I laugh and almost cry every time I watch this...

This is a short clip of Mark and Carter when they went out for Carter's first time tubing. It makes me laugh every time I watch it. I almost cry because my little boy is just so dang cute! Make sure you listen to the end of the video because that is the best. Carter says that it was "so fun" then he says something else that proves he is definitely my son.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aq3YElw9a8

Still not sure...

I had my doctors appointment yesterday and I am far enough along that we could have found out what we are having, but the little babe had its legs crossed! I am so bummed out because I was spoiled and found out with Carter at 15 weeks. Now I have to wait another four weeks... I am so impatient. He stopped on one screenshot and said it could be a boy, but it wasn't enough to confirm it. I have thought it was a boy all along. It would just be nice to have it confirmed so I can start planning!

News to some...

To those of you who don't already know, check out Carter's shirt....

We found out in October that we are expecting our second little bundle of joy in June. No, we were not trying but we are still really excited. Carter and his sibling (I think it is a boy) will be 2 years and 4 months apart. Everyone says that is the perfect distance in age but I would have preferred just a little bit longer. I guess Heavenly Father knows I can handle it!

The way I told Mark I was pregnant was by having Carter wear the shirt in the above picture. He wasn't very observant that day and I finally had to hint at how cute Carter's shirt was. Mark kept saying, "Shut up! Are you serious?" He had been wanting to try a lot sooner than I had. So he was really excited. We also told my parents about the pregnancy by having Carter wear the same shirt. Mark's family all found out on their own somehow but he told them on Thanksgiving.

The pregnancy has been pretty good. I am around 14 weeks and getting past the 1st trimester was the biggest hurdle. I learned from my pregnancy with Carter to keep a little bit of food in my stomach at all times to prevent the sickness from getting worse. I am finally starting to feel like myself again (only chubbier). It has been nice to have Carter this time around because it helps keep my mind busy so that I am not focused on the pregnancy every second of the day. We will most likely find out what we are having on December 23rd. So tune in to find out!

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving this year! It was our turn to have Thanksgiving with Mark's family, and because our house has the biggest open space for everyone "I" volunteered to have it at our house. It sounded ok until it started getting closer and closer. Part of what made it kind of stressful to plan was that Mark and I went to the Transiberian Orchestra concert in Salt Lake the night before. My awesome cousins who live in Salt Lake watched Carter for us and then we slept over at their house. We got home around noon, and dinner was at 3:00. That left just enough time to make my food and clean up a little bit. Once the day came and the stress of planning for it was over it was great. All of the food turned out awesome and everyone had a great time. After dinner we all just hung out. The boys went out and had a little turkey bowl and us girls started going over the black Friday ads. I ended up going to Walmart at 12:00am to get something for Carter and a few other things. My dad watched Carter so that Mark could join me at 3:30 to help out. He ended up hooking himself up with a couple of things too! After Walmart I hurried to KMart to get another toy for Carter. I almost didn't get it, but with some persistence I got one! After KMart I was so tired (it was around 6:30am) and I went to my parent's house to sleep so that I could get Carter when I woke up. I have always loved black Friday but I feel as if its getting less and less fun...

For all of you blog friends...

This post probably won't be too interesting for you but I wanted to at least document a few (ok, a lot) of things that we did this year. The year is almost over and I didn't write much of anything that we did over the summer. So I will update my blog on that and a little bit of what we have been up to recently.

Summer 2009

Camping - This past summer was so much fun. Carter was walking and running around everywhere. Mark bought us a fabulous camping trailer for the grand total of $1,200. It is plenty big for us and was kept in really good condition. We took it camping to Bear Lake, The Uintas, and Mark & Carter took it to their first Father & Sons campout. We got our fair share of camping in and it was great.



The Zoo - No summer is complete without a trip to the zoo. We went to the Hogle Zoo with my family and Carter loved it. He really seems to likes animals. He also loved the Carousel, The Train, and the Kettle Corn. He was really independent and made sure to cause quite a ruckus in the gift shops. My favorite exhibit was the new baby elephant that had just been born a few weeks prior to our visit.

Swimming - We did tons of swimming all summer long. Carter loves the water and is not afraid to jump in with no help whatsoever. Scary! We swam at North Shore aquatic center, had the VIP treatment at the Marriott Hotel during Mark's conference, swam in the yard, and drove all the way down to Draper to check out the new Cowabunga Bay (better for older kids).

Weber County Fair - We went to the Weber County Fair (as we always do) and had a lot of fun. Carter's favorite thing was the petting zoo. It was fun, cute, and dirty. As part of the fair festivities Stephanie Rodarte and I ran our 1st 5K run together. We had been running all summer and figured we should sign up for a race to help motivate us. Our time was around 29 minutes which I was happy with. After we went to the fair we went to dinner at what one of our favorite restaurants - Karen's Cafe on 25th St. Their salmon special is awesome and that is usually what we get everytime.

Fall 2009

I love fall. I was excited for it to come but also couldn't believe it was already fall time again.

Anniversary - Mark and I's anniversary was on October 8th. I had a whole big post dedicated to our anniversary but it got erased and I didn't have time at the moment to redo it. Mark took the day off and we spent the day taking Carter to the Treehouse Children's Museum. He loved it, and I loved watching him. It was fun to watch him discover new things. Later, Mark and I went to dinner at Red Lobster. We each got the Ultimate Feast (which I have been craving ever since!). We enjoyed our dinner then rented a movie. It was a great day. I can't believe we have been married for 4 years!

Black Island Farms - We went with our friends the Johnsons & Rodartes to Black Island Farms in Syracuse. It was so much fun. It really represented good old fashioned fun. There were slides, a train for the kids, a corn box, and animals. Carter loves being outside so he was in heaven. We also couldn't keep him off of the slides. He is a little daredevil and had no problem going down the big slides.

October fun - We carved pumpkins with my family and our friends the Deckers at our house. I don't think carving pumpkins is as fun as it was as a kid. Maybe it is the mess to clean up afterwards? I don't know. Still fun, but not as fun as I remember. The company was fun though. We enjoyed pizza and root beer floats. Of course Carter thrived with all of the attention he was getting. Oh, and we picked out our pumpkins from Carlos' fruit stand which is where we usually go. I took tons of cute pictures of Carter with the pumpkins but I accidentally erased the pictures on my camera. Dang it! I was so mad. Luckily my mom has some on hers but I haven't gotten them from her yet. We also had pumpkins from our own pumpkin patches. One of the pumpkin patches Mark planted and we had about 3 pumpkins grown from it. The other pumpkin patch just randomly started growing in our front yard and we got 13 pumpkins from it!

Halloween - For Halloween this year Carter was a dinosaur. I wanted him to be bam bam from the Flintstones but the costume wasn't that cute and it was expensive. So we opted for the dinosaur. He liked his costume though and it kept him warm. Carter got a practice run on trick or treating by going the day before Halloween at my work. He got the hang of collecting candy really fast. The only problem was that he wanted to eat it all as he went. (Typical kid) On Halloween we went to the ward trunk or treat and saw all of our friends. Afterwards, we went over to my parents and hung out for a little while. I decided that Halloween is much more fun when you have kids.

New pictures of Carter - 20 months old

It has been a while since I have had Carter's pictures done. So I took him in. I made sure that he had a good nap and ate before we left. Even with my efforts he was so honory! He kept thinking I was going to leave him and would start crying. Luckily we had an awesome photographer who was very patient with him and did a great job. The little cowboy outfit was worn by both of my brothers when they were Carter's age. Cute huh?

Maryn Video

Some people have said they can't view the video on my sidebar of Maryn. I have posted the link below so please check it out. The run/walk is only 11 days away! We have had some awesome sponsors donate for the raffle at the end. Please come and support little Maryn! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQvt5i7I1js

5K Race details/Creative juices

I have been hesitant to post anything on my blog since I have all of the race details on the previous post. But that would mean no posts until after Oct. 24th, so I decided I will post as I normally would, then just periodically re-post the race details (See race details below).

Most of my day today was spent finding sponsors for the race. I got passes to Flo-rider & I-rock, A $50 gift certificate & free foot analysis to Peak Performance, some free fliers from Kinkos, & 100 no studio fee coupons from Color Me Mine. Color Me Mine also offered to let Maryn come into their studio and make anything she wants! Color Me Mine is a ceramic studio where you pick out what you want to paint, paint it, and then they will fire it for you! Awesome little place on 25th St.

I guess all of that searching for sponsors got my creative juices flowing. Plus, I also found a SUPER CUTE digi scrapping website called www.ettesandcompany.com. They have THE cutest stuff! It is my new fave by far! I'm still not a pro at Photoshop or My Memories Suite, but I did come up with this little number which I think is pretty cute! It is a free kit from ScrapWow.

Please help me spread the word...

To all who read this... please help me spread the word about a 5K Run/Walk that I am organizing for a little girl named Maryn Cella (details below). Post this on your blog, or pass it along on Facebook. Any exposure we can get helps! I can also e-mail you flyers for your work, local businesses, etc.

Event: Hope for Maryn 5K Run/ 1 Mile Walk

Date: Saturday October 24, 2009

Location: Celebration Pointe Reception Center - located in the Business Depot - Ogden, UT.

Time: Registration starts at 8:00 am; Race starts at 9:00 am

Registration: Same day - sign up before the race at Celebration Pointe Reception Center

Cost: $20.00 (includes shirt for 1st 75 people)
$50.00 family pass (2 adults, up to 5 children under the age of 15. Includes 2 shirts)
Strollers/Wagons free (please for the safety of all participants no bikes or dogs)
Montetary contributions will also be accepted

Other Details:

The 5K route can walked or ran. There will also be a 1 mile route for walking.

We will time the run but since it is a charitable event we will not use a professional timing service. To make sure that you get an accurate time, we suggest you bring your own stopwatch.

There will be a raffle for prizes at the end of the race

Prizes will be given to the first runner, walker, and stroller/wagon at the finish

One last thing... we are also looking for sponsors for prizes, food, and $ for the T-shirts. If you know of any local businesses, your own business, or have a little bit of $ to help out we would REALLY appreciate it! All sponsors will have their names printed on the back of the T-shirts.


About Maryn:
On June 17, 2009 Maryn was diagnosed with Diffuse Pontine Glioma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. She was given 9-12 months to live. We are raising money to help with some treatments that could extend her lifespan. One of which is treatment at the Burzinski Clinic in Texas. People who have been treated there live 4-5 times longer. The cost is $100,000. We are also working with the Maryn's Hope Foundation that is helping to work towards a cure. More information can be found at https://marynshopefoundation.org/

After reading Maryn's story on my cousin's blog I really felt like I needed to do something. I couldn't get her out of my mind. The day she was diagnosed was my birthday. Maybe that is why I feel some connection. All I know is that we need to have hope, pray for a miracle, and give this little girl the best life she can have for the rest of her time here.

Please view these two videos created by Alexa Nofsinger. Alexa's mom, Erica Shields has created the Maryn's Hope foundation. Erica also organized a benefit 5K in Littleton, CO. It was a huge success. The video below showcases the run. Thank you Alexa and Erica for all your help!

Benefit 5K Run/Walk

This was an event that a friend Erica Shields, who is part of the Maryn's Hope Foundation organized to help raise money for Maryn. Her daughter Alexa made this video to show how the event went and show some of the awesome runners, walkers and sponsors. This event turned out to be a huge success.

California - August 2009

We had the opportunity to go to California in August because Mark had to do some training for his work. All we had to pay for was my flight, so Carter and I tagged along. We have definitely taken advantage of the under age 2 flies free because this was Carter's 3rd time on a plane and he is 18 months old. Mark's training was in San Diego. While Mark and his coworker were at class Carter and I explored the city - on foot & stroller. I loved being able to see the city more instead of just the local theme parks. The city is beautiful except for the bums EVERYWHERE! But, if I had to be homeless that is probably where I would go too because the weather is always perfect. We hung out at the Gaslamp quarter a lot, Little Italy, The Pier, Seaport Village, and Old Town. The only negative was when Carter got sick... he was teething which resulted in constipation (from not eating), and one day he threw up all over in the car. That night and the next day was spent cleaning up from that. Not fun! Poor guy! and Poor Mom & Dad! Oh, and we missed our flight home.. long story, so we spent one more day in San Diego.

After 5 days in San Diego we headed up to Disneyland for a day. When we were there in May Fantasmic wasn't showing. We really wanted to see it, and it was worth it! Best - show - ever! Carter was really good at Disneyland. He really seemed to love it and enjoyed being there. The cutest thing was when it was time to get a picture with Tigger. I sat him down to see what he would do and he timidly walked up to Tigger. Tigger gave him a hug and as soon as he let go Carter ran back to me. It was so cute!

After Disneyland we went and saw Mark's mom and stepdad for 2 days. They live in Indio - which is extremely hot! It was about 114 degrees when we were there. We fed the fish, went swimming, went geocaching, went to Jackalope (awesome restaurant!), and just relaxed. Thanks for your hospitality Robin & Mel!

These first pics are at Jackalope. It cost $34 million to build and it was awesome!

Looking cool when we were Geocaching

Feeding the HUGE fish! One came up and splashed us. Robin, Carter & I got soaked. Carter just sat there like, "what happened?"

Carter's Stats

I took Carter to his 18 month doctor appointment yesterday and these were his stats:

Ht: 34.5" 93%
Wt: 26 lbs 55%
Hc: 47cm 25%

He threw a fit the whole appointment because I had to take him away from the toys. It was nice though because everyone in the office kept telling me how it was normal and they were used to it. He got 3 shots. So for the rest of the day he was pretty mellow and really cute. At one point he was watching the Backyardigans and started cracking up, which made me crack up. I love this little guy so much.

As far as his development goes he is right on track. Here are the things he loves to do right now:

point to anything
run over to his cousin's house
throw balls
shoot hoops
eat spaghetti
give hugs to Jackson
stay up late
go outside
jibber jabber/sing
dance
play chase
have a bath

Getting jiggy with it!

Our little boy can dance!

Too excited to sleep...

I'm too excited to sleep... we are going to our favorite place tomorrow.

Oh *sweet* joy!

Walt Disney is a genius.

Happy Birthday Mark!

Wow! This post is really late... We have been SO busy, but I still wanted to wish my hubby a happy 31st birthday! Mark's birthday was on July 20th but we didn't celebrate it until the 25th because the week of his birthday he was too involved with being the CHAIRMAN of a National Conference for a program at Hill Air Force Base. He worked so hard at the conference and I am so proud of him. I know it will pay off someday. He has also been working really hard at finishing up his Masters (MBA) and should graduate this December! Mark is so excited to graduate and so am I! Mark is not home much and I feel like a single mom most days. It will be so nice to be able to spend more time together as a family. We are so proud of you Mark! Thanks for all you do for us!

For his birthday celebration we rode the Frontrunner down to Salt Lake and went to the Gateway. It was a blast. Here are some pics from our day:

Riding on the Frontrunner

I realized on the way down that Drew was wearing two different shoes. I didn't know if that was the latest teenage fad so I asked him why he was wearing two different shoes and he said, "Dang it!" Apparently it is NOT the cool thing to do.

We started out at the Hansen Planetarium. Mark was trying to show Drew & Jake how to be a weatherman

The elevator at the Planetarium is huge!

Our next stop was Discovery Gateway. Last time we took Carter there he was crawling. So he really loved it this time. I love that place.

We ate dinner at ZTejas. It is so good! I highly recommend the mushroom enchiladas. Mark got free desert and blew out a fake candle.

Lastly, we went to the water fountains. I love Carter's face in this one.

Pioneer Day 2009!

Our Pioneer Day celebration this year was awesome! We went to Fort Buenaventura where they had a Pioneer skills and crafts fair. Our friends the Johnsons came with us and we had a blast! It was only $2.00 to get in and they had a bunch of fun things to do.

We started out riding the train. Carter loved riding in the little train. It is funny because whenever he does something a "big boy" would do he gets this look on his face "like he is so proud," and he looks so serious. It makes me and Mark laugh every time!

We also rode in the canoes. Carter would have liked it better if he didn't have to wear the life preserver. Sorry bud, safety first! We raced canoes against the Johnson's and TOTALLY kicked their butt! (ha ha) After the canoes we went and got some homemade rootbeer and checked out the different Pioneer skills booths. They were shearing a sheep, carving wood, making candles, displaying guns, making flower wreaths, and all kinds of fun things.

After going to the Fort we went to Roosters and had lunch. It was yummy, as usual. The best part was that Carter was pretty good during lunch so we were able to enjoy ourselves.

Here are some (a lot) of pics from our day:

Carter in his get-up before we left

Such a big boy...

His serious and proud face.



Chance had fun riding the train too.

Who is having more fun.. Lyndee or her mom?

A cute family picture.

A cute family picture of the Johnsons.

The Johnsons wishing they could have beat us in the canoe race...

Lyndee was really upset about losing the canoe race...

The motor on our canoe. I think it was like a 10 cylinder or something...

Carter "enjoying" the ride.

Is Mark imitating a mountain man?

The best looking horse on 25th st.

Carter was petting the dog that was part of this statue. So cute!!

Forget baby food... just feed your kid ketchup! Lyndee was loving the ketchup on her fries!
What a cute cowboy... Giddy up!

Slowly getting there... but still frustrated

So, I finally got a scrapbook page done in Photoshop but it is taking me FOREVER to learn the program! The frustrating part is that I just want to dive in and scrapbook but I don't know all of the functions to make it look how I want it. I am not thrilled with the text on the top of this page or the color of the photo. I still need to know A LOT more about editing pictures. Right now I know zilch. I got the program My Memories Suite for my birthday but it kind of limits you and it makes it harder to work with downloads other than their own.

Anyway, for those of you who use Photoshop (I have Elements 5.0) for scrapbooking or photo editing please tell me your tips and tricks that are your favorite or that you think I really need to know! I have been watching some tutorials on YouTube but it is kind of hard to see their screen sometimes. So those of you who live close by could come over and give me a lesson in exchange for cookies, babysitting, or $$$! help...