Merry Christmas!

This year was our first year to stay at home...to be honest, it was kind of weird to not go anywhere, and for some reason, not going anywhere made it so it didn't feel entirely like Christmas--my sister-in-law says that the first year home is always a little weird.

Christmas Eve was a very late night. Our girls opened one present (an ornament reflecting something that happened in the year), we read the Christmas Story starting with Samuel's prophecy, and finished in Luke with our Savior's birth. We than sang all the carols we had words for. The children all went to their beds, with visions of moning in their heads, as parents, we were not this smart. Our bedtime was MUCH later, making it asleep only slightly before Santa.

Luckily, Christmas morning wasn't quite as early as it could have been. We waited for my dad to travel down from Shelley...unfortunately it took longer than expected due to a winter storm that hit, blew, and dumped inches of snow (it finally stopped snowing at 6:00 tonight). Aaron made the comment that it is snow days like this that make you happy to be at home and not someplace else trying to get home.

This was McKenzie's first Christmas...she fell asleep in Grandpa's arms during all the hustle and bustle of the morning. When she woke up all of her presents were waiting for her, she is quite the mover and shaker. She loves to roll and easily got a hold of all paper scraps left on the floor regardless of location--it seems that my human vacuum is just around the corner-I will have to be very careful to 'leave no trace'.

For the past two weeks Alexis has been talking about her farm that she asked Santa to bring, and was very excited when she opened her first present and had her farm...it kind of trumped everything else, but we were expecting it.

It was great to be around the family we did have here--my brother and his family, and my sister and her family. I really can't imagine Christmas without any family, and I sincerely hope that we never have to. Christmas isn't Christmas without those you love, and sharing moments together makes it that much better.

From our family to yours---Merry Christmas!

P.S. Pictures comming soon.

Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving break in Boise, Caldwell, and Moscow. It was a lot of traveling for such a small break, but it was great to get to see everyone. We left Tudsday night, right after school. Aaron and I were able to make it to the Boise Temple on Wednesday, we spent Wednesday night in Caldwell where Alexis got to try her hand at Alex and Gayle's new wii, she enjoyed golf the most.(Aaron also got to play alot with this new toy. His favorite was bowling.)

We went back to Boise Thursday morning to help finish making Thanksgiving Dinner, and eat with my family. We then went back to Caldwell Thursday night to visit with Aaron's parents who came up for the holiday.

Friday morning, for the first time EVER (at least that I can remember) I did not attend any Black Friday sales. (gasp!) To be honest, there wasn't really anthing that we needed, and it felt great just to sleep in, have a lazy morning, and then have another 'Thanksgiving' Friday afternoon with Aaron's family.

After lunch on Friday, we packed up the car and drove into Boise, transfered luggage and carseats, and drove to Moscow in Troy's van. Melinda and David blessed their babies on Saturday. It was so wonderful to get to see them and be there for this special day. After the family luch in Moscow on Saturday, we drove back to Boise, crashed on the sofa, woke up, transfered luggage and carseats, and drove back home on Sunday. Very LONG, but very rewarding. We were thankful for the chance to see everyone and to share time with family.

VERY late Halloween pictures

Ok, I know I'm not the best at posting frequent updates, but better late than never, right?










We started carved pumpkins on Monday for FHE and invited our neighbor over to help carve and to decorate pumpkin cupcake. I finished carving pumpkins the day before Halloween.

Aaron got dressed up to escort Alexis. We went trick-or-treating around our little town...it was amazing to see just how far Alexis would walk when candy was involved. The best 'treat' they got was a necklace glow stick, the kids loved them and it was a great idea for walking around town at night.

Princess Alexis and Prince Charming...
McKenzie...our little witch

My Girls

Ok, so I know it's been a while, and MY excuse is that I don't have pictures on my computer yet...lame, I know. But, today while reading up on my friends, I read a great post about a little boy, and much to my surprise, got tagged at the bottom to do the same for my little girl (McKenzie), so I will respond, not because I HAVE to, more because I want to and I think it will be fun... The first is for McKenzie, the next one is for Alexis, I can't possibly leave her out of it, to do so would be missing 1/3 of my heart.



5 fun facts about McKenzie:

1. McKenzie just started to roll from her back to her stomach, but only does so if there is a certain wet-wipe package close by that she can grab and make noise with...then she will only roll if she can't reach it, and if she doesn't get too tired. If she gets tired before she gets herself rolled over, we all hear about it :).

2. McKenzie has a K-9 on her bottom left that is poking through her gums, it doesn't seem to move up and down, and I think this is an odd tooth to be present first, but such is life, maybe her front teeth will break through and grow before this K-9 gets through much further.

3. McKenzie loves to sit up. She can't do this task on her own yet, but loves it when others help her. She isn't even satisfied with her bouncer anymore because it is too much of an incline, and she wants to be UP.

4. McKenzie loves to be talked to, tickled, and occupy your entire attention. She gets the BIGGEST grins when she knows that you are focused on her, and only her, and she gets very upset when this is ended and she isn't ready for it to end yet. Her laughter is like music to my ears, especially when I have had a long day.

5. McKenzie doesn't like to sleep in someones arms, but prefers to be placed in her bed with a blanket securely wrapped around her. This is also the only time she insists on having her pacifier-it has a calming effect for her and I don't mind, especially because it is only when she sleeps.



5 fun facts about Alexis:

1. Alexis is the smartest 3-year-old I know. She knows her numbers (1-10 mostly, but ventures higher while counting, she just usually gets lost somewhere past 13). She knows her letters--not so much the ABC song...her patience is such that she usually doesn't slow down enough to get the right letters in the fast parts (lmnop, etc.)--She recognizes them on everything, and insists on telling them to you, especially when they are on my shirt and she can sit on my lap and turn it in to mommy time. She loves to type in her own document, and especially likes being instructed on how to spell names like Daddy, Mommy, McKenzie, and Alexis--she is almost to a point where she can do this one by herself. She knows the sounds her letters make--no I am not kidding, she loves sounds (she is her daddy's little girl), and phonics is no different.

2. Alexis LOVES playing the drums. Not just tapping on a single drum, no this will not do, she insists on the drum set, and she does a pretty good job once someone helps her onto the seat. As mentioned, she is her daddy's little girl, musical sound is also no exception. She also loves to visit daddy to play her 'flute' (recorder) her trumpet, and of course, her drums. There was a time when she would turn any toy into either her guitar, or her saxophone, I haven't seen this consistently in a while, but every-now and then it returns, and I find her with a toy pushed up to her lips while she is making humming noises or singing, dancing and playing her 'instrument'.

3. Alexis loves to help, especially if she is helping her daddy in the kitchen. Just one more thing that makes her daddy's little girl, she loves to cook, and Aaron is great at letting her help. She can crack eggs, but usually only gets one cracked before getting overly excited about the mess it left on her fingers, and refusing to crack another one. (Oddly enough, she doesn't complain about the mess sugar leaves on her fingers when helping to make cinnamon rolls...;)

4. Alexis HATES having her cloths wet or dirty. She goes through more cloths than McKenzie does, and it is usually because her shirt was wet, or she spilled something on her pants while eating. Even if I can't see it, she insists that it is there, and disappears to her bedroom, changes, and comes back to eat, sometimes so quickly I didn't even know she left.

5. Alexis loves to run. Winter time has got to be the worst for both Alexis and me. Aaron and I always talk about our little track star. She is very coordinated, loves sports, and loves being outside.

Tag, your it! Melinda, Sarah, Shawna (you might just have to start a blog ;), Katie, Mary, and anyone else who wants to spend a few moments reflecting on their little ones...this is a great reminder of why we love them so much.

We're in the Army Now...

On September 6, 2008 Aaron left Arimo with his recruiter to travel to Boise to audition with the 25th Army Band. This was his second visit to the band, only this time it was to finalize a decision we had started in October of 2007. His presence was welcomed and he passed with flying colors.

On September 18, 2008 Aaron and I traveled to Boise so he could complete the next step in joining the Idaho National Guard...a trip to the MEPS office.

On September 19th, Aaron got up early and went downtown to jump through all of the hoops associated with entering the National Guard, the last part was to be offically sworn in...something Aaron's Dad was able to do, which was awesome, and we are very thankful that he was able to be here for this.


To make a long story even shorter...we're in the Army now, Aaron leaves for basic training in Georgia on May 26, 2009, and will complete AIT the following summer (2010). I can't even begin to describe all of the time and emotions that have gone into this decision and will continue to develop as this time gets closer. This will be a wonderful opportunity for Aaron to grow as a performer and who knows what the future holds
---Imagine the possibilities---

Blessing Day

McKenzie's blessing was held on September 14, it was held in the Relief Society Room at our church after Stake Conference with family and friends. This was the only time we could get to work for all of our family, and because family is so important to us, we made it work. Here are some pics of McKenzie in her beautiful dress made by her Grandma White, there are also pictures of her and her afghan (also made by Grandma), but they are still on my brothers camera. She was beautiful.


These pictures were taken by my talented brother-in-law, David, while we were up in Moscow visiting. Aren't they amazing!

3!

*I started this post on Sept. 4, but I am just now getting around to posting it; my life is fun, exciting and wonderful, but my posting are on back-order. :)*



Yesterday was Alexis' third birthday, sometimes I feel like I am deeling with a teenager, yet I was reminded yesterday that she is only three!. She has been asking when her birthday was for almost a month and we would just tell her it was in September. Yesterday, when she woke up I was working on my 'new' calander for the month, and I called her over and told her that this month was September, she got really excited, then I showed her Wednesday, Sept. 3, and told her that it said that this was her Birthday, and she got super excited, THEN I told her that today was September 3rd and it was her Birthday, and she was estatic! Birthdays for children are so much more exciting than birthdays for adults. She kept this excitement throughout the day, it was great.

I had to go into Pocatello for McKenzie's 2m appointment, and I left Alexis with Caiti promising that I would get her ice cream for her birthday when I was in town. The first thing she said when I got home was did you get me ice cream? Followed closley by, where are my presents? We all had a good laugh.

She loved her birthday, and now when a birthday is mentioned, she makes sure to mention that her birthday is over...so cute!

Mary, Mary quite contrary and other sundry things

Well, it is time to go back to school so I thought it would be a good time to show off my garden and show how much it has grown over the summer. (To be honest, I never thought that a vegetable would ever grow from one of those little seeds that went into the ground in June.) However, we must consider the lilies of the fields, yup, that's right it was only through the grace of our Heavenly Father and His care that my garden grew, I mean come on, I didn't do anything for my garden except a little watering and weeding. (I can't imagine being a farmer and trying to manage a couple hundred acres of farmland. That is why farmers are so religious you know!)
So, how does your garden grow, you keep thinking to yourself in a state of uncontrollable suspense . . . well, with silver bells and cockle shells and pretty maids all in a row.

So, this is a out dated picture but the only one we have, and I am a too lazy to go outside and take a new one, but it shows how much my garden has grown! We have a lot of zucchini, tomatoes, corn, pumpkins, onions, beans, potatoes, russets and reds, lettuce, and did I mention corn!

Yesterday we went outside and Monique said "look we have peas!" So we picked them and ate them, all of them! It is really neat to think that our Heavenly Father has given us the chance to help in the creation process. Although I must say that it has been pretty easy on my part like I said a little water, a little elbow grease every once in while and voila! We have vegetables


Other Sundry Things:

The other day our new next door neighbour came to me and asked if we would like a piano, without hesitations I said YES. I helped them move it into their house next door and then about a month later I helped him move it into my house so now we have a real piano to call our very own. It is Willard Piano made in Chicago and as far as I can tell built in and around 1910ish. Dating pianos is not my strong point. It sounds awesome, only a few sour notes! All you have to do is avoid those certain notes and you would never guess it was out of tune. With the piano, I now own 6 instruments, including the keyboard, 7 if you count the Conch Shell.

And now the picture you are all waiting for:

I realize that everyone comes to our blog for only one reason, so I'm proud to show off any picture of McKenzie that I can. . . Enjoy!



As a side note and from what I have read: Mary Mary quite contrary, is a nursery rhyme that talks about Queen Mary I from England, she was very Catholic in a Protestant country which she took over from King Henry VIII (her father). So maybe that is why she was so Contrary all the time? She was also the Queen that was known as Bloody Mary, but that history lesson is for sometime else.

Smiles

Finally, the moment you have all been waiting for...we have captured the smile! McKenzie started smiling early on (about 3-4 weeks) but her smiles are now more consistent, and she has even performed for the camera. This is the best we have been able to capture, but hopefully as she becomes more active so will our blog :).

McKenzie is becoming a lot more interactive. She likes to be talked to, sung to, and smiled at when she is awake, and when she is tired, all she really wants to do is sleep, and will cry until she is swaddled snugly and laid to rest ;).

Home Again

We are finally home after a week of R&R in Boise. Aaron was able to go rafting on the Payette with his brother (the same river he rafted for two summers), we went to Stanley for Mountain Mamma's--a craft fair that has become tradition for Aaron and I to attend, we have only missed one in the 5 summers we have 'been together'. We also stopped by Camp Bradley on the way home. Bradley was where Aaron grew up during the summers (15 years worth of summers), it is also where we spent the first summer we were married(well at least I was there, Aaron was on the river more than he was in camp, but we were both working for the Boy Scouts). So it was a great trip down memory lane, and Alexis loved being able to run around a scout camp again, and as always, we loved the dutch oven lovin'. (They didn't have the doughnut booth which made us both sad).

I really wanted to get a family picture this week, but it just didn't happen, so hopefully sometime soon you will be able to see an updated picture, just not yet. It will be better anyway once McKenzie is more awake, alert and expressive...so be watching.


While we were in Boise we did take the opportunity to take pictures of our 'cousin twins'. Alexis and her cousin, Madison, are only 11 days apart, and we have had a tradition of taking pictures every 6 months or so...we are well past this (it is usually in Sept/Oct for their yearly mark, and Mar/Apr for their 1/2 way mark)but we did it anyway, just in case we don't get together in September this year.--I wasn't able to contact Lisa to get permission to post any pics of Madison, so here is one of Alexis--I cropped out Madison--hopefully later I can share some of the other pictures.


Lisa also took a great picture of McKenzie while we were at the park with the girls. McKenzie is doing well, she is sleeping most of the night (usually 5 hr. blocks) and only has bad tummy aches when mommy didn't watch what she was eating (which seems to be more often than not, as I try to learn what foods I need to avoid with her). She is growing up so much, and has changed so much even in the last week.

All in all it was a great time to get away for a while and enjoy family in the middle of the state. But like all good things, there was also a time for an ending, and we were glad to be back home. Our next task is to get the garden weeded so we can take pictures at its best...

2-week check up

Today was McKenzie's 2 week check up; 8 lbs. 20 in. long, and doing very well. Alexis went to the appointment with us, and it was fun to get to explain what was happening to her "baby sister"...the doctor is listening to her heart, now her lungs, etc. Alexis was able to relate because she had just been to the doctor in May (for an eye infection), and still remembered the brief check-up she had had, so after each comment--he is now listening to her heart, Alexis would say, "like me, my heart". It was great to see her connect the two, and be able to be that much more a part of McKenzie's check-up. McKenzie had to have her follow-up PKU testing (for those of you who don't know or don't remember, they do one in the hospital, and a follow up in your two week check...they puncture the heel, and then have to fill 4 circles with blood). I explained to Alexis what was going to happen before they did anything so she would be prepared for the crying...she took the news well, but throughout the procedure Alexis kept saying "I don't like baby sister crying"...I explained (and hope she understood) that sometimes, there is no way around it.

McKenzie is changing and you can tell that she is filling out more. I was just telling Aaron yesterday how McKenzie looks like she is gaining weight and growing...My discharge papers from my CNM's said it all too well---Spend lots of time together, they are only a few days old for a few days. So true, I can't believe how fast the last two weeks have gone, and how much she has already changed. She doesn't seem to be a newborn any more, she has entered the infant category, and toddlerhood is right around the corner...sigh.

We started "tummy time" yesterday, she fell asleep :)...she is gaining more control over her head though, and her eyes are focusing more each day. (You can't see it very well, but her eyes are a DEEP blue, I'm not sure they will stay this way for long, only time will tell.

Be sure to look at the archives if you are interested in pictures or our birth story...they weren't 'up' for long because of this update.

We are headed to Boise, and then Stanley this weekend--Mt. Mama's--I am hoping to also get a family picture, wish us luck, with an infant and a toddler, we will need it :).

Priceless...

2 trips to Pocatello...$30


A trip to Wal-mart to prepare for baby...$100


An hour stay at Comfort Inn Pocatello...$70


Driving down the freeway from 0-100 mph in 20 seconds...$50


Running a red light...$0 (Thank goodness!)


A healthy baby born in the hospital (barely)...priceless




Our Birth Story: Yep, it's a good one!

July 1, 2008

Today started out just like every other day—still pregnant. We started our day early (in the morning that is), and still late (for our appointment). I was one day away from being a week over due, and we were going in for our weekly. After the appointment, we made appointments for an ultra-sound and fetal monitoring just in case. While the receptionist was making a final call to set up monitoring, I excused myself to use the restroom. When I returned to the front desk, our appointments were made, and we were ready to leave. Some time in between leaving the exam room and leaving the office, I had developed a dull pain in my lower back…Something I would only later classify as the start of labor pains.

Before we left Pocatello, we had some errands to run… Errands took us about two hours to complete, and throughout them, my lower back pain kept returning, about every twenty minutes. After running around Pocatello all morning we went home and unloaded the car, did a few chores, and talked with family. Aaron decided that this would be a perfect night for a Pocatello get away…dinner, movie, and a motel...I completely agreed. The idea of laboring on the town, or in a motel room was a lot more appealing than laboring around my house with five children and three adults watching, and anxiously waiting. Aaron and I wanted a labor process that was more intimate than this, something we could both remember as amazing and personal. At this point, lower back pains were about every 15 min, but they weren’t bad, they didn’t make me stop in my tracks, so I though nothing of it (except that it could potentially be a very long night)

We packed our bags, and left around 4:00. We had two more stops that we had to make before the night would be completely ours. All through Walmart, I still had that lower back pain, but nothing that I would have mentally classified as labor, they were getting closer (probably every 10-12 min), but they didn’t hurt, they didn’t take my breath away, I had no prior labor experience to refer to, so I thought nothing of it, I figured the whole night might go on like this, and potentially the entire next day…

With my contractions getting closer together, around 6:00 I told Aaron we probably weren’t going to make it to the movies, and of course he was OK with that, so we settled into our motel room for what we thought might be a late night of contractions but nothing huge; contractions were getting closer, but they weren’t anything that I couldn’t dance or re-focus my way through, and they definitely weren’t something that I thought were bad enough to be ‘labor’. Silly me :)

We talked, laughed, hugged, and spent the time just being together. Every time a contraction would hit, (it started as a dull pain, and I could always feel them coming) I would stop talking, and just hug Aaron and dance—rocking back and forth with Aaron applying counter pressure on my lower back. They would only last for about a minute, and were about 5 min. apart, but they still didn’t seem bad enough yet to call or go in to the office. I knew I was in trouble when I sat down to go potty and the contraction was so bad that it wouldn’t let me sit any longer. It lasted about a minute, and about a minute later another one hit, this is where I finally thought they were bad enough, this is when they really started to hurt, and I was afraid that I couldn’t work through them any more, my focus was on nothing and everything at the same time, this is when I finally felt like I was in labor.

This is also when Aaron called the Midwife hot line and got Tracy’s number, then called Tracy and let her know how I was feeling. She said to come in to the office and she would check me and we would go from there. Aaron initially called Tracy around 7:00, all the while trying to help me get dressed and help me through contractions. At 7:05 he called Tracy back to inform her that my water had just broke, and that I felt like pushing…she said we really needed to get to the hospital, and that she would meet us in labor and delivery.

After my water broke, things got better, I didn’t experience contractions every minute, and a HUGE pressure was no longer there, yet it was all I could do to make it out of the motel bathroom and to the car, bare foot because my sandals were soaked from my water breaking—it was not a trickle that I had read was more common, mine was a HUGE gush (the not so common I guess).

Aaron didn’t drive the speed limit at any point in our travels, He did drive 100mph on the freeway between on ramp and off ramp, at which point he also said the car was up in the 6000rpms and that gas mileage was going to be horrible. Most of the lights we encountered were in our favor, the one that wasn’t Aaron slowed down to, there weren’t any cars coming, he asked if he could just go, I think my voice was a little loud when I answered him with a yes, please, it was probably the first red light Aaron has ever ran.

In the car, my water continued to ‘leak’ out, and the motel towels that we had were already wet from drying off, but luckily they did the job, and our front seat didn’t get too wet. I think it helped that I was also wearing two bottom layers that were absorbing a lot as well.

At the hospital, there was (tenderly) a parking spot in front, and a nurse coming off duty was walking through the door, asked if I needed a wheel chair, and escorted us to labor and delivery, by way of Nursery (she got the wrong floor). I was wheeled into my delivery room, I got out of the wheel chair, I got out of my soaking pants, I went to sit on the bed, but that didn’t work so well, so I stood beside the bed instead, and then another contraction hit, I really felt like pushing, Tracy encouraged it, and was in the process of getting gloves on when she looked down to check me just in time to put her hands out (only one gloved) to catch our baby.

McKenzie Kay Marshall was born at 7:19 pm. She was placed directly in my arms, still attached, I was able to finally sit down, and caress and hold her. She was given a few seconds of oxygen to improve her coloring, and I held her through delivering my placenta (which Tracy let us look at, and explained that all of the pieces were there, and what each piece was—really cool), I held her through cutting the cord (which was done lovingly by Aaron), I held her the entire time I was getting stitched up, and I was still holding her (in bed, in my t-shirt, which I had pushed up) when Alexis and mom came, and I was still holding her while Aaron made all the phone calls, unable to answer any questions (height/weight), and would have to make them all again later. It was AMAZING! Nursery finally came to weigh, check, and somewhat clean her up after she had latched on and had been in my arms from birth for well over an hour (it’s hard to remember exactly how long, looking at a clock was not a priority).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For more pictures please to refer to archives-Kenzie Kay

Kenzie Kay

Here are some picture of our new arrival. As much as I would love to have more of McKenzie with her eyes open, this just isn't a big part of her life right now. I put them in order, the first pic. was taken on July 3rd, the next two are from the fourth of July--we went to the Melaleuca Freedom Celebration, the last two are from the 5th, there isn't a lot of difference, but there are small changes everyday.

McKenzie Kay Marshall

July 1, 2008
6 lbs. 15 oz. 20 in.



Tune in later next week for our amazing birth story...you won't be disappointed!

Our Adorable Daughter

After a week of adorable moments with Alexis, we decided to dedicate this post to her.

Alexis is so very excited to have a new sister. For months we have been focusing on how she is going to be a big sister, and that means more responsibility. I think it is finally internalized, and now it is just cute to see her prepare.

When we moved in, we made it a HUGE deal that Alexis got a new room that she was going to get to share with her new sister...that was all it took, and now she gets excited just at the thought of being able to share her room.

On Sunday, she was playing with her doll (her baby) and her daddy, and she made the comment that she wanted to hold her baby when her baby came. Later that morning when we were brushing our teeth, she asked me "Can I hold my baby when she comes, is that ok?" After I told her yes, she smiled and said, "Isn't that exciting?" Yes, Alexis, it is exciting...

Every day shortly after she wakes up, Alexis asks, "So, how is baby sister?" and then lovingly touches my belly. At night, when we have kisses, more often than not, she wants to give baby sister kisses, and kisses my belly and says, "goodnight baby sister." I love how soft and caring she is, even though she really doesn't know what is about to enter her life.

This week, Alexis got her first ride on a horse, something Aaron and I weren't sure she would follow through with, but when the time came, she was so excited to get to ride the horse that she didn't even want to take time to pet and get to know the horse, she just wanted to ride. After her first walk around the pasture, she said she wanted to go faster, and even started 'jumping' in the saddle to imitate riding a stick horse, "really fast". Even though she didn't get to go faster, she had the time of her life. Unfortunately her attention span went quickly from riding the horse to wanting to see the pictures that mommy was taking, and when it was time to go, she was sad because she wanted to ride the horse again. Hopefully next time isn't too far away...

Garden, Sweet Garden!

After the last few of weeks of pulling sod, and a strike on outside work due to rain, Saturday turned into a wonderful day of being able to work outside and a great opportunity to buckle under and give into mechanical advantage...

After two hours in the garden working on manually pulling sod, a neighbor (Bro. Jons) stopped by with a HUGE tractor that just happened to have a flat blade that allowed him to drive into our yard, lower the blade, and scrape and lift out the remaining sod in three (yes only three) swipes. Less than 10 min. later...goodbye sod! It took a little more time to sift out the grass clumps that were left,and then we were ready to till.

About this time, a brother from the ward (Bro. Gunter) called to ask us if we would be interested in a custom photo for our new home. Bro. Gunter has a tradition of giving away a scenic photo in a custom made frame to all the new families in town who build/buy a house. Both the picture and frame are art works of his. Of course we said yes, and Aaron took a 'union break' and rode his bike to the Gunter residence to pick out a photo. While he was there he just happened to ask if Bro. Gunter knew of anyone in the ward that owned a roto till, and it just happened to be that Bro. Gunter owned a roto till that he was more than happy to let us borrow...so Aaron rode home on his bike and Bro. Gunter followed in his truck with the roto till.

---By the way, the picture Aaron chose is of Pilot peak and Finger Peak and the Clark Fork of the Snake on the Idaho/Montana Border, now we just need to decide where we are going to hang all of our pictures---

With a roto till, Aaron was able to till through the top layer, but because the tractor left a hole, he also needed to transport some of our top soil (that we just happen to have) to level the ground.

--Enter neighbor number 2--

Luckily for us we have VERY nice neighbors who happen to own equipment that we don't. The Jons' who live to the east of us let Aaron borrow their 4-wheeler, equipped with a flat blade. This was probably the highlight of Aaron's day in the garden, getting to 'run' at full speed into a dirt pile on the back of a 4-wheeler.

Eventually, he got around to getting the garden level, and roto tilled one last time, leaving a beautiful piece of land just waiting to be planted.



Another blessing we have had since our move is that our neighbors to the South (the Christensen's) have been nice enough to let us borrow their lawn mower...much to Aaron's enjoyment it is a riding lawn mower. This week, Aaron let Alexis experience the wonders of a riding lawn mower...she LOVED it!



She loved it even more when Aaron let her drive...

Last week of School!

This week was the very last week of school for Aaron and it passed by relatively uneventful except that he had to go to work on Friday, which for those of you that don't know is very unusual.

Thursday was Monique's 23rd birthday. For her birthday I took Alexis to school with me for a few hours to play in my office and gave Monique a rest for a few hours. Then, Monique came to school and we had lunch in the school cafeteria together. After dinner we had cake and ice cream and sang "happy birthday." Also for her birthday I bought her a house, yea, it was a cool gift. (I'm a big spender)
(notice the "M" on the fence...someone knew we were comming :) )

Our garden has been put on a holding pattern due to some rain that has fallen. Pulling sod is so much fun, we have really missed doing it for the last few days, well, not really. Here is a quick look at what we have done so far, or not so far. Notice the huge pile of topsoil that we had trucked in all the way from western Arimo! Also, notice the grass still in place that won't be there in a few days (when it stops raining)!



However, to stay busy we started to clean out the fruit room so we can start storing food there and clean out the rest of our basement. After that we put some blinds in our rooms so we can start being less flashy to our neighbors (I'm sure they appreciate it).

Never a dull moment when you are trying to unpack and start a garden all in one month.

I am all done with work now, I survived the first year of teaching (they all tell me that the first year is the worst) and the best part: I still get a paycheck all summer long. Now I can dedicate 100% of my time with my family and helping Monique put together the house and the garden (once it stops raining that is)!

Week-in-review

This week we have been VERY busy! It seems like schools like to cram in as many activities before the end of the year that they can, add those to our personal activities, and you get a really full schedule.

Monday--I had my bi-weekly appointment in Pocatello, and my nephew, Kameron, had a musical in Idaho falls.

We have been attending classes that takes the place of appointments, but due to scheduling, we were unable to make class this week. Everything is going well, baby is growing, my measurements are right on track, and baby's heart beat is in the average range.

It was quite the rush to try to make it to Idaho Falls in time. We stopped in Shelley to pick up Dad, and ended up arriving about 15 min. late, lucky for us, they were running late as well, and we didn't miss anything. Kameron's Jr. High was putting on Sussical the Musical Jr., and as a wonderful surprise to us, Kameron had the lead role as Horton the Elephant. He has a wonderful voice, and does very well on the stage. The show was excellent; Good job Kameron!

Tuesday--Aaron was suppose to have mutual, but since we were so late getting home from Idaho Falls Monday night, we needed to go back in to Pocatello to go grocery shopping, and Aaron decided that he also wanted to pick up 'awards' for all of his high school students from the dollar store. After spending almost 2 hours in the dollar store trying to find gag gifts to go along with his 'awards', and still needing to go shopping, Aaron didn't make it back, but it was still a busy night!

Wednesday--MVHS Awards Ceremony. The high school puts on a ceremony mostly for seniors to honor the different scholarships and awards they have received. Each department also has department awards that they give out.

Thursday--There was supposed to be a stake fireside, but after such a busy week, we decided that it would be best to spend time at home as a family, which is exactly what we did.

Friday--We spent all morning out in the yard working on pulling sod. Everyone says that we should just rotor till it, but everything I have read says that this has a potential of making more work trying to then keep grass out of your garden area.

Friday night was Aaron's last concert of the year, and a closing social BBQ. His students did really well, and I think everyone enjoyed having time to relax and socialize afterwards.

Saturday--Another day full of outside fun! We are getting a system down that makes pulling sod not quite as daunting. Because of extreme temperatures (and after burning on Friday) we decided to call it quits around noon for lunch and for a nap.

Around 4:00 Aaron borrowed a lawn mower (two lawn mowers) from our neighbors and got our 'forest' mowed. He was fortunate enough that our neighbors had a riding lawn mower, so he borrowed both a push model for the edge work, and a riding lawn mower for the rest and was able to finish the job in no time...he also enjoyed having the opportunity of riding around as well. Although a riding lawn mower is not in our future, our neighbors have volunteered theirs for as long as we need it before they move around the end of June--something I am sure Aaron will take full advantage of :).

Today was another Sunday. Church doesn't start until 11:30, which always throws Alexis for a twist. When she is ready for a nap, we are headed to church, which makes for a long Sunday, EVERY Sunday.

We are all doing well, this is Aaron's last week, and then maybe we can start to get our house put together--at least something more than yard work--although our plan is to plant our garden June 1st, and this will still take a lot of prep work to get us there.

A much needed update

It has been a while, and a lot has happened. The biggest being that we bought a house! We signed all the paperwork and moved in on April 25, and we have been unpacking, cleaning, and organizing ever since...we will post pictures later

Our weekends have been spent outside getting the yard cleaned up and planing our garden. On Saturday Aaron spent about 5 hours outside pulling sod to try to get an area cleaned...it is sad to say that in this time he didn't get very far in this endeavor and we are currently researching other ways to get rid of sod.

As you can see from our count down, baby Marshall is also growing and coming along. She is due on June 25th, and we all are looking forward to finally getting to meet her and welcome her into our family.

Alexis loves her new room, especially her new window which is HUGE and allows her to look outside and see so many wonderful things like birds, dogs, cats, flowers, AND neighbors--she has become quite the neighborhood watch. She also got a 'new' bed; we up-graded her to a twin sized bed that she likes to sleep on cross ways--I think this is because it gives her more room to roll. Alexis also loves being outside and helping Daddy 'play' in the dirt. She has her own shovel and rake and loves to help.

This week Albertson's was having a sale on strawberries, $1.19/lb, and since we won't get berries this year (everything I have heard is that you plant berries this year for a crop next year) I couldn't resist such a great offer that would also let us have strawberries, so I bought 12 lbs and spent Saturday in the kitchen making freezer jam while Aaron was working outside. We now have 12-1/2 pints of freezer jam, and we still have 4 more lbs. of strawberries that I am going to wash, slice, freeze on a cookie sheet and then transfer to a zip lock so we have frozen sliced strawberries--VERY exciting!

Aaron's last day of school is May 22, and last day of work is May 23--we couldn't be more thrilled. His last concert is on the 16th, and this week is his last week in the elementary schools, so everything is wrapping up and coming to a close. He has had a great first year, there has been lots of learning and lots of fun.

My Big Helper

Today Alexis and I went to a friends house to help wrap potatoes for a charity banquet that will take place in McCammon tomorrow. The Banquet is for a family in the area who were involved in a serious auto accident that resulted in lots of injuries and lots of hospital bills.

My original thought was that Alexis would probably sit down and watch a movie while we wrapped, but she would have nothing of it. She wanted to sit in 'her' chair at the kitchen table and wrap 'tomatoes' with us...and she did just that for a very long time, considering her toddler attention span. She wrapped about two successfully, and then got tired of the process and tried to scrunch the potato and the AL-foil together and call it good. This stopped quickly, when I explained that this action was NOT OK, so instead, she would place her potato on the foil, and make extra sure that it was ready to wrap. This included washing it more--rubbing it with her hands, and getting rid of all the bad parts--digging into the potato with her fingers :).

Alexis was also really helpful in placing the finished product in a box, and separating the wrapped potatoes into bags to be distributed to individuals who had volunteered to bake them.

Alexis really liked the separating aspect; this is because she has recently developed a huge interest in numbers, and she loves to count, even if the numbers don't come out in the right order. Having mommy help her count them out was great fun, and very enjoyable. Mommy enjoyed it as well.

Alexis really is a great helper, she loves to help with anything, and is (usually) very willing to do what is asked of her, I can already tell that she is going to be a huge help when baby is born.

Jazz Festival 2008

This last week Aaron took his jazz band to the University of Idaho for the 2008 Jazz Festival. Alexis and I caught a ride and took the opportunity to visit Melinda and David.

Aaron was fortunate enough to arrange accommodations through the jazz fest office to stay on the gym floor in an elementary school. This helped enormously with costs.

Alexis loved being on a school bus and being around all of the kids, and all of the kids loved having her there as well. The bus driver (a grandpa like figure) fell in love with her sweetness too and bought her a stuffed bunny for the ride home. This is now one of her favorite toys.

Aaron's kids did well on their performance, but of course they have things they need to work on, which translates to a teenager that they did horribly...kids will be kids.

They all had a great time and are working on convincing Aaron that they should go again next year (he was going to have it be an every other year trip offset with the concert band trip).

As good as it was to have a trip away and to see family, it is just as good to finally be back home, and hopefully we can get Alexis back on her schedule.