I can cook! (kind of)

We had Thanksgiving at my parents' home with my family (minus Steven, of course), and Lorae and her 2 children and my Uncle Rob. I actually helped a lot with cooking. I made the mashed potatoes, southern cornbread stuffing, double chocolate gooey cake, and pumpkin gooey cake. All recipes (with the exception of Mashed potatoes, I'm not that dumb : )) courtesy of the Food Network and Paula Deen. Everything turned out well. The Chocolate gooey cake was especially popular. So, now it's going to be harder for me to get out of cooking. Lorae is already saying I have to make Christmas dinner all by myself. I don't think so! Lorae made her homemade mac and cheese, yams with glazed pecans and marshmallows, and she and my Dad partnered up for the fried turkey. We tried to keep it easy for my mom, but she still made gravy, stuffing, rolls, and roasted a 2nd turkey. A few of the other relations came over for dessert (Jenny, Jimmy, Dan & Jeanine and their kids, and Kathy), and then the original group was joined by Lorae's former mother-in-law and nephew to go see Enchanted. It was a nice Holiday.

I finally got a new camera the night before Thanksgiving, so I will be posting more pics and won't have to beg for them anymore! I'll post some from Thanksgiving as soon as I figure out all the workings of my shiny new Canon SD-1000 : ) My family did a lot of day-after shopping. Denise and Shauna got me the one thing I reallly wanted, a KitchenAid mixer. It was too good a deal to pass up! Though after the night we spent at my parents, and all that cooking, Christopher and I really needed to sleep, so I couldn't go with them. I was glad to find the camera online early for the BF price, too! Going out in the cold is not my idea of fun!

Halloween 2007 Pics

So, these are pics from C getting ready to go Trick or Treating and coming back. He loved it, as I described in an earlier post. The Mickey ears were kind of weird, and usually far back on his head, but he was still cute, and after a night of mostly refusing to wear them at a church party, he was pretty good the actual night of. He loved walking by himself like a big boy! Oh, and he kind of liked eating the candy too : ) Luckily, I've been able to hide most of it from him and we still have a lot! I plan on using it soon for potty-training bribery : )

Blue Toyota Corolla 1998-2007

Ahhhhh! I totally forgot to talk about my poor, departed car! I am so sad that last week we lost my trusty Corolla, which I bought when I was 18 and Joel has been driving since we bought the Camry a little bit before Christopher was born. We knew the transmission was going but last week found out that there was a pretty significant hole in the engine! So, there's not much left to do but say good-bye to the poor thing. I'm just really grateful it lasted through baseball season, and that it's fairly convenient for Joel to take the lightrail to work.

World Series, Halloween, Joel in school......

Well, obviously my intention was to summarize each World Series game, but that didn't happen. Suffice it to say I was really busy and then just ticked during that time. I really think at least 2 of those games we should have been able to come away with. Getting swept was not even in my realm of possibilities after the run the Rox had been on. But my biggest disappoinment was just that they couldn't even pull out one game so that my parents could come on Monday. Honestly, I didn't really expect them to win. I thought it was amazing they got that far and had that great run at the end of the season. So, great season and I plan on going back to my job next year.

Halloween pics should be coming soon. I honestly was kind of dreading that day. Halloween has been very cold and at times even snowy the past few years here. And I thought Christopher might be a pain to drag around that night. HOWEVER........ I am THRILLED to report that it was great! C loved it so much! And he could have gone on for miles! Lillianne and JoJo were tired way before he was. Of course, he was carried about half the time. But he wanted to walk a lot and towards the end at every door he was saying "Trick or Treat" "thank-you" and "Happy Halloween" It was so precious. I don't even know how Christmas can top that for him. If he had all the words, I'm sure he would have been asking us why we don't do this Trick-or-Treating thing every day of the year. He dressed as Mickey Mouse and was so cute. Like I said, pics coming as soon as I can get them from Jaime.

Also, yesterday Joel enrolled to take college courses online from the University of Phoenix. Financial Aid and such is still pending, but he starts classes the 19th and we're very excited. The decision to do this just felt right to both of us and we're looking forward to the opportunities this will open up for our family. The plan is to get a Bachelor's Degree in Business Hospitality Management. He has to do the Associates first, so altogether it will take him just over 3 years or less to do what would have taken 6 years of college. It's a good time for him to start and his company has a program to pay for continuing education, so it's a great deal all around.

Hmmmmm....what else? I spent most of last week unwinding from the baseball season and spending time with my family. Shauna and Mitchell were on Fall Break, so we got to see them a bit and just hang out. Shauna's friend Jordan came into town for the long weekend, so we did some tourist stuff with her too. We visited the US Mint (C really wanted to get a hold of all those pennies!) and did the tour at Coors Field (yeah, I did know most of the stuff- and more than the tour guides!- but it was still fun). Saturday we took C to see the Bee Movie, which he loved most of. Now we're mostly back to whatever normal is and trying to get the house in order before the Holiday season starts for Local Affairs and we're all over the place again!

WS Game 1

OK, so game 1 sucked. I couldn't even watch most of it. But I still have a few points to make (or hopefulness to express, however you want to look at it : )).

1. I really think we were just letting the Sox get all the runs out of their bats. Might as well let them exhaust their offense while Josh Beckett is on the mound, right?
2. The layoff. Though I have been cursing the commentators on ESPN (And everywhere else) for talking about it non-stop, it's not normal in baseball to have more than a day off at a time, the exception being All-Star Break, which is still only 3 days for the players. That being said, the break didn't need to be that long. The days off without travel were ridiculous. And I'm sick of everyone making it sound like the Rockies did it to themselves. What did you want them to do? Throw a game and risk a comeback??? Anyway, the point is, the guys probably did have some rust to shake off. And while it might keep showing up in the starting pitching, I think they did that.
3. I'm not sure having Eric Byrnes back on our side is helping any. He dissed us while they were here, and we swept the DBacks. Now he's singing the Rockies' praises and then we get totally routed like that. I think he should go back to underestimating our team.

So, it can't get much worse, right? Even if they lose tonight, they come home for 3 games. And by the way, I hope there will be a lot of security for the Fox people, because their desk is pretty close to the command center, and I would love to slap that woman for saying the 20-1 run was "lucky". They've had enough time at this point to do some research and be informed about the Rockies. Ignorant National Media.

Sisters

All of the girls but Denise (she's back in Utah but will be home this weekend for the World Series) at Mom and Dad's this past Sunday evening. I was a little sunburned from Mitchell's football game. Also, speaking of siblings, in case anyone doesn't know, Steven will be coming home a little early (To start school) from his mission. On January 3rd.

Fall 2007

Some pics from a "photoshoot" we did the other day. Shauna took some great ones last year right outside of our building so I asked her to do it again. I love them and you can tell he had fun! And we got it in just in time (last Saturday) because that night it snowed and now all of those pretty leaves are sopping wet! Not nearly as fun and crunchy. Christopher does love to stomp in the snow too, though. It's all a win-win for him.

Snow

It's snowing today. We woke up to a couple of inches and plenty still falling from the sky. I had gotten up and showered early to try to make my cousin Carol's ward to see her son's in their Primary Program. But after I looked outside, I decided not to go.

I'm not sure why I'm so anxious about driving in snow. I've never had a problem. At least, not an accident. Maybe it's only since I've become a mother. Joel has had a couple of incidents, but no one has been hurt, it has just cost a lot of money. Perhaps I'm scared that it's just a matter of time. The more we drive in it, the more the odds seem to go up. Or maybe I'm just sick of spending money to fix things caused by snow and ice that melts the next time the sun appears. I realized this week, when the talk of snow began on the news, how much it actually terrified me. I talked to Joel about it a little bit. Mostly just reenforcing the tentative decision we've made to move back to Florida within the next couple of years or so. One day, if we ever have enough money, I'd love to be one of those Snowbirds who live in Florida during the winter and here in the summer. I do love it here, and I know I'll have a really hard time moving away from my family again, but somehow it doesn't seem worth trapping myself in my home out of fear. Even the couple of times a year that actually happens.

So, now it looks like the weather will be very interesting for the World Series games we will host. I still say we should put a dome on Coors Field.

Jaime and C at the NLDS Rockies game in the Stands

Shauna and Mitchell during Homecoming week. Aren't they cute????


C reading with Papa. I think it's the scriptures....

Summer Pictures

Audrey and Christopher when Becky and Audrey came to visit.....and with Aunt Denise






Christopher is just in Awe of Goofy......


This is hilarious because Christopher and Joseph and Lily were all pretending to be part of The Kelly Clarkson video "Never Again" (more brainwashing from Shauna)

C with Pooh and Friends at Downtown Disney

Picture from NLDS game

This is my whole family at the final NLDS game. Denise really came out just for Baseball (and maybe some of Mom's cooking for her birthday! : )) My uncle Rob was there too, but he wouldn't stand close enough to be in the picture. Do I look bloated to anyone else?? Please tell me it's just because I'm standing next to super-skinny Jaime. Any reassurance on that would be greatly appreciated : )

Going to the World Series!!!

This past month has been crazy in just about every way possible for us. We thought we were going to have to move, and now that's on the backburner. Christopher is more active, curious, independant yet clingy, and is growing faster than ever. Joel and I have hashed out a tentative five-year plan that includes Joel going back to school and possibly moving out of state. And then, of course, there's been the Rockies. Work has been CRAZY. And while I'm really excited about Rocktober, it hasn't exactly been fun at work. So anyway, breaking it all down.........

We thought we were pretty much at the end of our rope with trying to buy our home. We tried working with several mortgage brokers and it just didn't seem like we could do it by our May deadline, so we had pretty much decided to get it ready to sell and move, but our property owners think they may be able to carry it longer, so were going to hang in and try to see what happens as we get closer. I do love this place and with our new plan for the future, building any kind of equity is good, and we already have a vested interest here, so here's hoping it works out : )

Christopher has gone from being my baby (which I can't seem to stop calling him), to a toddler, and is rapidly moving towards full-fledged boy. It's crazy. Part of me wants him to stay little and mourns not having a baby around, but mostly I am fascinated at how fast he learns and grows. They just catch on to things you'd never think would appeal to them and he surprises me every day! Our schedule is kind of crazy right now, but most days we hang out together playing baseball, watching Disney movies, and frequenting the childrens section of Barnes and Noble. He recently got into trains there and we bought him his first set. Joel was playing with it more than C, but it's evening out now : )

So, whilst we were trying so hard to buy the house, figure out our credit and everything, Joel and I realized we didn't exactly know what we really wanted to have happen for the next few years, so we finally came to the realization that we should at least have some goals to work towards. Joel is not sure he wants to be in banking long-term, which I knew, but I never really heard anything come out that he really wanted to do. I just know he's good with numbers and people and loves interaction. So, for now, we decided we may as well take advantage of the program his company offers to pay for school. We're hoping to get him enrolled in a Business program as soon as possible (ie after the Rox are done : )) and get a degree under his belt. Right now we're thinking we'll end up back at Disney in some form, but nothing is certain, of course.

And then of course, there's the Rockies. The ride they are on is incredible and I don't really know if any of us understand the magnitude of it yet. It's almost like they can't lose. I think they could sleepwalk through the games and somehow we would win them (sorry for the "we", it's just how I am). The actual work part has been pretty stressful though. The Wild Card Tiebreaker was the worst. Everyone was just scrambling. I just don't think anyone thought we would really win all of those games to get there at the end of the season! I got chastised a bit for leaving the command center to go to the bathroom that night! It also took 5+ hours and 13 innings to win that game (which, for the record, never should have gone into extra innings. The home run call was bad, we totally had it), and it was very tense. But the feeling at the end was amazing and I just love to watch the players every time they realize they've taken another big step. I am, however, a bit annoyed with some of the fans. Stupid drunk people get really old after a few of these kinds of games. Last night there were near-riots, people throwing things on the TBS set (Cal Ripken, by the way, is awesome. He signed autographs just about every free minute and wasn't fazed by getting rally towels thrown on him. Frank Thomas too), jumping on the field, climbing into the dugout.......I am not sure why these things are exciting to people. I'm thrilled for the organization to be going to the World Series, but am honestly dreading the sure-to-be-increased craziness that will come with it. I guess now I know why we have twice the normal cops, plus lots of extra precautions and personnel for these games.

So, until next time......

August is CRAZY!!

So, we did go to Florida (C and I with Denise and Jaime), and I now remember why I don't go there in the summer. It's fine if you live there (or so I remember), because you'd never actually go out and do the tourist stuff during the hottest part of the year, but we had to, and it was.....well.....let's just say I can't remember the last time I dripped sweat. If you look on Facebook at the pictures Jaime posted, you will see it does NOT agree with me! : ) But we had fun and got to see some old friends and family we don't see very often (tho not everyone I really wanted to see : ( ). We did Disney twice thanks to my AWESOME friend Trish, who even got to come hang out with us the second day which was great! I still love that place. We spent a lot of time with my in-laws and got to see the cousins quite a bit too. I'll post a picture or two (in which I don't look like a drowned rat!) soon.

The plane rides weren't so fun, and I'm glad that from now on, tho it will be more expensive; C will have his own seat. On the way out he threw up on me, which was not ideal but could have been MUCH worse. And on the way back he kept kicking the chair in front of us. It's a good thing he's cute, because that lady was TICKED until she looked back at him, and then she played with him. But all in all he's a great kid and for having extremely irregular naps and running around so much, he was great.

Once we got back from Florida, we had a week before Joel's parents came out, in part, for C's 2nd birthday. More on that later. I went back to work, Joel started his latest promotion (Joel, by the way, did a great job cleaning the house while I was gone. I think I fell in love with him all over again!), and we tried to be normal for a week. Then his parents got here, and we tried to spend as much time with them as possible. They came to a couple of games, we went to the Denver Art Museum, and Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak (well, the side of it). Saturday the 28th was Christopher's 2nd birthday. We all went to the game and they (Coors Field GR staff), sang to him and my family joined us and I think the Rox even won : ). Sunday we had an actual party at my parents with my family, Joel's parents, and Lorae and the kids. Christopher has a bunch of new toys and clothes and books and he is loving it! I'm terrified for this week when we celebrate Jo-Jo's birthday and have to tell C he doesn't get to blow out the candles or unwrap the presents!

So, now we have a 2 year old. His favorites words are "No" and "mine," but he's also eager to do things by himself, and I swear his speech and knowledge grow by leaps and bounds every day.

August really is crazy. Just this week we had Joel's parents in town (they're currently visiting family in Utah and then will be back for 2 days before they leave), I went to the Tim McGraw and Faith Hill concert with Shauna and Denise Tuesday, Thursday (last night), 7 of us went to see the Broadway-Bound spanking new Little Mermaid musical (C saw a movie with my Dad, "PaPa"), I'm planning a baby shower, and during all of this we're trying to buy our home! Not to mention Local Affairs is about to swing into full gear, I have almost 2 months of games left, and in our family I think August has the most birthdays and anniversaries of any month!! It should be fun, but I'm going to have to stay on my toes and just thinking about all of it makes me very tired!

I hope everyone is enjoying themselves as summer winds down. Take care and keep in touch!!

Movin into July......

Ok, here we go, trying to do this more often......

The past couple of weeks have stayed very busy for us. We got some good news. Joel got a promotion that, to us, was pretty sudden. We knew it might be coming up sometime this year, but not quite so soon. They almost announced it in a meeting before they told Joel! So anyway, he is going to be supervisor of his branch. It's exciting, but at the same time a little limiting because this is actually as far as he can go in the company without a degree. But we'll see what happens.

I had a crazy first week of July at work. We had the Mets in town, and fireworks the 3rd and 4th. Both were sellouts and the 3rd was fairly uneventful, but the 4th was crazy. The Rox swept the Mets, so that was fun, but when the command center is so busy, the game gets a little lost to us : (.

So, I have one more series and then Christopher and I are off to Orlando! I am very excited, although a little worried about the heat and humidity. I don't think I've been down there this time of year since I moved back!

Well, someone just woke up from his nap, so we must go cut Grammy's hair : )

More pictures.....

From top to bottom (and left to right): Christopher with the Rice kids in my parents yard, they were playing in the sprinkler; C at that same father/daughter campout, at Lake Wellington, near the campfire with a stick; Joel trying to show him to aim a little higher with the bat; Shauna showing him the glowing thing; another pic of me, Shauna, C and Jaime rafting at Lake Wellington.

Pictures, early summer 2007

Told you he follows through and lifts his back leg, didn't I? : )

He Loves T-ball!



Haircut, it took me forever to do it and I cut myself very badly, but he was mostly good : ) My mom wouldn't let me just use the clippers again.

Both pictures below are from Lake Wellington when we went on the Father-daughter campout with my Dad and Shauna and Jaime. He loved rafting : )

Summer 2007

Well, I have been quite the slacker. And not just where this blog is concerned! I wanted to post some new pictures and realized I seriously haven't taken any in quite a while! I got a little down about it when we lost just about all of the pictures we've taken since Christopher was born due to a computer (actually 2, since we had a backup on Shauna's external drive that also crashed) crashing. But I definitely need to suck it up and start again! So, I just begged my family for their recent pics of Christopher and hopefully I'll have some soon.

We have been REALLY busy, especially since summer started. Baseball season is in full swing, and the Rockies have had an extremely up and down season so far (currently, sadly, in the down stage!). They had a horrible April, then had their longest winning streak in 8 years or so, took 2 out of 3 from the Red Sox and came home to sweep thr Yankees, and are currently on a road-trip with a 7 game losing streak with a couple of heart-breaking late losses! My job with them is also a little more stressful this year, but I still love the people I work with and think it's nice to get paid to watch baseball : )

We also have some summer events going on. We just did a friend's wedding and have had a couple of summer picnics. Tammy is starting to schedule a lot more, so that should keep us busy and help the income a little : ) Otherwise, for me, there are just a lot of summer plans, Christopher and I will leave in just over a week for Orlando with my sisters Denise and Jaime. We'll spend a week there (July 10-17th), and see lots of friends and family. And when we come back we'll have a short break before Joel's parents come to town and we have tickets to events and plays.

Joel is still working away at 1stBank and steadily moving up. We've adapted to his different schedule and keep Christopher up a little later. It actually works pretty well because when I get home from games so late, I like to sleep in, and for the most part, Christopher does too, since he stays up. We do get some weird looks when we have him out late though : ) Joel also finally got released from Primary and now holds callings in the Elders Quorum and as assistant ward clerk over membership. I'm the Beehive advisor and am having a great time working with the youth of the church again.

Christopher talks a blue streak and LOVES baseball, tho he has a great appreciation for most types of balls : ) He apparently has been observing the game more than we thought, as he follows through on both his throwing and swinging. He even lifts his back leg at the end of his throw and steps into his swing! He has a favorite bedtime story; "Miss Moo Goes to the Zoo", he loves it because of all of the animals. He recognizes most animals and can make all of their noises. He loves his aunts and uncles and Papa and Grammy. I'm sure he'll have a great time with Joel's parents this trip and start to remember them more too. He's learning so fast right now! It's a lot of fun.

When I get pictures I will make another post including some of them.

2007

Well, here we are in 2007. This year I will have my 10 year high school reunion (I can say that because I'm planning it! : )), Christopher will enter his Terrible Twos (unless we're very lucky), our marriage will turn 5 years old, and I'm sure many other things will happen we have no way of knowing right now.

We spent the last two weeks of 2006 mostly at home and with my family at my parents' home. The roads are still horrible from the two storms we had. Side roads still have snow and ice, and major roads are clear and mostly dry, but have new potholes. Most of my Christmas presents were things to improve my home and wardrobe, and I'm THRILLED, as I almost never buy clothes for myself and have been desperately wanting to decorate the house, but haven't quite had the means. I also got an ipod nano from my cousin Lori, another thing I would never buy myself but am sure I will use and am very grateful for.

The past 6 months Joel has gotten 2 promotions and 4 raises. We're excited to see them settle in and to start saving money and get out of debt. He's not crazy about his current hours, but we're adjusting so we can spend as much time together as possible.

I hope everyone had great holidays and has something to look forward to in this new year. Take Care and keep in touch!

It's 2007!

Christopher as a pirate for Halloween (he even says "arrgh"! : ))
playing basketball in his room (yeah, he stands on the bed, but he'll grow!)
Christmas morning. He was overwhelmed after about 2 presents, but he had fun.
Christopher and I at my parents, Dec 30th. Little Audrey is in the high chair.
my sisters and I at my parents', also Dec 30th.