Thanksgiving in California - Part I

Kenneth, Danny and I headed out for California last Tuesday evening to spend Thanksgiving with my side of the family. We had a WONDERFUL trip!

We left Tuesday after work and drove 1/2 way to Winnemucca, NV and stayed in a hotel. Unfortunately, Danny slept the entire 5 hours, so he was very awake when he was supposed to go to sleep for the night! It didn't help that there were people in the room next to us, so Kenneth drove him around for awhile until he fell asleep (that is the first time we have ever had to do that!). We then drove the rest of the way Wednesday morning and arrived in Woodland around noon.

Wednesday my other UT siblings flew in and we went shopping at Old Navy with my sister. All of their Black Friday sales were going on on Wednesday, so we were able to get some great deals without all the chaos of after Thanksgiving shopping! That evening we just sat around talking with Pa A & Jayne. My brother Michael found some blocks and went crazy with all his creations. I get the feeling he is going to have a lot of fun with his boy who is due in March!


Michael's Tower


On Thursday we had a fabulous Thanksgiving with ALL my siblings and their kids! We had it at my dad's house and my mom & Ron were able to be there too! It was so fun to see all the nieces and nephews as well as my 2 brothers & their wives who live in CA. It was the first time the nieces and nephews have seen Danny so we naturally had to get a picture of all the cousins.


Back L-R: Daniel, Victoria (KiKi), Elijah, Tytus Andrew
Front L-R: Isaac, Belen, Danny, Thomas


Alisha helped the nieces and nephews make little Thanksgiving place-mats during the day. They ended up so cute and they loved the project!


Daniel, Alisha, Belen, Danny


As the dinner was being prepared, Kenneth, my sis Alisha and I took some of the nieces and nephews to the park to throw around a football, and to fly kites! The kids had such a fun time, and it was great spending time with them so they could get to know their "Tia Amy" better!


Me & our yellow house


Victoria, Belen & Me



Tytus Andrew & Belen



Belen


Elijah


Daniel, Belen, Victoria & Alisha


Tytus Andrew


Kite & Sky

Here are some other pictures of my family:


Isaac


Tytus & Sharon (their kids are Tytus Andrew, Elijah & Thomas


Karen & Danny


Nathan - married to Karen (kids are Belen, Daniel, Victoria & Isaac)


Mom & Ron


Pa A


Jayne (I can't find a non-kitchen picture of her yet!)

I had so much fun on this trip! Tomorrow will be part II complete with Chucky Cheese for Isaac's 1 year birthday and rockclimbing!

Look mom! I have a tongue!

This kid melts my heart!

When Did My Boy Get So Big??

Danny is about 4 1/2 months now. I can't believe how fast the time is going and how big he is getting!


He loves this toy! He shakes it all day long!






This is what happens any time we put a bib on Danny. He grabs it and pulls it up towards his head, and then he can't figure out how to get it off again! He sits like this until we notice and move it off.




Here we are together. People asked to see pictures of my hair - here it is. You can't tell much of a difference unless there is light on it. I'm not sure what I think...I imagined it either a deeper, darker red, or doing a lighter red - one where you could actually tell...so much for trying to be different!

Weekend Happenings

Friday night, Kenneth and I were able to attend the season opener for the BYU's men's basketball! It was so fun to be back in Provo for an evening on my old campus! I love BYU! Danny experienced his first BB-game and was decked out in his cute BYU gear that Chantale got him! Thanks Chantale! It was fabulous!

Saturday Kenneth and I lounged around during the morning, and then I spent the afternoon with my sister, Alisha. She gave me a mini make-over!! We dyed my hair (NEVER done that before!!). I wanted to go red...I know! Crazy huh! It is still really just dark brown with more red in it (I have natural red highlights). I think I like it, but I definitely do have to get used to it! Haha! Kenneth thinks I should do an even lighter red in the future! He loves the red hair!

Anyway, Saturday evening I got to hang out with Stephanie & Heidz - my old roommates! I get to see Steph all the time (she is also my sis-in-law) but we don't get to hang out together very often. We went out to dinner to Olive Garden (a fav) and then we went to a concert on Temple Square where the BYU-Idaho Choir and Orchestra performed. It was different than I expected but still fun. And I must say we had SOO much fun seeing each other and catching up! I absolutely love a girl's night! I am so grateful to Kenneth because he is always so good about allowing me to have time to myself. He is the greatest. I think he secretly loves having time alone with Danny. It is fabulous! Here's to a grand weekend!

Resolution Part II

Alright! I am done with my first 2 weeks on goal #1 for my early New Years Resolutions. My first goal was to read and study scriptures every day. I am happy to say that I have not missed a day, and I am becoming better at diving into the scriptures and making a better effort at pulling out lessons to apply in my own life.

My new goals for the next 2 weeks are to:

1. pray morning AND night. I'm pretty good at praying before bed, but I always forget about my morning prayers.

and

2. Read to Danny every day for at least 20 minutes. I know how important this is, and I will admit that I sometimes forget. I figure make it a new goal = make it a new routine!

Annual Pumpkin Blow

Every year, the weekend after Halloween, the people in Weston, ID gather all their pumpkins in a local field, fill it with dynamite and then blow it up! We have been able to go a couple of years, and is one of our favorite traditions! Thank you Michael and Kim for introducing us to it! Anyway, this year there were 80 sticks of dynamite! It was fabulous! Kenneth was unable to come due to a previous engagement, so Danny and I went up with Michael, Kim & Alisha. Danny didn't even flinch from the gun shots or the explosion! Here are some photos and video:

Danny's 4 Month Stats

Today Kenneth took Danny to his 4 month appointment. Here are his stats:

Weight: 12lbs - 5th percentile (Kenneth wanted me to note that he was really 11 lb 15.7 oz)
Height: 23in - 2nd percentile
Head Circumference: 15.6in - 3rd percentile

According to the doctor, Danny has caught up developmentally with the other 4 month old kids!! Go Danny! She said he is very strong and that he is right on track developmentally. He is laughing and smiling just as he ought to be! She did suggest that we wait until he is 6 months old to start him on solid foods though, which is on the later end that a full term baby would be. I am just fine with that though! I'm actually not all that excited for solids since I'm sure it is a messy event!

Danny also got several shots today. One was oral and 3 were shots in his legs. The poor kid...his legs are covered with dinosaur bandaids...

4 Months Old!!

Today Danny turned 4 months old. I can't believe how fast the time is going. He is a 3rd of a year!! YIKES! That really makes it feel like it is just around the corner! I cannot get enough of our little boy. I love his so much more than I ever would have imagined. I am so blessed because overall SUCH a good baby!! He eats great, he sleeps through the night and he has a wonderful schedule he got himself on during the day. It is a little hard working from home with him since all he wants to do is play now, and I can't. Sad. Hopefully I won't have to work for too much longer. I get the feeling he gets SO bored! Anyway, Kenneth is taking him to his Dr's appointment tomorrow so I'll have some stats on him then. Pretty sure he won't be in the 2nd percentile anymore. This kid has some cheeks!! Here are some pictures of him at 4 months.



Danny smiles ALL THE TIME now, but alas, this was the only grin I could. What can I say, I took it right before bed. He wasn't in a playing mood.


This is Danny's most recent discovery...his tongue!! He is learning how to control it, so now whenever I stick out, or click my tongue he does it too. SO CUTE!




Danny loves "Patty-Cake" and will usually start smiling and "laughing" - his other favorite is "Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes"




The other discovery he has made recently - his fists! He would suck on them before but NOTHING compared to now!

Well, there he is! Stats will be up tomorrow. Happy four months Danny!!

Help Me Help My Blog!!

Hey! So, I want to add a large picture to go where the title of my blog is. Can anyone help me out with HOW to do this? Thanks!

Happy Halloween

Kenneth and I were able to do a TON of stuff this Halloween! First, we headed over to the Draper Temple to do a session with Kenneth's sister, Stephanie. It was the first time I had been to the temple since Danny has been born. I was amazing! It felt so great to be back and to feel the Spirit so strongly. After the session the three of us went to Olive Garden together. It was so fun to be able to spend some time with Steph and re-live our Olive Garden days from when we were roommates!

My sister Alisha was watching Danny while we had our little outing, so when we got home, we decided to do something fun with Alisha. We have a couple of bows so we decided to go do some archery in a local field. It was my first time, and despite a few frustrations initially I had a great time! I can't wait to become better! Here are some pictures:











After our little archery outing, we headed home to get ready for our Stake's Trunk-or-Treat. Kenneth and I dressed up as "old people" and Danny was our festive great-great-grandson. We decorated our trunk and passed out candy. It was gone in less than 5 minutes there were so many kids! We were not prepared for that. We didn't think there would be too many kids considering the fact that in our ward there are only about 15 kids from 1-18! After the Trunk-or-Treating we had our chili cook-off, and Kenneth was very disappointed that he didn't win for spiciest chili. That's ok though. That just meant more for us!! Here are our costumes:


Our friend at church actually though Kenneth was a new old guy who moved into the neighborhood! His walk and stance was perfect!




Danny got pretty tired with all the festivities!


This is what we'll look like in another 30 years!