Peaches 'n' Cream

Introducing: Charlotte Rae Butler

2011-10-12T10:01:00.000-07:00

Well, we've been home since last Monday, & I decided that it's time to get on here, put pictures up, and introduce the newest member of the Butler family. I knew she was going to come sometime conference weekend, but I wasn't sure if it was going to be Saturday or Sunday. (Mother's instinct is how I knew, I guess... but I still wasn't able to get everything on my list done... and it's still not done for some reason!) I'm not going to give out all the details, but I'll just sum it up a bit for you. (I'm not one to share all that info with the whole world, anyways...) Friday night, this is one thing we were doing:

Little did we know she would be with us soon to see what's out here!

So I guess this shows you how big I got... because I'm sure I didn't get any bigger over the next few hours! I had no idea she'd be coming so soon. Babies come when they want to, I guess... The Sunday before, I'd been talking with James' aunt about having babies, and she was telling me how her water broke with most of her kids and I was like, "Oh that doesn't happen very often, that's crazy!" I think I also told her that I really wanted the baby (who was without a name at the time) to be born in October or that I thought it was going to be a conference baby. Can't remember which, because I don't remember when I made that prediction. Moving on... so we went to bed that night, and at about 3:30am, my water broke. I was glad I knew it wasn't just pee :) because I was originally getting up to go to the bathroom. I woke up James (after going potty) and told him it was time... "I think my water just broke." He got up, we got things ready and headed out the door. James' mom met us at the exit to take Kiely for us, and then we had to stop & get gas (that was my fault... never again!) We got to the hospital, and James didn't even have to fill out the paperwork first. They brought us straight to a room, and we got things ready for baby. (I think this was around 5ish that we got to the hospital.) Charlotte Rae made her debut at 6:57am on October 1st. Things went so quickly, and I can say that I am so grateful for hospitals, doctors, and nurses, and modern medicine. What a blessing! (Both Baby Charlotte--of course, and the modern medicine/hospital.)

Nothing like sweet, brand new baby cheeks to kiss!

She is so sweet!

Momma can't get enough of her

Charlotte Rae Butler
5 lb 15 oz, 21 in, beautiful angel from heaven :)

Proof that she is our conference baby!

We were able to relax for a while and enjoy Baby Charlotte before conference came on. It was kind of nice just relaxing there to watch conference. Things were lots better for me this time, and by the time the epidural wore off and conference was over, I was up, showering and walking around. I felt GREAT (especially compared to how it was with Kiely) and James had to tell me to act like I just had a baby. haha. After conference & cleaning up, Bryce & Ruth brought Kiely to meet her baby sister...

Momma's holding another baby... ?

Ok... I think I like her.

Hmmm...

Ok, I guess this might be okay. As long as mom's not holding her.

This picture was important to me... I don't think I got one of James with Kiely at the hospital! He's such a great dad and husband! :)

Some of James' family couldn't come on Saturday, so some of them came back on Sunday. Kiely came with them, again, of course!

Another important picture. When Kiely was a baby, she was probably a couple months old before Jake held her. He asked me if he could hold her and told me he hadn't yet. I was so surprised! I was glad he got to come see Charlotte and hold her at only a day old. :)

James had to take Kiely to the snack fridge and get a treat. I think she liked it!

She does love Baby Charlotte!

Sweet hands... Kiely is SO big now!!

Love.

Happy to be holding her baby sister.

We stayed at the hospital until Monday. We were SO ready to leave by then. Charlotte's bili-count was high, so she became our little glow worm for a few days.

Our glow worm at the hospital.

Ready to go home. (I added the little ruffle to her shirt, and made a headband to match... the headband was HUGE, and well, the shirt is a little big, too. :) )

We sure are grateful for our new little addition. She is so sweet and precious. Charlotte has been sleeping really well... almost too well! There are times I have to wake her up to feed her, and of course that's hard for me sometimes with my lack of sleep!... But we're adjusting. We were able to take her off of the bili light Saturday morning, and after all the little pokes she'd had in her feet, I can definitely say we're glad that's done! (It's also nice to not have the machine in our room...) Kiely is doing... pretty good. She's adjusting to both a new baby sister and her new bed, so it's been a little tough, but she's getting better with things. We are a happy little family, and couldn't be more grateful to have a little piece of heaven in our home. :)

Imaginary Friends

2011-08-31T18:51:00.000-07:00

This post is mostly for my sake... memories of our little Bug... but I wanted to write it down while it's fresh in my memory (and even happening as we speak). Kiely has quite the imagination. She even has an imaginary friend already. The other day, she pulled out the hymn book (which is done often anyways) and was singing--with her friend. They were sitting on the couch and Kiely told her, "Wanna sing ith me? n-kay. Ready. Set. Go." And then would proceed to sing the hymns (in her own language, of course). Then she says, "scoo-over a li'l bit. Scoo-over a li'l bit. That's MY spot! That's MY spot!" She makes me laugh. haha. SOOO funny! (I tried to record it, but of course she quit doing it once I pulled the camera out...) Right now, she is sitting on the couch (apparently with her friend) writing. She said, "Don't bite me. Don't bite me." Then growled/grunted, clearly annoyed at the situation that was going on with her friend. (Apparently I need to be more aware of when I'm talking to myself... or grunting when I'm home alone with her... and don't tell me that you other stay-at-home moms don't do the same thing, too... After all, we can't tell our children don't really understand everything, so we have to vent to ourselves. :)) I love her little... or more like BIG imagination! Kiely is so much fun, and I can't wait to see what it's like when our next little girl is here! (And for when they can play together!!) Just over 5 weeks left till she's supposed to arrive! We'll see if she is stubborn like Kiely was (a week late) or if she decides to come closer to her due date. Either way, I'm going to soak up the time I have left with just Kiely... and work on a few projects, as well!!

One Year Older and Wiser, TWO!

2011-08-26T12:58:00.000-07:00

Yes. I meant to use two instead of too. That's because our little Kiely Bug is now TWO years old! We can hardly believe it's been that long since she joined our family. Time passes much too quickly! Kiely had a great birthday this year, complete with swimming, pizza, cake, ice cream, and presents. During the day, I made the cake and the dough for the pizza (that way we could put the toppings on and pop it in the oven when we got back from swimming) and also played with Kiely. We read books, and I think even sang some songs together. She loves singing and will get the hymn book off the shelf and even sing by herself sometimes. I caught her doing this today, and when I decided to video it with my phone, she quit. Just believe me that it was cute, because of course it was! Okay, back to her birthday...
After James got off work, we headed to the pool down the street from our house and swam for a little while. She'd say "simming pool!" lots and loved to splash in the water. Kiely also enjoyed watching her da-da jump off the diving boards. We talked her into going off the little slide a couple times, and then she'd want us to go down, but we didn't because we were too big for the slide. lol. I'm glad she wanted us to have fun, too! :) We played with some balls and threw them back and forth for a while, swam around, and James and I would each chase after her (while the other was holding her). Oh yeah! One of my favorite parts was watching her try to walk in the water. They have a little 2 ft section and she'd walk and walk, then when she started going the wrong direction, she'd start going down the slope of the pool... I don't know if she really ever caught on to what was going on completely! Although we were originally going to have our families come, we had fun with just our little family at the pool, then headed home and ate some chicken, tomato, olive, 1/2 ranch 1/2 bbq pizza. YUMMM! After we ate, some family came to celebrate with us (my family couldn't come, because my parents were out celebrating their anniversary which was the next day... yep. The little Bug's birthday falls between both grandparents' anniversaries, and then ours is 4 days later!) We ate some cake and ice cream, which turned out... ok. It was good, just not how it was supposed to be. I wanted to make one with the pudding/bavarian cream in the middle, but it didn't work out so well, and the pudding pretty much ended on top. It was a chocolate cake, and then I colored the pudding so that it was pink (her FAVORITE color). Kiely then opened her gifts. The Butlers gave her a teddy bear, notebook, and crayons. We got her a hoodie, some play dough, a microphone :), pink nail polish (which I'm pretty sure she thinks she got from Audrey, because Audrey painted her nails with it that night. haha), a book- Just Go to Bed (One of the Little Critters books by Mercer Meyer), and a hex bug. I don't know if you've heard of the hex bugs, but James thought they were pretty awesome, and put one in the cart when we were shopping for Kiely's presents. I wasn't so sure about it, and kind of rolled my eyes... well, she LOVES it! She thought it was so funny watching it crawl around, and still loves playing with it a week later. (It's a good sign that you did a good job when they aren't wanting to just play with the boxes or something a week later, right?!) You should look them up, because they really are pretty cool... I just wasn't sure how our 2 year old would like it! When Kiely opened her card from Great Grandma & Grandpa Andrews, she was ecstatic to find MONEY in it. She "counted" it carefully, then picked it up again and exclaimed, "Money!!" Kiely also got a new dress & t-shirt from "ANae & Kef-vin" (DaNae & Kevin), a stroller for her babies, 2 shirts, and a skirt from my parents. She was pretty spoiled this year, and loved everything that she got. Little Kiely Bug is growing up so fast, and we are grateful to have her in our family.
Here are some pictures from her birthday:

Eating lunch. She didn't make me hold the sandwich for her at all, which is an accomplishment... :)

The fancy cake I made for her. Oh. she said fancy today, too. It was pretty cute & funny.

I told her to smile... There were lots of people around, and she kinda was laughing and being goofy.

PLAYDOUGH! "Op-un, Op-un"

She thought the microphone was pretty cool!

Happy about getting a book

The hex bug. SO funny to watch her with it. "It's gonna getch-you!"

HOORAY for money from Great Grandma & Grandpa Andrews!

COLORS!!

Some things that she does and enjoys at TWO years old are:
-brushing her teeth (she does ok for a 2 year old... at least she's putting it in her mouth and sort of brushing around)
-singing songs -- her favorite at bedtime is Popcorn Popping and it's actually part of the routine. :) I've also been teaching her When Daddy Comes Home, and it's hilarious to watch her with her actions. She also loves singing the hymns at church, and usually has to have her own book.
-Puts her clothes away in the "top-un drawer" and "second drawer" don't know where the "un" came from, but she uses it quite a bit to start her sentences or just randomly... I taught her which clothes go where, and she gets it right almost every time, although I do remind her almost every time, she is getting the hang of it. I even caught her putting her clothes away without being asked recently. I had a pile sitting by her door from what I folded when she was in bed, and she just put them away without me asking!
-Knows her colors (red, pink, blue, green, yellow, orange, white, black, brown, purple)
-No longer uses a sippy, but big girl cups! Sippies get SO nasty after a while, and we decided rather than wasting money on another one for her that she doesn't really need (because she knew how to use a cup) we just got some good cups for her to use. She likes to pick the color each time, too.
-Loves to read/look at books... we're going to be starting on learning the ABCs completely within the next couple weeks, then we'll learn about sounds.
-Seems to be liking the idea more of us having another baby girl at home. She likes to feel the baby move sometimes, and others she says "Baby's sleeping" or if she is willing to feel it, she will say "Baby moof-ving"
-Can count to ten and sometimes even "elef-ven"
-Love, love, LOVES to play with her dad, and when James walks in the door, I love watching both of them Kiely "DA-DAAA!!" and James "KIELY!!!" It's pretty much the best!
-She is sadly not potty trained yet, but we continue to work on it. The biggest thing is getting her out of the crib into a bed she can get out of at night/naptime so that she can go when she needs to. (This will be happening soon, and I'll post pictures of the BED when James is done with it!!) She IS using the BIG POTTY now, though, so that's EXCELLENT for me! She also seems more excited since we started having her use the big potty, because now she's a "Big girl!"
-Her favorite color is pink, and also seems to like green.
-Her favorite fruit is probably raspberries, and her favorite vegetable? Broccoli. You got me! But she pretty much loves the stuff. Has to have the "leaves" on it, though, and it has to be cooked.
-Loves to pretend. Today she was on the couch talking to her imaginary friend, singing with her, and telling her to "scoot over a little bit"... and "it's my spot!" so funny!

Here are her stats for her two year old well-check:
-Weight: 25 lbs. 2 oz. (29%)
-Height: 34 inches. (56%) (If the theory is true that your final height is double your 2 year old height, she will be 5'8"... 4.5 inches taller than me, and I think 1-2 inches shorter than James! That's pretty tall for us!... Must have some Butler genes!)
-Head: I don't remember. I have the papers, but I remember her doctor saying "Her head is continuing to grow really well" or something like that... Not sure if that was supposed to mean her head is big for her height and weight, or what, but it looks to me like it's pretty normal...

I know our little Bug had a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY! and she continues to grow, learn and develop in new ways each day. We love you little Kiely Joy!!

**I haven't taken 2 year old pictures yet, but will soon, and will post those when I can... I have LOTS to do... especially in the next 6 weeks!

One to Remember

2011-07-29T12:11:00.000-07:00

Every day, I wake up, or maybe I should say get up between 6:45 and 7 (sometimes I'm awake before that, and sometimes I don't end up rolling out of bed until a little after 7). Maybe it's not so much rolling anymore, though, as it is hefting myself/awkwardly sitting up/throwing my legs over the side of the bed to get out of bed with this big baby belly. (Nope. No pics this time.) Anyways, I am a wife who gets up with her husband, makes his lunch and sometimes breakfast (I haven't been the greatest at cooking breakfast this week) and sends him off to work with a kiss. For the most part, I enjoy getting up and doing this. It's one way to show my James how much I love him. Many times for his lunch, I'll send leftovers along with a couple of other things. Today it was hawaiian haystacks. I put the tomatoes, pineapple and chinese noodles separate from the rest so it doesn't get nasty by lunchtime. While I was putting the sauce on the rice, it looked a little different then I remembered... I had put some chicken in with it, but wasn't really seeing it. I found it odd, but managed to move on, making the rest of his lunch, and going about the morning routine. Well, lunchtime came around for me, and I had the same thing. As I started eating, it tasted a bit... sweeter than usual. I thought, "did this go bad already?! Couldn't have." I looked in the fridge and remembered! OOPS! I had made some pudding a few days ago... yup. That's what it was. That's why there was no chicken. And it was sweet. I sent James a message, apologizing, and also laughing at myself. He laughed, too, and said, "different..." This was definitely something to remember so that we can keep laughing about it later! :) And if you were wondering, it wasn't horrible. Just... sweet. haha!

Smart & Imaginative!... and Kiely's first big OUCH!

2011-07-13T12:32:00.000-07:00

SMART
It's been a while since I've done a post on our little Bug. (Or at all, I guess.) I don't have pictures on this computer to add to the post, but hey, at least this is something. Maybe I'll add some pictures later. Kiely is getting smarter and smarter each day... and she makes us laugh with the things she comes up with. She can count to 10, which we think is awesome and amazing for her age. She also likes to ask me what I'm doing. "Mom, doing?" (or she'll say "Mom... [mumble mumble] doing?" I tell her what I'm doing at the time, then ask her what she's doing and she'll usually say, "Ummm, stuff." Love it. James loves her little mumbles she does when she doesn't know how to say the words. It's pretty cute, and at least she's trying! I have also been helping her learn how to say her prayers for the past few months. It's part of her bedtime routine, which she is also doing great with! (Although there are times she doesn't want to go to bed, so she tries to find excuses like, "milk? milk?") She took FOREVER to sleep through the night, and I am DEFINITELY going to do things differently with this next one so that she'll sleep through the night sooner... Now we actually catch Kiely kneeling, folding her arms and saying, "Heavenly Father... Amen." when she's pretending. It always makes me happy. Oh by the way... potty training, yeah... that was put on hold for a little bit because of how busy we were with things, and I was gone Tuesday thru Friday last week. We are trying to get back into things now. Sorry so random, but maybe most of this is for me to remember things later... Kiely no longer calls every kind of drink "lala" although she sometimes uses that still, she knows: sippy (surprise to me when I got home last Friday), milk, "watey" (water), and juice. By now, she definitely has a favorite color: PINK! Of course. She's so girly! We got her a swimming suit about a month ago and when we were looking for it, that's how I talked her in to being happy while we were shopping, "Let's get Kiely a new swimming suit... Maybe we can find a pink one!" Good thing I found one!! Now it's "Kiely's pink soup." Our little Bug is also somewhat of a tease and plays teasing games quite often, "No, it's-a Kie-y's!" or she'll just pretend to do little things and it's pretty funny. We realize how much she is learning from us, and she definitely catches on quickly. She loves shutting the door to the laundry room, and our door doesn't shut sometimes if you don't shut it exactly the right way. As she was trying to shut the door, she got frustrated because she tried and tried and it wouldn't shut for her. We heard her say, "shoot." Uh-oh! Not sure if she got this from us or one of her relatives, but we decided that we'd be extra careful about even saying things like that especially around her... besides, that's not really necessary anyways! (So, whenever you're around her, we'd appreciate it if you try to be careful about the things you say and do... she's catches on so quickly and we would like to only teach her good things as long as we can help it. Thanks!)

IMAGINATIVE
Kiely loves to play games with James when he gets home from work. They have their own special games that they play-- wrestling, "eating" Kiely, etc... Well, within the past few weeks, Kiely made up a new game. The sun was shining in the window making a spot on the floor, and she'd say, "Uh-oh, Kiely in the hot..." when she stepped in that spot, then she'd get out of it and try to get James in, etc... It was so cute, and I'm glad she can come up with her own games to play.

Earlier today I was working on my computer. She always loves getting in the drawer where the pens, pencils, etc. are in the desk. Today she found our little orange stapler. (You know the kind that's nice to take to class with you because it's so small...) She pulls it out and starts sort of chomping it at me saying, "rawr, rawr!" (Good thing she's not strong enough to push it in all the way yet...) It was stinking cute how she recognized and thought it looked like some sort of monster or something!

Kiely's first big OUCH!
I didn't really want to do another post on this, so I'm just combining it... Monday Kiely and I got groceries. I'm not sure if anyone really loves grocery shopping. Especially with an almost 2 year old. Especially with an exhausted-almost 2 year old. That was what our Monday grocery shopping trip was like. Kiely was pretty grumpy and tired because the only nap she'd had was on the way to Winco. Good thing I had my grocery list. She did pretty good for the most part, but at a point wanted me to hold her. She was getting more & more tired. I told her I couldn't hold her & push the cart, and we needed to be fast, so she wasn't going to walk until it was time to get the milk. (It takes her spot in the cart...) I gave her my arm to snug for comfort. Soon she was asleep, and I was unsure how I was going to get the rest of the groceries... I did my best as long as I could, but eventually had to take my arm back and she woke up. We made it to the milk and she got out and walked, helping me push the cart. After checking out, she helped me push the cart again as we walked out to the car... Well, I'm not sure exactly what happened at this point, but here's my guess: There's the spot on grocery carts where they weld it together. Kiely must have tripped over something, her thumb got caught on the welding, and then she fell and was flat on her belly. I went and picked her up, and asked her what hurt. She showed me her left thumb. It was skinned pretty bad and bleeding-- kind of on the side of the knuckle & inside knuckle. I wasn't really sure what to do, because that's all I saw. We didn't have a first aid kit in the car, (which I decided is a must after this occurrence) so I grabbed a diaper wipe and cleaned it as best as I could, and held it on for a minute. I figured it would be okay until we got home where we had some good stuff to take care of her. Kiely wasn't so happy when I put her in her seat, but I told her we were going to go home and put some "bes" or "mess" (medicine) on her ouch. I packed up the groceries into the car and we were on our way. She was asleep soon after we got on the road. (Thank goodness.) When we got home, I let her sleep in her car seat as long as I could while I took groceries in, and then brought her in with me when I had them all in. We washed her ouch with soap & water and I attempted to put some Melagel and a bandaid on it... It didn't work so well... I held her as much as I could while putting groceries away/starting to make dinner. James got home finally. I told him what happened and he looked at her thumb. He was concerned that it might be broken because it had swelled up and was kinda red & purple. (I hadn't noticed the swelling before we got home from grocery shopping.) We decided it would probably be best to take her in and have it looked at. Thank goodness for Urgent Care! (Although it did take a while, it was probably better than going to the emergency room...) The first nurse that saw her only cleaned it with sterile water. (I think I probably cleaned it better with my faucet water and soap...) Another nurse apparently chewed that nurse out, asking her how she thought it would clean the wound... then came in and cleaned it with betadine. She told me she had had a similar experience with one of her own children. Kiely ended up having some x-rays done just to make sure it wasn't broken. No fracture! Hooray! She was so patient the whole time we were there, and I was grateful. I couldn't get her to hold still for me while I tried to take care of it at home! Although it wasn't broken, I was glad we went in... much better to know and be safe than to wonder and possibly be wrong and regret it later. Kiely came home with a pink bandaid, pink sucker and a Clifford sticker. (She said thank you to the dr. for all of them.) She also continued to say thank you on the way home. "Thank you, pink." (sucker) "Thank you, princess." (bandaid) I am so grateful for modern medicine, and that Kiely is okay! (By the way, they measured and weighed her when we went in, and she was 33.25" tall and 25 lbs! She's getting so big!)

Sorry again for no pictures... I didn't take pictures of the OUCH when it happened because well, honestly, I'm not one to document every little detail like that...

Twenty-one minus two

2011-05-25T13:06:00.000-07:00

Thirty-three months plus 2 days ago, James and I were married. It was a beautiful summer day.

Three months, two weeks, and five days later, we found out-- for sure-- that we were expecting our first little one. We were so happy to be starting our family, even though we weren't sure how it would be going to school with a baby... but we knew it was right. Little did I know that the toughest times for me in school actually were probably before the little one arrived.

Fourteen weeks and four days later, we found out that we'd be having a little girl.

Four months, three weeks, and five days later, (four days before our first anniversary) our little Kiely Joy joined our family. She was a beautiful newborn. I don't think I've seen a more precious, truly beautiful baby.

Three weeks and one day later, fall semester started-- James' last first day of undergrad school and the start of my last fall semester. That was a TOUGH day and made me wonder how we'd get through it. But I still knew it was the right thing to do.

Three months, one week, and two day later, James graduated from Brigham Young University - Idaho with his bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering. We were proud of him and his accomplishment.

Three weeks and three days later, James started his first "real" job at Spudnik. (If you didn't know, that was also the day Haiti had the big earthquake!) I was SO nervous to have him working an hour away, and to not have him with me throughout the school week (during the day while he was at work)... but of course with the help of friends, family, and ward members, it was okay. James was also a big support to me when he could be, and I was so grateful that he had a job to support our family. That semester, I actually got some of my best grades!

Six months, one week, and four days later, I graduated with my bachelors degree from Brigham Young University - Idaho in Art with an emphasis in Photography. I know that Heavenly Father helped me through that time because it was important to me, and we had made the choice to follow His plan for us to bring our little Kiely Joy into the world.

Three and four days later, with the help of my mom and some people in our ward, I packed up and cleaned our little one bedroom Rexburg apartment so that we could make the move to Blackfoot. No more hour-long drives for James! :)

Three weeks and two days later, Kiely had her first birthday. (She learned to crawl and walk early-- at around five months for crawling and nine and a half months for walking.) Kiely is such a smart girl, and I can't believe how much she still learns every day! (This is on her birthday with her gifts.)

Four days later was our second anniversary... I've been told that the first two years of marriage are supposedly the hardest. Well, I don't remember them being too difficult, so forever will be perfect! :)

Three months, one week, and two days later, I turned twenty-three. I'm not sure why, but that birthday I felt older than I had felt for previous birthdays. Maybe it's because of the transition I had made (and am still trying to somewhat figure out) of being a stay-at-home mom instead of a full time student and a mom. I love being able to be at home with our little Bug, though!

Three weeks and two days later was Kiely's second Christmas. It was so fun with her... even if it took her a while to open some presents because she wanted to throw each piece of paper in the garbage before she ripped another piece off!

Oh wow this is getting long, and you're probably wondering what the point is of me writing these different events down... You're probably saying, "Seriously, Crissa! Get on with your point!" Well, I didn't mean for it to be this long, but oh well I guess... moving on...

One month, two weeks and two days later, we found out that we were expecting our second little one! :)

Three months, one week, and six days later, an ultrasound was done, and we found out that another girl will be joining our family! It will be so much fun for Kiely to have a sister to play with, and we are happy that she is healthy and things are going well.

What does this have to do with twenty-one minus two one you may ask? Well, that is how far along I am right now. Twenty-one weeks minus two days. (Twenty weeks and five days,) We are expecting the arrival of our baby girl on October 7th. Things have been a little tough this pregnancy with morning sickness, but I think I've learned some things, and it has been quite a bit better than my pregnancy was with Kiely. We are so happy to have our family growing and for all the blessings we are given! (Sorry no belly pics... maybe someday... but it is getting big!)

My "Crafts"

2011-05-20T15:34:00.000-07:00

It has only taken me like forever, but I'm finally posting about this. A few weeks ago, we took a little "trip" up to visit my friend Danyel and her husband Jordan. Our plan was that Danyel and I would work on crafts, while James and Jordan played outside. (Kiely ended up hanging out a lot with Jordan's little sister, Macie a lot that day, which was kind of a nice break for me!) Danyel had the idea for one project, and I also told her that I would teach her how to make fabric flowers. Although I'm not a super crafty person, that is one thing I've learned how to do... haven't done a lot of it, but I've made a few for Kiely's hair. Danyel helped me get my project most of the way done, and all I had to do was get some foam and grass stuff to put in with to make it look good. So... DUM DA DA DAAA! Here's how it turned out:

Sorry it's so dark, but I thought it looked better than just sitting on my counter ... you get the idea, though! I was pretty proud of myself, and apparently got myself a little motivated, so I made a little bow for Kiely's Easter dress (which I also made... well did the sewing, by myself!) Here's what it looks like. I know. Bad lighting, but I think it was night or something... I thought it turned out really cute!

And just for the fun of it, since I haven't posted any pictures from Easter (ours was pretty simple... nothing too fancy.) here's Kiely's Easter dress! My mom helped me with reading the pattern and cutting it out, and James' mom helped me do the gathering of the skirt and the zipper. I think I could maybe make one on my own now!

They were looking at a lady bug. Kiely was a little scared of it. :) It was right after church, so she was ready for her nap!

And here is Kiely modeling her dress. I didn't make it so it's that poofy. There's a little tutu underneath helping it out, but we thought it was so cute, and also helps keep the dress away from her feet so she can walk better.

I haven't worked on anything else real recently, but I have some things in mind that I'd like to do. We'll see when I get to them... I have lots going on in the next month and a half!

Not So Bad... Almost done!

2011-05-10T12:23:00.001-07:00

I just have to laugh about my post last week, now. I seriously was almost to the point of wanting to quit this potty training stuff. I was pretty much beyond sick of the whole thing because she wouldn't tell me "potty" till after she went. Well...two days later, on Friday, I was still hoping things would get better. They did. While Kiely was down for her nap, I was reading all sorts of articles about potty training, and almost wanted to buy the eBook "3 Day Potty Training" by Lora Jensen. It seemed legit, and I knew that although Kiely isn't older than 22 months, she seemed ready. (She had done well that morning before her nap, too.) Kiely didn't stay dry through her nap. However, she DID tell me EVERY time she needed to go potty and only had one tiny little accident, only because we didn't get her to the bathroom quite quick enough. I was one proud mama! We even went to the bank and Wal Mart that day with no accidents! The next day, she was in a diaper most of the day, because we went to the temple, and James' younger siblings were watching her (I didn't want them to have to deal with taking her to the potty, and cleaning out panties if she did have an accident). While we were at home, and she was in panties, she did great. I wasn't sure if she was going to continue to do well with the whole going potty thing, but she's done GREAT! We had her in a diaper during church, because we weren't sure how that would go, but the rest of the day, she did well on Sunday! So, I would pretty much say she's potty trained during the day! WAHOO!!! (She only goes on her potty chair, so we may either have to take her potty with us when we go places, or we might have some interesting experiences...) It's actually getting to the point now where it's almost like a game for her or something when she's bored... She'll tell us she needs to go potty and only go like a teaspoon or so. But hey! At least she definitely knows how to do it, and tells me! Now I just have to get the courage up to let her try to sleep through the night... that's the tough part, because I know there will probably be some accidents, but I think she'll get over it pretty quickly! I am SOO happy about it being so close for Kiely! She is growing up and getting to be such a smart little Bug! :)

Calling all Moms!

2011-05-04T17:28:00.000-07:00

Ugh! I've been trying to potty train Kiely for a while now... She's 20.5 months, so many people would say she's too young, but I really think she's ready, and want to get this done! I can't say I've been super serious about it for a long time, but the past few days, I've been trying to get more into it. She even went without peeing the bed during her nap yesterday (almost 3 hours!) HOORAY! However... I feel like it's starting to go downhill somewhat. I know she knows what pee and poop are, as well as the potty, but she forgets to tell me BEFORE, instead, after she pees she says, "Potty!" (I have been trying to take her about every hour, and if she sits on the potty for 5-10 min without doing anything, I let her off.) We also sometimes have a hard time figuring out how to handle it when she pees (or poops... usually it's pee, though) in her panties. We don't want going potty to be a negative thing, but at the same time, want her to know that it's not right and not good to go potty in her panties. Not really sure how to approach that one. Sometimes she just starts crying when she pees her pants. haha. Anyways, if anyone has advice on this subject (positive if you can, I've heard all about the digression, stages when potty training is good, etc...) PLEASE HELP!!!

Kiely Lately

2011-04-15T09:15:00.000-07:00

Kiely seems to be having more and more personality lately. She makes us laugh so much! From the things she does while she's playing by herself, like pretending and disciplining her kitty, "NO, NO, NO! Kee!" (stuffed animal, not real)--to the little things she does that make her who she is, like needing to snug on my arm "Awm!" when it's time for a nap or bed, being very organized and not liking anything to be open "Shut!" (cupboards, milk jugs, water bottles) or holding her hands together really tight when you put lotion on them because she doesn't want it to get away-- she is quite the character! I love the big imagination that she has, and that every time I have something to do, I don't always have to turn to the TV to entertain her! Our little Kiely Bug really is so much fun, and I'm glad I get to be home with her-- even if some days aren't the easiest. Sometimes when I'm cleaning in the kitchen (doing dishes, etc) she will bring her toys in the kitchen, and make her own little spot so that she can be with me still even though I can't be playing with her.

Kiely's spot on the floor in the kitchen while I was doing dishes. I thought it was so cute, and she's done this a few times!

After we give her lotion, she holds her hands together so tight that her fingers turn blue sometimes! Funny kid!

Kiely is also learning so much- She says amen "men" when the prayer is over, knows the order of things during sacrament meeting (song, prayer, song, sacrament, etc.) and gets ready for each by either folding her arms or getting the hymn book and leads the music with the chorister (one of my favs). She is also learning her colors, letters, and numbers, and is becoming more familiar with her aunts' and uncles' names. (Grandma is "Ba-kah" and Grandpa is "Pa-kah" usually.) She is also starting to just say "mom" and "dad" more. She'll say, "Mom!" and then go on to tell me something in her little language. When James is at work, she'll ask, "Where's Dad (or Dada)? Where'd he go? Work?" and recognizes that when he's gone, he's usually at work. Kiely is just so stinking sweet and cute and we are so grateful to have her as our little one! (Oh, and just so you know... of course she's not perfect, we see those terrible two characteristics starting to come... Oh joy!)

I love conference!

2011-04-05T10:30:00.000-07:00

I love it when conference time rolls around. When I can be rejuvenated and hear the words of our Prophet and Apostles as well as the other speakers. I think I was looking forward to this conference even more than I usually am looking forward to it. Maybe it's because we didn't have to teach the 8 year olds, or maybe it's just because I especially needed that extra boost. Either way, I thought it was fantastic. One of my favorite talks was the one given in the Sunday afternoon session by Elder Richard G. Scott. I love hearing about the love between a husband and wife. How precious they are to each other, the sweet things they do, kind words and acts of service, and how they learn and grow from each other. It's truly a beautiful thing. I find it even more precious to hear after they have grown old together, and the wisdom that comes with age and experience. I also loved his message of how we can treat each other as husband and wife, and realizing that important, eternal bond between us. I am grateful for my eternal marriage with James, and look forward to growing and learning with him.

I feel so refreshed. I have goals in mind on how I want to improve and do better in many areas, and am excited for them. We are truly blessed to have the knowledge that we have! Hope you all enjoyed conference, too! What were some of your favorite talks?

Today...

2011-03-10T13:42:00.000-08:00

Kiely and I went on a walk. And I loved it! :)

I've been having a hard time exercising and getting out pretty much ever since we moved to Blackfoot, and it's been tough for me... I went from walking to class every day (or running...) to pretty much nothing. I did go on walks a little and we went on a few bike rides after we moved here, but with winter, it's been harder, and I haven't really had anything to motivate me. (No classes that I have to go to, etc.) I've really wanted to, though, and I think today I motivate myself a little... The weather wasn't completely perfect. There was a slight breeze when we started, and then the wind picked up pretty good when we were about 1/3 done, but it was nice.

I'm really looking forward to spring/summer... So here's to warm weather!

This is from when James & I went to California last summer just over 2 months before Kiely was born.

Haha... I had to put something with Kiely in, and this is the best I found from spring. You can see the beautiful sun shining through, and she was in a t-shirt, so obviously it must have been pretty warm! (It was last April.) She slept in some strange positions... still does occasionally! :)

Can't wait for it to stay warm for more than a couple days!

Happy V-Day a little late

2011-03-08T10:03:00.000-08:00

I know this is only almost a month late, but I haven't sent these to mine or James' parents yet, and I know that some people would like to see some pictures of Kiely. So, here's what I did for James and also for our parents for Valentine's Day. I emailed some of them to James while he was at work on Valentine's Day, and never got around to emailing them to parents. (Oops! Sorry!) Well, here they are! It was kind of hard to get Kiely to hold still (and obviously to even look at the camera sometimes) but we had fun! Hope you all still remember how much you love your sweethearts as well as your families! :)

Checking out the pictures she had been "taking" on the camera.

She hasn't quite figured out which direction to hold it to take the pictures.

Sweet smile for her daddy! :)

She doesn't look too enthused anymore, but she loves her grandmas, she was just getting sick of posing for me!

And a big kiss for her grandpas! MUAH!

Some of My Favorites

2011-02-22T12:04:00.001-08:00

These are some of my favorite photos I took for Blackfoot Jr. Miss. I felt like overall, it's been pretty successful. I've learned a lot, and look forward to learning more! :)

What do you think? Which one's your favorite?

**These images are for viewing only, please do not take for your own use for any reason unless you have gotten consent from me. Thank you.

P.S. Anyone have advice on how to upload images to the internet so that they look good without them being super huge? (Kelsie Christensen?...) Oh, and they do look better if you click on them...

A BIG deal!

2011-01-28T11:04:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, my visiting teachers were over. One of them is an advisor for the Blackfoot Jr. Miss. She asked me if I'd want to take the girls' head shots, as well as a few others throughout the preparation/event. At first I was pretty hesitant... 18-21 girls! That's a lot!... Especially in one day! The photos would mainly be for the judges, the slideshow, and they also sometimes would put up 8x10s in the foyer... All done as non-profit. (Donation--Basically it would just have to be 1 headshot of each girl for this stuff...) Still, I know how much time it can take. However, from this, it wouldn't exactly be free, I would get advertising out if it. Which I need here. I don't know very many people in Blackfoot. I told her I'd take on the challenge, and she informed me that I could also make CDs for the girls, which I could charge for, that way, I could make back, and earn a little money. (I've been really wanting to get a new lens and a tripod. I should hopefully be able to get both out of this!) I've gotten more and more excited about it, which has also helped me gain more confidence for this big event. I've felt like it's a risk that I'm willing to take, and it will help me get my name out there pretty good, I think! Yesterday, I did my first photo shoot for one of the girls that will be out of town tomorrow, when I will photograph the rest of the girls. It went pretty well, I think. We always have room to improve, and we can grow by taking risks! Tomorrow is 4 straight hours with one 15 minute break! I'm actually really excited... a little nervous, but excited. I hope the weather is good to me and that my hands don't freeze off! Wish me luck! :)

I should have listened...

2011-01-20T11:33:00.001-08:00

*Note, there may be some details that you won't want to read in this post... fair warning!

So this morning I was giving Kiely a bath. She was just playing in the bath, splashing around. There were a couple times when it seemed like she needed to go potty, but I'd ask her, she'd say no, and she'd keep playing. I let her know that if she needed to go potty, to tell me so I could put her on her potty. (I told her to say "potty" or "poop" if she needed to go.) Well, there's this tiny little problem, you see... When Kiely says, "food" it sounds more like "poof" or "poo." Yeah. That's where it came in. She was standing up, splashing, holding onto the handle thing and sorta marching, saying, "poo, poo, poo" and I honestly didn't think anything of it... I thought she was saying, "food" and I think I even asked her if she was hungry and wanted some food. Nope. I turn around, and she was doing her classic pooping face, so I ran over to her... Luckily nothing had dropped in the water. (I hate digging it out of the bath water... done it a few times. Then I have to proceed to drain the water, wash the tub then fill it up again to wash her.) Well, or so I thought I was lucky. I picked her up, and right as I did, she pushed it out. YUCK. It wasn't exactly solid, but at least it wasn't diarrhea. Some dropped on the closed toilet on the edge of the lid and the seat, most on the floor, and some got on her leg. YUCK. I think I would have preferred cleaning the tub. Not sure though... Anyways, all is well. I cleaned and sanitized her and the floor, and made it very clear that she needed to say "potty" if she needed to go. The moral of the story is:

1. Listen to your gut instinct. Even if they don't need to go right then, maybe they'd go on the potty if you stuck them there long enough.

2. Listen to what they say. If you told them to say "poo" or "potty" if they need to go, and they're saying it, don't assume any different!

Oops! Maybe it's time to start potty training?

S-T-R-E-T-C-H-I-N-G!

2011-01-20T11:18:00.000-08:00

James has recently started training for the Ragnar Relay that he will be participating in in June with a team of 11 other people (He got invited to participate by my sister, Jamie, who is also running). He started out running 1 mile and trying to get a good pace, but then learned that he needs to just run as long as he can, and try to run for 30 min. then go from there. Last night, he did it! :) When he got home, he was stretching, and Kiely likes to try to do the stretches with him. I thought it was so cute, and couldn't help taking a few quick shots of them. (I was making dinner at the time...) Here they are!

She wanted to sit on James' shoulders. Maybe to give him a little more work?!

I love this one. It takes her NO effort to reach her toes! :)

I think it's awesome that James is doing this! He has really enjoyed getting out there, and how great it feels when he's running!

Caught You Doing Good!

2011-01-05T14:19:00.000-08:00

This is very unlike me... to have 3 posts done in the same week! But, I wanted to write this down and share it before I forget about it! Yesterday I was in the bathroom doing my hair. Kiely was sitting on the floor looking at this little notebook planner thing she has that she likes to draw (or scribble) in. She was talking to herself as she was looking through the planner... after a minute, I looked down at her and saw that she was folding her arms, and had her head on her arms-- she was praying! :) I was so happy! I thought it was so cute, and also just thought about how important it is that we are good examples to our children. They truly are little mimickers! Kiely has been really good about when we say prayers lately, and will even "remind" me by folding her arms at lunch that we need to bless the food. She is great at folding her arms, and is learning to become more reverent. Oh how we love our little Bug!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-03T15:46:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. We stayed home on Christmas Eve, and spent time with our own little family. It was nice to have this time together! We always read the Nativity on Christmas Eve, and eventually look forward to "playing it out" probably next Christmas when Kiely can maybe hold still a little bit more. Christmas morning was spent at home. I woke up kind of early and made Cinnamon pull-aparts. (A tradition my family has had, and that we decided to carry on in our family.) We didn't have any cook butterscotch pudding, and I couldn't find it in any of the 3 grocery stores in Blackfoot! We made due with using vanilla pudding instead, and it worked just fine... I think I might try it with chocolate pudding sometime! :) Opening gifts was entertaining this year, and almost got old after a while. Kiely is kind of a umm... funny kid. She doesn't like lids to be off of things, will tell us when we need to put the lid back on something if it's off, and doesn't seem to really like messes. (Kind of nice!) So, while she opened her gifts, she would tear off little small pieces and hand them to us to throw away, and wouldn't do much more till it was in the garbage! We just laughed about it mostly. Good thing we didn't get her too many presents, otherwise it would have taken all day! It was fun, though. Some of James' favorite gifts were probably his fishing pole and Nike+ ipod. I also got him some arrows and a wrist thing for his bow, some shirts, and ratchet tie downs. Kiely got some coloring books and crayons, alphabet magnets for the fridge, clothes, and some tractors from us. My parents got her books & clothes. She loves the books & the carrier with them, and loves to carry them around the house, and have us read the books before bed. Bryce & Ruth got her a baby doll & a puzzle thing. She loves them both and has fun with all of her new things she got for Christmas. James was so sweet to me this year! He got me a Janome sewing machine, Gingher scissors, and a Dave Ramsey envelope system wallet thing. I'm excited for all of them! :) From my parents, James & I got gift certificates for the movies and Applebee's, as well as babysitting for the date night! I was excited about it, because James & I honestly probably don't get out enough! James' parents gave us some organization binders where we can keep important information and a box for Christmas wrapping stuff (with bows, scissors, tape, etc.) I thought these were neat ideas, because they weren't things that we would probably do otherwise. Sam (James' brother) had us this year. He gave Kiely the pink princess that James & Audrey have been sending back and forth to each other for a few years. (Kind of a funny joke! :) James got a book -- The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader (which he is very excited to read and learn from) and I got a nice sweater. :) Jamie (my sister) had me and my family this year. She made cute matching aprons for me and Kiely, and James also got some honey roasted peanuts. (He definitely prefers those over an apron! haha) Kiely and I have already enjoyed our aprons while we made bread together. She looked pretty cute! Bubba (Derek) also brought back some little purse things and tiny dolls for Kiely and I, and a top for James. Kiely loves the dolls and has to give them kisses before she goes to bed! I went in on getting a KitchenAid with my dad for my mom, and got dad a picture of Christ for him to put in his office. (He wouldn't tell me anything he wanted!) James got some home movies converted to dvd and then did some editing stuff on one part for his parents. They all really enjoyed what we got for them! :) We loved our Christmas this year, and enjoyed spending time with both of our families. Oh yeah, we spent part of Christmas afternoon visiting my family, and then ate dinner & spent time with James' family the rest of the day. I love the holidays, and hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a fun New Year celebration as well! :)

Kiely helping with the flour

Helping more and smiling at the camera. Isn't she so cute in her little apron?!

Kiely & I in our matching aprons!

I was going to post a video, but it didn't work for some reason. Sorry! You'll just have to take my word on how cute it was to be with our little Kiely Bug on Christmas morning!

Welcome Home, Elder Andrews!

2011-01-03T15:19:00.000-08:00

On December 17th, 2008, my little brother, Derek left for the Quetzaltenango Guatemala Mission (actually the MTC in Provo... but that's where he got to eventually...) Exactly 2 years later, he returned from his mission (where he actually ended serving in the new Rhetaluleu Guatemala mission), and got home just in time for Christmas! It was fun to see him come down the stairs at the airport, and be able to welcome him home! We didn't get that great of pictures that night, because there were so many people. (Besides our family welcoming Derek home, I think there were like 4 other missionaries just on his flight, so there were other families there, too.) Derek gave a great talk in sacrament meeting the day after Christmas. We have also enjoyed other things with him, and James has been able to talk to him a little bit about Guatemala, which I think was neat for him. (James served in the Guatemala City South mission, so he could relate a little bit to him.) Derek is next younger than me, so we were pretty close. We're excited for him to start his next adventures in life-- including starting school up at BYU-I in a couple days!

You can't see it that well, but if you look close, you'll see the anticipation and excitement that my mom had! :) I can't remember if this was a false alarm or not, but he ended up not getting in until like 10:30 I think... He was supposed to be there at 8:45!

Holding Kiely, and talking to Jamie & her kids!

Compliments...

2010-12-09T14:51:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday, I went to my aunt's house to make chocolates with the married girls in the family on my mom's side. (That's much easier to say than explaining who it all was...) It was a long day, but fun, and we all went home with around 3 pounds of chocolates, I think. (Mmmm!) Anyways, while I was there, DaNae told me how I never update my blog. (I thought I had been doing pretty good compared to how it was when I was in school...) SO, this one's for you, Nae! :) I don't have pictures to add, but at least it's a post!

Today my visiting teaching partner took me to lunch. We went to El Mirador's-- a Mexican restaurant here in Blackfoot. It was pretty good. We both got shredded beef burritos, which were good, but Lisa said they weren't as good as the dinner ones. Kiely was giving her cheesy little grin to everyone that looked at her, including every time Lisa looked at her. It was pretty cute. I had a good time, and Kiely did, too. She really liked the chips, and dipping them in the re-fried beans. (She also enjoyed dipping her fingers in the beans, and made a pretty good mess!) The waitress thought she was so cute, and gave her a little treat. Kiely would have stayed with her if I would have let her! After we were done with lunch, I had some things to get at Wal Mart, so off we went.

While we were at Wal Mart, Kiely was getting tired, and wanted to go where she wanted to go, didn't want to stay in the cart, etc... I don't really love it when this happens. BUT, my solution is usually this: I put her down, and she helps me push the cart (she holds on to the bottom shelf thing to push it.) I have to admit, I think it's pretty cute! People usually say things like, "Oh, that's cute!" or "She's so cute/sweet!" Today was probably a record of compliments for her, and I have to tell my favorite one. We were walking down an aisle, and this grandma lady said, "Hey, stop. I need to see that little girl! She is the cutest thing I've ever seen!" (Something like that...) All this time, Kiely continued to push, and I'm not sure she even turned to give the lady a cheesy grin. I said, "Sorry! She wants to keep on going! She must have somewhere to go!" I then said thanks, and continued on my way, while the lady (I'm pretty sure) was still adoring my little Bug. I'm always happy when I get these compliments, because they make up for the times when Kiely is screaming, and people are staring, probably wondering if I did something I shouldn't to her; but in reality, she's just tired. One of these screaming times, I even noticed that a lady had left her cart, and walked back away from it about 10 feet closer to me to see what was going on.... And that is why I enjoyed that cute little moment today!

Sorry I don't have any pictures. I'll have to get one sometime of her pushing the cart, because it really is quite adorable! :)

Brownies a la Mode!... YUM!

2010-11-17T07:14:00.000-08:00

Or maybe not so much... James and I were enjoying some delicious brownies with cherry bordeaux ice cream last night, which was something I had been looking forward to-- it just had sounded so delicious! I had been enjoying this Betty Crocker Brownie--a treat that I had grown up with-- with my cherry bordeaux ice cream, and I bit into a piece of brownie, and felt a umm... strange texture. It felt sort of like a nut, but sort of rubbery-ish, too. (I knew I was chewing on brownie and not ice cream at the time, too.) SO, I take this thing out of my mouth, and with a completely disgusted look on my face, after discovering what it was, and say, "It's a BUG!" James didn't believe me at first, and was like, "Are you sure?" and after I examined it for a minute, I say, "Yes. It has legs... and little hairy-ish looking things on it!" I wanted to throw up. Remember, I grew up eating these brownies. My dad LOVES them... I don't know if I remember my parents buying any other kind. Anyways, I continued examining this little... thing... not even sure what kind of bug it was, and James says, "Maybe it's like a piece of someone's finger or something." I gave him another disgusted, I might throw up look. I knew it was a bug though. SO, after calling my dad and telling him about my disappointment with my find (and Dad said, "That's gross... It's almost hilarious, but gross.") I decided to put the little guy in a ziplock in case-- after I call Betty Crocker and complain about my disgusting find-- I need to send it in to them as proof. James said, "Do you need to get your camera out and document this?" I say, "Hmm... Maybe I should..." So we took the guy and put him back in the bowl to document this sad, gross event. I'll let you know what happens after I contact Betty Crocker. Here are the pictures for now...

Yep. That little guy above and to the left of my spoon was IN MY MOUTH! YUCK! I'm just glad I didn't crunch THROUGH him!

Closer... see the distinction between body and head?

Another view. You can kind of see his leg-ish things in this one.

Closeup of Mr. Bug by himself. You will clearly see that it IS a bug. (You may or may not have to click on the picture so you can see it bigger...) Don't know what kind, but a bug no less. YUCK! I think it's going to be a while before I can bring myself to buy Betty Crocker Brownies again!

Daddy's Shoes

2010-11-15T07:58:00.000-08:00

Kiely LOVES shoes. She will get in our closet and try our shoes on, or just bring my shoes to me for me to put on. Usually she'll bring the red ones. :) A few weeks ago, I caught her walking (or trying to walk) around with James' slippers on. It was pretty cute. She had done this before with both mine and James' shoes, but I'd never gotten any pictures. This time, I did the best I could... some ended up pretty blurry, because this girl won't hold still for just about anything! But I thought she looked so cute wearing her daddy's shoes! :)

The best smile she'd give me.

If she can move in them, that's all that matters. Even if they are on backwards!

Now she's got it right! Ready....

Downhill skiing in dad's shoes!... Turning...

This is some serious stuff!

BREAK! Done.

Okay, so maybe she wasn't really thinking skiing, but that's what it looked like to me! I love this girl! She's pretty funny, and SO cute!

Cherish the Small Moments...

2010-11-09T12:30:00.001-08:00

Kiely hasn't been feeling very well the past couple days. She has a cold-- runny nose, gunk in her throat, fever sometimes, etc. This morning I could tell she was still tired. (She usually takes a nap after James leaves for work anyways, but she seemed more tired.) Most of the time, she just gets fussy, and that's when I put her in her bed, and no more than 15 minutes later, she's usually asleep. This time, though, I decided to cherish the moment. Rather than just putting her in bed, I wrapped her in her soft blanket, and rocked her in my rocking chair. As I was rocking her, I could tell she was thoroughly enjoying it. And sometimes, she would get this little smile on her face... The kind they get when they're newborns that everyone tells you that they just have gas or something... But I know she didn't have gas. (Believe me, I know when she does now.) It was the sweetest thing, and I loved those few minutes I took to just take care of her. I thought about the talk by Elder Oaks on Good, Better,Best, and felt like at that time, I was doing the best thing. I love our little sweet Kiely Bug.

This isn't from today, but I love this picture of her with her little bum sticking in the air!

Halloween

2010-11-09T11:57:00.000-08:00

Well, at least here's the pumpkin for now! (We only took pictures of Kiely with my phone, and I don't know where the cord is to put the pictures on the computer, so I'll have to wait till James gets home, because he probably knows where it's at.) We had fun carving our pumpkin, and even let Kiely in on gutting it! :) I think she had fun... was a little hesitant, I think, but enjoyed it. I carved the bat on the back, and James carved the face in the front. James had a blast taking pictures of it in the dark, glowing... I was just trying to keep Kiely out of the way! We had a good Halloween. We just went to our ward's trunk-or-treat (which was almost over by the time we got there, but it was just right) and then came home and watched Van Helsing.

Gutting it...

We're still not sure what it means when she crosses her fingers, but it's kinda cute!

Getting the gunk off!

James decided to put some seeds all over Kiely's back. I like him. He makes me laugh! :)

Posing for mom! Look at the seeds hanging off of her!

Pretty much finished! The flowers are from Sweetest Day. Yes, it's an actual day that is celebrated on the third Saturday in October! Google it. I didn't believe it when James came home with these and some Dove chocolates!

The bat is carved on the back, and James got just the right angle to make it look like it's flying out of the pumpkin!

That's all for now... I'll get pictures up of Kiely in her Princess Dress when I can!

Yellowstone National Park

2010-11-02T07:23:00.000-07:00

On the 23rd of October, James, Kiely, and I set out for an adventure to Yellowstone! :) We had a lot of fun... and a lot of time in the car. (Which, who really enjoys car rides for that long?... Definitely NOT Kiely!) Kiely got kind of cranky sometimes-like when she was hungry or just sick of sitting in the car. She loves to stay busy, and sitting down for many minutes-- or hours-- at a time is not her thing. She was a trooper, though, and almost every time we got out to go see something, we let her walk. It was SO cute! Sometimes she wouldn't even let us hold her hand. She just wanted to be a big girl. When we stopped to eat lunch, there was a crow close by, so James fed it some of his bread or chips or something... crows a re pretty smart! James would play games with it, and it wouldn't go get the food until James wasn't looking. Haha. For over half of the trip, we didn't see any animals (besides an occasional buffalo, but they always seem to be everywhere, so they aren't very exciting to me. Oh, and the of crows...) Eventually we did see some Elk, and that was about it... But the scenery was beautiful, and we enjoyed being together as a family! We didn't get home till I think 11 or something, so we were all exhausted, after a long, fun day! Enjoy the pictures! :)

Happy as can be- on our way!

Climbing the stairs! (She could do this all day and never get sick of it!)

The earth IS alive, and ACTIVE!

Beautiful colors of the earth.

My sweet man and baby girl (who isn't much of a baby anymore!)

James called the ones we got here Halloween pictures, because of the steam. :)

Our Happy Little Family! (Okay, maybe Kiely doesn't look so happy-- she'd just woken up.)

First Elk we saw. She stood and posed for me! :)

?? Can't remember where this was... one of the pretty waterfalls!

A buffalo!

James was saying how he really wanted to see a Bull Elk... This is one of two that we saw, and he seemed almost tame. Just chillin' on the lawn.

Second Bull Elk with all his ladies.

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone! So pretty!

Waterfall by the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.

Me and Kiely and Yellowstone's Grand Canyon

Tired and all pooped out and ready to be at home in bed! (Yes, this is her pooping face! Haha! We think it's HILARIOUS!!)

Sometimes I have to tell myself...

2010-10-27T13:51:00.000-07:00

that it's okay to let Kiely help and get a little messy! Often when I'm cooking (or busy with just about anything) Kiely wants to help, or wants me to hold her or whatever.. She holds onto my legs and cries to get my attention (not that I didn't know beforehand, I just would have to ignore her sometimes so that I could get something done in a decent amount of time...) So the other day, I was making tortillas, and decided to sit her up on the counter, and let her help me stir... I'm pretty sure she loved it! I decided that it's not worth it to get upset over the dough that she got on her, or that she wanted to touch it... I just let her help! (Eventually I had to take the spoon away so that I could actually mix it, but I did take the time to let her "help.") Kiely loves to help with things, and I'm pretty sure she's thrilled when we ask her to help us with something. She likes to put the utensils in the dishwasher (and take them out, and put them in,and take them out, and put them in...) and helps me unload when it's clean, too! She is such a smart girl! :)

Concentrating on stirring!

"Hmmm... I kinda like this squishy, sticky stuff!"

Well, I don't look that great, but I thought it was cute how she's looking at the camera, and she looks proud of herself for helping mom stir!

Good thing I was helping her so she didn't have to pay attention to what she was doing!

She just NEEDED to stir by herself again! (Look at the concerned look on her face! haha)

I'm so glad that we have this sweet little angel! She is growing up TOO fast!!

Laundromat

2010-10-05T19:33:00.000-07:00

Today, I am grateful for the laundromat. I won't say that I really like it, but am grateful for it. We haven't gotten a washer and dryer yet, so I've been going there once a week for the past little while. I really actually HATE going there. It's kind of filthy and disgusting (they don't seem to vacuum often enough) and the people that go there AND work there, are sort of freaky sometimes. BUT I was thinking today, "I'm glad I don't have to wash all of our clothes by hand, or drive to my mom's or something to do my laundry every week." (Not that I don't like going to my mom's... it's just a pain to go and do laundry at someone else's house.) I am grateful for that weird-smelling, gross, full-of-strange-people place, that allows me to get my laundry done in a couple of hours! (When we do get a washer and dryer, I'm going to have to spread the laundry out through the week, so that it's not JUST laundry day when I do laundry, I think.) Saturday is the day, hopefully-- that we will come home with a set, and then I will be grateful for that! :)

Gratitude

2010-10-04T11:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday during the morning session of conference, President Monson gave a wonderful talk on gratitude. I loved it. Sometimes I get stuck looking to the future, and forget the blessings I have in the here and now. It's not that I don't feel blessed and grateful to our Heavenly Father for so many things that I have in my life, I just don't stop and ponder-- count my blessings-- often enough. This got me thinking about how it feels like the only time we really are thinking a lot about the blessings we have is around Thanksgiving time. SO... My goal for now is to recognize, and try to write down (maybe blog occasionally) about at least one thing that I am grateful to our Heavenly Father for each day. (My goal is to make it to general conference in April at least.)

"Regardless of our circumstances, each of us has much for which to be grateful, if we will but pause, and contemplate our blessings." -Pres. Monson

So, with that said, today I am grateful SO MUCH for the power of the Priesthood, and that I have a worthy husband who is able to use this power in our home, and is Patriarch over us. I am glad that I feel comfortable going to James asking for a blessing for me or Kiely when I feel like we need it. It's an amazing thing, and through our faith, it can help us in our lives in so many ways. I love the power of the Priesthood, and my sweet James.

School Adventures with a Baby

2010-09-02T09:58:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged (for real) in a long time. I am finally deciding to catch you all up on what's gone on in our lives for the past... year... I don't know that I'll do it all in one post, but I'll do what I can in this one. Here goes...

Around this time last year (sorry, I don't remember the exact date... probably the weekend after labor day.) James & I moved from my grandparent's house back up to Rexburg. We decided to move back to University Courtyard mostly because it was close to campus... and pretty cheap. The apartments there are small, but we somehow managed to live there for 11 months with the three of us. (Believe me. By the time it was over, I was definitely ready for something bigger.) School started on a Thursday, I think September 10th. I was excited, but oh so nervous, too. Kiely was only 3 weeks old, and I was going to be taking 12.5 credits, and still trying to figure out babysitters. I am still grateful for DaNae (my little sister) to be willing to

watch her on her very first day of college. YIKES! I think it was tough for all of us. Kiely cried a lot, I'm not sure if Nae did, but I remember picking Kiely up from DaNae's apartment and bawling on the way home... We decided that it would be best for us and DaNae if she didn't have to consistently watch Kiely every week that semester. (She did that later, and actually LOVED it!)

As the semester went on, things got better. James' mom, Ruth, was so helpful and came up every Tuesday to watch Kiely. I appreciated this so much, and don't think I could ever repay her. (She did enjoy it... it's just that whole time thing... She even changed her schedule during winter or summer so that she'd hopefully be able to help out some, I don't know if she got that opportunity much.) Anyways... My mom was also a great helper for us when she could be-- even with her busy schedule of school and being a mom. We also were able to have the help of my brother and his wife, and many ward members-- I am so grateful for all of them, because I know that I couldn't have gotten through without them.

Fall was James' last semester, as well. He did great! :) I think he got his best (or at least some of his best) grades. We made it through that semester, and James graduated. (I blogged about that before.) It was so neat, and helped me look forward to my own graduation and be determined to get there. Here is a picture I took of James in his cap and gown. (I got other ones, too, but yeah....) I love it!

Kiely had her first Christmas, too. It was a blast! I'm kind of looking forward to this year a lot, because she will LOVE it and actually know more what's going on. We enjoyed Christmas break with family, James applied for jobs, and I started getting a little nervous about the next semester when James wouldn't be there as much to help...

James & I made a ginger bread house... it fell over pretty fast!

Kiely LOVED laying under the tree, playing with the branches and looking at the lights!

About a week after the winter semester started, James started working at Spudnik in Blackfoot. Hooray! Well, partly. We felt blessed that he was able to get a job quickly, but weren't really looking forward to the long drives he'd have and how much we'd be paying in gas. (110 miles/day. UGH!...) James started enjoying the morning drives by pondering, and listening to books on tape. There were some long days, and I missed being with him so much, but I got used to it. I found people in the ward (with the help of the relief society presidency) to help watch Kiely. James sister Katie helped out lots, too, as well as Jordi & Jules also watched her until they had their baby. Jon & Cynthia Schneider (a couple in the ward) were great to us, and LOVED watching Kiely each week (they watched her during summer semester, too). They'd tell us that seeing her was the highlight of their week. One time when I picked her up I got home, changed her diaper after a while, and found new socks on her feet... I looked in the diaper bag, and found a whole package they had gotten for her! I thought it was so sweet. I got through that semester... Even though there were times that were tough, and I even took Kiely to class once or twice... I think it was one of my best semesters for my GPA! CRAZY! (13 credits + baby, and a husband gone from at least 7am-6pm) I was happy, and know that the Lord was helping me through.

Between winter and summer, little DaNae got married to Kevin Barnard. (Kevin & I graduated together.) We are so glad that they found each other, and love having Kevin as a brother-in-law. Nae was one of the babysitters for the summer, and this time LOVED it! She helped me out so much, and we've become close. We miss being down the street from them and being able to hang out. (Of course we still hang out... it's just not the same, of course.)

Okay, back to the school stuff... Summer semester was beautiful. I'd never been on campus much during the summer, but loved seeing the flowers in the trees bloom, the flowers starting to pop out of the ground, lots of green leaves on the trees, people studying anywhere they can find a patch of grass, etc. (It was a wet summer, but I still enjoyed being able to be in Rexburg during that time... I finally admitted to James recently that I miss it, and could probably live there.) During this last semester of mine, I took a portrait photography class. We also tried to have some fun, too. Here are some photos from the class: (*Note-- all images are MINE-- please do not copy!)

Chalea- My baby sister and "mini-me." (James says he sees me in her, and kind of feels like he's watching me grow up in some ways!)

Jules-I think she's been playing the violin pretty much her whole life!

Tara, Allie, Audrey- My cute little sister-in-laws! (Three of 'em-I don't think Katie was home)

Shae-We did this shoot as a class-- and Shae just happened to be in our ward, too!

Serene- A classmate. I loved this image of her. I wish I was as good at posing as she was for me!

And here are some fun memories we made this past year:

Kiely was blessed in October by James-- my mom made her beautiful

dress, and used the leftover fabric from my wedding dress! :)

James taught Kiely how to play the computer-- excel, Mathematica, etc...

We fit Kiely into James' lunchbox! :)

James & I would go photographing different things when the light looked pretty cool.

Going to the Nature Park to feed the ducks & play!

I made it through the semester... All three semesters. Kiely was great for babysitters, which was great, because I was able to focus on school when I needed to without stressing too much about her. There were times that were wonderful, and times that I just wanted to quit. There was no way I could, and I knew that. A couple weeks ago, my diploma came in the mail. When I read it, I was almost sad, because I ended that chapter in my life, and now I'm starting a new one. I love being home with Kiely. Even though in a way I miss being so busy, it's worth it. I love teaching Kiely. She can fold her arms for prayer (and does it other times, too) and blow kisses-- and I KNOW that I taught her that. :) She also says "uh-oh!" and "wow!" She is so fun to watch grow, learn, and play, and looking back on my school experience that happened during her first year of life, I wouldn't change it. We chose to follow His plan for us, and I know that our Heavenly Father has blessed us and helped us through. When I think about it, I can't believe how many blessings and miracles came to us during that time, and know that He continues to bless everyone who chooses to follow His plan.

Congraduation, James!

2009-12-28T15:53:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to congratulate my best James for GRADUATING with his bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering! He is my smart guy, and has worked hard for this! His graduation was really neat, and special. Elder Scott spoke, and he even came to James' convocation, since he was a ME graduate himself. James had the privilege to receive his diploma from Elder Scott, and it was really neat! I know that it feels nice for him to be done with that phase in life, and we both look forward to what the future holds! I'm so proud of you, James! :) We love you!

James & His Parents

James & I

James & Kiely

Our Family

Kiely had a long day, too...

Tricks/Inventions by James! :)

2009-12-28T15:16:00.000-08:00

So I've been meaning to post this for a little while, and with it being Christmas break, I finally have some time to do it! James has come up with some inventions for Kiely to try to make his life more simple... The first thing he did, was a little trick to keep her binky in her mouth... it first happened quite a while ago, but I didn't capture my findings the first time when I got home. He had talked about doing it before, but I wasn't sure if he really would... but, here's the story: One day, I got home from class, and on the couch, I found a pacifier and a headband... hmmm... I just kinda ignored it for a while, and I think he eventually told me about it. I had figured that that's what had happened. It didn't work very well that time. (I actually tried it later, and it kinda worked...)

Another day, I came home, and James had one end of our broom sitting on the side of the swing, and the other on a little tote that we have, with Kiely's monkey hanging on it... SHE LOVED IT! It was in her face and she could play and grab at it. This is when I finally decided to take pictures of his inventions. I said, "Guess what, I have something more to blog about now! I just have to take pictures of this..." He told me to wait while he went to get the binky and the headband... I did, and she sat and looked at me and was happy while I took photos of her... I love the adventures we have together as a family, and I'm glad that James is creative and has fun with Kiely, too! :)

Daddy and Kiely Time!

2009-10-10T16:20:00.000-07:00

James is so cute with Kiely! I love watching him with her. He is so great at playing with her and having a good time with her! It is so great to catch him and watch them in these wonderful moments! Here are some of my favorites that I have caught so far...

Just relaxing at Grandma & Grandpa Butler's. (Wayne & Arla's)...

This was hilarious! We have this duck washcloth puppet thing, which is Kiely's little toy friend... James decided to put it on her legs! :) It was pretty cute, and funny... After he tried to get it on her legs, she didn't like it so much, so he just put it on her bum.

How precious! I came home from class one day, and James was taking a nap with Kiely. This has got to be one of the cutest & sweetest things!

I had to get a closer shot of Kiely on this one. She is our little tree frog baby! :)

This was pretty cute, too! James is auditing an investments class this semester. They are doing this program and they are competing with who can gain the most money from their investments. (They type in the numbers as if they are investing real money, so it gives them the numbers as if they are...) Anyways, so James was holding Kiely, and teaching her about his stocks, bonds, real estate, etc... She was paying very good attention, and I'm sure she will learn much more from him when she gets older! :)

James is such a wonderful daddy! I love him so much! :)

Our Beautiful Baby Girl!

2009-08-25T10:04:00.000-07:00

Chronological Order...

James & I the Sunday before I was due. (Due Date: August 12th...)

The basinet ready for the baby when she comes...

We went in for a scheduled induction Tuesday, 18 August 2009-- James' parents' anniversary! :) However, she didn't make it that night, because we went in at 8:30pm.... got hooked up to machines, etc. and waited... and waited...

I'm pretty sure this one was after our long night... without much sleep... if I can even call what we did get sleep...

But it was SOOO worth it! :)

Our little angel!

Kiely Joy Butler-- 19 August 2009

7 lbs. 2 oz., 19.5 inches long

We love our little Kiely bug! She is a sweet, precious, beautiful little angel!

Summarized Update...

2009-05-09T10:17:00.000-07:00

So it's been quite a while since I last posted, and everyone is telling me that I need to post a belly picture. I KNOW!! lol. It's been so long, and my belly looks nothing like it did before. My belly button (that used to be the cutest...) is now stretching and I will probably soon have an outtie. SAD! No more cute belly button for me. BUT, I will have the joy of having beautiful children, so that will be worth the sacrafice of ruining my belly button. (Hopefully I don't get the flat-ish mom bum too soon, though!) Anyways, things really are going well for us, and I do have an excuse for not posting (at least for the past month...) When school got out, we moved in with my grandparents because we didn't want to have to figure out how to find an apartment in IF for only 4 1/2 months, and also to save money. It's been... Interesting. There are some things that are really nice, but some things I miss about it just being James & me. I was just thinking about it, too, and it's going to be a LONG time before it's just us again... It's okay, though. I'm excited to have little ones, and it's nice to be with my grandparents, especially because you never know how long they'll be around. (My grandpa is 81 and grandma will be 80 in November.) Okay... so, yeah. I'm also not going to be able to post a picture this time, because of this living situation, (we use grandma's computer for the internet) but I'll try to get James to take a picture for me, and maybe we'll do a family picture, too, soon! For those who maybe possibly didn't know for some reason, we are having a little girl! :) For the past probably month, she's started to get really active. She's a KICKER! It's so fun to feel her move around... and even the kicks she gives me. We are excited for her to join our family in a few months. (just over three left, now!) Nope, we haven't thought of any names yet, but if anyone wants to give suggestions, feel free... but just don't feel bad if we don't use your suggestions! lol. I'll try to put up a picture as soon as I can...

Ten Reasons Why I Love James:

2009-02-09T12:53:00.000-08:00

In lieu of Valentine's Day coming up this Saturday, I decided to make a quick list of why I love James... there's definately much more to be said besides this, but I thought I'd just make a quick list...

1. He is the handsomest!

2. He loves to take care of me.

3. He is my silly/funny/crazy/goofy guy... sometimes I just have to shake my head at him...

4. He helps me be better when I'm struggling with things.

5. He helps clean, cook, etc... a lot of times without even being asked.

6. He is a hard worker.

7. The great example he is to both his siblings and my siblings.

8. He is interested in the things I do/want to do.

9. He always wants the best for me.

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10. He will be the BEST dad ever!!

Almost 14 weeks

Our baby is due on August 12th! :)

Catch-Up/Update...

2008-12-05T21:00:00.000-08:00

So I realized that as soon as I was done with my photo journal, I quit being so dedicated to my own blog... I'd check others' blogs, but wouldn't take the time to update my own... So, here goes...

THANKSGIVING BREAK was pretty good. Nice to get away from school for a little bit, and nice to visit with family! We took quite a bit of time helping James' grandparents out. James was working on a shed for them, and I would help grandma in the house as much as I could... I think James was kinda excited about the shed project at first, kinda until they got started with plans, and actually building it. (It's not very easy to work with old people, or to build anything that you want to be nice out of scrap would...) Nuff said about that, though... We went to the Bulls' (same grandparents James was working on the shed for) on Thanksgiving day. It was the first time in quite a while that they'd had Thanksgiving there, I guess. It was delicious food! James thought it was nice to not over-stuff himself, and to just eat it like a normal meal. I did the same thing, but I actually wish I would have stuffed myself just a little bit. I think there's something satisfying for me about that. (Probably because I don't do it very often...) After dinner, we went shooting. I was nervous about shooting the gun again, because the last time I shot it, I got a bruise because I held it wrong. I didn't do too bad this time, though! Katie was hilarious to watch... the little kick it had, kinda flung her back! haha!... Apparently that happened to me, too, but not quite as bad, plus I wasn't watching myself, so yeah. After shooting, we went back to the Bull's and had pie and ice cream! YUMMMM! My 2 favorites are homemade banana cream and pumpkin. DELICIOUS! (Homemade pumpkin is exceptional... ya know, the kind you make with pumpkins, not out of the can... lol) We kinda hung out for a little bit & visited & stuff... then left. We went on a hunt for the Post Register to get the ads for Black Friday, but alas, there weren't any to be found in Rexburg. (We were curious how many Standard Journals were sold that day, because those boxes seemed pretty full, lol...)

Friday we didn't end up waking up early to go down and check out the sales, pretty much because I was exhausted. We went kinda later on in the morning or afternoon or so, and looked around for a bit. We didn't get anything, but it was kinda fun to look for a little while! Afterwards, we went to my parents' house to do the Perry party shindig thing. (get together with my mom's family...) It was really fun! We ate soup and pie, with Mignon of course having her Macadamia nut pie (basically macadamia nuts instead of pecans...) Then we played some silly games while the kids did crafts with Rebecca. (She's SO crafty! lol)

Saturday... I think we did some homework?? I honestly don't remember that day a whole lot, other than that we had to stay up late, yet again, to prepare our Sunday school lesson. We'll get better at it, though!

Overall it was a pretty good break from school, but now we're in the last week of school, and TOTALLY STRESSED with getting everything done! (We only had 2 weeks left after Thanksgiving break, which is kinda ridiculous if you ask me...) I'm REALLY excited for this weekend to come, because that means no school for like a month, and we can just RELAX a little bit! :)

Photo Journal- Day 14

2008-11-25T20:04:00.000-08:00

My James & me! :) I haven't put any pictures of James & I on here yet, so I thought I'd do that for my last day! I am so grateful to have James in my life, and am glad we have this break to be able to spend more time together than we are able to during school. I LOVE MY JAMES BRYCE!

Photo Journal- Day 13

2008-11-25T11:47:00.001-08:00

PHONE CAMERA! James & I played Nintendo (Playstation) tonight, after a long day working on stuff at his grandma's! The batteries in the camera were dead, and since we were gone pretty much all day, I didn't have time to charge them... I did what I could with what I had. (Yes, Brother Clark, this was taken yesterday... The internet didn't work yesterday when I tried to post...)

Photo Journal- Day 12

2008-11-22T21:19:00.000-08:00

Today was my little brother's 19th birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUBBA! He had a family boys' day, and went to Big Judd's & played video games!

Photo Journal- Day 11

2008-11-21T14:24:00.001-08:00

I did the dishes today... Not much else exciting has happened so far. (Not to say that doing the dishes is exciting... this picture is sorta exciting, though...) I do get to watch Kung Fu Panda and have fun with James tonight, though, so I'm excited for that! :) We haven't been able to see each other a whole lot this week, because we've both been so busy...

Photo Journal- Day 10

2008-11-20T15:57:00.001-08:00

As I was headed to my class this morning, I saw all these birds sitting on the telephone wires. I went and grabbed my camera, and as soon as I started shooting (with my camera...), they started flying away!

Photo Journal- Day 9

2008-11-19T14:57:00.001-08:00

I've kind of been into abstraction/non-objective lately. It's expressive, and you can find feeling in even something you might do accidentally. After acrylic painting, I like to spread the remaining paint out and let it dry... I enjoy feeling the texture of it when it's dry, and seeing the design it makes. I enjoy the splotch of yellow on the top-ish left, and also how it moves from light to dark.

Photo Journal- Day 8

2008-11-18T16:37:00.001-08:00

A portrayal of how I've felt the past few days: Barred... Trapped inside... Away from the beauty... because of homework.

Photo Journal- Day 7

2008-11-17T16:09:00.001-08:00

For my design & color class, we had to do a survey on textures. It was pretty fun! This is some cool moss stuff that I found on a log outside of a neighbors apartment to use as one of the images . I'm pretty sure lots of people at my complex think I'm crazy because I'm always taking random photos of odd things around there... Oh well!

Photo Journal- Day 6

2008-11-15T13:50:00.001-08:00

For a break between homework, I went and watched the end of Nate & Ryan's game with James! Bruins walked all over the Spartans 26-0! WAY TO GO NATE & RYAN!

Photo Journal- Day 5

2008-11-14T16:17:00.001-08:00

The printers hated me today!... It took me five tries to print one image. SHEESH!

Photo Journal- Day 4

2008-11-13T17:56:00.001-08:00

It was finally a sunny day today!... It's been so dreary lately. It was windy today, but the sun compensated. There were some pretty awesome clouds happening, too!

Photo Journal- Day 3

2008-11-12T17:16:00.001-08:00

I got a free iPod recently because I signed up for an account at Key Bank. Love my iPod, however, I hate this image! I forgot to carry your camera around with me all day, which equals ugly photo. Tomorrow's WILL be better!

Photo Journal- Day 2

2008-11-11T17:01:00.001-08:00

Looking out at the cold, windy, rainy day in Rexburg... Makes me want to stay inside and drink hot cocoa.

Photo Journal- Day 1

2008-11-11T16:53:00.001-08:00

Doing the laundry definitely isn't my favorite thing to do. However, once a week, it must be done. At least I had fun taking this and a few other photos while I was waiting for it to be done!

Photo Journal

2008-11-10T20:03:00.000-08:00

For my color photo class, we got a pretty cool assignment that I'm excited about. We are supposed to do a photo journal for the next two weeks, one image a day. (We can take more than one photo a day, but we only post one photo for that day.) I think this assignment will probably help me out in "seeing photos" rather than really thinking about, "oh, where should I go... where can I find a good place to make a photo..." I do have my photo for today, (I actually haven't decided which of a few of them I want to post...) however, I didn't realize it until it was too late, that I actually WILL have to go to the photo lab to post my photos, because I don't have the hardware for Jamie's camera... plus, I don't know if I'd be able to resize the images how I want to without photoshop. Two new photos will be up tomorrow. One for today, and one for tomorrow! :)

James & Crissa... How Our Story Began!

2008-11-10T19:44:00.001-08:00

So, I decided I should probably tell a little bit about me and James for my first post.... Other than what I have in the little "about me" section. So, the peaches story came because my mom and I went to pick up peaches from James' mom, and that's when they suggested to me that I should go on a date with James. I shrugged it off, and said, yeah, sure, if he wants to ask me out, he can... Ruth (James' mom) mentioned me to him, and he somewhat did the same thing, shoving that to the back of his mind for a while... In October of last year, though, he decided to call me up, and we went on our first date to the Haunted Mill. :) (The whole getting my phone number is another fun story, but I don't want this to get too long, and possibly boring) The day of the first date was kind of interesting... funny... whatever you want to call it... because I actually got a migraine the morning I was supposed to go on the date with him. He called me during the day, when I still wasn't feeling so well, to make sure everything was on for that night. I said something like, umm... I'll let you know for if I'm not feeling well enough, but otherwise, plan on me going with you! That night, I didn't feel the very best, but I didn't feel too bad, and I really wanted to go on the date, because I didn't want to feel rude or anything. (That would be classic for some girl to say, "Oh, I'm not feeling so well... I guess I can't go with you...) Anyways, that was probably the BEST first date I'd ever been on. Not awkward at all. We could have talked and talked and talked! It's all gone up from there. We got engaged on July 4th.... early in the morning... and married August 23rd in the Idaho Falls Temple! We are now both going to school; James will graduate a year from this December in Mechanical Engineering, and I should be graduating a year from this coming April in, well, put simply, photography!