Shower of the Century!!!

This past Saturday was my baby shower and let me tell you I LOVED every second of it!!!! It was so stinkin fun and I felt like a spoiled kid on Christmas morning. I was telling my mom this morning that a baby or bridal shower is the one time in your life that you get to have all your friends together and it just seems like a big ole' reunion. I'm so grateful for the friends I have made throughout my life but even more importantly that we keep in touch. I can say without a doubt that I've been very blessed with great friends all through my life. Above is a picture of Sarah and I before the party began--I love it when she comes for the weekend---it makes me feel like I'm in college again. Below is a picture of Jayna, Nikki (old roommate) and Jeanette---all friends from when I lived in SLC.
































Above you can see that I was seriously showered in gifts! Who knew you could use so much stuff for a baby! When Jed got home he was sure that Babies R Us had thrown up in our living room! The first thing he said is "so what of this stuff is going back?" and I'm all "NONE!!!!" I mean, I got some really important things for the baby.....like some sunglasses and swimtrunks for Seven Peaks this summer!!! Below is my Aunt Pat, Delsi (old mission companion) and Cousin Carrie---who is due a week after me and so help me if she has her baby boy before me I will be so ticked!



































Just a few more great gifts---above is a basket full of books that Sarah gave me---between she and Missy I have a full library now--I love it! Below is the baby's first outfit to wear to the farm with his dad. It's just one of the many things I got in a HUGE gift basket from Aunt Pat and Carrie---including some critical items for me.....dr.pepper and peanut m&m's!!




































Here's a few pictures of the best party planners ever! Thanks again to my "girls" who planned the party---you rock! And thank to everyone who came and seriously spoiled me. It was so fun to see everyone and I expect you all to come back for a visit when this little guy gets here!

Handy Man Jed!!

Let me begin by saying that I'm so excited to finally have something blogworthy to post! So I've had this vision for the baby's room ever since we moved into our house and this past week Jed has been off work so he decided to make my "vision" a reality! He was pretty nervous at first because he had no clue what he was doing but I'm seriously impressed that he was able to do it just how I wanted------don't think there weren't a few "discussions" between us before it was all done but the end result is FABULOUS!!!! I think he's even impressed with his skills! So he's finished this project and has the rest of the week off so I am willing to hire him out to anyone else out there who needs some handywork done!































You can see that Jed put up all new moldings, the wainscoting and trim around the windows. You might also notice the picture already hanigng in the room to go along with our "cowboy/western" nursery theme. Jed came home the other day all excited about his great find for the babies room. He was all "hurry come see what I got!" So I walked into the nursery not really knowing what to expect and I see this John Wayne picture that he's bought. Not totally knowing if he was serious or not I looked at him and it only took about 2 seonds of looking at the grin on his face to realize---he was serious! I said "uhm, do you really want this in here?" and he said "YES!!! Our boy needs a hero and John Wayne is perfect!" So needless to say---we have the first item that will be going on the wall when we start decorating.

Happy New Year!!!!

So this year since we weren't in Hawaii like we were suppose to be for New Years we decided at the last minute to throw a RAGER of a New Years party! We called a few friends and before you knew it about 25 people showed up! I think everyone had a great time because it was thrown together at the last minute so let's be honest....I'm sure the expectations were pretty low. Jed and I were laughing with Chris and Jen at the end of the evening how much our lives have changed over the past couple years. We've added lots of spouses and kids and babies to the group which makes it even better. As you can see from the picture above Rylee and Mitch are enjoying a mean game of Zingo! (the kids version of bingo). Below is a shot of Brian (grey shirt) dropping his coat and heading straight to the kitchen for some of Jed's famous dip!

















Below is some nice shots of the gang ringing in the new year after all the guys (and some girls) had played "Rock Band" for a good couple hours. Most of the kids and babies were fast asleep by midnight but there were a few who hung on strong! Of course we had to have some nice mormon wine (sparkling cider) to ring in the new year! I like how in the picture below it looks like I totally busted out Justin picking his nose!

































Above is Jack who was one of the few kids to hold on strong and ring in the New Year---he was loving that horn---if only he could figure out how to make it work! Below is proof that I even stayed up til midnight which was a major task for me! I even took a nap that afternoon to prepare for the late night. What can I say----I'm such a grandma---9:30pm and I'm ready for bed!

Hawaiian Christmas........nope!

So as most of you know it was suppose to be a Hawaiian Christmas for Jed & I. My whole family is over in Hawaii for Christmas this year----it's something we planned months ago once we found out my sister and her husband were moving there. So we all got our plane tickets, reserved a beach house and were set to go! Oh wait....just one small problem.....I got pregnant and got extreme anxiety and the thought of getting on an airplane was enough to throw me into a panic attack. Why you ask.....I don't know!!!!! It' not like I haven't flown to Hawaii or even further to Europe more than once in my life! So we had snow instead of sunshine again for Christmas this year. I'm glad my family still had a great time ---although I'm sure it would have been much more fun if we were there! HA! HA!
















Christmas Even we spent with the Walkers (Jed's mom's family) and had a grubbin meal and then headed back to the farm for our own little party. We always draw names among the siblings and then the grandkids draw names. Heidi and Ryan had our name and got us a fun game, a very cute ornament and these fun mini-skillet cookie makers which is the last picture on here---we used them one night and they were sooooooo good! Below is a very fun picture of Marie getting her new car on Christmas morning. She had NO CLUE!!!! Jed and I got to play Santa and deliver it to her that morning. Doesn't she look hot in her hot new car!!!!

































I think my favorite part of Christmas this year by far was going to Lesa and Brady's house on Christmas morning and watching their kids wake up and see what Santa brought them. There's just nothing like being with kids on Christmas morning. Once we decided we weren't going to Hawaii I told Jed the only thing that would make me feel better is if we got to be with the nephews and niece on Christmas morning. So thanks to Lesa and Brady for letting us crash their house that morning. Jed and Brady made us a grubbin breakfast too!!!!

And finally I can't believe I'm putting this hideous picture of myself where I look like a whale on here but oh well. I had to show a shot of these funny elf hats Maile sent us. It was so fun because Maile sent me a fun little gift to open every day before Christmas. It seemed like there were always kids at my house to open the gifts each day and they loved to open a present before Christmas and see what was inside. So thanks for the fun stuff Maile! Even though it wasn't a Hawaiian Christmas we still had a great time with family. Christmas day we headed over to Curtis and Shandy's for a grubbin dinner---as always!!! Who knows----maybe next year will be a Hawaiian Christmas!

Wheelers...the weekend babysitters!

So this weekend the Wheeler's came from Idaho to be my weekend babysitters! It was pretty much non-stop fun from the time they got here on Friday until they left on Sunday night. Most of you know Sarah, Karmen and I have been best friends for the past 15 years and there's never a dull moment when we get to see eachother. Katie (Sarah's daughter) said to me "gosh, whenever you and my mom get together you're laughing hysterically in like the first 5 minutes!" So above is a picture of the kids and I making gingerbread houses. I'll be honest and say the excitement lost it's zeal for me after I had only one side of the roof done so thankfully Carter took pitty on me and decorated the rest of mine. He said I won the prize for "best team work". Caleb said that was kind of like the "best hustler" or "good sportsmanship" award that they give to the lame kid at sports camp. Thanks jerk!
















Below is our fun view from our back deck. I'm not sure who was more excited on Saturday morning when there were deer out in the backyard----Carter or Sarah! Carter had to come and wake me up to let me know about the deer---and then he proceeded to tell me that I snore louder than anyone he knows. Of course I tried to blame it on my pregnancy but Sarah knew better from sharing a room with me in college!

BUH-BYE!!!!

The theme of this week for me is "BUH-BYE!" It all started on Sunday when Jed left for New York for work. As some of you know I've been blessed with wacked out hormones causing anxiety from being pregnant---got to love it! Let me just say that I think I suck at being pregnant. Anyway---because of the anxiety I don't like to be alone at night so I've had different "babysitters" all week! Cody stayed with me the first 3 nights, then Missy came and stayed one night and then Lesa and my nephews Kade and Carter came last night and Sarah and her family are coming for the weekend! So the picture above is of Kade babysitting me last night! So far Lesa wins for the best babysitter because she cleaned my house and made me french toast in the morning! Thanks to all my babysitters---it's been fun! And don't worry---I'm starting a sign up list for the future when Jed has to travel again.


















The next "buh-bye" was on Wednesday and I was soooooo sad! Everyone knows my husband has this "hobby" of buying and selling cars. Well, he did it to me again---he sold my car right out from under me! I've quickly learned being married to him that EVERYTHING is for sale for the right price---even me on some days! He hasn't decided what my next car will be so in the mean time I'm driving a 1999 honda accord---dark green just like I use to have 5 years ago! I told Lani today that I've gone back to my Honda roots!

















And last but not least....."buh-bye" to the furniture that I bought 2 weeks ago while Jed was out of town! I'm sure you've heard the story of my mom and I going and buying a completely different set than Jed and I had picked out. I have to give Jed credit that he really did try to keep an open mind when he walked in the door and saw them but after about 4 days he couldn't get use to them so I sent them back and ordered the original set. It's all about choosing your battles--right?

Thanksgiving Week Update--a little late!

It's been a crazy couple of weeks to say the least! It all started the Saturday before Thanksgiving when Jed's sister Karlee got married. Thank goodness Karlee is a no-nonsense kind of chick so this wedding was quick and easy. The temple and the luncheon and it was done! Doesn't she look so pretty! Of course I had to post a nice pregnancy shot of my ever increasing belly.

















Here's a couple shots of the moving crew---which happened Wednesday night before Thanksgiving. Shandy pretty much worked circles around the whole group of guys!! She's tough like that. This Thanksgiving I was especially grateful for my family----they will never know how much I appreciate all they did for me! A special thanks to my Uncle Carl for packing up all my "stuff" and I mean "stuff!" My mom has been here all week helping me unpack and I must say--I had no idea how much stuff Jed and I had until we had to move!
































Here's a nice shot of Jed and our friend Jason pumping the turkeys full of who knows what before the deep fry them. It was cracking me up how serious they were about this whole process! Below is my favorite picture of last week. Jed's brother Brett and his cute girlfriend Trish camped out at RC Willey to get tv's for them and for us. They got there at about 5pm on Thanksgiving Day and stayed all night in the freezing cold! I still can't believe they did it. It was quite dangerous too---they almost got beat up my 2 big poly girls that showed up in the middle of the night and stood by the door in front of them but all the other people in line formed an alliance against them and scared them off!

Funny Elfs!

Maybe I'm just really tired today or something but I seriously thought this was so funny and I laugh so hard every time I watch it!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9523884105

Moving!

Yes, the rumors are true. We are moving! We are suppose to close on the house this week and will move over the next week. It's in Lindon just two miles away from our house now. I just barely convinced myself to start packing and I can honestly say I hate moving! Anyone who was around when Jed and I got married and moved into our current house with Jed will remember the many "discussions" we got into regarding my need to throw away everything and Jed's need to keep everything! Well, it started all over again the other night as I was packing up Jed's bathroom stuff and found bottles of shampoo, lotion and little soaps from hotels he has stayed at for the past couple of years!!! Oh and tylenol that expired in 1987!!! He told me he was going to get even by packing up my closet and cleaning it out---which lets be honest--has quite the range of sizes of clothes that I haven't been able to fit into "but if I just lose 15 pounds"! It's going to be an interesting week!

Halloween--- a little late

I know, I know, I'm a little late with this posting but better late than never right! One of my favorite things during the year is our ward's trunk or treat. I seriously love to sit on the back of our truck and have the little primary kids come around to get candy so I can see all of their cute outfits. Our ward totally gets into it and always has such a great turn out. This year I invited my nieces and nephew to come along and I was impressed when their mom and stepdad dressed up as well. The picture above is of my FAVORITE costume this year---any guess on who she is (and Lauren you can't guess seeing as you already know!) As soon as I asked if I could take her picture she started striking a pose. Lauren and I were laughing so hard I could hardly take her picture. Below is Josh as pooh bear, Nikki as a lunch lady, Hayli as Ugly Better, Chelsi as a dancer, Austin as a soccer player and Aaron as a pirate. They went home with quite the loot!


















Here's just a random picture of two cute things I made at our Fabulous Friday for Relief Society. So cute huh! I can't show the other things I made seeing as I'm giving them for Christmas gifts but I just had to show off the cute things our ward did. Seriously the cutest homemaking stuff ever!

Pumpkins and Snowmen!!!

So this weekend was another fun weekend with my nieces and nephew. Cody picked them up on Saturday and took them to lunch and played video game with them and then they came to our house to spend the night. Jed and I had been out all day and by the time the kids came I had a raging migraine .......so I went to bed for a while and Jed took the kids to get pumpkins! By the time I woke up a few hours later they were having a grand ole time! I'm not sure who had more fun----Jed or the kids! I think they used every knife I had in my kitchen---or at least Jed did. Please feel free to drive by and see his excellent work on our doorstep.































Sunday morning we woke up to several inches of snow!! I always love the first snowfall of the year .....but then once it sinks in that I'm in for the long haul of winter I get sick to my stomach! At least the kids enjoyed it. Chelsi set out for the back yard and Austin and Jed set out for the front yard to have a little snowman making competition. By the time I got out to the front yard to take a picture I see Jed and Austin lobbing snowballs over the house. Before I even had a chance to ask them what they were doing I see Chelsi come running from the back of the house with a disgusted look on her face and she said to Jed "just what do you think you're doing?????" BUSTED!!! Yes, he and Austin were trying to peg her with snowballs! Needless to say she didn't think it was as funny as they did. I posted this last picture for my mom cause she wanted to see a picture of my nice huge stomach!---I swear, I'm not having twins even though it looks like it!

It's for sure a boy!!!!

So I had to post this ultra-sound picture because I thought it was so freakin hilarious--I hope it doesn't offend anyone and if it's does...oh well, I guess you'll have to get over it. Hee! Hee! The view is like he's sitting on the camera with his leg to the left of the picture and then the arrow is pointing to his "unit". Megan the ultra-sound girl was like "whoa! I've got to take a picture of that!" Jed and I were laughing so hard! Of course Jed's comment was "that's my boy!" The picture below is the profile. It was amazing to see all his little parts and watch him just hanging out in there--he always seems to have his little arm behind his head just chilling. Let's hope he's that kick -back when he gets here!

Me and my bro!

So I just had to post this cute picture of Cody and I. We were at Curtis and Shandy's on Sunday laying on one of my Aunt Pat's famous levi quilts and watching Carson open his birthday gifts. Everyone knows that when Jed is out of town Cody watches out for me and is my partner in crime. We've always been close siblings but even more so over the past year. But watch out---when we tag team we can make fun of and tease someone like nobody's business---just ask my poor mom and Jed!

Conference Weekend Traditions

I love General Conference Weekend in the fall and the traditions that come with it. The tradition is that Jed and I always take a drive in the canyon. I was complaining that we hadn't been to see the changing leaves yet and I was just sure they would all be gone! Much to my surprise they were still so pretty---it's so crazy to me that this beautiful scenery is just 5 minutes from our house! When we got to the top of Squaw Peak it was totally snowing so of course we had to take a picture of the first snow! Jed was all excited to see the snow because it means that snowmobiling season is just right around the corner! So my next favorite tradition is Sunday morning breakfast with the "gang". Lani hosted this year and as you can see from the picture below we always lack for food---right! We were trying to figure out this morning how many years we've been doing this and I seriously think we're going on like 10 years. I forgot to bring my camera last night to another favorite tradition......dinner and shopping with the girls while the men are at their preisthood session of conference. We headed up to the Texas Roadhouse in Sandy for dinner and then did a little shoe shopping at the Southtowne Mall. I brought my friend Pat Johnson from my ward this year and the girls all loved her so I'm thinking she'll probably be a regular for our girls night outings.















I ended the day at Curtis and Shandy's for "cousins dinner"--we get together the 2nd Sunday of every month. You'll have to check out Carrie's blog for pictures since we celebrated Carson's birthday. Jed didn't get to join us since he is headed to Las Vegas....which is another interesting story.....everyone be on watch to see if I make it to Vegas this week like I'm supposed to. The plan was for me to fly down to join him on Wednesday so we could "celebrate" our anniversary but ever since I got pregnant I've become EXTREMELY claustrophobic and the mere thought of getting on a plane makes me panic---and I'm not kidding! So if anyone is headed to Vegas this week and wants to give me a ride just let me know! HA! HA!