The Muirs

Wanna See Something Funny?

2012-01-14T11:54:00.003-07:00

About three months ago, Tyler and I were desperate to get Dominic an excersaucer of some sort. He had played in a friend of ours and was really entertained by it. We really really needed something to entertain him! We wanted something nice that would last a long time, but didn't want to fork out 100 bucks. I checked out second hand children's shops and was not impressed. I looked all over craigslist and found the perfect one for half the price. It's not a saucer, but a jumper and I love it! More importantly, Dominic loves it...

Untitled from Kim Muir on Vimeo.

This was taken a couple weeks ago when he very first learned to actually jump in it. Unfortunately, he has since learned to control his body from flailing...not quite as entertaining for me, but still super cute. I know in the video I say he's had it for two months, but actually it was closer to three. Time sure flies!

He's On The Move

2012-01-04T23:07:00.004-07:00

There's no stopping little Dom now! He learned at my parents house over the break that he can get places by rolling. It's hilarious to watch. He's like a steam roller.

This is not where I left him when I went to go do dishes...

He knows he's caught!

I know he's not suppose to sleep like this, but he just keeps turning over!

My cousin brought her kids over to my parents while we were there. Her youngest boy is about nine months and he was crawling around and Dominic was so jealous! He kept squeeling, kicking his legs, and tucking his knees under. I think we have a mover on our hands...

Onions

2011-12-14T19:21:00.004-07:00

Isn't this how everyone chops onions?!

Tyler caught me in the act! After he took these pics he said, "I'd like to see you post THESE on your blog!" He didn't think I would...

A Few of His Favorite Things

2011-12-12T15:03:00.004-07:00

Well, our little man turned 6 months old yesterday. We went to the doctor today and he weighs in at 18 lbs. 11 oz. and is 27 inches long! Anyway, I just wanted to share a few of his favorite things...

Rolling over. As soon as we put him on his stomach he flips himself right back onto his back, but sometimes he likes to secretly roll over from his back to his tummy when I'm not in the room.

Sleeping. Finally, he's back to sleeping through the night and taking three naps a day!

Reading books. OK, more like looking at books and when someone reads them to him. If you want him to stop fussing just read him a book( and he's a happy camper!

Hanging out with grandma! Which he does frequently...especially on the weekends ;). This is what we came home to Friday night...

December!!!

2011-12-01T17:35:00.006-07:00

Yay! It's December!!! You wouldn't think it was December by the lack of snow here in Rexburg. It snowed the other day but melted quickly. I really wish there was snow!

Anyway, just wanted to post a video of my big boy sitting up! He's been able to sit up on his own for a few weeks now, but he has gotten really good recently. He doesn't do as good in this video as he usually does, but he sure does look cute! Check it out:

So, Dominic has had really bad baby ezcema on his scalp and face since he was about 2-3 months old. His pediatrician just said to use anti-dandruff shampoo on his head and leave the face alone. Then it started to spread to his arms and legs, and then his chest and back! Finally, they prescribed him some cream for it. I've been putting it on his scalp which makes his hair all greasy...so I spike it! Ha ha!

A Little Reminder

2011-11-28T22:29:00.004-07:00

Sometimes I need a little reminder to be thankful for all that I have. You would think Thanksgiving would be a good reminder, but I was actually pretty cranky that day because of a stubborn baby who wouldn't eat or sleep...So, being thankful slipped my mind. It's funny that Facebook actually reminded me.

Earlier today I was glancing at my newsfeed when I came across a friends comment on one of her friends photos. The picture was of a statue with Jesus and two children, a boy and a girl. The girl whose photo it was wrote, "Lucas (her husband) pointed out that the statue in the cemetery has Christ with a little girl and a younger little boy. He's with our kids :)". I was so curious I went to her profile page and found through her photo albums of two separate pregnancies, two deliveries, two babies, and two funerals, that she lost first a baby girl and then a baby boy. After looking at the pictures of her and her husband at the hospital holding their babies and then the tiny caskets at their funerals I was practically bawling. I don't know this girl, but I can't image how hard that was/is for her. I know it is something I just couldn't handle. I'm not that strong.

All this made me really appreciate my precious little boy. After throwing up through my first trimester, gaining 40 lbs by the end of my third while living in 100+ degree weather on the third floor of our apt complex, feeling the worst pain of my life and throwing up about a dozen times through labor, needing forceps, tearing really bad and losing a lot of blood during deliver, and having rude/cranky nurses in the hospital, at least my baby was alive and healthy! Even though he had colic, cries when he doesn't have attention, has acid reflux, still fights me during every feeding, and doesn't fall asleep at night without crying for at least 30 mins, I love him dearly and can't imagine if I lost him.

I really needed that reminder...

Anyway, we had a great Thanksgiving in Boise, ID. Tyler's mom is originally from there so that's where most of her family lives. Dominic met his only great-grandparents while we were there, too.

Everybody at Thanksgiving dinner. (Sorry for the poor quality, I got the pic off facebook.)

Thanks to Pinterest

2011-11-07T16:12:00.004-07:00

I admit I was very hesitant when I signed up for Pinterest a couple months ago and it took quite a while before I actually started pinning things. Well, things have changed and I find myself glancing at it a few times a day...

Thanks to Pinterest I won my wards Halloween dessert contest! Check out these beautiful Dracula dentures :)

When I told my mom I had won she said, "Who would have thought you of all people would win a baking contest!" Thanks mom.

Our Texas Burrito

2011-10-30T22:58:00.003-06:00

When we were in the hospital in Texas right after we had him the nurse was showing us how to swaddle our baby. When she was done she said, "We call it the Texas Burrito!". I love it!

Trying To Be Patient

2011-10-22T13:46:00.004-06:00

Dominic has always been a fussy baby. The really bad colicky stuff stopped at about two months which is when he started sleeping through the night. Now he is still fussy but isn't sleeping through the night! I recently changed his formula which helped for about a week. I've been pretty patient, telling myself he will grow out of it. But now I really think something is wrong... Has anyone else had this problem? We are going to get him an antacid prescription today to see if he might have silent reflux.

On a more positive note, we purchased him a cute little Baby Einstein bouncer yesterday. He seems to love it...

He rolled over from his back to his stomach for the first time yesterday. I was on the phone with my mom while Dominic was holding my finger when all of the sudden he flipped over! it surprised us both!

He also discovered his feet the other day. Now grabbing them is his new favorite thing to do.

Crazy Life

2011-10-12T15:45:00.009-06:00

My poor baby boy has been driven all over the place in his short four months of life. Since the three day drive from Austin to Rexburg I've taken him to Montana, Utah, and Washington. It's really done a number on his sleeping habits. By two months old Dominic was sleeping eight hours at night. By three months he was sleeping nine and a half. Now at four months I'm lucky to get five hours straight!

I'm only working 15 hours a week, but I work one on one with an autistic five year old...let's just say he wears me out! Also, I seem to be catching every sickness that walks in the door of the elementary school I work at. I've just been sooo tired lately! So, that's what has been happening around here and that's why the blog is being neglected.

Instead of giving a bunch of detailed updates like I said I would on the last post, you are going to get a picture update...which is probably better anyway!

The drive back from Texas.

Trying to figure out where all this stuff is going to go!

Boating with family and friends over Labor Day weekend.

Dominic's blessing.

Conference weekend in Utah.

This is my friend Chelsea's husband and little girl. She LOVED drinking right out of the pitcher...so cute!
Laying on Aunt Allie.

Hanging out in Spokane.
Lookin' good in his new hoodie we bought in WA.

This is how uncle David babysits...

Brinlee's blessing.

Bath time in Rexburg a couple days ago. (My blog isn't private so I thought I would edit the pic a little bit ;)

Now that I'm up to date I'd like to say a couple things about Dominic...

He turned 4 months old yesterday, but he looks more like 6 months. We haven't had a doctors appointment this month yet so no stats. He is doing really well holding himself up on his tummy. He loves to babble and play with you while he lays on his back. Oh and he loves his Grandpa Weathers that he finally got to meet last week! Anyway, that's about it...until next time...

Update Time

2011-09-20T15:05:00.006-06:00

I know it's been forever since I last posted. Life has been a little crazy!

Since the last post we have:

- Driven back to Idaho (Of course something broke down on us)

- Started school/work (I got a part-time job)

- Moved back into our old apartment (It's been tricky fitting all our new baby stuff in it)

- Had a "family reunion" (Check out my sisters blog)

- Blessed Dominic

- Took a trip to Montana

- Gotten sick

- And are still trying to organize our lives here in Idaho with a baby!

I want to post pics of everything and give a more detailed account, but I'm just too tired to do that all right now. So be patient with me and the posts will come...

Until then here are some cute pics of our favorite little guy.

I love that his big belly is hanging out of his shirt.

Nap time.
So cute!

I found him like this...I don't even know how he got his head to bend that far!
We stuck Frenchie in his car seat and somehow he got his arm right through the middle of him.

My Chunky Monkey

2011-08-16T19:50:00.007-06:00

That's right, I call my little man "Chunky Monkey". He had his two month doctors appointment today and he weighs 13 lbs 4 oz. That's in the 75th percentile for his age! We love his fat rolls.

Look at those thighs!

He also got his first immunizations today which was not fun for him... or for me! He screamed so hard he stopped breathing and turned bright red. For the next 6-7 hrs at home he was pretty miserable, even after the children's Tylenol.

Anyway, here are some more photos for your enjoyment.

Happy to be in his car seat. He loves car rides.

People say he looks like my dad. What do you think?

That's Frenchie the snake rattle right there. It's my miracle toy...gets him to stop crying every time. Best $1.99 IKEA purchase I ever made.

Just fell asleep while doing some light reading.

Where Did They Go?

2011-08-11T23:14:00.004-06:00

These last two months have flown by! Do you ever feel like each day seems like forever and then the next thing you know it the week is over? That's how I have been feeling lately. Taking care of this kid is hard work! Ha ha.

Well, he is officially two months old today and he's such a cutie!

Father and son. Look at Tyler's new facial hair. It's the longest he's ever had it!

Turn That Frown Upside Down

2011-08-05T17:00:00.003-06:00

You know the rest :).

Here is why I'm frowning...

I can't take him out in this heat. He already has heat rash on his face, arms, neck, and back from temperatures not in the 100's. So, I must stay in...for his sake.

But he sure has made me smile with this face...

Which, he makes regularly now and I love it.

Michael Phelps

2011-07-27T18:46:00.007-06:00

Dominic took his first trip to the pool today. We have high hopes for him as a swimmer...

Just relaxing on the table while we had a BBQ.

Headed down to the water to test it out.

The first time Tyler did this he screamed but then every time after he seemed to really like it.

I don't know why the quality of this video is so bad on here. Sorry!

We made this make-shift fort to shade him by the pool while the big kids played in the water. Uncle David was nice enough to watch him while I swam around a bit.

Just chillin by the pool. The sun sure wore him out...

You know Tyler is the same height and has the same wing span as Michael Phelps...

Summer Olympics 2034 here we come!

Mom Blog

2011-07-23T22:06:00.004-06:00

It's official, my blog is now a "mom blog". You know, the kind of blog that's all pictures and funny stories about their kid(s). Get excited...it's going to be good :).

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Things have been a little crazy around here. Let's just say Dominic likes to be held. A Lot. He also likes to cry. A lot. I asked Tyler the other day how our parents did it with six/seven kids. He said, "It gets easier?" I told him I wasn't so sure about that. Let's just pray not all our kids are as high maintenance as this guy! We sure do love him though.

He's six weeks old today and has sure put on the pounds. We went to the doctor on Thursday and they weighed him in at 11 lbs 2 oz. Only three and a half weeks ago he was only 8 lbs 4 oz! Just yesterday he started smiling, like for real smiling, not the I just passed gas or having a dream smiling. It's super cute and yes mom, I will try my best to capture it on camera!

Well, here are some pictures...

This one is when he was only two weeks but I had to post one with his monkey Otto that Grandma Weathers got him.

Bath time with Daddy. He loves baths.

This boy will sleep pretty much anywhere...except HIS bed. He also doesn't like being swaddled.

Our bed...

Couch...

Boppy pillow...(Check out that double chin!)

Swing...

Bouncer...

Final Photos

2011-07-19T19:35:00.004-06:00

I just got the final photos from our little family shoot we had taken a few weeks ago. Noelle did an amazing job! Dominic was not quite 2 weeks old when these were taken and he looks so tiny. Already he has grown so much!

Anyway, here are a few of our very faves...(You'll also notice I used on of the photos as my new blog header.)

I put all the photos on facebook if you want to check them out.

Just a Liiiittle Bit More

2011-07-07T12:45:00.004-06:00

For those of you who have never seen my husband eat a meal you are missing out on quite an experience. He never ceases to amaze any first time observer how much food he can put into such a thin frame. Really, it's comical how many comments he gets about how much he can eat.

Well, I guess we can now say, "Like father, like son"! The last few days he's been going through a growth spurt and I can't keep up with the kid. I'm trying not to supplement as much as possible, but I can't go a day without giving him at least two bottles. Our little man is getting some rolls to show for it, too. I looove his baby rolls so keep them comin'!

LOVE the lower lip. So cute.

Our son is gonna be a baller. :)

Sunday outfit.

Tyler's parents are in town lovin' on their new and only grandchild.

Oh yeah, some of you are probably a little comfused by the post title...

One of the first times Tyler ate at my parents place with my whole family we had fried rice. My dad makes the best fried rice! Anyway, all of us were done eating at the table and just chatting when Tyler sheepishly started serving himself up some more rice as he said, "Just a liiittle bit more". None of us could help but laugh at the third large helping he just piled onto his plate. Just a little bit more, huh? Ha ha. I love my husband :)

Future Model?

2011-06-24T14:14:00.006-06:00

We did a new born/family photo shoot this morning...it was quite the experience...

Just down the street from our complex is a community college surrounded by fields of little sunflowers and trees. It was the perfect location our photographer found for the shoot! After parking our cars in the college lot near one of the fields we walked through part of the field and a cop showed up. We assumed he was just checking to make sure we weren't making any trouble. When Tyler told him we were out to take some photos the officer advised us to go to a different location. He informed us there was a momma bobcat with a couple of cubs living in the grove of trees right there. YIKES! He showed us a much safer location in a nearby field.

Noelle (our photographer/one of the other wives out here), wanted to start off with some naked baby shots. When we stripped Dominic down he decided it was a good time to pee. Boys! After cleaning up that mess we put him in a fur blanket in a basket. He was too hungry to cooperate so I picked him up to feed him and he had peed all over the fur blanket! After feeding him we decided to try and take some pics of Tyler holding him naked. After only a few minutes Dominic decided to pee all over his dad. Crazy kid! After finishing those photos we did some of me holding him naked and can you guess what he did next? Yep, he peed on me too! Seriously, how much pee can one new born hold in his tiny bladder?!

After a lot of cleaning up, feeding, and calming down a crying baby we finished the shoot. My mom took a bunch of candid shots on my camera while the real photographer did her thing. I thought I would show you a few just as a preview to the real deal.

I did a little editing on this photo. I thought about making it my new blog header but decided to wait for the really good pictures we get back from Noelle.

A Few More Details

2011-06-22T13:24:00.006-06:00

OK, now that things have calmed down a little bit I can blog about how everything went down...

It all started with a doctors appointment on Friday. My doctor was kind enough to strip my membranes to help bring on labor a week early. My mom was coming into town on Wednesday and I wanted our little man to come before then. That day I had mild and random contractions that went away as the night came. Then by 7am on Saturday I was having more contractions, but thought it was another false labor or just early signs of labor and I had plenty of time. By 8 am I had taken a shower and my contractions were already 5 minutes apart and coming on strong. I woke Tyler up and said, "We need to go to the hospital. Now." He was shocked and jumped out of bed to get ready for a crazy weekend. After running around the house packing my bag we finally headed out of the house at 9am.

When I got to the hospital I was in some serious pain. Who knew contractions would be so painful?! Ha ha. I don't know how some girls get their picture taken in their hospital robe looking all cute and ready for labor/delivery! By the time the doctor came and checked me around 11am or so he said it looked like I would be delivery this baby by 6pm. After that I got a much needed epidural and tried to take a nap. (Turned out my anesthesiologist was a Mormon from Idaho. What are the odds?!) My mind was too busy thinking about the delivery and meeting my baby that the actual sleeping part of the nap never happened. The nurse came back in to check me at 2pm just to see how things were progressing. She was surprised to tell me I was ready to deliver right then! So, I started pushing and they called the doctor. He actually had just left the hospital and had to turn around and come right back.

I pushed for about an hour before the doctor had to finally use forceps. By 3:05pm little Dominic was born. He actually didn't scream and cry that much. He has made up for it since then though! Tyler was pretty surprised to see what a baby looks like straight out of the womb. Poor guy lost a lot of blood in the face! But, he still cut the umbilical cord.

I stayed in the hospital until Monday and what a relief it was to get out of there! Since getting back a lot of the wives out here have been bringing dinners by which has been so helpful. Also, my mom has been here since Thursday the 16th which has been even more helpful! I haven't been doing super well so we haven't gotten out much. Yesterday we did get to go shopping at the amazing outlet mall by our place. Other than that and grocery shopping we've stayed indoors.

Dominic is still sleeping through the day and keeping me awake at night. I'm tyring to nap during the day, but one two hour nap a day and no sleep at night isn't really cutting it! Hopefully we will get our sleep schedule figured out sometime soon...(crossing my fingers!) He does love to pee on whoever is giving him a bath and I have to say he's got good range! Just ask my mom ;). The best though was when Tyler picked him up in the nude and he pooped right in Tyler's hand. He literally had a handful. It was hilarious!

Anyway, here are a few more pics for ya:

He's a multi-tasker. Not everyone can suck their thumb, pick their nose, and flip you off all at the same time!

6/11/2011

2011-06-13T20:54:00.003-06:00

He's here. He's adorable. I'm exhausted. We're all happy.

Dominic Tyler Muir:
Born June 11th, 2011 at 3:05 PM
7 lbs. 9 oz. 20 in. long

More to come...

Last One

2011-06-06T09:10:00.007-06:00

My mom said she needed one last pregnancy pic. I was reluctant to take another one...I'm feeling like a whale at 38 weeks now! I can hardly move with this baby all up in the ribs all the time. I've gained nearly 40 lbs now. Yikes! I weigh as much as Tyler and you all know how tall he is. The last week or so I've been retaining a lot of water which my feet and ankles are the proof of! (You can see how puffy they are in this pic.)

I usually don't wear this shirt anymore because it is too small, but I thought the tightness would be better for a belly photo. (Thanks chels for lending me some maternity clothes...they fit for a while!)

Also, one last "family" picture before it's not just the two of us anymore.

AND, I had to post this picture to show off the beautiful earrings Tyler got me for our anniversary. The stones are peridots...my birthstone :)

One last thing, this is the forecast for the week...

The only reason why the temp is only 86 right now is because it's 10am. Pray that this baby comes early so I don't have to endure the heat being pregnant any longer!

Happy Valenbirthaversary!

2011-05-30T12:21:00.004-06:00

Well, it's been an entire three years since Tyler and I tied the knot! He really is an amazing person and marrying him is the best decision I ever made. The last few years have flown by and I can't wait to see what the rest have in store for us!

Unfortunately, today is Memorial Day...that sounded bad...what I mean is it's a holiday and holidays mean looong work days for Tyler. Since a lot of people have work off the sales reps like to go out and knock early. Tyler left for his meeting at 8am, came home for a couple of hours, and left again for the rest of the day. He probably won't be home until midnight give or take an hour. So, I will be spending our anniversary/Memorial day spouseless and I'm too tired to be social with anyone else.

Anyway, here is where this post title comes from. (Thanks K Harker for telling us about this show a year ago. We love it.)

So Sick!

2011-05-27T11:23:00.005-06:00

No, I don't have some virus or bacterial infection. I'm just sooo sick of pregnancy symptoms! I've pretty much had them all. I purposefully haven't complained about them on my blog, though. A lot of you have experienced them and those who haven't don't want to hear about it! BUT, I have to tell you a funny story because I like telling funny stories and it involves a dreaded pregnancy symptom :)...

Let me first start out with some background information. I'm pretty sure there is a gene in my family that causes frequent choking. I can easily choke on any liquid I put into my mouth, including my very own saliva! If I eat/drink anything sweet there is a high probability I will choke on it, especially if I'm trying to multi-task, (like walk down stairs while eating an apple is a recent example). I know several of my siblings have this problem and I'm pretty sure my dad does ;). Anyway, on to my story...

I've been downing Otter Pops like crazy lately because of the horribly hot weather. (It reached 99 degrees the other day!) Yesterday was no exception. I was sitting at the computer eating a red one while checking facebook or something. When I finished the frozen part there was an inch or so of liquid on the bottom. Of course, I tilted my head back and dumped the liquid into my mouth. As soon as it touched my tong I knew I had made a bad decision. As usual, the very sweet liquid slipped straight into my air passage. I didn't want to spew red juice all over my computer/wall/carpet so I swallowed the remaining juice before coming up for air. When I tried to breath it was awful! I was hacking and gagging, trying to breath but to no avail.

Finally, I ran into the kitchen to get some water and maybe throw up in the sink. As I'm leaning over the sink a particularly violent caugh causes a burst of urine to enter my panties! Yikes! Since I hadn't been getting enough oxygen for several seconds I'm seeing stars and feeling dizzy so the pee is the last of my concerns... until the next caugh brings on more pee! This is getting ridiculous. I'm glad no one was around to watch me as I finally crossed my legs to stop wetting my pants and gagged up the remaining red Otter Pop juice into the sink. Although, I'm sure it would have been a funny sight to see. When I finally calm down enough to breath and take a drink of water I can't help but laugh at what just happened. Did I really just wet my pants from choking on an Otter Pop?!

Immediately I called Tyler to tell him the story. He tried to feel bad for me, but couldn't keep in his laughs either. To make me feel better about my accident, I'm justifying it due to pregnancy. Even Web MD says, "During pregnancy, many women experience at least some degree of urinary incontinence..." So, don't judge me. ;)

Remember this photo from six flags?

I didn't really wet myself from the Superman ride. My wet bathing suit soaked through.

Rexburg Snow

2011-05-20T15:22:00.003-06:00

At my doctors appointment the other day my doctor asked where we moved from. When we told him Idaho he said something like, "I'm sure it's a little colder there than here." Tyler responded with, "Yeah it was snowing when I left." My doctor was shocked to say the least. Snow in May?!

I was talking to a friends father the other day who is from Dallas. He thought it was funny that the last 2 years we've spent the winters in the coldest place in the country and the summers in the hottest...oh how I wish we could switch that around!

My brother-in-law showed us this photo he took a few months back, I feel the need to share it with you now...

Mind you, this 16 year old is nearly six feet tall. Of course this photo wasn't taken in town, but it's still in the city limits of Rexburg. Can I please get some sympathy now?

Finally!

2011-05-18T14:05:00.003-06:00

We finally have the internet up and running in our apartment here and it feels so good. A few of you might be wondering what I've been up to the last month since my last post. I'll be honest, it's been pretty dull...

I drove down here four weeks before Tyler and it was a long four weeks! With no TV and internet I had to be creative with entertaining myself. Under normal circumstances I would have spent a lot of time at the pool, but with the extra 30-35 lbs. I've been packin' lately laying out just isn't the same... Anyway, I've been going out with the other wives, lunch dates, chick flick viewings, things of that sort. Of course, I've been reading. I've read about seven books since I've been here. It would be more if the library here didn't suck so bad...I'm too cheap to actually buy books. I do "go to work" everyday for a couple hours. I'm one of the office assistants for this APX office. OK, OK, enough about how I've been entertaining myself.

I finally had a doctors appointment here. I saw my doctor in Rexburg before I left when I was 28 weeks. Now I'm 35 1/2 weeks and I just saw a doctor today! (There was some issues with my insurence.) All is well though. Baby Boy Muir is head down and butt up...in my right ribs, ouch! His heart rate is good and his size also. Everything is right on schedule!

Well, here are a couple updated photos of my ever growing midsection...(I never remember to ask Tyler to take these when he's home. The dirty mirror ones will have to due.)

Anyway, sorry for the lack of posting. I will try and do better now that we have internet in our apartment :)

No Spring For Me

2011-04-19T15:11:00.002-06:00

I drove down to Texas last week and it was quite the adventure. It seems like something or several things always have to go wrong each year when we make our drives every summer. I won't bore you with the details of this trip.

Anyway, the night before I left Rexburg it was literally blizzarding outside. When I arrived in Texas it was 85 degrees, which of course felt much warmer with the humidity and the whole pregnancy thing. I went straight from winter to summer!

I wish I had some pics to post, but I don't really have any new ones. I really need to start taking more pictures. Also, I don't have internet at my apartment here yet...we are trying to find someone to split the bill with :) Until then I probably won't be doing a whole lot of blogging. Sorry!

Recent Happenings

2011-03-30T17:37:00.010-06:00

Before I left for Arizona....(25 weeks)

Three short weeks later...(28 weeks)

Maybe you can't tell, but I had quite the growth spurt. I feel like I've really packed on the pounds and I know there is much more growing to go these last two and a half months! One day while my mom was in town we were talking about me growing into some of my maternity clothes. I was pulling the front of my shirt out to see how much room I had when Tyler goes, "How much bigger are you going to get?!" My mom and I couldn't stop laughing. Oh Tyler...

On our way back from AZ we stayed in UT for a couple days and my wonderful sisters threw me a baby shower. I don't know a lot of people in the area, but it was a fun small gathering with great company, yummy food, and some exciting basketball games. (Yes, we kicked off the March Madness tournament at my baby shower by watching the BYU game and then the Gonzaga game. I am having a boy after all ;)

Opening gifts at the baby shower... (Thanks to all those who read this that came and gave me gifts. I loved them all!)

A week later in Rexburg, my mother-in-law threw me a baby shower which was a little more traditional with the games/prizes and what not. It was a good time, but unfortunately everyone forgot to take pictures :(

Last week was Tyler's spring break so we did a little playing. One day we went to Jackson Hole, WY with some friends.

Well, that's all that has really happened around here. I leave for Texas in a week and a half and I haven't even started packing! I actually can't wait to get down there, because the weather here is really starting to get annoying. "Spring" in Rexburg doesn't really exist...

Arizona Sun Shine

2011-03-24T15:25:00.003-06:00

I got back from AZ last week and I already miss it. The entire time we were there the temperatures stayed in the 80's with the sun shining. It was perfect. I went down with my parents and two sisters. We hung out with some old family friends and lots of relatives. Three of my cousins had babies recently so it was really nice to meet them...and get some practice! We went to the temple, picked grapefruit, played with family, had some adventures at the Bryces' (family friends), did a lot of shopping, and ate too much food. I wish I took more pictures! Here are a few I did take.

Just the Beginning

2011-03-07T15:56:00.003-07:00

Last weekend my (also pregnant) sister and I went down to Idaho Falls to run some errands, a.k.a. go shopping :). Don't laugh, but I was on the hunt for some maternity skinny jeans. I also needed to exchange a shirt, get a body pillow, and a new sports bra. My point is, I was not expecting to buy what I did...

Our last stop was Ross, which actually has a lot of cute maternity clothes and a price I would pay, (unlike that crappy Motherhood Maternity store). No skinny jeans in my size though :(. On our way to the dressing room we came upon the baby clothes section. Of course we stopped and took a look. I was shocked to find a million things I wanted to buy! Tyler and I decided not to start buying anything until after the baby showers and after we get down to Texas...

Well, after much deliberation I narrowed my "want to buy" pile down to these two sets of onesies:

(The original price tags are still attached pricing them at $40 a set. YIKES! Let's just say I didn't spend even close to that.)

I LOVE the fact they don't have a football/animal/car/train/etc. on them. Not that that stuff isn't cute, it's just everywhere! Anyway, this is just the beginning of what will soon be a large collection of baby things... I can't wait :/

Doing Our Part

2011-03-03T14:04:00.004-07:00

I grew up with two trucks stopping in front of our house early Friday morning, the garbage truck and the recycling truck. Here in small town Idaho there are no convenient recycling trucks to make helping save the environment easier. About two weeks ago we had a decent size cardboard box in our kitchen next to the garbage can. I don't know who started it first, but all of the sudden it turned into one of these:

In two weeks time it was filled with cereal boxes, milk and juice cartons, tin cans, and even paper. I have to admit, when I went and dropped off all our recycled goods in the big blue bins in the Albertsons parking lot I felt pretty good about myself. Every little bit counts, right?

Did any of you learn about recycling in elementary school and get a cassette tape with recycling songs on it? Well, I did and I clearly remember listening to that tape often...I still know the songs...

On more exciting news...

I'm getting pretty fat. It's kind of nice to look pregnant now and not just like I've been eating too much junk food. I'm about 25 weeks, nearing six months. I suppose I could post a more pregnant picture now...maybe when I get back from AZ. At my doctors appointment on Monday I told her I had been having some pretty bad lower abdomen cramps when I work out. She said I need to cut my workout intensity in half. I asked about Zumba...she said no more Zumba :(

Tyler's sister Karissa came home from her mission in San Diego on Tuesday. The poor girl froze to death when she got here, even though the sunny 40 degree temperatures felt amazing to us. Anyway, it's nice to have another female around again.

Well, nothing else new and exciting is happening around these parts. Until next time...adios!

Another Hot Summer

2011-02-22T15:44:00.004-07:00

I forgot to mention on here that we found out where we will be for the summer. For some strange reason our office managers wanted to go to the EXACT SAME PLACE!

I was fairly disappointed, but I'll survive. What's even worse is that they want to spend the first half of the summer an hour north of Austin and then move for the second half south of Austin. I don't know if you all recall that I'm due half way through the summer... Oh and the very worst part is my son will have a Texas birth certificate! ;)

Over Christmas when I went maternity clothes shopping with my mom we didn't consider nearly triple digit temperatures when deciding which clothes to buy. Now all I have are pants and three quarter sleeve shirts I have to wear layers with because the fronts dip too low. This wasn't going to do so, my sister helped me do some adjusting...making pants into shorts and 3/4 sleeves into short sleeves, and the best, sewing in fake undershirts at the neckline so I won't have to layer it up.

I'll get to test out some of these summer maternity clothes when I go to ARIZONA next month!!! When my mom told me her and my older sister were making the trip down there I desperately wanted to go. It's the perfect time for me to see the sun after a looong winter. I've been day dreaming about the sunny 80 degree weather for weeks...

P.S. I've kind of been bragging about being heartburn free this entire time and I had to eat my words the other night. I had terrible heartburn. I've never had it before so it came as quite a shock when my chest hurt and I thought I was going to puke up the acid that was hanging out in my throat. I knew I should have knocked on wood...

This Is Going To Get Entertaining

2011-02-10T21:51:00.003-07:00

After finishing an exhausting first trimester, I tried desperately to start working out again. I've gone to the gym here and there and have even done my P90X yoga video a few times, but nothing consistent. So, when my mother-in-law told me she was taking a Zumba class I was intrigued. Of course, I've seen the infomercials and have heard rave reviews from others so, I took the plunge.

I'm now signed up for a twice a week, six week Zumba class. The first class was OK, but I ate dinner a little too close to workout time, had to get used to the choreography, and found that my cheap sports bra wasn't going to do the trick. My second class was super fun, though. The hour class flew by. I actually had to ask if the class was really over and when I was told yes I thought they were joking!

Besides the fun dance moves, I love the old ballroom on main street where the class takes place. Long ago ;), when my sister was first married her apartment was in this very building. I remember having to walk through this ballroom to get to her apartment. I think it's been renovated since then because I remember it being kinda creepy. Anyway, here is what the ballroom looks like. (The classes I went to though had like twice as many people in them.)

If I wear a baggy t-shirt you can't tell I'm nearly five months pregnant, but soon I won't be able to hide it. That's when a big pregnant lady doing Zumba will be pretty entertaining to watch...So, if you're in the area you might want to come for the show or just for the fun workout.

Baby News

2011-02-01T15:29:00.002-07:00

Tyler's parents' little schitzu Patches had four little baby puppies on New Year's Eve and I've been meaning to post this cute little picture...

Isn't he adorable?! This photo was taken at 2 weeks old and they sure have grown since then. They're much more fluffy now and can kind of walk.

Anyway, a little update on our human baby... We had the 20 week ultrasound done on Monday and boy is our little man a boy ;) Tyler and his whole fam thought it was going to be a girl, but I thought it was going to be a boy. The ultrasound tech asked if that's what we wanted and I said, "Yeah, either that or a girl." It's hard to be picky on the first. Maybe if we have four boys in a row I'll start complaining.

For those of you who have just been DYING, (which I'm sure is most of you ;), to see what a pregnant Kim looks like...here I am in all my 20 weeks of glory.

(In all seriousness, this photo is mostly to document what I looked like my first pregnancy, but I hope it entertained a few of you, also.)

Nearly Halfway

2011-01-22T10:59:00.003-07:00

I know I haven't said much about the whole pregnancy thing that's going on with me so I suppose I will do a short post about it.

Let's see...

I'll be 19 weeks tomorrow, which is just about the halfway mark.

The first few months were filled with a hyperactive nose, extreme exhaustion, food aversions, and barfing. Oh and a lot of hiding from our friends and family. So, a pretty typical pregnancy I guess.

Mid December I was feeling much better, but my appetite sure picked up! I've already gained 10 lbs and my pants are quite uncomfortable to wear. Luckily my dear mother bought me a BeBand so I can keep wearing my regular pants a little longer.

My ultrasound appointment is set for Monday January 31st to find out the "flavor" our little one will be. I'm pretty sure the future grandparents are more anxious to find out than us. I'm not particular on the gender and supposedly Tyler isn't either, (though by the way he talks I think he's secretly hoping for a girl...)

Here's my only complaint about having a girl. Pink. Pink everything. I am certainly not a pink kinda girl. I admit I have looked through the entire Pottery Barn Kids website for adorable things I can't afford. They do have very cute girl things and the pinks are in just the right shade and amount...

Oh boy...so cute.

I looove the white furniture. So bright and happy!

The Holidays

2011-01-10T16:35:00.006-07:00

We stayed in Rexburg with Tyler's family for Christmas day this year. It was nice to switch it up a little since we've spent the last two with my folks. The day after though, we headed up to Spokane for the rest of the break. The day after we got there a bunch of us went skiing/snowboarding. Yes, I went snowboarding pregnant. *gasp* Don't worry, I took it easy and it was really fun.

Here is the whole crew...

We finally got to meet this little lady...(My sister had her third child over the summer and this is the first time Tyler and I saw her. She's such a cutie!)

We also had fun with her other two kids...

And this was a good workout activity...

Of course we spent a lot of time playing games like this...

And when almost everyone had headed back to their "homes", Tyler and I stayed at a resort on Coeur d' Alene Lake for a night. This was the view from our balcony...

We learned after we got there that tons of eagles migrate down from Canada to Coeur d' Alene every winter so they were flying around all over the place. I watched for them out our window for like an hour!

Well, that pretty much sums up our holidays!

Best Christmas Present I Ever Gave

2011-01-05T14:04:00.003-07:00

All wrapped up in deceivingly large boxes, this is what we gave our parents for Christmas this year....

They were excited to say the least ;)

December, Yay!

2010-12-01T17:27:00.003-07:00

There are a few reason's why I'm happy right now:

1. It's December, and that means Christmas is fast approaching. And Christmas means family time!
2. I got laid off from my awful job. I tried not to be happy about it, but I am.
3. It snowed a bunch today...again.

As I wrote a couple months ago, Rexburg stayed unusually warm all the way into October. Conference weekend was over 80 degrees! Then the temperatures dropped drastically in November and we've been having blizzards for the last two weeks. Students around here have been complaining, probably because they have to walk around campus in it, but not me, (of course I'm not a student). I'm loving all the snow and extreme weather conditions. Fall is such a boring time of year. Granted, when the leaves change colors it is beautiful, but then they quickly fall and it's ugly and cold out. Fall this year lasted about one month and it was like a dream come true.

I got new tires on my 4-Runner in the spring and they are bigger and much more hardcore than my last set ;). They work wonderfully in the snow, (along with the 4 wheel drive). I'm having fun plowing through town while the little cars spin their tires at every stop sign/light. I haven't taken any pics of the crazy amounts of snow, but it looks something like this...

I have a feeling it's going to be a crazy winter.

If My Life Were A Movie...

2010-11-16T17:48:00.002-07:00

I'm Ann. My boss is Meryl. I can't wait for Thanksgiving break.

Which Addendum?!

2010-11-04T17:38:00.003-06:00

I haven't blogged lately mainly because my life is really boring right now. Also, I've been completely stressed about a new job. You heard me. I finally got a job. I'm half way through my second week and I'm starting to feel more comfortable, but the first week was awful!

About a month ago I went in for an interview with a real estate company to be an office assistant. I went in with a cocky...I mean confident attitude. I can file paper work easy! After all, I do have my bachelors degree. Well, they called me a week or so later informing me they hired someone who was going to be around longer than a year. Two weeks after that call and almost two months of me searching for work, they called back and offered me the job. Apparently, the other girl "didn't work out"...I haven't asked for specifics.

Anyway, my first day was a series of me following orders and not know a single reason why or what I was doing. Let's just say the broker/agent/office manager/owner wasn't the best trainer to someone who has no real estate experience. After a lot of stress, confusion, and communication I'm feeling much better. My first day I was told I was hired to run the whole office, to take over as office manager. I freaked when I realized how much I didn't know and how confusing everything seemed to be. The beginning of this week I was told they want me to have everything down by the end of December. What a relief!!! I thought I had to have it all down in two weeks...silly me.

P.S. If you are wondering about my blog title...there are all sorts of different kinds of addendum's in real estate, especially for bank owned properties...which my office specializes in.

Called To Serve

2010-10-18T17:35:00.003-06:00

We had our records brought back to our BYU-Idaho "Family Ward" about a month ago, so we knew this day was coming. We both got a calling on Sunday.....we were called to serve in the nursery! Our ward actually has so many kids that there are two nurseries. We were assigned the younger ones, which start at the very young age of 18 months! I'm sure it will be a challenge for us, especially at first, but we can't help but be excited.

We're hoping to not have to deal with five of these every week:

P.S. Hope for the best mom, or this might be the best birth control yet ;)

Help Wanted? Anyone?

2010-10-12T16:47:00.005-06:00

I've been desperately looking for a job since I got back to Rexburg the end of August. My job search is turning into a nightmare! I'm sure I've applied for nearly 100 jobs, have gotten over half a dozen interviews, but NO job. :(

I've heard: "You're over qualified." "You're under qualified." "You're not going to be here long enough." And most of all, "We just finished hiring." What's a girl to do?

I wish I had something more exciting to post, but besides looking for a job I haven't being doing much. Tyler has been studying like crazy this semester and he's getting good grades to show for it. I've read a couple books in my down time. So far, all good. Check them out:

This is a young adult book, but had some stuff I didn't think was appropriate for young reader's. But I admit that I really liked it. Very funny and heart warming.

Loved the whole series.

It's sad, but I am just now reading this series. Only read the first one so far.

I'm actually in the middle of this book, but I really like it so far. Very interesting and a little sad...I like sad books.

P.S. You might have noticed I just put like a trillion pictures on the side of my blog. It's in case friends or family find my blog they can get a quick update on what we've been up to the last three years...I thought it was a good idea anyway.

Happily Waiting

2010-09-27T11:58:00.004-06:00

This is what my computer says the weather will be like September 27th (today) through October 2nd (Saturday).

I am perfectly content with this weather. I would happily wait for another month for fall weather to kick in.

Thank you Rexburg for delaying summer until the Muir's came back. :)

Here are a couple things we've been up to this past month.

Bike Riding.

Boating.

And Painting. (Before)

(After)

Before, After, Present Day

2010-09-10T17:01:00.008-06:00

Drum roll everyone...........I have the pictures you've all been waiting for!!!

Remember this post? Well, I promised before and after pictures when all my sessions were over with. A month or so after my last session our Rolfer gave me a CD of my pictures. As soon as I took a look at them I was both amazed and disappointed. It was crazy to see all the amazing changes I had made in my alignment and disappointing to see the changes I had made in weight. I hadn't really noticed how much weight I'd gained since we got married and the pictures threw me off. I wanted to post these pictures when I got them in March, but I didn't know if I was ready to show you. Also, your body continues to change long after your sessions are complete. They say your body is adapting to the changes for up to a year. Which means my body is still changing and getting better.

Anyway, there are three pictures at each angle. The first one was taken in October of 2009 right before my first session. The second one was taken in January of 2010 right after my last session. The final picture was taken earlier today on our own camera. These photo's are completely natural. I'm not wearing make-up, I'm standing completely relaxed in every single one, and none of the photo's have been edited. So, here I am. Completely exposed ;)

If you would like to take a closer look, click on the photo's to enlarge.

The third photo is at a little bit of a different angle. Notice all the changes in my face, (besides the weight changes ;). The craziest part of getting Rolfed is when they realign your face...all of it. I've told a lot of you my horror stories about that. In the middle photo it's only been a couple weeks since my face was done. It still had a lot of adjusting to do on its own.

Notice my right shoulder compared to my left.

Look at my mid section in all the photo's. You'll notice in the first photos' it is short and compact. One of my favorite things about getting Rolfed was how it elongates you, especially in the middle of your body.

Notice my chest, shoulders, and neck. Remember, I'm completely relaxed in all the photo's.

A lot of my problem's were in my lower body. My hips were really bad and my left ankle. These two things really affected my knees. You can't see any of these problems in the photo's though.

Anyway, if any of you are considering getting Rolfed, I highly recommend it. It has really changed me for the better.

Tubing, Ballerina Style

2010-09-07T11:11:00.004-06:00

Saturday it was in the 80's and the sun was shining! So, we took the boat to the lake and had a little fun.

It's always entertaining when Sid and Karen take a ride.

The coolest tube ever!

We all had a fun time switching back and forth between these tubes. It was a little tricky going from the small one to the large one, though...

Idaho? Udaho!

2010-09-01T16:21:00.005-06:00

I'm so clever. Anyway, I got back to Rexburg a week ago and the weather was AMAZING! Unfortunately, that quickly changed when we went camping that weekend :( Fall is pretty much here. I even dreamed it snowed! I also dreamed Tyler wouldn't marry me and we were ghost hunters...weird. Tyler dreamed I had a baby when I was 16 and never told him about it.

OK, on with the blog update. When we left Texas it was over 100 degrees and Tyler's "Silver Bullet" over heated about 8 hours into the drive. We were literally in the middle of nowhere at a rest stop trying figure out the problem for several hours. There were three different truckers who stopped and helped us. At one point two trucker's and Tyler were looking down under the hood pouring their 2nd 64 oz. bottle of water into the radiator when I decided to look under the car to see where all the water was going. That's when I said, "Hey guys, all that water is just pouring onto the ground!" Three car savvy guys and none of them thought of it. Luckily I was there ;) They found the leak and Tyler fixed the problem. He had to blast his heat for a little while, but we made it!

So manly.

First time seeing 80 on a speed limit sign.

Cool rock on the drive home.

We saw one of Tyler's friends in San Antonio before we left. This little boy looves Tyler and when his Dad told him we were leaving this is the face he made. Notice the wet eyes. Poor boy.

He was happy when Tyler let him wear his hat, though.

I didn't get a lot of pictures of us camping. We spent most of the time in the tent playing card games instead of going off the rope swing into the lake :( We ended up taking off a day early and went to Green Canyon Hot Springs instead.

At Least We Aren't Being Hunted and Murdered

2010-08-10T13:39:00.006-06:00

I'm a pretty positive/optimistic person most of the time, at least I try to be. I hate it when I get down and gloomy, grumpy, annoyed, mad, frustrated, and any other negative feeling. I love being happy. One of the reasons why I love the color yellow so much is because it reminds me of sunshine and happiness! Super cheesy, but it's true. I had to change my blog again because the black was just too bleak to look at. I needed something happier :)

I recently finished a book by Immaculee Ilibagiza called Left To Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwanda Holocaust. A friend recommended it to me forever ago and I finally found it available at the library here. I LOVED it. She said I would and was right. The book is about exactly what the title says. This young ladies entire family was killed during the Rwanda genocide of the early 90's. She hid in a tiny bathroom with seven other women for month's and lived to tell her story. It was so inspiring and made me incredibly grateful for so many things, too many to list.

One day while I was in the middle of this book Tyler and I were complaining about something and I said, "At least we aren't being hunted and murdered, right?" He kind of laughed and said, "What?!" I explained to him what was happening in the book I was reading and my comment made much more sense. Now, I think that phrase to myself when that guy won't call me back about a job when he said he would or when we have to buy new tires...again. I say it out loud to Tyler when he yells at the driver who cut him off or when he worries about not getting as many jobs as he wanted. I know it sounds kind of silly and it is, but it really helps us be more positive. Usually, we laugh about it because it sounds completely ridiculous, but in reality people around the world are being killed for no reason, and we are so grateful it's not us or our family and friends.

Get Me Outta Here!

2010-08-05T17:50:00.004-06:00

It's been in the triple digits here for about a week now and doesn't look like things will cool off anytime soon. I wouldn't mind the heat so much if it wasn't so humid. I LOVE summer, the sun, the swimming, the outdoor activities, the greenness, I love it all. Now I just need to get somewhere to enjoy it. I hate when I have to go run a quick errand and I come home sticky, smelly, and greasy. I need to get out of this place stat!

This is Fall River, one of our favorite places in Rexburg...I'm day dreaming of the dry 80 degree weather and cool river water right now...

Gymnastics

2010-07-23T20:12:00.005-06:00

(The photo above is Nastia Liukin, if you were wondering.)

As most of you already know, I did gymnastics for like eight years when I was younger. I'll admit it wasn't my favorite sport to participate in, but it is by far my favorite sport to watch. There is just something so amazing about the power and beauty of the sport. Ahh I just love gymnastics.

Anyway, we don't have cable here for the summer so I've been watching a lot of shows online. I search through Hulu regularly to find something worth watching when I get bored. I came across this show while browsing:

I remember seeing previews for it one time and thought I needed to watch it, but completely forgot about it soon after. Lucky for me the entire first season is on hulu.com. It's totally cheesy and I totally LOVE it! I was watching the first episode when Tyler came home from work. He watched it with me and got hooked as well! Ha, ha...don't tell him I told you. We're almost through the first season and it's only been a couple days. Sad, I know.

So, to my gymnastics loving family, watch it! You'll love it. And for the rest of you, here are some embarrassing photos of me:

(Sorry K for the half naked one of us, but these are the only scanned gymnastics photos I have. ;)

Austin Town

2010-07-19T14:27:00.008-06:00

Finally something to blog about! It's been pretty dull around these parts. I hang out with the other wives out here on occasion, but they all have kids. It's hard for them to plan things that don't revolve around the little ones. I get asked this question a lot, "So, what do you do all day without a job or kids?" Well, I read, workout, go shopping, lay by the pool, talk on the phone, clean, cook (sometimes), oh and blog.

Anyway, we finally went to downtown Austin yesterday. I've been here almost two months and just made that trip. We went to the capital building and wandered inside and out. Then, we went on a trail the runs along the Colorado River, which goes through the middle of downtown. We only stayed down there for a couple of hours so we didn't accomplish much site seeing. We will go again I'm sure.

This is always how Tyler looks at me...

This fence was pretty cool.

State capitol building.

Looking up inside the state capitol building.

This is what you see...

Looking down.

Down by the river.

During our walk by the river we found a secret fort...and I love it.

This tree is growing horizontally out the side of the river bank. It makes for the perfect little nook.

Our friend in the fort.

Places like this make me happy. I think I might live in a tree one day...

We continued our walk over a nice pedestrian bridge at sunset. It made for a beautiful setting...unfortunately we didn't capture the sunset on camera, but we did get the buildings to the east of us.

It was a lovely Sunday evening.

On our drive home we drove over the Congress Street Bridge. It was dusk and the bridge was lined with people. This is why. We had heard about this event taking place, but didn't realize where it was until we drove right by. Next visit we will definitely stay to watch!

Bake Pretty Things

2010-07-10T15:17:00.006-06:00

Check.

My younger, more baking/cooking talented sister showed me this. And some photos of the one she made. I LOVED it and made my own modified version.

I took it to our office 4th of July BBQ and it was fun to cut it open and show the surprise inside. I'm glad I got one thing checked off my list from last post ;)

Blog Stalk

2010-07-03T20:50:00.007-06:00

Sometimes I blog stalk. That's a shocker, I know. It's usually about once a month, generally on a Saturday night alone during the premenstrual, which is probably the worst time for it. I browse friends, friends of friends, and friends of friends of friends blogs. The creativity is endless, their pictures superb, the writing witty, and their lives glorious...ahhh, wouldn't it be wonderful?!

That's when I start day dreaming about all the things I'm going to do:

- Make trendy crafts.
- Buy everything vintage.
- Decorate my apartment.
- Bake pretty things.
- Travel to exotic places.
- Move to NYC.
- Move to Hawaii.
- Learn to surf.
- Learn to dance.
- Do a triathlon. ;)
- Revamp my entire wardrobe.
- Have lots of babies.
- Buy a fancy camera, become a professional photographer, learn how to better edit photos, and document it ALL in creative ways on my newly redesigned BLOG!

Whew.

Then I wake up from my day dream, put on my bathing suit, grab my book, and head down to the pool. Life is good again.

Like my new suit?

I Want to Ride My Bicycle

2010-06-28T14:44:00.009-06:00

But it's too HOT and humid outside! The good news is, as of Saturday, I actually own a bicycle. From what I've found online, my little lady is a Schwinn Suburban, and according to the serial number, she was made in May of 1976. I love her.

What I would really love to do is fix her up a bit. The paint job is aweful. I like the color, but whoever painted it did a poor job. The original style of the bike had fenders over the wheels. I would like to get some of those. Also, some nice tires would look good.

Here are a few vintage Schwinn Suburban's I like:

So, what do you think I should do for her new look?

I Love Weddings

2010-06-24T15:55:00.009-06:00

I especially love weddings when I get to travel! Tyler's "Best Man" at our wedding just got married almost two weeks ago. His now lovely wife is from North Carolina, but they were sealed in the Washington, DC LDS Temple. We flew out of Texas on Thursday. Our hotel was by the Baltimore airport so we just hung out there for the night. Friday we went to the sealing in the morning, stayed after for pictures, went to the lunch-in, and then had a few hours for site seeing that night. One of my good friends and her husband were part of the wedding party so we stayed with them in a beautiful hotel right in the middle of DC. The next morning we had about 2 hours to do a little more site seeing before we made the 6 hour drive to North Carolina for the reception. North Carolina was lovely, along with the reception! Here are some pics:

Such handsome men.

I love my little Bangerang.

They had a massive wedding party.

The wonderful view from our hotel room.

I'm a HUGE nerd...I know.

My husband is a giant.

At the reception in North Carolina.

It was at the Bermuda Run Country Club located on Bermuda Run Dr., in Bermuda Run, NC...I thought it was funny...

Remember This?

2010-06-21T22:19:00.002-06:00

Best commercial ever! And I like a lot of commercials, so that's saying something :)

Work It!

2010-06-18T16:14:00.004-06:00

I'm trying desperately to get back into shape! When I say "get back into shape", I mean from when I was like 16. Do you think it's possible a decade later? I've been working out regularly for the last month or so and have felt the strain on this old body ;). This week I've really tried to pick up the pace. Here are a few of my inspirations:

Sarah-Marathon.

Christy-Triathlon.

Bekka-IronMan.

*All photos stolen from Facebook...hope you don't mind ladies.

P.S. I know I've posted several times on here about getting in shape/working out, but this time a really mean it! :)

Another Six Flags

2010-06-16T15:20:00.006-06:00

Fiesta Texas in San Antonio was a blast. We started a tradition to go to the nearest Six Flags every summer. This one was the furthest away, an hour and a half. It was worth the drive. Allie, David, Tyler, and I rode several roller coasters and spent hours at the water park. Last year we went with Chelsea and Shyrlan to Six Flags New England, and the year before we went with my sister and her fam, the Harkers, to Six Flags Chicago. That one was right across the street. Anyway, here are some pics:

Check out Allie in the background of this one...

TEXASS! (updated 6/16)

2010-06-07T16:48:00.003-06:00

I'm here in Austin, safe and sound. No internet in my apt...so no pics yet. It's bloody hot here, but the nice people make up for it. Too much Texas pride, as I expected. Having a good time so far. Adios!

Update On Being Single

2010-05-05T22:00:00.005-06:00

Since Tyler has moved out I have acquired a new roommate.

Meet Sarah:

She has been a good friend at keeping me busy, even though I am the third wheel most of the time. Her BF is a good sport. We all went to Yellowestone for free National Park Day two weekends ago. It was my first time ever going. I've been living in the area for years and had never gone.

Sooo excited for the park.

It was a windy day.

Spencer and I have been friends for almost 11 years now!

Old...not so faithful anymore...Faithful

These guys were all over the place. Awesome.

My sister, her husband, and I went to a wedding in the Idaho Falls Temple last Saturday. It was our cousins wedding. Whitney has only been married a few weeks and already she was able to go to a sealing that wasn't her own. Lucky girl. This is the only picture I manage to capture the entire time we were there.

Soooo SAD!

2010-04-19T18:09:00.004-06:00

I haven't been this sad in a looong time! I hate it. Even this morning I woke up in a gloomy mood and it didn't change during my entire day of work. I'm sure the kids noticed my foul mood...poor little guys. Why am I so sad, you ask? It's because of Tyler. He left me. Well, not forever just the next six weeks. Which, may or may not seem like forever, we shall see. He left for Texas last Wednesday, the day after my little sister's wedding. I cried the week before he left, I cried when we said goodbye, I've cried the last couple days, and I'm starting to cry right now. What's wrong with me?!

Maybe I'm pregnant. JK. But really, how did I go from being an independent 24 year old to a needy dependent 26 year old? I guess the right man will do that to you.

OK, enough of my moping. The last week was fun and interesting. Here are some highlights:

HANG LOOSE! YAAAAY!

I tried to get in as many awkward photos as possible. Mostly at Allies expense. Sorry girl, they were too good to pass up!

Kids Say...

2010-03-23T16:51:00.002-06:00

the most rediculous things!

In class this afternoon I'm helping one of my special ed kids in his home room social studies class. I just sit there and make sure he is following along in the book, etc. Anyway, the teacher is talking about the convention in Philadelphia where the 55 men met to discuss the future of our country. My story goes like this:

Teacher, "Now, none of the men were aloud to talk about what they were discussing during the convention."

Little Girl #1, "Not even with their family?"

Teacher, "Not with anyone!"

Little Boy, "Not even their wives?"

Teacher, "Not even with their wives, no one!"

Little Girl #2 sitting next to me whispers, "Yeah cause wives blab a lot."

I think I was the only one who heard her. I certainly had to try not to laugh. Where do they get this stuff from?

I Will Never Stop Laughing

2010-03-11T09:00:00.001-07:00

Tyler found this video last summer and we watch it all the time. And we are still laughing...

Lamest Blogger Ever

2010-03-06T21:32:00.006-07:00

Yes, I have just given myself the title of "The Lamest Blogger EVER". Seriously, I feel like everyone has fun and exciting things to write about. I talked to a good friend on the phone yesterday. She was telling me all about her move to Vegas, her husbands new job, their new puppy, house hunting, etc. Then she asked what was new with me...It took me a significant amount of time to think of something worth sharing. "We're moving to Austin for the summer." That's all I could come up with. Ahhh, there is nothing I hate more than a boring life. Please, please help me find something exciting to do to entertain myself. I'm desperate.

OK on a more positive note, wait this isn't positive. We are moving to TEXAS this summer. Talk about lame. No offense all you Texans out there, but I would say that Texas was on my top ten places I didn't want to go. I've never even been there, but the thought of flat dry ugly land and millions of people with Texas pride has really turned me off. Can I say that one of my pet peeves is people with Texas pride? I guess I can because, this is my blog :)

Fine, I'll do a picture update. I know you all want it.

A friends wedding reception in Utah.

We're looking into joining a table tennis club.

If you're wondering, I did beat him.

It was only one time but, I will forever hold that against my basketball playing husband.

A First Time For Everything

2010-02-12T19:08:00.006-07:00

Here are a couple of my recent firsts:

First time making bread from scratch.

My mother-in-law gave me a Kitchen Aid for Christmas and the first thing I did was make some yummy bread.

First time scraping snow off the roof of a house.

You could say I'm a good daughter-in-law for doing this...or you could say I'm paying my dues for free rent, utilities, cable, internet, etc...either one :)

First time recieving a Valentine from a 10 year old.

And I got two! I'm sure all you teachers out there have a huge collection of them every year, but that doesn't happen in the special ed department. Our special education kids spend the morning with us and the afternoon in their regular classes. We had a party for them in our class and then in the afternoon they had the "real" party in their regular class. Their home room teachers get their Valentine's. Anyway, this morning we made them do a writing assignment by making a Valentine for someone. To cut out any drama we said they could only be given to adults, (parents, teachers, etc.) I was pleasantly surprised to get a couple. Such sweet kids. Here's a close up on one.

Maybe I need to work on my teaching skills...

Update?

2010-02-02T16:06:00.004-07:00

I had a post all made up in my head a couple weeks ago, but was too lazy to post. Sorry. I no longer remember what it was about...

Really, nothing exciting is happening in our lives right now. Christmas was a blast. I don't think I ever posted about that. We went up to my parents place for most of the break. We did a lot of shopping, went snowboarding, mastered Wii Fit, played board/card games, and ate a lot of food. I loved it.

It was rough getting back into school. I wanted to strangle a few kids several times, but resisted. I finished my Rolfing sessions last week! I will post before and after pictures when I get them. What else, what else...? My little sister got engaged and is getting married in April. That will be fun. I'm trying to eat more fruits and vegetables and less processed foods. Apparently they are bad for you. I'm trying to talk Tyler into adopting a little dog. He still needs a little more convincing. I was given a whole new snoboard get-up for Christmas. It's amazing what new stuff can do for you skills and confort level! I think that's about all the updating I can think of.

Maybe I will think of a more exciting post late. Until then....adios!

One Year Older...

2009-12-30T15:15:00.003-07:00

And wiser, too!

Yes, this adorable man just had a birthday yesterday. We were actually on the road for most of the day, because he let me stay in Spokane with my family for one last day. He pretty much sacrificed half of his birthday for me. That is one of many reasons why he is such a great man. He always puts others first, especially if it makes his wife happy :)

Here is one of many favorite memories I've had with Tyler:

Right after our honeymoon we moved to Chicago. One Sunday we went downtown and walked around the city. We loved it. The architecture was beautiful. Then we went to the Lincoln Park Zoo, which is free by the way. This is embarrassing to admit, but I had never been to a zoo before and Tyler promised to take me to one. I was like a kid in a candy store. We stopped at the polar bear tank, Tyler's favorite. As we watched through the glass below the waters surface a teenage polar bear was playing under the water. The polar bear would come right up to the glass to look at his audience. It was amazing to see a polar bear so close up. But, the best part was when he would hide to the left of the glass so no one could see him. When an unsuspecting kid would put his face up to the glass the polar bear would "pop out" with his mouth open and scare the kid half to death. We couldn't help but watch and laugh as he proceeded to do this for a good half hour, to several kids. We stayed and watched for that long! I forgot the camera, but Tyler has some sweet pictures on his phone...which is with him at work right now. Wish I could show you!

I'd like to invite all you readers out there who know Tyler to please share a favorite memory of him or what you like best about him as a comment on this post. (You can even comment if you don't have a blog and have never commented on my blog before... sarah, caitlin...etc. :) Love you all and hope you had a fantastic Christmas!

School Skipper!

2009-12-19T14:21:00.003-07:00

It's true. I skipped the last day of school before winter break. Instead of baby sitting 10 year olds for 7 hours I did something much more entertaining...First snowboarding trip of the season! Unfortunately, Tyler had a final that morning so I went without him. I felt bad, but he assured me it was OK. I went with one of my best friends and her BF. We had a good time.

(My cheeks are abnormally chubby for a reason...long story.)

The fog rolled in, but once we got to the top we were above the clouds. The view was amazing.

I know I complain about Idaho, but I have to admit it is beautiful.

Sick, Boo

2009-12-04T18:37:00.006-07:00

This is only my second time being sick this winter. I think that's pretty good for my first time being in a middle school in 12 years. There are germs everywhere, as you know or can imagine. It's Friday night and I'm home alone while my man is working for minimum wage at a movie theater so we can get super cheap movies.

Being sick and home alone I have no desire to clean our disastrous room so I'm in front of the computer watching brociety.com (hoping for a good deal on a new snowboard), listening to E! True Hollywood story on the TV in the next room, and blog stalking...kind of. I'm mostly looking at blogs from people I know/knew from high school. All are under 30 and most are married. I see all their craft projects, coupon clippings, fancy food projects, ultrasound pics, and decorated houses and keep thinking, "Wow, what's wrong with me?"

Ever since I can remember I was bored with crafty things. About a year ago I decided it was time to try it again. I went to the local craft store and bought too many things and spent too much money. I got a short start to a handbag (haven't finished it), made about six head pieces, a necklace, and became bored.

How does one even go about clipping coupons? The closest I get to coupon clipping is taking the Dairy Queen coupons we get in the mail and buying a Blizzard and getting one free :)

I don't like cooking. Poor Tyler. He loves to eat.

Some day I will have a real ultrasound pic to show all of you. That will be a good day.

Our small apartment just recently stopped looking like a bachelor pad, but only because we ditched the ratted old love seat for a set of my parents old couches and finally put real pictures in our frames to replace the mystery family photos. A few months ago 'Usher' was with me at a married friends apartment. It was cutely decorated with Easter decor. Usher said to me, "When are you going to start decorating your apartment for the holiday's? *pause* When you stop wearing skinny jeans?" She pretty much summed it up. Such a witty girl.

Instead I spend my time reading under a blanket on the couch, playing all sorts of different sports, watching movies with my man (I don't know why I keep saying that), and shopping online. Maybe I should find a new hobby. Any ideas?

Cute Idea

2009-11-24T19:58:00.006-07:00

The wedding we just went to last month in Arizona was so fun! (I don't know if I already said that in the bachlorette party story.) I was one of ten bridesmaids. I know, TEN! Ha ha it made for a lot of good times though. So, they had their reception in the backyard of her parents house. It was absolutely beautiful and the weather was prefect. Along the side of the house was the entry into the reception. Right after the sign in book was a "photo booth". It was such a cute idea. I wish I would have had one! Here are a couple of the fun photos we had taken.

The bride and groom.

Which couple is faking it?

Old roomies and best friends...with some guys :)

LOVE her.

Bridemaids, bridesmaids, bridesmaids...

Lots of bridesmaids.

Ahhh, precious.

OUCH!

2009-11-16T16:22:00.003-07:00

Every Tuesday for the past four weeks I have had a Rolfer come over and work on me. What's a Rolfer? Well, it's someone who goes to Rolfing school to become a Rolfer so people can get Rolfed by them. Sorry, I like the word "Rolf". It's actually the last name of the Doctor who invented the technique, Dr. Ida Rolf. In short, Rolfing works with your connective tissue, (fascia) to realign and balance the whole body. Some call it structural integration.

"This is the gospel of Rolfing:
When the body gets working appropriately,
the force of gravity can flow through.
Then, spontaneously, the body heals itself."
~ Ida P. Rolf

There are ten sessions, which cover the entire body. Each session lasts about two hours. Our Rolfer takes before and after pictures. I wish I could find Tyler's to show you all. The differences are astounding. I will try and remember to post mine when I'm finished. When it comes to healing your body Rolfing is pretty much amazing.

I was convinced to have this done because my husband and almost his entire family has had it done. They all spoke of how all their discomforts were cured after these ten sessions. Tyler was told by his chiropractor that he would need to continue seeing him throughout his entire life. Not anymore. After less than half the sessions my body already feels like it's working and moving how it was supposed to all along. My movements are fluid and nearly effortless. I love it. You don't realize how bad your movements are until you start functioning properly.

Sounds too good to be true? Well, it's not, BUT there is a draw back. This process is painful! The first two sessions were a walk in the park. The third wasn't bad, but left me with some bruising. The fourth almost made me quit! OK maybe not quit, but it was definitely one of the more painful things I've gone through. But, I'm learning very quickly to strengthen my mind and breath through the pain. It kind of makes me feel tough :) Though, sometimes I want to cry like a baby.

Bachlorette Party Tempe Style

2009-10-28T17:22:00.005-06:00

One of my very dear friends was married in the Mesa, AZ Temple this last Saturday. Tyler and I flew out from SLC Thursday evening to get in a long weekend of warm weather, and ohh was it warm.

Being one of the bridesmaids, I helped plan a little bachlorette party for Thursday night...

Here is how the evening played out:

9:00pm - We all meet up at the bride-to-be's parents house, let's call her Bang. When five of us bridesmaids show up we put on our matching outfits, shorts and white t-shirts with fake black corsets printed on the front, and some heavy make-up. We all ditch our husbands/boyfriend/fiance and head to the car.

9:30pm - We arrive at the "dance studio" located at some strip mall near ASU. Knowing what we got ourselves into we enter the building to see this:

Yes, we signed up for a pole dance class. It was innocent, I promise. But, the gay Asian pole dance instructor made things just a little awkward.

9:35pm - Our poles are cleaned, the party lights are on, the music is playing, and we are ready to learn some serious moves! Gay Asian pole dance instructor named "Mako" by the way, is teaching us some pretty sweet spins and looking extremely graceful in the process. Most of us look completely ridiculous, but having fun none the less.

10:15pm -We are well into our class and laughing all the while. Another bridesmaid, lets call her Usher, seems to have a very noisy pole. After a while, Bang asks Mako, "Are these poles safe?!" Mako's reply (*please use your gayest voice while reading this), "I just got these checked out two days ago. They are completely safe!"

10:20pm - Mako has now progressed to showing us a more difficult move. Mako, "Watch me first." He proceeds by mounting his pole and showing the difficult move. All of the sudden we hear "chunk chunk", that's my noise for Mako's pole dismounting from the ceiling while he is still spinning gracefully on it using the perfect gay scream/squeal as the pole falls quickly to the padded floor. We all rushed over to help and ask if he was OK when Bang says, "You're bleeding!" I look down at Mako who looks fine, so I follow Bangs gaze to Ushers face. Still standing, Usher looks in the mirror to try and dab the trickle of blood off her forehead. Her dabbing isn't doing the trick when the blood starts running all over her face. We rush her over towards the bathroom, lay her down, and put wads of paper towels on the gash. All the while this is what Mako is saying, "Oh my gosh I'm freaking out! Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! I'm totally freaking out right now!"

10:25pm - The bleeding hasn't stopped. Usher suggests, "Maybe we should go to the hospital?" She was the most calm out of everyone. So, we take off leaving Mako "totally freaking out". After rushing to the car, we lay Usher down in the back seat and tell her not to fall asleep, "You might have a concussion!" Halfway to the hospital we calm down and the reality of what just happened sets in... we all just bust up laughing. We just can't believe it! Did a stripper pole with a gay Asian instructor on it just land on her head?!?!?

10:45pm - We make it to the hospital. When we check in Bang starts to fill out paper work which asks exactly what happened. There really was no easy way to say it, "A stripper pole fell on her head and split it open." The 25 year old male nurse got a kick out of the story. The 40 year old female nurse practitioner who put the four staples in her head got a kick out of the story. BUT, the 50 year old male doctor probably got the biggest kick out of it and wouldn't leave it alone. "So, they brought you all the way down from Idaho for this?" "Did you pop out of a cake or anything?" "I hope you were paid well." The list goes on.

12:30am - We leave the hospital with an ice pack and some Tylenol. Usher was a little disappointed in the pain meds to say the least. We hit up Taco Bell and spent our meal reminiscing the evening. Tempe had really started our trip off right.

On that note, the wedding was beautiful, the reception was awesome, and we had a ton of fun with long lost friends. Thanks Arizona for such a wonderful time.

Ugh

2009-10-19T20:54:00.002-06:00

I'm not feeling adult enough for one of these...

Please don't expect one anytime soon.

Mondays' Memory

2009-10-05T12:19:00.004-06:00

Now that you know I work for a school out here, there is something else I have to tell you....in southeastern Idaho almost all the schools get atleast a week off for SPUD HARVEST! Can you believe it? I certainly didn't when I saw the years schedule at the beginning of the school year. As funny as I think it is I love having this week off work. On top of spud harvest, they have cold/snow days planned in for each school year! Not if, but when there is too much snow or it get's to or below -20 F school is canceled for the day. Those circumstances occur so often they have to plan them into the school year.

So, in memory of not having school this week, for the up coming days I will have off due to extreme weather, and the fact that there is an inch of snow on the ground right now here is a picture of an icy day in November of 1996.

Spokane had an ice storm when I was in 7th grade. Power was out at our house for three days and school was canceled for several days. Everything was coated in an inch of ice, I mean EVERYTHING! My family camped out in the livingroom for those days with a fire in the fire place and candles, flash lights, and lanterns to get us around the rest of the house. I absolutely loved it.

I'm Sorry...Really

2009-10-02T20:50:00.005-06:00

I'm sorry to all who actually read this thing. I'm feeling boring and that leaves me thinking there is nothing worth writing about.

Most of you know this, but I no longer work for that advertising company, or any advertising company anymore! It's hard to hold onto a job when your husband leaves every summer to make twice as much money as you do in an entire year. (That's not really saying he makes a lot, just shows how little I make.) So, what job could I get with all my summers off, holidays, and weekends off, pretty much the same schedule as my student husband??? A fifth grade para in special education at a middle school just down the street? Well, that's exactly it. I teach small groups of 10 year olds with learning disabilities math, reading, and language art.

I know it's hard for you to believe I'm talking to 10 year olds, let alone teaching them. You gotta do what you gotta do, right? I know teaching children is an incredibly difficult job and that's exactly why I never went into elementary ed in my college days. And now, here I am trying it. Thank goodness I'm not one of the real 5th grade teachers in this school who have 34 children in each class. I can't imagine. I can hardly handle four! Like I said, I'm not cut out for this. But I'm learning a ton, mostly about patience.

I got this beauty for free. Just one of the many perks of my job ;)

Yes, I chopped my hair off and yes, I never thought I would have another school picture taken in my life. Just goes to show how life surprises you sometimes.

Mondays' Memory

2009-09-14T21:27:00.005-06:00

Like most families, Saturday's in the Weathers household meant cleaning. Laaaawwwts of cleaning. Well, it seemed like a lot at the time! The house I grew up in was built in the 1970's I believe and it had this nifty little speaker system that went througout the entire house and out the back door. We had some fun times with it, but that has nothing to do with this memory. On the speaker system was a radio at the "mother-board" in the kitchen area. One beautiful Saturday in April of 1998 a couple of sisters and I were listening to what I'm sure was a pretty rad song of that time period. Could have been 'Truly Madly Deeply' by Savage Garden, 'Brick' by Ben Folds Five, or 'Iris' by the Goo Goo Dolls. Whatever it was, I'm sure it was a rock song because that's how we rolled ;). Trying to put some excitement into our Saturday spring cleaning we formed a band with our cleaning supplies and rocked out hard core. Someone snapped a picture and here you have it, enjoy:

(I'm the guitar player/back up singer...if you couldn't already tell.)

“Life seems but a quick succession of busy nothings.” – Jane Austen

2009-09-01T16:03:00.002-06:00

I feel like there is so much to do I don't even know where to start. Sorry for the lack of blogging if anyone out there cares! We arrived in Idaho just over a week ago and we have yet to finish unpacking. We both started work or school a couple days after getting here and now we leave Friday to head up to Spokane. My baby brother gets home from his mission tomorrow! Time flies...

"Ugh whatever." E. Harker

2009-08-10T14:09:00.003-06:00

The Harkers

2009-08-04T11:17:00.005-06:00

On June 28th, my friend Chelsea came into town to visit her husband...and me of course ;). Since then I have had only four days without a visitor. It's been great! But, I must admit I am tired. Tylers' family left Sunday and I've been busy doing laundry, cleaning, and really just getting back to real life. I've been working for Apx as an office assistant for the last couple weeks since one of them left early. It's easy and I'm hoping to do it full time next summer, if we go out again.

I'm going to take it slow and just post about our visit from the Harker family, which came into town after Chelsea and my trip to NY to visit the sisters, (see post below). It was really nice having my sister and her family in town for a week and I hope they enjoyed their stay. If you would like a more detailed version of what we were up to check it out here.

Here's my version of what went down:

Pool time.

Blueberry/raspberry picking.

Gillette Castle.

Picnic by the state capital building.

Park playing.

Beach in Rhode Island with Grandma.

It's been a fun summer. The east coast has been a great new adventure! I really do love it here and it is beautiful. Don't tell anyone, but I miss Rexburg ;) (I will be wanting to escape it within a few months though. Once the snow comes and the temperature gets below zero!)

July

2009-07-20T07:17:00.002-06:00

No time to blog! Went to NYC first week of July, had sister and her family the second week in July, my Mom is here right now, and the Muir family will be here the last week in July... I may or may not blog again till August. We shall see.

NYC Weathers Style

2009-07-06T13:20:00.005-06:00

Three of my sisters have real jobs that pay them a real salary so they get to do some real traveling. They all met up in NYC a week ago and are heading to France, Germany, and Austria for the next 2.5 weeks. I met up with them in New York last Wednesday and spent a couple days with them.

My first train ride. (From New Haven to Grand Central.)

We hit up Time Sqaure, Empire State Building, Manhatan Temple, old Public Library, and a few other places...

But, probably the highlight of the trip was...

Center orchestra seats 6 rows back at the Met for the ballet. You could see ever muscle and every drop of sweat. It was beautiful.

House Wife

2009-06-17T09:44:00.003-06:00

This summer I have been "working from home". Which, in all actually means I'm waiting for my boss in Rexburg to give me work. I half heartedly looked for a part-time job here in CT, but with no avail. During the school year I am the primary bread winner so it's really weird right now not to be the one raking in the dough. Feeling guilty, I take my role as a loving house wife. Here is what I do for Tyler while he works:

- Clean
- Laundry (he helps with this one)
- Grocery shopping
- Pack him a lunch
- Make him dinner
- And occasional cook up some breakfast
- Wash all the dishes

I try not to let him help me out because then I feel like he contributes way more than me ;) This may not seem like very much to most of you, but it is very different for me. While I work 40 hours a week and Tyler goes to school we usually take on all these responsibilities together. Equally. Well, he never makes dinner, but he usually does all the dishes afterwards. I guess it's good practice for when I'll be staying home with the little ones in the future...

Vintage

2009-06-08T11:17:00.006-06:00

My darling sweet husband of mine loves old cars. He loves them so much he owns two, a '76 Cadillac something, and a sixty-something Lincoln, I don't know the specifics :). They both run great, but look nothing like these beauties:

Half of this car is made out of solid wood. I can't imagine how heavy it is...

I like the color of this car...

We went to a car show yesterday afternoon. There were probably a couple hundred cars there at this local park by our apartment complex. Most of them were amazing! Some were...funny. We saw a few souped-up cars from the 80's and even some "fast and the furious" type cars. But, mostly it was just really nice vintage cars from the Ford Model-T to that Charger muscle car at the top of this post, (one of Tyler's favorite cars ever) and everything in-between.

Maybe someday I'll get on the show Over Haulin', so at least one of Tyler's cars can look real nice...for free.

Love

2009-06-02T12:47:00.007-06:00

There are a few recent loves I would like to share with you today...

First, cities:

Although, I loved my first visit to New York and Boston, I have to admit that I like Chicago better. It was funny because Tyler has been to New York several times while one of his good friends was going to Columbia and when we were walking through the city he was like, "I like Chicago better." I was thinking the exact same thing. We are soul mates ;)

Second new love:

Connecticut is beautiful! My only wish is that there were big huge mountains with the same trees currently covering every part of the state.

And last, but certainly not least, my husband:

It's not as much of a recent love as a continual love since the day I laid eyes on him summer of 2006, when my dear friend Brady introduced us. It was our one year anniversary this past Saturday! I can't believe how time flies. I feel like we just got married a week ago.

Like the Good Ol' Days

2009-05-16T10:32:00.008-06:00

One of my very favorite old roommates/good friend came into town recently. Her hubby is working out here with Tyler while she stays in UT to make some $$. Well, the boys work about 50 hrs a week so it was just us girls during those times. She stayed at our apt because her husband lives with a bunch of guys, so it was just like we were college roommates again. We played a lot of tennis, laid out at the pool, ate out a bit, and experienced Hartford.

Playing tourist downtown.

I'm sure this fountain is much prettier with water running through it.

State Capital Building.

Civil War monument/arch.

Lots of old Catholic churches...here is one of many.

On our walk back to our car we went by where the circus was. Some security guards close to the entrence asked if we wanted to go. We were like we don't have tickets. Then they were like well we could change that. Anyway, they gave us two free tickets. It was pretty funny...the two of us mid-twenty girls going to the circus together, but we had a blast.

There were lots of other acrobatics, but I was too busy watching to take any pictures. I loved the acrobats.

We, also, hit up Mark Twain's house. The tour was a little pricey, but it was cool. We weren't aloud to take pics of the inside :( His house is right next to Harriot Beecher Stowes house, but I forgot to take a picture of hers. It was also beautiful.

That's one of the things I've liked the most out here, the houses. There are lots of old houses and I LOOOVE them. Someday we will live in a house from the late 1800's...

The one day the guys had off we went and saw Phantom of the Opera. Chelsea has some pics, but I don't. It was fun.

Summer Home

2009-05-05T12:42:00.002-06:00

Well we are all moved in, for the most part, to our home for the summer. APX furnishes the apartments for us, but they don't provide TV stands, desks, things like that. So, we put the TV on the end table and the lamp that was on the end table onto an ancient suitcase we brought. I think it looks kinda cute. Vintage. I found a Goodwill in the area and purchased a beautiful desk for $14.99 to put our computer on. This summer our complex provides free cable and internet! I'm glad we didn't have to get those on our own. The only downsides are our bathroom is small and no washer/dyer in the apartment. We have to go down to the basement and pay to do laundry. Lame. But, it's cheaper than having to pay for cable and internet every month.

This is the front room. It's pretty big for a one bedroom apartment. It's hard to tell in this pic but, the computer screen is twice the size of our TV, ha ha! We left the big TV in Rexburg because it's not a fancy flat screen that can easily be packed into a car.

Below is the dining room and to the right is a small glimpse of the kitchen. Our table has been cleaned off since I took this pic, but it will probably look like that again soon...

Part of the view from our balcony.

I was a little disappointed the drive out here because everything was dead. Pennsylvanian was the worst. It was just hills and hills of dead trees! After about a week here things started the green up and now we have a pretty view from our balcony.

I'm really liking it here so far. I've driven around a bit, but our apartments are just surrounded by houses, apt complexes, and a golf course. Last summer we were really close to stores, restaurants, a big mall, six flags... It might take me a while to get around town. Tyler needs the GPS every day for work so I'm going to have to google map everything. So far, I have found a mall, a grocery store, Goodwill, Target, Walmart, Redbox, Bed Bath & Beyond, Costco, and some restaurants. That's all I really need, right?

...Aaaand We're Back

2009-04-25T17:15:00.002-06:00

As many of you know we moved to Connecticut for the summer. We left a week from Thursday for the three day 34 hour drive. Unfortunately, it turned into something a little longer and crazier. But, after two blocked freeways from snow storms in two different states, one flat tire, one state full of tornados, plenty of rain storms and toll roads, we made it to our destination. Oh and how could I forget my first time driving through NYC all by myself a few days after Tyler was already in CT. (I stayed in Indy for a few days at my sisters.) Why would google maps take me straight through NYC?! All in all it was an adventure, but I think on the way back we will get a trailer to pull Tyler's car. I can't be alone in a car for that long again!

Well, we aren't set up in our apartment yet. They are fixing the tub so right now we are in a fully furnished apartment the complex owners usually stay in when they come in town. The weather has been super nice since I got here. It was up to 87 today and it will be in the 80's through Tuesday! It's abnormally high for CT this time of year, but I don't mind it one bit. Let's just say I'm not missing Rexburg ;) Anyway, I will take some pics of our apt and of Hartford to share later. Adios!

Like a Kid Again

2009-04-13T10:53:00.006-06:00

I have some pretty fond memories from my younger years. Easter was always pretty fun. I'm competitive by nature and it was fun to find the "hard to find" eggs my parents...I mean the Easter Bunny would hide. There is this awesome picture of us kids standing on the porch holding our baskets in the most fashionable clothing? I believe one sister was wearing my dads moon boots...it could have been me. Anyway, we had a lot of good times. The last Easter I remember celebrating at the Weathers house included me being the Easter Bunny because my parents wanted to sleep.

Yesterday was a good day. We went to a missionary homecoming at Tyler's parents ward at 9am (ugh) then to our church at 1pm. We came home and went upstairs to an incredibly prepared Easter dinner. After we finished stuffing ourselves, mom and dad Muir told us to go into the living room. To my surprise we all had Easter baskets on the table. Granted, they weren't filled with chocolate bunnies and jelly beans, but I did enjoy the beef jerky, socks, pistachios, and Gaterade. THEN an even bigger surprise...an Easter egg hunt! Ha ha, I'll admit I was a little skeptical at first. I mean, I'm nearly 26 and it's been over a decade since my last hunt. But, when we went outside it turned out to be pretty fun and it reminded me of the good ol' days. The eggs had candy and even better, money in them.

Probably the most entertaining part of the day was when Tyler's 14 and 16 year old brother were punching each other in the face and Tyler tackled on of them to break them up. Good times.

While we are reminiscing here...check out these beauties.

Above are Tyler's school pictures preschool through senior year.

And now my school pictures first grade through senior year.

A growing boy...

His favorite outfit is the black and green biking shorts with the neon green sleeveless shirt.

A goofing girl...

My favorite outfit would have to be the jean skort and white knee highs...yeah I said skort ;)

We are going to have some very attractive children. Yikes!

38 Days of Torture!

2009-04-07T13:11:00.005-06:00

Tyler and I did our own little Mormon Lent this year. We started the end of February and ended this last weekend. What did we give up, you ask? SWEETS! No cake, brownies, pie, ice cream, cookies, chocolate, soda, candy, etc.! I'm a candy person. I love candy. Twizzlers, gummy worms, swedish fish, jelly belly's, laffy taffy, skittles, starbursts, good n plenties, sour patch kids, nerts, twix, reeses, cotton candy, mike n ikes, airheads, dum dums...you get the idea. We even have a candy drawer in our bedroom!

Tyler is more of a pie, cake, brownie, and cookie type of person. So, this was quite the task for both of us.

We were offered some sort of sweet or dessert everyday it seemed like. We were given desserts from family, friends, and people in our ward. It was like no one wanted us to succeed! Some people purposefully tempted us and others found nice alternatives for us. We became big fans of all fruit smoothies. Thank you Jamba Juice for keeping us sane ;)

Last summer I was asked by some "wives" of Tyler's fellow salesmen if I wanted to do a no sweets thing with them. I laughed and said I could never do something like that. I'm really proud of Tyler and I. We have eaten a few desserts since Saturday. They were delicious, but it seems like we don't even want or crave them as much anymore. We realized that after the first few minutes of wanting them it fades and we are fine. I would say that 90% of the time it was pretty easy. But, that 10% was really hard for us!

I don't think I really lost any weight, but that wasn't my goal. I ate plenty of other food that was bad for me! Tyler thinks he dropped a couple pounds...just what he needed!

On that note. Tyler and I will be doing P90X starting the beginning of May. We are going to be so fit you won't even recognize us!

Anyway, we leave for Connecticut in a week and a half and I'm sooo excited. I like change and adventures. That's why I get so restless in Rexburg. I love leaving for the summer and experiencing a new part of the country. Hopefully my blog will be more exciting to read when I'm doing cooler things!

Drum Roll Please!

2009-04-02T12:42:00.006-06:00

This has been done for a while now, but I am just now posting pictures.

Walking in from the entrance of the kitchen...

You probably noticed that there are no doors on the lower cabinets next to the fridge. Well, we cut that opening and we need to cut down some other doors to fit in that spot. We are nervous to do it ourselves and the carpenter that had been helping us hasn't come by in months. Anyway, we will put doors on there eventually!

SO, what do you think?

Quite the Experience

2009-04-01T10:58:00.001-06:00

So, yesterday I had a little visit to the doctor...

Seven weeks and counting!!!!!

Resolutions

2009-03-25T12:03:00.014-06:00

For New Years Tyler and I didn't really make any resolutions. He actually worked New Years Eve and the next day. But last month we made a late resolution. Our stake president recently asked all stake members to attend the temple once a week. It kind of sounds like a lot, 4 or 5 times a month, but we said we would.

Thinking about it more, 2 hrs a week is nothing! It's definitely nothing compared to the blessings we receive from going. And the thing is, even if I didn't receive a single blessing from going, I would go anyway. I loooove how peaceful and happy I feel when I go. Seriously, I just want to smile the whole time I'm in the Celestial room. Plus, I'm doing a service to those who have already passed on.

That picture doesn't really do the room justice, but it's the only one I could find. Anyway, it is gorgeous! I want to make a room in my house like that! Ha ha ok maybe not that fancy. Anyway, I love the Rexburg Temple. We literally live 3 minutes away and there really is no excuse for us not attending weekly. We don't have any kids to get babysitters for and we just aren't that busy.

I love the detail in everything. I know all LDS temples are beautiful, but I guess I'm a little biased towards the Rexburg one ;) Over the last seven years I've grown to love little Rexburg. I'll admit that sometimes I go insane if I stay too long, but it's such a great place. I will never settle here, but I loved going to school here!!!

I love how in the pictures above the surrounding views look like the temple is in the middle of nowhere. For those of you that have never been to Rexburg, or haven't been since the temple was built, it's located at the very south end of Rexburg. Once you get past the temple there are just fields. Campus and the rest of Rexburg is north and down the hill. It's in the perfect place. Each picture is taken from a different direction. The top left is from the north, on campus by the Hinkley building. The top right is from the west by the south entrance to campus. I go to church in that building right by the temple. The bottom left is taken from a field south of the temple. And the bottom right is taken from the east of the temple, campus and Rexburg is to the right.

Here is a little description from the church site about the temple:

"Adjacent to the Brigham Young University–Idaho campus, the five-story Rexburg Idaho Temple soars high above its hillside location—creating a striking landmark visible for miles along the Highway 20 corridor. It is the finest, most notable building in this rural community. West of the temple lies a beautiful garden area open to the public for quiet strolls or moments of reflection."

Fun Facts:

The Rexburg Idaho Temple features beautiful ordinance room murals by Rexburg artist Leon Parson, reflecting the wildlife and landscapes of the Upper Snake River Valley.

A wheat motif, created by Utah artist Tom Holdman, is used throughout the Rexburg Idaho Temple including most of the 700 art-glass windowpanes. The wheat stock symbolizes the widespread agricultural industry in the area.

The finest materials were used for this House of the Lord including wood imported from Africa and stone and tile from Israel.

President Thomas S. Monson was ordained the 16th president of the Church and assumed the task of dedicating the temple the next week as his "first official act" as president.

Reservations for the open house were snatched up in the first week after they became available, giving committee planners its first indication that its original estimate of 150,000 visitors was too low. Tour group sizes were regularly increased and tour times added to accommodate the overwhelming demand. Once tours concluded, over 200,000 visitors had viewed the interior of the edifice.

For more info go here.

I could go on about this, but it will probably bore most of you! Just know that I know temples are the house of God and I'm so grateful for one so close. I love being able to go once a week. The Rexburg Temple has been such a blessing to BYU-I, the Rexburg community, but most importantly me.

(By the front entrance of the Rexburg Temple)

Also, watch this video. It's good.

If you would like to learn more about the LDS Church, check out this site here.

March Madness

2009-03-19T10:41:00.004-06:00

Here's my bracket folks. Go Zags!

Filler Post

2009-03-16T15:05:00.006-06:00

It's been 5 days since my last blog post and I try and keep this thing updated so here I go... I know it's totally lame to do these, but let's be honest, who am I trying to impress?

A-Z Share

A
- Available: nope
- Age: 25
- Annoyance: Idaho driver's
- Animal: cheetah

B
- Beer: nope
- Birthday: August 17th
- Best friend(s): Tyler
- Blind or deaf: deaf
- Best weather: 90 degrees and sunny!
- Been in love: yes

C
- Candy: all
- Color: yellow
- Chocolate or vanilla: chocolate
- Chinese or Mexican food: hmmm Chinese
- Cake or pie: neither
- Continent to visit: Asia
- Cheese: Lactose Intolerant...

D
- Day or night: night
- Dancing in the rain: only when it pours

E
- Eyes: brown
- Everyone's got: fat
-Ever failed a class: unfortunately

F
- First thoughts waking up: I'm tired.
- Food: Something good that I didn't have to make.

G
- Greatest fear: ghosts
- Goals: Get in shape and eat healthier
- Gum: Anything fruity
- Get along with your parents: yep

H
- Hair Color: Brown
- Height: 5'4"
- Happy: indeed
- Holiday: Christmas
- How do you want to die: Slow and painful?

I
- Ice Cream: lactose...
- Instrument: Accordion

J
- Jewelry: wear it, love it. I don't own anything fancy besides my wedding ring.
- Job: Advertising/design

K
- Kids: Are cute and we will have a few some day...
- Kickboxing or karate: kickboxing I guess
- Keep a journal: I try...

L
- Love: my family
- Laughed so hard you cried?: just last night

M
- Milk flavor: Vanilla and Chocolate Soy
- Movies: lots
- Motion sickness: every time I get in a car and last weekend on the tram at Jackson
- McD’s or BK: neither

N
- Number: one

O
- One wish: to get out of Idaho :)

P
- Pepsi/Coke: neither
- Perfect Pizza: bbq chicken
- Piercings: ears

Q
- Quail: well I've never eaten it if that's the question

R
- Reality T.V.: ANTM, but I will be watching Dancing With the Stars this season simply because of Shawn Johnson.
- Radio Station: 94.3
- Roll your tongue in a circle: negative
- Ring size: 4 on my ring finger

S
-Song: anything by Weird Al
- Shoe size: 7
- Salad dressing: honey mustard
- Sushi: only if it's fried
- Shower: nearly every day
- Strawberries or blueberries: wild blueberries in Alaska

T
- Tattoos: nope
- Time for bed: 12
- Thunderstorms: are amazing in Chicago! I love thunder...and lightning.

U
- Unpredictable: life

V
- Vacation spot(s): we are too poor to have regular vaca spots

W
- Weakness: ADD
- Which one of your friends acts the most like you: hmmm Chelsea?
- Worst feeling: cold showers
- Worst Weather: freezing, windy, and no snow...like in Rexburg.

X
- X-Rays: are bad for you

Y
-Year it is now: 2009
- Yellow: is such a happy color and that is why I love it, and it goes well with my skin tone.

Z
-Zoo Animal: Polar Bear

Last Nights Miracle

2009-03-11T12:33:00.003-06:00

OK so maybe I'm being a little over dramatic by calling it a miracle, but it makes for a decent story. At least decent enough to blog about!

Last night we were tired and bored so after dinner we turned on the TV. We figured nothing good would be on at 8:30pm in Idaho, most good shows are on at 7pm here, it's weird. It's like in an ad for a show they say "at eight seven central", we are the central. ANYWAY, during a commercial we were cuddling, yada yada, and Tyler somehow pressed the remote buttons with his foot and changed the channel to 63. We bum our cable off his parents and they have the very basic. We get like 8 channels between 2-15, half of which are not worth watching. Well, turns out we get 63, CMT, but without sound...thank goodness! Country music drives me nuts! Tyler likes to call it Christmas Music Television. I wish.

After this little mishap, I told him to try 64. VH1, with sound!!! OK try 65. MTV, with sound!!! I can't remember what 66-70 are, but we get them loud and clear. OK now go down... 62 E! YESSSS!!!! 61 Bravo! He literally laughed out loud with my response to 62. I pointed at the TV and yelled EEEEEEEE! In all my years in Idaho with FULL cable at all my apartment complexes E! was never a channel I got. I figured they just didn't have it around here. I don't know why I like the channel so much, but I do. I love E!

All that being said, I hope my average TV viewing doesn't sky-rocket. I probably average an hour of TV a day. Some days none some days two hours. Which, is a bit less than the average American viewer nearing 5 hours of TV a day. Thanks DVR for making it possible for all us lazy Americans to be even more lazy and on our own time!

Rexburg Winter?

2009-03-06T10:26:00.002-07:00

Where have you gone winter? Granted, it is supposed to snow today and tomorrow, but I haven't seen a flake yet. I wouldn't mind so much if I didn't have a snowboarding pass at Jackson Hole Resort that needs to be used! It has cooled up this week so we are hoping for good snow on Saturday. Last week it was sunny and in the 40's. That is so weird for Rexburg...I don't know if anyone read my blog last winter, but I clearly remember posting about snow dumping on us all the way through April.

Well, on that note. Here are some snowboarding photo's at Jackson in January.

Tucking your sweatshirt into your pants is the next cool thing ;)

Warming my buns on the heater.

Preview

2009-03-02T14:57:00.003-07:00

Like I said a couple posts ago. Janna Beecher took some photos of Tyler and me. I looove how they turned out. She is so talented! Here is a little preview of a few of my favorites.

Check out her website here. And her blog here.

Cynophobia

2009-02-26T16:50:00.006-07:00

Ever since I can remember I have been scared of dogs. As soon as I hear a dog bark I jump and my heart starts racing. It's really weird and I don't like it. This phobia of dogs combined with their annoying barks, shedding, pooping and peeing in my living room (I knew I shouldn't have left the door open), and their terrible smell all the time has really caused me to not care for them.

On that note, I want two dogs. Is that weird? The first one I have always wanted since I was offered one for free in 6th grade is a teacup poodle.

I fell in love with a little black one back then and my parents said I couldn't have it because it was too small and we would step on it in our house...which is probably true.

The other dog I want is a Great Dane. After watching Seven Pounds a while back I loved how beautiful Rosario Dawsens' dog was in that show. They may scare me to death if I met one face to face now, but if I get one while it's a tiny puppy and watch it grow I should be ok.

Maybe someday...

On Marriage and Such

2009-02-23T11:50:00.003-07:00

I wish I could remember exactly where I heard this, but I can't. I just remembered it as I was thinking of church yesterday and my bank account today. I know those two don't sound connected in the least, but let me explain.

First with the thing I heard, but can't remember where. It was some sort of church lesson/fireside for young marrieds. They were discussing finances and the person speaking said something like this, "Most of you probably never had to pay any bills before you were married." I was like, WHAT?!...in my head of course. Really? Did that person just say that? Then I thought about people I knew through college. Their parents paid tuition, their cell phone, car insurance, gave them food money, etc. But I really don't think that is the norm. Then I thought about how young a lot of people get married. And the comment made a little more sense. Man, what a learning curve that would be...You're out of the high school and your parents house, you live "on your own" for a year and then you're hitched! All of the sudden, your parents cut you off, you're living with practically a stranger, (I hardly call 2 months of courtship and a 4 month engagement "knowing someone"), and all the aspects of adulthood are thrown at you all at once! I can't imagine and I don't wish it upon anyone.

I hope this doesn't sound like I am judging anyone. For those who did go through that, I'm sure it was extremely hard and good for you. Maybe I just couldn't handle such an experience myself. I took my steps little by little and eventually made a pretty good life for myself. Yeah, we're pretty broke most of the time. We have a little debt that we shouldn't have, but we don't stress about it and we manage our money and time well. Who knows why I am writing this on my blog?! Just thought I would share some thoughts. I guess I just couldn't get over that comment of most of us not paying bills before we got married! Ha ha I really really don't think that is true...

Oh and the church and bank account thing. A very young newly married girl spoke in sacrament meeting. It was interesting. And when I checked my bank account this morning it was looking good so I could pay some bills today. So, that's how I came to this topic.

On another note. My good friends Sarah and Spencer had their sister and her family in town last weekend. Their sister Janna is a photographer and she was taking some engagement photos for someone. She is extremely talented, but takes mostly family photos and kids photos. She is trying to build up a portfolio for engagements now. She asked if she could take some "engagement" photos of Tyler and me for her portfolio. We did Saturday and it was a lot of fun. I can't wait to see the end results in a couple weeks. If you are looking for some family photos, wedding or engagement photos, senior pictures or whatever check out her website here. Her prices are good and she will travel, especially to the Rexburg area where she has family.

Here is a picture she took of her and her siblings.

It's Official

2009-02-18T11:01:00.005-07:00

The kitchen is done. Last night I washed a bunch of dishes in the dish washer. I've never been so excited to do dishes in my life! And I hate doing dishes so that's a big deal. It's still a mess in there so no pictures yet. I'll post soon before and after pictures. It's going to be great. For now, here are a couple pictures of us working away...

Painting...

More painting...

Me painting... Notice above me the upper cabinets are on the wall! Sorry for the bad picture. This view is from the entry of the living room. To the right is our front door and to the left is a coat closet full of boxes. Which, is all cleaned out and painted now!

Me painting again... I painted the most :)

But Tyler did all the handy work.

Hooking up the sink. It is much harder than it looks. But, the dishwasher and garbage disposal are hooked up and we have running water!

Overall, this has been a good/learning experience. Someday we might completely remodel an old home, like this 12 bedroom beauty in Chicago:

It's selling price you might ask? $18,500

East Coast Here We Come!

2009-02-09T18:12:00.005-07:00

As many of you already know, Tyler works for a summer sales company called APX. This will be his fourth summer working with an office somewhere in the country, our second together. Last summer we went to Chicago and this summer we thought we might be going to DC. The news came in today...we will not be going to DC. Sorry Lauren, Wendy, Emily and anyone else living in the area! But we will be heading to the great state of Connecticut!

We will most likely be located near the capital, Hartford. The office we are going with is covering the whole state, so the sales manager really gets to decide where we live.

Downtown Hartford:

I don't know if I told you yet, but I'm excited to get out of Rexburg and into an exciting new city! I've never lived, or really gone out east before. I don't really count Florida. This is going to be a great adventure. I love adventures!

State Capital building:

Everyone please come visit me. New York City is a mere 2.5 hours away. I will be visiting often and wouldn't mind a travel buddy ;)