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My little girl is growing up TOO fast!

2012-01-30T11:08:00.004-07:00

Yesterday we decided to take the side rail off Raegans crib so it was a "toddler bed". She played on her bed and in her room the rest of the day, thinking that her "new" bed was the coolest thing ever. When bed time came, she did amazing She has always been so good when it comes to bed time, no fight at all. We layed her down, said good night, and didn't hear a peep from her till 8am. What a good girl! I thought for sure she was going to excape in the middle of the night and end up in our room, but she didn't. I can't believe she is has gotten so big and will be 19 months in less than a week! We just love her to pieces !!

Isn't this picture (above) the sweetest picture ever! Raegan is such a daddy's girl and she has her daddy wrapped around his finger-no doubt!

*Pictures from Christmas soon to come....I know, I know....its almost february, There is just SO many to go through and choose from!

John and his pets!

2012-01-22T17:28:00.001-07:00

One word here people...Nasty! John has about 2,000 of these Dermestid beetles. What are Dermestid beetles u ask?! They eat meat... Supposedly only dead meat, says John. Well if u look at the picture of the deer head than it will explain a bit more why he has these pets. They will clean off a white tail deer head in 24 hours... Crazy! During deer and elk season the bugs were eating very well but now that it is off season he needs to go hunting for coyotes to feed these darn things. How convent, right? Ha ha :) There is no way I'm sharing my steak with the bugs. So if any one is looking for a skull to be cleaned, bring it on over.
Raegan and I occasionally go out to water the bugs with John, but they are so stinky with all the raw meat and the thought of them climbing on us, we usually just wait in the car. The bugs look like rolly pollies that aren't rolly ha ha So they aren't nasty to look at, just the thought of what they do is pretty nasty. I would post a close up picture of the bugs but I'd probably start itching just by looking at it. :)

Where has Fall gone?

2011-12-07T10:51:00.003-07:00

My sister Alison, our friend Jody, and I went to the Jason Aldean concert in Salt Lake back in October, Thompson Square and Christ Young opened for him. OMG, I felt like a fun, crazy teenager again. We had a blast. Jason Aldean puts on an amazing concert-deffinietly one i'll be going to again. When we got out we couldn't hear and our throats were so sore from singing at the top of our lungs! HAHA! SO much FUN!!! Deer season has come and gone...but this year we actually had some luck! We finally saw some bucks worth shooting and not just some little 2 points. HA! I got mine during rifle season and John got his during bow season. So funny thing, John sends me a picture at 7:15am of his deer that he just killed, so I wake Raegan up and we hurry out to the shop to go see his deer. After he pulls it out of the back of the truck he goes into the shop and grabs my deer head that the bugs had ate all the flesh of off (post about the bugs soon to come, John is pretty proud of them) and measures mine up to his. At least it wasn't a competition.....HAHA Even though his was 1/2 inch wider than mine, my deer has one more point than his. John says they would measure up about the same-so we will call it a tie for this year!

We celebrated Thanksgiving at our house this year. We had 24 people crammed into our house. 4 of John's sisters and family and Grandma Jo came up for the holidays. We are so glad they did becuase it made this years Thanksgiving one to remember. We played card games, Just Dance on the Wii, Colored fun turkey pages, a pingpong tournament, good food, fun games and great company. Raegan LOVED having cousins over to play, we hope we can do it again soon!

Here are some random pictures from this Fall. I'm getting worse and worse at blogging it seems. I use to try and do a post once a month but now if i'm lucky its every season....Here it is almost Christmas and I'm just blogging about Halloween. opps! :) The bench in the picture is one I made out of a twin size headboard/footboard that I got for $5. I LOVE how it turned out.

Raegan was a Bumble Bee for Halloween. She loved Trick or Treating. The weekend before Halloween the High School had a carnival that we went to for a bit. My Friend Jessica and her two kids came with Raegan and I down Main St. in Driggs to do some trick or treating on Halloween. Than later that night John and I took her around to a few people in our ward. This girl at WAY too much candy that day.

Future deer hunter

2011-12-01T18:57:00.001-07:00

The other day we were out checking the trail camera and Raegan had to be in the middle of everything... She wanted to see the pictures of the deer too. Than we got in the truck and John had a piece of a weed in his mouth (like a redneck)ha ha, and within 10 seconds, Raegan did too! She always has to be doing what everyone else is doing!

Our Little Beach babe...August 2011

2011-11-03T15:01:00.003-06:00

How cute is this picture?

This picture explains how Raegan's first trip to the beach was! BUSY! This little girl LOVES the water. The water was freezing but that didn't stop her. The second you would let her down she was out playing in it. We were all exhausted after the week was over just from trying to keep up with her!These pictures below are of her very first time on the beach! She was over stimulated for sure! Look at those faces. haha, she was going crazy!

We stayed a week in Seaside, Oregon with my family. John wasn't able to make it because he was really busy with work, but he let Raegan and I join in on the fun. I'm so glad we were able to go. We kept busy for a whole week. We went out to the ocean at least twice a day. First, we would go in the early morning to go look for sand dollars-which we made bank on :) Than we would go back in the afternoon to go boogie-boarding, than would have to hurry back to the hot tub and swimming pool so we could warm up because the water there is SO dang cold!

We visited a few other beaches while we were there also and found tons of star fish. At nights, we would usually go out to eat and a couple times we went to the arcade. When we were kids we would spent all our time there, so it was fun to be able to be a kid again. haha! We rented an eclectic car and went through a drive-through. We thought we were pretty funny. I'm sure it happens a lot. I would have to say the worst part of the whole trip was hauling the stinking stroller back and forth from the beach to the place we were staying. For all of you that have been to Seaside, you know what I'm talking about...that walk to the water is forever long! Overall, we had a blast enjoying the beautiful ocean and just spending time with each other!

We hope we get to go back soon!

Carrots anyone?

2011-10-16T18:51:00.003-06:00

We had another successful garden! John thinks I'm so crazy for putting all the work towards growing a garden every year because I don't like to eat over half the things I grow. I blame that on growing up on a farm...I just love watching things grow and being part of the process. We finally got the last things out of our garden this last weekend.
Raegan loves carrots. I'm always worried she is going to choke on one, but she seems to do ok and always wants another!

Its getting cold here...can you tell? At least it wasn't snowing this day!

Raegan...

2011-09-28T11:53:00.001-06:00

Here are a few silly pictured of Raegan...
We had ribs for dinner the other night and I'm pretty sure they are her favorite. She went to town on them. We experienced her first crack in the head... Very traumatizing for me more than her. Luckily she didn't have to get stitches- mainly cause they couldn't hold her down. I'm kind of glad cause I didn't want them to shave part of her hair off that it took almost 15 months to grow. :)
Raegan loved huckleberry picking this year. Her and John ate way more than they picked, but we had a good time and have some stored away in the freezer, thanks to me.

Raegan will be 15 months next week. I can not believe it. She has queit the vocabulary and is great at coping what we say. Some of our favorite words and sounds of hers are- ban an an an a (with her tongue sticking out like a lizard) and cockooooo - cock a doodle do

Also I asked her if she wanted a banana this morning, she shook her head yes and than presided to show me the one she stored under the couch. Guess she has been storing her nuts away for winter- silly goose! She is very busy and one smart little girl. I just can't believe how fast kids grow!!!

Only in Idaho

2011-09-28T11:44:00.001-06:00

3 years

2011-08-26T14:44:00.006-06:00

John and I just celebrated our 3 year anniversary. I barely made it home in time for it. It was about 10:50pm. I was up in Washington and the Oregon coast with my family(post soon to come) and I tried to make it back in time. It was a LONG day of driving with just Raegan and I, But we made it! I can't believe how fast 3 years go by. I am so glad I get to spend forever with this guy! I Love him!
To Celebrate our anniversary with went to a Josh Turner concert out in Idaho Falls-just him and I! It was SO much fun to spend time with just us two, made me remember the good ol dating days! :)

Sweet Summer Time

2011-08-25T12:16:00.004-06:00

We have had one busy but FUN summer, I just can't believe its already coming to a close. After my parents and Morgan came for a visit for Raegans birthday and the 4th or July, Morgan stayed with us until I took her back 2 weeks ago. We loved having her stay with us. I think I did and saw more in this Valley in 5 weeks than I have in 3 years. Some of our summer activities included: Fishing, camping, hunting squirrels, cookouts, hikes, motor bike rides, Drive-in, swimming, boating, bear world, floating the river, Lava hot springs, Alpine Slide, intense Volleyball games, hanging out with friends and tons of family visiting! It was a great summer!

1st Birthday

2011-07-18T12:55:00.006-06:00

I can't believe my little girl turned one (July 5). We celebrated her birthday on the 3rd cause my parents weren't going to be here on her actual birthday. We had a small little party with some close friends and family. We ate dinner, had some yummy cupcakes and played an intense game of volleyball- girls vs. boys! It was a good time. Raegan loves all the fun gifts she got. She was some what interested in opening the presents but not long enough to open the whole thing. Raegan LOVED her cake, she dug right into it without hesitation. She had already test tasted the icing before we could get the cake on her tray to sing happy birthday. It was very entertaining to watch.

She took 12 steps on the 4th of July, but it wasn't till a few days after her birthday did she really start taking off with her walking (where she walks more than she crawls). She now has 11 teeth. I sure hope after this last molar comes through she will get a break for a bit. It is very painful for me... and her! :) She continues to surprises us with new words. She said thank you four times the other day, granite she was just mimicking me, but that's how she learns, right?! She is just a little copy cat and tries so hard to be a big. We love watching her grow up but are almost sad at the same time cause its going by SO fast!

June

2011-06-28T07:43:00.006-06:00

June has been a very busy, but fun month! The first of the month we were in Washington. My sister Alison graduated from good 'ol Connell High, so it gave us a good reason to go home for a visit. Raegan and I were there for a little over two weeks. It was nice to be around family and in warmer weather, although it wasn't as warm as we would have liked, we still returned back to Idaho with a tan. She loves her Papa!My brother Randy recently got a dog, named Stetson. While we were up there Raegan found her Best Friend. Stetson and her were inseparable. No joke! She can even say his name. I know hard to believe-this girl is a talker though!! Stetson was so gentle with her for being just a pup. They even shared dog food-not a proud moment, but hey at least she wasn't in the toilet again for the 50 millionth time! Just this last Sunday we were Skype ‘in with my family and my mom held the dog up to the camera and Raegan freaked out. She started 'woofing', pointing at him and saying his name. Then she tried to grab the scream trying to touch him. Than when she realized that wasn't going to happened, she was looking behind the lab top trying to find where he was. It was really cute and funny all at the same time! John thinks we need a puppy now... I think not! hahaRaegan also turned 11 months while we were in WA. (like how her b-day is in a week and a half and I am just blogging about her being 11 months...) By 11 months she could say quite a few different words, some she picked up after she turned 11 months, these include mama, dada, nana, more, day, go, duck, dog, Stetson, eggo, ya, what, out, bye and a four letter one I won't mention on here (opps)...she also knows what a mountain lion, fish, duck, dog and motorcycle, 4 wheeler and truck say.
Raegan is now classified as a "short distance walker" HAHA she has been standing up and taking a step or two for about a month but when we returned home from WA she started taking like 5 or 6 steps than slowly sitting down. I wish she would just keep going because I'm getting sick of caring her all over the place! I'm hoping one of these days she'll just surprise us and take off.

Raegan LOVES the water! She especailly loved jet skiing On the 22nd John had his birthday... he is now 27! holy cow is that OLD! haha (He doesn't look it) The only good thing about marrying someone older is I always feel young-or younger at least! :) We had some friends over, had a weenie roast and played some volley ball for his birthday, It was a lot of FUN! The weather is finally warm here and we love it. My parents and Morgan are coming down for the 4th and Raegan’s birthday. Then Morgan is going to stay with us for the summer. We are so excited. She will be a professional weed’er once she leaves here! ….Someone has to do it because Raegan is no help, all she does is eats the dirt and licks the rocks. -This girl is going to have one strong immune system!

ack, ack

2011-05-20T13:18:00.005-06:00

Raegans new favorite word now is ack, ack (Quack, Quack). She loves our baby ducks. They are in a box in the garage right now till they get a little bigger, so she point at the garage door and says, ack, ack. She is a smart one.
I have to admit that ducks are my favorite "baby" animal, they are just SO cute! Occasionally we let them out on the lawn when we are out side and Raegan just herds them around the yard. She is so funny. You would think that once she would catch up to them she would grab one and squeeze it, like most kids...No, Raegan she just sits right next to them and stares. They will probably be chasing her soon

Easter

2011-04-25T14:54:00.006-06:00

The Easter Bunny found our house! Raegan was one excited little girl. She didn't really know what was going on, but the fact that there were new bright colored things on the floor that she could put in her mouth gave this little girl some excitement. My moms family had a tradition of making a nest for the Easter bunny with your clothes you wore the day before Easter, so growing up that is what we did the night before Easter and Raegan is too. Kind of a fun tradition, I must say!!

For Easter Sunday we went to church and than went over to our friends, Chantz and Jessica's house for dinner. Jessica's family was in town. We had a lot of fun with them and were glad we didn't have to spend Easter alone.

8 & 9 months

2011-04-22T09:39:00.009-06:00

Well my little girl is no longer little, I'm afraid! She crawls everywhere, gets into everything, stands up on everything, eats everything we eat,(did I mention she had 7 teeth before she was 8 months?) She plays patty cake, says Mama, Dada, and Nana, she waves, claps, "pounds it", points at things she wants, plays peek-a-boo, loves being outside, especially on the dirt bikes, and is definitely a Daddy's girl! We love her! She is such a busy body, but I am not surprised.

At Raegan's 9 month check up she weighed 19#1oz. and was 28 1/4 inches long. She is such a long little stinker. She is in 12 month clothes which is a not good for us cause they are all shorts and carpi's and this morning we woke up to 4 inches on the ground... We have yet to see Spring and most people are "ready" for summer... Really, I just want it to be warmer than in the 30's during they day and the sun be out, so we can go play outside and not have to be bundle up. Maybe in another month....

Our 4 week vacation

2011-03-23T18:45:00.008-06:00

Well, for the first 2 weeks of our vacation we spent it up in Washington. My brother Randy came home from his 2 year mission in Denver, Colorado. I can't believe have fast 2 years goes by. He hadn't meet Raegan yet, so we were excited for Randy to meet her. We had so much fun while we were up there hanging out with family.

For the last two weeks, we went down to visit Johns sister in El Centro, California (the town is below sea level, how crazy is that), its 2 hours east of San Diego. For 5 of those days we babysat Amy's cute kids (below) while Amy and Jason went of a business trip... Being a mom of 4 is hard work, let me tell you! We really enjoyed going down and visiting and getting to know Amy's family better. We especially enjoyed the nice 70 degree weather while we were there. We were definitely ready for Spring here in Driggs, but when we returned home, there was still 2 feet of snow on the ground and snowing every other day...in a few more months maybe it'll be spring here...doubt it! :)

The first weekend we were there, we spent a night in San Diego. We went to Sea World and the beach while we were there. At Sea World my favorite was the flamingos, they are such funny and funny looking birds. We bought Raegan a stuff animal Flamingo, she loves it, she snuggles to it every time she sleeps, its so dang cute. Right as you lay her down, she grips her flamingo and closes her eyes. its priceless.

6 & 7 months

2011-01-31T09:44:00.010-07:00

I can't believe my little girl is 7 months this week. Where has the time gone? This picture above was taken when she turned 6 months...but haven't had the chance to blog lately, so this post is about her 6 and 7 months together :)
At her 6 month appointment she weighed 15.9 Lbs (40%) and was 26 1/4 inches long (70%). She got her two bottom teeth during the holiday season; one was on the night before Christmas (great gift huh-NOT) and the second a few days later. I don't knows what’s worst-the first 8 weeks where she had to eat all the time or teething?...they both equal no sleep and no fun!! She definitely has got a killer bit and you got to pay attention when you are holding her cause she'll pull your hand in her mouth and take a bite! Ouch! haha She loves to play around and is very ticklish.

We give Raegan those fast dissolving Gerber cookies occasionally, she loves them. One night we were taking picture of here eating her cookie and well here is how the story went...
These cookies are yummy....

....I wish my mouth was bigger...

...Yum...

...Hey wait, where did my cookie go?...

...serious guys where did it go?....

...Ok, i don't care where it went anymore, I'm just laughing cause your laughing!!!

HAHA! we love her and all her expressions!

Here are some of the things we have been up to- notice how they all have to deal with snow? I guess that’s what happens when there is snow on the ground clear till June-heaven help me!

Raegan loves to plow the snow with John

We've been out horn hunting a few times. Raegan loves going with us...even though she looks frozen in these pictures she really does enjoy it. We've seen tons of deer and moose-up close to. We were like 20 feet from a moose the other day, a little too close for comfort.

Her eyes look frozen in this picture.

John and I pull each other on knee boards and snowboards behind the snowmobile a lot. We usually go while Raegan is napping in the truck. But once she wakes up we pull out this black sled and she loves riding in it with me. She is so dang fun.

And this is for all you people who think I have an angel of a child...She does occasionally act like this...

Until I whip out the camera and start taking pictures of her....than its a complete turn around. . .Little stinker is what she is!

More pictures to come...Hopefully I'll get better and post more often.

...Christmas...

2011-01-17T11:23:00.006-07:00

My Family came down to Driggs for Christmas this year. It was tons of fun. They rented a cabin that we all stayed in. We went and cut down our christmas tree, went snowmobiling... ALOT :), tubed and knee boared around the cabin, visited the Elk refudge, walked around Jackson Hole, went snowboarding, played games, and just hung out and enjoyed the christmas season.

Here are some pictures of our Christmas.....

It was so cold this day we went snowmobiling. We decided to strap our boards on so we would snowmobile up and snowboard down.

Up at Targhee

Our tree...

...looking for the tree. Raegan loves riding on the snowmobiles.

Busted!! haha She loved ripping the bows off the presents and eating them.

Our little Reindeer

The Rocking Horse Santa brought.

Sleigh ride at the Elk Refudge

Tubing up at the ski hill

Raegan got so much attention when my family was here. After they left she was pretty fussy cause she wasn't getting as much attention as when they were here. spoiled girl!

She loves her aunt Morgan

Raegans Christmas Dress and the boots that aunt Alison bought her.

What we spend our time doings...

2010-12-13T13:49:00.005-07:00

...Being Parents! Raegan is now 5 months. It is so crazy how fast time flies. She is very interactive and knows who her momma is. She loves rice cereal and candy canes-and pretty much anything John will feed her while I'm not looking :) She rolls all the time now, sits up-as long as we are supervising, talks ALOT, laughs and she moves on her back around the floor. It blows my mind how fast they learn! We have lots of fun with her. Raegan loves the snow, she even loves to eat it. haha!

This is our first pony tail. I didn't keep it in very long cause i couldn't take it seriously! haha we still got a little ways to go before we wear pony tails... But we are close!

John and I were able to get a little deer hunting in this year-he got went lots more than me, but we thought it would be fun to dress Raegan up in camo when Grandma Jo watched her. She looks like a chunk in this picture. haha i love it!

For Thanksgiving we were able to go up to my parents in Washington. We had a lot of fun and can't wait to see them for Christmas!

Raegan playing the Wii with Papa.

Grandma and Raegan on thanksgiving

4 months

2010-11-12T10:37:00.003-07:00

Raegan turned 4 months on the 5 of November. We went to her 4 month check up yesterday and the doctor says she is doing great. She weighs 13.7 Lbs and is 24 3/4" long. She is such a good baby and loves to play now. Her hair is starting to finally fill in and get longer as you can tell in this picture. She is such a joy to have around!
This picture is for aunt Morgan-she loves zebra! :)

Oh, and.....

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE for the cute little Candy Corn!!
(read the post below)

VOTE for Raegan

2010-11-08T16:45:00.007-07:00

Hi everyone,

My friend Jessica was having a halloween costume contest, so we entered Raegan hoping we'd win the $50 dollars to go towards a photography session with Jessica Calderwood photography jessicacalderwoodphotography.blogspot.com/ If you wouldn't mind taking a couple minutes and following these instructiont to vote for Raegan #3, I'd really appreciate it!

Thanks a bunch!
Hope everyone is doing great!

Love, John, Karie & Raegan Strong

All votes can be emailed to jessicacalderwoodphotographycostumecontest@hotmail.com

Contest opens today Monday, Nov 8th and closes on Monday November 15th at midnight. You can have one vote per person in a household from one email, or two votes per email. (ex: you and your five kids can vote from that one email, and those 5 kids can also vote under the other parents email, or if you don't have anyone else in your household, your email can count for 2 votes.) In the email include either name or number of the contestant.

You can view the contestants here: http://jessicacalderwoodphotography.blogspot.com/2010/11/2010-halloween-costume-contest-driggs.html

Our Little Family

2010-10-18T10:19:00.009-06:00

It has been a busy fall so far. We have been all over the place. John spent the last 3 weeks up in North Dakota for work...and Raegan and I were up in Washington at my parents. It was a last minute decision to go but i'm glad we went. We were able to go to my sisters Volleyball and soccer games, hang out with grandma and papa, and do a little shopping while we were there. We had a lot of fun.

Raegans 1st time on the tractor with Papa

Raegan is a daddys girl. She looked like him for quiet a while, but now everyone is saying she is starting to look like me. She is 3 months old now and is so much fun. She rolled over on the 14th of Oct. I knew she was getting close, and John did not want to miss it while he was up in North Dakota working. So i didn't give her much tummy time. Well, on thursday-the day John was driving back home-she rolled over, 4 times. He was kind of sad he missed it, but luckly i got at least one roll recored. She hasn't done it since, mainly because she got the stomach flu the other day as well as a cold, so now she is a little under the weather. She is slowly feeling better though. There is nothing scary than a little baby puking her guts out-it was the sadest thing ever!

We found what had been eating our ducks...we first thought it was this coyote so john waxed it one night. Than a couple days later the last two ducks disappeared so we knew it wasn't the coyote eating the ducks. So on our way to church I spotted this fox...so I had to take care of him. Ha-ha

Here are a few other things we've been up to:

We ended up butchering our turkey early because we ran out of feed and didn’t want to buy anymore. It was so crazy cause while cleaning her out we found some eggs that she was about to lay. She was such a cool turkey. She would follow us around everywhere, especially John; I swear that turkey thought he was her mom. ha-ha

I havent made much time for crafting, but here are a couple things Ive done lately.

Sweet Summer Time

2010-09-13T12:34:00.008-06:00

This summer has gone by so fast. This has probably been one of the best summers I’ve had in a long time. We have spent a lot of time with family and friends and have enjoyed every minute of it. I thought having Raegan this summer would have slowed us down with doing things we enjoy…but there hasn’t been a change at all. She is going to be one outgoing little girl and I love it!

Here is Raegan at 2 months (picture below). She is actually starting to get fun and i know she appreciates me...haha! She smiles all the time and coos.

The last few weeks have topped the summer off just great. John and I celebrated our anniversary on the 23rd of August, I can’t believe it’s been 2 years. We went over to the Oregon coast for a night. It was pretty cold but we still played in the ocean…you can’t go all the way and not. It wasn’t so bad after your body went num. haha.

We stayed at my parents for a couple weeks and while we were there we went to the Benton-Franklin Fair, (of course) and helped grandpa with the horses. Went jet skiing, a lot! Haha way fun! We also blessed Raegan while we were there. It was a very neat experience.

I thought this was a funny picure. Us wives were all carring the babes while the husbands were behind following like good boys with the strollers ;)

This is a picture of My friend Emily and I and her cute baby, Wyatt. We kept teasing that Wyatt and Raegan were going to get married one day. He is exactly 6 months older. I can't even imagine Raegan being that size. They grow so fast.

Raegan is the 3rd generation to wear this blessing dress. Great Aunt Maggie Edler made the beautiful blessing blanket for Raeagn, we love it!

We have now adjusted to having Raegan in our lives. She is a pretty good sleeper at night and i am glad for that. She slept 9 hours last night, it was the best night sleep i've had in a long time.

It was so much hotter in WA than here in Driggs and I already miss it. It is definitely fall here and I am not ready for it. But that does mean its huntin time and we are both excited for that.

6 wks old

2010-08-05T15:58:00.007-06:00

Well we have survived so far. Raegan is growing so fast. She is a fairly good baby, she seems to be colicky and will cry for hours at a time and nothing seems to soothe her. I'm just waiting the day till she sleeps though the night...I don't think being a mother will be so bad once that happens. haha.
John is such a good daddy. I couldn't be any luckier. He loves our little girl. He even helps at night, even when I tell him to just go back to bed cause i know he has to get up early for work.

Raegan is spoiled by her grandma and grandpa Anderson. They have come down to visit and have been such good help. We wished we lived closer cause it would make being a mommy that much easier.

My sister, Morgan, came down when Raegan was born and stayed with us for 3 weeks. She was such good help. She was even away from home for her 13th birthday. I think she changed more diapers than me the first few weeks of Reagans life.

My sister Alison is down here now and we are loving having her stay with us. Here is a picture of the cute blanket she made Raegan. Morgan made one too but I don't have a picture of it yet.

Though Raegan is only 6 weeks old. She has been a pretty outgoing baby. haha Her are pictures of some of Raegans "1st".

1st time squirel hunting. 3 weeks

1st time boating. 3 weeks. (teaching Morgan to knee board)

1st time going to a Draft horse show.

And her some some random ones. She is such a strong baby. She holds her head up so well already and she even rolled over from her stomach to her back at 5 weeks. We love her so much and are so glad to be parents!

Raegan June Strong

2010-07-15T10:54:00.003-06:00

Raegan decided she was going to join our family on monday the 5th. I survived the 4th weekend with only a few contractions off and on but John said she couldn't come till after we were able to hear Glenn Beck talk on the 3rd(he was in town speaking). We ended up cutting that saturday night a little short cuase i was having contractions and just uncomfortable sitting in a camp chair listening. Sunday night rolled around and I started having a few more contractions but made it through the night. Well, at 6 am monday morning they were coming on about every 8 minutes. So we waited till i knew they were regular and than we headed for the Hospital in Idaho Falls (which is an hour and half away, longest ride ever. Dodge pickups are way too rough for me). We arrived and I was dilated to a 4 and the contractions were every 3 minutes apart, so they admitted me. This was about 10:00am and at 2:49 she was here! Labor went well, the worst part for me was the IV. haha. She weighed 6 lbs 13 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. John is in love with her and I'm so glad she finally came cause i was getting sick of him asking when she was going to come. haha I had to laugh cause the whole pregnancy I told him he was going to change lots of diapers and he kept telling me that he wasn't going to...well first poopy diaper she had...guess who change it-John! haha Not so tough anymore. :) But overall we are so glad she is hear and we are so blessed to have a healthy baby. Oh and I am doing great just getting use to the late night feedings and changing diapers but we wouldn't change it for anything!

We had Raegans newborn pictures taken. A lady in Rigby took some of us and her and also my friend jessica who is starting her bussiness has taken a few as well, as well as my maternity pictures.
To check out the sneak previews click here:
http://kwellsphotography.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/#!/photos.php?id=133521806677380

She is HERE!

2010-07-06T09:57:00.003-06:00

Our little girl was born on July 5 at 2:49 pm. She weighed 6 lbs 13 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. She is healthy as can be. She is such a little snuggler. We love her! I will post more details later. ...and we are still working on the name! :)

Ready or not here she comes...

2010-06-29T18:19:00.002-06:00

My doctors appointment went well today. I was informed by the doctor that i have less than 2 weeks before she comes. I am dialated to a 2 and am 90% effaced. She'll told me realisticly she could come any day...oh my heavens! talk about time to freak out. haha. I think my dr. could tell i was nervous cause after she informed me of this I kept asking her the same questions over and over again. haha. She told me this rarely happens for a first time mother to be this advanced. is that good? I guess... So i will be sure to keep everyone updated on when our little girl arrives. Keep us in your prays! :)

Its almost july....

2010-06-28T12:37:00.006-06:00

My mom and sister morgan came for a visit in the middle of June, I was so glad they came. They helped out a ton with getting the babys room ready. It looks so cute, i will be sure to post some pictures soon. While they were here, my moms sisters came up as well and we went to Yellowstone. My mom and Morgan had never been there before. We didn't see much for animals except for buffalo. They had just had there babies not to long ago so that was fun to see them. The most exciting part about the whole trip to yellowstone was almost being rammed by two buffalo while stopped at a stop sign. they were at a dead sprint and it looked as if they were going to hurdle our car. haha Everyone hurried to grab there camera's to take pictures of them as i rolled my window up thinking that that was going to save me. haha.

One of Randy's favorite compainions is going to school out at BYUI so we were able to meet up with him. It was fun to meet him.

My friend Jessica threw me an amazing baby shower. She is such a great party planer. The food was amazing and we all had tons of fun!

Here is a picture of a few of the people that came, my friend Mindy and cousin Kaitlan and her friend, I was glad to see them! :)

Here is a pictures of John and his new best friend, Tom. John will let him out of the cage and he'll follow john everwhere. he stays within 10 feet of him where ever he goes. its the funniest thing ever.

here are his ducks that he herds into a little mote that our nephew, malin made.

And here I am at 37 weeks. We're almost there! I'm sick of this huge belly. haha

I can't believe how fast time has been flying by. I'm am mentally not ready for this baby to come, but lets be honest, can you ever be fully ready? John is ready, or he thinks he is, he asks every day if she can come already. He is more than excited. I go into the dr. tommorrow to find out more on what is going on with this pregnancy. I will be sure to post the news.

9 weeks left...

2010-05-17T10:40:00.003-06:00

It finally warmed up here and we've have been enjoying being out side. Saturday we got the ducks out and John had the bright idea to put a chain link fence around an old tramp so the dogs wouldn't get the ducks. He is so funny, he spent a couple hours sat and sun just playing with them. lol! Here he is trying to herd them into the little "pond" he had for them. Sortly after, her discovered that they loved the water hose, so he put a spinkler on the end of it and left it in there and they would just stand under. it was pretty funny to watch.

The other day I meet up with some old roomies and went out for lunch! It was so fun catching up with them and talking about the good ol days single at college. I miss those girls. You wouldn't believe how much has changed in just in two years time. Addie and Sumer the girls on both ends, both have little girls and alaina, the one to the left of me is pretty much engaged to her boyfriend.

I got the garden all ready and am hoping to plant some time this week if it doesn't end up storming all week like the weather channel says it will. I started what I could inside and they are about ready to be transplanted outside. I love gardening. John calls me a little hobby farmer and he also makes fun of me cause I grow all these things in the garden and I don't even like to eat most of them :)

Other than that, I've been some what getting ready for our little girl to come, I dont know if you can ever be fully ready?! I need to finish making a few things such as her crib skirting and curtains but I think I'll wait for my mom and sisters when they come to visit to help me finish up. :) Lucky them!
And finally, here is a picture of me last week at 30 weeks. Time is going by so fast, and I can't believe we will soon have a little addition in our home. We are so excited to meet her. She continues to grow faster and faster and I can't believe my stomach stretches this far. haha. I am almost to the point that I want it to be over, but ever one keeps telling me the worst part is just getting started...oh great!... I'm sure it will all be worth it though right?! She kicks and moves all the time now. I loved it when you'd feel these soft pokes come from inside, but now she kicks or something and I am like OUCH! that hurts...John just thinks its great! He loves watching and feeling her move, its cute.

SpRiNg...finally!

2010-04-20T17:29:00.007-06:00

For spring break, my parents and my sisters came down for a visit. It was so much fun. I was glad they were able to come for a visit. There wasn't a whole lot to do cause it snowed pretty much the whole time, so we did some shopping, ate out, swam, went to the hill climbs and than went down to Utah for a few days to hang out with more relatives.

Cal Ranch had there ducky's out and we thought they were so cute, So cute that John and I bought 4 of them a couple weeks later.

Now we have these little additions to our family!

These are our turkeys that we are raising for thanksgiving! :) There are only 2 still living though... our little niece thought the turkeys needed swim lessons so she put them in the ducks little pond and well you probably can figure out the rest...Good thing she is cute! :)

I told John that the ducks were his graduation gift. ;) Oh ya, John recieved his Associates degree from BYU-I. wahoo! I was so proud of him for finishing it out.

My amazing husband got me an early mothers day gift. He put this awesome stock on my gun. I LOVE it! seriously, not kidding its like my favorite thing ever! He is the best!!!

Sunday was such a nice day-there aren't many here it seems like, so when it is, you have to take advantage of it. We took the dogs down to the river. They love going down there. I'm so excited for summer time and hope we have a warmer summer than last!

The black lab would not stay in the truck on the way there, he was seriously so excited cause he knew where we were going. haha, as we were going around a corner on the gravel road, the dumb thing feel out cause he was hanging so far out. haha! luckly we were going slow enough that he didn't get hurt.

John is squintin pretty bad in this picture, but its the best we can do with a self timer. I'm 27 wks in this pictures, even though john is covering my belly or i should say, trying to cover it!

And for all those who enjoy seeing my belly grow...HA! I hope someone does. Here is a pictures of me last week at 26 weeks. (haven't taken any this week yet) oh and if you look at the bottom of the picture, there is a sneak preview of what this little girls quilt/bedding is giong to look like. Its coming along...

Snow day anyone?

2010-03-22T17:32:00.007-06:00

While the weather was doing this outside....

I was finishing this inside....

I was so glad I finally finished it. I was a little worried that it wasn't going to turn out how I wanted it to, but I LOVE it! I am so excited to put some bows on it and hang it up on a wall!
Here is the process it took to make it, it really was pretty dang easy.

We had a little visitor last week. We kept smelling him around. John set a trap inside the pig barn hoping to catch the skunk...well he did! John thought he wouldn't be able to spray in there when he first set the trap. We realized real quick after he was caught that he had plenty of room to spray. Oh my nasty, did it stink we were like 10 feet away trying to look at it and it sprayed. .. i swear it got in my mouth. haha, its was so gross. John was going to take it out back and kill it , but after that little experience he got as far away as he could, but was still able to see it and took care of it...

Thats all we've been up to in the last week...now i'm just hoping for SpRiNg!! My family is coming into town in 3 days and we are SO excited, maybe they'll bring the warm weather with them?! Cross your finger! :)

2010-03-09T15:50:00.005-07:00

Every chance John gets, he always wants to go coyote hunting. Though they might not have the best luck most of the time, he still really enjoys it. Here is a picture of Chantz and John the other night after Chantz killed this coyote.

As for me, every chance I get i'm thinking of baby things I can make. Keeps me pretty busy! This is a bow holder I have in the makings.... Its hard to tell how it all works out now, but I will be sure to post more pictures as I get further along.

This cute little camo set was from my parents. Once we found out that it was a girl, John said that we'd probably have to take it back since it didn't have any pink on it...I fixed that problem... :) Now John approves of it. haha! I love the ruffles on the bum...I just need to think of a few more ways to add pink to this camo. :)

. . .and here I am at 21 weeks. It feels like every day i get a little bigger and bigger. She kicks all the time now. John has felt it quiet a few times and he loves its, so ever day when he comes home, or when we are just sitting around, he'll randomly asks, is she moving? its cute...sometimes annoying, but cute! :)

Its a GIRL!

2010-03-03T09:36:00.000-07:00

We are so excited. Since I was a little girl I always thought i'd have a boy first, so i was a little suprised to find out its a girl, but we are SO excited. Johns a little worried now that he will be over powered with a mini me running around...i think it'll be good for him. :) Our appointment went great, the baby is healty and is a constant mover. Now the fun begins...time to go to the craft store! YAY!

BOY or GIRL?

2010-03-01T12:13:00.000-07:00

Which do you think it'll be?

Tomorrow we find out what we are having!! We are so excited. It feels like we having been waiting for forever to find out.

Here are a few pictures of what we've been up to this last month...

John's little brother Luke entered the MTC, he will be serving in the Phillippians. We got to go down to Utah with some of the family to drop him off. We are sad he is gone, especailly John, but we are glad he is such an awesome example to us!

I don't know how people get John and Luke mixed up all the time-maybe cause i'm married to John i don't think they look that much alike, who knows....

The kid is addicted to MT. Dew, he enter the MTC with a 24 pack...I bet he made lots of friends :)

I have finally been able to use my snowboard passes this year. My friend Jessica and I went up last friday. It was amazing! haha. There was powder and the sun was shining! I even got a little sun burnt haha

This year has been such a sucky one for snowmobiling...It has been a bad year for avalanches up here and the mountians have been socked in almost every weekend when we get the chance to go or the snow is rock hard, so its not worth going...I am actually quiet bummed because of it. But we've gone up twice in the last couple weeks for short rides just cause I hate watching our sleds just sit there getting no use out of them! haha

And this is my latest creation. Ever since Christmas time i've been rather tired of doing crafts. I finally got around to creating something again. For Christmas I got a jigsaw and a cordless screw driver, so i've been anxious to use them. I wanted to make some sort of Easter decoration, so I started doodling around and this is what I came up with. It was so easy to cut. I am very very impressed with myself! haha!

I will be sure to post tomorrow of the next day to let everyone know what we are having! :)

. . . JaNuArY. . .

2010-02-12T16:11:00.000-07:00

Well the end of January was been pretty busy. For two weeks I was up in Washington. My Grandma Anderson passed away on the First of February. She was such a sweet lady and will be missed, but we know she is in a better place! Here is a picture of my family at the cemetary. I was so glad I was able to go visit my grandma before she passed.

My mom took all of us girls to get manicure and pedicures. It was so much fun! I have to admit i'm going to keep getting manicures cause i haven't chewed my nails since. Big accomplishment for me!

Well here is a picture taken last week of me at 17 weeks. It doesn't really look like I have anything there yet...but I am getting chubby. Even John said today actually that I'm in the fat stage now....what a meany huh! haha

John + Karie = Baby Strong

2010-01-15T13:35:00.000-07:00

Yes, we are Pregnant!!!! We are so excited! I'm almost 14 weeks along. Time has gone by so fast already and I am so lucky cause I haven't been sick at all...except for tierdness and constantly having to go pee (but whats new), but other than that, I feel great! We got to hear the heart beat this last week. That was such a neat experience, and made it feel more realistic that there is a little baby inside me. John said it sounded like a washing maching cause of the heart beat and the Dr. said that the baby was moving around in there too... The heart beat was a 156, pretty high. Everyone has been teasing me that its going to be a girl cause of the old "wives tale". But, lets be honest, this kid will have 50% Anderson in it, so its probably have a high heart beat anyways cause the darn kid can't sit still!

We are awaiting the day till we find out, it just seems like forever away! I always joked around that I only wanted kids so I can decorate their rooms...ok well i was being kind of serious. I can't wait, I love to decorate!!! I've found a car seat and crib that I want, so that is fun. I just wish i knew what the little bugger was so I could start buying clothes and all the other fun stuff! Everytime John and I are out in Idaho Falls or Rexburg at any store, I always have to swing by the "baby stuff". I found this stinkin cute outfit at Cal Ranch. Its was cute little girl wranglers and a button up shirt, it was for a 3 month old. its would of been perfect for fair (if its a girl anyways). haha! I'm just going to have to sneak out there one day and buy it, just in case! lol!!! I will be sure to keep everyone posted on our little baby strong as time goes on!

Home for Christmas!

2010-01-06T11:17:00.001-07:00

I was so happy that John and I were able to go to Washington for Christmas this year. We were up there for two weeks and we kept very busy...It went by too fast though! We spent lots of time with my family and I was so greatful for that!! We had such a good christmas, and my parents spoiled us the whole time we were up there!

All the family except my brother Randy who is on a mission

The girls and guys had matching PJ's!

Class of '06. A group of us High School friends got together over break.

John couldn't leave Idaho with out takin some of his guns. He finally got a coyote! I was excited for him cause he had been hunting those things forever. It was probably because there are tons more in WA than in ID. :)

Michael and Brittany threw and ugly Christmas sweater party. We had some good laughs as were were searching for the ugliest sweater at the Goodwill, our outcome was pretty good I thought. HAHA

Ben and Tanner were the winners, they were pretty crafty and made there own...too funny!

Sipping back on some good ol' Rootbeer!

I love the Christmas season and can't wait until next year!

Tradtional Vacation!

2010-01-06T10:39:00.000-07:00

Every year since I can remember, my family and my mom's brother Dave's family have been going to the MT and staying in a cabin for a week for the New Years. I always look forward to this tradtion. Its one of the things were the memories keep on living year after year after year.
We always have so much fun when we are up there. We do tons of tubing, and now that most of us are bigger, we have to make the tubing a little more exciting by adding in some jumps. This year, when we arrived to the cabin we had a little bit of a suprise, this rat or squriel was caught in a trap. He was huge. My dad, being the jokester that he is, decided to put it on the outside railing, so it freaked everyone out! We also did lots of riding, playing games, eating, and just hanging out. I can't wait until next year!!

December so far. . .

2009-12-16T16:28:00.000-07:00

These are our little piggies when we first got them, there were so stinking cute. . .but than they grew up and litterally stunk and they ate anything and everything.

(This picture was about a month ago, they were much bigger than this)

I took them out to the butcher the other day, so instead of John and I feeding them constantly, they will soon be feeding us! :) I've never ever really felt bad about rasing pigs than butchering them or selling them at the fair and knowing that they were on their way to the slaughter house and into someones freezer, but when I droped these guys off at the butcher and than walked inside to tell the butcher how I wanted the cuts, I saw a steer hanging with cuts taken from it and I thought of my little piggies and how they were soon going to be haning there. . . but than I left and was over it! haha

Well, the other day John and I adventured out coyote hunting. He has been going pretty constant and I go when ever he isn't getting up at 6 in the morning or when its -20 out. This is John practicing with one of his million calls. . . I always get annoyed when he practices them inside, so he usually does it when he is driving or when he is by himself. haha. . . he is too funy!

...This is what happens when you take your wife hunting with you and she has the better aim...Opps did i just say that! haha. :) Right after I killed it John looked at me and said, you killed one before me and with my new gun. MUHAHA thats right sucka! We have a very competitive relationship!

These are my cute Joy letters that I am so excited how they turned out. (sorry its hard to actually see them)

These are our cute christmas trees. Since we live in a camper, I didn't want the upkeep of having a real tree and I've always wanted these Apline trees, So thats what we ended up doing. They are so hard to decorate because they are so small.

We are packing our bags and are ready to leave for WA for the hoildays. I am so exited. This means family, snowmobling, my birthday, snowboarding, sledding, Christmas, the Cabin, games, food and much much more! I can't WAIT! Only 3 more days!

Merry Christmas to Everyone and have a safe fun time whatever you'll be doing!

2009-11-12T10:04:00.000-07:00

My parents were able to come visit halloween weekend. I was so glad they came. I enjoyed their company. We didn't do a whole lot, but it was just fun to have them here with me and to show them around the area. Thanks again Mom and Dad for coming down and spending time with us. We miss you guys!

My little piggies are getting so big. I feel bad some mornings cause i'll go out to feed them and their water will be frozen solid and they'll come out of the barn walking so stiff cause i'm sure they are frozen! I want them to live in luxury until they have to die and end up in my freezer. ha

So the day my parents flew in, we did the whole tourist shoppong thing in Jackson, WY and we went to this one cute boutique and they had a drawing that we could enter to win this cute hand bag. Well-I WON!! A few days after I had entered the drawing, I got a phone call saying I won this hand bag. I was freaking out like a little girl. haha! I love it!

At the begining of fall, John and his brother, Luke, turned the old family suburban into the ultimate hunting rig. They put an old lift from another pickup onto the suburban and than we camouflouge it. Which wasn't that easy...that's alot of painting to do. But it turn out great. Than with the help of my amazing cricut I was able to cut them out some vinyl sayings that they wanted. haha crazy boys!

I have to admit when I drive it around I feel I have past the point of being a redneck...

Your never to old!

2009-10-26T13:19:00.000-06:00

Your never to old to carve pumpkins! We had a blast the other night carving pumkins with Chantz and Jessica. . .but than again, we always have fun when we hang out with them! Don't mind John's pumpkin...he thought he was being funny! I told him that one wasn't going home with us. Chantz 's sister and brother-in-law live just down the street from them, so we deciede to pull a little prank. haha. We set John's lite pumpkin on their door step and than we "black person" knocked them. LOL!! It was SO fun! we all felt like high schoolers again. Crazy part was, when Andy (the bro-in-law) opened the door the neighbors black cat was sitting right next to the pumpkin. kind of creepy I know! haha! GOOD TIMES!

This is a wreath I made back in september. I loved how it turned out. I wanted to hang it outside, but I don't think it'll hold up to well on the outside of our camper.haha :) It was so easy to make and so cheap. Wreaths are so expensive these days, especailly the cute ones. I think I made this one for under $8.00! what a deal! haha, I love making things for cheap!

Addie's Baby

2009-10-26T12:58:00.000-06:00

My old roomie, Addie, had her baby the 14th of Oct.

I made her a baby blanket. It was quiet the project...I deceide to machine quilt it...on my own. haha. It turned out better than I thought it would. I was quiet impressed!! If you look close enough at the picture you'll see the flowers that are quilted on.

She is such a cutie! ...I guess this means I have an excuse to go to rexburg more often to visit Addie and Nelissa!

TaKe a LoOk!

2009-10-05T15:23:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone, I recently started selling my crafts on esty.com You'll have to check it out and tell me what you think! :) http://kander20.etsy.com

Good bye summer!

2009-10-01T11:05:00.000-06:00

Well for us here in Idaho, summer is long gone! No more warm days. I'm sad in a way, but excited in another. This means it's that much closer to snowmobiling time! I ask john if i could get my sled out yesterday as the snow continued to fall, and he thought I was crazy. Soon enough though. But, it is hunting season time are we are deffinitly excited for that. We have been counting the days down.

John's already ahead of me on kills this year...Yup, he shot a Mt. Lion. Well, first it almost tried to take his life...but he killed it before it had the chance. Thank heavens! So in another couple months we'll have a Mt. Lion skin laying acrossed our couch. I'm not sure how i feel about that quiet yet. Those things already give me the hebegebies!!

My garden did great this year. I was queit proud. haha. My sweet corn was very small. I told John its baby size compared to the stuff i'm use to back in WA. . .haha, but thats what you getting when you live in Idaho. boo! haha

This is a picture of luke holding some of my cabbage. No
one really liked to eat it so it kind of over grew. . .

. . . but thats ok, cause i was able to shoot it with my new gun! It was seriously the coolest thing ever to watch get shot. haha! it exploded!

My latest creations!

2009-09-11T16:22:00.000-06:00

Here are a few of my latest creations. I wish I had more time to craft. But i guess if i'd have anymore time, i'd need a bigger place to live. :) I've been quiet impressed with myself lately in what i've been able to make. I have learned to cut out blocks, make frames, and use all resourses to try and be creative! John keeps telling me that I can't make anything else until i start selling them. haha, he is crazy! :) Now if i was to tell him he can't kill anymore animals until he starts selling them he'd think i was crazy! Silly boy! I can't get this darn picture flipped around, but this is a wedding gift I made. I have made a few others lately but they have been in different colors.

This one is probably my favorite. I saw this saying and went from there. It is made entirely from scratch. To bad it doesn't fit in my camper! HAJohn and I were out huntin the other night right next to a grain field and knew it would make for a perfect decoration for fall. So, i took some :) This is very easy to make and super cute!This are the blocks my sister in law Brittany and I made while i was up visiting WA. I was able to take my cricut with me, I love told Brittany, who just bought one that she now has a new love in her life! It is so true! hahaha We had a lot of fun making them and can't wait to go home to WA again....maybe christmas blocks next time?

Fair Week

2009-09-10T09:14:00.000-06:00

A couple weeks ago I drove up to Washington for a visit with my family. Come to find out they didn't want me to come up and be on "vacation" it was more to come up and work! haha. I was able to help out with fair week. My family has been showing animals for quiet some time now, and even though its a pain in the butt. . . deep down we all enjoy it! This was the start of the week, right before we took the pigs in , they got a little Bath. You can tell who is doing all the work....not the little one in the back ;)

Here is my sister Morgan and Alison showing there oinkers.

For the rodeo that was Wed-Sat, we hitched grandpas horses twice each night. The first was just a run through before the rodeo showing off the team. Than, the second time was in the middle of the rodeo, we gave rides out in the arena for those who received awards, so us as the crew had to run out there and hold horses while the people who received awards got their pictures taken. Thats why we are all matching. While we were holding horses, the rodeo clown was hitting on us, hahaha! :0)

What we've been up to...

2009-07-28T15:43:00.000-06:00

It has been a rather busy summer and I haven't had much time to post the latest.
So here it is...
John turned a quarter of a century on the 22nd of June. I threw him a party and invited friends and family. It was a great turn out. We played the bag game and had lots of snacks and of course-John's favorite-Cheese cake.

For the 4th of July we went up to Washington for a quick visit. I was glad to get to go home even it was only for a short time. While there we went up to Couer d'alene for an Edler family reunion. We stayed at Triple Play one night, that is where they have the in door water park. That was lots of fun. Than the next two night we camped out by Silverwood theme and water park and went to silverwood for the 3rd and 4th.

Lately, John and I have enjoyed riding up Packsaddle and Playing on the rope swing. (its a place up in the Mts.)

Another thing we've enjoyed doing together this summer is fishing, we've gone quiet a few times and I usually catch more fish than John, but this last time we went up to South Leigh and John caught more than me :)

Aside from all of the fun stuff. We do work and not just play all the time. Even though life would be much funner that way. :0)

Rain, Garden, Pigs, and More Rain!

2009-06-17T18:00:00.000-06:00

I am not very good at keeping everyone updated on what John and I have been up to lately. We are now living up in Driggs. We are currently living at John's mothers house. She has been very sweet to let us shack up here until we decided what step to take next in our little journey of life. I haven't minded it all that much. Since it has been raining for the last week and a flippin half (not happy about it) John has been working in the shop alot so i've been able to ride my little bike ;) down to help him out.

(Thanks to my Cricut, I have labeled the mini that John proposed with and he can no longer say it is his :P)

Luckly, our garden (my sister-in-law, Jenna and I's) sprouted before all the rain came, so mostly everything survived germination. . .except some russets I planted, they ended up molding. So today I ripped them out and planted some lavender and barley in its place. I love how these two plants look when they are dried. I can't wait. John's mom has a pretty big green house so we were able to plant sweet corn, cucumbers, tomatoes and watermelon in there... being at such high elevation and having cold weather all the dang time, we don't have much of a chance at growing these outside.

On another note, our piggys are growing rapidly. This cooler weather is keeping them eating at fat'ning them right up!! We got our two cute little pigs about a month ago now. They have been so fun to have. John treats them like they were our kids. He is always checking on them and feeding them left-overs. Its cute! haha, who would of thought such an agressive hunter could love animals so much. :) The first day we had them they keep getting out, no thanks to the dogs that jumped in after them. John said if he hadn't of paid money for them, he would of had killled them that day. haha. We ended up naming them, Pork Chops and Sammy the Hammy. . .you can tell whats on our mind. . . MEAT! haha

This last weekend we decided we weren't going to wait around for the sun to be out. We went on a ride up Packsaddle and went fishing. It was nice weather on the way up there, then about 5 minutes into our fishing it started pooring. We stayed as long as we could stand the rain and cold weather. On the way back down it was SO muddy and freezing. I had to stop to warm my finger on the exhaust. Oh funny part of the day though-We came upon this huge puddle and I was not about to go through it, so I watched and waited for john to go through first. This thing was like 15 ft long. With water only about a foot deep, john had made it half way through until his front tire sunk on his bike. HAHA I was almost peeing my pants watching. He made it through and definitly made my mind up about finding a way around the puddle! good times!!!

You and me go fishin in the dark....

2009-05-26T18:55:00.001-06:00

For memorial day, John and I went up fishin with his family at Henry's Lake. Even though the weather started out bad that day, it turned out nice and sunny. We didn't have a whole lot of luck, I caught one when we first got up there at that was it. John says, when the fishin's bad, its than time to socialize, and thats what he did. . . Drank his soda pop and kicked back. For all of you that know John-You can only imagine! haha! Thats why I love him!!! Also, this last weekend marks 1 year since John proposed! I can't belive its been that long already.

Some might say...

2009-05-20T17:29:00.000-06:00

...you might be a redneck if you have cook outs on the back porch of your trailer cause you don't have a yard! The other day is was so warm out that I really wanted to eat outside and John wanted to grill. We had a good ol time! haha! This trailer (with an add on-can't forget that). Has been such a good little place to us. We have enjoyed it and are ready to move on...unfortunitly we are still trying to sell our contract, the people who sign up keep backing out for one reason or another...3rd times a charm, right? Hopefully we can be out of here in a couple weeks and get moved up to driggs. We are not wanting to pay for gas all summer long driving back and forth... There are supposibly 4 different people interested right now, cross your fingers!

2009-05-06T14:03:00.000-06:00

Does anyone know anything about the program "Sure cuts a lot" for the Cricut Expression?

I recently just ordered the Sure cuts alot program and am hoping that the program will be just what i want! :) those dang cartridges are just SO expensive and I read online that with this program you don't need the cartridges. Supposibly you can just use the font from the computer...I guess we shall see! :)

Fun weekend in Utah!

2009-04-28T20:14:00.000-06:00

Before the races, freezing our butts off!

I told John I want this ride!

and John wants this ride
Adele and I.

This last weekend John and I went down to visit my brother Michael and his wife Brittany. My lil sis, Alison flew down for the weekend so we were all able to hang out. We all went to the supercross races, where we met up with our friends Jake and Adele. The weather was so flippin cold and it was raining off and on the whole time. By the end of the night, half my toes were numb and it took them, no kidding, over an hour to warm up. But we had a great time and enjoyed being with family!

Ye-Ha!

2009-04-21T17:14:00.000-06:00

John and I went down to the Dodge National Finals Rodeo a couple weekends ago. It was tons of fun... I LOVE rodeos!!

Last weekend, we were fixing up fence getting ready to get our little pigs! We are going to raise a couple to butcher and share the meat with the fam. I grew up showing pigs for 4H and FFA and I miss it. haha! So, I figured, if I can't be home for summer, i'll have to bring some summer home life to me. We are using an old coral at John's moms house. It was used for cows, so we added some lower boards so our little piggys cant get out. I'm so excited to get them! I'll be sure to post more pictures.

Yay, It's almost easter!!

2009-04-08T19:34:00.000-06:00

Last year we started to make traditions with our friends Chance and Jessica. For Valentines day we decorate sugar cookies and for Easter we dye eggs. Monday night we were over at their house and we dyed our eggs. It was alot of fun, Jessica and I seemed to be more into than the boys this year though. . .John just seemed to eat all of his, and Chance just got teased toomuch from going all-out last year. :)

...SpRiNg TiMe...

2009-04-08T19:08:00.000-06:00

My mom and sisters were able to come visit me during their spirng break. I was SO excited to have family come down to see me. We had loads of fun, I think they need to come back soon. We went to the hill climbs in Jackson, went snowboarding, did lots of shopping:), crafts, and showed them around the valley. Thanks Mom, Alison, and Morgan for visiting me!

Here are some pictures of our adventures!

We're moving!!

2009-03-16T17:59:00.000-06:00

John and I are doing great! We went to Boise this last weekend for a meeting for work, so it was fun for a switch up on our regular weekends. We are so excited...we bought a new T.V. We have been saving our dimes and nickles up since we got married to put in our "T.V. fund" and we finally saved up enough. Its so nice, we love it. The only bad thing is, is that we watch tv so much more now. We use to never watch it cause our T.V. before was one of those way old school ones and about ever 15 minutes you'd have to get up and hit the side of it to keep the screen from going black. Thats what the beginning of marriage life is all about though. haha!

We are moving from our cute little "Sugar City shack". We'll be moving up to Driggs this summer once the high school where I work is out. We decided that now would be a good time to get out of our contract while BYU-I is changing semesters. We will probably live in John sisters house till we move us to Driggs. No one is currently living in her home cause she is trying to sell, so it'll be kind of ideal. We've already had over 15 people come check out our place. So we are deffinitly moving here in the next month. I'll be sad to leave here. We've made so many great memories in our place!!!

2009-03-08T18:58:00.000-06:00

I am so proud of what John and I can whip together. This last saturday after we went ridding, I wanted to build a big barn wood frame so I can blow up one of our wedding pictures to put it in. Well right when I was decideding on what size to make it, I remember John had showed me some pictures that he bought before his left for home on his mission that he wanted to make frames for one day. So instead, two years later, we finally got them down. We haven't bought glass for our frames yet, but we are leting the pictures under neath them flatten becauase they have been rolled up in a tube for quiet some time. I was so excited to get them done and I LOVE these pictures. We just need a bigger place so there will be room to hang them.

Last sunday, as I was cleaning up dishes from breakfast, I was standing over the air vent and my skirt flew up like this....

...John thought it was the funniest thing in the world, so he had to take a picture. So here it is! that darn air vent though, we have a gas stove and I swear all the air to our house blows out of the freakin vent, its was to strong. One night I had made some soup for dinner and I turned the stove on low. Well after I had taken the pot of the stove I forgot it was still on. That freakin vent blew out the flame, so propane was running out the whole time while we were country dancing that night. We got home and our house was so strong smelling of propane. If anyone has lightened a match anywhere close, our place would of blown up. It was so scary! We had to leave all the windows and doors open for over 30 minutes before the smell was finally gone. . . And then, a couple days ago I was making dinner once again (it never ends :P) and that freaking vent kicked on and the stove was on high, the flame singed a good amount of my hair on my left forearm. I was so sad. haha, I didn't even realize it till john was all what is on your arm, well it was all the freaking burnt up hair. I almost cried I was so sad!! haha

Ice fishing

2009-02-17T19:35:00.000-07:00

Presidents day we were able to go ice fishing over at Jackson lake. I had never been before so it was pretty excited.

This is how we spent our Valentines day!

2009-02-14T20:36:00.001-07:00

I have to admit, Valentines day is one hoilday that I could skip and not care. I'm not really the cheesy type. John did have flowers sent to my work yesterday and it was so sweet of him. Today though, John said it was my day and I got to choose what we did. Well i wanted to go riding real bad, but the weather was nasty, so this is what we ended up doing.

We decided to go sledding on the dry farms looking for coyotes. It turned out to be loads of fun. We were going along and we spotted this fox and John was so excited that he was kind of freaking out and he was all hurry jump on my sled, so i jump on. He was on the back with the gun and i'm chasing this thing down while he is shooting. haha, reminded me of the good ole days hunting at home with my brothers. haha! Some might think, oh poor fox. Well we did feel bad for shooting a fox instead of a coyote, but it was just too fun!

6 months

2009-02-11T09:38:00.000-07:00

Almost on the 6 month mark. I can't believe how fast time has gone by. We hare happily chugging along in life, and we're loving every minute of it. I love you babe! :)

...best two years...

2009-02-05T09:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we dropped my little brother off at the MTC. He is such a stud and will make an amazing missionary. We are going to miss him tons but he is deffinitly doing the right thing. Love ya bro!

FINSIHED!

2009-01-28T16:33:00.000-07:00

Good thing I made that last stop at the fabric store to get the rest of the materials I needed for my quilt. Because i live in an Ice-Burg, School-or i should say the high school where i work got canceled because it was too freezing cold. I heard it got to -29 degrees the night before. crazy huh! Anyways, because of this I was able to spend all day working on my quilt. I was so excited to finally finish it. I am really happy with how it turned out. I personally think its even cuter in real life....haha! :)

What to do...

2009-01-26T21:17:00.000-07:00

My husband has been gone now for the 5th day in a row for work and i'm giong a little crazy. You don't realize how much your rely on someone until they aren't there. Let me tell you...Sleeping all by my lone some in our little house for the first time was pretty scary. haha Good thing I have night lights everywhere. :) Anyways, to entertain my self while he has been gone i've been makings quite a few trips to the craft store. I have to entertain my self some how...and i get bored easily. I finally got a chance to work on a quilt that i've had the material for, for over a year. I just bought the backing for it today, so i am excited how the finish product will turn out. I will be sure to post a picture.

Also, while at the craft store the other day I wanted to make some type of decoration for Valentines day....and this is what I ended up making. kinda cute and fun to make!

Maybe next time John will think twice before leaving me for so long.

2009-01-26T21:11:00.000-07:00

John and I made this mirror thingy not to long ago. I was so proud of our accomplishments. He is so good with helping me with crafts...even though he tells me i'm not aloud to put anymore holes in the walls. So if I want to change things up, i usually do it when he is gone and he doesn't usally notice for awhile. he he he. I trick him! :)

What made this project even better was the fact that it cost me like 15 bucks from start to finish to make it. If you buy one similar at a craft show they are usually asking like 60 bucks. -like i'm going to pay that. Who really goes to craft shows to buy things-its more like steal ideas. haha

I made another one and gave it to my mom for Christmas, i think she liked it...

...and some more

2008-12-27T19:30:00.001-07:00

--Christmas day & Night-Out sledding down our hill on the farm, duck hunting, and scratching scratch tickets. :) we won $9. haha

...some of our trip in WA

2008-12-27T19:13:00.001-07:00

You'll never guess that we got all these ducks in just one jump. Thats right, 12 shots, 20 ducks. Pretty freaking amazing. We had a blast. The best part was hurrying to pick them up and ringing their necks and throwing them into a big pile out in the corn field. It felt like finding easter eggs. haha. Maybe John will be convinced to move to WA after all, now that he is realizing we got more game here than ID. :)

Got to love Christmas time, the cold, and all the snow flying!

I love Christmas!

2008-12-16T18:01:00.000-07:00

The other night, John and I went over to my old roomate and her husbands house and made ginger bread houses. It was so much fun, John was really into it until we got to the roof part and we were having stress, than he kind of gave up-but still help out.

We are heading to WA for Christmas. We leave this Sunday. I am so excited to be home for Christmas. Man, you never really know how much you miss home and your home life till you move away for good. College you get a little climps but not quiet the whole thing. So i pretty much can't wait. :) Hope to see you all real soon!

Our first tree together!

2008-12-03T19:49:00.000-07:00

We had a good thanksgiving break. John and I cut down our first Christmas tree together....and then brought it home and decorated it-my favorite part. especailly since John let me buy some tree decorations. YAY!
We didn't bring the truck up to Driggs, and I didn't want to wait to bring it home, cause i was so excited-so we went with option B. hahaha!

Yup we have barb-wire around our tree :)

So we went to Porters (the craft store) cause john found some christmas bulbs there that he liked one day when I dragged him along with me, and I found this way cute rustic star tree topper. I begged him to buy it for me (cause we are kind of on a budget) He said i could have it if it was under $10, well i figured it had to be more than that, so i said $15, he disagreed, so we agreed on $12....well actually I agreed on $12.99. :) We'll the cashier lady rang it up and it was only $9.99! I was so excited.

And a few weekends ago, i also dragged him along to this Craft Fair down in Idaho Falls, and found this way cute Bride & Groom decoration, so i had to get it of course since this is our first Christmas together. You all are probably thinking that John is such a sweetheart for going all these girly places with me, we'll he is i'll give him credit. But after talking to some of his friends he relizes that he is the only guy that does this willing, so he therefore began to tell me that next year he is just going to give me some money and let me go on my own. Which, OK, its kind of a bum deal, but, give me money? Alright! haha

Happy Turkey Day!

2008-11-26T21:14:00.000-07:00

Gobble Gobble Gobble fat turkey
Fat Furkey
Fat Turkey
gobble gobble gobble fat turkey is he!

I dont know about you all, but I am so excited to eat turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy and stuffing....mmmmmm my favorite. But just a little heads up, I *googled the average weight gain over holidays, earlier today, and they said it was like 5-10lbs. YIKES! So everyone eat lots, but don't stuff your self to much and make sure you take a good walk afterwards to keep that turkey fat off! Happy Thanksgiving to all! :)

2008-11-21T19:47:00.000-07:00

This is my new FAVORITE picture of the Salt Lake temple. holy smokes its way pretty!

It's friday night and i'm really bored and i realized that john and I haven't taken any recent pictures of us together. I swear, when we were dating, we took pictures of ourselves alll the time...

LeT iT sNoW!!

2008-11-20T19:33:00.000-07:00

Last year at this time, John and I went on our first snowmoblie rider together, well if you dont count the very 1st time when we meet (on a snowmoblie ride). This weather is crazy, it's almost turkey day and we have only really had one day of snow fall that stuck on the ground for longer than an hour. I'm sad! Its been nice though not having to be all bundled up just to go out side...but i think i'm ready for the snow to start falling, so we can go have some fun and enjoy the outdoors once again!

This picture was our first ride together. Got to love helmet hair! :S

Old Faithful

2008-10-29T21:21:00.000-06:00

In Yellowstone National Park, We went up with one of John's classes on a field trip.

Football team-Go trash queens!

2008-10-29T21:20:00.000-06:00

hunting...

2008-10-29T21:16:00.000-06:00

John cutting up his deer, and me assisting...haha i wasn't much help. Soon we will be cutting up my deer :)

Emo Boy

2008-10-29T21:08:00.000-06:00

Yup These are my jeans. We went to a halloween party last weekend and john dressed up as a "byui" student. or in other words and emo...i dont know what boys are thinging these days when they were girl jeans, its SICK! When ever i see some one like this i just always mention to them, hey nice jeans they are tighter than mine, Sick! Anyways, we had a good time and i'm glad now that those jeans are streched out and won't fit me anymore beacuse i would be sad if john was the same size as me. :) maybe this means i should get some new jeans? i think thats a great idea! haha

The Great Outdoors

2008-10-08T09:48:00.001-06:00

John and I out duck hunting on opening day. His brother Mark came as well, he had better luck than us, but i did shoot one duck but it was in the middle of the river and no one wanted to go out and get it...poor little ducky. haha. We sure do enjoy the outdoors, that's why john and i get along so great, we just have so many common interest! ...and even though I'm a Washington fan one hundred percent, I have to say, Idaho is starting to grow on me. But I am learning more and more about john each day. For example, when he tells you not to shoot, you better just shoot haha, other wise you'll miss the chance, and than after the birds fly to far away, he'll say, we should of shot them, and I then reply I told you so! haha good times! :)

2008-09-28T17:05:00.000-06:00

Finally. . .

2008-09-28T16:48:00.000-06:00

So I finally have some time to figure out this whole blogspot thing... but it might take me some time to gettin it looking cute though. ;)