how wonderful it is to feel the sweat and the breeze on my flushed cheeks. I certainly wasn't as fully prepared as I could or should have been, but I at least knew I could finish the race.<br /><br />My goal time was under 2 hours 45 minutes (which sounds so long!) and for sure under 3 hours. I was able to meet up with my running friends in the looonnnggg potty line before the start. It was so fun to chat with them and get excited to run the next 13.1 miles. I waved them all (and kissed my Hubby) good luck at the start and headed towards the back of the pack, knowing I'd be one of the last to cross the finish line.<br /><br />The first half was wonderful! It's all down Hobble Creek Canyon, and the miles really flew by! I was feeling good and confident. My friend, Leslie, got a few pictures of me from her bike as I shuffled along. (She signed up for the race, but couldn't particpate because of a nasty foot injury from a triathlon a couple of months ago. It was so good to have her as a cheerleader, though!)<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9pjRomD3c1Qlj48mT-GwbcDa3IN86UvtryQ_8gZQ3ht2zF02h5DiiUi3OwEnC-Mc2JnnRaKdR9vpG619SWHKXSRkB2Ci-kBFKSleJJbS_RBg4TUCZSlk0kMFLAy01cEDT7ra1yXqyk2rm/s1600-h/Hobble+Creek+4.JPG"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPWwwDxDNpYUsm8Kz9VAcpgQIBSYs-HtHYL-CUNCx7_d6f3uQIMUUsffI-f3nUxRRpu8kydP7-gjBpsgLE233g9rFlnxFlRwkDzAqwU8ytavfxYZB8Y_2e2FO7YEiJUz3L1A3GcBFwZtSf/s1600-h/Hobble+Creek+5.JPG"></a><br />Around mile 9 or so, I was feeling sore, and then we started seeing the hills. I'd forgotten how hilly the last few miles were! This was the point that was the most difficult. I stopped a lot and walked many of the hills. But at the last water station at 11.5 miles, I decided I would run to the finish--no more walking. And I'm proud to say that I finished 5 minutes under my goal time at 2:40!! It was still 36 minutes slower than last year (yikes!) but I was so proud of myself for being able to go 13.1 miles just 12 weeks after having my Baby!<br /><br />Vince did an amazing job, too! I only wish I could've been there when he crossed the finish line! But he was way too speedy--1:42 in fact! Wow, is all I can say! This was his first 1/2 Marathon; he ran a full before his mission. But certainly the most distance he's done in a very long time. I asked him on the way home if he'd want to do it again next year. But we concluded that asking him just after the race is like asking a woman just after giving birth if she's ready for the next baby! We'll give him a few more weeks to let him decide! ;0)<br /><br />Here are some fun pictures taken with Heidi's amazing camera! (So amazing, in fact, that you'll have to excuse the sweaty, salty face of mine! Vince looks great, since he'd already had an hour to cool down waiting for me to finish!)<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ajgg4SOvKe5_Lkeg0jeo9joxMMKw_oIaXQWGaXe4NJJrr79WsWtQK4gPrJqH6tr6ZD_Q_oY0abEw96MERKCXS4bEnktTI374oJv5zwfdfUEZiLBsKyH8bK7KvaTJ2MHsUwdPOTd8dYpd/s1600-h/Hobble+Creek+1.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 229px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373981922066656562" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ajgg4SOvKe5_Lkeg0jeo9joxMMKw_oIaXQWGaXe4NJJrr79WsWtQK4gPrJqH6tr6ZD_Q_oY0abEw96MERKCXS4bEnktTI374oJv5zwfdfUEZiLBsKyH8bK7KvaTJ2MHsUwdPOTd8dYpd/s320/Hobble+Creek+1.JPG" /></a> Aren't we a great-looking couple? :D<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7sKdL2aoN17OtAVJTZ9JGpAp0D2YmIQdNYaiIrnpZU9oZu2pEbVobWo6GyZvgZqr1_b0dQ4BIYjl3DRGxp1hTXcnaJ5bVgImhynL9HpjfOkNq2X6G-zGwnJFh_K2EXUhrTj8zbPiVFQad/s1600-h/Hobble+Creek+2.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 234px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373981912913495858" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7sKdL2aoN17OtAVJTZ9JGpAp0D2YmIQdNYaiIrnpZU9oZu2pEbVobWo6GyZvgZqr1_b0dQ4BIYjl3DRGxp1hTXcnaJ5bVgImhynL9HpjfOkNq2X6G-zGwnJFh_K2EXUhrTj8zbPiVFQad/s320/Hobble+Creek+2.JPG" /></a> And my running pals! Vince, me, Heidi, Jamie, and Leslie<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzAg_rFS5dkPXkwBLj_7N5oD-ZoRpMbSbtJwQctkiCRnfOJubdqjVgv7-vGqEwGf99Z6T8aU8OsbfrA0gErMs8MfPlAHgtUvPvSighNEb1fm0PS4wIqUGyxPkMRdTx8Cpy6qTGQk3rLyV_/s1600-h/Hobble+Creek+3.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 205px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373981903711411458" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzAg_rFS5dkPXkwBLj_7N5oD-ZoRpMbSbtJwQctkiCRnfOJubdqjVgv7-vGqEwGf99Z6T8aU8OsbfrA0gErMs8MfPlAHgtUvPvSighNEb1fm0PS4wIqUGyxPkMRdTx8Cpy6qTGQk3rLyV_/s320/Hobble+Creek+3.JPG" /></a><br /><div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9pjRomD3c1Qlj48mT-GwbcDa3IN86UvtryQ_8gZQ3ht2zF02h5DiiUi3OwEnC-Mc2JnnRaKdR9vpG619SWHKXSRkB2Ci-kBFKSleJJbS_RBg4TUCZSlk0kMFLAy01cEDT7ra1yXqyk2rm/s1600-h/Hobble+Creek+4.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 213px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373981894262326466" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9pjRomD3c1Qlj48mT-GwbcDa3IN86UvtryQ_8gZQ3ht2zF02h5DiiUi3OwEnC-Mc2JnnRaKdR9vpG619SWHKXSRkB2Ci-kBFKSleJJbS_RBg4TUCZSlk0kMFLAy01cEDT7ra1yXqyk2rm/s320/Hobble+Creek+4.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPWwwDxDNpYUsm8Kz9VAcpgQIBSYs-HtHYL-CUNCx7_d6f3uQIMUUsffI-f3nUxRRpu8kydP7-gjBpsgLE233g9rFlnxFlRwkDzAqwU8ytavfxYZB8Y_2e2FO7YEiJUz3L1A3GcBFwZtSf/s1600-h/Hobble+Creek+5.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 213px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373981881160034386" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPWwwDxDNpYUsm8Kz9VAcpgQIBSYs-HtHYL-CUNCx7_d6f3uQIMUUsffI-f3nUxRRpu8kydP7-gjBpsgLE233g9rFlnxFlRwkDzAqwU8ytavfxYZB8Y_2e2FO7YEiJUz3L1A3GcBFwZtSf/s320/Hobble+Creek+5.JPG" /></a></div></div></div></div></div></div>Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376800609919338088noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405140914925359317.post-86862790014857171572009-08-06T18:02:00.011-06:002009-08-07T07:59:10.903-06:00Our TripWe always have so much fun every year at the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Hogge</span> Reunion. Great fun, great company, way too great food for my good! This year we decided to do something a little different. We usually go up to "The Lake" (won't give the name away--don't want anyone to know of our secret little spot) and camp there for several days. It's the prettiest lake I've ever seen. And not many people know about it, so it's usually not too crowded. But this year, we had two new little babies, and thought camping out wouldn't be quite as much fun for that reason. So through a family friend, we got access to a cabin on Bills Island! (I must admit, it was VERY nice to have a running toilet and shower! We're way too spoiled!) We played hard every day and even managed to get the kids to sleep at night! It's always fun to be with everyone.<br /><br /><br /><br />After a few days, most everyone had to head home. But we had a few extra so we went back to Montana to spend with Vince's parents. I love their home, and their wonderful hospitality!<br /><br /><br /><br />We took one day and visited the Lewis & Clark Caverns. It was a HUGE cave tour that was so amazing! I couldn't believe there was all that hidden inside a mountain. Our cave pictures aren't real great. And they do NOT do any justice to the beauty of the caves. But here they are anyway. (And sorry, I haven't had time to photo-shop out the red eyes! Spooky, huh?)<br /><br /><div><div><div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIh_WuglMOuJiBI8UCKobLPiML8eCDviLzF95T9OXZrG3tsKRoi6xjP39sJhg20LJh4qpnLl18xVpsMroCyK39NhjayR7nDshnVJfehpIpgcipvlIa2tYsx7f7NzLVNWK3Z265LQSba89f/s1600-h/Cave+3.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367006329324181266" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIh_WuglMOuJiBI8UCKobLPiML8eCDviLzF95T9OXZrG3tsKRoi6xjP39sJhg20LJh4qpnLl18xVpsMroCyK39NhjayR7nDshnVJfehpIpgcipvlIa2tYsx7f7NzLVNWK3Z265LQSba89f/s320/Cave+3.jpg" /></a> <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 239px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367006339187126834" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik237N_0Io4-M-1v9pd9RhEb_Qms8rEZ882cdm2SD9qWQb5YwOL-SzYRRfhIC6SncqnsLBch34fab5GsJqd8dkbfazit9-oVHYpHqkdXt_b-RVaHh4TRczsBscIXQOWAzTQO0rnUpfT9vZ/s320/Cave+4.jpg" /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaVJJB8snEj1rSVD5VF0T20uGOTjoTDvxZDe47iBBXxwbBxsuat736vXuP2a1b44C5HMWYMwEhgla0HthIbMbDixBDHofVDkkt0i_In_ED1ENFPKUL_tSHoLE8JZZywwYvVmaIX4805Q5E/s1600-h/Cave+2.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367005956485208706" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaVJJB8snEj1rSVD5VF0T20uGOTjoTDvxZDe47iBBXxwbBxsuat736vXuP2a1b44C5HMWYMwEhgla0HthIbMbDixBDHofVDkkt0i_In_ED1ENFPKUL_tSHoLE8JZZywwYvVmaIX4805Q5E/s320/Cave+2.jpg" /></a><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367005952051880738" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ezD4SUhB4E_pNcaPiz2hLTLIvS3SyzsdZmK5a_3xLZPU5E6neJdKsZw2urmBVz9GI4e_h7mHyDb5jXpI1CGqaV3xfbHKp-L5RfybPA46OIQAiTd0RXkBzlV6_G-nH7D8MjSdp9XBcwRi/s320/Cave+1.jpg" /><br />This was just outside the caves, looking over the Jefferson River.</div></div></div></div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglVCr4kP-6f5BjN68AvKOdoR0oVv2hwagjvkJ0PZ_sRqFTpKNxe5d-hXA9IgTP3rMWhDRKOjYmxV0IiGB78H3l8WeaoBZ7-D7asN9BjfsJmJ9g8Xqz5BXpjxJC7eUb1mjAg7JXZWxgGuZD/s1600-h/Jefferson+Fam.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367009526341161170" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglVCr4kP-6f5BjN68AvKOdoR0oVv2hwagjvkJ0PZ_sRqFTpKNxe5d-hXA9IgTP3rMWhDRKOjYmxV0IiGB78H3l8WeaoBZ7-D7asN9BjfsJmJ9g8Xqz5BXpjxJC7eUb1mjAg7JXZWxgGuZD/s320/Jefferson+Fam.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 239px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367007577918631538" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3WuqeCarcN8693-zX7tCZyKm0PbzM-W9Lwy-cd_NI7o7aQazHh-uhq1CTczG7S6_jHrvTBvdekmBOf3yOUu349QhKMUsWFXAvJoycHEuo-JLJl9J0FZsdvwIIUorcjdQVXe8MPBYbPlnN/s320/Grandpa.jpg" /> <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367017332646851634" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9UV5Glkc_Ge_FSrgiNIbPCZdBuKoRsZQjSVQ5_wQz0Q0qrpuCjVG5W1dIO99P4y4Ss7Y0yVF_JqbdaEgCb4O8UGWDWognMyDWxrDRm_B0ZKsllZqDBrA1N8iME_Gnj_23SsQ9apSSArg0/s320/Jefferson+M%26D.jpg" />We spent some time just relaxing at the in-laws. They have about 20 acres, and I love it there! We flew kites out in their field. (They always seem to have some wind!)<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367009550796979154" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4divJEpCPbzGFWQb71rhv95bf8mZ_BCKrXG-4hh4_qNYfBpK3bOhmdLH7RI63PSuu9MqJSRESm0HivdtbcVSZAkOZHf7UZfWX2lG9-sujwSfqFl_bafb7C-N2e1mSmGzlv3AS8-qj0tiT/s320/Kites.jpg" /><br />And we played croquet.<br /></div><div><div><div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDpzjEEYwAhtozovU3pd-zxQDw6SKR3eG1Tl-m8EYkp-YVg3xnYtny3-umJEqRotNzwX4oIGylOBsbDrwEkM9v1knryiEer9qeIru4RIY9eGVrk40RoIRqxvkKjAwNUGvFobHR_fcfZr_4/s1600-h/Croquet+Kids.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 239px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367006353900900786" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDpzjEEYwAhtozovU3pd-zxQDw6SKR3eG1Tl-m8EYkp-YVg3xnYtny3-umJEqRotNzwX4oIGylOBsbDrwEkM9v1knryiEer9qeIru4RIY9eGVrk40RoIRqxvkKjAwNUGvFobHR_fcfZr_4/s320/Croquet+Kids.jpg" /></a><br />Evan is so funny. We played a game of croquet, and then went off to do something else. But Evan wanted to keep playing, so he started a game with himself. "It's me against me. I'm winning and I'm losing!"<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw5fDNmQ2a0WLLg5wFWB_o_imJuec4MmavAYqJj9Ln2PzT8o2Uj-qEuCKwqVl8-CXHy1vUtzJ9WIUEOtDEBjeQLW5lb7IrBRt6K4UFFrdA_z3zn3T4_t122ByhQymU9oRDMLyQebeQwa9w/s1600-h/Coquet+Evan.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367006343073514018" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw5fDNmQ2a0WLLg5wFWB_o_imJuec4MmavAYqJj9Ln2PzT8o2Uj-qEuCKwqVl8-CXHy1vUtzJ9WIUEOtDEBjeQLW5lb7IrBRt6K4UFFrdA_z3zn3T4_t122ByhQymU9oRDMLyQebeQwa9w/s320/Coquet+Evan.jpg" /></a> Then we caught sight of this amazing cloud! It puffed up so huge!</div><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367007583212513778" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTQXaVL9vqfZNMbkj-cn27FcFlJhAl5WY1hux2eseqZb2Cl1Rb9lReNWWvUSQI_uxDyy7O0cNWpNRadYx06-l3Xm6MhhZ79FNMKml5x3X5PMOY80bWre0lGDzcZbcn2zlSeYfA6vwsIeuf/s320/Cloud.jpg" /></div><div>After a few minutes, Vince's dad told us all to stop and listen for a minute. There was a strange sound that sounded like a waterfall coming closer. It only took us a few seconds to realize what the sound was. We had about a minute before it started to look like this:</div><div><br /></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367007595672612498" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqpBizAH04PyCQl1h2_x8jI2k6PtKit8ahwbKBCrpeUK25lZwlQzad_CWinKTwR8mM8mAjApsrWbqHo41StevYxPBhpIZnMNgeJ2optnGpBXMEAcrSxOixYhwXPF3ALR_u8zuZTexn35cV/s320/Hail.jpg" /> <div>I've actually never seen hail so big! The kids thought it was great! In fact, they decided to keep one. (Is it still in your freezer, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">MMM</span>?)</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuUWI5ISqzHF2Uq7vkQGMVralBE78NVsGvVOXT1RrpEFboQxc-PK8Aqd-vKHgOT0VmSTJ4OoC7nkB-1Rx22eLeba3eIhJtO9v1yrAIyMdEpraG_5IfBfIUdnDaFUvFrYDJzSrbtG9j0KD8/s1600-h/Hail+Balls.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367007603594781234" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuUWI5ISqzHF2Uq7vkQGMVralBE78NVsGvVOXT1RrpEFboQxc-PK8Aqd-vKHgOT0VmSTJ4OoC7nkB-1Rx22eLeba3eIhJtO9v1yrAIyMdEpraG_5IfBfIUdnDaFUvFrYDJzSrbtG9j0KD8/s320/Hail+Balls.jpg" /></a>One of my favorite parts of the week was, of course, the water skiing!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdFD_83RV1RhXpSXv6PdQeYyIzN1au2PHFKw5a5UVP_TaF75PcnprBeCN54LD7nv8kLVkYaG05PfD6QkEUSjjGppRM2hpnKgG5bLFHAAWi307j5eZUhixyP6uTnO9OWdmUF2oLenBWCfm6/s1600-h/Vince+Ski.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367009548117246338" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdFD_83RV1RhXpSXv6PdQeYyIzN1au2PHFKw5a5UVP_TaF75PcnprBeCN54LD7nv8kLVkYaG05PfD6QkEUSjjGppRM2hpnKgG5bLFHAAWi307j5eZUhixyP6uTnO9OWdmUF2oLenBWCfm6/s320/Vince+Ski.jpg" /></a>I was sad, though, that my body just isn't back to normal quite yet. I got tired so easily! "Next year," I kept telling myself. Next year I'll be in better shape and can hold on longer!<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367005927693395346" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvW7m4hoOr7MGU7PabXXKN6xX1nru0cAdYCpYK_l5QZhG_v2Wr315IVCGCM4k2tq7F66Ik5MsiI9YpTSG-M6ljFd2KqcRsGC7zzDg2tjlFd5iWgnXtKSsGij0a74QdOuj5VI63-FC-b_ER/s320/Becky+Ski.jpg" /><br />Rachel slept through her first boat ride. Looks comfy in there, huh?</div></div></div></div></div><div><div><div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIXtx-9kx65hUNCBMUCYfZN0Yic6HB_B_agpokk8Ug3W9bLBokZpRc9KtNhWiDF-0HrjAH9Yd-vSpQNepMLJgLBn8dVr8cri4F3YUaJn3w1PAxf8ni_XrEYCmSTc1ZQGmdyApGGD-s_doF/s1600-h/Rachel+Boat.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 239px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367009540861592402" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIXtx-9kx65hUNCBMUCYfZN0Yic6HB_B_agpokk8Ug3W9bLBokZpRc9KtNhWiDF-0HrjAH9Yd-vSpQNepMLJgLBn8dVr8cri4F3YUaJn3w1PAxf8ni_XrEYCmSTc1ZQGmdyApGGD-s_doF/s320/Rachel+Boat.jpg" /></a>This year was especially fun because the kids got to actually ski on their own, and LOVED it! It did take a few days to coax them out onto their own skis and back behind the boat. But once they were there, we literally couldn't get them off!!<br /></div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Lis_l7wK2Ir3jdTfb_12eMh75wDarR16z_hlcu5xQvX77LaCzRvlxGpWKmstdk-N2POEocNkZO07VbD8Zg4ERm80O7fgl1Op0EM83nbCuKOYvTH1BAanf55QF2An0jJV31gR571RtpOq/s1600-h/Evan+Ski.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367006360899388754" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Lis_l7wK2Ir3jdTfb_12eMh75wDarR16z_hlcu5xQvX77LaCzRvlxGpWKmstdk-N2POEocNkZO07VbD8Zg4ERm80O7fgl1Op0EM83nbCuKOYvTH1BAanf55QF2An0jJV31gR571RtpOq/s320/Evan+Ski.jpg" /></a><br /><div><div><div><div><div><div>Brooke told us that water-skiing is her new favorite sport! She even likes it better than soccer. She even likes it better than SWIMMING!<br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367005930322464930" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8swGSnpRVD2OKRJ5gQpzN6XBEvg-FyotbJHvFHi5-uyOU578ZxjJscGESHK-9LaYwgSrvuBIUhj0S5uwqMW85xpIGF9taWGgQhvhnzXo1jJ8agPq1iNDx1n8-BNu-V7x-OGLcwXzQj7C8/s320/Brooke+Ski.jpg" /></div><div>What a show-off!</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK_93CQnonpcya6SHb46J4PyCX3TEjKaHHRfgEB_fAW-V0rpTI_5KWgUTPje3sWxJn1Jz-M91_P-SuGuZJpDckFRS5PO3CmgcXYuGdnPmAMAUZ4op9y0zzJ42zL_m_UTW9do3zVHeYbeDc/s1600-h/Brooke+Waving.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 239px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367005945377792674" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK_93CQnonpcya6SHb46J4PyCX3TEjKaHHRfgEB_fAW-V0rpTI_5KWgUTPje3sWxJn1Jz-M91_P-SuGuZJpDckFRS5PO3CmgcXYuGdnPmAMAUZ4op9y0zzJ42zL_m_UTW9do3zVHeYbeDc/s320/Brooke+Waving.jpg" /></a><br /><div>But the videos are the most fun. Hope you enjoy!<br /><div><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzrFfyot7mMg2yEaKXnzLiK6zz_ZkXVPGr7Jz8DioVgoLJwW76BQhYWABhO1DY9lTs7ElGG4RZFCLlwA-qDPA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyoKtmGf51DTSaQXkk8mYTNHs9Tmt7fiaMZ94WkGct972Y0a67dQgwNp9qJykvqaa53BPl8OipvIoQ5KJl5Gw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376800609919338088noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405140914925359317.post-29887719632151783292009-08-01T15:50:00.002-06:002009-08-01T16:20:10.149-06:00Mice-ellaneousI wish I had more time right now to post about the past few weeks, especially our fun trip to Island Park and Montana! We had a wonderful time at the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Hogge</span> Reunion this year. I'll get pictures and details up as soon as I can.<br /><br />This week has been so crazy--trying to adjust to being home again. It was full of laundry and errands. And the kids had to see good ole Dr Moody to fix some cavities. And Evan lost his very first (and 2<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">nd</span>) teeth! (Pictures to come soon.)<br /><br />Rachel went to the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">pediatrician</span> for her 2 month check-up. She now weighs in at a whopping 11 lbs 4 oz! What a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">heifer</span>! She really is darling. Fat looks so much better on babies than on adults! She's got the rolls under her chin and on her thighs. And she's got the dimples in her knees and hands. She lights up and coos and grins whenever we enter the room! She's just delightful.<br /><br />But, sadly, the worst part of the week was coming home from our 10-day trip only to discover our home had been invaded while we were away, by a family of MICE! Ugh. I HATE mice! (And I've said that sentence at least 5 dozen times this past week.)<br /><br />I stupidly left out some chocolate on the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">counter tops</span> while we were gone. Somehow (I'm guessing they climbed up our broom) the mice had gotten up and eaten the chocolates. Fortunately that was the only thing we could see that they had eaten. But we found evidence (meaning poop) that they had been all over the house. We found evidence on our counter tops, next to the fridge, under the stove, behind the stove, under the burners on our stove, all over the cupboards under our sink and where I keep my pots and pans (this especially totally grossed me out!), in our laundry room, and even in the bathtub! YUCK! I am completely horrified, and am now paranoid. Every time I walk into a room, I'm always searching. Every time I hear a rustle I'm wondering. I hate not feeling safe in my own home. And especially, I worry about my baby. I can't put her down anywhere. I'm always worried about where I put ANYTHING down! (Can't put it on the floor, the mice might get it.)<br /><br />The few good things are:<br />1. We never found evidence of the mice in any other food, even in the food storage room, which is a huge blessing. (Though, I did mourn the loss of our chocolate!)<br />2. We've already caught 4 of them--2 adults (I think) and 2 babies.<br />3. My house is now REALLY clean! (Though I do still feel like everything is dirty and contaminated. That's just my little <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">OCD</span>, I guess.)<br />4. We are so much better off than so many other people in the world.<br /><br />That last part especially struck me last night. It's been such an awful week for me--harder emotionally than I've had in a long time. I broke down a few times, just feeling so overwhelmed by it all and not safe, somehow, in my own home. But during family prayers I thanked the Lord for this home we have to live in, and it struck me how much I really SHOULD be grateful for this wonderful home. There are so many people who deal with much worse than a family of mice. I just need to keep things in perspective.<br /><br />(But if you don't mind, please say a little prayer that we'll catch all the little <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">varmints</span>!)Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376800609919338088noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405140914925359317.post-56962785996498548322009-07-14T15:14:00.004-06:002009-07-14T15:38:42.987-06:009 Years!9 years ago today, I married the most wonderful man! And even though he may not be perfect, I know he's still the perfect man for me!<br /><br />Here we are in 2000 in our engagement photo. (Boy, did we look young!!)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic7dXZl18IsQKnTbBm2UWpVSAxqqyT46Bgdt8nR4-ZPRfRpJ3434qUPWpWkvKBcBPhkUVAGvVWIEaFsSE22SalJWYHwsACV02OIiAe_0DF5j-iN8ALsXQ1SR2-D3HoAQqjYqCFe9vL4Yam/s1600-h/Wedding+Announcement+Pict.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358429198464920050" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic7dXZl18IsQKnTbBm2UWpVSAxqqyT46Bgdt8nR4-ZPRfRpJ3434qUPWpWkvKBcBPhkUVAGvVWIEaFsSE22SalJWYHwsACV02OIiAe_0DF5j-iN8ALsXQ1SR2-D3HoAQqjYqCFe9vL4Yam/s320/Wedding+Announcement+Pict.jpg" /></a><br />Brooke took this picture last summer at the same lake.<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfJqSouOXHepLMogFDhaGVUzHWRi8qatrdABevYDpD45oNZ1A2JIQimI7PeEHrwQkmboImbnKFszDtAi7Ch35ZesfC2qhqlqKcv5UToM9eA1l_OHRkiLPFrk1jZ-FDvoMNIhljmau8n1Vd/s1600-h/Camping+Trial+Lake+1.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358429194061029506" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfJqSouOXHepLMogFDhaGVUzHWRi8qatrdABevYDpD45oNZ1A2JIQimI7PeEHrwQkmboImbnKFszDtAi7Ch35ZesfC2qhqlqKcv5UToM9eA1l_OHRkiLPFrk1jZ-FDvoMNIhljmau8n1Vd/s320/Camping+Trial+Lake+1.jpg" /></a></div><div> </div><div>I love what a hard worker Vince is. I love that he does everything he can to allow me to stay home with our kids. I love the example he is to me. I love what a wonderful father he is to our children. My life is so richly blessed because he is there to help me and hold me. </div><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358431995937285810" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYHFs2Qg9QettK9XrxijX3g3OifcHNGdXksDTRmlv2uafaImODlvOiUzn6nnpwAXGmmiaS075Acks0XiHsaHkji32tm-FkZPGc9du3JPOxHVZxyvk6QkaFWZVcAL3SvdT6zloFWjdeB-PP/s320/Vince+%26+Becky_MG_5001.jpg" />I love you, Vince. Happy Anniversary!</div>Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376800609919338088noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405140914925359317.post-71356791219641798082009-07-01T16:53:00.004-06:002009-07-01T18:42:58.045-06:00The Crazy Month of June<div><embed src="http://widget-32.slide.com/widgets/slideticker.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" quality="high" scale="noscale" salign="l" wmode="transparent" flashvars="cy=bb&il=1&channel=3314649325767343410&site=widget-32.slide.com" style="width:400px;height:320px" name="flashticker" align="middle"></embed><div style="width:400px;text-align:left;"><a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=bb&at=un&id=3314649325767343410&map=1" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-32.slide.com/p1/3314649325767343410/bb_t024_v000_s0un_f00/images/xslide1.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a> <a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=bb&at=un&id=3314649325767343410&map=2" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-32.slide.com/p2/3314649325767343410/bb_t024_v000_s0un_f00/images/xslide2.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a> <a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=bb&at=un&id=3314649325767343410&map=F" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-32.slide.com/p4/3314649325767343410/bb_t024_v000_s0un_f00/images/xslide42.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a></div></div>Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376800609919338088noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405140914925359317.post-2885504777355589412009-06-30T19:38:00.008-06:002009-07-01T16:49:01.616-06:00What a month!I can't believe it's already been a whole month since little Rachel was born! And what a month it's been, too! I noticed the other day that the memory card on my camera was full. That seriously never happens. As I started scrolling through the pictures, I was amazed at how much we've done this past month! I'll post a few pictures to recap the past month, and then I'll just put the rest (well, my favs anyway) in a slideshow if you'd like to see more of what we've done. <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353617612446225746" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEabfe5o_mvs8olErxXPtceC-VI3zxs3zw0Ah3RbUBBJFBBzB81RZCFf0flGTN0DNh__QU6e_qNGowf9ak1Vz2Wcx1HMBcwBqAcAaANGkprX6cho954H_PDyVssIvrFvlxC_6ftQzu0TOJ/s320/Blessing+1.jpg" /><br /><div><div>We brought little Rachel home on the 1st of June. She wasn't too keen on her new carseat. (And still isn't, come to think of it.) That week was full of firsts--first ride home, first (sleepless) night home, first bath, first time to meet Grandmas and Grandpas, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins! </div><br /><div>Brooke had her Birthday on Friday the 5th. Her special 8th Birthday! (I still can't believe she's 8 already!) It was pretty low-key, unfortunately. I would have loved to have a grand party, but under the circumstances, it just didn't happen this year. But she got presents and a special cake, and she was happy, and very sweet about it. </div><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353617604837434242" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYmNTVu0S-oomRgu76IBUdEfulv5LwKsOSIae6P35WPLjra5aKQwbki0jJMZ0M7yfQe2qeSHoo-cG8FFWztz_sh9PPigPLIp8V5-tMK-6fzggArjbIbnIBQ699xRu8o1JksUbanDsW4mO6/s320/Bday+1.jpg" /></div><div>I wavered back and forth, but finally decided we'd go ahead and do Brooke's Baptism on Saturday, June 6th. She was so excited, and I hated to have her wait. Looking back, I'm still not sure it was the best thing, but I'm still glad we did it. What an amazing experience to see your child making such important, righteous decisions! It was a very sweet moment. I remember one of my Mom's favorite scriptures is "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." I see now why it's such a wonderful thing to see your children making wise choices! I'm so blessed!</div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 239px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353617596490114866" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQVvUWnPKHaExnyk9W1l7bQ-1SfCJaszomCzmAeANznR5eqgejo9nEWgt6IwFqe2GCkf_bjkkg4NpndjqOOm0r__H_LPdM-Nm8kO8jG7Hs2i6XnK3B-Uk1fU12Ani2NiXG4nBhQby4UO2o/s320/Baptism2.jpg" /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8E11Zc6H8817h_7-adO7n_J7mNh9TFt-ye3cDZ8ViLk3SQ8-mTPbJ6SShFvmqmNenm0PQG2TuC3jBYg7L6M37BS3pBZSoKo2pMBfbIvCR5-lulTE7Ezd-TfyJwRDW9SY4Q5gKqDnRij_6/s1600-h/Brooke+Evan+2.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353617625951618242" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8E11Zc6H8817h_7-adO7n_J7mNh9TFt-ye3cDZ8ViLk3SQ8-mTPbJ6SShFvmqmNenm0PQG2TuC3jBYg7L6M37BS3pBZSoKo2pMBfbIvCR5-lulTE7Ezd-TfyJwRDW9SY4Q5gKqDnRij_6/s320/Brooke+Evan+2.jpg" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwuYzW4JA9gozeVYm0FAi727ej-ML_fJ49NAT8NVGahMtjLJ_OVydSxPY8RRk6YrQXenvgXBfxkdFgN2nfW-i0atnu00PWKg_PztbQFRGSsV3S0Sa4BEa_dQKg2PVzp8dwkbGq-2NEvN77/s1600-h/Brooke+4.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353617616868173282" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwuYzW4JA9gozeVYm0FAi727ej-ML_fJ49NAT8NVGahMtjLJ_OVydSxPY8RRk6YrQXenvgXBfxkdFgN2nfW-i0atnu00PWKg_PztbQFRGSsV3S0Sa4BEa_dQKg2PVzp8dwkbGq-2NEvN77/s320/Brooke+4.jpg" /></a><br /><div>We also decided to bless Rachel that weekend as well, since family came all that way, it made more sense. But we opted to do it at the Stake Center just after Brooke's Confirmation. It was nice having it in a more private setting. Although, I'm still sad I didn't get the full chance to "show her off" to my ward friends. Selfish reason, though, I know. I have to say, both girls looked so beautiful all dressed in white!</div><br /></div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzqkz-FLIE_dY12SdCClN16UcJoXSXFNvP75j4kJHlUxOcfuPkWdfa1EfC6Q0-iuVN8DJ8Owgi6Pxu3GwdB1zG9l9150Ks6ISCUY0BSRK-_3Z3YX5cbavJ3L-y3qjzbBQtRxNpcZrrJGd-/s1600-h/GIRLS+2.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353618149853518258" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzqkz-FLIE_dY12SdCClN16UcJoXSXFNvP75j4kJHlUxOcfuPkWdfa1EfC6Q0-iuVN8DJ8Owgi6Pxu3GwdB1zG9l9150Ks6ISCUY0BSRK-_3Z3YX5cbavJ3L-y3qjzbBQtRxNpcZrrJGd-/s320/GIRLS+2.jpg" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCO3M7L_GxTm2OymjOBJsTeu2wU53PH2zDStbN5Ut3UNTtNplfsazeRw5mDtEr_7CWLsTCCY5OoQTmeonotNYqk4T6ocRokHW_7ueDiPzyBXZlF8KWhWOOW_mreTCgUL_RVebhAm9q5Fx-/s1600-h/Rachel+6.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353618169608940450" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCO3M7L_GxTm2OymjOBJsTeu2wU53PH2zDStbN5Ut3UNTtNplfsazeRw5mDtEr_7CWLsTCCY5OoQTmeonotNYqk4T6ocRokHW_7ueDiPzyBXZlF8KWhWOOW_mreTCgUL_RVebhAm9q5Fx-/s320/Rachel+6.jpg" /></a></div></div><div>We had a big family "party" at our house after the Baptism. I have a wonderful Mother and Mother-in-law who took over and put it all together for me since I was busy with a new baby. I'm so grateful for them and all my family that helped that day. It's always fun to be with family.</div><br /><div>The next week was a bit quiter. My sister, Mary, was here visiting from CO so my kids spent a lot of time at Grammy's playing with cousins, which gave me a chance to rest a lot. Then Grandma Marjorie came down from Montana. Vince ran a 5k race in our city early on Saturday morning. Then the kids had their final soccer games and got their medals. Then it was off to recitals! Whew! Another crazy-filled, tiring day. </div><br /><div></div><div>Grandma Marjorie stayed that next week to help me out. As it turned out, her helping out mostly came in the form of painting! We've been trying to scramble to finish our basement for months now, getting ready for Baby's arrival. And I was silly enough to schedule the carpet to be installed that Thursday. So we spent the next week doing all the painting for the basement! There were a few moments we all wondered if we'd reach our deadline, but we did! But only with lots of help from family! Couldn't have done it without them. And now it looks WONDERFUL!</div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353618153666307218" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3MLNULuSKvIZrG7UG_T-4Mcg0oB9JUbZs1AOkAHBAVQ9fbkHFoC6V6SKUD5K_ILBj9iVqi06XGH2rYtlQ3YCSTouzA2g2ZN6XH7Q7MBlrhb-2OGu1Xu-tl2jLtCfflAwQtxncDBAMEt57/s320/Paint+2.jpg" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7j92PUszVnWnqUwy-vTvvee52KXqHB4OgYQXpcFZ__Mofo7kEIM5s0UvXRot7kAlOkEH7bix9ED7Mo58HjFz5s8yOSxye2zPUU57yG2YQkGLwKIGeXPkUkgvZvW7GwMWdvz3yff7zddJn/s1600-h/Paint+10.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353618157152560962" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7j92PUszVnWnqUwy-vTvvee52KXqHB4OgYQXpcFZ__Mofo7kEIM5s0UvXRot7kAlOkEH7bix9ED7Mo58HjFz5s8yOSxye2zPUU57yG2YQkGLwKIGeXPkUkgvZvW7GwMWdvz3yff7zddJn/s320/Paint+10.jpg" /></a><br /><div>Grandma left on Friday morning, and decided to take Brooke and Evan back to Montana for the week. I have to say, the house was SO quiet! It gave me the chance to organize the kids' room, and move their stuff downstairs to their new rooms in the new basement. It was a nice week being able to spend with just Vince and Rachel, but I was so ready for them to come home again.</div><br /><div>Our last big adventure was last Saturday. Vince and I decided to do a fun 5k on an easy course. And I even got my Dad to do it with me! (Remember, he was in the hospital just 5 months ago recovering from open heart surgery! What an accomplishment!) Speedy Vince ran out and back in 20 minutes. I ran/walked with my Daddy and was able to cross the finish line with him in under 40. Not my best time, but one of the best 5ks I've ever done! Vince got 3rd place for the men 18-55, and my Dad got <strong>1st place</strong> in his age division! Way to go, Dad! So proud of you!<br /></div><div><div><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353618164582296770" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsichLwhBeTpq4IDSQqgFiM6d7QQ5YwlTevXPPy-lAUyKIQM77stditUoB8bNvsbbDVV6MoQS0Z1f_GkM5VWJ4KbKLLSnRnO0N9dKq0a5PhUgSiYSaSVjchrev9NGBnpm-laoMA-S2uOhc/s320/Race+7.jpg" /></div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div></div><div>So there's out month in a very loooong nutshell. Now I need another month to recover! Guess the only thing left for us to do is to take a very looooong nap!<img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353618328746023842" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJoKSRWcoVmQiEcdJYxuAh4Hzn9CIuAAR-KtKXyH_VkBECkN2hjWPvicevqnKg0KpGwhg7zbpKAXHhB1pvrBClZJcPvFs-1z01PDGH90CnOs04l52p8FLJz_wX6O8oLmfqdHdi94FBatOF/s320/Vince+Rachel+Sleep.jpg" /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376800609919338088noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405140914925359317.post-75155205016754218152009-05-30T13:33:00.008-06:002009-06-09T11:41:39.885-06:00And Four Became Five<div><div><div><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOOA-ubzUXTBDz8WiU33O-jLhALcx_zXOS0ovEmU8MBFz-t5X8BbbRdSDCTRn7uGEsSeSBdhgDPrL58hwo0ockcVy0TQkGU4SMdJCm6ySwuxgWdBOPUIHdQDvYCbAlzcSgM7K75L5S8_MS/s1600-h/Sweet+Face.jpg"></a><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345374767650590850" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAcwdXAaUgXg0s5GgqLHEFswMqASLc5GzB0ZL8lXYKO7vbAJ1u9nsa22_HJsJw7HMsWI_13QX4DJvPUCTcAq4M41Kd8gsSE2iONWoDebEC-eZUxrPGFGfoEZddCpXM7kHivdCehGH8S4wP/s320/Face+Closeup.jpg" />Well, after waiting for so long, it finally happened. And I started this post last week, but didn't seem to ever have the time to finish. Plus, I've still been mulling the experience around in my mind for the last week, and needed some time to process it in order to tell you about it. I'm like that, though. Always have to think things through for a long time. <div><div><div><div><div><div> </div></div></div><div>I will have to start at the beginning. And bear with me as I go through all the wonderful details. (Hope it doesn't gross anyone out!) I'd been feeling pretty miserable lately, especially since going in to the hospital on Sunday thinking I was in labor, and then being turned away and having to go back home babyless. Not a fun experience. By the time I made it to my appointment on Friday morning, I was so ready to be done. After talking to my midwife about my options, she asked if I wanted her to strip my membranes (even though she technically shouldn't have done it, she says, she was willing to as long as I didn't mention it to any of the other ladies in the practice). I told her YES right away! </div><div></div><br /><div><div><div>I had some mild cramping and some contracting throughout the rest of the day. But nothing really too impressive or consistent. And I'll admit, that did disappoint me. So in order to not get so discouraged by sitting around thinking about how much I wanted to go into labor, I decided to go to my little brother's High School Graduation. Maybe the baby got bored during the long ceremony, or maybe it was walking up and down the Marriot Center stairs. But I noticed on the ride home, I started having some contractions, but only every 20 minutes apart or so.</div></div></div><div></div><div>At home, I made dinner and got the kids ready for bed. All the while I kept contracting, but they were still 15 minutes apart or so, not a big deal. But I did notice that they started to get more and more impressive (meaning painful). I really wanted to stay up and walk around and make sure they didn't fizzle out once again, but Vince wisely suggested we go to sleep. If it wasn't the real thing, it would spare me the emotional drama of it all. If it WAS the real thing, laying down wouldn't stop them, and I'd at least get some rest before a long night. He is a wise man, isn't he?</div><div></div><div>I was able to sleep for a few hours, but was still aware of contracting. At about 2:00 am I couldn't sleep anymore and decided to get up and read for a while. The contractions were definitely strong now; I was finding it hard to breathe through them, and really had to concentrate now. But they were still so far apart. At about 4:00, though, I knew it was the real thing. I called the midwife on call. She said they usually like us to wait until the contractions are at least 5 or less minutes apart, but if I really wanted to come in, I could. At this point they were only about 8 minutes, but since I was already at 4 cm dilated the day before, I wanted to get to the hospital in enough time. So I called my Mom, and woke up Vince and got dressed. My Dad and Joseph got to our house to stay with Brooke and Evan, and Vince and I left for the hospital, with my Mom right behind us. Vince could tell when I was having a contraction because every few minutes I would tell him to hurry up and drive faster!</div><div></div><br /><div>By the time we got to the hospital and checked in it was about 5:15. They checked me and I was dilated to 6 1/2 cm. So I had made some progress. I decided to try laboring in the tub for a while to see if that would help with the pain. It was the perfect way to labor!! I was able to relax with each contraction instead of fighting with them. The next time they checked me I was at an 8. I was amazed that even in transition, the contractions were still only about 5 minutes or more apart. I think it really helped that I was able to take a break in between each one. Vince even got me laughing in between contractions. My mom commented on how she couldn't believe I was joking and laughing while in transition!</div><div></div><br /><div>They checked me again and I was almost fully dilated--9 cm with just a lip of cervix left. The midwife, Claudia, just told me to do what felt natural. She said to go ahead and push if I felt like I needed to push. At this point though, my water was still intact (which is why I think the contractions were so manageable). After a few more contractions, I asked Claudia if she'd break my water. This was the point that everything changed!</div><div>It took a few tries to get the bag to rupture, but once it did, I had literally about 5 seconds before the baby's head came down, and FAST! With my other children, I felt like the pushing stage was the best part. Not this time! This was by far the hardest and most difficult part. I felt like I had good control until then. But fortunately, I didn't have much time to suffer, as she moved down so quickly. It's hard to describe, but at this point I felt like I was watching myself, and hearing myself, but not quite in my body--as if I were watching from above. It was an odd feeling. But a few quick, good pushes, and at 7:40 am on May 30th (just 2 1/2 hours after arriving at the hospital!) little baby Rachel Victoria was in my arms!! It was such an amazingly incredible experience! And as funny as it seems, I remember thinking just after she was born, that I NEVER want to experience a natural birth again! But even now, just over a week later, I see it differently. I guess the mind really does forget! ;0)</div><div></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345381120797975314" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMJ8d2GCtdtb3gKloMWKrv04i0cKFlTKadyFVl_zg4sQ0aMM6hxlx1wWSWHRQWnB9p8p27nV14YGm5azX-JLRcUTZKNGEcO8vQylz1ObmrTQchXmdWHLFSnAc1tlDGeVVpZHqjEPvbq0FH/s320/Baptism+026.jpg" /><br /><div>She has really been the perfect baby! She weighed in at 7 lbs 7 oz. (which is 12 oz bigger than Evan, and over 1 1/2 lbs bigger than Brooke!) and she was 19 inches long. She has the most amazing hair of any newborn. Her hair is dark underneath, with frosted silver tips, like Brooke's hair was, but lighter even than that. Her eyebrows and lashes are light blonde, which makes me think she may be a blondie! <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345381109899945218" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg18MDIUmQ2MH8pLU19M0aiGqmuXcMg1N5gMKw7WTOn6tfd7GJiEJgigVq6Dmsl8tSlcf90qCBbPBSsLtOXOZBIuZiovagiSG1IXsXVundYmERt9lpmYzh9XySepokoPb0cutn8xlpCYtuk/s320/Baptism+004.jpg" /></div><div>She loves sucking on her fingers (or anything else that comes near her mouth) and is a great eater and a great sleeper! She fusses very little, and smiles a lot for a newborn! She even smiled at me for the first time yesterday! How clever of her!</div><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345374771130514418" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2pBTj18DxUi6C2_IBZwUnMUZBKEj4yFnPAJlP_cPb1a83_a_Idl8KKmlcgcBXytXVplpGGY1KRoe3p_9o46bNfrGSpLx998qjlfyjnoRADzE6JU-aNK4aa1wKKwu1MihVv0VZQqkA7K3f/s320/Smiling+Closeup.jpg" /><br /><div>Brooke and Evan are already smitten with their new little sister. Brooke we all knew would be a good little mama. She has been SUCH a help to me! <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345381105297223970" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-VMW22NLatK0cOz0_OQuUtqJJ5TT3v28GaMDS7Y0Z81c4nKvNQtPN2r9riTLvSpBH-Qb0sEm2eXveHBpy2V37j8IdpugBPOjBZGQYgDDqKTDzf1SWhRuHxyacvq_O9GfYQUWSjBwmiaSo/s320/Baptism+003.jpg" /></div><div>But Evan surprised me a little. He's never been much into little brand new babies. He usually doesn't want to hold them. But he walked in to see her the first time, and quickly got into an argument with Brooke about who was going to hold her first! <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345381114509084514" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigjkeztz4Aw-PPrbFs1LzDV3s0dP22yS-hfjiM-cCR8bYoqSniaCrrPtvmjgM3kwT-RzWlNWyXSo55T6ccb85WWnzwj_hJEDJZRpXeiLuuyQaxQLWFZZ__AtE7bIDJfD4s4QGL-uTqjpWH/s320/Baptism+005.jpg" />Evan loves to kiss her head and stroke her hand. He loves to get close to her when she's awake and say, "Hi, Baby Rachel. I'm your brother!" And whenever he leaves for a while and comes back home, he'll run up to her and talk in his baby voice, "Hi, Baby Rachel! I'm back home now!"</div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345374764063359378" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit4tLchS11BOf4k_LZvlAf66i8ReMtdSfBqPUqTVV4o_ptD7agaKUqvIVmg2CSeb10-y3xickm6nxeo8p6WCmrWkuBxX9CTuRu2mx1l57Mw-nk1SIE-cw9dXN-vr6iyB4V4t57w7SNNQNZ/s320/Awake+1.jpg" /><br /><div></div><div>I could go on and on. We're all in love with her. New babies just add such a special Spirit into our home. I waited so long for her. I'm so glad she's with us, and has become a part of our new family of five.<img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345381100688497650" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Nez2KFWwXGY5kpPURJzzzActecZSTEsHM531X2D6xV5u71ivQ5Zpct1muSC80ZrUXObwS_ntp0T1vIp6tQjZZ_vFZ1V5_UZP1qj9uDH5jA6b83-TNsuCQUHvu4PyDb8WC0bvC_P7VPCH/s320/Baptism+002.jpg" /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376800609919338088noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405140914925359317.post-52297394977421448582009-05-27T12:27:00.006-06:002009-05-27T14:15:04.297-06:00Kindergarten Graduation<div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div>I can't believe the school year is already over! It's amazing how fast time flies!</div><div></div><br /><div>Evan had his Kindergarten Graduation program today. It was the one last thing I was really worried about missing. So I'm so glad I was here for it! It's always fun to see the kids singing and waving and smiling at their mommies, daddies, and grammies! So here are some pictures from his program:</div><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdk2-qpK4eIzznKN47pxksCFRi3jWu-O1K83E_wlO9ohgIDMK8bNPVSX0KL-sZ0VekhuROndnJ5V-GmL4BHFu6w72UUui-sWuuroxZSmyrQ_zdf_ERaYubOQJtvORsI4fHg3-t1htoodBM/s1600-h/Evan+Waving.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340572964074396306" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 239px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdk2-qpK4eIzznKN47pxksCFRi3jWu-O1K83E_wlO9ohgIDMK8bNPVSX0KL-sZ0VekhuROndnJ5V-GmL4BHFu6w72UUui-sWuuroxZSmyrQ_zdf_ERaYubOQJtvORsI4fHg3-t1htoodBM/s320/Evan+Waving.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip0-wTgxWilZLLyIQrcPJ7q91S_hVCiDpTUWmT2FRxYqX5NajB6GGNfxTuMovp6u9Czids2CcE1gLPsZ4i4faAe-8FoWJv8mnZR2tLMO6OXEAIVrnqFBsN31_TVAl7JNy1XoKJZZmp38Vq/s1600-h/Evan+Program.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340572958845442146" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 239px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip0-wTgxWilZLLyIQrcPJ7q91S_hVCiDpTUWmT2FRxYqX5NajB6GGNfxTuMovp6u9Czids2CcE1gLPsZ4i4faAe-8FoWJv8mnZR2tLMO6OXEAIVrnqFBsN31_TVAl7JNy1XoKJZZmp38Vq/s320/Evan+Program.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Then we went back to the classroom so the kids could get their "diplomas!" Here we are with his teacher, Mrs. Bryson (whom we ALL just adore--she seriously is the greatest teacher ever)!<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJenQhw64MOCoVpJhvz53aN0kosETch94AwQzJR20ZYVYJoGkDusoUwCcb0hwU6UUm_KJ2DefCrhqZg6yyp0o-fCKQj8dMHNeQzEGt1f7xtnsCluIOZl6a7dJkU74hNTxXLRnJA66QDbkW/s1600-h/Evan+Mom+Mrs+Bryson.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340572954219187458" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 239px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJenQhw64MOCoVpJhvz53aN0kosETch94AwQzJR20ZYVYJoGkDusoUwCcb0hwU6UUm_KJ2DefCrhqZg6yyp0o-fCKQj8dMHNeQzEGt1f7xtnsCluIOZl6a7dJkU74hNTxXLRnJA66QDbkW/s320/Evan+Mom+Mrs+Bryson.jpg" border="0" /></a> Getting the diploma:<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUk7arl0c3Ovit_-Ucc5lla2VmA_Kn3Wys6exdwx3JckHZL7QrSEKs3KJvoo_2VkgsFKgjL3lfiUO7VV9QJCexJ2fiMV2GP09z868uvn-f5JsiKUDpofm7QQsKU5mpkLrCEUu0iv6GYTG2/s1600-h/Evan+Diploma.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340572621789079570" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 239px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUk7arl0c3Ovit_-Ucc5lla2VmA_Kn3Wys6exdwx3JckHZL7QrSEKs3KJvoo_2VkgsFKgjL3lfiUO7VV9QJCexJ2fiMV2GP09z868uvn-f5JsiKUDpofm7QQsKU5mpkLrCEUu0iv6GYTG2/s320/Evan+Diploma.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />With another fabulous lady, Mrs. Ferrell, our teacher's aide:<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9vFu9i37X0j30yuiJZAk7jZ5dBJVjuZBWRPwUhYyoSLUJEVuQq4x6oBg-o27ENHdsJQ02KvMSMrMNqHI-dPRu_mnzC79uS2o-ffe27jQLNYMRCKfMVNQuhdgyWc8aoYULEh3T_VGPut95/s1600-h/Evan+%26+Mrs+Ferrell.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340572619886761746" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 239px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9vFu9i37X0j30yuiJZAk7jZ5dBJVjuZBWRPwUhYyoSLUJEVuQq4x6oBg-o27ENHdsJQ02KvMSMrMNqHI-dPRu_mnzC79uS2o-ffe27jQLNYMRCKfMVNQuhdgyWc8aoYULEh3T_VGPut95/s320/Evan+%26+Mrs+Ferrell.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Mrs. Bryson:<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi01eGQdjxBkID49Ya2AYot1yXx1mEiZ8GfRYIqSo8CR-32mpgFBTNACgGU1oIj6XaRHEqMtnRLLCaIE87uFgLe8T9rNI1PwC7ypRJmJ2vwWGDPXL0SqYlCKUg98WzKvSyqzR9Ib3PU0dqZ/s1600-h/Evan+%26+Mrs+Bryson.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340572616886406562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 239px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi01eGQdjxBkID49Ya2AYot1yXx1mEiZ8GfRYIqSo8CR-32mpgFBTNACgGU1oIj6XaRHEqMtnRLLCaIE87uFgLe8T9rNI1PwC7ypRJmJ2vwWGDPXL0SqYlCKUg98WzKvSyqzR9Ib3PU0dqZ/s320/Evan+%26+Mrs+Bryson.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Happy Mama:<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_H_axASFnIS2bxduyQsId_64iO_FrqvzWz8dUK7XXWxg79xghaCccXK134Bi-rQw9OHkeZMMLZAx7IsWXs4iC22vFvNouvPlve7iRrcmbymKHEALYK784cxrrFCyKr2PxcVN5mlotQ8f_/s1600-h/Evan+%26+Mom.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340572611777429666" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 239px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_H_axASFnIS2bxduyQsId_64iO_FrqvzWz8dUK7XXWxg79xghaCccXK134Bi-rQw9OHkeZMMLZAx7IsWXs4iC22vFvNouvPlve7iRrcmbymKHEALYK784cxrrFCyKr2PxcVN5mlotQ8f_/s320/Evan+%26+Mom.jpg" border="0" /></a> And of course, Grammy!<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ1hUgl6-6wk3aJlB9dy6fOSX6g5sUISIMhBa77VEISq-9AwdoB4iAzleB6wmFfj3bhG3ARn17aysNaTUD5YYTQ4-Lu50WtsnkdPfESvttFQJXQ1Xlyw4A__GGt-fK4eDIScZrS-Qglkxp/s1600-h/Evan+%26+Grammy.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340572607480131058" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 239px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ1hUgl6-6wk3aJlB9dy6fOSX6g5sUISIMhBa77VEISq-9AwdoB4iAzleB6wmFfj3bhG3ARn17aysNaTUD5YYTQ4-Lu50WtsnkdPfESvttFQJXQ1Xlyw4A__GGt-fK4eDIScZrS-Qglkxp/s320/Evan+%26+Grammy.jpg" border="0" /></a>And this last picture is of Evan a week ago Monday, after he had a traumatic fall at school. He scraped his knee, elbow, and face up real good. But the worst part was the bloody "road rash" he got on his gums. It was bad enough we had to take a quick emergency visit to the dentist. Fortunately, we have a WONDERFUL dentist (thanks, Jo, for marrying into a great family!) and Evan didn't end up needing stitches. It's healed beautifully. But we came home from the whole ordeal, I fed him some applesauce and pudding, and he promptly crashed on the sofa. Poor kid.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340572973690959330" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 239px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_L5inceQI-nA2syWrAtqsIAQSrlTRcQCRLp0HyuZ-_iYJaG5egCF0CgLKznl8O4f1XDscw_cifxgY0xI4jxsjJW18fF89rNwcdBgKp8H2AuZecD77y32btgu80HDNB_7JgghrIZX7urU3/s320/Evan+Sleeping.jpg" border="0" />And just for fun, I found a few random pictures of my sweet boy. Enjoy taking a quick stroll through memory lane:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLU5eqOcW7TrD4oqLqTUUmdKzxLK4KYf9e7xqZ8VCRTgmIXGjquYp34DW7XAW6mVY_OMwvn1BNYN2rgzmUCUISXiZ2ucwb_OkOYMVCLffVLYLOhD9d_Zal-q30pW6MSaqfI4xOgDqT79Ij/s1600-h/f4150880.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340597842591274098" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 245px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 306px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLU5eqOcW7TrD4oqLqTUUmdKzxLK4KYf9e7xqZ8VCRTgmIXGjquYp34DW7XAW6mVY_OMwvn1BNYN2rgzmUCUISXiZ2ucwb_OkOYMVCLffVLYLOhD9d_Zal-q30pW6MSaqfI4xOgDqT79Ij/s320/f4150880.jpg" border="0" /></a> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340592123602405794" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 239px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMgwXSb9TaeyAPyVj56gNfpks0hWOE5RUg05Z3N077LwY4qYY_QPUveCTz4osaBEwGEnuR8CCfPIzVB_2Dtca2qon5motKz7b4_OnqhmYAXm5hgw9PTUsPlyGYfO0OVC-v66xmKErb7EHT/s320/f1921080.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD4mxnZ51z6XyUlGpQqY6acpayPIJloBa63gMSY5zNF1w_Fx_Gk-8l17wJtWU4Bh3vNieyEICrfwIpPYP9RQ7pMFo73gToqCNtHWGHO11S57ZqkGvvmVpKui89RmVxWZjobrspVd26-d2T/s1600-h/f2287912.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340597830022024450" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 239px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD4mxnZ51z6XyUlGpQqY6acpayPIJloBa63gMSY5zNF1w_Fx_Gk-8l17wJtWU4Bh3vNieyEICrfwIpPYP9RQ7pMFo73gToqCNtHWGHO11S57ZqkGvvmVpKui89RmVxWZjobrspVd26-d2T/s320/f2287912.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDec6LkJaFFap3I_0SZTBNBbwGUMuN-9nqiR0U5r3cSApIrBHaAqE3-85PDLZZGMkWPJcvZ1FMQFi2oghcS3Pn1gBa4wGgRlDYBC3gPVihFBUXG7BWaZFd8uIq7OjzXVfEUw7diBiW2YXZ/s1600-h/f2120504.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340597823530131170" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 245px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 306px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDec6LkJaFFap3I_0SZTBNBbwGUMuN-9nqiR0U5r3cSApIrBHaAqE3-85PDLZZGMkWPJcvZ1FMQFi2oghcS3Pn1gBa4wGgRlDYBC3gPVihFBUXG7BWaZFd8uIq7OjzXVfEUw7diBiW2YXZ/s320/f2120504.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmRqRr-wsgnPPKADqG6cM1u1sCQLo2DcJNgqLMLeC3cBHbgSx_sld_EwTf5hkXDhBwSzaOKvnnvGMi3QzourU_P3lgWH2rtZ_PwAOCN-D4pbGyvLkngex8uptmezcflrd4UDjOIg87O56u/s1600-h/f1986968.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340592131825273090" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 242px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmRqRr-wsgnPPKADqG6cM1u1sCQLo2DcJNgqLMLeC3cBHbgSx_sld_EwTf5hkXDhBwSzaOKvnnvGMi3QzourU_P3lgWH2rtZ_PwAOCN-D4pbGyvLkngex8uptmezcflrd4UDjOIg87O56u/s320/f1986968.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv6DSDZJ5PoNKYahxUdfSGNbh95ycHIDqqG9TTw1EsccrfagFIV3UiEeBpk9HnTItAAkAqPYZfUhrGrsXeKT8icTYYr4smDOT1rQP6kUX0tVMexwzsC67R9EFtCPbLf0AND4j34KbHGniq/s1600-h/f1982160.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340592130933704530" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 239px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv6DSDZJ5PoNKYahxUdfSGNbh95ycHIDqqG9TTw1EsccrfagFIV3UiEeBpk9HnTItAAkAqPYZfUhrGrsXeKT8icTYYr4smDOT1rQP6kUX0tVMexwzsC67R9EFtCPbLf0AND4j34KbHGniq/s320/f1982160.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSp00mfHKYedUnnFi3gT4mmdZ4x1vUG71nhygD_HuFh5kIm1tadA-MHFrimTMYeEUrwSSwNZtANEMPo9PVNNolJ0YX2joMaLSoyDPLTOyNhDrBg270XQtXgdyBvkebfsHSPxO_PHEMqTzO/s1600-h/f1852248.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340592121576581618" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSp00mfHKYedUnnFi3gT4mmdZ4x1vUG71nhygD_HuFh5kIm1tadA-MHFrimTMYeEUrwSSwNZtANEMPo9PVNNolJ0YX2joMaLSoyDPLTOyNhDrBg270XQtXgdyBvkebfsHSPxO_PHEMqTzO/s320/f1852248.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340592138772019762" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 239px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6cxIV-1g3hUVkW9HkmXia_qD5g3qXcJyDV4UOTuXE8FYQYZcgzlbTISFL2yKBz-WcQJuqFMl59PLLhpIHAJIzj2Ea_B-TkURdw2bDkMUZTxuMWaA3i-CfXev5YGumg0CgO0sp_OMBrDe-/s320/f2019416.jpg" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340597841066419650" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 239px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqF1FwzcAXvvoLMDoxLjOmH8sJRYxvvp6griu0Q0agofbuM3a4IZKxcnas66QHY6y1btLpLOwmiHjTGBUwPD-19dMpD1r5k1eOSlSf7TLpaVmfUN5zBbCg3M8dGZpJDHensUroXKTkk0mf/s320/f6108160.jpg" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340597827822002866" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 239px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSU_lR4CN-K_8F3At9Bf4IhIqN6ApDNVaI-cKKbee4CQ1EvxDUXFo8OCyOo1rU6dZwRGQHEKfJTRxJpVmo-l5EmYDl1Hp0M2uYWUJlGyBwMq_bdLPm3DN_NGtj_J0xwZwMYuS548h01Ouy/s320/f2195976.jpg" border="0" /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br />I can't believe how fast you grow up! It certainly goes by way too quickly.Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376800609919338088noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405140914925359317.post-87028235039062380312009-05-25T10:40:00.003-06:002009-05-25T16:27:33.480-06:00Eviction Notice<p>As some of you are aware, we had quite the exciting day yesterday. I wish the day had ended as exciting as it began, but I'm SLOWLY figuring out that I have absolutely no control over anything in this pregnancy, and I have a very stubborn, very comfortable baby in my womb.</p><p>I woke up at about 2:30 Sunday morning with some contractions, which is not at all uncommon lately. But after a while of it continuing, (and because I have this NASTY cold and couldn't breathe lying down and was keeping Vince awake from my coughing) I couldn't sleep so I got up and read (and timed them) for a couple of hours. Then I got sleepy again so I laid back down. I slept okay until about 7:00, but not very soundly, as I was aware of nearly every contraction that kept coming throughout the rest of the night.</p><p>I awoke wondering if this was the real thing, but not wanting to get my hopes up. This time just seemed different, though. I had a bit of show, which seemed impressive, so I was thinking this really was it! I called my mom to update her, showered, waited to see if the contractions would change, still trying to decide if we go to church or to the hospital. About 9:30, things REALLY started to move! They became definitely more intense, longer, closer together. At that point, I knew those were all the signs to watch for. So we made arrangements for the kids to attend church with our wonderful neighbor, Marie, shipped them off, and started the 30 minute trek to Labor & Delivery!</p><p>By the time I got in the car, the contractions were 4-5 minutes apart, and at that point I had to stop and breathe through each one. Every contraction made me more excited as I knew we were having a baby today!</p><p>We got to the hospital and they hooked me all up, and started the list of questions while monitoring the contractions. They didn't seem as impressive, but that was okay. I had realized everytime I change positions they slow down for 15 minutes or so, and then pick up again. But after being monitored for an hour, they got to be good contractions again, but only about 7 minutes apart. They told me to go walk around L&D for a while to see if things got going again. At this point, I was 4 cm and 90%, so I'd made some progress from my appointment on Friday. </p><p>Vince and I walked and walked around and around the halls for a good hour. And I noticed the contractions got steadily closer together, but not as strong. And they peaked faster. So I was either having strong contractions that were far apart, or wimpy ones close together. But not both. They checked me once more after walking, and I'd basically made no change! So, they had to send me home! I was so incredibly disappointed! After weeks and weeks of "false labor" I finally felt like I was going somewhere. But apparently I couldn't tell the difference between the real thing and the fake stuff. Throughout the rest of the day, the contractions faded away. They were still pretty intense, but very sporadic. A few an hour at best. So, I guess that wasn't it. No baby yet. And for those of you who were anxious and excited along with me when I didn't show up at church yesterday, please spread the word that no, I did not really have my baby yet. I feel defeated again each time I have to answer that question. ;0)</p><p>Which brings me to the decision that I need some drastic action at this point. I've decided to issue my Baby an Eviction Notice. (I wish I could take credit for this one, but I can't. Someone else came up with it and posted it on my birth board. But I thought after yesterday, I should post one too. And it helps me at least <em>try</em> to keep some humor in my bleak situation!) So, Baby. You have been warned:</p><p><em><span style="color:#990000;">"Dear Baby, I am hereby issuing a notice of eviction. Please gather your belongings and promptly vacate the premises. You are being evicted due to breech of contract and destruction of private property. Expansions only to the front of the property were discussed. Not only have these limits been exceeded but expansion to the back were also made! Remodeling and gutting of the home were never approved. And due to property damage there are now several leaks in the upper and lower levels of the home. In addition the land lord has received numerous complaints of night time disturbances. Thank you for your cooperation--now get out!</span></em></p><p><em><span style="color:#990000;">Love Mommy"</span></em></p>Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376800609919338088noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405140914925359317.post-28587563682990685752009-05-15T16:30:00.001-06:002009-05-15T16:32:20.672-06:00Waiting for BabyJust wanted to update you all on the baby status, since it's been a while! I had my 37 week appointment this morning. Which means I'm now officially considered "full term" and they wouldn't do anything to stop labor if it happens now. (And if you don't want the nitty-gritty details, just skip on to the next paragraph!) I was checked and am about the same as last week--I'm dilated to 3 cm and am about 80% effaced. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336180556526819938" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 239px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguQ7o9ge1FGnwlWQSBiwFYNvwuLVbTFKIGdsTHUbUOMFVyNiFU7fx8u_et9RaJP5daKpsZTwLBVOB2Q-UROhiOxhLJ6FsmuFy6StS4ghMxhtlvKy3tWJjvHfaabU1Wz6Z2OOkqrGP0SMDI/s320/Belly+Pics+007.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div>So things are moving, but still a lot of progress to be made. I'm now, fortunately, past that "Oh, I hope the baby doesn't come yet because I want her to be perfectly healthy" phase, and now on to the "Oh, I am so uncomfortable and I just want to have this baby here in my arms and not kickin' my ribs!" phase. I feel like this is the part in the marathon where I get to count how many miles I have left, instead of how many I've come. The finish line is somewhere around the corner (or next few corners) and I can't quite see it yet. But I can hear and feel the crowd getting more and more excited as I get closer! (Sorry for the marathon analogy. But the Ogden Marathon--my favorite--is tomorrow, and I've been thinking about it all day! Good luck, my running friends! ;0) </div><div> </div><div>I also feel like I'm pretty ready to have her come. I installed the carseat in our backseat (which suddenly feels SO squished back there)! And washed all the 0-3 months pink, frilly things that have been stored away for SO long. I've cleaned the house (which mostly was because we had an appraiser come yesterday for our refinance, and I wanted it to at least be de-cluttered) and even cleaned out my closet! Yeah, Vince was shocked too! I think the only thing I'm still worried about having enough time to do is reading up on labor techniques. But somehow, I wonder if I'll ever be fully prepared for labor at this point.<br /></div><div>So if you have any last-minute advice for an anxiously-awaiting mama, I'd love to hear it! And of course, I'll keep you posted...!!</div>Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376800609919338088noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405140914925359317.post-24255404837294100482009-05-15T15:57:00.003-06:002009-05-15T16:14:44.321-06:00Evan's Birthday<div><div><div><div><div><div>Umm. Evan had his 6th Birthday at the end of last month. So yeah, I'm slow (as always). But, especially for certain Aunties who have complained to me that I'm slow at sharing pictures, I thought I'd share these for your enjoyment! So enjoy!</div><div> </div><div>Opening presents that morning before school, since Dad had to go out of town that day for work. (Notice Evan's slick hair!)</div><div><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336174599768953170" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 239px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEn1DvVq0fxMccLl8DYLK44AWUqYj6HG7Y48HAQJLgRyf1hjaT8V8bC-3wDxl9kOZHvjLul-e81jNF5SEdLn0fPSZP_-V9VzJmxEnikYdkdixWKhEpbLByUmY86974M1czOGaREUFJZHB0/s320/Evan's+Birthday+116.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336174603619876562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 239px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsJ98vEoCfjKV5zQ2IqOpcHpqv3BC8DFg-MHe11XjquxYOMPLVXI6qfE3-gUjiiCCPytQvfA5qElCG0HfGX5XQ2E5afAwoQe9iMG5WlktSaw2JGMJ4ZOjUhTGO2v4e8LdYvc53XxRBAtgB/s320/Evan's+Birthday+117.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336174609038108818" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 239px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM0Yt_Tm0bLjgo6oWekjIYe8mdjSiWCUXNhp6llx1Fd7R9QzAApm0GLU6bYeS-Z170qLBI_0YuChK7NTcgll8ursCCq4m-mwQmtelNxaketTGv4_cyE0slSnd5RwWnz6L2AG_UXGbJcno_/s320/Evan's+Birthday+121.jpg" border="0" />Showing Dad his new Lego Star Wars toy! (Which amazingly Evan put together all on his own, using the instruction sheet. I was floored. I don't know that I could've done it! So, do you think we have a future engineer on our hands??) <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336174605694983586" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 239px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoEq6oI-9jDVidkI-YKS6I0qk7oU6RdHdSF1igKHpoGMD1r4P_WIjRgyOi4ueeTsMZd0Fd2DgTvi2N7XU1sOpy_PaovKFRVTj8b9Ahk6SNO4pCrz0bN2uEXZd5cysIODtBSf7ufG2WhBqM/s320/Evan's+Birthday+123.jpg" border="0" /></div><div>We went to Grammy and Opa's for dinner and cake that evening, since Dad was gone. It was fun sharing his special day with special grandparents! This is Grammy's present for Evan! I think he likes it, Grammy!</div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336174611639764066" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 239px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4h8imr7vs-yKWPqjI8ysc3eEPSKgerp1wzl5i-J5AdmK0xJSffukQoYyq407TWhqq1-cAv3UDTdqI3oRi4HhZ-UPwNlXDaXDxwavJ_qtK-Cf03GeHuv-2WrJ9dOayVYpTl-pQwQ2PD9kM/s320/Evan's+Birthday+126.jpg" border="0" /> <div>The funny thing about Evan's cake was that he decided he wanted a "Death Star" cake. Again, if you know anything about Evan, you know that he is obsessed with Star Wars. So I thought a while about how to do a Death Star cake. Fortunately, Evan wore his Star Wars shirt that day. So I kind of used the picture on his shirt to come up with my own variation of a Death Star. You really have to know what it is to have it make any sense. I know if I didn't explain what it really was, you would probably all be wondering why in Heaven's name his cake looks so odd. Now you know!</div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336175069488477074" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 239px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj106MTC3ZSJWW-kq3S227B9CDrVk8ea2QTM_48pSeUPIfMy98wq3ZKf1WMv_GeCGPU8L5i9Q9bWawsL3eGo_Mjkyl8pmuzxcf4aFvnq4ngoFxPYCg7BPuCYcv-cg053FRcYvfueNA3Th9L/s320/Evan's+Birthday+129.jpg" border="0" /> <div> </div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336175075828872994" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 239px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDP1mDJZmxLWKXYsdQl9TOfwyrNW5JIfFLEvmG6k9lMYBF0S64ItPnywR03WgpC_JpS1fRB3KHWfmE2lUINiDTuGofVnRbEAHIOck454F33ALgIdGURkpySuqTKMa2PM9omiquSAgfxJqJ/s320/Evan's+Birthday+131.jpg" border="0" /><br />I love this face! This is his typical "cheese" grin he gives when he know he has to have his picture taken, but doesn't really want to! So very Evan!<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336175097527809970" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 239px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimCOKtO_Ia0ZNnUnfn8h0pmif7SQhrUJrWjN2Orj5VKHx-7GrtyOrUrXQvIlhPRn8IuRf7ETAExmOC50IBprVqr6zHPPqFN4u_B4cGbiCSDt87k3FisiQ6N0E3yOip3b7XekT8wTwCnLV5/s320/Evan's+Birthday+134.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div>I can't believe he's six! Where does the time go?</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376800609919338088noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405140914925359317.post-84079310597386913462009-05-05T20:52:00.003-06:002009-05-05T21:02:56.034-06:00Real Quick...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPLIxMk6FSAGytZfOP3HbjuybBkSCSFN5mxugGj_myPuR3jOh8USOd2fVKoUVUNpQGLGbqOnvJF8wKof2WiyRUlF14ZfuBFQB-8hBB09SAXqvf-zs-U0EmP608NP5B1lv1nqkvxIaxzi_5/s1600-h/Evan's+Class+009.jpg"></a><div><div><div>Our construction projects are really coming along and taking shape. I'll have to post next about the progress in the basement. We had <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">sheetrockers</span> here all last week. They finished spraying the texture on Saturday. Now we just have trim, paint, and carpet left, as well as odds and ends to finish. Well, and putting the bathroom all together. Vince is working on tile as we speak, er, I mean, as I type! It's feeling like a whole new house!<br /><br /></div></div><div><div>But I was just so excited today that I had to post a picture of our newly finished fireplace! (Well, finished for the most part--we found out the fan is faulty, so they have to order a new one and install it, but at least the outside is finished!) And it looks so wonderful! It totally changes the entire feel of our living room! </div><div> </div><div>Voila!!</div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332538622174702434" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 239px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ZcYR664J5uLQH0Pq_Vi8yGUDVenvWWVrxf0tWjP_i1RejMrOtx9a8SqeJ8BNy9GH-yxL-1T0aORRYLSRrNEc9lw9jI74K84yMQhhm_ym1nDd79OTbLsNIuxGB8mB3D2NPne6KocMRqO5/s320/Evan's+Class+007.jpg" border="0" /></div><div> </div><div>When Vince came home from work yesterday to see the new look, I was anxiously waiting to hear him say how beautiful it was. So I asked him, "Well, what do you think?" He thought for a moment and then sadly said, "I think we have a problem." Oh, great! I just knew he saw something that I had missed, and they would have to come back to fix it again! So I waited for him to finish his statement, and laughed myself silly when he said, "Now our couches look really bad in here!" Well, Honey, they are about as old as you! ;0) </div></div></div>Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376800609919338088noreply@blogger.com6