The Zellers

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-02T12:20:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun this Halloween. My parents came up and we made enough food to feed an army. Really...I'm not sure what my mom was thinking because we had so many leftovers, but it was DELICIOUS! We had ourselves a little Mexican feast! So we spent most of the day cooking, and then we made ourselves over to the trunk or treat at the ward building. The kids loved that and that's where they got most of the candy! It was pretty cold this Halloween, so we had to wear our coat over our costume. Poor Madelyn kept saying, "cold" and then start shaking everywhere. It's going to be a long winter for that poor girl! Anyway, then the nice daddy's took them to some houses to get even more candy. We really had a ton of fun all being together and answering the door after the kids got home. We played Halloween music and really got into the spirit. Maybe one of my favorite Halloween's ever! Anyway, here are some pictures.

Some teeth I made for the playgroup on Friday.

Yummy homemade carmel apples that I'm still saying prayers of graditude that they turned out!

Maddie the fairy!

She thought she was pretty fabulous.

Geoffery even got into the halloween spirit (halloween is his least fav holiday) and decorated the car for the trunk or treat. Yes, he did everything! I was impressed!

I think Grant was excited! He kept asking all day, "is it time for Halloween yet?" and he dragged his costume everywhere around the house. I love this kid!

All the cousins

My sisters fam. Her little Claire was sick at home with my mom:(

Standing outside the front door.

My mom's seven layer dip! YUM!

These were little taco's and they were delish!

October Fun!

2011-11-02T12:02:00.000-07:00

For some Fall fun this year we went to a straw maze with my sister and her cute kids. We had so much fun, but did start to get worried we would never be able to make it out. We made it out in 35 min and they originally told us it would take 45. So we did okay. Grant was pretty scared and said he didn't have any fun, but I think Madelyn had a blast! We'll definately do this every year! Then one Saturday we went to Idaho Falls and went to the cutest pumpkin patch ever! They had a train ride for the kids and we I think the kids were in heaven. Most of these pictures are taken with my Iphone, so sorry the pics aren't that great quality!

My cute nieces at the straw maze.

Us in front of the pumpkin patch

The kids getting ready for their train ride.

Heres the engine that pulled the train. Grant thought it was awesome!

There was a little kid maze there also!

Grant's first day of Preschool- 2011

2011-10-19T13:17:00.000-07:00

So this is our last year of preschool before the real big kindergarten! He was pretty excited for it until we walked in the room and who were all these "new" kids. And they were starring at him (or so he thought) and he didn't want them to look at him. So me and Madelyn sat with him for about twenty minutes or so until he felt comfortable. After a while, he said, "mom you can leave now." Funny kid! He usually has to decide that things are okay and then he's totally fine. I love this kid to death and can't believe next year I'll be sending him to the "big school"!

For Grant's first day of preschool I made him his very own ice cream cone! Just kidding! It's bananas and peanut butter toast made to look like an ice cream cone. I got the idea from pinterest and he loved it! And it was super easy. Don't worry I'm not that creative on my own.

These two crack me up everytime we eat breakfast!

Madelyn had to get in on the action, so we let her join her brother!

Grace's Baptism Day

2011-10-19T12:56:00.000-07:00

I know that it's funny that I'm blogging about my nieces baptism day, but I am one proud aunt! She is growing up to be such a beautiful young lady and I want her to know how happy I am of her. Here are some pictures of her on her special day. Also after the baptism we got to celebrate her and her sisters birthday. Their birthdays are four days apart and they got a sweet rainbow themed birthday party that their momma threw them. Here are some pictures of her special day:

Grace and her proud parents (my sister).

I couldn't resist snapping a picture of Madelyn in her leopard dress! Of course she wouldn't look at the camera so this is the best I got.

The three girl cousins. Grant refused to stand in:(

Eaton Family Pic.

Our whole family (well that could make it)

Ella's very own cake!

Grace and her cake.

She even make rainbow cupcakes with a lollipop! Grant was more than thrilled!

Abby is an amazing baker. Here is her rainbow masterpiece!

This is the picture I took a couple of days before the baptism of Grace. I think she looks all grown up!

Jackson Hole

2011-10-19T12:03:00.000-07:00

We decided to take a day trip over to Jackson Hole one Saturday and walk around the square and do some serious window shopping. Thats what Jackson does best for is to just look seeing as one picture is $2000! We have our favorite shops we like to go in and then at the end we always visit the candy store so that Grant can pick out all his favorite candy. Its always a lot of fun and the kids like to see all the statues of the wild animals. Below Grant wouldn't sit by himself so I had to get in the picture with him. I think he thought the tiger might actually be real and was kind of afraid of it. I love seeing things through his eyes! Anyway, after that we stopped at a small fishing hole that was made for kids to fish at. So basically your bound to catch something, however we still didn't have any luck! But it was Grants first fishing experience and he got to use his CARS fishing rod which pleased him to no end. Here are some pictures of our trip.

The kids even got to ride on a "real" moose!

Maddie wanted in on the father/son time.

It was interesting trying to keep her contained during all the fishing that was going on.

Summer Recap...

2011-10-19T11:32:00.000-07:00

This summer we had a ton of fun doing lots of activites outside. We played in the backyard in the baby pool, had a lemonade stand, went to the city pool 6-7 times, went to free lunch at the park (about three times a week), played with friends outside...you name it we did it. I wanted to take full advantage of the warm weather since it only lasts about three months here in FREEZING Idaho. Anyway, we had a ton of fun and here are some pictures to document our summer:

My sweet mom and dad bought us this playhouse for the kids for their birthdays and Christmas this year! We were sooo excited and it really keep the kids occupied this summer. Thanks to Geoffery, Will, and my dad for putting it together!

Us on the way to the pool. I didn't take my camera to the pool because of all the water everywhere. Everything usually got soaking wet at the pool. And it was hard enough to keep my eye on the kids that I didn't want to worry about taking pictures the whole time!

Also we had some friends over the other day to play in the pool one last time before summer was officially over and we had a blast! These kids are soo funny to watch. We get together a lot and ride bikes or go to free lunch and so the kids have gotten to all be real good friends. We just love this group and has made summer so much more fun going with friends to activities! Also literally the next week it snowed! Gotta love Idaho!

27 years old

2011-07-24T16:20:00.000-07:00

So I've finally made it into my "late twenties." I'm not sure how I feel about it, but I do know that I had a really good birthday! I woke up to the young women in my ward ringing my doorbell at about 8:30, I still had my pj's on, Geoffery ran to go get something at the store so he wasn't home, and both kids still in their pj's as well. They told me I had to go with them and didn't have a choice, so I got both kids and we followed them down the street to find everyone else cooking breakfast for me and another leaders birthday. It was a big surprise to say the least, and made me feel very special on a day that I didn't think was going to be all that special. We had eggs, waffles, and the most delicious cupcakes ever! After that I headed home and got ready and we went to the new pool here in Rexburg. We spent 4 hours there and had a blast and got lots of sun! I'm paying for it now. After that we came home, put kids to bed, and took a shower to head over to our ward pioneer party. It was catered by professional BBQ people and we had some yummy ribs, potatoes, and baked beans! It was so nice to not have to cook or worry about dinner and just hang out with our good old ward family. After that Geoffery bought me a cake and they sang happy birthday to me at home and we enjoyed out on our front porch. And then Geoffery gave me the real present of not having to help with bathtime or bedtime. IT.WAS.FABULOUS! Thats my least favorite part of the day:) Anyway, here are some pictures of us throughout the day.

On our way to the ward party. Grant got sun too! I lathered him up so good too!

Geoffery always makes me feel so special on my birthday!

Swimming lessons!

2011-07-24T16:04:00.000-07:00

Since Grant was born I've always wanted to do swimming lessons, and this year we were finally able to do it! I was really afraid how he would act, because he's pretty scared of the water and he's pretty funny about leaving me and going with a complete stranger into the scary water. I had two strikes against me, but I signed him up anyways. Well I think, as a mom, when you think your kid can't handle it, they usually end up doing just fine. And thank goodness that's how this was. I expected the worse, and he did AWESOME! I had a big talk with him about it before we went and when we got there he just went straight with his teacher and didn't look back. Then he did anything that he teacher asked him to do...everything! If you know Grant at all he can be a little on edge about trying new things so I was so proud of him to say the least. Swimming lessons were two weeks, 30 min. each day and he looked forward to them each day. I'll definitely be signing him and Madelyn up next year. I took some pictures on the last day, of course, because I realized I hadn't taken any the entire two weeks! AH, sometimes I have to make myself remember to take pictures of my kids! But these were with my phone, so their not the best quality, but better some than none!

Him and Maddie before we left

We signed up with my sister and her two girls so it was fun to see them everyday!

He was super nervous on the noodle, but at least he tried!

Him and his teacher. Later that night he told us that his teacher told him that he kicked butt compared to the other kids. I about died when it came out of his mouth! Its so funny the things you say to kids before you actually have kids! Oh well!

The Drive In... CARS 2

2011-07-24T09:57:00.000-07:00

We've been talking about Cars 2 ever since we saw the preview on the Tangled DVD. Grant has not stopped talking about it and we promised him once it came out, that we would go and see it! Well me and Geoffery being the cheap type, tried really hard to wait until it came to the dollar theater. We almost gave in several times, and then we saw that it was at the Drive in and kids go for free! Bingo there was our solution! So we packed the kids up after their bed time and took them in the pj's fresh out of the tub. We had a blast and the kids LOOOVED being outside while we watched the movie. The only problem is Grant doesn't like to go to the real theater now that's he's been to a drive in. Here are some pictures from that night:

Of course we had to wear our cars pj's to go see Cars 2! Very appropriate!

LOOOTS of popcorn was consumed, along with some candy!

Buzz was our special guest that night. I dare say he had a better seat then me!

During the movie, I think Madelyn had a little too much sugar and popcorn. She didn't stop moving the whole night!

4th of July 2011

2011-07-12T14:41:00.000-07:00

We went to the 4th of July parade in Rexburg and we've gone every year since I can remember. Its always the best and its my favorite thing that Rexburg does. Madelyn loved the parade this year, especially the cheerleaders and dancers! Grant goes crazy for the tractors, horses, cars, and fireworks. You'll see his face expressions below, its hilarious. Then we went back to my house to eat ribs, coleslaw, and baked beans. We were well feed this weekend! Here are some pictures of our festivities:

She waved that flag the whole time!

Our failed attempt at a family picture:)

My family!

I love these women... We miss you ASH!!

My cute nieces

Maddie's 2nd Dora Birthday!

2011-07-12T14:08:00.000-07:00

So my baby just turned 2!! It was an exciting day and also a very sad one for me realizing that she's officially a toddler and not a baby anymore:( It has been a rough, but fun year watching her grow and become more independent. She's a bit of a daredevil and still I can't look away for even a second. She's always up to something:) First I thought I'd start out with what she can do at two years old:

-She can communicate very well and let us know what she's thinking or what she needs (although I think only Geoffery, me, and Grant can understand what she's saying)

-She can say the whole alphabet by herself

-She can count to 10 very good

-She feeds herself

-She LOVES Dora and all things princess

-She's not so much into babies

-She's very active and is a big climber

-She not interested in the potty

-She's a really good eater and will eat just about anything I give her! Finally I got a good eater!

-She plays really well with Grant

-She's REALLY loud and likes to yell when she talks- seriously it hurts my eardrums sometimes:)

-She pretty happy most of the time, although I can see the tantrums coming on really strong so we're definitely hitting the terrible two stage

-She still sleeps in her crib

-She takes a two hour nap in the afternoon

-She NEVER wakes up at night unless she's REALLY sick and even then its rare

-She's a mommas girl for sure

-She misses Grant if he's not around and constantly asks, "Where's Grant?"

-I do her hair mostly in pigtails because I'm too lazy to blow dry it and she HATES the blow dryer so it makes that even harder

-She LOVES to be outside and ride her tricycle

-She dances to any music anytime, it doesn't matter who's around or where we're at. It's like the beat takes over her body.. SUPER cute!

-She is pretty obsessed with her papa

-She LOVES all her new dress up stuff and anything girly

So for the party we of course chose to do Dora because she's obsessed with the show. She loved all the decorations and dora stuff being around the house. We had a copy cat recipe of the Costa Vida pulled pork and it was DELICIOUS! We did tacos with guacamole and all the toppings. I think we all stuffed ourselves full of it! Thanks mom for doing most of the food. Then we opened presents and of course this was the favorite part. I have to say she LOVED everything and reacted better than I could have ever hoped for. She got 4 dress up dresses, shoes, crowns, jewelry, a dora doll, and lots of other accessories. She put on all four dresses before the day was over and now we always have on a pair of shoes or a dress or jewelry on when were at home. It's pretty fun to see her get into it. Before now she didn't really like any of her baby dolls so I was pretty bummed out, but I guess dress ups are just her thing! Her are some pictures of the party:

She got a new barbie tricycle and LOVED it! She was so excited when she saw it!

Happy girl

Grant just mastered no training wheels about two weeks ago, so here he is showing off his new talent to the grandparents! We're so proud of him!

Mom helped with with a lot of the party so thank you so much for all that you do for us!

On her actual birthday, which was on a Thursday, we decided to go to the splash park. We meet a friend there and had a blast. I wanted to go there because I went there exactly two years before that on the day that I had her. I then went into labor like five hours after we left. It was fun to go but I didn't get any pictures of the kids in the water because it's to hard to keep up with them and take pictures:) So here we are at the playground right next to it. For dinner that night we, went to Artic Circle so that Madelyn could play on their indoor playground area. She LOVED that! Then we went and got a cupcake at the Coco Bean. Again another success! We had a lot of fun!

The Grantister

She has to do it all by herself, no helping mom!

Big Grin!

Best of friends! They couldn't love each other anymore! I only hope it stays that way when their teenagers:)

Madelyn and the famous glare...

2011-05-03T21:32:00.000-07:00

This was sweet Madelyn on Sunday before church. I couldn't resist to take a couple of pictures of her while we were running out the door. She just looked too cute! I got some pictures of her smiling, but my stupid camera wouldn't focus and they're all super blurry. After I realized that none of them turned out, she was done with the photo shoot, but I still couldn't resist to take some pictures of her. I was able to capture her attitude. She can give the look of death when she wants to and it seriously cracks me up! I'm sure I won't like it too much when she's 16, but for now I just laugh. This is the face we see multiple times a day:

I love her ruby red lips in this picture even though its a bit blurry!

She may be approaching toddler hood, but I still consider her a baby. She's my baby anyway!

This is what I captured today after I dropped Grant off at preschool. The famous GLARE! She's always sucking her thumb and she always falls asleep in the car because she's bored. It makes afternoon naps nearly impossible, so I try not to be in the car too long or the rest of the day will be ruined!

Easter 2011

2011-04-26T16:03:00.000-07:00

So our Easter was a little crazy this year. Geoffery and I both caught some sort of head cold thing/monster that kind of made us both feel not to up to the mode of celebrating, but we made the most of it. On Saturday, we went to Abby's, my sisters, house and we had our Easter meal (which was delicious) and our Easter egg hunt with my family. My mom, dad, Garrrett, and Monica all came up to help us celebrate. It was a ton of fun and yes I took my camera, but it died the second I got it out. So I did end up taking some pics with my phone, but their not the best quality. Also the ones below of Easter morning aren't the best either because I was too lazy to open the blinds for maximum quality. Anyway, they'll have to do:) Don't you think its interesting when you spend all this time and money on Easter outfits and the kids will NEVER sit still for one measly picture! I was about to die, but oh well. Maybe when their older:) Anyway, I didn't get the best picture of the two of them in their matching outfits, but you get the drift. So here are some shots of our day. Oh yeah, Geoffery was really sick on Sunday, so I went to church by myself with the kids. Not so fun. But they did do really well during sacrament, so I can complain!

She hasn't touched her Tangled doll once. I guess dolls aren't her thing:(

Grant's letter to the easter bunny and his drawing of a rainbow. I really do love this age. We're finally catching on to things.

Sweet girl let me get at least one picture of her!

The only half way decent picture of the two of them.

The three of us! I love these two!

Back in the blogging game!

2011-04-07T22:23:00.000-07:00

So I'm really back.... No I promise I will be better! I've finally caught you guys up to present time.. just scroll down, its there really. Thanksgiving, Christmas, the whole thing! Now I can move forward with the present! So please come back (all 2 readers!) I promise I will be here!

My two sweet babes in October at the pumpkin patch.

Madelyn 18mths...

2011-04-07T22:10:00.000-07:00

I took some pictures of Madelyn when she turned 18 months. They didn't turn out as good as I was hoping, but I did get two or three good ones. Seriously, this age is VERY difficult to get a good picture and its something I struggling with. In fact, this is just a difficult age in general. Every second I feel like the girl is going to do something to get herself seriously injured. I can't close my eyes even for a second. And the thing with her that makes her sooo difficult is that she is an amazing climber. She may look small, but she is STRONG. The other day I was in the kitchen looking at the computer with her RIGHT there and I turned away for two seconds and turned back around to her STANDING on our island! I had no idea that she could even climb on a bar stool, but ever since that day I have to put the bar stools up so that she doesn't try to get on top of EVERYTHING! I'm really having a hard time with this stage because of that and it makes me not want to get a babysitter, because she is always surprising me with her new tricks! AH! It's really crazy! But on the other hand, she becoming more vocal which is fun and more interactive. I remember feeling this way with Grant and in fact I even wrote a post about it. The funny part is Grant is finally leaving the whole tantrum stage as he just turned 4 (pics coming soon I PROMISE), only for Madelyn to be entering it full force. Motherhood definitely doesn't give you much of a break. But that's okay, that's exactly what I signed up for, so I guess I'll take it the rest of their lives! Anyway, I'm done rambling. Here are some pictures of my sweet babe...

Totally her personality!

I PROMISE I didn't edit the eyes... TOTALLY natural!

This is what she does 50% of the time...always sucking the thumb. Is it bad that I think it's cute?

She lives in this necklace!

I seriously could eat her face off! I love this girl!

Christmas 2010

2011-04-07T21:52:00.000-07:00

So Christmas was also spent at home this year. Pretty laid back and spend most of the time with family. Grant had a Christmas program with his preschool class and there aren't very many pictures because he refused to get up in front of everyone and sing with his classmates (he was the only kid out of 20 that flat out refused...what do you do? nothing:) Anyway, we did get a picture with Santa though as he came to visit and brought each kid a gift from him. Here is also proof that Madelyn didn't freak out this time around sitting on Santa's lap. In fact, I couldn't keep her away from him or the other kids. I think she figured she was also in preschool. I think she would have taken Grants place on stage proudly without even thinking about it. Its so funny how different kids personalities can be. Here are some pictures of our Christmas...LAST year:)

Making a gingerbread house. Grant really got into it...and so did I!

The final product.... I was pretty proud!

Christmas Eve at our house with Geoffery's family. We decided to do appetizers and it was delicious if I do say so myself!

Table set!

Grant and his uncle Will, Geoffery's brother. He also moved into our house with us in February. Geoffery's parents moved back to Indiana:( and Will wanted to finish out high school here, so he stayed with us! We're excited to have him in our home and the kids adore him as you can tell!

Me and Ashley, Geoffery's sister!

Sweet Madelyn, its impossible to get a picture of her so I have to take what I can get:)

Santa came!

The aftermath!

Grant and Madelyn, and the ONLY picture I could get with the two of them! And this is the best one out of like 100! I wanted to get them in their matching PJ's!

I know, I know Thanksgiving in April...

2011-04-07T21:04:00.000-07:00

Quick recap of Thanksgiving for my records, and memory, which isn't so good lately. We had Thanksgiving at my house this year and it was a LOT of fun because all I had to do was set the table and my mom did all the cooking! Thanks mom! She always so good to feed us even when she's the one visiting. Its awesome! Anyway, it was really laid back and we spent the night counting contractions as we were hoping that Abby would go into labor that night, but it was just that silly false labor playing tricks on us. Then the next morning we all went to the mall to see none the less... SANTA! Grant was so excited and we had been working on our list for quiet some time. He was so careful to keep it safe from Madelyn and to add to it every time we saw a new commercial (thanks Nickelodeon). He really got the whole Christmas thing this year and it was a ton of fun to see it all through his eyes! He loved seeing Santa and actually ran up to sit on his lap. No fear, at all! What a champ! Madelyn was a different story, which was surprising, because she's not really afraid of strangers, but it must have been an off day. We actually saw another Santa like a week or two later and she was all over him and I couldn't keep her away from him. Kids are funny that way! They keep surprising us! Anyway, here are some pics of the weekend... and don't judge because I look a little tired in these pictures.

The table was all set!

In the playroom! I was feeling very festive that day.

Either watching football or the parade... I can't remember!

Dinner was served, eaten, and then we just sat around and enjoyed the company!

Meeting the big man!

He was telling Santa in detail about his list and made sure to include everything!

I can't believe he's this big!

And then there was little Madelyn! She didn't like it too much...obviously.

Fall Family Pics

2011-01-21T16:33:00.000-08:00

We took some pictures the day of Halloween, that Sunday, with the whole family...Parents, cousins, etc. We also got some pictures of just us and the kids. I'm really happy with the way they turned out. Grant had a difficult time participating, but all in all the result was okay. I'll post pictures of the whole fam-damily later. Those take a while to edit and choose one where everyone is smiling, all eyes open, etc. etc. And knowing my family my name is mud if its a "bad" picture of them. So I'll work on that when I have the patience, but for now here some shots of my sweet little family. I also LOOOOVE the stage Madelyn is in and I LOOVE the stage Grant is starting to get in. He's almost out of the terrible two's and three's... although he still has his moments. I have to find myself explaining everything we're about to do so that nothing is sprung on him and he's not taken off guard. For example, these pictures. I forgot to tell him what we were doing and then he just threw a fit. Lesson learned!

Halloween........WHAT???

2011-01-20T14:53:00.000-08:00

I know how sad that I'm updating you about Halloween and its in the middle of January?!! What the??? Anyway, we are VERY behind on this blog and I've decided I'm going to update you slowly on all our happenings. I'm going to update with something new EVERYDAY until I'm finally updated. (How many times can you say the word "update"?) So I decided to start with Halloween.

This year my sister and her sweet family flew all the way from Georgia, or how we pronounce it JAR-JIA, to come and see us. Tickets were much cheaper for Halloween than Thanksgiving, so I can't blame her. It was a lot of fun to hang out and just to be around them. I talk to her everyday on the phone, but we only get to see each other like once, maybe twice a year. We all decided to do a Toy Story theme Halloween for the kids so that they could pretty much choose whatever they want to be. Grant, of course, wanted to be Buzz Light Year and Madelyn was Evil Doctor Pork chop (not so much evil as cute though:). We had a lot of fun and probably spent more time taking pictures of the kids than we did trick or treating, but that's okay. Here are some pictures to prove we are still alive...

Oh yeah, Geoffery and I have this one issue that we don't completely agree on since we first got married and that's Halloween. I love Halloween almost as much as Christmas and Geoffery HATES Halloween. It's always been one of those things that I'm trying to get him to like and he's always trying to get me to do away with. However, this year he surprised me with dressing up as one of the 3 amigos! I was completely shocked and taken back!! I guess I finally won after 7 years of spending Halloweens together! And yes those pants are as tight as you can get. He couldn't even bend over!! What husbands will do to please their wife!! Thanks hun, I got a good laugh- and that's AT you, not WITH you:) JK...

He truely thought he was the REAL buzzlight year!!

Ohh scary T-REX...

This is Barbie, not that you couldn't tell by that hair!

Little Bo Peep and her sheep!

Aren't these two babes the sweetest!

The whole gang together at last!

Miss Madelyn

2010-10-04T14:07:00.000-07:00

So I've been waiting on the day that I could put little pigtails in Madelyn's hair. I was sooooooo EXCITED when I discovered her hair was long enough for pigtails. How cute!!!! I've done it like this almost everyday since I found out that I can do it. For one it makes her hair look even, which it is VERY uneven all the way around. Second, it stays pretty good all day, minus nap time. And third its just plain cute. I love her soo much and she has brought so much joy to our house. She is walking everywhere and into everything, but she is so fun to just watch and see what she is doing. I always wonder what their thinking up there at this age. Seriously can you get any cuter? I don't think soo.

By the way, my new challenge to myself is to blog once a week. I just feel like this time is getting away from me and this is our journal, so this is my only way to remember this time. So wish me luck!

Sunday Best

2010-09-28T14:41:00.000-07:00

So I was noticing that I didn't have that many pictures of the kids as I would like on our blog. So my new goal is to update regularly on the kids and recent pictures of them. Problem is 90% of the pictures we take are on our phone, so I just need to start uploading those to the computer. Anyway, before we went to church the other week I told Geoffery I wanted to take pictures of the kids dressed up looking cute. Because again, 90% of my pictures are of them at home in comfy clothes and they are never dressed cute or their hair fixed. So we took the time to take pictures, but Madelyn is terrible. She NEVER sits still for a second so all the pictures are blurry of her. So I had to sit in and hold her while Geoffery took the picture. At least we got ONE good one of both kids looking at the camera. I guess that's all you can ask for:)

Yellowstone Trip

2010-09-28T14:26:00.000-07:00

Earlier this summer, we decided that we were going to try to go to cool places right around where we live. People drive thousands of miles to come here and experience the outdoors and we’ve lived here for eight years and haven’t done most of the touristy stuff. Sooo we decided one weekend to pack up the kids and head for Yellowstone. It’s only and hour and a half, so not too far and we wanted to drive around the park, see the hot springs, see Old Faithful, and have a picnic right in the park. I was REALLY excited about going because the last time I went I was about 12 and don’t remember much. (As side note, Geoffery has begged me to go since I can remember and have never been up to, just didn’t seem that cool, but I guess I’ve changed my mind since I had kids).

We got up early that morning and went to a local breakfast place in town and it was delicious!! It never fails and seriously has the best pancakes and homemade syrup I’ve ever eaten! I try to talk Geoffery into going every Saturday morning. THEN, we went to Wal-Mart and bought a cooler because we don’t have one and some drinks and stuff for our picnic. FINALLY at 11:30 we left Rexburg and were on our way. Madelyn took a nap the whole way up and Grant watched his (um no, OURS) ipod. Once we were there we drove into the park and immediately saw a huge elk. Yellowstone seems to never disappoint with the animals. We were all hungry again by this point and pulled off at the closest picnic table and ate lunch. There was a stream nearby that Grant actually got into trying to catch fish with his cup. He was pretty disappointed that he wasn’t successful and we tried to explain that only cavemen can catch fish this way. So after this point his flip-flops were SOAKING wet. After lunch we stopped at a hot spring and walked around. Hence, if you notice in the picture Grant barefoot, that’s because he flat out refused to wear his shoes, so he had to ride in the stroller. So don’t think I’m the kind of mom that lets her children walk around Yellowstone with no shoes because I’m not… promise!

After that we decided to head to Old Faithful having no idea when it would erupt again. Luckily we got there 3 minutes AFTER it erupted. Yeah, so we got to wait another hour and a half to see it go off. So we got ice cream and walked around the big hotel they have there. It’s super cool inside if you’ve never seen it. And don’t think you can get a room there because it’s a year and a half out for a reservation- and you have to share a bathroom- not my kind of place. I like my privacy please! But it would be an experience I’m sure. ANYWAY, we got some pretty good seats to see it explode. Grant decided that it would be loud and he doesn’t like loud noises so he decided he had to wrap my baby wrap around him to shield his ears from the exploding water. (He didn’t care for the hot springs too much- hot water and loud noises are his two biggest fears). Everyone was looking at him and laughing because he looked pretty ridiculous. Which this only added to his fuel of angriness. He kept yelling at people not to look at him and laugh. Yeah, that’s my boy…yelling at complete strangers. Gotta love 3 year olds! When it finally went off he realized that it wasn’t loud and he was pretty safe sitting that far away, and he was okay with it and thought it was pretty cool. Then after that we headed home. Unlucky for us we ONLY saw elk and not even ONE buffalo. I was pretty sad about that, but it was a lot of fun and we had ourselves some memories. AND that was our summer goal—TO BUILD MEMORIES. So all and all it was a success. Here are some pictures of our trip…

Grant has an obession with school buses so we had to take our picture in front of one.

He was soooo afraid of the noise that it would be too loud.

Here is Grant looking very religious so that he wouldn't hear the water "blow" up in the air.

I {heart} NY

2010-08-24T21:28:00.000-07:00

We decided to take a little trip to NY to go visit my wee little brother because he and his wife are living there for the summer. Its a free place to stay and that saved us about half the budget right there! Anyway, we have been gearing up for this trip all summer. It was our first away from the kids since WAY before I had Madelyn, so it was looong over due. There are a couple of things that I think sum up (MY VIEW) of NY:

1. Hot and humid

2. EXTREMELY dirty!!

3. Expensive strollers

4. LOOOTTTTSSS of walking

5. Everything is overpriced

6. The city NEVER sleeps (I thought that was just a saying, now I know its true:)

7. Subways suck! (I felt like a rat going into its hole)

8. Big cities would only be fun to live in BEFORE having kids

9. People are more materialistic (well I'm comparing it to Idaho;)

10. Celebs are everywhere

11. Good food

12. If there's anything interesting in the city, its crowded with HUGE lines

13. Street performers are pretty entertaining

14. It's too high paced for my taste

15. I wouldn't know where you would buy a suitcase- No wal-mart, TJ Maxx, I wouldn't survive

16. Corner markets instead of grocery stores= EXPENSIVE FOOD!

17. Broadway shows are really the best and worth the money

All and all, I'm super glad we went. Thanks to my wonderful sister-in-law who took us everywhere we demanded her and let us boss her around. She was a wonderful hostess and seriously we couldn't have figured out the subways without her. We just followed her EVERYWHERE! Anyway, we took LOTS of pictures so here are some of my favorites.

G- Man in front of his building (he would work 90 plus hour some weeks!)

Central Park plus NY skyline on top of the MET museum building

Our seats were soooo close to the field... you felt like you were playing with them!

Just Kidding! We were 4 seats down from the TIP TOP!

PILLOWS!!

2010-07-19T14:15:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you guys, but pillows are my very favorite thing to buy for a room. It completely sets the tone- formal, fun, classic, bright, or neutral. You can have a so, so couch and as soon as you put pillows on it, it can completely change the room. Soooo I have been looking everywhere for new pillows for my living room. I want something classic and somewhat formal (since we don't use it all that much). I've searched all my favorite stores- Potterybarn, Crate&Barrel, etc. and I've found... nothing. Nothing that says me. So I decided to check out etsy. And you know what, I have found so much out there and for pretty good prices. I can't sew- AT ALL and why not take advantage of people who can!! Yeah for etsy!!! Anyway here are some of my favorite pillows/shops that I found at etsy.

I love the No.7 on this. I've seen a lot of numbers lately in designing rooms and I LIKE IT! A LOT! This seller has a WHOLE bunch of different prints that she can put on pillows just like the one shown. So if your not feeling the whole number thing, you can choose anything you want.

I also loved this pillow!!! I've seen this print on a number of different design blogs and I LOVE IT! Its a little more expensive because supposedly its the real deal designer fabric (have no idea what that means), but its still cheaper than a lot of pillows that I've been looking at lately. I loved this pillow in brown, but it comes in a number of different colors. Also this particular seller will work with you to coordinate more pillows with you. And from the looks of her shop, I trust her style. Her other, non-designer fabrics, are just as pretty and MUCH more reasonable (around the $20 range). Anyway, go look at etsy and see what you like because sometimes I forget to look there for things to design my house. There's a LOT of talent out there!

I have a confession...

2010-07-09T13:51:00.000-07:00

So lately I have become a little obsessed with design blogs. Like stalking them everyday and spending hours on the computer to find new ones to inspire me. I don't really know how this obsession started, but I seriously can't stop thinking about. It's overtaking my LIFE!!! Not really, but I've seriously have had to start limiting my time on the computer because I love doing it so much. It's like having free design magazines on your computer. So I've decided to start sharing with you guys some of my favorite things that I find. I'm always emailing my sisters pictures of stuff I find to help inspire them with decorating their house, and why not share these images with you guys? I mean, their BEAUTIFUL.

The number one thing I've found by spending countless hours on the computer looking at these blogs, is that there are way more retailers available to help inspire us other than Potterybarn. This leads me to my first post... Wisteria. I don't know if you guys have heard of them, but they really sell some amazing one of a kind furniture. Stuff that looks like its been around for a while, not brand new out of the box. Anyway, they have some really pretty pictures on their website and you can view room by room already decorated (which is my favorite). These were my favorite and I really want this chalkboard to put in my mudroom (which is ALWAYS the biggest mess) and wouldn't this be perfect to get that organized? Also I'm always on the lookout for great bedding. I really don't find too many bedding sets that I like. No WHERE!! But I really like this one and I love the warm colors. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this stuff as much as I do!

Two Reasons for Celebration!

2010-07-07T21:32:00.000-07:00

So there were two really good reasons to celebrate the 4th of July- Independence Day and Madelyn's birthday! Officially Madelyn turned one today, but since family was going to be in town already for the 4th, we decided to combine the two. We really had a lot of fun.

We started out the day with the annual Rexburg Parade downtown. This is my most favorite thing all year that I really look forward to. I know that sounds pretty dumb, but I grew up going to a similar parade in Georgia at a not so small town anymore. But it is so similar to what I remember as a kid and I think looking through their eyes its so much more cool. The big tractors, fire trucks, horses (even if they do poop), all the candy, old cars, and at the Rexburg one they always hand out chocolate milk (Grant's a big fan of this tradition). It always makes me feel apart of the community and patriotic. I seriously LOVE this time of year!

Anyway, so after the parade we came home and put Madelyn to sleep and got started on the food and decorations. Everyone helped out so much so it wasn't all that hard to get everything together. By the time we were done, Madelyn woke up and we all ate. Then we sang happy birthday to her and blew out the candle. She got her first, of many I'm sure, chocolate cupcake. She was more interested in playing with the cake rather than eating it, but I think she enjoyed the experience. After a quick bath (she was a MESS) we opened presents. She got her first doll house from us, LOTS of books and a bookcase from Juju (my mom and dad), and a ride on ladybug from Nana (geoffery's parents).

She really was in a good mood for most of the day. I had just weaned her from nursing the day before, so she was a little on edge. I, on the other hand, had plenty of caffeine to make up for the last two years of doing without (some benefits to not nursing or being prego). But we really had a lot of fun with everyone and it was really relaxing and laid back. It's good to have family around who will help and you can just be yourself. So all and all it was a successful celebration of the 4th and 1st birthday! So glad I decided to combine them... maybe it will become a tradition:)

Beach Trip 2010

2010-06-13T22:17:00.001-07:00

We decided this year we really needed a beach vacation. Both Geoffery and I grew up vacationing in Florida every summer with our families. To us its not a vacation without the beach, specifically in Florida. Luckily, we got there before the oil spill did and we all enjoyed the beach for a week long. I think the oil finally reached the beach a week after we were there. Whew! We really had a good time. We went and stayed at a SUPER nice condo with my parents- THANK YOU!! Everyday we would wake up, throw on our bathing suits, go to the beach for 3-4 hours, come up take naps, get ready, and go out to eat. It was heaven.

As you all know, vacationing with children is really like a business trip for the parents (line from modern family). You never really know how they're going to react when you take them across the country and travel to places they've never been. Well I have to say this... they were angels the ENTIRE time we traveled- seriously perfect. Once we got there, they were still really good until Grant woke up with some crazy looking knee caps, ankles, and elbows. They were sooo swollen and he couldn't even bend them. Geoffery took him to urgent care and the doctor told us he was bitten by sand fleas (never heard of 'em). After that he had hives for 3 days if he even thought about itching them. They put him on a steroid to help with the bites and if you've ever had a kid on steroids you know they make them a little crazy. Grant had a ton of energy and he was scratching like crazy. We decided that we better not go back to the beach and decided to hang by the pool all day. So we did that for three days and it really helped. He wouldn't scratch if he was in the pool because it kept him cool and he also didn't scratch while he slept. So we just kept him doing those two things- THANK GOODNESS HE SLEPT!! I have to say, for as uncomfortable as he had to feel, he really did well not complaining about it and just having fun- it couldn't have been much worse. So all in all the vacation wasn't ruined thanks to sand fleas.

We had a lot of great memories one being that Grant got over his fear of pools! He finally let us put him in the water and move around without screaming at the top of his lungs. By the end, he was even jumping into the water and letting us catch him. I was sooo proud because I LOVE swimming and before this trip he wouldn't even get his big toe wet. Madelyn loves the water and had a ton of fun. It was great because she would take her morning nap outside and just fall asleep in my arms- again she was great!!

Geoffery and I were very happy with out vacation. I wouldn't say it was relaxing, but it was a ton of fun. Thanks mom and dad! My sister and her husband and two kids were also able to come and my little bro and his cute wife too. We had a blast. Here are the promised pictures for my family. WARNING- there are a TON of them. Sorry if I bore you guys!

Preschool

2010-06-13T21:18:00.000-07:00

(Tear, tear) I'm can't believe my baby is now in preschool. Seriously, where did the time go? I decided to sign him up for two days a week of preschool at BYU-Idaho this summer. He really needed an outlet to go and run and play with lots of other kids his age, and this is a perfectly safe environment to do just that. It really is perfect because the teachers are students who are being graded (and watched) on what they teach the kids. There is a GREAT observation booth that teachers and parents can sit and watch their kids socially interact with other kids. I LOVE it and so does he.

The first day of school was really hard for all of us (especially me). Geoffery took work off that morning so that we could go and see him off at school. We walked in and of course he wouldn't let go of my hand. I followed him around for a while and then he just got so caught up in what all the other kids were doing that he just kind of forgot that I was there. So I left without saying goodbye (kind of regret that now, I felt kind of mean). But then Geoffery and I went in the observation booth and just watched him. For a long time he just stood there watching everyone. Then FINALLY a teacher came up and took him to build some blocks. After about 10 minutes of watching his every move, Geoffery and I decided to go and get some breakfast at McDonald's- nice greasy, disgusting breakfast might I add (but that's a different story).

It was seriously ripping my heart out watching him. He seemed so shy and lost and I just wanted to save him. But I knew that he would eventually warm up. So we came back after we ate and watched him some more. And then Geoffery decided he had been away from work too long and he had to go. I felt like I couldn't leave my baby. Like he would coming running back to get me because he needed me (or I needed him, I'm not sure which one). But I left him there and I let him be without me for the rest of the hour.

I went back to pick him up like ten minutes early. I didn't want to be a minute late. Have you ever been the last kid sitting in a room waiting for your parents? That's really the worst feeling out there and I didn't want him to EVER have that feeling. After he got in the car it was a little hard getting information out of him on what he did- which I wanted to know EVERY detail of course. But I'm learning this is his time to do what he wants and if I don't know EVERY move he makes he'll still survive and so will I. It really helps that he LOVES preschool and talks about it constantly and always wants to go back and runs to his teachers when I drop him off in the morning. So all in all it was a good decision to put him in. And it helps that I have 2 hours to myself in the morning where me and Madelyn can have our little alone time.

This is the face he made when I asked him to smile. How do you tell a 3 year old not to smile sooo hard?

Better late than never!

2010-04-28T20:37:00.000-07:00

So I'm finally blogging about Easter! Ha! We had a ton of fun and went to my parents house in logan to spend it with family and enjoy general conference in of course in our pj's (see post below!). Grant had a ton of fun with his cousins Grace and Ella. Grace is just the right size where Grant can wrestle her, and run with her, and everything without her being hurt. Poor little Ella doesn't stand a chance! We've (my sister and I) decided that Grant and Grace look more alike like siblings and so do Madelyn and Ella. Their colorings are soo much more alike. It's funny, you know when you get one kid with blonde hair and then the other comes with dark brown hair. It's funny how those gene things work!! You NEVER know what you're going to get.

Anyway... so the easter bunny of couse found us at ju-ju's (my moms name for the kids). The easter bunny also has a funny little tradition of hiding the easter baskets and Gracie's happened to be outside in the tree! Silly little easter bunny. We also had a little easter egg hunt, inside of course as there was 3 inches of snow outside, and then enjoyed a nice little feast thanks to my mom. It was very delightful.

Letting it all hang out...

2010-04-27T20:48:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm willing to admit to the blog world that we here in the Zellers house like to bake, clean, watch TV, play, color, all of the above in our PJ's. That's just how we do it. I have no regrets or am I embarrassed except of course when my neighbors pop by unexpectedly and then I am a little shy about answering the door. Other than that, I have nothing to hide!

Ashley the gorgeous senior

2010-04-21T10:32:00.001-07:00

This is Ashley. I know she's gorgeous, right? She's also my sister in law. She asked me to take her senior pictures and we had SO MUCH FUN! We illegally trespassed onto someones property (okay it was a mistake, but we felt rebillous) and then at the end we got some yummy milkshakes! We always have soo much fun together and she is definately a beauty. I feel so blessed to have such great sister in laws! Here are some of my favorites:

Sweet Madelyn

2010-04-06T13:39:00.000-07:00

Maddie is now 9 months, tomorrow to be exact. I feel like I've let time gone by without taking pictures of her. I'm a TERRIBLE mother. So I'm working on being better and thought I would take some of her after her bath. She is TRYING to get into everything, but she just can't. She TRIES to pull-up and occasionally she is successful, but most of the time she can't do it. She TRIES to crawl, and can get up on her hands and knees but can't quiet figure out how to move her hands and legs. She is so sweet to have around and she waves at anyone who will look at her. Sweet girl, maybe she'll figure it out soon! We are loving having her in our family!

Funny boy...

2010-03-20T21:34:00.000-07:00

Grant: I love temples
Me: Me too.
Grant: Yeah, your a princess aren't you mom?
Me: Thanks, and is baby sis a princess too?
Grant: Yeah
Me: Are you going to marry a princess?
Grant: No, I'm going to be a race car driver. (pause)
After I'm a missionary I'm gonna be a race car driver.
Me: So are you ever going to marry a princess?
Grant: No. I'm just going to be a race car driver, after my mission.
Me: Oh okay.

Welcome to Radiator Springs...

2010-03-15T19:40:00.000-07:00

Welp, I'm officially old! I'm am now the mother of a thriving 3 year old. I can't believe how fast time flies. Truly its amazing. We ended up celebrating Grants 3rd birthday 2 weekends ago (I know I'm behind, but better late than never- right?). Anyway, we had a Lightning McQueen birthday party with 10 (yes 10) 3 year olds. It was crazy, fun, tiring, but all worth the while. He had a blast. I think it was pretty magical for him to have all his friends here and the whole house decorated like Radiator Springs. When we brought him down in the morning before the party, you would have thought it was Christmas morning. In fact, I dare to say it was better than Christmas. He LOVED it. All his favorite characters where everywhere. It was a lot of fun (THANKS WALMART!) Walmart has the best party line with all the lightning McQueen decor you could think of. Really it is great. FYI if you're about to throw a party.

So it started off with flag invitations to all the kids. Then when they came up they entered Radiator Springs. We then all had lunch at Flo's cafe, of course. Then it was off for games at Luigi's Tire shop where the kids threw bean bags into a tire. Then they went to Fillmore's sticker shop where they all received tattoo's on their hands and then they could decorate their very own car with stickers. After that they played a Lightning McQueen game where they could choose their favorite character. After games, we had story time where they sat and ate their Cars fruit snacks. And then of course presents and cupcakes.

Grant really had a lot of fun and so did I. I found that I really enjoyed planning a kids, friends party. I spent 3 hours drawing and coloring paper so that it looked like a race car flag because I couldn't find the right paper in the store. I woke up the next morning with this huge pain in my neck, but it was well worth it because it looked great. I don't think I'll do it again until he's 5. I think the family rule will be EVERY OTHER YEAR that you can have a friends birthday party. I do want to have 4 kids, so that's a LOT of work and time and money. But anyway here are some pictures.

Scott and Madelyn- He watched and held Madelyn the whole time! Thanks Scott!

Me running around CRAZY!!

Lots of POSTS!!

2010-01-15T12:35:00.001-08:00

This is what I wish I was doing right now! Isn't she the sweetest! I finally posted Christmas and some other cool things. So make sure you scroll down!

Maddie's first rice cereal

2010-01-15T12:21:00.001-08:00

So we feed Madelyn rice cereal for the first time on New Years day. She did pretty good if you consider good as half of it getting on her and me, but I think she did digest SOME of it, maybe:) I love having a baby, more than anything, I however don't like feeding babies. It requires ALL your time and effort and it takes most of the day and a LOT of clean up. Now I get to add to my schedule three times a day where I have to sit and feed her and that takes about 30-40 minutes (plus clean up). Before now having two kids was not as hard as I thought it was going to be. But now she rolls around the room (no more placing her on the floor and leaving her there), feeding her rice cereal, and she just needs more attention. It's the best thing I've ever done, but I'm definatly BUSY! Before I had some downtime here or there to do what I like, but now I'm on the go ALL the time! I just can't imagine having a third or throwing in school and activities! I'm sure that will be even more crazy than it is now!

Grant's Sledding Adventure!

2010-01-15T11:56:00.000-08:00

Grant isn't the kind of kid that LOVES being outside. He's just content staying inside and he's completely fine. I LOVE being outside during the summer and playing in the babypool, jumping on the tramp, etc. He doesn't seem to impressed with those things. However, this winter he LOVES the snow! I was soo surprised because he doesn't like extreme temperatures, he likes things the same. But he really liked sledding this year and just being outside playing in the snow with his dumptrucks. He spent like 2 hours outside doing just that. He LOVED it. Just goes to show that our kids are ALWAYS surprising us!

Bed head and all...

2010-01-15T11:28:00.000-08:00

Nothing like a toothy grin with bedhead and all to brighten your day!

Christmas 2009

2010-01-15T10:52:00.001-08:00

We had a great Christmas at our house. My parents were able to come up and spend the day with us, which is always a lot of fun. We woke up that morning and Geoffery went to go see if Santa really did come while we waited upstairs- impatiently! Sure enough Santa did come and brought lots of toys with him! Grant ran downstairs as fast as he could and just stood there starring at all his new toys! We have a tradition in our family that Santa displays all the toys instead of wrapping them. So their already to be played with, with the batteries already in them and out of the box! Grant's big toy this year was a train table, so he got his wish! Madelyn's big toy was a jumperoo which she also loves!

So Geoffery and I always try to get each other nice things for Christmas. Geoffery starts asking early on what I got him hoping that I will somehow accidentaly tell him. Well this year I was sure that I got him something and he really hadn't guessed what it was. I had gotten him a blue ray player and he had guessed everything but this. I was really excited because in years past, I'll get him something and then right before he unwraps it, he guesses what it is! It really frustrates me- to my core! But I really thought I got him this year. So the week before Christmas he's asking me is it this??? or this??? or this??? Well I hope it's not a blue ray player because that would just be lame. When he said that I was soo mad at him and wouldn't talk to him the rest of the night. He felt pretty bad to say the least. I mean wouldn't any guy be excited for a blue ray player?! Come on, its a GREAT gift! So to say the least Geoffery didn't have anything to unwrap on Christmas day, thanks to his own curiosity! I ended up just giving it to him with the receipt attached.

On the other hand, people who don't pry get to be surprised on Christmas day. So he gave me perfume, running shoes (for Zumba), and a CD. Thanks hun, sorry your Christmas was ruined! Here's some pictures from the day!

Santa 2009

2010-01-15T09:57:00.000-08:00

So I have a thing that I hate fake looking Santa's. The great mall of Idaho Falls always have the worst looking Santa's each year. Well we were there shopping and I saw the best looking Santa with a REAL beard. I was soo excited because I had planned a trip to Salt lake to see a good santa and I thought now I can stay here and see this one. So we went and found out what hours the "good" santa would be working so that we could come back and take the kids. So a couple of weeks go by and I got up and got the kids dressed in their Christmas outfits and drove all the way to Idaho Falls during the hours the "good" santa told us that he worked. Geoffery met us there during his lunch break. I was already tired from just trying to get out of the house with two kids. So we get over to the Santa and low and behold the ugly fake santa is the one working, not the "good" real looking santa. I was sooo disappointed, but too tired to really care at this point. So here are our pictures with the really fake ugly beard Santa:)

On another note, neither of my kids were afraid of him. Grant ran straight up to him by himself and jumped on his lap. He continued to tell him exactly what he wanted for Christmas. Which by the way, was a train and train tracks. He was very specific. He really wanted train tracks. Which cracks me up! He was soo much fun this year and really was understanding the whole Christmas experience! I LOVE seeing the Holidays through his eyes. It really makes things so much more magical. We also tried to make it about Jesus's Birthday so that he can start to understand the true meaning of Christmas!

Lots of posts...

2009-12-08T11:49:00.000-08:00

I have finally posted because I figured out that problem I was having with uploading my pictures, thanks Kenzie! Anyway, look down because I have posted a LOT! I needed to catch up.

Calling ALL dancers...

2009-12-08T11:37:00.000-08:00

So I HATE working out in any form. In fact I haven't done any kind of workout since high school (meaning that was cheerleading and gymnastics) until... ZUMBA! I absolutely LOVE it! I love to dance and just have fun and that's what zumba is all about. The young womens president in my ward introduced it to me and kept telling me about it and since I'm nursing and can't diet, I really wanted to start some kind of exercising to loose this baby weight. I went kindof not expecting anything and now I'm totally converted. I'm totally sore and exhausted, but it is so fun and I think I'll actually stick with it. If you have it taught anywhere near where you live, you have to give it a try. It's taught differently by different instructors, so it might be totally different from what I do, but I think it's similar in the sense of you are dancing for an hour straight. Also supposedly you burn 750 calories everytime you do it.

Also ever since I've been a mom, I felt like I didn't have a "thing." Geoffery always had golf and I was always so jealous of him that he enjoyed something. Well now zumba is my "thing" that I can enjoy and go to each week where no one knows me as a "mom." Anyway, you have to try it if you like dancing and your looking for a "thing."

Maddie bow baddie...

2009-12-08T11:25:00.001-08:00

Our little Madelyn is growing up WAY too fast. She has been soo fun lately rolling, cooing, talking, laughing, and just being too CUTE! We took her to her four month appointment and she weighs a whooping 11lbs, 4 ozs and is 23 inches long. So she's tiny, but STRONG! She's in the 7th percentile for weight and the 20th for height. The doctor keeps assuring me that its just genetics and not that she's not growing or anything. He says that she is on her own growth rate. I guess I worry because Grant was 3lbs bigger than her at the same age! But he's a boy and she's a girl:) So I guess its good. This time around I definitely feel like I have a newborn for a much longer time than I did with Grant. She's just content to hang out anywhere and watch what everyones doing. She doesn't care to roll over too much (even though she can) or hang out on her stomach. I guess I'm supposed to start rice cereal soon, but to be honest she's so small that I would feel silly putting her in a high chair. But we'll start that sometime this month. She is so fun to be around and will go to anyone. She sleeps through the night and takes two to three naps a day! She really likes to sleep, so much so I worry about her and wake her up if she sleeps too long. She is soo much fun to be around and we just LOVE her to death! Oh by the way, nursing is going great! Although she refuses to take a bottle after she turned 3 months, so I guess we will just take her with us wherever we go!

Thanksgiving Dinner

2009-12-08T10:22:00.000-08:00

So this year I've done something I've always wanted to do... I hosted Thanksgiving dinner. I called my mom up (who has Thanksgiving down to a science) and said okay send me all your recipes and your timeline of when and how to do everything. And she did and it turned out to be a success. It also helps that Carolyn (Geoffery's mom) made the turkey and the desserts so I didn't have to worry about that. I was most proud (and nervous) of making homemade rolls, but they turned out great. Here are some shots of the meal and table.

Sarah's Wedding...

2009-12-08T09:39:00.000-08:00

We went to Salt Lake for Sarah (Geoffery's sisters) wedding. It was soo fun to hang out on Temple square all day. It was freezing that day so we were all dying to get inside. I ended up being the photographer so this makes my third wedding I've done. I can tell a big difference in how much I learn each time from the first one and then this time. I still have TON to learn. But here are some of my favorite shots and of our little family. I got the kids some outfits so that we all matched. And yes this is the best family shot of us all because every time I asked Grant to smile he would smile like that and I just gave up trying to make him smile without the eye shut as well. Gotta love 2 year olds:) The colors of the wedding were black and red. Anyway let me know which ones you like the best.

Halloween Pictures FINALLY!!!

2009-12-08T09:14:00.000-08:00

So I finally figured out how to upload my pictures thanks to Kenzie! So here are my LONG awaited (just kidding) Halloween pictures that I took of the kids. Grant was a dragon and Madelyn a Caterpillar. They were both sooo cute in their costumes. We went to our neighborhood trunk or treat and then went to a couple of houses. Grace and Ella came along with us (Grant's cousins) so he had an absolute blast hanging out with them. Afterwards we watched the Great Pumpkin with Charlie Brown and the kids sat and ate their candy and then would jump up and run to the door when we had treak or treaters. I have to say it was one of my favorite Halloweens that I can remember. Having kids old enough to get into holidays makes everything sooo magical! Christmas here we come!:)

Problems uploading pics!

2009-11-25T09:52:00.000-08:00

So I have been trying to upload pictures to my blog for like a month and its just not working! I don't know what's going on? Is anyone else having this problem? I have Halloween and other pictures to put up! HELP!!

Fun with Grant and Tyler (Cousin)!

2009-10-23T21:03:00.000-07:00

This is Geoffery: We took Grant, Tyler, Nana (my mom), grandma and grandpa great, Audrey and Madelyn to Bear World two weekends ago. There was a petting zoo and i caught this on my little video camera. I hope you enjoy this as much as i did taking it!! GZ

Fall Family Pictures 2009

2009-10-21T12:51:00.000-07:00

Maddie's Close Up...

2009-08-21T12:17:00.000-07:00

So it's been quiet the month! We are just trying to adjust to our new little addition. Madelyn is the BEST baby ever! Seriously, all she does is sleep and eat. She likes to be up from 8pm to midnight and then she goes back to sleep. Rarely she'll wake up during the day to look and play with us and then she'll go back to sleep! She rarely cries and I still have to set an alarm to wake her up during the night so she can eat. She is still TINY! I weighed her at 5 weeks and she weighed 8lbs 2ozs. So she is gaining weight, but definatly not like Grant did! At 2 months he weighed 12lbs! So I know I'm going to have to get used to her growing at her own rate, not like Grants. The only problem we've encountered so far is that she has acid reflux so we have to give her a prescription everyday to help her with that. I worry she doesn't keep enough down, but she's starting to get better. We just do A LOT of laundry for her several times a week. It's not just a little spit up here or there, its only about once a day that she does it and its PROJECTILE (about 2 to 3 feet out) and I would estimate about 3 ozs. comes up every time. So when it started happening I knew it wasn't normal spit up. But it doesn't seem to bother her at all and she seems to be gaining weight, so all is well:) I am nursing her so for those of you who knows how that went with Grant you will know that its a BIG deal that I am nursing her! So we are thankful that its going well. Well that's about it. I'll update later this next week with pictures of Grant and Madelyn's nursery and Grant's big boy bedroom!

Madelyn Brooke Zellers- 7/7/09

2009-07-14T13:37:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! We are finally back from the hospital and it has finally calmed down enough for me to have a free second to blog and write about our new little addition. Madelyn Brooke was born on July 7, 2009 at 10:26 at night. She weighed in at 6lbs 2ozs and 18 inches long! She is tiny, but VERY strong! She has a head full of black hair (which is always fun for the mom:). Now for our story...

I was 39 weeks when I went to the doctor on Monday. He said that I was dilated to a 4, almost a 5, and 80% effaced! I knew I could go at ANY second. However I had been at a 4 for TWO weeks and nothing was happening! So I was getting pretty impatient to say the least. So on Tuesday morning, I decided to take the good old Castor oil to see if I could get my contractions started. I took the Castor oil at 1pm. It made me pretty sick a couple of hours later, but it did its promised job because I started having regular contractions at about 6pm that night. They started out about 5-10 minutes apart so we knew we needed to get to the hospital QUICK. Geoffery was running around like a wild man freaking out and I kept saying that this isn't it. I was sick of false labor by this point. Well my mom and Geoffery knew better so we got to the hospital by about 7pm. They continued being about 5 minutes apart. Sure enough I was in labor this time.

After about 3 hours of laboring, little Madelyn was born. The doctor said he'd come back every hour or so to check on me and the next time he came in he was delivering me. Let's just hope the rest of my labors go that fast because it was wonderful! I was in labor for 17 hours with Grant and it was NOT fun!

We are doing well now adjusting to our new life. Today is my first day doing it on my own with both Grant and Madelyn. Grant is just in LOVE with his baby sister. He wants to hug and kiss her ALL the time. He had the best reaction I could ever hope for. I was really worried about how this would affect him, but he has loved every minute of it. So here are some pictures of our beautiful baby girl and us at the hospital.

Here I am at 38 weeks I believe (when I originally thought I would go any second:)

Proud brother!

The banner Abby put up when I came home from the hospital! (Thanks Abby!)

Updates...

2009-06-05T12:44:00.001-07:00

We are alive! I promise! I have just been busy and well, tired:) Whenever I get a free moment by myself I much rather take a nap then blog. But I promise to do better. We are doing well. Grant is getting so verbal and independent. It's so fun to see him grow up and mature EVERYDAY! He's always surprising me with new things he knows. He catches on to everything me and Geoffery do, even when you don't think they're listening:)

So I'm 35 weeks pregnant TODAY! Yeah! It's going by fast, and well also creeping each day. It's hard to explain. But the baby is doing well. They have me come in every week because she's so small. We do a stress test everytime I go and an ultrasound. I just went yesterday and they found that the amniotic fluid is a little low. So I have to drink 12, 12ozs. of water a DAY! I'm going to the bathroom like literally every 10 minutes! It's crazy. I'm so sick of water I could puke. But if this works we can hopefully keep her in there until I'm full term. Otherwise they will induce me on MONDAY! YIKES! So I ran home and washed all her clothes (not that they will fit for a while) and cleaned her swing, bouncer, and carseat. It's nice not having to buy all that stuff with your second. So we will see what happens. The ultrasound estimated that she only weighs about 4lbs 10 ozs. so she will be SMALL, but hopefully healthy! She seems to be doing great looking at the ultrasound and the stress test so they're not to worried about her. So I'm just staying home this weekend and taking it easy with my old hospital cup near by to drink...ALL DAY! It's a full time job just drinking and going to the bathroom! I also ran to the store to buy some premmie outfits. They're just so stinking small! I really hope that once she's born she'll put on the weight. Grant was 8lbs so having a small baby will be new.

Anyways, that is whats going on in our life. We're pretty boring. I have some posts that I would like to post, but well I just don't have the engery to download my pictures:) We went to St. George for a week (lots of pictures) and that was a ton of fun to get out and away for a while with just the three of us. We figured it would be our last outing out together before the baby comes. It's finally warm here, but without any grass in our yard, outside hasn't been the best. Hopefully one day we will have a yard for Grant to play in:) We're currently working on that.

Well that's our life right now in a nutshell. Pray for us that drinking all this water will help so that little Madelyn will continue to grow!

Easter 2009

2009-04-14T15:54:00.001-07:00

Before I post a million pictures from this weekend, I'll give ya a quick overcap. We went to Logan to my parents house for Easter. It's been like 4 months since we've seen them (well since Christmas) because they've been in Georgia, but they're finally back! It was so good to see them and just hang out. Grant became very obsessed with his Juju and Papa. The weekend consisted of cooking, a little shopping, and a LOT of catching up- TAlkING! We really had a good time. We also had a fun little easter egg hunt, which to my surprise Grant caught on pretty quickly and really got into it. The Easter Bunny also came to visit Grant after church. We didn't want to wake up too early with 9am church. Overall I couldn't of asked for a better easter, so thanks mom and dad for hosting it all for us!

Monica's Bridals...

2009-04-08T11:34:00.000-07:00

So I've finally finished editing Monica's Bridals that I took like seriously 5 months ago. I'm happy with the way they turned out. I learned some new tricks on photoshop that really helped them turn out better than the way I was editing before. Photoshop can be tricky because there's about a million ways to do one thing that will give the same effect, but some work better than others. Anyway hope you enjoy!

Baby Stuff...

2009-04-02T13:05:00.000-07:00

I have been spending sooo much time online looking for baby stuff. I thought I would post some of the stuff I have found. Some of them are SUPER cute and I just had to share with everyone.

1. So I'll start off with my favorite bassinet I found at Wal-mart. Here it is:

Now the reason I LOVE it is because it can change into a changing table (I can use it when she's done sleeping in our room), it has wheels so I can roll it into multiple rooms, all the storage for diapers and etc., and the basket comes off so I can take it downstairs easily with me during the day. I LOVE the multi-funcitionality of this bassinet. I can't wait to order it! YEAH! You can find it here. Plus free shipping with Wal-mart if you order site-to-store. Gotta love wal-mart!

2. Second favorite thing is a DURABLE diaper bag. I'm soooo hard on my bags and with Grant no bag would last longer than 3 months without looking completely worn out and ready to throw away. SO I'm looking for the perfect bag that can put up with my beatings. Gap has a line of diaperbags and they are seriously sooo cute. I love them! You can find it here.

3. I, of course, have been obsessed with shopping for girl baby clothes. When I had Grant, I could never resist going over to check out the girls section as well. I'm pretty sure that's why Geoffery wanted a boy. He knew he would have a problem on his hands if we had a girl. Well he was right. But I have found some pretty cute stuff and I cannot wait to dress her. So far my fav have been these shoes I found from someone elses blog. These are seriously the cutest things I've ever seen!

They have lots of different designs. Check them out here.

4. Also who can forget bedding. I love to look at crib bedding. Even after I bought Grants I look at bedding weekly online. So for little Madelyn, I have been eyeballing the below bedding from Restoration Hardware (yes they have a baby/kids store too and its just as fabulous). I have a tan rocking chair and I think this bedding would make the rocking chair fit better with the room than any other bedding. I also just love the clean lines and simplicity of it.

5. Last but not least is a double stroller. Now I may need your help with this one if anyone has experience with it, but so far I'm leaning towards the Baby Trend Double Sit N Stand Stroller. It's a double stroller that converts into a sit-n-stand. Perfect for us because Grants not quite old enough to do the sit-n-stand part, but probably in a year he will be to that point. I hear they're hard to push, but its a great value and it would be able to grow with us through our different stages. Again comments on this because I don't have any experience with this product. You can see it here.

So please leave your comments with your favorite baby products and let me know of anything out there that you love. Also if any of you have this stuff let me know what you think of it before I go out and buy it!

Grant's Thomas the Train Party

2009-03-11T12:06:00.000-07:00

So Grant officially turned 2 on march 6! I absolutely LOVE this age. He is communicating, interacting, and much happier overall! He has told me for the last two months that he wants a train party. So we decided to do the whole Thomas the train decor and he LOVED it! I think it was a dream come true to have trains all over the house. He kept running around saying, choo-choo train! We had all our family over to help us celebrate. And Abby, my sister, even made him a Train cake! She did an amazing job, so Thank you, thank you Abby! Our big present to him will be a big boy bed, that we're still looking for, so he didn't get it on his birthday. But he got lots of other things to make up for it! Thanks everyone for coming and we had a blast!

Also here are WAY too many pictures. Including the promised "belly shot." It's not a good one, but I'll post another one later. Grant was deathly afraid of the candle and wouldn't blow it out, so Tyler helped him do it. It was sooo cute! Hope you enjoy! Also scroll down to some other post that I posted today. I did Valentines Day and Geoffery's birthday!

Geofferys 28!!

2009-03-11T11:42:00.002-07:00

So Geoffery's birthday was on the 25th of February and it was on the day we were leaving to go to Arizona. So the weekend before, I decided to have the whole fam over to have cake and ice cream. I gave him a 19" plasma for our bathroom (something he's wanted VERY bad since we've moved in). I got a great deal on it from Wal-Mart. Like $100 cheaper than I found anywhere else. I think it was kindof a fluke because it wasn't on display, but it was in the back labeled for $100 cheaper than anything on the floor. So I was pretty excited!

Anyway, here are the pictures from the party. Grant had a lot of fun and I think I even surprised Geoffery with his present. It's a joke around here because everytime he opens one of my presents, he ALWAYS guesses what it is right before he opens it and he's ALWAYS right!

Geofferys 28!!

2009-03-11T11:42:00.001-07:00

Valentines Day

2009-03-11T11:19:00.000-07:00

So this year for Valentines, I decided to decorate a little around the house. I cut out some hearts and put candy in some of my decorative dishes and we really just enjoyed a relaxing Valentines day. I didn't want to go out to eat because it would be a 4 hour wait, so we looked up Barefoot Contessa and made some steaks here at the house with homemade onion rings and asparagus. It was delicious. Everything I've ever made of Barefoot Contessa is wonderful! I LOVE HER!!

Anyway, I got some cheap valentine presents for Grant and balloons and candy for Geoffery. I wanted it to be as cheeezy as possible! Also Nana brought over some yummy sugar cookies and a little monkey doll for Grant. It is still his favorite stuffed animal and must have it to sleep or the world will come to an end:) Anyway here are some pictures...

Ahhh, relaxation...

2009-03-04T12:33:00.000-08:00

We just returned from Scottsdale, AZ where we went on Geoffery's annual work retreat trip. I have a couple of things to describe it:

-No kids
-shopping
-85 degree weather
-pools
-more shopping
-GOOD food
-more GOOD food
-more shopping
-oh and a massage

Did I mention the massage? It was WONDERFUL! I've gotten massages before, but maybe because I'm pregnant it was extra wonderful. It was really what I needed during our 10 months of winter. I feel replinished, revived, back from the doom and gloom of our horrible winters. I maybe able to survive the next 2 to 3 months before we see spring here. Hopefully.

Oh and did I mention that it was all company paid for, all of it! I don't think I paid for even one meal while we were down there! EVEN BETTER! However this freed up some money for some serious shopping. And let me tell you, it's a good thing I don't live near a good mall or we would be bankrupt. I did our semi-annual clothes shopping for the family. We are now all ready for spring and summer waredrobes. Now if the weather would cooperate, we would be ready to walk down the run-way. I guess we'll just have to be patient.

Grant was a champ with his Nana. Because we lived with them for 4 months last year, there wasn't much of a transition period. None. He's finally to the point where I explained to him way early that we would be leaving and he would stay with his Nana, and he was MORE than okay with it. In fact, right before we left he just came up to me and said "Bye Mom" and gave me a kiss and hug and went on to play. I don't think he missed us too much.

Well I have no pictures to document this trip. I realized I forgot it on the way to the airport, but I took a picture off the internet so you could see where we stayed. Anyway, I will post soon with pictures from Grants birthday party which will be on Saturday. And maybe as I promised before I will give you a belly shot (but none with a bare belly, I'm not that curagious:)

We're having a...

2009-02-17T11:57:00.000-08:00

GIRL!!!

We just found out that we're having a little girl in July and we are sooo excited! I think we're just trying to take it all in, as we have been in total boy mode for the last two years. Her name, right now, will be Madelyn Brooke and we'll call her Maddy. We had this name picked out when we were coming up with girl names when I had Grant. Everything at the doctors looks good except that she's measuring a week small. However they say this isn't a big deal, she's probably just going to be a small baby. Grant was huge, so this will be new for me for sure. He was 8lbs when he was born:) We are just soo excited!

Stay tuned to Valentines pictures and maybe even a belly shot!

Grants 23 mth update...

2009-02-03T12:37:00.001-08:00

So today I decided it was time to take some pictures of Grant. I hadn't in a while and i just felt like time was passing me by. My baby is growing up! Weep, weep:( But he is learning sooo much and I just wanted to write down some of the things he is doing now. I know this may be boring for some, but this is our family journal.

Grant is all of the sudden talking like crazy. He can communicate pretty much whatever he wants even if it is just using one word or pointing. He is starting to understand things better and I can say things to him and he always understands what I say to him. He now thinks that when Geoffery and I have a conversation that he is definately part of it. Geoffery and I spend a lot of time spelling things out. I tell ya, their smarter than you think:)

Grant also is obessed with several things and we spend our days talking and playing with the following: Monkeys (or he calls them ohh,ahh monkey noises), trains (or choo, choos), cars, Football (but its really basketball), tractors, and snowmen. We talk about these things at least 10 times a day each especially if they're on TV.

Also he is really into TV these days. Before it was just background noise and he didn't pay that much attention. But now it has become where he becomes commatose starring at it. So needless to say we try to turn it off throughout the day so that we get some playtime. His favorite show is Calliou, I have no idea why. I think he likes the idea of being Calliou's age.

He still is sleeping in his crib through the night:) He takes a 2 to 2 and 1/2 hour nap during the day. He loves to eat oatmeal, eggs, turkey, cheese, grapes, peas, green beans, chocalate milk, chicken, bananas and LOVES yogert. He is soo much fun at this age and with that comes a LOT of independence, but I wouldn't change him for the world. We have a lot of fun during the day together and he follows me around like a little dog. He LOVES to cuddle with me and watch a show on TV and we do that almost everyday. He is such a little sweetheart and has a really sweet side to him. I love you Grant!

Sleep Deprieved and lovin it...

2009-01-29T19:41:00.000-08:00

Okay so I know its been FOREVER since I last blogged and I have a reason for it. Well it's not really a good excuse, but at least I'm being honest. I've been, well how do you say it... TIRED. I guess I've forgotten, but man being pregnant sucks all the energy out of you, literally. I even have to take naps during the day and I'm NOT a nap person. But with that being said, I've also forgotten how having a newborn and waking up every 1, 2, or 3 hours makes you, well... EXTREMELY TIRED.

So my sister emailed me this picture of me at Grants baby blessing. It was taken of me almost two years ago and I had NO IDEA someone was taking a picture of me. Abby laughed soo hard she had to send it to me and when I saw it I laughed just as hard and then I wanted to cry because I remember how I felt that day. It was probably one of the most stressful days I can remember for a number of reasons. One, being it was the first time I have ever "hosted" a get together at my house with food, guests, decor, etc. Second, family and friends were in town and staying at our house which requires hosting and being "nice." Third, I was sleeping an average of 4 hours a night. And fourth, it was an emotional day filled with 9am church, a beautiful blessing, and a newborn being contaminated going to a church full of sick people (or though that's how I pictured it then:).

Anyway this picture contains all of that emotion that I was feeling on that day. It makes me laugh. It makes me realize not only how much Grant has grown and developed into this wonderful toddler, but also how much I have grown as a person. I have changed from a scared new mom to be, to a (little) more confident mom and person. I was soo nervous I wasn't doing everything "right" and I knew I was doing something "wrong." Wow it's amazing how children change us sooo quickly. I can't imagine my life without Grant. He has taught me sooo much. So now enjoy this very embarrassing picture and don't judge me too harshly:)

Somes News & Updates...

2008-12-12T14:09:00.000-08:00

So we have some news and some updates. First of all...

We're expecting baby #2! We're due July 10th! We had our first doctor's appointment and we got a strong heartbeat and I'm about 2 months along. We are soooo excited and can't wait!

Second of all...

Our house is being completed this weekend and all we'll have to next week are inspections, close on it, and move in! Yeah!!! We are soo excited that it is finally done and we are really happy with it. Bad news is that we get to move in on Wednesday or Thursday and then go to Logan for Garrett's wedding (where I'm the photographer as well as a bridesmaid:) So we get to enjoy our new home right before Christmas so it will be a STRESSFUL, but fun, next week and a half.

Some updates on Grant. He is doing well and enjoying Christmas time. He loves snowmen and those dancing Hallmark things you know you can get every year that are REALLY annoying. He likes to play them about 10 times a day:) He is growing like a weed and starting to talk more. He is starting to understand Santa and Christmas and it's a LOT of fun to see Christmas through his eyes. We'll have LOTS of pictures I'm sure after Christmas.

So these next couple of weeks will be quiet busy for us. And I thought I could post our Christmas card I made that I know will not be going out this year due to pregnancy nausea, moving into our house, and a wedding. So I hope you enjoy and sorry I couldn't get those out this year. But I hope everyone has a VERY Merry Christmas!

Christmas Time!!

2008-11-18T14:12:00.000-08:00

So I have been SOOO picky when it comes to finding Christmas stockings that I like. I haven't found ANY, ANYWHERE that I like. Well I just found them on Etsy the other day and I REALLY want them. Their more expensive than I want to pay, so I don't know if I'll get them or not, but I had to share with you guys how cute they are. Also how easy would these be to make yourself with similar fabric. Abby you up to sewing me some stockings (along with curtains and pillows for my house:)?

Halloween Events...

2008-11-04T22:21:00.000-08:00

So as you can tell we dressed little Grant up as a pirate. We had a LOT of fun. Our ward/stake had a trunk-or-treat and we went and decorated our car for the event. Grant had a LOT of fun walking around getting candy. He wanted to hold Nana's hand and Geoffery took pictures while Ashley, Geoffery's sister, video taped. No he's not spoiled at all:) He didn't quite get it at first, but then he got really excited about it and only grabbed one piece of candy and put it straight in his bag. It was soooo cute. He took it sooo seriously. He also like handing out the candy. He takes instructions really good and he likes to feel like he is helping.

After the trunk-or-treat we decided that we didn't want to go door to door. Maybe next year when he can eat some of the candy. Okay so does it make me a bad mom that I only gave him like 2 pieces of candy? He doesn't know the difference and he doesn't need all that candy?! But next year he will know that there is candy so we'll spoil him REAL good then:0) Anyway, we ended up going out to eat that night with Geoffery's sister and husband who have a little boy Grant's age. Grant went in his costume and they had a blast pouring water all over the floor and eating each others food. They really get along like best friends. Its really cute to watch. So thats what we did. If you notice in our car decor you will see two pumpkins that we, okay really Geoffery, carved (I got too frustrated during the process, It's a LOT of work). I hope everyone had a great halloween as well!

Engagement Photos...

2008-10-28T23:32:00.000-07:00

Garrett's Engaged!

2008-10-23T22:56:00.000-07:00

So it's true, Garrett and Monica got engaged last weekend! I just wanted to tell them Congratulations! I took some engagement pictures of them last week so here's a little preview while I edit all their pictures. Love you guys!

November 4th...The Most Important Day of the Year!!!

2008-10-17T09:18:00.001-07:00

This is Geoffery, Audrey's husband.....this is my first blogging experience but i feel this is very important. My family can agree that i am not one to take thing seriously that i dont feel i can control, but i have had enough this year with politics. It seems that everywhere we turn the same "talking points" are being played over and over again......but they are not repeats...this is what our candidates are saying everywhere they turn.

For me and my family, i want to hear how our Economy will be fixed and how in the world we got in the situation we are currently in. I believe that we learn from our mistakes, and it is necessary for The United States of America to know what and who caused this economic problem.

I am not a fan of sharing my feelings to anyone.............but this is our future and possibly our children's future riding on this presidential election. This video is not short, and is really "rapid fire".

The democratic candidate, Mr. Obama, said to "Joe the Plumber" that we need to "spread the wealth". Come on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is how we got into this mess to begin with. Please think about the choices and dont vote on hype, and charisma.

Burning Down the House - Our Economic Crisis | Funny Jokes at JibJab

New Random Photos...

2008-10-16T20:03:00.000-07:00

So I have now entered the world of photoshop and I am LOVING it! I have done nothing today except for spend time editing some pictures that I took a couple of months ago. So this is going to be a post with LOTS of different pictures. My neighbor, who teaches up at the college digital photography, invited me to some of her classes where she goes over photoshop. I've only been to ONE, ONE hour class and I feel like the options are endless with Photoshop. Anyway here are some photos that I just edited.

Family Fall Pictures

2008-10-07T22:18:00.000-07:00

We took some family pictures tonight at the local park. I wanted to capture the feeling of fall, so I hope we did that. Grant is EXTREMELY impossible to take pictures of and with. He doesn't listen to anything you ask him and he's always on the go and will never sit down for a second to take a picture. So it ended up being a bit frustrating. But I do think we got some good shots.

Rexburg Temple

2008-10-07T22:11:00.000-07:00

One night I was on my way to rent a video for me and Geoffery and I drove around the corner and saw this. I happen to have my camera in my car so I parked on the side of the road and took some pictures of the temple. I just thought it was sooo beautiful!

Oh the hard life of Grant

2008-10-07T22:09:00.000-07:00

So one afternoon Grant was eating lunch and I decided to take pictures of him eating. Of course he has a snotty nose (as usual) and he's still in his pajamas (aren't I a good mom:). But I thought these pictures really show what Grant acts like when we're just in our routine and hanging out at home. Oh and he's watching Barney probably so that's what he's looking at in the last picture. It's one of his favorites. I could just kiss that face all over, even though I would get snot all over my face! Ohh the life of a mom:)

Transition Year...

2008-10-06T23:13:00.000-07:00

We have been soo busy this last little bit so I apologize for the lack of blogging. We have moved back in with Geoffery's family from our rental. The couple we were renting their house from came back home from their mission. Luckily we only moved pretty much only our clothes over there and a mattress so moving wasn't too bad. But it's crazy to see what you accumulate after just 6 months.

This year has been maybe one of the longest years of my life. I'm calling it the "transition" year because we have been on the move since February. I like things to be organize and right now my life is the opposite. Well maybe not organized, but I like to know where things are and I usually know where things are in my house. But this year, even when I have a small project it seems like I have to climb a mountain just to finish it. For example, Primary handouts for my class on Sundays- this includes things like scissors, cute paper, a printer, etc. I have none of these things and I have to borrow them from other people or go out and buy them. I'm ready to be settled again.

Okay, so I'm done complaining. Some good news includes that our house will be done in approximately 2 months, so we're thinking early December we will be able to move in. Oh I can't wait for that day! Other than our move we're doing great. Grant has been sick with a virus, a cold, and teething from his eye teeth, but amazingly he hasn't been too honary. Well I just wanted to catch you guys up with what's going on in our lives right now. I need to do some catch up posts of some things we did this summer- a zoo trip, Idaho state fair, and some pics I took of Grant in the park. I promise to be a better blogger!

My newest obsession...

2008-09-25T14:31:00.000-07:00

I'm totally obsessed with this kitchen. I look at it everyday, crazy I know. Maybe I can make mine look half this good, with half the budget:) You can look at the whole thing here.

First "Real" Wedding!

2008-09-19T13:28:00.000-07:00

Okay so I know that I haven't blogged in a while and well I don't really have an excuse except for that I've been somewhat busy and somewhat lazy when it comes to blogging. I have a lot of posts to come, but I thought I would start out with the wedding I just did. My neighbor had three kids get married in the last two months and needed a photographer for one of her daughters. I thought this would be a great way to add to my portfolio and help someone out! I was soo excited to do her pictures because she is such a beautiful bride and they are just such a cute couple! I had a lot of fun doing it and felt comfortable behind the camera. I still have a TON to learn, but I think the pictures turned out good and I hope that they're happy with them. I bought and downloaded photoshop CS3, but I have NOOO idea how to use it. I'm taking a night class in a couple of weeks and it will teach me some basic photoshop so I'm sooo excited to learn. I edited these with picasa and I still think they look great. Anyway, let me know what you guys think!

Rexburg Water Park

2008-08-10T21:14:00.000-07:00

So Ashley, my sister, and her daughter, Addison, were able to come visit for the last two weeks! We had soo much fun minus all of us getting a virus (all at different times) and Abby having her back surgery (not so fun). But during the times we were able to hang out we did a lot of fun stuff. One day we went to the Rexburg Water Park. Grant, who was scared to death of it last time, decided he thought it wasn't so bad. In fact, I would say he enjoyed it more than Grace or Addie. I took some pictures above of them playing. Addie went down the "big" slide so there are some pictures of her doing that. Then they have a carousel right next to the water park. Again Grant started running to the "horses" and kept saying "neigh, neigh" and ran right past the ticket counter and I had to run after him so that I could pay! He got soo excited about everything! It was sooo fun to watch his reactions. However when it was time to go he was not such a happy guy. He screamed the whole way to the car! It was like trying to carry a little wiggly monkey! Anyway, here are some pictures.

What memories do you have of me?

2008-08-03T14:58:00.000-07:00

Memories!!

Here's how it works:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together, or one of the first memories you have of me. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Geoffery's Graduation Party...

2008-07-30T10:47:00.000-07:00

I decided to celebrate Geoffery's Graduation with a little cookout/party. We had family and friends come over to celebrate with us. We planned the party so that Geoffery's grandparents could be here from Indiana and it just so happen to work out that my sister, Ashley, and her daughter, Addison, could be here too! So we had a lot of fun. We cooked hamburgers and hot dogs and had cupcakes and ice cream for desert. We had a ton of fun and it was soo good to have all our family together! For Geoffery's graduation present I decided to surprise him with Wii and he was VERY surprised. I have some pictures of him opening the gifts above. Hope you enjoy and thanks to everyone for coming! We had a great turnout!

Photography... To be continued.

2008-07-22T20:43:00.000-07:00

So I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I had my first real photo shoot with my sister and her cute family. The good news continues... I was REALLY happy with ALL the pictures and they really turned out good after I edited them. Now comes the bad news. After spending 2 hours taking pictures of them and then about 1-2 hours editing them, I realized that my camera was on the wrong resolution and I had it on the worst one possible. So now we can't print the pictures any bigger than a 4x6! Ha! So I told Abby this is why this was a practice run. So we will go out and do it again later this week. I just hope I can catch some of the great shots I got the first time. I guess you live and learn. But here are some of my favorite shots that I got. Let me know what you guys think.

Geoffery's Graduation Ceremony...

2008-07-22T20:36:00.000-07:00

So Geoffery walked last Friday for his graduation. It was a good ceremony with President Clark (the president of BYU-I) and Sister Beck talking. They both gave great uplifting talks and it was cool to hear from both of them. Grant did really good. He kept himself busy climbing the benchs where we were sitting and I kept giving him HoneyCombs which is now his new found favorite treat. Afterwards, we went up to take some pictures. It was really windy, so don't look at my hair! Then after that we went to eat at Applebees. It was WAY past Grant's bedtime, but he was an angel at dinner and didn't freak out until we got in the car to go home at 10:30! So he was really tired, but he did really well. So there is the update that I promised. We're having a little graduation party this weekend for Geoffery. Congrats hun! I Love you!

Graduation...

2008-07-15T10:02:00.000-07:00

It's been 5 and 1/2 years since I first met Geoffery and we started dating. At that time he had just returned from his mission and was starting school for the first time. He wasn't able to go before his mission, so he was a new freshman. Since then, we have gotten married, had a kid, and worked full time for his current job at Legacy Network. He's been with Legacy Network for 4 years now and has found that not only does he love his job there, but he's pretty good at it. Since he has found that job, we decided that no matter how much of his time it would take that he would continue and get his education. So now after 5 and 1/2 years we can say now that he has his bachelors degree! He has always made school a priority even if it was after me, Grant, church callings, and work. He has finally finished! I am sooo proud of him that he has stuck with it and paid for most of it himself with the help of student loans, pell grants, and the money he's earned with his job.

He came to Rexburg with literally nothing and has made a life for himself here. We have learned to call Rexburg home since we have both lived here for almost 6 years! It's a great place to raise a family and I love the small town feel. I am so proud of him for having the patience with me hounding him about his school work, for finishing his classes, and for sticking through and finishing. He'll be the first in his family to graduate from college and I think its a big achievement! So this Friday he will walk and I promise to post pictures of him in his gown. But for now I just wanted to tell him CONGRATS!

WARNING... LOTS of POSTS!

2008-07-05T20:57:00.000-07:00

Okay since I've been out of commission we have done a lot of things that I have wanted to blog about. So I have posted a MILLION posts, so please scroll down and comment if you feel the need too. I haven't had many of you comment and I miss hearing from many of you! So please comment if you want too!

Flight Museum...

2008-07-05T20:55:00.000-07:00

So the day after the 4th, we decided to go to Driggs. In Driggs is an airport with a little cafe and an area with cool old airplanes and a great view of the Teton mountains. We went and ate lunch there and then we went through the museum. We went with Geoffery's parents and his little brother, Will. Grant loved looking at all the airplanes. It was a fun day to get out and do something different.

Playing in the dirt...

2008-07-05T20:45:00.000-07:00

Wow! What's this?

Yum! Dirts pretty good!

Mr. Smiley!

What a STUD!!

While we were checking out the progress of our house, I took some pictures of Grant in his 4th of July outfit. We went up to the house after the parade. I think I got some pretty cool shots of him. I just LOVE the last picture. To me, he looks like a little GAP model! I just love that little boy!

Finally there is a Hole!!!

2008-07-05T20:40:00.000-07:00

After 6, yes 6, months of planning we finally have had our hole dugged for our house! Above is the layout of our house. It doesn't look like much now, but one day there will be a house! I'm soo happy that we've finally started this week. Next week, they'll pour our basement and it will finally start looking more like a home. They are telling us that it will be done in 4-6 months and I'm thinking, or rather preparing, that it will take the full 6 months to build. We are currently renting a house that an old couple owns and they're on a mission right now for our church. But we just found out that they are coming home early! They will be home Sept. 17th so we've got to find a place to live for 2-3 months. We have the option of moving back in with Geoffery's parents or renting an apartment. So we're just trying to figure things out right now.

It's been so nice to live in this house. It's fully furnished so all we have here is our clothes, towels, and Grants toys. Everything else is theirs! Our stuff is in a storage unit right now so I don't even know where more than half of the stuff we own is. To tell you the truth it's been nice because I spend a lot less time cleaning up as I did when we lived in Idaho Falls. It's definately a Grandma house with Grandma decor, but it has a nice yard for Grant to play in. Anyway, that's what's going on in our lives right now. So I may be a little busy the next couple of months, but I promise I will try to blog every once in a while with updates!

4th of July Parade...

2008-07-05T20:27:00.000-07:00

We woke up Friday morning pretty early for us, well 8:30am! HA! And we got ready to go to the parade on Rexburg's Main Street. I love this parade and I look forward to it every year because it reminds me on the parade we used to go to as kids in Georgia. I love small towns and the feeling of a communities coming together. Grant really enjoyed all the floats and horses and old cars in the parade. Ashley, Geoffery's little sister, is a cheerleader and was in the parade as you can see above. We caught some of Grant's expressions as he saw everything. He got really excited with the marching band and danced every time there was music! It was fun to see it this year because last year he slept through the whole thing! Hope you enjoy!

Maybe one day they'll fit!

2008-07-05T20:16:00.000-07:00

The other day I caught Grant trying on Geoffery's shoes. It was sooo cute. He wanted to wear them so bad just to be like his dad:)

We LOVE baby pools!!

2008-07-05T20:11:00.000-07:00

Lately the thing to do at Nana's house is to set up the baby pool and let Tyler and Grant play. Crystal and Jake are currently living at Nana's and we're across the street renting a house, so we get to see them almost everyday. At first, in my previous posts, Grant did not like pools. But after a while, and seeing Tyler having so much fun, he decided he didn't think it was too bad. In fact, I think he likes it better than Tyler. We put the slide in the pool for the boys to go down, we set up their matching lawn chairs (thanks to Nana), and we gave them fudge pops (which this was Grant's first experience). Grant had a blast as you can see in the pictures. He follows Tyler around the pool and the backyard and does EVERYTHING Tyler does. He LOVED the fudge pop, and you can see that Tyler had a lot of fun with it too. Luckily they were just in their swimmer diapers and clean up was REALLY easy. The boys are only 6 months apart so I'm sure they'll grow up more like brothers than cousins. Something else they do that cracks me up is they like to switch everything with each other. Sippy cups, gold fish, lawn chairs, toys, everything. Whatever the other one has must be better than the others. Its really fun to see them interact together.

Shhh, I'm sleeping...

2008-07-05T20:00:00.000-07:00

So the other day at lunch Grant was EXTREMELY tired. He kept yawning and rubbing his eyes. I kept on cutting up his food hoping to get him feed before I laid him down for his nap. Well once I looked up and he was already asleep! He has NEVER fallen asleep in his highchair so I was laughing so hard and took a picture. I picked him up and put him in his bed and he didn't even wake up. It was hilarious!

computer dying...

2008-06-22T20:53:00.000-07:00

My computer is dying as we speak. Our power cord (this is already the second battery we've bought) has completely been riped apart and breaking. So I have just ordered my new cord so it should be here within the week. So you will see me then! Meantime, I will miss catching up on what's going on with your guys lives! See ya in a week!!

It's finally summer in Idaho!

2008-06-19T21:01:00.000-07:00

This last week was the first week for us that actually felt like summer. I decided to take advantage of it and go to the Ammon Pool in Idaho Falls. Thats right, I had to go to Idaho Falls to go swimming because there is not ONE outdoor pool in Rexburg! And there is only ONE in Idaho Falls. I couldn't believe it because where I'm from there are LOTS of public pools EVERYWHERE. And this pool is tiny and there where LOTS of people there. I was really excited though because Grant LOVES the bath tub so I thought this would be a big hit with him. Once we got there however it was a different story. I've never seen him act this way before. He was seriously deathly afraid of the water. Anytime any kids would splash, he would scream even more. However, I took him out and we ate some grapes on the side and just watched the other kids for a while and then I decided to get back in and he stayed with his nana on the side. Well he decided that he wanted to try it out. So he got back in and decided it wasn't so bad. He was still a little unsure, but he liked it much better. We even got a picture of him smiling. We went with my mother-in-law and my two sister-in-laws and Grant's cousin Tyler who is six months older than him. Tyler LOVED the pool! I will give Grant that this is his first time swimming and Tyler has gone many times before. So maybe the more we go, the more Grant will like it. Sometimes kids have a way of surprising you even when you think you have them all figured out!

Playgroup with cousins!

2008-05-28T11:04:00.001-07:00

Since the weather has been soo nice, my sister and I decided it would be fun to do a weekly playgroup. Life gets sooo busy and even though Abby lives only 15 minutes away, we barely ever see each other. This last week we decided to get the baby pool out and put Grant and Grace in it. Grace LOVED it, but Grant was scared of Grace playing and splashing everywhere. Then we put them in Grace's barbie jeep and they drove around for like 10 minutes. It was funny because Grant looked like he was going to fall asleep while they were driving. Then mom and Grace played hop-scotch. Overall we had a GREAT time and Grant was exhausted and went right to sleep when we got home. We also made a disaster of Abby's house with all the toys and everything. So thanks Abby for letting us come over and have fun!

Things I love!

2008-05-21T11:03:00.000-07:00

I looooove this bedding for Grant when he moves to a big boy bed. I love the brown with the red and blue. So unexpected! And if I had a girl, I would haaave to have this bedding! Sooo pretty!
These are both Serena and Lily Children's Bedding designs and you can find them at Oneofakindkid.com. They have a lot of other designs and they're a little pricey, but not that much more from Potterybarn's prices.

Are we becoming "Those parents"...

2008-05-17T21:52:00.000-07:00

So tonight we decided to go out to eat at Applebees. It was supposed to be fun and relaxing and a time to get out of the house. Well it was everything but that. Grant, whom I love dearly and would not change a thing about, decided that he was going to throw a tantrum about EVERYTHING!! I have no idea what he wanted to the entire time and he just kept making a scene yelling and screaming and basically throwing a tantrum. All around us were college kids on dates or newly married couples and I just couldn't help but think how I used to look at parents whose children acted this way in public. So I guess what I'm saying or rather asking myself is, "Am I becoming those parents?" You know the parents you see that look like they don't know what their doing and they give their kid anything just to please them? I do find it much easier just to give your kid what their yelling for just to save a scene and not have to deal with it. I mean at home I try to teach him not to do that or we will have to go to timeout, but what do you do when your out in public?

I guess what I'm trying to get out of this post is how do you deal with the typical one year old who can't verbalize what they want and if they don't get what they want they throw a tantrum? Grant is constantly throwing tantrums when we change his clothes, his diaper, put him in the highchair to eat, put his bib on, put his shoes on (or at least the ones he doesn't want to wear), get his haircut, see the doctor, put him in his car seat, and the list goes on and on. Is anyone else experiencing this new act of independence and rebellion with their child? Please assure me this is normal and that it's just a stage? I can get through it if its just a stage!

Now don't get me wrong. Grant is a very happy baby, sleeps through the night, and takes 2 great long naps, is very social, and is happy 80% of the time. He's wonderful. I see him progressing his verbal, mental, and social skills all the time. Like the other day, I was thinking to myself that I have never seen Grant actually "share" a toy with another baby. Well I swear that same day we were playing with his cousin, Tyler, and Grant actually handed Tyler his ball that he was playing with. Huge for us! So please tell me this is normal and that this will all be over someday:) Too much to ask for?

Home Sweet Home...

2008-05-10T22:36:00.000-07:00

We are home from our vacation, but I'm still in vacation mode. Sorry I haven't blogged with pictures before now, but we have been busy de-vacationing from our vacation:) Here are some pictures of us on the beach, dressed up for a night on the town, and the fun we had in FL. Everyday we woke up, got ready, and headed for the beach. The first day I used sunscreen like everyone I know advised me. I was proud of myself until I got home that day with little sun exposure. I was sure that I would use the sunscreen (15) and that I would tan and not burn. Well I got notthin. So the next day, I decided that I only go to the beach once a year so it's my only chance to get some sun. So I wore nothing. That night I was definitely paying for that decision. I was completely in pain. But not to worry, I felt a little better after taking some ibuprofen:)

The next day we decided to stay indoors and to go shopping. Since we live in Idaho, we have a VERY limited number of stores to shop. So we went a little crazy, but I am completely done with our summer wardrobes! We went to the outlet malls and racked up there and I made my way over to Banana Republic that was having a great sale. All and all I'm very happy with our purchases. Later that day we decided to go to the beach for sunset which was very relaxing and nice. I ended up reading a book that occupied most of my time, but now I feel I have a fun hobbie. If your a book reader, Mary Higgins Clark is VERY addicting.

The beachs there were beautiful and we had sunny days everyday we were there. We found a spot on Captiva off of Sanibel Island. There were not many people on this particular beach. Everyday we were there we saw dolphins swimming nearby and lots of wildlife. The ocean was also very calm during the earlier part of the day, so it was fun to sit in the ocean with a big armchair float. Every couple needs a vacation like this! Check out our disneyworld trip in the below post!

Disney World...

2008-05-10T22:16:00.000-07:00

This day was a lot of fun for us. When we got to FL we didn't even consider going to a theme park or anything like that. Then one night we decided to see how far Disney World was from Ft. Myers. It was only like 2 hrs. So we decided to dedicate a day to going there. I mean why not? How often are you in FL and have the opportunity to go to Disney World. We decided to go to only Magic Kingdom because Geoffery's never been before and you really get the feeling of Disney in the Magic Kingdom. We had soo much fun riding all the rides. We rode them all from the kiddy rides to the roller coasters. Then for lunch, we went to this buffet and got to take lots of pictures of all the Winnie the Pooh characters. It was such a fun day, but really long. We got up at 5am, got ready, and drove for two hours to get there. Then after a full day of waiting in lines, trying to get through large crowds, and trying to withstand the heat we had to drive another 2 hrs to get home. The whole time we were there, we kept discussing how much more tired we would have been if Grant were with us. I don't think we'll go back with him until he's at least 4 or 5 yrs old. I would like for him to remember when he goes when he gets older and some of the rides (even the kiddy ones) could be a little scary for a 2 or 3 yr old. I think we'll also try to go in the early fall when its a little cooler and less crowds. I think you could get cheaper hotels during that time as well. It was an expensive day, but for some reason when your on vacation you don't consider that as a problem! Luckily we're getting the stimulus checks soon!

Play first, work later...

2008-04-28T20:47:00.001-07:00

We are off tomorrow for the beach! We are dropping Grant off at my parents house and then we will be on our way to FLORIDA! We are staying at his grandparents house in Ft. Myers (don't worry it's their winter home, so they aren't there). Our plans are to go to different beaches each day and just sit on the beach and listen to the ocean and soak in the rays!! I want to do absolutely nothing except eat, shop, and lay out! We are pretty excited. Seeing this is our fist time going on a "real" vacation with just the two of us, we're pretty excited. We've been to Park City or Colorado, but it's not a "real" vacation to me unless you go to the beach! I've debated if we should take Grant or not, but the kid HAS to have 2 naps or he is very honary. Since the beaches we will be visiting are 30-40 mins away, it would be impossible to make it back to the house for the required 2 naps. I know that he'll have fun with the grandparents, so I'm not too concerned. And besides, we're celebrating our 4 year anniversary, so it will be nice to be alone! I will be back in a week to post pictures of our trip and can't wait to see you guys until then!