Austin's artwork

The Learning Center where Austin goes to school had an open house last weekend and they had the kids make art on canvas that they displayed and then sold the artwork to raise funds for the center.  I of course couldn't resist Austin's art.

5QF

1. Did you have any homecoming traditions?

In high school I would always go to the game and the dance.  Since I was a football manager/trainer I would be in the parade with the team.  

In college my sorority always did a float in the parade.

2. Do you ask your spouse before spending money?

If it's a big purchase I would, like over $100.  Unless of course I'm buying a gift for him. 

3. If you could be famous for something what would it be?

I'm not sure if this is something that I currently am able to do, or if I could have a talent I currently lack.  It it's something I'm currently good at I suppose it would be my cooking.  If I could obtain a new talent I think it would be fun to play a base guitar in a rock band.
4. Have you ever seriously thought you were going crazy?

Definitely in college I was overwhelmed and felt like I couldn't do it.  I tried taking caffeine pills once and they totally wigged me out.

5. How do you eat your steak? Burger? (as in, well done, medium, still moo-ing...)

Steak- Medium Rare
Burger-done: not black, but not pink at all

34

Today is my 34th birthday.  My 34th year was a good one and I feel so blessed.  I got to spend my day with three of my most favorite people hiking at a beautiful location.  We went to the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and hiked the Willis Creek Slot Canyon.  You follow the creek and cross it several times along the trail. Austin absolutely loved it and indulged in hiking in the water as much as possible. 

We met an older gentleman from Ohio along the trail and he asked how old Katy was and said she was by and far the youngest hiker he had ever seen.  He was surprised when I said it wasn't even her first hike.

My boys <3

On our way home we stopped and had a late lunch/early dinner at Ruby's Inn which is near Bryce Canyon National Park.

Here are some highlights from my 34th year:

• I delivered my beautiful little girl Katy in July.  She is growing like crazy and she amazes me everyday. She has a strong will and a lot of strength to start out so tiny and endure so many issues at first to be caught up with her growth and so healthy today.  
• I resigned from my position with the Kaibab Paiute Tribe which I have had for 7.5 years so that I can be a stay at home mom.
• We got to travel and see our families.  We went to Iowa for Thanksgiving and stopped in Colorado along the way.  We went back to Colorado when my nephew wrestled in the state tournament.  Last week we went to the western slope of Colorado for a visit.
• We celebrated Austin's third birthday and I have enjoyed watching my little boy grow and learn.  I have especially enjoyed watching him become a big brother and am elated by how much he loves his sister and looks out for her. 
• We celebrated our seventh year of marriage to my best friend who is the best dad and husband ever.

I look forward to my 35th year and know that God has wonderful things planned for our family this year.

5QF

I'm back!  I haven't done a 5QF since I had Katy, but I am finally back in the groove and ready to participate in my fav meme.  Head on over to Mama M's and join in the fun:

1. What album/cd/download are you embarrassed to admit you have?

I still have all the New Kids on the Block albums and VHS tapes of their videos.  In another way to look at it I have the Nine Inch Nails CD that has Closer on it, I love the way the song sounds, but not the words themselves.

2. What's the one thing your spouse does better than you?

There are a lot of things, but I am going with installing things around the house.  I have tried, but he gets out his stud finder and leveler and makes sure everything is perfectly placed.  

3. When do you start buying Halloween Candy?

Mine is already in the pantry for this year.  I live 80 miles away from a major city, about 60 miles from a Walmart, so I always try to stock up on everything and plan ahead when I go for a shopping trip.  When I was in the big city for Katy's 2 month appointment last week I went to Costco and bought a huge bag of candy bars.

4. Family closets - Yay or nay?

Nay, my husband and I share a closet, but our stuff is completely separate.  Our kids have their own closets in their rooms.

5. Which home/cleaning chore do you hate the most? Why?

I'm not big on cleaning anything, but I really hate cleaning the toilets.  Totally because of the germiness.

Anniversary Trip

We took a little trip to celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary this weekend.  We have taken a trip every year so far and didn’t want to miss even though Katy is so young.  It was exhausting, but also a lot of fun. 
Our plans changed three times.  First we just planned the trip to go to Dinosaur National Monument, then to check out a town in Colorado where Dustin applied for a job, and finally stop and see my brother and his family.  Then the people offering the job called and scheduled an interview which Dustin offered to give in person.  Originally it was going to be on Wednesday, then they called and said they couldn’t do it then so they moved it to Monday.
We left on Saturday and drove all day and got to my brother’s house that evening.  Katy traveled well and slept most of the time.  We stayed through until Monday morning.  We got to take advantage of the indoor pool where they live and also got to watch the Bronco game.  Austin loved playing around their ranchette.

The boys watching Phineas and Ferb. 

Austin loved their cats and was pretty rough with them, but they were sweet and let him give them all the attention he wanted.

Checking out the flume behind their house.

Aunt Krissy and Katy sporting their Bronco wear.

Monday we drove to the town where Dustin had his interview.  Austin, Katy and I went to the park to play during that time.  We attempted to go out for a nice lunch afterwards at an Italian restaurant since it was our anniversary.  It was really good food, but Katy cried the whole time so it was a total indigestion kind of lunch.  We drove around the town checking it out and even drove by some properties that were for sale. 
That evening we got a special treat because my nephew’s school scheduled an impromptu junior varsity football game against the town where we were so we got to go and watch them play.  We had dinner at our hotel with Aunt Krissy and the boys before they headed home. 

Tuesday we headed home and stopped at Dinosaur National Monument on the way.  Dustin worked there the first summer after he graduated from college in a seasonal job and he loved the area and was excited to show it to Austin.  We were not able to go out and see all the things we wanted to see, but still had a great time.  It brought back a lot of memories from that summer in 2004.

Wordless Wednesday

Getting there

Miss Katy is growing and finally catching up for her early birth.  I took her to the Pediatrician yesterday for her two month checkup and she was 10lb 11oz which puts her in the 44th percentile, up from the 6th percentile at the last appointment.  For height she made a big jump and was 23.23" which puts her in the 80th percentile, up from 35th at her last appointment.

She of course did not enjoy the shots, but took them pretty well and stopped crying before we left the office.  She slept most of the rest of the afternoon so I was able to run a couple of errands while I was over there.  

Seeing double

Austin is on the left when he was almost a month and a half old, Katy on the right at almost two months old.

Rambling a lot

• Life has been crazy busy keeping up with the 3 year old and the almost 2 month old. 
• Katy slept for 5 straight hours last night, it was great except when I woke up just before 3am and realized she hadn't waken at midnight like she usually does.  We just started medicine for thrush and I freaked out thinking she had a reaction or spit it up and choked on it.  She was sleeping just fine in her crib.
• This thrush thing is crazy, I think we may have been suffering from it since she was born, but I didn't know about it.  I thought I hurt myself with my pump so I disregarded my pain during nursing.  Finally I had enough and looked it up and found out that it could be the thrush.  Katy has been fussy and gassy for a while now so I'm thinking that is the cause and hoping the thrush treatment will make her happier and help her sleep better.
• We have a busy week ahead.  We are going to a 1 year old birthday party on Tuesday evening, Katy has her 2 month checkup on Wednesday which requires a trip to the big city which is 75 miles away, and Thursday we are heading out for a mini trip to celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary.  We are going to Utah/Colorado to go to Dinosaur National Monument, then to a town in Colorado that Dustin just applied for a job at so we can check it out since it wasn't on our most desirable list.  We are going to stop off at my brother's house on the way home, so I'm looking forward to the family time too.
• In addition to the Colorado job Dustin applied for another one in Wyoming.  They are both with the BLM.  Neither place was on our original most desirable location list, but we can make it work if he gets one of them.  
• Katy is smiling a lot more now, it's not just random any more.  

• Austin has been really acting out a lot lately.  I have been getting more thorough with my disciplining.  It's frustrating, but I know it's his age and missing all the attention from when he was an only child.  Some days are definitely better than others too.  He still melts my heart all the time too.

Among other things

I have been super busy with the kids lately, but I did manage to find some time for some canning.  I got a case of peaches from Bountiful Baskets produce coop and made peach jam, peach butter, and dried peach roll ups.  I wanted to order some strawberries this week, but they ran out before I got my order placed.  Hopefully I will be able to get another fruit soon and make some more jams to last through the winter.

Beautiful Lengths

I finally got tired of my long hair and had it cut last week.

This morning I sent it off to Beautiful Lengths.  Here is a little about Beautiful Lengths:

Beautiful Lengths is a partnership between Pantene and the American Cancer Society, the largest non-profit health organization committed to saving lives from every cancer and improving the quality of life for people facing the disease. The role of Pantene is to help women grow long, strong,* beautiful hair and provide the funds to turn this hair into free, real-hair wigs for women with cancer. So far, Pantene has donated 24,000 free real-hair wigs to the American Cancer Society’s wig banks, which distribute wigs to cancer patients across the country.

This is the fourth time I have donated my hair.  Twice I sent it to Locks of Love and this is my second donation to Beautiful Lengths.  

Her First National Park

We took a little family outing on Sunday and went to Zion National Park.  It was also the first park we took Austin to, although it was a much different experience since he was born in January and we went there in February.  It was pretty hot, but we had a great time.