{Merry Christmas}

Merry Christmas everyone! I can't believe that its that time again. It just seems like the years just go faster and faster. I just wanted to do a little update on the fam.

Jake is currently working at Diamond Ranch Academy. He is a youth supervisor up there. He likes it for the most part. It has its ups and downs. He is also still working for pinnacle security. He is in the process of recruiting for this next summer. So he is staying plenty busy. He was also recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. He wasn't to happy about that, but he is dealing with it, and doing fine. He is going back to school here in the spring. We will let you know when he decides on a career. :)

I am currently working at Interstate Rock. I love it there and they seem to really like me. I am just working and enjoying being a mom! Being a Mom is the hardest, most rewarding job there is. I am pretty boring for the most part right now.

Reed is the most exciting part of our family. He is growing so fast. He is WALKING now. He is doing so many new things. He eats big people food now. He refuses his baby food. He is starting to say words. Dad is his favorite. He also says dog, and will not say Mom. He waves now, gives high fives, gives big kisses and hugs, and points at everything. He is just the cutest little guy and we love him so much..

tis the season...

I just love this picture.. Reed just loves to throw these little fits these days
he's so cute.

I think this is how I feel these days.
I just want to cry. I think the holidays are overwhelming
There is all ways something that we can't afford and trying to fit christmas presents and traveling into the budget... impossible.
sometimes I think its more stess then fun for me.

I do love Christmas though..
I love the lights
I love the music
I love remembering Christ
I love being around family
and I love the New year.
Feels like you just get to start over.

tis the season to be happy and joyous.
and that I will be..
because everything always works out.

we are a happy family!

I have been singing that primary song to Reed all day! I think I'm trying to brain wash him.. we are a happy family reed.. jk. We really are! We went out with april and jon and took some family pics, we were both over due on them so we decided that it was a good day to do it.

thank goodness we aren't in Kansas anymore...

So I got my camera back so I thought I would post some pictures from our LONG drive home! Reed had fun playing with me while I took fun pics of him!

The sun was so crazy.. Its so weird that there isn't any mountains out there.

He kept pulling funny faces! this is one of my favs!



We saw fields of these everywhere we went! So cool they are using these now. such a great resource..
He loves straws, he loves to chew on them, and never lets them go. He fell asleep with it in his hand.. :)
these are from Friday night! We had a fun little Ward halloween party.. Shanna gave us this CUTE shirt last year and it fit him PERFECT!! The little ghost lights up and everyone thought it was so cute..
Kinda blurry, but me and reed!
Our little doggy.. Reed just loves her! They play and he laughs like crazy.
and I got my hair cut. I was going to post pics forever ago. But this is what it looks like. Its kinda crazy(thats what happens when your child thinks he needs to eat it and pull it out)

there's no place like home..

We've been home now for about 4 weeks, and we are loving it!! we really did miss being home, even though we only lived there for a few weeks, but that is were all of our things live so it definetly feels like home. I decided to go back to work. I got a job at interstate rock as the receptionist. The story behind it is kinda crazy so here it is, I had applied for the job a couple days before we came home from Chicago and I really wanted it becasue it was close to our house. So I wouldn't have to comute so far. They called me that wednesday while we were staying at my parents house and said they wanted to interview me on thursday. I told them I wasn't going ot be back till Monday, and they said that they were finishing up interviews by friday. So I talked to Jake about it and I called them back thursday morning and said that I would be back by friday morning. They had me come to an interview on Friday morning and then asked me to come back to a 2nd part of the interview later that afternooon. So I met with the "boss" that afternoon, but I was the first of 4 that were the finalist for the job. So I got to freak out all weekend, and they said they would let me know either monday or tuesday. So by 4:00 pm monday I thought that I didn't get the job and they called 20 min later and offered it to me. I was SO excited. by the time I interviewed they had over 140 applications! So it was great that I actually got the job.
I love working here. They keep me busy, and its a fun laid back construction company. I get to wear normal clothes so thats a plus!
Jake also got a job. He is working over at Diamond Ranch, He is a youth supervisor. So he goes up at 3:00pm and stays till 7:00am the next morning. He gets to sleep so its not to bad of a gig. He only goes 3 days a week but there is so much over time that he makes just as much as I do working 40 hours a week during the day. So he is playing stay at home dad. Reed only goes to a little day care center for 2 hours a day and he is loving it, and they love him there! They always tell me how much fun he is when I pick him up. So cute.
So we are doing realy good.
I will post pics as soon as I get my camera back. Hopefully this weekend. :)

just couldn't resist!

This little boy is just getting to freaking cute! He loves his bath time so I thought that I would post a few cute pics. You just can't resist those cute little cheeks!

He loves the washer.. he loves to stand up on it, that is actually the first thing that he pulled himself up on..
Little monster face.. just to cute for his own good!
He loves to put his bath toys in his mouth and swim or crawl around with them. He looks like a little dog..

I thought that this blog was a little one sided..

So we decided to add some pictures of jake... :) he was starting to feel left out!



Reed Loves being outside. He will whine and cry until we go outside, and then we won't say a word the whole time we are out. He love to watch people ( he's a starer just like him mom) and he loves all the kids, so we go the park EVERYDAY just so he can watch them play. He will be so happy once he can walk. He is getting close to that too! He can stand up and walk between things, and he turns around and leans up against things, and he is turning into a terror. He loves computers, cell phones, cords, and pretty much anything that he isn't suppose to have. He doesn't really care for all of the millions of toys I brought him, but what can you do..
He loves the slide!
This is Reeds favorite book. Well i would have to say page. He love the fluffy tummy on the kitty. Yes my son loves kitten books, and his favorite toy is a butterfly..


Lookin' handsome like his daddy!

always very concerned...

Oh! and Jake and I made the BEST dinner the other night! We had orange chicken (like from panda express) You can buy the orange sauce here, and we made our own chicken and it was pretty freaking close the real thing.(maybe better) so yummy!

Reed don't eat the sand.. its yucky..

but he doesn't listen...Reed and I got to go over to the TY warner park (you know that people that make beanie babies) and it was really fun, Sara took us over there, and made us a little picnic and we played for a long time! We had so much fun. Reed loved swinging the the SAND and he went down the little slides.. with help of course... but he loved it! then we were hot, so we came back and went swimming. It was so cute because of all the activities he fell asleep in the stroller on the way home and let me change him and put him in his car seat and go the costco with out even waking up. It was so cute..

So WE are in CHICAGO! We made it here 2 weeks ago now. I think.. anyways, we all packed up in the car to the tippy top! Plus we had to put a few things on the top. The best part is that our car doesn't have a rack. So we just strapped everything down with bungie cords. We looked awesome! Just like a crazy little family with a stroller and saucer on top. Reed was stuffed in a little corner of the car. We called it his little bat cave. It was just a 8 hour drive to chicago, so not to bad. Besides that we haven't been doing to much. Reed and I just hang out and go the park across the street. Its a really nice park, it has a splash pad, and the ground is all squishy. Reed loves the swings! (well that pretty much all he do (:

But a few weeks ago me and Reed got to go with Celeste and her mom Chantel to Palmyra New york. It was so great! We got to go to the sacred grove, and all the sights around there. We also got to go to the Palmyra Pageant, which if you have been to the Manti pageant its really good, but Palmyra was so AMAZING! I expected it to be kinda boring ( like the manti pageant (no offense manti) but it wasn't it was all about the book of Mormon- it was full of battles, and action and they had tons of special effects! so cool!!!
Then we got to stop and literally run to and see Niagara falls! The whole trip was awesome, and I had so much fun with Celeste and Chantel! Thanks Guys for letting us tag along!!!

Sacred Grove- it was so peaceful and you could definitely fell the spirit, it reminded me of being in the temple.

the AWESOME Pageant!!
The temple

Sacred grove again, it was so peaceful Reed fell asleep.
The Falls




These are in Chicago, I am his new Jungle Gym! He has just learned to pull himself up on stuff so he climbs on everything!
He's decided he wants to crawl like this, i think his knees are getting sore.
So fun, he is just a fun loving happy kid!
Little lady bug, was crawling all over him!
me and reed just shooting the breeze..