Almost Christmas

Christmas is this week! I think I am almost more excited than those two handsome fellas, but I thought I would post a little about what we've been up to. We put our tree up right before Thanksgiving-me thinking it would help us to be able to relax and enjoy the season more. Well, it's been busy and full of lots of things. We've gone to Christmas parties and made treats and crafts and read lots of Christmas books. One of Jaydon's new nightly rituals before falling asleep is to read If you Take a Mouse to the Movies and Charlie Brown Christmas. If I try to put him to bed without reading those, he won't. We've tried on late nights and realized it's better to just read 2 books then not. We had Santa come to our ward Christmas party. It was cute in line because Jaydon kept trying to see over people and find Santa, but then we got up there and he wouldn't look up at him. But he did say a few items on his wishlist under his breath! Hope Santa heard him, he keeps talking about those things!



I've been busy making these Christmas trees out of 2x4's. I got the idea after making a pumpkin trio for a Thankgiving decoration-kind of the same idea, from my sister-in-law. I think I cut out 40+ trees this year, some for me, my mother-in-law, and my sister. I made them for visiting teaching and a few other people and me! They are fun to do and so easy! It was a fun Christmas project!


I was so proud of my chicken pot pie. It is fun to bake in the winter and heat up the house. I've tried to make minimal treats this year, but it's been fun to try and make a few dinners. I need to get better at having dinner ready!

We got a lot of snow right around Thanksgiving and then just a bit on and off since. At the moment we have snow on the ground, but it rains and melts and snows a little. Jason went out to shovel and Jaydon insisted on going too. I thought it was too cold and windy, but I got him ready anyways. I think I heard the door bell about 5 mins. later. He was ready to come in!

Hope everybody has a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year! It is going to come quick, so let's all take time to enjoy it!

Catch UP

I thought I better do this before Thanksgiving comes and goes. We did some fun stuff for Halloween and Jaydon was getting into it this year, making it really fun! My mom had her Grandma Halloween party again a few weeks before and so we drove up for the day with my sister and neice. It was fun to go and I was impressed with Jaydon wearing the custume the whole time. This frog custume drowned him last year so we thought it was be great for this year being a 3T, but it was a little snug...oh well! The cousins all played games and then we had a fun festive dinner. At the end, my mom did a scavenger hunt with little prizes at the end. I told Jaydon to smile for me when he got his and he kept putting it on his head? I don't know...
We also went to the Pumpkin Walk and Jaydon was most excited about being able to ride the bus. The actual pupkin watch was really fun too and he liked it through out the whole thing, but at the end they had a scene with the Lion King and then Up! right next to it. He's really been into The Lion King lately and his all-time favorite is the grandpa movie, SO...we lucked out this year! We even went back the next day with some of our cousins and he still had fun!
We had a FHE at our house with some of Jason's family so we decided to make sugar cookies for everyone. Jaydon loves to cook and helps out a lot. He and daddy were designing awesome bats and witches hats. I was just going to do round pumpkins so it was fun to have some help!
We also ended up carving our pumpkins (well, Jason did most of it). Jaydon was interested in what we were doing and helped me pick out the designs. When we lit them up, he was a little confused, but having them on the porch for the trick-or-treaters was fun!
I hate to post so much at a time, but there's always so much going on...we had a fun month and getting ready for the next round of holiday fun to start! Here's a cluster of pictures of some of the fun we had.

Mini Vacation

Well, we went on a little family trip a few weekends ago and I am not keeping up with posting very well. We had a fun time and Jaydon had a blast! We left Friday and went to Hogle Zoo, then we drove to Chucky E. Cheese for dinner. That was the part of the trip that he was most excited for. He rode on a motorized mini monster truck and that was all he talked about! That night we stayed in a hotel and went swimming which Jaydon loved too. Side story: The water was all 4-5 feet deep and he'd stand on the edge and jump into our arms. Well...Jason and I were not paying 100% attention to him and he just jumped one time...me in a panic hurried and reached my arms out to grab him from under water and he came up and gasped then laughed and said "Do it again mommy!" Whew! Anyhow, the next morning we woke up and headed to the Living Planet Aquarium and lunch afterwards at Zuppa's. It was fun and for the homebodies in us, it was good to come home!

Family pictures

We had some family pictures taken of us again. We did it last year at this time and wanted to try and do it yearly. Jaydon was being a little stinker...not even bribing him worked. At the last stop, I remembered some oreos I had in the car and we started getting a few tired smiles and "I'm tired of doing this" type of looks! We ended up with some good ones and appreciated Jason's sister taking them again, and his mom coming to try and get Jaydons attention in the right direction! Here are a few that we thought were keepers, and here's to 2010 family pictures...

I liked this one of Jaydon. He was looking at us all dancing and hollering at him...we must of been a funny sight!

Jessica asked him to give her 1 nice smile. With her quick finger clicking away...we got some funny faces and this smile out of him.

Jason and I had a few of ourselves while Grandma ran after Jaydon

He found some moss on this big rock and kept throwing it at Jessica. Her response was helping out BIG TIME!

This is the last stop, AKA the "oreo bribing" spot. Grandma started eating the oreos and it was funny...so he's laughing at her but getting tired of picture taking! But I liked this one that we tried to fix up with an old fashioned flair...

Thanks again to Jessica spending her night with us, we couldn't have done it without her!

Past couple of weeks

It seems like the past couple of weekends have had things going on. On September 10th and 11th my sisters and I went to Time Out for Women. I hate to say it, but I didn't really care to go, but once I went I was really glad I did. It was nice to go somewhere without the little guy. Don't get me wrong but it was nice to have a break. We got together afterwards for pizza with all of the guys and decided to meet at our house. When I got home, Jason and his dad had installed the toliet in the basement and drilled the pipe holes out of the back of our cabinet to set it in place next to the wall. We still need to get the counter top but the basement bathroom is almost done!

We also got new couches and TV for the basement family room. We ended up with a reclining red leather set and they are awesome! Our TV came the following week and we've already had some movie nights together. I found a TV cabinet I like that I need to make and some vintage Mickey Mouse prints to frame, but the basement family room is almost done as well!

On September 18th, my sister and I ran the Top of Utah 5k. We decided to sign up for it while she was living with us this summer, but I think she really signed up to give me a partner. Neither one of us are big runners, but we go out and run with each other a little bit over the summer. I was hoping to finish in 30 mins. or less so when I ran in I just kept thinking I did the best I could (because of the sun, I couldn't see what the time read). When I went over to Jason afterwards I asked if we did it, and he said yes! It was exciting and it made me into a small run-oholic doing this 1st little race. I looked for the next race I could do so now I am working for a 10k. Someday maybe the TOU Marathon, or 1/2...we'll see!

Summer is GONE!

Well, summer is almost gone and fall is fast approaching so I thought I better post. I guess I can say we've had too much fun to be indoors, especially on the computer. This summer has been too much fun as Jaydon is learning so much. Being with a two-year-old makes life so much more exciting and it's fun to see what sparks Jaydon's curiosity and to hear what he remembers from listening to people or how he interprets things. We've definitely had a good time. A few things we've done:
Jaydon had a special liking for makeup. It started by me putting him by me so he wouldn't wonder into trouble. He wanted the makeup so I gave him some eyeshadow to apply and then let him use a little shimmery lip gloss. Now he tells me he wants to look pretty. The other night before he got into the shower he said "not my face though!" That was after he saw his pretty shimmery face...uh oh, what have I gotten into?!

We try to make everyday things much more exciting. He started to make cookie-cutter sandwiches. He thinks this is too cool. And he did eat lunch really well.

We go to Mack Park at least a few times per week. He has found a new love for making "sand water" and will take a water bottle and make little concoctions of water and sand and sticks. We will go "exploring" for cook sticks or pine needles to put into his mix. It's fun. Really, it is! The 1st day we did this I really did think to myself that motherhood really is priceless. I didn't need to over think things or be stressed out over little mundane things. Life can be relaxing and wondrous.

He loves to swing on the slide. Sounds interesting, huh? Always saying "Mommy, look at me!"

We realized Jaydon's shoes were too small and went and got him two new pairs. He loved running up and down the isle trying on shoes (even Dora the Explorer girl shoes...maybe too much make-up?....)I didn't see any harm in just trying them on, right? Anyhow the next day I was doing something and walked into the kitchen to Jaydon having ALL of his shoes, big or small, all lined up. He loves to line stuff up. He was really proud of him self.

We went swimming a few times, Jaydon loves the water and the slide at the park. We have a punch pass so we were able to go and go. We went for our last time last Saturday. We'll be waiting for next year for sure!

Jaydon and I went with his cousins a few times. He loves the goggles!

We learned of Jaydon's love to cook this summer. He's mommy's little helper in the kitchen. We made sugar cookies and he wants to be a part of every step!

Sorry for the picture overload. If I'd post a little more often, then it wouldn't be this way! It is always eventful with Jaydon around, and we look forward to being able to do fun fall things with him too! We took him to Toy Story 3 Labor Day and he sat through the whole thing! He loves Woody and Buzz and hopefully that will help him along with his potty training. He does really good at going if I remind him, but you know how those two-year-old minds are....so he forgets to tell me. It's a work in progress that's for sure! Can't wait to have more memorable moments with him!

Summer stuff

Summer is flying by! Can't believe we are almost into August. We haven't had any great trips this year, but we did go up to a family reunion to Island Park/West Yellowstone. It was fun once we got there. Jason had been out of town the Monday through Friday and so driving up that Friday night, Jason picked me up at my parents and we were talking to much to notice we took the wrong way....long night, long story, BUT we did get there. Anyhow, neither Jason or myself pull out the camera much but we got a good one of Jaydon visiting the buffalo. He thought it was pretty cool, especially when they were right by our car!


This is Jaydon all during summer. With sunglasses or a hat. He loves his sunglasses and he was riding down the street with these up on his head. He's pretty funny and copies too much stuff...gotta be careful!



On our way back home, we saw this in front of us, I looked up and it was a little scary for a minute. Luckily Jason had already notice and when he saw me paniking, he laughed! Made me feel much better.

Jaydon pictures

So, here are Jaydon's 2 year pictures. They are actually a little after, but I kept putting it off, then Jaydon got a runny nose and puffy eyes on the Friday that would've worked....and so a few Fridays later we just decided to do it. He wasn't cooperating great and I tried really hard to get him to smile. He was too excited to see the tractor across the street...or the HUGE trucks...or the city bus. He points out everything when we're out, so this was no exception. But he's too cute to NOT get a good picture of anyway! What I do love is that these show off his personality, so enjoy!

Memorial Day

Here's a few pics. of Memorial Day at the park. We walk through the zoo too, but I heard a new term for it while there, The Glorified Bird Park. I think that may be a bit more fitting...but it was fun and Jaydon and Addy were too cute to pass up taking a picture of. They were trying to hold hand and walk over to the zoo entrance together. Too cute!

This picture is funny...Jaydon is looking at their hands wondering if he's got it right. And of course he's got his shades in the other hand.


Shay had her birthday that day as well. With my parents down we had a picnic at the park after we played and she blew out the candles...Happy Birthday to her!

Anniversary and Birthday...

Ok, it's been awhile...but this is sort of my journal so I want to keep it up as best as I can. May came and went and I am now finally getting around to posting something. I love May for lots of reasons and it's a busy month for us...1st, my sister is staying with us this summer going to a few classes at USU and working a bit too. She moved in the first week of May. Then came Mother's Day, our Anniversary and my birthday right in a row and I love it (and the royalty treatment!) On our actually anniversary we had our walls done in our master bathroom. They had to replace our jetted tub that was put in wrong and leaked into our basement before the sheetrock was done in the basement. We decided on no jets this time but have an oversize 6 foot soaker tub. Well, a few months of using the hall bathroom and money saved equaled new walls for our anniversary gift! Here is a before and after of it, nothing special but we are SOOO GLAD it's done and usable again! We went to dinner and a movie (Robin Hood) that night thanks to our in-house baby sitter! We were out till abot 12:30 and we felt so young again and tired! For my birthday we were able to sneak away again thanks to Shay and go to dinner and the temple. We've been trying to play outside as much as possible with our rainy weather and had a fun weekend with my parents here and another birthday celebration on Memorial Day for Shayla. I did get some pics of that, so I'll post on that too...

He used to play in the bathroom putting his toys in the tub...

And here it is finished, and Jaydon still crams a bunch of toys in the tub!

Jaydon loves birthdays and candles. Whenever there's a birthday, he talks about candles. He helped me put them in and blow them out. Then he wanted to do it again and again! What a cutie!

Happy Birthday Jaydon!

Jaydon celebrated his 2 year birthday on Friday. He was spoiled like crazy. We decided we'd do dinner and cake and ice cream for family and so cousins could come over and play with him. Well, family for Jason and I make up quite a bit of people. Most everyone on Jason's side was able to come and we had a bunch from my side, including grandma and cousin Caleb that came down to celebrate! We had pizza and sides and cake and ice cream. All and all, there were 28 people to share the fun with! With our basement just getting carpet a few days before we were down there most of the time. Jaydon loved having everyone here and talked about them on Saturday, wondering if they were coming over. Yesterday we took him to his two year check-up. He's huge! 32 lbs., 37 1/2 inches puts him in the 80's for weight and 99th% for height! He loves anything with balls and was excited to see his cake I made for him, but probably more excited to see his baseball mit and ball daddy brought home for him. He is such a cutie and we love him like crazy. Everyone says it, but I really can't believe he's two! We can't imagine life without him and we're glad he's here and part of our family!


Jaydon checking out his awesome birthday cake!

Opening tons of presents...

Trying to get him to blow out his birthday candles...

What a cutie! Enjoying some cake and ice cream. THanks everyone for coming, it was definitely a party!

Baby Animal Days

Well, we went to Baby Animal Days a week ago from Friday and I just seem to slack on blogging. We've been busy in the basement every night and weekend for the last couple of months. Unless we had a wedding or something wedding related to attend to, we were in the basement. Jason definitely more than myself, but still, we've been down there a lot! SO, we decided to take Jaydon to this so we could all enjoy a little sun with spring showing up. Jason took the afternoon off and I showered after working downstairs all morning and we headed to see the baby animals. Jaydon was all for it at 1st and ran right up to the baby goat. After that, he was a little more hesitant. We would pet the animals with him and he did better. They let the little kids ride the ponies and also had them wear helmuts...I think that is why Jaydon wasn't enjoying it as much. He's been on a horse before and it wasn't scary to him....Anyhow, we had fun and it was good to get out and do something too. We were going to stop for dinner afterwards, but we all smelled like a farm...so we opted for picking up pizza instead! We sure loved the weather though and thanks to Jessica for the camera use...we still are working on that one!

Happy 2 Weeks!

So it's been awhile since I posted, and I keep wanting to post my brother Devin's wedding! It was nice to be able to see them get sealed and spend the weekend celebrating their new life together! He and Keri were married two weeks ago on March 26th. I have this cute picture of them, and had others, but a certain little someone played with the camera and the camera isn't working...yet. BUT, these two had an awesome day and it was really nice. They were married in the Twin Falls temple and then had a luncheon and reception that night. Then on Saturday night, an Open House in Idaho Falls. Keri looked beautiful in her dress and the flowers were gorgeous (love her bouqet!) She had yellow and pink and green for her colors and everything just looked great. They didn't get much of a honeymoon as they went back to school after the weekend, but soon enough summer will come and they will get to spend a little more time together! Congratulations to Devin and Keri!