The Allens

Brynn turns 3!!!!

2011-07-17T14:03:00.000-07:00

I have kindly been reminded that it has been MONTHS since I have updated our blog....I am sorry! We have been so busy this summer so blogging has been even more difficult than normal to keep up on. One major event that happened in May...Brynn turned 3!!! Up until now all her parties have been pretty small with just family and a very few close friends...nothing too big or exciting. This year we decided to throw her a real birthday party. Adam was actually gone on her real birthday with a work meeting he had to attend and we also had family coming in town for Addysen's blessing around the same time. So with everyone here... we decided to have a fun birthday party!! Friends, balloons, cupcakes, games, and even a pinata. Brynn was so excited and had so much fun...except for the couple times she cried (I think she got a little overwhelmed with all the kids and chaos going on)! A big "Thank you" to every who came and shared this fun day with her (and for the great gifts). She still talks about it!!

Brynn playing with the balloons (and cute Jaxton in the background !)

The popcorn came was a huge hit!! Everyone seemed to enjoy it.

At the end, Brynn crawled on the "parachute" and the kids wanted to bounce her....she was a little too heavy :)

Opening wonderful presents from even better friends!!

Basket toss

Brynn taking her turn at the pinata...it was indestructable!!

Everyone singing 'Happy Birthday"...and she is trying not to smile. She loved it, but didnt want to show every one.

We had to call in the reinforcements. After all the kids had a turn there wasn't even a small dent in the pinata. Who better to help than daddy!!

After the party we came home and Brynn took a nap. Adam and I knew what we were getting Brynn for her birthday, but had kept it a secret from pretty much everyone else. So during naptime I went to get her present and some 'accessories' we needed to go with it. I had been texting Adam to let he know when I would be home and he woke Brynnley up and sat her in the living room along with both sets of her grandparents. She closed her eyes....held out her hands.....and Adam placed her new present in her hands! As soon as she opened them and saw what was in her hands, the look of confusion and sheer excitement ran across her face. A NEW KITTY!!! Brynn had been asking for a kitty for awhile. So Adam and I decided that we would take her to play with some kitties at the shelters to see if there was one that would be a good addition to the family. While Adam was out of town for work, Brynn and I went to 2 animal shelters and it was a giant FAILURE!! We played with about 5 cats varying in color, size, gender, and age...and NONE of them were a good fit. They had no interest in interacting with Brynn and only cat that Brynn wanted to play with was one small black kitten. Unfortunatly this kitten ran away and hid the whole time we were trying to play with him. So I called Adam and told him this kitten thing was a bad idea...or maybe it was just the shelter kitties. So I got on craigslist and found the cutest little siamese kitten! I called the lady who was trying to adopt him out and arranged a time Brynn and I could go play with him. Brynn fell in love with him instantly and he LOVED Brynn!! I told Brynn we were just playing with the kitty and that the kitty belonged to the lady who lives with him. So we got in the car to go home. I let the lady know we wanted him and she was more than happy to hang onto him for another week until Brynn's birthday arrived. SO HERE HE IS.......Bocephus (or Bo for short)!!

This cat is so tolerant!
Opening presents from the family at home.

Lots of games!!! Thanks everyone for the wonderful gifts. Brynn loves them all!

HAPPY 3rd Birthday, Brynnley

My two girls...best friends in the making!

2011-04-07T17:52:00.000-07:00

I had Addysen swaddled up an Brynnley wanted me to swaddle her . After I did, she wanted me to take a picture of her and Addy together....so here they are!

Brynn loves holding her little sister.

Adam picked out these jammies for Addysen and I found some matching ones for Brynnley a few weeks later. I had to get a picture of these cute girls in their matching jammies. Brynn thought it was so neat they matched.

I was the youngest in my family and also the only girl. I had two older brother growing up and I loved it, and I also didn't know any different. With that being said, I never knew what it was like to have a sister. I don't think I was ever sad about not having a sister, I was totally happy with the family that I had. Maybe that was because I family was complete and I wasn't meant to have a sister.

Time has passed and now I am a mother of two beautiful little girls. I had no idea what to expect once Addysen was born. I didn't know how Brynnley would react: would she be jealous, would she smother Addy, would she like/hate her?!?! It turns out I couldn't have asked for a better oldest child! Brynn loved Addysen from the moment she laid eyes on her. When Brynn came to visit for the first time in the hospital after Addy was born, she was such a great big sister. She was excited to meet and hold her little sister and was so gentle and nice to her. I am happy to report that things haven't changed. Brynn is always willing to help and knows when to back off a little. She doesn't smother her, but gives her lots of love and attention. Lately I have noticed the bond growing between them. Brynn frequently asks if she can hold Addysen and even invited Addy to cuddle with her when she watches a movie or TV. Addy loves her big sister as well. Yesterday morning I had Addysen on the floor and was talking to her. There was not much expression on her face. Seconds later Brynnley came over and was talking to her...and Addy was smiling ear to ear. Brynn started laughing and Addysen was trying to laugh back ( but she hasn't figured out the laugh yet...just the biggest smile ever.) I feel so blessed that I have such two sweet little girls, and girls who already love each other as sisters. After witnessing just these brief glimpses of what it means to be sisters, I am so excited to watch the little ones grow up together. I know they will be the best of friends. It may seem corny to say this , but I think they already are. Brynn is so patient and sweet with Addy, and Addy in return is always happy to see Brynn and is content to be in her big sister's presense.

Our counters

2011-04-06T18:28:00.000-07:00

Here ya go mom and dad! After many weeks, here are some before and after pictures of the countertops. Before: After:

Blog Worthy!!

2011-03-24T13:22:00.000-07:00

So, I have been absolutely TERRIBLE about blogging...obviously! Today is only half over and there is so much to document. I know I will look back on this day and laugh, but today is NOT that day.
Here we go! I woke up this morning to Addysen crying. I came downstairs to feed her and Adam was hanging out with Brynn. Adam infomed me that Brynn had a little diarrhea this morning and she had left a little "skid mark" in her panties. I can deal with that, at least she didn't UNLOAD in her pants, right?!
A couple week ago we bought Brynnley her first pet. A goldfish that happens to have two names. Some days she call him Dave and some days she call her Molly (names she came up with on her own). Not only does this fish have two names, but it also is male and female. Brynn has been very diligent about feeding this fish every day and likes to watch it eat. Well today, Molly (the name she picked for today) was floating in her side....uh oh, here comes the circle of life talk. After some tears and explaining to Brynn that Molly had died and it is ok to be sad, she wanted to give Molly a funeral. Brynn poured her in the potty and flushed it and said good bye. She handled it like a champ, but still shed a few tears. I felt so bad to have subjected her to it, but I guess it is just a fish and we can always go buy a new one. So that was our emotional morning.
After that, it was time to get ready to take Addysen to the doctor for her 2 month check up. I have mixed emotions about these visits. I am always excited to see how she is growing but dread the thought of those plump little thighs having multiple needles jabbed in them....and the screaming and tears that accompany it. It is soooo sad to watch. I told brynn that we were all gonna go, but of course she didn't want to. She has a little pimple looking lesion on her hand that has been hurting her. Yesterday she was excited to go to the doctor so that he could look at it. This morning was a different story. Once we all got in the car, she started screaming and crying bloody murder. I asked her what was wrong. She replied " I don't want the doctor to give me shots....I'm scared " :( So I explained to her that she WOULD NOT be getting any shots and the doctor was just going to look at her hand. She seemed fine after that. Well we are brought back to the room and things are going great. Addysen is now weighing 10 pounds 14 ounces (39%), her height 22 1/2 inches (32%) and her head is in the (38%)....very proportional!! After the nurse leaves and we are waiting for the doctor, Brynn tells me she needs to go to the bathroom. I was NOT willing to risk a diarrhea accident, so I found a nurse to hold Addysen, and brought Brynn to the bathroom. Well, all that worry for nothing...all she had to do was pee. Disaster avoided! Back in the patient room where we are waiting for the doctor. Brynn keeps saying in a super whiney voice "mommy, I dont wanna see the doctor. I dont want him to look at my hand, I dont want to get shots." Again I tell her she wont get any ouchies and if she doesnt want the doctor to look at her hand, then he wont! She seemed fine again. Well, in come the doctor. You would have thought the world was coming to and end! Brynn immediately starts SCREAMING/CRYING....Louder than she was in the car. I can't hear a thing the doctor is saying. I am holding Addysen (who is fussing) and trying to calm Brynn and attempting to hear the doctor. Brynn has my leg in a death grip and is hiding from the doctor. The doctor, thankfully, takes Addysen and was being super nice to Brynn (even gives her a new book). Brynn is begging to be picked up, so I accomodate her. Thats when I notice she just farted up the place...and REEKS!! She then says "I need to go potty." Based on the smell of her fart, I don't doubt that one bit. The doctor has even noticed the smell....great. Not the best timing however, the doctor is in the middle of doing his exam on Addysen and is talking to me about some important things. So the doctor hurries with the exam and off we rush to the bathroom...Addysen included. Well as we are going to the bathroom I notice Brynn's cute BRAND NEW skirt, has a lovely little brown addition on the back. That's right, it was not a fart...it was full blown diarrhea in her pants! Perfect..... Well I had to lay Addysen on a blanket on the floor ( who is now screaming) so I could take off Brynns skirt, leggings, and panties without smearing it all over her legs. Luckily I had an extra pair of jeans for her in my diaper bag...but not panties. My little girl get her first experience at going "comando." After multiple baby wipes I get Brynn as cleaned up as I could. We go back to our room and the nurse luckily has a plastic bag I can put the rank clothes into. Now Addysen get her shots....and screams, of course. It was so sad, I have never heard her scream like that...poor baby. After being fed Addysen is happy, Brynn is eating a snack and things have calmed down. I decided McDonald's drive thru was a great idea cause I was in no mood to fix lunch. Addysen fell asleep in the car, Brynn at her nuggets and fries, took a shower, and put on some pull-ups, and is now down for a nap as well!! I also forgot to mention that i have a cold or something...it is all in my chest. It is so thick that I can't cough anything up and my throat is super sore from all the pointless coughing. Well, that gets us through 1:00pm! I hope this day gets better. Even though today has been a minature nightmare...I do love my girls!!

Say hello to Addysen!!

2011-01-15T11:04:00.000-08:00

We were so happy to welcome baby Addysen into our family on Friday Jan 14th. We are still working on whether or not to give her a middle name and what that name might be. Mommy and baby are doing great. Noelle had her by C-section and everything went very smoothly. She is working towards getting out of the uncomfortable hospital bed and back home but is doing well. Addysen is doing what one day old babies do, sleeping A LOT, eating a little and pooping enough to make the nurses happy. Brynnley is absolutely thrilled but misses her mommy and daddy at home. She is going to be a great big sister. Here are just a few pictures (btw, mommy and daddy were super tired after being at the hospital at 5:30 am) ...

Big sister (5 days old) - little sister (5 hours old)

The Good and the Bad

2010-10-02T14:31:00.000-07:00

Good news....we are expecting baby girl #2 at the end of January!!! Brynn will get to have a little sister to play with and we are so excited!

Bad news...Adam has had a recurrence of his cancer. We are still in the middle of trying to figure everything out. He started a blog to journal about his fight through this time and has been very diligent with keeping it up to date. Check it out....

www.myfightadam.blogspot.com

Not much else to say right now...

Any suggestions?!?!

2010-09-22T16:46:00.000-07:00

We found out late last week that Adam's cancer has returned. We feel like we are in a whirlwind trying to get through all this. We had some suggestions from family that we should set up a blog to journal Adam's journey through this time. We thought it was a good idea so we will be setting it up shortly. We are having a hard time coming up with a name though. If you have a suggestion or idea of what we could title this blog, leave a comment. Thanks!!

Busy summer, bad blogger

2010-08-01T12:55:00.000-07:00

So I realized that my last blog was January. I can't believe I haven't updated our blog in so long, I'm sorry! As you can guess, its summer time and we have been veeeeerrrry busy. There have also been quite a few changes. Adam was faced with some big decisions regarding his career. We were faced with a decision to move to Houston, move to Boise or stay in Spokane with another company. All three were great opportunities so it was a difficult decision. In the end we realized that working for a different company and staying in Spokane was far and away the best thing for us to do. So, Adam now works for Medtronic and is based in Spokane. It's a great opportunity with a great company and he is super excited! Since we were staying in our home, we decided to do a little landscaping. Oh what fun. Adam has been working his butt off and still has a lot to do but we love it so far. Part of the greatness of landscaping is moving some very heavy materials. We had 6-7 large boulders, 10 cubic yards of crushed rock and 10 cubic yards of gravel to move around. So, Adam rented a fun toy for a day. Needless to say it was pretty funny watching a big guy squeeze into such a small machine. LOL! He actually did pretty good until he tried to load the bobcat onto the trailer. Pay close attention to the video below, its pretty fun and a lot scary especially since Brynnley was in his lap!!!

The next video shows the finished (well, mostly finished) product. We did something similar in the backyard. Also a cute video of Brynnley, she loves running through the sprinklers.

Takin care of business!!

2010-01-31T16:38:00.000-08:00

For the past couple months Brynn has been notifying us when she has gone "pee pee" or "poo poo" or is about to do either of them! While I was out shopping this week, we picked up a princess toilet seat that Brynnley loves. We decided to try it out yesturday and she loved sitting on it. She sat on it for a little over 5 minutes and actually went #2!! I was totally shocked. I kept asking her if she wanted to get down, she kept insisting that she didn't. I left her alone for a minute and can back to a red faced little girl...she was going to the bathroom! Yea Brynn!! First thing she wanted to go when we got downstairs this morning was sit on her Princess toilet seat. She didn't go potty but ne thing is sure, she loves her princess potty. She is a crack up!!! Please disregard the crazy hair....it was a Saturday at home!!!

Our newest addition!!

2010-01-19T16:02:00.000-08:00

This is kinda outdated...but in October 2009 we got a boxer puppy! We named her Roxy and she is so cute! We've been having a lot of fun with her but we have to remind ourselves that she is still a puupy!! She gets in trouble every once in awhile...but she is getting better. Brynnley absolutely LOVES her and asks for her every morning when we wakes up! Lukily Roxy is great with Brynnn. Brynn loves to come hug her, lay on her, kiss her, etc. They are quite the little pair together.

Halloween 2009!!!

2009-11-14T12:05:00.000-08:00

Most of you already know this, but for those of you who don't know....Piglet is Brynnley's FAVORITE stuffed animal and friend! She sleeps with him, carries him around everywhere, goes on car rides with him, etc. The only time he leaves her side is when we have to wash him. Anyway, we thought it would be perfect if we dressed her up as her favorite friend this year. I found this super cute Piglet costume and knew it was meant for her!! She actually liked wearing the costume and didn't put up too much of a fight when we put the hoodie with ears on her. She was adorable!! She couldnt quite figure out whe whole basket thing.....she kept putting it on her head and would immediatly dump the candy out as soon as anyone put something it in. Her favorite part was definatly the gummy lifesavers!! We hardly ever give her anything that sweet, so this was a real treat. She kept saying "Mo"... her version of more. AFter about 5 or 6 we decided she had had enough...of course she still wanted more!! This Halloween was so much fun and we are excited for the future ones :)

Here she is as soon as we got her costume on...she's all smiles!!

Knawing on a gummy lifesaver that is in between my fingers. I was scared if I gave her a full one that she would choke on it. She isn't the best at chewing her food, she likes to swallow it whole. Yes, her face is a mess!

Playing with her basket. It was either on top of her head or sitting like this on her face. Oh well, she was entertained by it!

Happy Halloween everyone!!

What's a blog?!?!

2009-10-06T12:53:00.000-07:00

I can't believe we haven't updated this since July...this is getting ridiculous!! Let's catch you up!!! Our summer has consisted of wakeboarding, sun, swimming, camping, and just trying to enjoy the outdoors while the weather has been so nice. We wen't camping a few times and Brynn absolutely LOVES it! The second she get out of the car she starts collecting rocks, sticks, pretty much anything. We bring the boat along camping with us so we do some tent camping, eat a meal, and head out on the lake till we get tired, hungry, or the water gets crappy. Our great friends Brad and Sharee come out with us most of the time and we really did have such a fun summer...for the MOST PART!!

A couple weeks ago (I was not there), but Adam got a concussion. WHAT?!?!? Let's start the story.... It was Tuesday and Adam, Brad, and Sharee spent the morning golfing. In the afternoon they headed to the lake and I was off to Young Women's in the evening. I get a text on my phone at church asking me to get some 'icy hot' on the way home. No big deal. Ya have a bad fall and your neck is sore, right? Well I get home and I ask Adam, "Did ya have a bad fall?" He tells me he doesn't remember and to ask Brad and Sharee. I am totally confused as to how a person doesn't remember if they had a bad fall. So Sharee and Brad go onto tell me that Adam decides to try a trick wakeboarding that he has never tried before. He has one of the worst falls they have seen! As they bring the boat around to pick Adam up, Adam tells them he is gonna go again and to just give him a minute. Well Adam quickly changes his mind and decides he is done. Apparently Adam asks them where I am. Doesn't he know that I haven't been on the boat with him all evening? Apparently he doesn't know where I am, what year it is, Brynn's birthday, or how the heck he got to the Lake or even where on the lake he is!!!! Luckily our great friend, Sharee, is a nurse practioner so she is keeping a close eye on Adam and evaluating his condition. The diagnosis; A CONCUSSION!! Thanks Sharee for taking care of Adam!! Well eventually Adam comes around and we didnt' have to take him to the hospital. He was so sore the next day he could hardly even lift Brynn out of her crib. Poor guy!! He is doing much better and has declared that he will NEVER try a blind 360 ever again!!

We are lucky that something like this hasn't already happened for as much time as we spend wakeboarding every year. As fall is approaching, we are now trying to redo some of the landscaping in the yard...wish us luck!

Adam doing a grab

Sharee getting some air

Brad and Brynnley chillin on the boat

Noelle and Brynn getting their feet wet

A view of the river from our campsite

Noelle jumping

Adam giving Brynn a quick lesson on the surf board

Brynn drinking her bottle and loungin' in her Texas A&M Chair!!

Hiawatha Trail 4th of July

2009-07-19T20:33:00.000-07:00

So everyone knows we LOVE going to the lake!! The only time we don't love it is on holiday weekends...because it is too dang crowded and too many idiots out there!!! So we decided we would ride the Hiawatha trail in Montana instead. We left early on the morning of Sat. the 4th of July and drove out there. We had heard a lot of good things about it from friends and they were right....IT WAS AWESOME!!! It starts with a 2 mile trail tunnel that you go through that is PITCH BLACK. You have to use a headlamp, flashlight, etc to see your way through it. The temperature drops dramatically in the tunnel also (in the 50's). You ride through beautiful scenery , about 10 tunnels and over seven old railroad trestles. It is about a 16 mile adventure and we had so much fun.

Me and Brynn outside the 2 mile pitch black tunnel.

Adam on the bike and Brynn in the trailer.....taking a break to enjoy the scenery!!

More scenery....you can see one of the railroad trestles in the center of the picture (in the valley)
Brynn and I ready to start the adventure!
Adam ready to go...its getting hot already.
Brynn being entertained with a cup while Adam and I get the bikes ready to go. Yes she is chewing on the styrofoam...but we got it out before she actually ate any!!!

She's walking, we're in trouble...

2009-06-15T18:37:00.000-07:00

Brynnley took her 1st real steps right around her 1 yr old birthday. In the last month she's pretty much mastered standing up on her own, walking and getting into trouble. Her favorite thing to do is open cabinets and throw the contents onto the floor. Needless to say our house is NOT kid proof, we're working on it. It sure is a lot of fun though. Her little personality comes out more and more every day. We've been pestered to provide some video so here it is. The quality is kinda crummy but it sure is easy with these web cams. Enjoy!!

Our Sweet Brynnley Turns One!!!!

2009-05-13T21:13:00.000-07:00

I don't know how this happened....but Brynnley turned one this week!!! Time has passed so quickly. Adam's mom and his grandparents, Dodo and Gary, were able to make for the big celebrations. My parents were planning on coming down, but due to an unfortunate skiing accident a few days before the scheduled departure, my mom has broken her clavicle and her tibia......needless to say they weren't able to make it. We missed you guys and look forward to seeing you after you are healed up!!!

On Brynn's birthday, we went to the mall play area....which she loves!!! She loves spaghetti, so we had a spaghetti dinner for her. We kept the party pretty small, with family member (and some extended family)!!!! After dinner she opened her presents, followed by cake and ice cream. After her sugar rush wore off, she went down for bed and was happy to see her crib.

BRYNN, ADAM, AND I WANT TO THANK EVERYBODY FOR THE WONDERFUL GIFTS AND BIRTHDAY WISHES!!! We missed those who couldn't be there, but we felt your love long distance anyway. Thanks for such a fun and special day.

Here are some pictures of the day....I will post the cake pictures later! Let's face it, I am doing good just to be posting something. I know a few family members and co-workers who will check my blog expecting to see the previous post that has been on my blog for nearly 3 months.....with the slight glimmer of hope that MAYBE I updated. Well guess what.....I DID!!!

Grandma Allen, Brynn, and Noelle playing in a hot dog truck!!! Brynn wasn't sure if she liked all the motion, but she loved pressing all the buttons.

Our sweet little girl LOVES animals....at least fake ones. She was crawling around the play area and came upon this lion. She immediately put her head on the lion's arm. It was so cute....she just laid there for a minute or so.

At the top of the slide....thinking about which way she will go down.

We are gonna have to keep our eye on her!!! She loves to go down slides head first. No matter how many times we teach her to sit on her bottom, she tries to go down with her head leading.

Brynnley playing with her new lawn mower that Great Grandma Dodo and Grandpa Gary gave her. She LOVES IT!!!!

Brynn testing out the new couch that Grandma and Grandpa Allen gave her...it is so cute!!

This neat little couch is also a fold out bed with a sleeping bag attached. It is AWESOME!!!

Aunt Camie, Uncle Matt, and cousin Ryan gave Brynnley some adorable clothes!!! Thank you so much guys....they are so cute and will definately get plenty of use this winter!!! You guys are great.

Brynn sitting with Uncle Brand and Aunt Sharee!! She is set for the summer with these FREAKING CUTE clothes!! She got a swim suit cover up with matching hat, shirts, shorts, and a cute little jacket. Thank you guys so much, you are amazing!!!

Growing like a weed!!!

2009-02-20T16:12:00.000-08:00

For some reason, I feel like I have to have pictures to go along with my posts!!! That I why it has taken me so long to update. I still need to upload the photos, but I decided that it was more important to update without pictures that to not update our blog at all. So it has been a little over a month since we have updated it, and already so much has changed!!! Brynnley in now crawling like crazy. She usually stays in our family room and doesnt like to wander too far, which has been a huge blessing. She now has her two first teeth and luckily hasn't taken to biting people....yet! She loves bath time and actually LOVES to have her teeth brushed. She must be a daughter of a dental hygienist :) She is now 9 months old and is finally fitting well into her 6-9 month clothing. She just had her 9 month check up and she is finally putting on some weight. At her 6 month visit she was in the 4% for weight and now she is in the 18%!!! We are so exciting that she is growing and she has a pretty cute belly I might add. The girl will eat pretty much anything, so far she hasn't been the biggest fan of edamamae or green beens. She eats tons, but she is so busy...I think that is why she is a little light weight for her age. Her FAVORITE thing is her piglet stuffed animal. She has to have it to take a nap (it's a good and bad thing I think) and when she is getting crancky Piglet makes everything better. Anyway, besides Adam and I, Piglet is her best friend! She gets so excited and starts kicking and flailing around as soon as she sees Piglet. It is so funny to watch. She loves to babble and talk....we might have a problem getting her to stop talking once she is actually forming real words and sentences! She is still sleeping 12-13 hours and night and takes two good naps during the day. She is such a sweet girl and a blessing in our lives.
Adam has decided to start a winter project. He is ready to go outside and hit the lake, but the weather isn't very cooperative. So, he decided he would start to frame out the basement and start finishing it. This will hopefully keep him busy until summer is here!! He has his work cut out for him, but he is enjoying it so far.
As for me, I am enjoying being a mom and working a few hours a week. I recently finished re-staining some cabinets in our upstairs guest bathroom...and am pleased with how they turned out. It would be nice to re-stain the kitchen cabinets,but that might be a little ambitious for now. We will see!!! I too, am ready for summer...heck, spring would be nice!!! We are ready for the snow to melt and to see some green grass. I would kill to be able to take a nice walk outside and enjoy some fresh air. Anyway, I will try to post some pictures soon....TRY to!!

Growing fast!

2009-01-19T20:55:00.000-08:00

In the last few days Brynnley has shown a new interest. She always gets really excited and happy when she goes walking. Obviously she has a ways to go before she's running the house, but she's learning too fast for mommy and daddy!! It's pretty amazing how quickly she is picking things up these days. We still can hardly believe we have an 8 months old little girl. Too much fun!

First snow of the year!!

2009-01-07T21:30:00.001-08:00

In mid-December, we had the mother of all snow storms!!! We actually set an all time record for the amount of snow fall in a 24 hour period. The official number was 17 inches, but some areas got up to 25 inches!!! Anway, we decided we should take Brynnley out to "play" in the snow. We made snow angels, ate snow, basically just surrounded ourselves in snow. Brynnley was such a good sport...she might have even liked it. Her favorite part was definalty eating the snow. For some reason she loves cold stuff in her mouth. We stayed out there long enough to get some fun pictures and then headed back inside. Here are some fun pictures of us playing as a family in the snow for the first time....a family of 3!!

Catch up time, busy summer...

2008-11-05T14:39:00.000-08:00

We've been so bad in updating our blog so this entry will catch everyone up to speed on what has been going on in the last few months. 1st off here is a quick clip of Brynnley at 5 1/2 months and her new favorite thing to do... talking to herself while playing in her exer-saucer thingy....

We had Brynnley's blessing and the Allen Family reunion in early August. It was the 1st time we've been able to attend the reunion since we were married so it was great to be able to see all the family. We then spent the rest of August and September squeezing in as much lake time and wakeboarding that we possibly could. We had Noelle's cousin Erin come spend a few days with us. Thankfully we've completely brainwashed our good friends Brad and Sharee into thinking that wakeboarding is life so they were there to share in most of our fun time at the lake. Here's a few pictures.

Brynnley, 3 months old, getting used to the water... Erin and Noelle at Lake Roosevelt Brad and Sharee double wakeboarding Adam and Noelle double wakeboarding Brad wake-to-wake jump Brynnley, 4 months, learning how to drive the boat Just out of reach

In the midst of all that fun we did some work on the house. The deck in the back yard was very old and needed quite a few boards replaced and the whole thing sanded down and repainted. Instead of saving some money and just sanding and painting we decided to upgrade. Adam got it in his head to redo the existing deck and build a pergola over the top. After almost a month of working on and off, and a ton of help from Mr. Bradley Moss, we were able to finish it in time for the last few weeks of fall. We still need to do one or two small things but overall we love it. Adam had a lot of fun and it kept him busy, which is always a good thing, he needs that. In between the posts holding up the pergola is a bench in the middle and two planter boxes. Adam came up with those ideas all by himself and they turned out very good, he's very proud of himself :-D

The back of the house before... What a mess... Final product

AND THE WINNER IS.....

2008-11-02T16:44:00.000-08:00

Our friends, Brad and Sharee Moss, hold an annual Halloween Party at their house. It consists of a haunted house, lots of decorations, yummy food, lots of adults in costumes, overall a good time! So Adam and I decided that we would be Popeye and Olive Oil and Brynn would be Swee' Pea. I had everything figured out that we needed in order to make our costumes a success...then Adam came up with the best idea ever....I would be Popeye and Adam would be Olive Oil. I informed him that he would have to wear a skirt and when he said okay, I went running with it. I found a skirt that was WAY way way too big for him at the thrift store along with a men's red dress shirt. I cut them both apart and turned it into a killer Olive Oil costume. Once his costume was done, I made the Popeye muscles, sailor collar, buttons, etc. We found a cute pea costume for Brynnley and she did look sweet!

Part of the party includes awards given out to the best costumes. The categories are: best overall, funniest, sexiest, most original, and scariest. AND THE WINNER FOR FUNNIEST IS.....OLIVE OIL!!!! Adam even got some votes for sexiest...that is scary :)

Olive Oil, Popeye, and Swee' Pea

Olive and Swee' Pea. (Such a frightening picture!!)

Popeye and Swee' Pea

Brad and Sharee..... A pirate and his Booty (treasure)!!!

Adam took a picuture of the awesome food. We had eyeballs in the punch and salsa, flies on the bloody hand jello, and a green brain with blood all over it!!! There were also some really yummy food that wasn't so gross looking. We've got to say a big thanks to Brad and Sharee for putting everything together. It was a fun night :)

Blessing Day!!!!!

2008-10-14T22:27:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, Denice....I'm finally posting pictures!!! Please dont fall out of your chair :)

It has been over two months since we blessed our beautiful little girl. We were up in Utah for Adam's family reunion and decided that we would bless her at my parent's house. It was so neat to bless her in a more private environment with so many people that we love. Both of Adam's sets of grandparents who live in Idaho were able to make it. It was such a special day and Adam gave her the sweetest blessing. There were so weepy eyes in the house :) So here are some pictures from that special day.

Brynnley

Brynnley's Blessing Dress and Accessories

Adam's side of the family

Noelle's side of the family

Pround Parents!!!

Brillante Weblog- Premo 2008 Award!!!

2008-10-14T17:11:00.000-07:00

Here are the rules: I have to answer the following questions with one word answers and one word only! Then I must pass it on to seven others.Here are the questions:

1. Where is your cell phone? Desk
2. Where is your significant other? Work
3. Your hair color? brown
4. Your mother? gayle
5. Your father? david
6. Your favorite thing? cuddling
7. Your dream last night? Unsure
8. Your dream/goal? retirement
9. The room you're in? Office
10. Your hobby? Scrapbooking
11. Your fear? injury
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Spokane
13. Where were you last night? home
14. What you're not? rested
15. One of your wish-list items?
16. Where you grew up? Oklahoma
17. The last thing you did? Painted
18. What are you wearing? clothes
19. Your TV? plasma
20. Your pet? cats
21. Your computer? Lifesaver
22. Your mood? Overwhelmed
23. Missing someone? Adam,
24. Your car? altima
25. Something you're not wearing? shoes
26. Favorite store? Aeropostale
27. Your summer? Short
28. Love someone? Family
29. Your favorite color? Red
30. When is the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? 3oth

I am passing the award on to:

My mom
Jin Hee
Brad & Sharee
Denice
Melissa
Jan
Tara Sinclair

I have rotten luck!!

2008-09-09T09:32:00.000-07:00

Being a mother is wonderful....but sometimes frusterating. According to babywise Brynnley should be sleeping through the night, but she isn't. We have tried letting her cry it out for a few nights, but it hasnt worked. Adam and I decided that she must be hungry, so we are feeding her when she wakes up at 3 am. I just assumed she is not capable of sleeping through the night yet and that she really does need to eat. Just when you think you have it figured out.......

Well I caught Brynn's cold and started feeling really crappy on Saturday night and all Sunday. Sunday night/early Monday morning I woke up at 230 am with a painful ear infection. I dont think I slept for more than an hour between 230 and 730 am. I just laid in bed hoping the pain would go away, but it didnt. Adam told me to get him up when Brynnley would wake up and he would feed her a bottle so that I could try to rest/sleep. Well guess what....Brynnley didn't wake up until 730 am!!!! Of course it had to happen the night I couldnt get any sleep. Well I got up first thing on Monday and went to the Dr. to get diagnosed with an inner ear infection and then the the pharmacy for some lovely antibiotics. Monday night (last night) comes around and I my ear pain is starting to go away so I am hopeful for some sleep and that Brynnley might be on a new schedule of sleeping until 730 am. Well so much for wishing because the little girl woke up at 3 am and then 630 am. No sleeping in for me!!! So the quest for sleeping throught the night continues :) I am just happy the Brynn isn't sick anymore and that her cold was a minor one. She is a wonderful baby and we are so blest that she is as happy as she is!!!

Weekend at the River

2008-08-04T11:27:00.000-07:00

Adam and I have been wanting to get back out to the river all summer. We went once last year and had a blast. With a long winter, having a baby, too much snow run off, and a list of other things, we haven't made it out...till now!!! The three of us headed out Friday evening after work. About an hour and a half later, we made it to the camp ground. Adam set up the tent while I got the little girl ready for bed and the next thing you know, we were ready for bed. We got up the next morning, made some breakfast, walked down to the water front and took some pictures, packed up some lunch and put the boat in the water. The whole campsite set up is awesome!! There is a boat launch within the campground, so access to the river is super easy. Once on the boat we relaxed a bit, wakeboarded, ate lunch, and enjoyed the sunshine...FINALLY!!! Brynnley did great, as usual:) We then went back to our site, took a little snooze, ate dinner, and headed back out on the boat to cruise around and watch the sun set. On Sunday, we woke up, ate breakfast, spent some more relaxing time together, took a nap, packed up and headed back home. It was such a fun weekend and we feel so blessed that we live in such a beautiful area. It was great spending some quality family time together, doing things we love!!

The waterfront....beautiful!

Our first family camping picture!!

That's right...even better than milk!! Don't worry, its a completely empty can, but we had to represent :)

Our little princess snoozing in the shade on the boat.

Father and daughter...might be the cutest picture ever!!

Sunset..... sweet.....

Growing little girl

2008-07-14T21:17:00.000-07:00

In the last few weeks Brynnley has become much more alert and much more "talkative." She loves the ladybugs in her mobile above her crib and responds really well to our voices. It's a lot of fun. She still has her fussy times during the day but her favorite times are 1st thing in the morning and after she takes a bath at night. She was especially talky last night so we broke out the video camera. She is learning so fast, it's amazing!!!

New cars, yeah!!!!

2008-07-05T16:53:00.000-07:00

We have been wanting to replace my 1999 Toyota corolla for a car that is newer, has less miles, and is bigger. With Adam being as tall as he is and having to drive it for work and a new baby in the family, the Corolla just wasnt suiting us so well. We went to a nearby car dealership and test drove a couple cars. Adam stopped by after work to test drive a Nissan Altima and the Infiniti caught his eye. The sales guy mentioned that if we bought both they would give us a good deal because both cars were going to auction at the end of the week. So, the next day we walked in, test drove both cars and walked out with a KILLER deal on two new cars. So we ended up with a 2006 Nissan Altima and a 2004 Infiniti QX56. The Infiniti is basically Adam's dream car so he is a happy little boy at the moment. The xterra was a great car, but we didnt realize how small the interior was until we had to put a car seat in the back seat!!! It will be great for Adam's work since he has to carry so much product in his car. He is loving the extra space.

Brynnley is getting bigger and is a great baby! She has her fussy times but she is a trooper and has already seen multiple wakeboarding trips, her 1st Hoopfest, her 1st Camping trip and her 1st road trip (to Montana). All that and she will be 8 weeks old tomorrow. Time flies and she is growing too fast. But here is a picture of a happy daddy holding his little cutie.

Oh...Helena!!!

2008-07-01T09:12:00.000-07:00

In mid-July Adam had to go to Helena, Montana for work. It turned out that he was going to be out of town for 3 nights!!! Brynnley wasnt even a month old, so we decided that we would all go on a little road trip. We left in the late afternoon on the first day and stopped in Missoula. The drive was absolutely beautiful..I had no idea there could be so many pine trees for such a long stretch. We had to wake up early the next morning so that Adam could make it into Helena by about 8 or 9, it was only a 2 hour drive thank goodness. We were lucky that the hotel let us check in that early in the morning since you usually cant check in until 3 pm. I took a nap while Adam had to run a couple of errands. Oh yeah....Adam had to go to Montana "in case something came up." In other words, there was nothing on his schedule to do and we were hoping it stayed that way so we could hang out together. Nothing came up the whole time we were there. So here's what we did to pass the time: We went to a local park and Adam shot some hoops to get ready for the biggest 3-on-3 basketball tournament in the nation, did a little shopping, enjoyed the beautiful weather, and ate some AWESOME FOOD!!! It was kinda like an all expense paid mini vacation. Obviously Montana really isnt very exciting, but it turned out pretty decent. Oh yeah...Brynnley did great. She slept for nearly the whole drive; just woke up to eat!!!

The view from the side of the road...green pine trees everywhere!!

This picture pretty much sums up Brynnley the whole trip. What an awesome baby!!

Hayden Lake

2008-06-21T23:24:00.000-07:00

Our good friends have a cabin on Hayden Lake in Idaho and they invited us to spend Father's day weekend with them. Adam's parents were in town and they came, too. The drive was great. It only took a little over an hour to get to the cabin and Brynnley slept the whole time. We spend the rest of the night visiting and playing some "blong ball" (the best game ever!!!) Adam also took a wakeboard ride in the evening. The water was about 56 degrees. It was wetsuit temperature, but a lot warmer than the 45 degree water we got in last year...BBRRRR. Saturday Adam, Sharee (one of our good friends), and I all took a turn on the wakeboard. I decided not to do anything too gutsy since I technically shouldn't have been wakeboardning because it hasnt been 6 weeks since my c-section. It was still nice to be outside and on the water. Adam landed his first tantrum (backflip) of the year. Oh yeah, this is the first time we have been on the lake this year (pretty depressing that it took till mid June.) Brad (our good friend, and Sharee's husband) and Adam's parents had a great time watching and enjoyed the wonderful weather. Brynnley did AMAZING!! She spend most of the time sleeping inside, but we got her in the boat a few times and she loved it. She pretty much slept the whole time on the boat...must like the sound and vibration from the engine! Hopefully she will love the lake as much as we do. We left the cabin Sunday morning and made it back in time for church. It was such a fun weekend and we can't wait to do it again!!!

View from the back of the cabin

Adam braving the cold water with just a wetsuit top

Noelle getting back in the boat after her first ride

Brad lending a helping hand and feeding Brynnley

Adam's First Father's Day!!!

2008-06-16T19:28:00.000-07:00

How exciting, Adam's first Father's Day!! We headed home from a friend's lake cabin that morning and luckily made it back in time for church. Adam had to go home early because he was feeling pretty sick. Thank goodness he felt better after a nap. Poor guy must have overdone it this weekend. Adam's parents are in town (will post more of those pictures later) and they took some cute pictures for us!! Well my mom wanted to see some more pics of the little girl, so here they are :) I will try to post more later, time to finish getting dinner ready.

Here Adam and Brynn are after church.

The three of us with one of his Father's Day gifts from his parents.

Let's go to the Lake...or NOT!!

2008-05-31T12:22:00.000-07:00

So Adam, some friends, Brynnley, and I decided we would go to the lake on Thursday evening (since it stays light outside till well after 9 p.m.)!! Adam was going to take a few rides on the wakeboard and the rest of us were just going to enjoy being outside on the lake. Well the boat launch we usually go to is closed because the dock is about 2 feet under water since there has been so much winter run off. So we decided to head down the road a bit to the other launch. We get everything in the boat ready and hop in as Adam backs us down the ramp. Well, it didnt work out quite like we wanted it to. I notice that the xterra is as far down on the ramp as it can go without being submerged and the boat isnt anywhere close to being in enough water. So it turns out that this part of the lake doesnt have enough water in it to be able to launch a boat. We all had a good laugh and poor Adam still hasnt gotten out on the water and it is almost June!!! Hopefully we will get him out soon. It's a little depressing knowing that last year we got out on the lake the first week or so in APRIL!!!

2008-05-20T22:35:00.000-07:00

Well the past couple of days have been great. My (Noelle) parents just left this morning after helping out since the delivery. It was great to have their help, support, and advice; and are glad that they were able to come down.

We took our daughter to the pediatrician yesturday and she is doing fabulous:) She was 7 lbs 5 oz when she was born, 6 lbs 15 oz when she was discharged, and at yesturday's appointment she was 7 lbs 13 oz. The doctor is pleased with her progress and everything seems to be right on track. We dont have to go in for a 2 week appointment since she isnt jaundice and she has passed her original birth weight. She did great at the appointment, too. She sat there butt naked for awhile and didnt cry at all. What a trooper! We did have some good laughs while we were there. As I was undressing her, she pooped in her diaper. I had her lying on a blanket so that the table wouldn't be so cold on her back. Well, I take the diaper off and wipe her off and as soon as I finish, she poops more (all over the blanket)!!! We then put her on the scale where she sat patiently for a minute or so and then peed all over. Well, at least that 2 diapers we didnt have to use.

Adam has been a great husband and dad. He usually takes over one of the night feeding before he goes to bed so that I can get a good chunk of rest. That has been great. He has been great about trying to make me take naps so that I dont get exhausted, even though I try to fight him on this one. It has been so fun watching him interact with her. He's a natural! It's amazing how well he is doing with her, especially since he hasnt had much, if any, baby experience till now.

Here is Adam aftering feeding Brynnley her first bottle

As for me, I am doing great. I had my staples removed on Thursday and the incision looks great. I have been up and about since Thursday!! I still have to take it easy for awhile, but Adam and I were able to go out to dinner and the mall while my parents watched her. I definatly thought recovery would take a lot longer, but I'm not complaining!!

At the Park

We were actually able to do some fun stuff while my parents were in town. The spokane river runs right through the middle of downtown and it GUSHES in the spring due to all the winter run off. Since we had so much snow this winter, there is more water than usual. They are anticipating some possible flooding problems. Anyway, we thought we would go check out the falls and see what all the hype was about. It was amazing how strong and fast the water was flowing. We also went to a nearby park for a little walk and got some cute pictures taken. Thanks mom and dad for coming down, for the meals, yard and car port work, driving me around since I cant, and for all your love and support!!

Grandma, Grandpa, and Brynnley
The Falls downtowon

Adam's family will be coming down in a few weeks and we are looking forward to it.

Life is GOOD!!

2008-05-16T18:13:00.000-07:00

I'm so proud of Adam for blogging while I was still in the hospital!! :) As Adam stated, labor was long and hard and ended in a suprise c-section :( According to the doctors, she didnt want to come out that way either. They had to use the suction on her twice to get her wedged out of my pelvis withouth breaking her neck. Unfortunatly the epidural didnt work too well and I felt them cutting me open...three drugs later and I was out. It definatly wasnt the c-section you see on TLC where whe husband and wife are holding hands, talking, and smiling at each other anticipating the new arrival. Instead, Adam comes in after some of the drugs are taking effect and I can't see straight and can feel them cutting me. So it turns out Adam is holding the hands of his unconscious wife and we dont get to experience new life coming into the world together. When Brynnley came out she scored 2 on her apgar scores, the the neonatal team took her to the NICU. Since I was out and they still had to close me up, Adam went with Brynnley to make sure she was alright. After awhile Brynnley came around and the doctors were pleased with how she was improving. Two hours later, I finally start waking up from the drugs...slowly. Adam was able to wheel her in to my recovery room and helped me hold her for the first time. It was a neat experience, but my eyes still couldn't really focus. Adam was wonderful...he is already such a great dad and has done so much for me through labor, the surgery, and recovery.

Aftery the recovery room, I was wheeled into the mother baby unit. I was informed that we would stay at least 3 nights in the hospital. As it turns out, the doctor came in early wednesday morning and after his exam, told me that I could stay in the hospital for another night, or I could go home a day early!!! Well, since Adam is so tall and had to sleep on the most uncomfortable bed, and I wasn't comfortable in my bed either...we decided to pack it up and go home :)

We are all doing well!! Brynnley has been a champ and is a great baby. She has been nursing great, sleeping well, and is a pretty happy baby (most of the time). Adam is having SOOO much fun with his daugter and has been very helpful. Poor guy had to get up everytime we had to nurse her or change her diaper in the hospital because I couldn't get out of bed. I'm so greatful for such a wonderful and loving husband. As for me, I am starting to feel much better. I can get around without too much hobbling around and am getting better at getting in and out of bed by myself.

Although we had some diffucult times the past few days, we feel so blessed with the outcome and are so grateful for our daughter. LIFE IS GOOD!

On a side note...Adam's mom and sister and my parents all live in SLC. So they jumped in the car to drive up here as soon as they found out I was in labor. They arrived and were able to see Brynnley shortly after being cleared from the NICU. It was so fun to have them there and to share this moment with them. We look forward to the rest of our family members meeting our new little girl and know they are just as excited to meet her. We appreciate everyone's love and support, we are truely blessed.

Baby Brynnley

2008-05-13T09:37:00.000-07:00

It finally happened. We have a baby girl!!! This Adam, Noelle walked me through how to do this so hopefully it works. Noelle is still at the hospital and doing great. About 36 hours of labor and a 20 minute C-section we have our little girl. It was a rough Mother's Day for Noelle but it was all worth it. She was born on May 12, 2008 and was 7 lbs 5 oz and 20 inches long. The poor kid was just trying to come out forehead first and sunny side up and it just was not happening. Here are a few of the first pictures, she's got a sore forehead but has been eating well and is doing great. She's so laid back it's really unbelievable

That's all for now, I'm sure Noelle will post more when she gets home from the hospital.

Something :)

2008-05-10T14:38:00.000-07:00

Well yesturday's doctors appointment went pretty well. We found out that I am 1 cm dilated and 90% effaced. They also decided to strip my membranes to see if that gets the ball rolling. Hopefully that will do the trick, if not, then I go in next week for another visit and set up an induction date. It is crazy how fast this last trimester has gone!!!

....Nuthin!!!

2008-05-02T12:48:00.000-07:00

So today I went in for me 38 week appointment (actually a fews days past 38 weeks)!! The past two exams havent revealed much. At my 37 week appt. I was informed that I wasnt dilated or effaced at all...but that my cervix was softening. I've been feeling a bit more discomfort in the pelvic region, so I was sure something must be happening down there...but NO!!! Still not effaced and still not dilated. BUMMER!! The Dr. brought up the "c" word today...(c-section), which I dont like the idea of, but if thats what we have to do then that is what we have to do. So much for being diligent with going to the gym and going on walks...they havent done anything to speed the process up!!! Next weeks appointment will hopefully reveal some progress. We will keep everyone posted on any progress, or lack thereof :)

Preggo Pic!!

2008-04-08T16:27:00.000-07:00

So my friend Amy once told me that she hated taking pregnacy pictures....and now I understand why!!! I feel so unattractive in all of the pictures. Well I've had many requests to post a picture or two, so here's one. This was taken about 2 or 3 weeks ago.

I went to the Dr. today and I am still measuring big...about 2 weeks. They will continue to keep an eye on me. Hopefully this baby isnt huge :).

Life is going great with Adam and I. Spring is taking its sweet time getting here, only got in the mid 40's today. We had snow on our grass this past Saturday...we are so sick of the snow! Adam is ready for golf and boating season thats for sure. I'm still working 3-4 days a week and will be cutting down to only 2 days after next week. I have developed carpal tunnel syndrome, so Im not sure how long I'll be able to work as a dental hygienist. I might have to quit all together pretty soon if it keeps acting up.

Well Adam took a funny picture of my foot after church two sundays ago. Do you think they look swollen? It's kind of a gross picture, but we were amazed at what pregnancy can to do a person.

It's almost complete

2008-03-17T22:31:00.000-07:00

So here it is...a near complete, remodeled bathroom!! The only thing we have left is to sand and paint the cabinets white. We are so happy with the end result. Now I just need to find time and motivation to finish the cabinets...preferably before the baby is born!!

It's a work in progress!!!

2008-02-21T13:42:00.000-08:00

We decided that we better redo the guest bathroom before the baby comes , so we have been working on that for the past few weeks. The tile was previously a peach/white marbley swirl with flowers on it...YIKES!! The countertop was a lovely peach/pink color, and we decided it all had to go. Supposedly if you hit the tiles with a hammer they will crack and then detach from the wall, but we didnt have much luck with that. After trying it for about 30 minutes, Adam decided that it would be easier and faster to just cut the drywall with the tile out and re-drywall and then tile. It was a little scary, but it worked so much better and saved us a lot of headache also. So far we have re-tiled the shower, countertop, and backsplash. We still have to finish grouting, sealing, caulking, refinishing the cabinets, paining, and tiling the floor!! Here are some pictures of it so far, and we will post some more when it is all finished.

Pictures of the bathroom before we start tearing things up!!

Attempting to hammer off the tile!!

Bare bones...no its not moldy insulation, just a lot of dirt!!

New drywall goes up

Let the tiling begin.

The shower is finally tiled!! We still have to grout and tile the countertops, but it is getting closer :)

It's still a Girl!!

2008-01-10T17:04:00.000-08:00

Adam and I went to the first ultrasound at the beginning of December. At the time I was only 17 weeks along, so we were a little leary when the technician told us it was a girl. We know a few people who were told the same thing early on and the baby turned into a boy :) Yesturday we had another ultrasound and the technician said... "Oh yeah, it is definatly a girl!!" The technician got a good shot of the proof, but we decided not to post that picture!! We are ready to start decorating the room now what we know we wont have to repaint and pick out new bedding! As the decorating gets closer to completion, we will be sure to post pictures of the nursery. Adam is excited...although he is pretty nervouse about the teenage years!! Guess I can't blame him, it's a scary world out there.

Our little girl's face and hand.

Arm and hand

Her spine and ear

Streched out arms and legs

Unfortunatly, we weren't able to get a good 3D picture of her. Her hand was in front of her face the entire time. The technician even shook my belly, poked at her a little bit, and had me change positions, but she wouldnt move her hand away from her face. I think we know where she already gets her stubborness (...Adam, although he will tell you that it's from me!) Either she was being stubborn or the girls likes her sleep. Oh well, we are just happy that so far things are looking great and she seems healthy!!

Vegas trip in November!!

2007-12-08T18:45:00.000-08:00

We decided that we needed to go on a little trip before the baby comes. Adam has wanted to go to Vegas for awhile and Noelle had never been, so we decided it was time. We went for a long weekend trip and had a blast. The weather was a nice change from Spokane!! We went to the Cirque de Soilel "Mystere" show, which was amazing, went shopping, ate some good food, saw the sights, and Noelle went to the spa while Adam tried his luck with a poker tournament and actually won some money!! We were sad to come back home, but it was soooo worth it. Here are some pics from our trip!

Here we are at the Venetian in Las Vegas. It is amazing how much money is put into the lobbies of these hotels...WOW!

Striking a pose in the Venetian again.

We went to FAO Schwartz in Ceasar's Palace, a HUGE toy store with even bigger stuffed animals. We decided we needed to snap a few pictures with some of the residents in the store. Adam got a little too close to the octopus :)

Don't need to say much here...Noelle with a baby in her pouch too!!

We decided to go to the Bellagio and take a peek at the water show. It was so awesome!! Each song they play has a different show that goes with it and they go off about every 10 minutes or so. It was pretty amazing to watch and you could feel the air tempurature cool down as soon as the water show started (since the water temp was a bit chilly)

Fall is here

2007-10-14T21:57:00.000-07:00

Well, it's a sad time in Spokane, at least for Adam. The short summer was unbelievably busy. We spent nearly every weekend at the lake, camping, mountain biking or traveling. It was tons of fun. But, starting in September, the weather started to change and the cold started to move in. We are still waiting for the first big freeze but high temps near 50, grey skies, and rain is cold enough for me. It is actually a really nice time to be in Spokane. Being outdoors, even for just a walk in the park, is really nice. Golf is outstanding this time of year. The only real depressing part is having to put the boat away.

It was a sad day indeed. This was our last day on Long Lake in Northwest Spokane. As you can see, not another boat in sight and calm water, can't ask for better. We ended up putting nearly 70 hours on the boat which is pretty decent for our first summer. We'll definately be ready to go come next April, well Adam will at least. Noelle will definately have to wait until late summer to get on the wakeboard. But we can get the little one used to the boat a little early ;-) We'll be winterizing the boat in the next few weeks. Adam is still holding out for one more indian summer day but chances aren't great.

The other cool part about this time of year is that the trees have started to change color. Our street is lined with big trees so we are able to enjoy the colors everyday. I imagine all those leaves will be a pain in the butt in a few weeks but they're fun to look at now.

We are extremely blessed to live in such a beautiful place and we are definately trying to take advantage of it.

As far as baby news goes, there isn't to much to report. Unfortunately, this is taking forever!!!! It's going to be a long 6-7 months for us. Neither one of us has any patience. But, as far as we know, everyone is happy and healthy. We'll keep y'all up to date as we go on.

It's Official!!

2007-09-28T15:42:00.000-07:00

Hey all! As you can tell by the picutres, WE ARE PREGNANT!!! Big smiles all around :-D We went to the doctor today and had the very 1st ultrasound so we thought it was time to let all our family and friends know. We are unbelievably excited! It is still really early but we couldn't take the excitement any longer. The original plan was to surprise our families at Christmas which would have been a great present for everyone. But, since the baby is going to be due at the end of April, we thought it might be a little mean to wait until we were 5 months pregnant to spread the word.

Noelle is approximately 9 weeks along as of today which puts the due date as April 28th, 2008. Yeah us!!

We were really worried that it would be difficult for us to get pregnant since Adam had to go through Chemo 2 1/2 years ago. But, the Lord has blessed us with some mighty strong swimmers!! We are truly greatful and still, honestly, blown away by what we've been blessed with.

In the picture of the ultrasound, you can see the sac (dark circle in the center). Inside it is a small sphere on the bottom, which is the egg sac, and a little jellybean, aka the baby. Technology is pretty cool. We were also able to hear the baby's heartbeat which was just trucking along, that was pretty amazing. According to the doc, everything appears to be just great.

Again, it is still very, very early and we have a long way to go. We'll keep ya posted with updates as they come along.

The Spokane Shock!!!

2007-06-27T18:52:00.000-07:00

Here we are at the arena football stadium of the Spokane Shock. The shock is supposedly one of the best arena football teams in the nation. Arena football is very fast paced and pretty exciting. Instead of having 100 yards on the field, there is only 50. The final score was something like 60-30, we won!! We went with some friends and we were actually standing on the floor, we were leaning in the wall that frames the field. Here Adam is "cheering on the team!!", according to him. He is acutally flinching from a pinch on the arm from me ;)
Here is part of the half time show which was pretty entertaining. How fun would that be?!?!
A shot of the action. We are the blue team...about to score another touchdown.
It only took about 5 tries to get a picture of us with 1) both of us in it, 2) no heads cut off, 3) Adam acutally smiling instead of making funny faces....like the one below.
He sure looks happy huh!! I guess the is the look he was going for, but he didnt know it would be this good. We were laughing for a few minutes after we saw it.

Bathroom remodel!!

2007-06-20T10:52:00.001-07:00

Before:

Here are a few pictures we took before....well more like in the process of the remodel. The cabinets were the same color as the door frame and the countertop was a lovely pine/hunter green color. I guess that just isnt our taste, so we decided to redo it!! Oh yeah the tile backsplash had to go too. Well we had a little more drywall damage than we wanted trying to get the backsplash off, so we had to do some patchwork.

After:

Here are the after pictures. We still need to put the baseboards and door frame back on, plus get some pictures or something to put on the wall, but here is close to the end product!! We had a few issues with the vanity, but a few trips to Lowes and Ace hardware fixed the problems. Overall we are very happy with the end product. A half bath done, and lots more to go!!

This is a record!!

2007-05-12T14:16:00.000-07:00

I cant believe it has been almost 2 months since the last blog. Definatly a record high!!! Well here is a picture of our house, sorry for those of you who have been waiting to see it! The styles of houses here are totally different from Texas....they dont have all brick houses here. Well they do, but they were built about 1950!! We are loving the house and the surrounding area. There is a lake about 10 minutes away, which is great to take our new boat to. We are so excited for summer, the days are finally starting to warm up. I think it was in the 70's everyday this week, for the first time this year.

Whats new with us....not a whole lot. Adam is still enjoying work and Noelle is now working 4 days a week. We just wish we didnt have to work so much so that we could play more. We've been to the lake a few time and have been camping this spring. I'll have to save those pictures and stories for the next blog.

We have slowly been updating the house. My parents were here in March and helped up paint over some of the awful paint!! I'll have to post some before and after pictures, too. Well it is a beautiful Saturday, so it is time to go play!!!

Getting there...

2007-03-18T18:05:00.000-07:00

Well it has been awhile since I posted last...wow how time flies by!! We are for the most part unpacked, there are a few things that need to find their permanent place....we are pretty much settled in though. We have gotten a lot of requests to post some pics, we will get working on that! Well it finally feels like spring is creeping on in and we are totally excited about that. We are so ready to be able to do fun things outside again, that doesnt involve a few layers each time you step foot out the door. We are like 1/2 mile from the beautiful Riverside State Park, so we are pumped to explore the great outdoors!! My parents are coming to visit this week and we are excited to see them! Hopefully we can get some opinions/help with paint and hopfully some drapes...other than that we are just excited to spend time with them. Well pictures will be coming, but I cant promise when!!

Busy bees!

2007-03-04T16:56:00.000-08:00

Well we have officially been in our new house for 1 week, 1 day!! I can not believe how much longer it is taking us to unpack than it was when we moved into the duplex. I think some if it is that we keep brining in new stuff, so I guess we are bringing it on ourselves. We are absolutely loving it so far...aside from all the boxes. We are really excited to finish the unpacking process and just be able to relax. It seems like we wake up, go to work, come home and immediatly begin putting things away. The next thing you know, it is 10 o'clock and time to get ready to go to bed. This has been a continuous schedule since we moved it. We got a new TV so Adam is now finding time to relax :). He deserves it!
Today was also our last day in our old ward as the Sunbeam teachers. We are really going to miss it, we have become so attached to the kids (all 10 of them!) It was sad to see them leave our class for the last time. The presidency is worried how they will adapt to their new teacher/teachers, I guess they have taken great to us. It might be rough for a week or two, but they will be fine. We love being sunbeam teacher, even if we dont get to meet many new people that move into the ward!!

Its a good day!

2007-02-07T11:35:00.000-08:00

For some reason Im just in a great mood! Everything is going smoothly with the house. Looks like we will be closing on the 15th and moving in on the 23rd!! Wahoo!!!! We are super excited. Work is going great for the both of us. Adam is staying busy during the week, but he is enjoying all the paid luches to all his favorite places. As for me, I am also staying pretty busy. I am working all day Mondays and Tuesdays. Work 1/2 day on Wednesdays and work one Friday, a month. Starting in May I will pick up Thursdays too. Its nice because we have some extra income and I am also able to keep all the house work and grocery shopping up!! I have also been able to enjoy a bit of scrapbooking and card making...gotta make time to be crafty! Well I guess that is about it for now...nothing to excited has been happening. Well we might go night skiing tonight, so maybe we'll get some pictures. Oh and I still need to undate on our fun trip to Texas...and Amy I am working on getting those pics for ya!

Growing up...

2007-01-28T16:25:00.000-08:00

Well as it goes, the grass isnt always greener on the other side!! Adam and I are very grateful for everything we have been blessed with over the past 6 months to year and a half (our restored health, our education, our wonderful jobs, and family), but life sure does get more complicated as you grow up. We are in the middle of buying our first home and are totally excited to have our own place and to not hear our neighbors snoring at night!!! Again, we are so thankful for the opportunity and the means to take this big step...but the more we talk the more it seems like this is just the tip of the iceburg. We have been determining what we need for the house, what improvements we want to make, and when we are going to do all this fun stuff. We are also wanting a boat and we know that the corolla wont last forever. It has been so crazy trying to figure out when all this stuff can realistically happen. It just seems like when we were still in school all this stuff wasnt a problem...mainly because we knew it couldnt happen while we were still in school. Now that we are in the real world with wonderful jobs, we are in a different mind set (there's always new stuff we are adding to our "want" list).... we just have to remember to take everything in stride!!! It has been so excited but so frustrating at the same time...tips anybody?

And I know I have been bad about blogging...I will be updating my blog shortly.

Christmas in Utah

2007-01-09T13:21:00.000-08:00

Christmas day was great!! We started off by opening presents, followed by a yummy breakfast. Dad sure was excited about the Finnihati..a scottish smoked cod fish. Most everyone had a cold this day...except for mom and dad (dont worry it caught up with them right before their trip to Africa, thank goodness they got better before they left!)

Adam taking his Christmas Day nap! He fell asleep watching Over the Hedge. I think we watched 4 movies that day

Here are our stockings before we rummaged through them. Santa does a better job at getting everything to fit in the stocking than I do!

Posing for pictures!! We dont look the cutest..but what do you expect first thing in the morning?

Our Not So Little Christmas

2007-01-05T12:56:00.000-08:00

Since we were going to Utah for Christmas with my parents this year, Adam and I decided to do Christmas from each other and his parents the night before we left to Utah. We had a blast opening up our presents and are grateful for all that we have this year.

Here Adam is with his new toy...a new top of the line driver!!! He was so happy :)

Here I am with my gift from Adam...a matching Dooney and Bourke purse and wallet!! He over did it this year but I love them!

Me posing with my new pea coat...an early birthday present from Adam. Yeah!
Adam with his new jacket. It was hard to find the right size...but I got it!

Christmas Pictures

2007-01-03T18:55:00.000-08:00

Since we live in such a beautiful city, we really wanted to take Chrismas pictures in the scenery. Here we are about 10 minutes away from our home in a state park. There are so many breath taking views here and we are having a great time seeing them all.

Decorations!

2006-12-11T20:23:00.000-08:00

Well...since our front room didnt have enough room to fit a normal size Christmas tree, we had to buy a baby tree!!! We had a lot of fun setting it up and getting it decorated, but I think the cats had more fun :) They kept jumping in it, chewing on the branches, and playing with the ornaments and lights. We have so many ornaments for our tree that we had to really pick and choose which ones we

wanted. So the top contenders were...the Texas A&M ornament, our graduations ornaments, our first Chrismas ornament, and of course snowmen (cause i love snowmen!!) There were some others, but these were the most important ones!!! The tree was so wimpy that when we put the angel on the top of our tree, it snapped the top!!! In the picture with Adam and I, you can see the ghetto tree top!!! Well at least we had a good time decorating it :)

The Nutcracker

2006-12-09T12:49:00.000-08:00

Well the picture turned out pretty blurry...guess that is what happens when ushers attempt to take them!!! Last night Adam and I went to the Nutcracker ballet...all Adam's idea!!! I used to go with my mom when I was a little girl...and also got to perform in the Ballet Oklahoma Nutcracker!!! Needless to say...I love the Nutcracker. It has been so long since I've seen it. Adam has never seen it, he admits he didnt experience much culture when he was younger....at least not the arts side of culture. It was great to get out and do something together that we have never done. I'm sure going into it that it wasn't Adam's first choice, but it was sweet of him to set it up knowing how much I would enjoy it. Turns out we both enjoyed to perfomance and had a great time!

Schweitzer!!

2006-12-05T20:32:00.001-08:00

This weekend was a blast!! Adam and I went to Sandpointe, ID to Schweitzer mountain to go skiing/boarding!! The snow was amazing. The mountain has gotten about 5 feet of snow....needless to say there was tons of powder. There were so many fun runs and it wasnt even crowded. I guess we are just used to the busy mountains up in Utah. We stayed in a "ski in- ski out" condo...what a sweet set up!!! After a day of skiing we soaked in the outdoor hot tub which was blazing hot. It felt so good though. Check out the trees at the summit, it looks like they got sprayed with white foam...you couldn't see any green!!! Well that was our fun weekend. We are excited for many more ski/board trips to come. We love it here :)

Our Turkey Day!

2006-11-26T22:32:00.000-08:00

As we all know, Thanksgiving was this past week!!! We drove down to Boise, ID to spend time with Adam's grandparents, great grandma, and aunt. The drive there wasn't too shabby. The weather cooperated and we made it there in about 6 1/2 hourse. We laid pretty low the whole week: watched Texas A&M beat Texas in football!!!!!, watched part of the Macy's parade, ate, slept, went to the mall...three times, played with Aunt Dawn's puppies, went out to eat, and played a rousing game of Apples to Apples. Man was that game a blast... wouldnt be the same with out the Dodo. Adam somehow ended up winning all three games. I say it was luck, he begs to differ. Then today we drove back to Washington. The drive was absolutely horrid. There was a nice snow storm that decided to blow through, with plenty of accidents to go along with it. We literally stayed in the same spot for 1 hour!!! The drive ended up taking somewhere between 8-9 hours on the way back. We were so glad to finally get home. The drive wasnt the best...but at least we were able to make it back safely without any accidents, Im thankful for that. It was a great trip though, we are excited to visit Boise again!

What a weekend!

2006-11-12T14:12:00.000-08:00

Well weekend is almost over...and it went by so fast. Adams parents got in town on Thursday morning. We all ended up driving to montana so adam could check a patient. The drive was beautiful with snow covered trees along the way. Thanks goodness the roads were in good condition!! In the meantime Adam's little sister, Camie, and her bball team ( university of utah) flew in to spokane. When Adam, the parents, and I got back to spokane, we picked up Camie from her hotel and went out to dinner. We went to an italian restaurant called Tomato Street, and man is it a great place to eat. The garlic bread was literally dripping with butter...I've got some working out to do!

Friday morning Adam's grandma and aunt flew in. We introduced his grandma to the cats (she is terrified of cats) and she actually did pretty well. We did decide to keep them locked up while she was over though, didnt want any heart attacks this weekend. Friday we stopped by the casino for awhile, Adams grandma loves to gamble, went to dinner and the mall, then off we went to Camie's basketball game. After the game we went back home and went to bed, we were all pretty tired.

Saturday morning we all went to breakfast, dropped Adams dad off at the airport, and some of the family went back to the casino while some off us stayed at the house and watched a movie!! Then this morning we had breakfast, dropped adam's grandma and aunt off at the airport, went to church, and now enjoying our relaxing sunday!! Tomorrow morning Adam's mom goes back and another work week begins. It really was really a fun and busy weekend...its a shame we have to go back to work tomorrow morning.

CRAZYINESS!!

2006-11-07T20:22:00.000-08:00

What can I say...today has been CRAZY!!! Well it all started when Adam woke up at 530...not with an alarm, he just woke up (and stayed up). Well I ended waking up then too and took about an hour to fall back asleep. About 30 minutes later it was time for me to get up, Im a working girl now!!! So I got to work and started the day. I had some pretty interesting patients today, and nasty ones at that. I had a retired doctor, MD...I figured doctors new the importance of taking care of your mouth, but i wow was i wrong. Im not meaning to be gross but HOLY COW!!! The gum tissue between two of his molars was really receded, so tons of crap was getting stuck between those two teeth. When i say there was food stuck...i mean food, not plaque. I was pulling out CHUNCKS of food, partially decayed and digested. For some reason he seemed suprised about this situation, yet he admitted to not flossing!!! It was gross enough for me to clean, but i bet his mouth tasted like butt while i was cleaning it out. He was a really nice guy but i kinda feel like i waste my time when i have patients like that because chances are they are gonna go back to old habits and it will be like that the next time. Hopefully they leave with the attitude to take better care of their mouths...but sometimes i wonder. Then i had this other old lady, with a walker, who had this huge bone growth at the roof of her mouth. It was so big and tender that she couldnt bite down to take x-rays. About 10 minutes of trying to work with her and convince her that, no, her mouth hadnt gotten smaller, i finally had to take the x-ray without her mouth slightly open. I dunno, just a weird day at work. Then after work i decided to go to the gym to work out. There is a class that i really like to take that it starts at 6:15. So I got to the gym at about 5:15 and planned on doing weights for 1 hour. Well after that one hour, i went into the classroom to start the class. Well the lights were turned out and 4 people were already waiting. Turns out the instructor called earlier today informing managment that he wasnt gonna make it to class today...or possibly in the future. Since managment always does such a good job (cough cougch) they "forgot" to post signs announcing the class cancellation!! So after waiting 2 weeks to take this class (it was closed for halloween) and being so excited to take it, it was cancelled! So much for that. Then to top the day off...Adams fam is coming in town this weekend. I have the day off thursday and friday , so i was planning on cleaning the house all day on thursday so that it would be clean when his parents fly in on thursday night. Well, turns out adams parents are getting in town THURSDAY MORNING. Since I have to work tomorrow (Wed) i guesss I will be busy cleaning the house tonight and tomorrow night in a rush to get everything done so that i can pick them up thurs. morning. There is so much to do: vacuum, sweep, mop, dust, dishes, wash laundry, bathrooms, pick up the craft room and put all the crafts up, wash sheets, put laundry away. AHHH! Well thats the news for now, let ya know who the weekend goes!

Happy Halloween

2006-11-01T21:31:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween...well a day late!! Saturday night Adam and I decided to carve pumpkins together. I had previously gone to the grocery store and bought pumpkins for 9 cents a pound, that means i spent about $1 per pumpkin. Sounds like a deal to me. Anyway, we decided we would have a little carving contest. Adam decided on this crazy skull design and i kinda make a funky frankenstein. It was originally supposed to be a witch, hence the giant wart, but i wasnt happy with it so i added the neck bolts. I dunno who won but we both had so much fun and quite a few laughs...mainly because of my mad carving skills!!! When we first brought in the pumpkins in the house and started cleaning them out, our kitties got very curious. Anything new seems to always excite them! So once we finally got the pumpkins cleaned out and carved we needed to put some candles in them. All i had were these rather large candles, needless to say we got burnt a few times putting them in the pumpkins before Adam came up with the brilliant idea to lower the candles in with some tongs. Well we about froze our butts of trying to take pictures outside with our pumpkins. For those of you who dont know what the weather has been like in good ole Washington...its gotten down to 19 degrees already. We have been told to expect 20 below 0!!! Holy crap, Good bye Texas!! On Halloween I had to work and Adam was out of town with some business appoinments. Well when i got done with work i felt like working out, so off I went to the gym. Adam ended up getting home about 630 and i got home shortly after. By then it had already been dark for 1.5 hours (yes it gets dark by 5!!) and it was freezing outside, so no trick or treaters for us. Well that was our Halloween this year...guess there is always next year!!!

Our new home!

2006-10-27T10:52:00.000-07:00

I thought I would attempt to attach some pictures of our new home so you all can see a little glimpse of Spokane. The scenery here is beautiful and we find ourselves exploring on the weekends...well that was before it got cold here. It is already getting into the low 30s in the evenings, but somehow is nice during the day. I guess it is only nice if the sun comes out, if it stays behind the clouds its pretty chilly here. Yup, gotta love the cold wind. Definatly a lot different from Texas wind. When it blows it feels like a giant hair dryer!

We are really enjoying all the outdoor activities here. There are so many places to camp, hike, ride horses, wakeboard, sled, and snow ski (or snowboard). We really would like to get into mountain biking, but the weather is already too cold...so I guess we'll have to wait until it warms up a little.

The new blog!

2006-10-20T13:22:00.000-07:00

Well, it seems as though everyone is setting up blogs!! It seemed like a good idea for me to start one too...since we've moved from Texas, it would be a great way to keep up with everyone! So for those of you who dont know whats going on with us, here goes. Adam and I are in Washington state and are really liking it. The weather has already gotten pretty chilly. We are totally excited for the snow...there is a mountain less than 1 hour away that we can sled, ski, snow board on. Adam is loving his job and the schedule. He is working for St. Jude medical and is actually standing in on pacemaker and defibrillator implants. Some days he works and some days he doesnt, just depends on the schedule for the day. As for me, Noelle, I just accepted two part time jobs as a dental hygienist. Im really excited to start working again, so I guess we'll see how it goes!