Mother's Day

Ok I actually took a few more pics from this weekend but a lot of them look like crap and are all fuzzy since my lens was dirty. I couldn't' tell they were that bad when I looked at them on the little display screen but when I got home they all turned out pretty fuzzy. So I'm a little PO'd. Anyways so here are the few that are still OK. We left at the crack of dawn -- ok 6:30 A.M. (which feels like dawn for me) in order to make it to Preston in time to go with my mom to church. After church all my brother's came up which was fun for Reese because they all have kids and she was able to have so much fun with all of the kids. I am so grateful that it was such a beautiful day so they were able to run around outside. There is a big back yard to play in, sandbox, trucks, bikes, 3 dogs, and one goat to play with. They all had a ball.

Reese climbed into the dump truck herself... and all of a sudden she disappeared and her cousin Dylan had pushed her behind the house.
Reese didn't really get how you were supposed to ride this little bike, but she had fun sitting on it anyways. There were actually like 3 different little bikes for all the kids to ride and they kept fighting over the same one (rather than each of them having their own).

Visiting the horse. This is probably the closest she's been to a horse. She even fed him 'one' blade of grass.

As I mentioned before they always fought over one of the bikes. It's nice for Reese to experience the concept of sharing.

After we played outside we headed in for lunch. Yum! Ham, turkey, funeral potatoes, rolls, salad, and of course jello! We didn't stay for dessert since we needed to be up to Downey right after we ate in order to be there in time for the phone call from Todd's brother Tim who is on a mission in Tonga. We made it just in time for the phone call and we were all able to talk to him. Tim has never met Reese so it will be fun to introduce them to each other this October when he gets home.

In Downey we played some more outside. Reese would run around with the soccer ball, climb all over Uncle Thomas and play with Grandma and Grandpa. I don't know where all the energy came from. The only nap she had was the 25 minutes it took to get from Downey to Preston. We had dinner and then walked to Elementary school to play on the playground equipment. Reese played in the sandbox with Grandma and Grandpa, while Todd, Thomas and I played an interesting game of P-I-G. Interesting on my part since I have no ball handling skills. We headed back to the house after we were all burned out from the park and got some dessert. It was time to head home after that so we wouldn't have to drive home in the dark and so Reese could finally go to sleep.

I also so have some pics to post from my Bro's wedding dinner that was last Thursday, but I'll have to do that later.

I'm bored...

So I need something to work on at nights after Reese has gone to bed and Todd isn't home from work. I was just offering if anyone had any pics they wanted me to enhance or photoshop to email them to me. I need to polish my skills -- just let me know... like I said I'm bored.
P.S. Ashley I already did one from Addison's blessing (I was bored and copied one from your facebook page)... if you want it I can email it to you. Sorry if that's wierd... I'm was sick of playing around with my own pictures.

From the weekend...

Ok, this picture was actually from today. Reese had a wonderful time playing in these boxes while I put groceries away and got dinner ready. I got tired of having to get her in and out of the boxes so I cut some fancy little doors on them and she had a ball. She would go in and out take a pillow in there, different toys and just played by herself... it was soo wonderful to be able to get things done without her clinging on me.

This past weekend was full of a bunch of events. I didn't take as many pictures as I should have though. We headed down to Preston on Thursday in time to witness my brothers impromptu wedding. They just had a very casual ceremony (in jeans) at the courthouse. It's about time is all I have to say. They finally went through with it since they are looking to buy a house -- and being married is in their best interest when it comes to getting approved for a loan. So welcome to the family Cami. This is one time where I didn't get a pic -- but next week they are having a dinner to celebrate so I'll snap some then.

We spent a lot of our time at Grandma Nan's on Friday. Since my mom still had to work and Todd wouldn't make it down until later in the evening. We had fun playing at her house - inside and out. Her favorite thing to do at Nan's is look through her photo albums. She has one from her trip to Disney world she took a couple of years ago. Reese loves to see all her favorite characters throughout the book (including elephants, Pooh bear, Mickey and Minnie Mouse). She is really into Jungle Book lately and she loves the part with the elephants so every time she sees the elephants in Grandma's book she lifts her arm up like a trunk and makes her elephant sound. Grandma also has a really fun clock inside her front room that plays music and Reese loves to push the button over and over again to start the music so she can dance. Grandma loves to watch her dance.

Spring slowly but surely arriving. Grandma's flowering bush with lots of little buds... Reese was pretty intrigued by this.

Grandma's slide is a little bit faster than what she is used to at the park. Note the expression.

Saturday morning we were up bright and early to get ready and be in SLC by 9:30. Torben and Angela (Todd's brother) were having their beautiful baby girl sealed to them. It was a really neat experience. It was the first time I have attended a sealing with a child being sealed to a family. It was also the first time we were able to see their new baby Ava (since they live in Denver). It was really great to see her for the first time in the temple. They are a beautiful family and we are so happy for them.

It was pouring rain while we were there at the temple and it cleared up a little while we were on the grounds afterwards. I have never seen the temple grounds looks so pretty ever. I think it was because all of the tulips were in bloom and the rain made the colors pop even more -- it was sooo pretty. Reese loved all of the flowers too.

Pretty picture minus Reese's goofy face and I forgot to crop out the couple in the background. I feel bad for all the brides that had to get their pics in the rain (which I swear we saw like 10 diff brides in the hour we were there).

We ate at the Lion House afterwards and had a nice lunch and Ava was also blessed there too.

After a busy day we headed to Todd's grandmas house in West Valley and everyone just sat around and chatted for a few hours. It was nice to have most everyone there in one place. We aren't able to see everyone as often as we like, and now that we live even further away it's even harder. Above Reese and Ava playing.

Sunday was another event... our good friends Amanda and Shawn were blessing their baby Addelyn in Pocatello. So we were up bright and early again. We had a nice lunch/get together afterwards too. We were all pretty exhausted by the time we finally made it home. The weekend was soo busy and Reese rarely got any sort of nap in... but on Monday she took a nap for 3 1/2 hours!!! It was so wonderful.

Well that was our weekend... coming up... Thursday is Justin and Cami's wedding dinner, and of course Mother's Day. I also have to work a bit this week too. I'll do better at taking more pics and try to post more often.

New Calling...

So I forgot I mentioned that last week the Bishop had stopped by and informed me to meet with him the next morning about a calling he had for me. I am the 'New Mother's Specialist.' I'm not 100% sure what all that entails -- since this calling didn't really exist in our other ward. However, since we live in Rexburg (plentiful of new mothers) there are like 7-8 due this next month or so. I'm still waiting to talk to the Relief Society Presidency to see what exactly I need to be doing. What I gathered from the Bishop is that I am resource to new mothers since I have "experience." Yeah, I'm such an expert (sarcasm). Anyways... so I was thinking about compiling a binder or something that was tabbed off into groups like Health & Welfare, Community, Activities/Crafts, and Inspiration and just passing around this binder each week filling it full of helpful printed info that they can take if they choose. So I'm asking all those mothers out there who read this to go ahead and give me any other ideas they can think of. If there are any websites you visit often that has helpful information or if you just want to provide tidbits of being a mother or whatever. Even though it wasn't that long ago I can't remember what would have been helpful for me as a new mother. So this is a cry for help. Or if anyone knows of this calling in their ward -- what am I supposed to do?

A day off with daddy

So the weather has been great and we made it to the park again today... this time daddy was able to go. Todd's classes were over this morning and didn't have to work tonight so we had all day to spend with him. We started the day off in Idaho Falls and got the tires rotated on the car (not so exciting but needed to be done) and got some lunch at Burger King. Reese, naturally was covered in ketchup (her favorite food group). After a wonderful 3 hour nap (I know I could hardly believe it myself -- why doesn't she do that when it's just me all by myself?) we headed to the park. For some reason she was being really timid on the equipment and would barely move a muscle unless you were holding on to her. I think the holes in the floor kind of freaked her out. The picture above demonstrates her safety crouch when on any of the equipment. She seriously acted like she was going to fall through the holes.

One of my favorite pics from the day.

"Look, no hands!"

Trying out the jungle gym.

Her favorite -- the slide.

Kicking around the soccer ball -- well mostly she just picked it up and carried it everywhere.

Playing in the tunnel.

Finding a super cool stick.

Enjoying some ice cream after some fun in the sun.

We got a sweet new toy! A puppy bubbly machine! It's a little plastic dog that when you press the trigger to open his mouth a bunch of bubbles come shooting out. We upgraded from our little wand... makes a lot less mess.

Happy tappin' with Reese...

Reese LOVES her new Sunday shoes that she got to go with her Easter dress. She thinks they are tap dancing shoes. She constantly wants me put them on her and immediately starts dancing all over the house. I'm pretty sure she likes the sound they make. Included is her favorite song in the whole entire world -- Happy Tapping with Elmo. We have it on our Sesame Street CD and immediately brings a smile to her face (even mid cry) whenever she hears it.

*sorry it's crooked... I don't know how to fix it on the videos.

Soakin' up the Sun...

Finally the weather warmed up again... we tried to spend as much time outside as possible today. We even picked up a wheelbarrow at Wal-Mart today for an outside toy. However Reese had a little trouble navigating the thing and kept dumping her poor kitty (not supposed to be an outside toy) on the ground.

So much for "new life" here in Rexburg, even if it was only a dandelion. I pointed out the flower to Reese and it shortly met it's demise. It kind of reminds me of the recess game we used to play... "Mama had a baby and it's head popped off.." - Well in this case 'ripped' off!

Just sitting on the grassy hill outside our apartment. Reese loves to climb up the little inclines, it makes me nervous when she starts to head down them... afraid she'll face plant right into the cement below. She hasn't got her balance, or her clumsy feet completely under control.

I believe there is a flight school near our house somewhere... and Reese kept pointing at the small planes that would fly by. They fly pretty low so Reese was able to see them really well.

One thing that stinks about our apartment is that there really isn't a good place to play. There isn't really any place in walking distance that has a playground. So we just make laps around our apartment on the sidewalk.

We did end up going to the big city park later and play on the equipment. We were trying to make the most of the warm weather. Plus, we seem to get on each others nerves when we are locked in the house for hours.

Also, today we had a nice little surprise visit from our friends Jen and Ty. It was so nice to see them... I miss being in Pocatello and seeing all my friends nearly everyday. We had a nice lunch and Reese loved showing off for them... even though it took her a minute to warm up.

The Bishop also made a surprise visit this evening about having me meet with him before church tomorrow about a new calling... mixed feelings. My last calling was Relief Society teacher - hopefully this time around I'll get something a little less nerve wracking.

Well not much else has been going on... it has been nice this week since Todd finished his first semester last week. He has only had to work this week (no school) and it's been great having him home those extra hours. He starts school again on Monday - not much of a break if you ask me... but I'm anxious for him to get through school. Well that's all that's really going on... tomorrow is there is a Jazz game (or should I say Jazz annihilation -- we aren't expecting much out of the playoffs).

Easter Sunday

Reese modeling her new Easter dress.

Happy Easter!

Today in Wal-mart you could get a free picture taken with the Easter Bunny. From the moment we walked in and she laid eyes on the fuzzy bunny she was clawing at our legs to pick her up and get her away. She was crying hysterically (like she was being murdered). We made her sit and get her picture taken anyways. Well she wouldn't sit she just cried and tried to get away. We thought it would be a funny memory to look back on someday. Horrible aren't we?

Finally, for those of you that care... I'm posting...

So I don't know what the deal has been lately but I just haven't taken too many pictures or really been in the mood to blog. A few things have happened the last few weeks... and sadly I should have taken more pictures. A couple weekends ago we went down and spent some time with our families. We celebrated all the March birthdays on my side of the family (since there are 5 or so) and had a huge (Thanksgivingish size dinner). We also so spent some time with Todd's family that weekend. Todd had to be back in Rexburg by Monday for school but Reese and I stayed in Preston to play. It was my mom's spring break so we just bummed around. We even managed a trip to SLC and stay in a hotel for a night. We went shopping, swimming and dining. Reese chowing down on her macaroni at IKEA. It was my first time going to this monstrous store. Miraculously I only walked out with a set of finger puppets. I must admit a lot of the items were a little too modern for me. I liked a lot of the little accessories but not so much the bigger furniture. We made a trip to Tai Pan as well. I could have definitely spent a lot more in that store - more my style. Again, only picked out a couple things (to stay within the budget Todd set for me). Lucky for Reese the Grandmas weren't on a budget and spoiled her to pieces. She got a lot of new "pretties."

At the hotel jumping on the bed while eating a sucker -- Grandma Nan keeps her purse stocked with all of Reese's favorites (fishes, fruit snacks, juice, and a sucker). We went swimming at our hotel but I didn't grab my camera. Too bad, Reese had a cute new swimsuit to show off. She did look pretty funny while we were swimming because I forgot to pack some little swimmers and she just used a diaper -- and it got soo full of water that it made her look like she had a HUGE booty. I probably should have at least taken a picture of that, because seriously it was huge!

I am so thankful for the nice weather we have been having. We even made a trip to the park and so did the rest of the town. There were so many kids and parents there soaking up the sun. Reese loved, loved, loved it!! She kept going in the tunnel and blocking any other child that wanted to go through it. I kept having to fish her out and place her on a different part of the equipment. Hopefully the weather keeps up like this, it's been so nice being able to spend a lot of the day outside. Even if it's just sitting on the grass outside out apartment - so much better than being inside.

I was annoyed that bigger kids kept getting in the baby swings (and their parents letting them)... I wanted to tell them all off, but I decided against it. **Notice the girl next to Reese if your feet can touch the ground you shouldn't be in a baby swing.

The slide was probably her favorite. Even though this one you couldn't really slide down because of all the bends, but Reese liked it anyways - probably because she could go down it all by herself.

Reese loves to have any sort of dip when she's eating. Especially BBQ or ketchup. She could probably make a meal out of those two sauces alone.

This past weekend Todd's family came up to spend Saturday with us. We watched the afternoon session of conference together, had dinner afterwards, and then the men went off to the Priesthood meeting. We greatly appreciate the time we are able to spend with our families since the visits have decreased greatly since our move. Reese loves her grandparents so much too and loves when she can spend time with them.

Not too much planned for this upcoming week... we'll probably be spending Easter by ourselves which is ok. I need to get working on taking some pics of Reese in her new spring dress... so if the weather stays nice I'll try and get that done this week and post some pics. We'll see how it goes though.