Celine Dion

After all of Carter's birthday extravaganza I was able to go to the Celine Dion concert! My cousin's wife Kathy had an extra ticket and invited me. My mom also happened to be going with her three sisters so it was a "girls only" family event! Celine is so awesome! Not only is she one of the best singers ever but she is a great entertainer! She seems really down to earth too, which I liked. Thanks so much for inviting me Kathy!

Valentines Day 2009

This year was the best Valentines that Mark and I have had together! We have always been so busy with work or school that we didn't really get to celebrate it until it was almost over. But since Valentines was on a Saturday this year I suggested that we spend Friday night in a hotel somewhere. So, thanks to Mark working his Priceline magic we got a room at the Sheraton Hotel in Salt Lake for $35.00! They just remodeled all of their rooms so our room was super nice too! When we checked in they gave him two coupons for a breakfast buffet at the nice restaurant located in the hotel. Sweet! Later that night Mark and I went and got into the hot tub while Carter took a nap in his stroller. (We took Carter with us because we needed some time together as a family). When we got back to our room Carter and I went swimming in the mini swimming pool in our room (aka the tub). He loved it! The next day we ate our yummy breakfast at the buffet then headed towards the Gateway. Mark wanted to go to Dicks and I wanted to take Carter to the Discovery Gateway. My friend works at the Discovery Gateway so we ended up getting in for free ($17.00 value!) Carter loved it and he cried when I tried to move him from one playstation to the next.

After our economical overnight date in Salt Lake we drove home. Waiting for us at home were Mark's dad and stepmom. We went to dinner with them at Jeremiah's. It wasn't Red Lobster like I was hoping for.. but it was still really good. What a nice weekend!

Carter and I taking a swim in the tub. Oh, I would love to have a tub like that!

Carter sitting in a pile of blankets at Dick's Sporting Goods store.

Carter's favorite playstation at Discovery Gateway...

Do I know my husband?

What a cute picture of my hubby.

This was a fun tag from Heather. I enjoyed realizing that I know almost everything there is to know about my husband :) Consider yourself tagged if you read this!

1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen?
Survivorman

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad?
Ranch

3. What's one food he doesn't like?
Green beans

4. You go out to eat. What drink does he order?
Water, Root Beer, or Flavored Lemonade

5. Where did he go to high school?
Stockdale High in Bakersfield, CA

6. What size shoe does he wear?
10 or 10 1/2

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be?
Knives, Guns, or rocks (Rocks? Yes. A little rock from someplace we visit or have a special memory at)

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich?
I would say roast beef or philly steak

9. What would he eat every day if he could?
Steak & Potatoes

10. What is his favorite cereal?
Peanut Butter Captain Crunch

11. What would he never wear?
A Speedo

12. What is his favorite sports team?
St. Louis Rams. Or whatever team is beating the Cowboys :)

13. Who did he vote for?
Obama

14. Who is his best friend?
I would say Chad Ferguson when he was younger and these days I would say me.

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do?
Stay up late blogging. :) Eat cake. lol

16. What is his heritage?
Dutch/English?

17. You bake him a cake for his birthday - What kind is it?
No cake. I am the cake person in our relationship. He would probably love a cheesecake though.

18. Did he play sports in high school?
Does chasing girls count? lol

19. What could he spend hours doing?
Computer stuff (designing logos, playing RCT, creating spreadsheets, Facebooking)

20. What is one unique talent he has?
Mark is talented in so many different areas... One of my favorite things that attracted me to him when we were dating was his artistic side. He has painted several murals including kid's rooms, Carter's nursery, and some murals for YMCA in St. Louis.

An update WITH pictures for your viewing pleasure...

We have not been up to too much lately... I haven't posted because our desktop computer had a short in the motherboard so we have been getting that fixed. It has been driving me crazy! Mark takes his laptop with him and he is not home very much which leaves me computerless. I have realized that I LOVE having access to a computer and the internet. It makes me feel like I am connected with the outside world instead of just cooped up in my house by myself. So, since Mark is sleeping I felt like posting a few pics of what we (mostly Carter) have been up to. Enjoy..

Carter's first haircut (1/2/09). Grandma Tammy did such a good job!

Before...

After...
Isn't he cute? :)

Eating a heart shaped marshmallow, courtesy of Grandma Robin. He loved these things!

And so it begins... Why did we buy him toys? This is his favorite activity ALL DAY LONG

All tuckered out... this is how I found him sleeping the other day. Poor little guy. Flexible though - he must get that from the Jenkins side.

This pic is kind of older but I thought it was so cute of him and ONE of his little girl buddies - Lyndee. Carter has so many little friends his age for neighbors. We are so lucky!

Another one of his girl buddies - Gracie. This pic cracks me up! Gracie stole Carter's binkie and it looks like he yelling at her for taking it. The expression on her face is like, "What?! I just wanted a binkie." (Don't worry Steph I took it away from her)

Bachelor Party... Here is Savannah, Amanda, and I watching "The Bachelor." It has been fun watching The Bachelor this season. I even got Mark wrapped up into it. I am glad he watches it with me.

Last but not least... I had so much fun grocery shopping earlier tonight! Everything in the picture below I got for free. Yah, some of it probably isn't going to get used right away but when it's free I'll take it! The deodorant and nail clippers cost about $.44 after coupons but since I made about $.35 each from the Tucks wipes and $.03 each from the lotions and shampoo it evened out to free plus a little bit extra. Since I haven't had a computer I wasn't able to do any price matching so I just went through my coupons and clipped what I needed, and also what I thought I could get pretty cheap. The subtotal on my receipt for my total trip was $123.65. After coupons it was $90.45! I felt pretty good about that considering it is exclusively coupons and no price matching. I was also happy that I got a ton of stuff that I NEEDED and a Valentines Day present for Carter included with that total.

Carter's Laugh Attack

Snow, Christmas, and Standing up...

We took Carter out in the snow today for his first time. I don't know if it was the snow he didn't like or his snowsuit but he was not a happy camper. Maybe he will enjoy it more next year when he can actually move around and doesn't have to sit there like a stuffed animal...

Standing up...

Carter thinks he is the big man on campus now and stands up any chance he gets! This is the first picture I was able to get of him standing on his own. I think he will be walking soon and I am still not sure what to think about it. I guess it is better than crawling because then his hands won't get dirty and his clothes won't get worn out but it also means that my baby is growing up! He will be a toddler soon and I can't believe it...

Christmas Day

On Christmas Day we woke up to gifts from Santa! It was so neat to watch Carter crawl over to his gifts and wonder what the heck was going on. The rocking horse is actually from Mark. He spent many hours working on it, and it turned out awesome. Carter is going to have to grow into a little bit but he seems to really like it. After emptying out our stockings we battled the snowstorm and went over to my parent’s house. We had a yummy breakfast cooked by my dad, and later opened gifts and enjoyed relaxing and spending time together. Carter is the first grandchild to my parents so lets just say that he got a little spoiled by them... He got SO many presents he didn't know what to do. He was so cute and of course like other kids his age he loved the wrapping paper, bows, and boxes just as much or more than the actual presents. Silly little guy! We also got to talk to my brother Colby who is serving his mission in Baltimore. It was fun talking to him. He had a great Christmas. Here are some pictures of Christmas Day. There are a lot...

First thing Christmas morning. Carter got a sit to stand dancing tower, a rocking horse made by his daddy, and tickle me cookie monster.

Carter's stocking - he got some balls, bubbles, a stuffed bear, and a candy bottle sucker.


My stocking goodies. Santa gave me so many nice things this year... I especially loved the pictures Mark got taken of him and Carter together. It was such a thoughtful gift and something he knew I would love. 

Mark's new favorite ornament. It is a hiker with a bear cub in his backpack.

This pic cracks me up! Look at Drew's one little gift and Mark's whole pile of gifts!



What are they making me do? This is so embarrassing...

All of Carter's loot... He made out like a bandit this Christmas!