Natchel

Out of Order

2011-08-15T10:08:00.000-07:00

It's been a while. First of all, thanks to all those fans who have been watching Gabriel's dance performance on youtube! He really cracks me up. Emma's goal in life is to get him on the Today show. :)

So here's the problem. We went to Bear Lake a couple weeks ago. Twice in 2 weeks! We went once with the Watkins and once with the Browns. So fun to get to spend time with both sides of our family. My camera battery died for the Brown reunion so I had to use Emma's camera... and then her laptop died. So we have no way to get the pictures off the camera. I have Watkins pictures but want to blog them both together so.... you'll have to be patient! Instead I'm going to blog about our adventure on Saturday: This Is the Place village.

For those that don't know, This Is The Place monument is up on a hilltop overlooking the Salt Lake Valley. It is where the pioneers had come over the Rocky Mountains and entered the valley. Brigham Young looked out and said "It is enough. This is the place. Drive on." Hence the name. Anywho, I have been there a few times before but had never gone into the recreated village there. So fun! I totally recommend it. They have actually moved log cabins and houses from all over the state either intact or brink by brick. They have fun activities and tours to see. Everyone is dressed up in costume and there is a train that goes around the park. A petting zoo, pony rides and a Civil War battle in the streets. Pretty cool!

Brigham Young, Joseph Smith, Gabriel and Nate

Gabriel taking a rest in the Mormon Battalion Museum

The Civil War cannon preparing for battle

Playing on the wood train

Face off.

Lambs in the barn

Gabriel on the pony ride

Ever since we lived at Nate's aunt and uncles house where they have horses, Gabe has LOVED horses.

The girl walking with him asked if he had rode a horse before and I said yes. She said Oh that's why he's so good at it!

Ok. This was hilarious. The piglet would NOT stop following this goat around the petting zoo. The goat was MAD.

So, he headbutted the pig! He wanted that pig away from him!!

This other pig was rolling around in the mud puddle. Gabe thought this was hilarious!

Riding on the train

Brigham Young's farm house. They used this house for entertaining.

Getting on the train

Stopped at the ice cream parlor.

This would make Aunt Emma proud. Digging through the gemstones.

Chuggin' on some sarsaparilla.

Civil War reenactment

Plugging his ears for the cannon boom

The replica Eagle Gate with the actual monument in the background

Super Trouper

2011-07-27T12:48:00.000-07:00

Gabe has a strange collection of favorite songs. Among them are Fireworks- Katy Perry, I Gotta Feeling- Black Eyed Peas, Hey There Delilah- Plain White T's, and his all time favorite, Super Trouper by ABBA.

First Camping Trip

2011-07-27T12:25:00.000-07:00

Nate had some time off so we went camping with all our new camping gear. We went up to American Fork Canyon for an overnighter. Unfortunately, the website said we didn't need reservations but when we got up to the mountain... it turns out everyone and their grandma had heard otherwise. There was not a campsite to be had for 2 hours. We drove and drove around! We decided to make the best of it and played at the lake for a couple hours, throwing rocks and attempting to fish. We then decided to make the best of THAT and camped at Aunt Elaine's house in her backyard! :)

Setting up our lunch site

Fishing with daddy

Throwing rocks

His new Shark Cup- OoHaHa (Finding Nemo)

Setting up the tent in Elaine's backyard

Emma stopped by for dinner

Yes, we fit a pack-n-play and two sleeping bags in there

Getting the coals ready to cook dinner

Happy boy camping

Running through the sprinklers

Hehe :) Giddyup!

Finger Painting

2011-07-27T11:45:00.000-07:00

Before we left

2011-07-27T11:33:00.000-07:00

My dear friend Camry and I tried to spend as much time together as possible before we moved- well I tried to spend as much time with HER as possible, I don't know if she feels the same :) One day we went swimming at a fancy resort to cool off with an IHOP breakfast to start us off. Miss you guys!

Coloring placemats

Miss these faces!

My favorite picture of Lyla!

View of Tucson

These two are always nakie :)

Seriously love this little guy

Good Bye Tucson

2011-06-06T17:45:00.000-07:00

We are moving. Again. "Didn't you just barely get everything unpacked in this house?" Why, yes I did. "Didn't you guys move in not too long ago?" Well, yes that's true. Yep, we're moving. To Utah! Very exciting to be by my family but not excited about packing and moving. Nate got a job as a branch manager in Murray, so that means he gets his own Wells Fargo store. It's sad to leave friendships behind here, because this move is going to stick. The last time we moved away from Tucson to Flagstaff, we knew it wasn't going to be permanent. But this one will be. I'm sad to leave my baby-doctor and my baby's doctor. I'm sad to leave Gabe's new dentist, his friends and the story time lady. We will miss our ward, a lot. We will miss our cousins and family here but happy to be moving by other cousins and family.
I have wanted to take pictures in this plaza downtown for a few years now. Simultaneously, I have been wanting to take really great portraits of Gabriel for a couple years. Hmmm, here's a thought. Do them together. Ok! My great friend Jessica is amazingly talented. She does hair, takes photos, bakes and cooks, etc. She was lovely enough to take the pictures for me kind of commemorating our last full day in Tucson. They are fantastic!! (Despite the grouchy subject) She took about 400 and I'm going to post them all. HA! Nope. Just a few favorites. But be warned it is picture HEAVY.

My favorite

Keepin' it classy

Ah! I'm a crazy person! I know you didn't want to see all these but... tough. :)

Birthday, the fair, Easter, and others

2011-05-09T12:49:00.000-07:00

I feel like the older Gabe gets, the less I take pictures. I'm not changing him into cute little outfits 5 times a day, he's not reaching any milestones super fast like eating, rolling, crawling, walking... Do other mother's feel that way? That the little baby picture taking honeymoon is over? Anyway, a lot has happened and I just haven't had the energy to blog! I'll try to catch up.

It was my birthday a while ago and it was really nice! Some friends arranged a surprise Murder Mystery party for me that was a 50's BBQ theme. We had great food and a lot of fun!! I wasn't the murderer luckily... that would have been a birthday downer :) My brother in law Daniel lives with us and gave me Harry Potter Legos for my birthday! The three of us stayed up all night building Hogwarts castle and Hagrid's hut. Really, really fun. Nate got me an Ipod and a board game called Ticket to Ride. Really great birthday!

Click to enlarge

My dear friend Camry invited us to the county fair and we jumped at the chance. So we loaded up her car with our three babies and drove 20 minutes to the fair. She grew up a farm girl and did FFA and animal competitions and graduated in animal sciences so we spent most of the day in the animal competition barn. So much fun! She raised goats so she was chatting up the goat people and we got to pet baby goats and the kids got to hang out in a goat pen. It was really fun going there with her because she could tell me things about the cows and the sheep and goats. She could name every goat breed by sight! We really had a lot of fun and it's a good thing we didn't have any cash on us because we were tempted to buy everything in sight for our kids! Fairs are like that :)

Click to enlarge

Easter was very relaxed. We went up to Mesa, I got to wear my new Easter dress and Gabe got some fun things from the Easter bunny. We waited around for quite a while for Nate's uncle and his family to show up for dinner because they were bringing the ham, rolls, and jello. We finally called them and they said "Um you didn't get our message a couple days ago?" "No..." "Oh... well we can't come anymore!" Well, there goes our main course! So someone ran around the corner to Nate's grandparents house to get a ham out of their fridge and we micro heated it fast and dinner was served! Nate's parent's new house has probably 30 orange and grapefruit trees around it which are beautiful to take pictures by (Christmas card) and for eating from! I picked a huge box full of giant grapefruit and oranges. Yum. So I took some Easter pictures of Gabe in front of the trees. None of me in my new dress but oh well!

Click to enlarge

The Easter bunny brought a Playdough set. SO much fun!

Random Gabe

Built a block tower. There is a similar picture of me about the same age, wearing a new pair of panties with a block tower.

Watching Toy Story with his Mouse ears

His favorite thing is to line all his cars up along the tv stand

Can't stay away

2011-04-06T09:57:00.000-07:00

Gabe and I went to Rocky Point again this past weekend. It was very short notice and Nate couldn't get time off. So it was me, Gabe, my mother, father and brother in law. It was very fun! Just simple and relaxed. We played in the water this time and sat outside on the warm patio and listened to conference.

I was trying to be nice and let Gabe sleep in my bed for a nap during conference. I thought he was asleep but he came walking out an hour later COVERED from head to toe in my Bare Escentuals and other makeup. I was so mad I couldn't even react for a long time. Grandma Rene was laughing so hard and took pictures. I'm glad we chronicled it. She said "He's two!". Anyway, I scrubbed him clean and put him to bed in HIS caged bed.

Walking down our driveway

With a giraffe at the Wrought Iron store where Grandma was commissioning a bed

Sweet story: this is the Iron worker's son Brandon. He speaks no English, Gabe can say rainbow, 1-10, and a few other odds and ends in Spanish. So they couldn't really communicate. But the whole time we were there, they played together with this little toy dinosaur and horse Brandon owned. These were not wealthy people. When we left the store, Gabe cried as I was getting him into the car. Brandon ran up and gave Gabriel his horse. Such a sweet boy! We went back a few days later to pick up the bed so we gave him a Hot Wheels car.

Driving the tiny cart at Mexico's version of Walmart

Cheese

Take 1.

That's better!

Grandma Rene's hat

The Makeup Incident

Including all my empty Bare Enscentuals, mascara, eye liner, lipstick and one eyeshadow, I had to throw away about $60 worth of makeup.

Makeup face

Uncle Daniel reading his Kindle

This is the frame by frame panoramic view from our patio.

Baltimore/"Cool car Susan."

2011-03-23T13:47:00.000-07:00

I know I'm posting backwards, but before Gabe's birthday, he and I went to Baltimore to visit Susan and her family. Lay over in Chicago+long flights+crying baby=me crying on a plane full of strangers and the whole way through the airport to meet up with Susan. We pretty much lounged around and sewed and played Legos Harry Potter, which is just the way we like it. Our children hated each other to the point of having to physically restrain both of them and keep them in separate rooms. That was very sad. But the times we got to spend just the two of us was wonderful. We went to D.C for a day and went to North Carolina for a week. Consumed more vinegar/burned the back of my throat more than I ever have in my entire life (no offense Granny Jo!), fought back the urge to respond with a southern accent in conversations, saw the Most Beautiful scenery and homes, and wolfed down dinner at a mexican restaurant in 5 minutes flat. I love N.C. It was bittersweet to say goodbye after almost 3 weeks. Thanks for taking us in Suze and Nick!

We were lucky on the flight to Chicago and had a row to ourselves!

"Ughhh mom. How much longer??"

Windy city

Layover in Chicago

Undie boys!

These undies are too big for Calvin!! Susan gave them to Gabe!

Shortly after this picture, he peed in them. Yeah, potty training is going well.

Glued to the TV

They DID enjoy bath time together!

Nick was so sweet to Gabe the whole time. Gabe kept saying "Nick! Watch me!"
At the National Zoo

The Air and Space museum

Those are full sized planes!! The roof is retractable so they can get the planes in!

Playing on the Mall

Looking at the rain in Roxboro

This empty window pane was Gabriel's FAVORITE thing. He played with it the whole time.

Susan sewing her baby crib bedding

Me sewing a skirt

Our date night out to the Red Stocking Revue. SO much fun! Baby_____ tagged along :)

Gabe shares the joy of Nutella with Calvin

He approves!

Gabe's 2nd Birthday

2011-03-07T12:08:00.000-08:00

Yikes. I have a 2 year old. When I was little, we used to watch Dinosaurs the Tv show. I loved it. But the only episode that has stayed with me these 15 years was the Terrible Twos episodes. I actually had nightmares from that episode. Seriously. Watch the episode but NOT WITH YOUR KIDS if they scare easily. I don't want to be blamed for nightmares! Part 1, part 2, part 3 Anyway, this is honestly the first thing I think of when I think of terrible twos. I have heard recently that it's not the AGE 2, it's the YEAR 2, if that makes since. The Chinese actually celebrate it that way. When a baby is born, he's already 9 months old in their books. Gabe just passed through his 2nd year which is when that supposedly happens. So I think were in the clear. Cross your fingers.

Gabe and I flew home the day before his birthday from Baltimore. Friday was his birthday and we opened the presents from us. We got him Toy Story the movie, a few Hot Wheels, a car mat, and an ABC magnet game. Nate brought him a cupcake home from work and then we went to dinner at Zinburger. YUM.

The next morning was his party. It was a Cars themed tailgate. The cute invitations were made by Nate and they were supposed to be a race flyer.

Nate and his brother Daniel cooked up some home made root beer that we called motor oil and lots of burgers.

We had banners with movie quotes on them:

The food table

Flo runs the fuel station and this was our fuel station... I know it looks really awkward if you don't know the line.... :)

Guido is the best tire changer around so we played a version of pin the tail on the donkey. And yes I drew and painted that all by myself. Thanks for asking. We used black paper plates as wheels.

We made personalized license plates. This was a hit! These two tables were packed.

Cake with Cars on it and, come to find out seconds after this picture was taken, trick candles! I just grabbed them because they were .99c at the store. I looked pretty dumb trying to blow those candles out over and over...

Eating cake at the new table Grandma Rene got him.

Wearing his Cars shirt for the occasion.

The kids also played on the car mat with the 30(!!!) cars he got for his birthday and watched Mater's Tall Tales. Highly recommend. I don't really like the movie Cars beacuse of Lightning McQueen. Mater is the best part of the movie, so a movie all about him? I'll take that over Cars any day.

You thought I was exaggerating. :)

(And yes he has a black eye. That's for a later post!)

Happy Birthday ~~baby~~ toddler!

P.S. Babycenter.com sent me my weekly e-mail on Friday and the new header said "Your Preschooler". I almost had a conniption. I'm still recovering. Please send chocolate.

Rocky Point, Freezing style

2011-02-11T07:13:00.000-08:00

We went on our annual Puerto Penasco trip last week during the freezing storm that drove about 60% of the country crazy with the chills. And guess what? Mexico can get cold! Bet you didn't know that! Even though we couldn't swim in the water, we bundled up and played in the sand and dipped our feet in the water. Gabriel LOVES his cousins and they are so great with him. We played Who Stole the Cookies From the Cookie Jar, and the Animal Signs game every night, had morning devotionals, played games, played marbles, wrote in the family Mexico scrapbook and ate a lot of great food. My brother in law Daniel bought a smoker just for the occasion, so he could make smoked pulled pork sandwiches for his cooking day.

*Lots of pictures here. Susan, these are for you! ;)*

Danie and Gabe curled up watching a movie

New water shoes :)

Isn't this amazing looking?

Low tide

It was COLD. Not a soul out there.

Danie collecting shells

Riley in his hamster ball in front of our house

Playing Gobblet

Daniel and Nate playing Cosmic Cows

"Hello lady... you come here often?"

The kids found a treasure map in a bottle on the beach!

Hyrum and Gabe are best friends. Gabe follows him everywhere.

Digging for the pirate treasure

My favorite picture of Danie, making a sandcastle for Gabe

Grandma Rene's marble collection

The only picture of me on my camera from the whole trip.

Riley pulling out the treasure chest

This reminds me of Sean Connery in Indiana Jones

"Let my armiesh be the rocksh and the treesh and the birdsh in the shky."

Watching Grandma and Riley play marbles

Taking over for Riley

Score!

Grant and Daniel relaxin'

Hiyah!

My feral child

2011-01-29T17:04:00.000-08:00

Gabriel has become very independent. If we don't do what he needs in his time frame, no worries. He's got The Stool. It's a step stool that we bought so I could reach the high cabinets in our kitchen in Flagstaff. Just a small folding metal step stool. Gabe has discovered he can reach high things with it.

-He can open all the doors in the house now as well. One morning he comes walking into our room and wakes me up by shoving an apple in my mouth. He had eaten half of a whole apple! He took his stool and climbed up onto the counter where the fruit bowl was.

-He wanted a drink of milk from a "big boy cup". They are a set of four cheap ceramic mugs from Walmart that he likes to drink from. I told him I would get him some, but didn't move fast enough. I came into the kitchen and he had opened the dishwasher, climbed up on the washer lid with the help of his stool, opened the top rack and got a mug and climbed down. He brought it to me saying "Milk?"

-Had a cup, scooted his stool over to our ice/water fridge and filled up a cup of water!

What a self sufficient guy. Can't wait for him to cook me meals.. :)

Fifth Wheel? You betcha.

2011-01-19T08:26:00.000-08:00

My dream came true last night. My sister-in-law Kelly had to go to school last night. No, that's not the dream. The dream come true was that she gave me her ticket to Wicked. I went with her mother, SIL, niece and my niece Danie. I just totally honed in on a family girls night out and I have no issue with that. I have no shame when it comes to Wicked! No cameras in the theater. Poo.

The awesome stage with moving dragon

The Glinda and Elphaba of the night.

They're no Kristin Chenoweth or Idina Menzel but they were quite excellent!

It was so wonderful. Bawled the entire time? Why yes I did, thanks for asking!

Thanks to Kelly for thinking of me.

Christmas and New Years

2011-01-10T09:15:00.000-08:00

These needed to be done! Not a lot of pictures taken because our Holiday season was pretty laid back. Spent Christmas just the three of us and then had a small brunch at our house. Late that night, Emma arrived and stayed for a week. We had friends over for games, watched a lot of movies/tv, Emma cleaned my house... :) It was wonderful.

Nate's brother Daniel got us Nerf guns and Nate was threatening Gabe's life...

But gave up in the end because he's a softie daddy.

The loot from Gabe's stocking. After opening up his Cars cars, we had to force him to open his other presents! He just wanted to play cars!

His new cars, the Charger, Lightening McQueen, Flo, Ramone, and the "woo woo" Grandma got him from Germany.

I was a lazy picture taker but I got a new nativity set, Fiestaware, new clothes, new cleats, shin guards, and soccer balls and a bike trailer for Gabe! Gabe got a darling stuffed barn, a floor piano you step on, a train set and some wonder markers. Nate got a Spanish sword letter opener, a steering wheel cover and a huge pile of lumber to build a workbench. It sounds like I really made out this year! Sheesh! Apparently I need to be giving more!

Playing a board game with our friends Jesse and Camry (and pretty much the one picture I have of Emma..)

Cute Lyla hiding in my snack cupboard.

Gabe and Lyla on the floor piano

Playing Beatles Rock Band after Emma left

This is how I feel after the holidays. Whew!

Cake baking and Cheerios

2011-01-10T09:12:00.000-08:00

I have a papier mache Dia de los Muertos skull from Mexico and it sits on my piano. Gabe was eating his Cheerios on the floor. It got very quiet so I looked over and he had taken the skull off the piano and was feeding it Cheerios!

I was baking a cake the other day and Gabe wanted to help. So he sat on the counter and "measured" flour for me.

Official Christmas Card

2010-12-16T10:26:00.001-08:00

This Christmas snuck up on me. I wasn't able to send out cards snail mail style but this is just as good I suppose... right? Merry Christmas! We love all of you!

(click to enlarge)

Big boy and randoms

2010-12-07T10:57:00.001-08:00

Gabe is becoming a really big boy now. It makes me kind of sad seeing how toddler versus baby he is becoming. We took off the side on his bed and he loves it! And, yes, I cut the Rat Curl. :'( Tear.

Cruisin'...

At the Childrens Museum with Amanda, Lillian and Nora

The Hair.

The Bed.

Randoms

I got a ticket. When we went in for my "court" appearance, this was on the day's calendar! I'm a criminal! Sweet.

Saku, Gabe and Lyla: so cute together!

Reading his "stritures"

Chocolate spoon!

Driving the shopping cart car

I love this boy!

Thanksgiving and FOOTBALL!

2010-11-30T08:58:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving we went up to Mesa to Nate's parents house. I spent all morning baking pies and helping the kids make marshmallow pilgram hats and sugar cone teepees. We had about 25 people there! We played some Dance Central

Played with cousins

SAW HARRY POTTER!

Went to a 49ers game with Rene, Dwight and Daniel

The 4 boys with the feast

"Hynum" holding Gabe

Riley on his dance turn

Danie holding Gabe (he was held a lot by these three)

What good cousins...

The blurry University of Phoenix stadium

Blurry baby going to the game

Steve Young on the right!

A petty officer sang the National Anthem and it was AMAZING. I have a video of him singing but can't upload it for some reason. Blurg.

It was so flippin' loud that we sat like this for most of the game. I ended up sticking toilet paper in his ears.

Lifehouse at half time

Tired boy

Niners won by the way. Yay Area.

Good grief...

2010-11-03T09:16:00.000-07:00

Yeah... do I even need to explain? That look says everything. I was in the bathroom and I came out to find the cereal cabinet was open and his cereal was gone. I went into his room and.... you can guess the rest.

Meet the Flintstones

2010-11-01T09:13:00.000-07:00

Bam-bam is hard to get a shot of because he keeps running around yelling "Me-ecine!"

Some of the kids at a little playgroup on Friday

At the trunk-or-treat with our friends on Saturday

Paige and Joseph doing a puppet show out of the back of their car

And Joseph was the Hamburglar

The Bjorns were spaghetti and sauce. She is "prego"... get it?? HA!

We were the Rubbles and the Flintstones with Pam and Derek and I say this totally unbiased but I think we were the hit of the evening! We had strangers come up and take our picture!

There was a bouncy house for the kids and we had a little 2 and under time. The kids loved it!

Sweet little Madi Pebble

Gabe's haul

Trick-or-treating around our neighborhood on Halloween night :)

Oh, the Sweetest Thing

2010-10-27T09:38:00.001-07:00

I made beignets (Fry Bread as my father-in-law calls them, he grew up in Navajo Nation so that's what they will always be to him) this morning for breakfast with Nutella. I think Gabe liked them.

Pumpkin picking

2010-10-19T09:28:00.000-07:00

Found the camera battery!! We went to pick out pumpkins last night at this great pumpkin place (Tucsonians- corner of Thornydale and Orange Grove in the Sunflower parking lot). Nate and I are going to give them our business from now on. They had the coolest assortment of pumpkins and they give little baby white ones out to the kids for free. As always, it was impossible to get a semi-pleased look on Gabe's face for the pictures.

How much mess could a toddler make...

2010-10-11T14:55:00.000-07:00

A lot. No pictures, because in the heat of my anger in these moments, I wasn't thinking about grabbing my camera. Gabriel LOVES to draw. Like, unceasingly. He could color all day long if I let him. So we have quite a few crayon and marker mishaps.

Before I had the chance to hang up our canvas painting of Jesus, it was leaning against the wall. Now, he has a face full of green crayon. I would like to think he has a sense of humor about these sort of things...
Black, red and blue scribbles along the hallway walls and every time he walks past these, he stops and looks really angry and says "Oh NO!"
Snuck a pink crayon into his nap one day and when I went to get him out of bed, the wall against his crib slats was covered in pink including the teething rail, some of his sheets, the phone jack...
Went to pick up Nate from work the other day and while I had my back turned, Gabe had procured a black Expo marker and scribbled large black swirls all over the white walls. I shrieked and sat him firmly on the couch in the break room. I grabbed some cleaning solution and started scrubbing and luckily it came off. Satisfied, I turned around just in time to see Gabriel holding down the blue lever on the water cooler. Water was flooding all over the floor and into the surge protectors with the Tv, DVD player, etc plugged in. When we turned the outlets over, water literally came pouring out.
I had just finished sewing his Halloween costume and was trying it on him, when he grabbed a red marker, uncapped it, and slashed a mark on his new costume in one fell swoop. Luckily for him, it came out. After I screamed and scared the poop out of him.

Now I know what you're thinking, "Rachel! Take the crayons away!" Yeah, I've already thought of that, and I don't know where they keep coming from. I feel guilty because he will sit and fill an entire notebook up with drawings and so I feel like I should encourage his drawing, but at the expense of my and others property?

Today, I realized it was awfully quiet so I went into his room and found him standing in a pile of raw spaghetti. He has pulled a box of Pasta Roni out of the cabinets and opened it in his room. There was spaghetti everywhere! He gave me a big smile and said "Cereal!" So I made him clean it up but every time he took a step to pick the pasta up, he would shatter the noodles into tiny pieces. Aye caramba.

I'm looking for a little advice. I was thinking about buying him some Crayola Wonder Markers for Christmas to cut back on the wall, furniture messes... or maybe attaching a white board to the wall down low in his room? Any thoughts? I really want to let him color because he loves it so much but it's too messy at this point.

Back in the UT, back in the UT, back in the UT...AH?

2010-08-17T09:17:00.000-07:00

Doesn't flow quite as well as USSR.

Anywho, Gabe and I went to Utah to visit family/help Emma get settled into college life at BYU. My good friend Donald Scott was getting married the 7th so we had to make it by then. We met up with Emma at the Phoenix airport the afternoon of the 6th and drove up to Kanab on the border of AZ and UT. What a nightmare. We arrived at about 2am to find that there must have been something BIG going on in Kanab because in the whole city there was not A SINGLE ROOM TO BE HAD. We stopped at three different hotels and they said every hotel was full. We felt like Mary and Joseph, knocking door to door. So we just kept driving north trying to find a place. The nearest "major" city was about an hour away and we were exhausted. We checked in every tiny town along the way but there was nothing. Finally after driving for an hour, we pulled into a church parking lot and slept for a few hours. It was terrible! Anyway, we got to sleep at 3am, woke up at 6 and drove to Provo where we relaxed until the wedding that evening. At the end of the month, Nate flew up to spend a few days and then drive home with us. Elaine and Gordon were SO kind in letting us stay with them for the month. Thanks again!!

To summarize, we tubed down the Provo aka Devil River, met up with my cousin Jeff and met his adorable wife Amy and baby Grant, my friend Sean and his super fun wife Summer and baby Oliver, and my friend Donald and his brand new wife Janey. I got my hairs did, went to Cabela's with cousins, had fun BBQs with the Watkins and the Browns, went boating at Deer Creek, shopped at Park City, went to Temple Square, went to Logan to visit the Hathaways and went to the cutest zoo there, stayed the night in Roy with our friends Andy and Cami, visited Grandparents grave, and the Mockingjay midnight release! Pretty much we played our guts out and if I have forgotten something we did with you, please forgive me! It was a slam packed month and I'm still recuperating!

At the park before the wedding

The one picture I have of the wedding. I'm a bum.

Lauren Scott, Me, Emma, Ginelle Britton, and Emily Scott

Temple Square

Deer Creek

I would like to point out the similar poses of Gabriel and Dallin. Sittin' by the lake, throwin' rocks.

Yes, I did take my baby tubing. What of it?

Karl, Sylvia, Amanda and Kelly

Mockingjay release!!! Psh.... look at those two losers taking their pictures...

Cabela's with the cousins. For the fudge and the animals. It seemed strange to me too but was totally worth it! And yes I look much better in the other picture I have of this but everyone else was blinking. I figured I'd sacrifice my dignity and post the most flattering for everyone else.

The Cousins BBQ at Renaes. We only took pictures of the most important people there: the babies. :)

Shopping in Park City. Bought me some Crocs and new pants, Emma got a nice pair of jeans and a winter coat.

Visiting the grave

Random Fun

We love Utah!

Thanks to everyone who entertained, hosted and played with us! We love you all and can't wait to see you again!

My Sewing Chair

2010-08-03T19:32:00.000-07:00

I haven't unplugged the cords for the camera yet but I had to share this project captured on my cell phone. I had this great '50s cartoon strip home sewing themed fabric that I desperately wanted to use for something fun. And this is it. A sewing chair for my sewing table. I took a grey folding chair we had and spray painted it a great raspberry color and reupholstered it. I absolutely love it!

Rachel and Martha

2010-07-17T23:04:00.000-07:00

***Update***

I had a little dyslexia and typed the link in wrong... should be working now. If not, it's rachelandmartha.blogspot.com

It's been a long time since my last panic-stricken post and thanks for all the support! We made it to Tucson safely and are doing well. Haven't found the camera cord and such yet so no pictures but soon I promise! In other news, I have started a new blog called Rachel & Martha. I like followers... :) Love ya'll!

Panic

2010-06-19T19:13:00.000-07:00

I'm taking a moment to post this whilst packing up my car. I have been alone for the past several weeks, packing up our entire house with a toddler under foot. I have had a couple sweet friends watch said toddler which was a lifesaver. We are moving today/tomorrow. But we aren't cleaning up or anything yet because we still own this place until the end f July which is nice because that's one less thing I have to stress about. Stress. That has been the word foremost on my mind these past few weeks. Nate came up yesterday and helped pack up some stray things. Today a few guys from the ward helped us load up our U-haul and then Nate headed back down to Tucson, while Gabe and I stay up here one more, lonely night because I made a commitment to play for the Young Women in Sacrament meeting and I'm the only Nursery leader tomorrow. We are going to leave right after church. A very large forest fire broke out this afternoon about 3 miles away from our house. The air around you in eerily orange and there is smoke everywhere. They have been evacuating neighborhoods around us. We have no TV, no radio, no way of hearing these evacuation warnings. Nate is gone. I have no one to help me load up the rest of our belongings into the car. I called the police station and asked if our area was evacuating and the officer said our area was on stand by. "Get all your things together and get ready to go." People keep telling me that it's ridiculous for me to be up here with all this going on. But I would feel horrible if church wasn't cancelled and I just flaked out of all my responsibilities. To make matters worse, we have officially been switched to our new ward in Tucson so the lds.org website doesn't let me look up anyones phone numbers for this ward here so I can't know if church is likely to be cancelled. I have no ones phone numbers. I am hot and sweaty and smell like campfire. The police officer took down my info and said she would call if anything changes. I can't wait to just get out of here.

My Very Own Anne Geddes Baby

2010-06-11T21:14:00.000-07:00

I have always loved Anne Geddes. I used to have journals, notebooks, address books and calendars. Love her. On a side note, did you know she has a store? There is one in Disneyland and it is.... drool. Go look. I encourage you. Anywho, last week when we were in Mesa, Grandpa Dwight was pulling these big pots of dirt on a wagon to the front of the house to plant flowers. Grandma Rene and I decided to have an impromptu photo shoot. So darling.

Now picture them with graham crackers and no sunflower heads. Exactly the same, right??

Final Verdict

2010-05-19T08:54:00.000-07:00

We are moving to Tucson.

Pros:

Big city= restaurants, stores, malls, movie theaters

doctors/businesses we trust

Northwest Hospital, I heart thee and want all subsequent babies to be born there

friends we love

familiar

Cons:

HOT

car thieves

mourning doves

cockroaches

HOT

no grass

no trees

HOT

serious crime

car/baby seat/stroller thieves

mourning doves

You get the idea.

But Nate got a great job working for our good friend Derek at the bank and he is so excited. We are excited to be by friends again. We are also excited because we are renting this 3 bed 2 bath house down the street from Derek, Pam and Haley. I'm so happy to be in a house!! No more apartments!

Not a very stylish kitchen but as long as I can make dinner, I don't mind.

Living room

The best part is this great backyard! Gabe will be in heaven with all those rocks and the swings!

The tough thing is that we have a contract at this apartment until July 31 and Nate has to start work June 1. We can move into our house June 7. To break our contract we would have to pay about $4,800 that we don't have. So, there is our pickle. Nate has to move to Tucson and crash on someone's couch for a week but Gabe and I have to stay in Flagstaff and pack and clean for 2 months. Alone. Packing. With a toddler. Alone. Yuck. And then Gabe and I will be in Provo for the month of August. I will be playing the role of parental guardian for Emma. I'm helping her move in to her dorm and get adjusted to things, go to orientation, buy twin XL sheets, etc. So 3 months away from husband/dad and paying two rents. Not fun! But we got a house! Wahoo!

Crotiques

2010-05-06T09:48:00.000-07:00

A few people were wanting to know where I found the cradle purse pattern. Her site is called Crotiques. Really easy project. It took me a day.

Just Like Grandma. Almost.

2010-05-03T09:18:00.000-07:00

When I was very, very little, my Grandma crocheted me a little purse that turned into a dolly bed. It came with a little doll and she would sleep in the cradle. I still have it and I'm relly impressed that is had held up so well after 20-odd years. I was thinking about it yesterday and googled to see if there was actually a pattern or if it was just a creation of my grandma's. I found a pattern and had a big ball of yarn I have tried using a couple times and could just never find the right project. So I made one myself! It's definately not as cute as the original but it's a start. The next time, I'll get some cute yarn and the right size crochet hook but... it's a good start.

The Original

The Replica

Have you sentimentally kept anything from your childhood like this? Or what about trying to remake or buy things that remind you of childhood with your grandparents? When my grandparents passed away, Emma really wanted a little keyboard that my grandpa kept in his office closet. It was Emma's favorite thing all growing up and it played this addicting demo song on it. I love those memories. Grandma also made me a couple crochet necklaces with flowers on them. She always had homemade cookies ready whenever we came to visit and when we came to visit, she would let us each get a special cereal for the stay. They always had Honey Comb cereal in their pantry but it was such a treat to get a fancy cereal! Anyway, it was really nice to make this and think about my childhood with my grandparents.

New Blue Pants

2010-04-30T11:47:00.000-07:00

I have a thing for Gabriel wearing blue. He has very blue eyes and I like to play them up. Maybe it's from my mom... she always bought us clothes in the same color. I was always in blue because of the blonde hair/blue eyes thing and Emma was always in pink because of her red hair/rosy freckles. Or maybe it was the reverse... I can't remember now. Mom pretty much only wears blue. And doesn't wear any variation on pink/coral/salmon. Doesn't look great. I read a book in high school called How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents where the mother of the four Garcia girls assigns each a color. I don't remember the colors, I think they were blue, pink, yellow, and green, but mother buys four identical outfits all the time in each of the colors. So the girls are always matching but in their respective colors. I have always thought "what a streamline concept for laundry..." Anyway, back to Gabriel and blue. That was a really lengthy opener for a very simple event: I made him some new pants.

They are just simple pants made of blue linen I found in the remnant bin at JoAnn's- R.I.P

But of course I had to snazz them up a bit...

Embroidered patch on the rear

Leg hems

Thank you for you patience. :)

Cross 'Em.

2010-04-28T17:21:00.000-07:00

Your fingers. It's a long story for a later time but Nate has just applied for 7, SEVEN!, Service Manager jobs in Tucson, two in Seattle area and four in UT. Brigham City, two SLC and one Smithfield. We are really hoping for the Tucson or any of the UT ones. Seattle is kind of wishful thinking for now. So cross 'em people! :)

I love this kid

2010-04-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

Oh the shame...

2010-04-18T16:37:00.000-07:00

Today in Sunday school, Gabe was on the floor playing and pulling stuff out of the bag. I was just listening to the lesson until a lady next to us tapped me to bring my attention to the fact that Gabe had found my "For Emergencies" tampon and was waving it around in class. I yanked it away while she, her husband and Nate all laughed and Gabe hollered because I took his toy away. Humiliating. Now I'm sharing it with all of you so that we can all laugh together and it won't be as horrendously embarrassing as it was earlier.

Thank you.

He's a Boy's Boy

2010-04-15T07:46:00.000-07:00

As noted in the previous post, my baby loves the "decorative" gravel pits in front of our patio. It was a lovely day yesterday and I was baking scones (more to come on that), so I had the door open to let in the nice air. Of course the open door to Gabe is an invitation to go outside and as long as I could see him I didn't mind. He climbed out there along with his new tractor and sat in the dirt and rocks for about an hour and a half.

Now for the scones. Vanilla Bean with Vanilla Bean glaze. I saw these beauties over at Pioneer Woman aka My Idol/Hero. I had to make them! And they. are. DIVINE.

For your Enjoyment

2010-04-10T08:41:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I know that he's in his p.j. top and shoes, no pants and no socks... what of it?

Easter

2010-04-09T17:25:00.000-07:00

Easter was very laid back for us. And it was VERY windy. We could only do a little Easter egg hunting on the lawn before they started blowing away! We found this Pat the Bunny at a drug store in Mesa. How perfect! Gabe has been loving this idea of squeezing plastic eggs until they pop and candy pours out. I can't get the candy away from him fast enough.

Visiting Grandma Rene's House

2010-04-05T09:08:00.000-07:00

Nate's parents just moved two hours closer to us which is great because we can visit more often. We were there last week for a few days.

Daddy left to run errands.

Gabe having fun playing with Zipper.

We're Too Excited to Sleep!

2010-03-21T21:26:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a week in Southern California. It was spring break here and we decided to meet up with our good friends, Amanda and Tyler, and go to the beach and Disneyland. One of my favorite commercials is a Disney commercial. SO cute. Anywho, we had a very packed and very fun week. WARNING lots and lots of pictures. Just for you Susan. :)

We left early(5am) Sunday morning.

In our jammies

We gave him a Red Vine to entertain him. Wow. He was COVERED in red sticky.

We arrived at my aunt's house to spend the day and night. Made friends with their horses.

Have I mentioned Gabe hates the feeling of grass?

Keeping a close eye on the horses.

Just enjoying the sun and the grass.

Jumping on the trampoline.

My aunt and uncle were hosting two Japanese girls that week and Monday, Yuna, Moe, Gabe, Nate and I went out to see the sights of La Canada Flintridge.

The Descanso Botanical Gardens. Lovely! Would do it again!

Yuna, Gabe and Moe by the pond.

They had a miniature train that ran around the garden. Wasn't running that day :(

Let me take a minute and talk about Moe and Yuna. They were THE sweetest girls I have ever met. We became instant friends. They didn't speak a whole lot of English but we managed just fine all day. And they LOVED Gabe. They fed him, carried him, took him out of his car seat, buckled him up, took about a million pictures of/with him, etc. We were sad to say goodbye to them.

A big treat for Nate was getting a private tour of JPL- Jet Propulsion Laboratories. Sum it up, they work with NASA. I didn't understand much and I speak English. I couldn't imagine what the girls were thinking! But they were so polite and just smiled about everything. Nate had so much fun. My aunt and uncle were friends with a woman who worked there so we got security clearance to take a tour! I felt cool getting to have a security clearance card and a background check.

This is the clean room they are building the new generation of Mars rovers in. Under that foil tent, a rover.

Tuesday, we met up with Amanda and Tyler in Brea and we went to the beach.

Gabe and their daughter Nora.

"She wants me for my body...."

Little private beach we went to. Jealous?

Poor guy got sunscreen in his eye. He couldn't stop crying for hours and it was bright red and tearing up for a day or two.

Wednesday: Disneyland!

Loving my baby on the Jungle Cruise

"You talkin' to ME?!"

Nora, Lillian and Gabe in the teacup. No, we didn't take our babies on the real tea cups. Just the Kodak moment stationary one.

We bought this spiffy backpack for the trip and Gabe loved it.

We love Disneyland!

His first carousel ride at California Adventure.

Have I mentioned we love this backpack?

The rest of the week we just relaxed. Friday morning we left and drove to Tucson for our friend Derek's surprise birthday party. His birthday and his baby girl Haley's birthday are on the same day so his party was Friday and hers was Saturday. We got to go to both! Haley and Gabe are 2 weeks apart and have been good friends since they were born. Before the party Saturday, we went to the Titan Missile Silo. It was built during the Cold War and it is the only one still existing. Non-functional of course!

At the Missile Silo!

Hard hats are required

Gabe and I next to a tiny part of the actual missile.

Then on to the party.

The happy birthday girl!

The party girl and guests.

Gabe lovin' him some pumpkin-apple cupcakes!

And stealing the guests as well!

Opening presents!

Then we drove up to Mesa and spent the night with Nate's family before rushing up to Flagstaff Sunday morning so I could play the piano at church! Whew! What a week. Nate and I don't want to go to bed because that means a new week will be starting. Thanks to everyone who hosted us and put up with us this week!

Laundry

2010-03-10T08:45:00.000-08:00

What is this?

This is a year of my life.

I am very good about once Gabe grows out of something to put it away. After doing laundry yesterday, the plastic zipper bag our comforter came in, became too full. We had to move on to an XL vacuum bag. I, of course, went through all the clothes, getting teary eyed. "Ohhhh Nate! Remember when he was this small??" Every outfit had a memory and a story. It sounds weird but I get very attached to clothes. I can remember the exact clothes I was wearing for any event in my life. I remember when and where I bought that Beatles tube top that I couldn't ever wear. I remember the Atlanta '96 t shirt my mom's friend gave me, and when you unfocus your eyes, the confetti on it looks like it's dancing. I am sentimental about clothes. I can't get rid of said Atlanta shirt that is a child's small or the Beatles tube top. I can't get rid of the very '80's pink and purple flower shirt that when you breathe hot air onto it, the flowers change colors. My cousin gave it to me when I was little. I have stacks of shirts like this. That I'll never wear, but I can't get rid of. They mean too much to me. I'm finding that I'm doing the same to my son. "But Nate, he wore this outfit the last time he ever saw Rachel." or "His 'Baby's First Easter' bunny outfit? Are you crazy?!" and so on. Nate tried to help me justify it all by saying "Well, I guess we might have another boy... don't want to have to buy new clothes..." That's what he thinks. :)

Completely unrelated, but while still doing laundry, Gabe was "helping" me fold and got a little stuck. The progression:

Before you call CPS on me, it's mesh ok? He could breathe. He looks really creepy like that doesn't he?

Birthday Party

2010-03-07T08:46:00.000-08:00

Gabe's actual birthday was pretty uneventful. Nate had work and school until really late so Gabriel and I just hung out. But Saturday, was the actual party. It was small with only a few hiccups and overall, went pretty well. It was Pat the Bunny themed, so we shaved Daddy's scratchy face, played Mummy's ring toss, and put cotton balls on Pat the Bunny. We had bunny shaped mac n cheese and had cake. Fun day!

Shaving Daddy's face

"Shaving cream" tastes pretty good!

Coloring/ stuffing Pat the Bunny

Bunny mac

Nate decorated our bunny birthday cake

Opening birthday presents

For the Billings

2010-03-04T07:25:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I went to check the mail and there was a package from my fantastic aunt Elaine. She is always SO good with everyone's birthdays. I reach to pull the box out and it bangs the side of the mail box. All of a sudden I hear "OO-OO-AH-AH-AH!" I just stared at the box and thought "Oh Elaine. What have you done??" hahaha! Every move the box made, it let out a monkey call!

This morning we let Gabe open the gift from the Billings. As we were trying to open the box the monkey kept going off and it spooked Gabe a little! Kind of funny!

This is Gabe with his newly opened gorilla car! So fun!

The first run! And I'm a dodo and turned the camera so it's all sideways. Oh well!

He loves cars. He just crawls around with it in his hand. Thank you Billings family! What a fun toy!

Happy Birthday Gabe!

2010-03-04T06:30:00.000-08:00

A year ago today, Gabe was born. We couldn't be more excited. We love you Gabe!

Gabe's Birthday Invitation

2010-03-02T13:31:00.000-08:00

We are having Gabe's birthday party on Saturday. It is a Pat the Bunny theme. Nate made the invitations. He even drew the bunny free-mouse (get it? freehand? ha...ha...). I think he did a great job. I am so excited for the party! I wish Gabe knew what was going on! If any of you are in the Flagstaff area this Saturday, you are invited! :)

Day Trip to Mesa

2010-03-01T12:13:00.000-08:00

Nate had a training day in Phoenix last Wednesday so Gabe and I made a day of it. We went to the temple and hung out with our cousins. Very fun day!

At the temple

Hanging out with cousin Porter

Picking up daddy after training

We played at Grandma Rene's new house for a little before heading home to Flagstaff.

Date Night

2010-02-21T08:54:00.000-08:00

So last night, for the first time ever, we had a real babysitter. We have always lived close to family who could watch Gabe. Yes we have left him with someone but this was the first time we had to pay someone and show them how to watch DVD's. It was exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. She is a very sweet girl and Gabe really seemed to like her. She said he was the easiest baby she had ever babysat. "He just hangs out and is pretty chill". We went to a steak house called Black Bart's for dinner. We didn't know it was a sort of dinner theater as well. It was a lot of fun! The food was fantastic! I had chicken kabobs that were so moist they fell off the stick, a vegetable kabob, baked potato, garlic bread, and sourdough biscuits. Nate had a filet mignon, cowboy beans, and red velvet cake. We both had sarsaparilla! And then each waiter got up on stage and sang a show tune with the most talented pianist. It was a really fun atmosphere and good food. Afterwards, we went to the movie theater but there was nothing good showing so we thought we would do something else. But the nightlife scene is seriously lacking Flag. The bowling alley was packed and the theater was packed. Our only other option was to walk around the mall, middle school style. :) No thanks. Well we had only been gone about and hour and a half and we were embarrassed to go home so early, so we sat in our heated car and played a new board game we had bought in Sedona! Ha! Lame I know, but it was really fun. When we got home, our babysitter had left the place looking like she had never been there. There were no dishes, no toys out, Gabe's clothes folded neatly... she's great! It was a little bit of a funny first date but as we do it more, I'm sure we'll get better at it!

Not related at all but this morning, I was in the kitchen making breakfast and Nate was in the living room, supposed to be watching Gabe. But Gabe had crawled out of his sight and he thought I had him. Well, I came around the corner of the stairs and Gabe was sitting there with his face covered in chocolate. He had somehow found a little bag of Valentines chocolates and was just chewing on the wrapped chocolate, swallowing foil and all. Sheesh.

Early Valentine's Trip

2010-02-11T07:42:00.000-08:00

Nate was going to be busy around the real Valentine's weekend so the weekend before, he surprised me with a getaway to Sedona. Sedona is about an hour from Flagstaff, in Red Rock country. It is absolutely beautiful! Nate was trying to be sweet and got us a bed and breakfast, but the only places he could find were for more... romantic trips. Showers to two, mirrored ceilings... you get the idea. He was trying to find a family friendly place and he finally found one. But when we got there, we were in for quite a surprise! It was just a regular house. This old couple just had an extra room in their house that they rent out!! It was SO awkward! We couldn't stop giggling under our breath. They were sitting there in their easy chairs watching tv and she was knitting, waiting up for us to get there! We ate breakfast at their table with them every morning. It was just... awkward. That's the best word for it. But we had fun going around Sedona. We ate at an amazing restaurant called the Barking Frog and walked around the shops and the main streets. Then the best part was the last night, we went to Blazin' M Ranch, which is a cowboy ranch and dinner show. It was so much fun! Amazing food and really fun cowboy music performed. It was a fun trip!

Chapel of the Holy Cross. Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and his student, it is built into the red rocks.

The chapel

The art village of Tlaquepaque

The angel Gabriel

Locked up at the Blazin' M Ranch

'Bout to get hanged

The dinner show performers

Gabe was helping us pack to go home

In his new onesie: Knee-high to a grasshopper.

On the bum it has a little grasshopper, hopping. :)

Driving home to Flag

ok....

2010-01-23T07:50:00.000-08:00

So I do have new pictures to post from Spain/Christmas but it is such a daunting task I try to steer clear of my blog so it doesn't throw me accusatory glances. I took 305 pictures while we were there and I put around 100 up on Facebook. I'm going to put much less up here. :)

In case you didn't know, my parents are living in Madrid and we went to visit them for Christmas. Gabe did great on the 16 hours flight there, and I think he would have been good on the flight home but he got an ear infection. Yuck. It really was such a fun trip! We loved it!

Gabriel's first Christmas (at home)

On the flight to Madrid, in his Luftansa bassinet

Grandpa and Gabe sleeping

Opening presents for our second Christmas

Emma and Gabe at Ribs restaurant. Ribs is "authentic Texan BBQ". In the middle of Spain.

On the metro going into the city

On the double decker bus

The basilica at Valle de los Caidos (Valley of the Fallen Soldiers)

Franco is buried here.

El Escorial, the palace of the Bourbons and the Hapsburgs.

In Toledo, posing with Cervantes.

Toledo

The Roman aqueducts in Segovia

The summer palace in Aranjuez

Lunch in Aranjuez

Gabe Destroys Christmas

2009-12-16T15:36:00.000-08:00

And then Ernest Saves it....

Y'all owe me big time!

2009-12-14T14:54:00.001-08:00

I just got home from the most horrendous post office trip.

I had three packages I needed to ship and I didn't have boxes big enough at home so I was just going to take them to the post to buy the boxes there. I (stupidly) forgot to bring my own tape, stuffing, address labels, etc. so I had to buy 2 boxes, 1 large envelope, a roll of bubble wrap, and a roll of packaging tape. But backing up to the parking lot, I had my arms full of packages AND I was trying to maneuver the stroller with Gabe in it. There was a line clear out the building but I went right in so I could package everything first.

I was at a counter trying to figure out which box to use and how I could get the most out of my small roll of bubble wrap and Gabe is screaming, trying to get out of the stroller and everyone is staring at me. So I get him out and try to entertain him with brochures on personalized photo stamps. Nothing is going the way I wanted it and there was too much room in both the boxes and I refused to open another package of bubble wrap if I didn't need to. I was going to take the unlabeled, untaped boxes up to the desk and see if they could fill it with peanuts or something.

I put Gabe back in the stroller and put my stack of boxes on the floor and I start making my way to the back of the line pushing the stroller and scooching the boxes with my foot. A nice older man let me cut in front of him, saying that I had been there longer than him. I was standing in line trying to entertain a wiggly, fussy baby when I realized that I needed to have the addresses on them already or the post worker would be very cross with me, so I tried writing on the envelope while holding Gabe but that wasn't working. I then realized I would have to get out of line to write on all of them! By this point I was so flustered, I wasn't thinking clearly. So I hop out of line, go to a counter and start trying to write the address on the envelope. The nice man insisted on pushing my stroller along in front of him to save my spot. I finally get the envelope written on and just figured I would have to leave the boxes blank so I could ask about the packing peanuts. You follow?

So I get up to the front of the line and decide I can't push everything, so I push the stroller against the wall so I would have one less thing to worry about. The nice man offers to lift my boxes up onto the counter for me. I thanked him hastily, and he left before I was done. I wish I could have thanked him more properly. Anyway the postal worker was very pleasant but said that they didn't have peanuts. I would have to buy more bubble wrap. Drat! But he helped me out by giving me a box that would fit better for one package and then opened up a new roll of bubbles and packaged the larger box for me. Then he gave me labels to fill out while he packaged. So again, I'm trying to write with one hand and hold Gabriel with the other and he was writhing and screaming and when Gabe gets mad, he gets vengeful. So he tries to grab the pen and throw it, and then he tries to grab the label and throw it. Sigh.

Anyway, that all got worked out and I paid for my TWO rolls of bubble wrap and the packages and started to leave. Then, in front of the entire crowded store, I remembered my stroller on the other side of the room, tried to turn back to get it and did a very classic slapstick slip on the slick floor. Kill me. Red faced, I grabbed my stroller and ran. I loaded up the car, Gabe instantly fell asleep, and I got half way home and realized in my haste, I had stuffed the new roll of tape into my purse and hadn't paid for it! Now I have to go BACK and pay for it!

So, to sum it up, you three who are getting my packages, just know what a hassle your presents were!! :) Just kidding. I really do love sending presents, just next time I'll do it on Nate's day off so I can go alone!

Turkey!

2009-11-27T08:27:00.000-08:00

Wednesday night I realized that Gabriel had nothing festive to wear the next day, so I made him a turkey. :)

Very blurry turkey.

I think this is his favorite holiday. A day of stuffing yourself. Sounds like heaven to Gabe.

Halloween, baby style

2009-11-02T08:52:00.000-08:00

As you'll recall, my eggo was preggo last year, so this was Gabe's first official Halloween, not being a fat fairy... We had a ward trunk or treat on Saturday and Nate got out of work right when it started. Since he wouldn't have time to don a costume, we made his work clothes into a costume by dressing Gabe up the same. Nate had made him his very own Wells Fargo name tag so they were both dressed as bankers. Kind of lame sounding, I know. It's like when my dad said he was a banker every year when I was little and I believed him because he was carrying around the video camera "briefcase". Anyway, they looked really cute together and Gabe had his own little pillow case for his 6 pieces of candy he got. It was a lot of fun, but as we got in the car to leave, I said to Nate that this will probably be a lot more fun when we have more kids and they are a little older, because right now, it just looks like we are two parents exploiting our baby to get candy for ourselves..... which ended up being the case. :)

"Gabe" name tag, glasses, blue tie, yellow plaid shirt, and slacks

Matching!

Although, Nate pointed out, he looked more like Harry Potter with the pipe cleaner glasses but.... I think people got the idea.

Football game

2009-10-27T12:47:00.001-07:00

On Saturday, we went to NAU's homecoming game. It was really fun even though we are not a very good team... we won but it was like a glorified high school game. We all wore our gold and navy!

Inside the Skydome

Louie the Lumberjack and a tiny Louie underneath

Wearing their matching NAU shirts

Park Day and Pumpkins

2009-10-27T11:18:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday was Nate's day off so we decided to go to our favorite park. It is a big beautiful park and Gabe loves it.

Afterwards, we went and picked out our pumpkins. One for me and one for Gabe. Nate didn't want one due to his first experience carving last year.

I'm so excited for Halloween this year! I don't know what I'm going to be but I'm just so excited for Gabe's first Halloween, even though he won't have any clue what is going on. Oh well!

Rocky Point

2009-10-16T10:45:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a week in Rocky Point Mexico with Nate's family. His grandpa has a beautiful time share right on the beach and we go once a year. It was so fun seeing Gabriel play with his cousins and they loved playing with him. Hyrum could not leave him alone! And Jimmy can't quite say Baby Gabey so he says Gabey Gabey. We also did family photos one day and they turned out great! Can't wait for next year!

We went to town...

We ate ice cream...

We ate graham crackers...

We colored...

We rode jet skis...

Ate sand...

Loved cousins...

And had a great time!

The beach

Turns out Gabriel is definitely a beach baby.

We couldn't keep him out of the water and sand!

Matching crabby faces

On the back porch

Hanging out with Hyrum

Sitting with Danie

Nate's brother Ben took some really great photos of the family.

This is my FAVORITE. Gabe and Danie

What the...?

2009-09-28T12:01:00.000-07:00

I didn't put up his birthday picture! It was so freakin' cute! It was his 6 month birthday and yes, I got him a ice cream cupcake. And then I ate it. Yum.

There are a bunch of random pictures I have to put up. It would be wrong to deprive you of more photos of my darling baby. :)

Nate got a package and Gabriel loved the packing peanuts

Playing football with daddy

Family photo on the Wii: Me, Nate, and Gabe

Cheese!

Future Elder Allen

Gabe and I went to Utah to visit some family and friends. We stayed with my wonderful aunt Sylvia. Gabe got to play with lots of little cousins which was so fun!

Jumping at Sylvias

Gabriel and Logan

Logan is a much faster crawler than Gabe. He followed Logan around everywhere!

Posing for the camera

Going out together

I was doing the dishes at Sylvias and gave Gabe a piece of plain cake to keep him busy. When I turned around, it had exploded! It was everywhere!!

He loved it! Crumbs everywhere!

He loves to stand up next to his crib

Loves his books!

I came into his room after naptime and this is what I found!!! How cute!!

Climbs up his cubbies and pulls all his toys down

Happy Monday!

2009-09-28T11:34:00.000-07:00

The Grand Canyon

2009-09-10T12:04:00.000-07:00

For Labor day, we went to the Grand Canyon which is only about and hour from Flagstaff. I had never been before so it was really exciting for me. We were doing a large loop to the canyon so the drive there was just gorgeous. The drive back was through Navajo nation so.... not pretty. The canyon was just.... huge! There is no other way to describe it. It looked like it was a painting or a huge photograph or something. I couldn't believe something that big existed. We enjoyed Mather point which is one of the most famous look out areas. Tons of tourists. Then we went to the Grand Canyon general store which is a huge deli/grocery/souvenir/camping store. We had a very good lunch there and walked around the store. Then we started on the drive home along the rim.

This is the Watch tower far away.

This is the Watch tower close up.

Inside the tower

Spiral stairs. 4 floors of winding stairs.

Look down in the center. Me and Gabe

Our park ranger at the general store

Davey and Danny Crockett

Sitting in a big chair for lunch

Roughly 6 months

2009-09-01T08:42:00.000-07:00

In three days Gabriel will be 6 months. Half a year! I can't believe it. I've already forgotten how it feels to be pregnant and having to go through all the misery and everything. Nate was saying that God makes women forget about all of that so they'll want to have another one. I agree.

So it seems that he exploded through the major milestones in the 5th month.

-He started crawling. Everywhere. He (luckily) hasn't figured out there are stairs in our house but he likes to just crawl around his room or the living room.

-He eats solid foods. He loves food- probably not a great thing but.... He can't get enough. He wants whatever you are eating. He snatched a sucker out of my hand and sucked on it, as I was eating a peach he grabbed my hand and brought it to his mouth and sucked on it, and Nate, unbeknownst to me, gave him a straw of root beer, which he loved. He loves rice cereal, peaches, applesauce, teething toast, anything in a straw, anything from a cup, sweet potatoes, peas, green beans and doesn't like his carrots. He is really good at picking up his puffs and putting them in his mouth and he can go through a whole teething toast. We tried his sippy cup with water in it yesterday and I think it will take some getting used to. He wasn't too crazy about it.

-He sits up by himself and is dang proud of it. He will be cruising along and turn and push himself up and give you a big smile. Something I'm worried about now is that he will crawl over to me while I'm sitting and pull himself up with me and stand up holding onto my shirt. I am definitely not ready for the pulling up/standing milestone yet!!

-He is a techy baby. He loves the tv remote, cell phones and especially the laptop. Anything with buttons. So we bought him a baby toy phone. He doesn't like it. He wants the real deal.

-He love, love, loves his bath! He will splash water to the other side of the bathroom! But only when daddy bathes him.

-He loves big kids. He likes being with his cousins when they play with him or when our friends kids want to play with him. He is so interested by them.

-He loves Nate's glasses. Those things are off Nate's face before he even has time to react.

-He likes toes. Weird but true. He wants to play with my toes or anyones toes he can reach. But don't touch his. He is SO SO ticklish.

The move has wrecked havoc on his mild personality and has brought out the demon baby underneath. He can now throw tantrums and scream the likes of which I have never seen or heard in all of my child care years! But it has also brought out the big boy who is fun to play with now. All in all, he is a really sweet and very serious baby who knows how to have fun every once and a while. And now, for your viewing pleasure: tons of pictures.

Playing with his Star Wars
Loves his fingers

So dang cute!!

Possibly my favorite picture ever.
Chewing on his teddy bear
Really does love being outside, even if it doesn't look like it!

Fingers again

Please ignore my annoying voice.

First foods

Ode To Yogurt Bites

2009-08-28T10:30:00.000-07:00

Ohhhh how I love you... I will never need ice cream/chocolate/cookies/cake again.... drool.

Excuse me while I go get a package from my freezer.

Little Rachel

2009-08-26T10:19:00.000-07:00

Our little niece Rachel and nephew Jimmy fell into a pool and drowned on Saturday. They were able to resuciate Jimmy but Rachel had been without air for too long. Saturday was also the one year anniversary of the fatal plane crash taking Nate's uncle Lansing and cousin Dallin. Our families are taking it very hard. In the mist of such a tragedy, it is a comfort to know that Rachel will be welcomed warmly by family in heaven and that we will see them all again. It was so great that we were able to get a picture of Gabriel with his big cousin just a month or two before. He won't remember her, but we can show him the picture and he can see her holding him. She was so sweet when he was in her lap and kept calling him Baby Gabey and talking to him. It is a tender mercy that Jimmy was not taken as well. Our cousin Marie wrote a wonderful post about Rachel and this "refiners fire". Please pray for our brother and sister in law Ben and Anya.

Mobile Uploads

2009-08-22T08:33:00.000-07:00

I can't stop taking pictures of this kid!

What a joker...

So relaxed on the move up to Flagstaff

Loves sticking his tongue out

One of the little kids arm chairs at Target

I found him crawling under the coffee table