Sunday, September 14, 2008
Video Highlights
Here's a little taste of our video footage. Make sure that you pause the music on the left so you can hear the sound. There is lots of screaming and laughing as you may notice. The quality isn't perfect since I don't have a "premimum membership". We had a great time parasailing and the zip line was awesome! This is Brian and I racing on the final line (I won of course). I realize that I can never be in a profession where I have to wear a helmet and that I should never live where there is humidity...or else I may just have to shave my head! The dancing is at our table on the last night. Check out Brendon's version of the Macarena. Note Mandy's face when she watches Cameron dance-priceless!
Mexico
So I'm a little late catching up...can you blame me? I know that the FL crew still wants to see the pictures from the rest of our vacation. How can you shove a week of fun and hundreds of pictures, with stories that accompany them, into one post? I've decided to just take the easy way out and make two LARGE slideshows (each about two minutes) just hitting the highlights. I do have a life outside of blogging and would like to spend some time with my family on this wonderful Sunday :) So beware...the slide shows are big. Have you met Brian, have you met his mother?? They love to take LOTS of pictures and for that we're grateful because we have everything documented! I broke them up so that the screen doesn't time out on you. So here's to media and great websites that make it easy to show off all of your pics!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Dogs For Sale
Just kidding. If you would have asked me earlier this morning though, I would have given them to you! They may look innocent, but they are so guilty! 
We knew that it was either going to be really great, or really ugly when Lily (my sister's miniature schnauzer) joined our family. Leilani and Lily are friends and have spent weeks at a time together in Idaho. However, being sequestered to a fenced-in backyard does not seem to suit them.
Nevermind that Leilani has been a "city dog" practically her whole life, when the two of them get together, it spells trouble. They have managed to escape multiple times a day almost every day this week. Luckily, someone has seen them do it and we are able to recover them quickly. This morning however, my door bell rings and there is a nice man there with my dog on a leash saying that he found her two streets over (thank goodness for dog tags with addresses)! I mention that there was another dog and he says that he hasn't seen it. The Relief Society president hears my sister walking up the street calling Lily's name and hands her the escapee. They have torn up their dog beds too, which is something that never used to happen. 
I don't think it is the whole "Homeward Bound" theory because they seem just as happy to be sunbathing on the deck as taking an adventurous romp around the neighborhood.
Oh well, I guess this is what you get when your dog that is used to roaming 5,000 acres gets put in a backyard in Sandy, with an accomplice.
We knew that it was either going to be really great, or really ugly when Lily (my sister's miniature schnauzer) joined our family. Leilani and Lily are friends and have spent weeks at a time together in Idaho. However, being sequestered to a fenced-in backyard does not seem to suit them.
Nevermind that Leilani has been a "city dog" practically her whole life, when the two of them get together, it spells trouble. They have managed to escape multiple times a day almost every day this week. Luckily, someone has seen them do it and we are able to recover them quickly. This morning however, my door bell rings and there is a nice man there with my dog on a leash saying that he found her two streets over (thank goodness for dog tags with addresses)! I mention that there was another dog and he says that he hasn't seen it. The Relief Society president hears my sister walking up the street calling Lily's name and hands her the escapee. They have torn up their dog beds too, which is something that never used to happen. 
I don't think it is the whole "Homeward Bound" theory because they seem just as happy to be sunbathing on the deck as taking an adventurous romp around the neighborhood. Oh well, I guess this is what you get when your dog that is used to roaming 5,000 acres gets put in a backyard in Sandy, with an accomplice.
Just How Fast Can You Grow?
I neglected to give Cole's 6 month stats due to the day of the appointment beginning one of the scariest experiences of my life. Cole is already over 20 lbs. You should see me try to lug him around in his car seat-which his feet are totally hanging out of...it really is time for a new one, I'm just procrastinating. He's now jumped to the 97 percentile for height. 
This has resulted in most pants being too short, but the waist is too big. His shirts are becoming belly shirts and I have officially bought him 24 month old shoes. Should a 7 month old have a 2 year old foot?? Am I going to have to commission Nike in the future to make him special shoes? Perhaps we have the next Michael Phelps on our hands. Really tall, REALLY big feet, love for water...it could work, right?
Cole has been waking up in the middle of the night for almost a week now, RAVENOUS. I have tried the "get him full" tactic before bed including 8 oz of formula, oatmeal, and an entire container of baby food. Not working anymore I guess? While attending an office function on Monday, (can I just say that the Huntsman Lodge is a place I would be willing to live forever! The cars alone just make me so lustful, I need to repent) I found that Cole is practically a celebrity with everyone at the Governor's office.
Everyone asked how he was and how our move was going. We feel SO blessed to have the people that work with Brian in our lives. Not many people would be able to have the flexibility and support that he has had the last few months.
He had another EEG last week and everything continues to look normal. Aunt Mandy once again requested pictures. Here's him all connected and wrapped up.
This is after! That stuff they use to put the electrodes on is sticky!
All in all he seems to be happy and healthy at the moment and we love him!
This has resulted in most pants being too short, but the waist is too big. His shirts are becoming belly shirts and I have officially bought him 24 month old shoes. Should a 7 month old have a 2 year old foot?? Am I going to have to commission Nike in the future to make him special shoes? Perhaps we have the next Michael Phelps on our hands. Really tall, REALLY big feet, love for water...it could work, right?
Cole has been waking up in the middle of the night for almost a week now, RAVENOUS. I have tried the "get him full" tactic before bed including 8 oz of formula, oatmeal, and an entire container of baby food. Not working anymore I guess? While attending an office function on Monday, (can I just say that the Huntsman Lodge is a place I would be willing to live forever! The cars alone just make me so lustful, I need to repent) I found that Cole is practically a celebrity with everyone at the Governor's office.
Everyone asked how he was and how our move was going. We feel SO blessed to have the people that work with Brian in our lives. Not many people would be able to have the flexibility and support that he has had the last few months.
He had another EEG last week and everything continues to look normal. Aunt Mandy once again requested pictures. Here's him all connected and wrapped up.
This is after! That stuff they use to put the electrodes on is sticky!
All in all he seems to be happy and healthy at the moment and we love him!
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
It's For Real
WARNING: Looking at this now, I got kind of long winded. Sorry! A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do :)
As I sit here contemplating/feeling sorry for myself, I am still in disbelief. My parents are moving today. Not just down the street, or to the next town-but to another state. There is actually a moving truck in our gravel driveway and they are going to pack everything away and never come back to the home that I lived in for the majority of my life. I had never lived anywhere but Harman Land Ranch until I went to college.
For those of you that did not know, I grew up on a 5,000 acre farm in Southeastern Idaho. We had potatoes, sugar beets, wheat, alfalfa, barley, cattle, horses, pigs...anything that a typical farm has, and lots of children. I miss my sister in Iowa so much right now it hurts, I know this is even harder for her because she is so far away.
There were days when I cursed country life, especially when I was a teenager and needed to leave the party an hour early to make it home in time for curfew. The nearest "town" was 20 miles away and it only had one stop light. It took us an hour and a half to ride the bus to school and there was only one high school in our entire county. We lived on a dirt road, our nearest neighbors were 3 miles away-and we were related. As I am now a parent, I wish that I could give my children the kind of life that I had growing up. We learned how to work (build character) early.
Here's me going to work with my dad at a really young age, I loved it!
There was lots of room and even more love. I had exceptional parents that taught us how to be an individual, but count on each other. My sisters and cousins were my best friends and we had many the spend-the-night party. I was acustomed to seeing wide open spaces and knowing there was nothing past us-the boundaries of our farm was BLM ground/lava bed.
It was a great life. Breeding a passion for horses and helping others that still remains my dream job.
Working through spring planting all the way to harvest and hardly ever seeing my dad in the fall was very normal. I didn't really get the concept of nine to five jobs since farming is a 24/7 365 days a year kind of an occupation. Even on Christmas, you check the potato cellars as you are driving past to go to the family party. This process of selling the farm has been long and this day was inevitable. I was just in denial the majority of the last year or so.
Having potato harvest last year knowing it was the last was hard, but we still went to the cellars, had french fries and pretended that things were normal. Not planting in the spring-that was wierd. To see other people's equipment in fields that had always been ours was just strange. Now to see those fields full of corn is just awkward.
There are some little things I will miss, like being able to shoot clay pigeons on your back lawn. Others I won't, such as having to take an hour and a half to go to the grocery store. Nothing beats a Harman Land Ranch sunset. There is nothing in the way to block the view and our back porch was the congregational spot in the summer time.
Most of the pictures I had of the house were lost when my computer crashed, but there are plenty floating around with my siblings. The hearth in the kitchen is where I would lay by the fireplace and read, or just get warm since I am typically always cold. Our home underwent a transformation when I was around 13 and we all lived in the basement during the remodel. We didn't have a roof for a week and other things but as kids it was an adventure. With the construction going on in our basement I have NO idea how my mother did it for 6 months. The result was awesome though and the kitchen is still the envy of many who have seen it. The water feature was made by my dad and uncles from rock found on our own land. The playhouse got a little carried away and from the road looks like a guest house. There are lots of memories of Christmas, 4th of July extravaganzas, family dinners, 4H, birthdays and good times.
I love our house and as I sit here crying, I am telling myself that we can make just as good of memories at the new house in St. George, because being together is the most important.
I will still claim Rupert, Idaho as my hometown and knowing my parents, they will probably end up building that house on the river someday and I can go back.
As I sit here contemplating/feeling sorry for myself, I am still in disbelief. My parents are moving today. Not just down the street, or to the next town-but to another state. There is actually a moving truck in our gravel driveway and they are going to pack everything away and never come back to the home that I lived in for the majority of my life. I had never lived anywhere but Harman Land Ranch until I went to college.
For those of you that did not know, I grew up on a 5,000 acre farm in Southeastern Idaho. We had potatoes, sugar beets, wheat, alfalfa, barley, cattle, horses, pigs...anything that a typical farm has, and lots of children. I miss my sister in Iowa so much right now it hurts, I know this is even harder for her because she is so far away.
There were days when I cursed country life, especially when I was a teenager and needed to leave the party an hour early to make it home in time for curfew. The nearest "town" was 20 miles away and it only had one stop light. It took us an hour and a half to ride the bus to school and there was only one high school in our entire county. We lived on a dirt road, our nearest neighbors were 3 miles away-and we were related. As I am now a parent, I wish that I could give my children the kind of life that I had growing up. We learned how to work (build character) early.
Here's me going to work with my dad at a really young age, I loved it! There was lots of room and even more love. I had exceptional parents that taught us how to be an individual, but count on each other. My sisters and cousins were my best friends and we had many the spend-the-night party. I was acustomed to seeing wide open spaces and knowing there was nothing past us-the boundaries of our farm was BLM ground/lava bed.
It was a great life. Breeding a passion for horses and helping others that still remains my dream job.
Working through spring planting all the way to harvest and hardly ever seeing my dad in the fall was very normal. I didn't really get the concept of nine to five jobs since farming is a 24/7 365 days a year kind of an occupation. Even on Christmas, you check the potato cellars as you are driving past to go to the family party. This process of selling the farm has been long and this day was inevitable. I was just in denial the majority of the last year or so. Having potato harvest last year knowing it was the last was hard, but we still went to the cellars, had french fries and pretended that things were normal. Not planting in the spring-that was wierd. To see other people's equipment in fields that had always been ours was just strange. Now to see those fields full of corn is just awkward.
There are some little things I will miss, like being able to shoot clay pigeons on your back lawn. Others I won't, such as having to take an hour and a half to go to the grocery store. Nothing beats a Harman Land Ranch sunset. There is nothing in the way to block the view and our back porch was the congregational spot in the summer time.
Most of the pictures I had of the house were lost when my computer crashed, but there are plenty floating around with my siblings. The hearth in the kitchen is where I would lay by the fireplace and read, or just get warm since I am typically always cold. Our home underwent a transformation when I was around 13 and we all lived in the basement during the remodel. We didn't have a roof for a week and other things but as kids it was an adventure. With the construction going on in our basement I have NO idea how my mother did it for 6 months. The result was awesome though and the kitchen is still the envy of many who have seen it. The water feature was made by my dad and uncles from rock found on our own land. The playhouse got a little carried away and from the road looks like a guest house. There are lots of memories of Christmas, 4th of July extravaganzas, family dinners, 4H, birthdays and good times.
I love our house and as I sit here crying, I am telling myself that we can make just as good of memories at the new house in St. George, because being together is the most important.
I will still claim Rupert, Idaho as my hometown and knowing my parents, they will probably end up building that house on the river someday and I can go back.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Labor Day
What is a holiday without a party? Of course we had one! Was it even a question? We still have things in boxes, the basement is a construction zone, and we probably could have used the time getting projects finished. Yet, all in the name of a good time we had our first get-together at the new casa. It was VERY informal, but fun nonetheless. 
The Hyer clan came over with a couple of friends. We initiated our outdoor fireplace by making s'mores. No one took the invitation for the hot tub, but we had a good time and all smelled like smoke by the end of the night.
I am just glad to announce that we have cable and the internet, making our lives just that much easier. This morning we do not have water and there are still a handful of people downstairs and outside fixing things, but it is coming along. Last week we had my parents, my cousin and her little one with us. It feels slightly wierd to not have guests this morning; though the house is still full. It has been slightly crazier than normal around here. I actually spent Sunday morning in the ER with some intense pain. We thought that it was my appendix. One CT scan, catheter and IV later...."we can't find anything wrong, but come back if it gets worse". Don't you love it??? We're chalking it up to a kidney stone. I feel okay now though. More pictures of the finished projects will be coming. We are just really glad to have all of our stuff moved out of the bungalow and into our new home (even if you can't find it)!
The Hyer clan came over with a couple of friends. We initiated our outdoor fireplace by making s'mores. No one took the invitation for the hot tub, but we had a good time and all smelled like smoke by the end of the night. 
I am just glad to announce that we have cable and the internet, making our lives just that much easier. This morning we do not have water and there are still a handful of people downstairs and outside fixing things, but it is coming along. Last week we had my parents, my cousin and her little one with us. It feels slightly wierd to not have guests this morning; though the house is still full. It has been slightly crazier than normal around here. I actually spent Sunday morning in the ER with some intense pain. We thought that it was my appendix. One CT scan, catheter and IV later...."we can't find anything wrong, but come back if it gets worse". Don't you love it??? We're chalking it up to a kidney stone. I feel okay now though. More pictures of the finished projects will be coming. We are just really glad to have all of our stuff moved out of the bungalow and into our new home (even if you can't find it)!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
