The Results are in!

Yesterday I went and had my ultra sound and it's official. We're having a girl! I am sure Austin is really excited, as we all are. Everything is normal and healthy. The Doctor said that she was even a little small ( like 4 days, nothing big) which was wonderful news, considering how large Austin was. He was full term at 36 week, by the time he was born (on his due date) he was 9 lbs and 22.5 inches! So I will be thrilled if this one is smaller.

Not much else going on around here. I have done my first couple vinyl cuts, and they took a while but we have already learned a lot about what to do and what not to do. Devon has even talked to his boss about redoing the logos on their trucks for work, I don't think I am ready to do a fleet of truck for a business, but if he wants to undertake it then whatever. It would be good exposure I guess.

Oh, other good news...well news, is that last week we put in our loan application. We are hoping to be able to buy a house in the next couple of months so we are anxiously waiting to see what we qualify for. We weren't expecting to purchase a house this soon, but with the housing market down as low as it is, and with rent being as high as it is we decided that now (in the next 6 months) is the time to do it. Normally the amount of a loan that we would qualify for wouldn't be enough to get us into a 2 bedroom condo down here. Which is to be expected when you are just out of college and decided to move to California, but with the drop in the housing market we have been able to look into some 4 bed 2 bath single family homes with in our budget! So we are getting excited at the prospect of actually getting into a house. If it happens or not - well we'll put that into the Lord's hand - but it will be nice if it does.

I think that is all for now. Hope that everyone has a great week.

Vinyl Lettering

A couple of months ago I bought a vinyl cutter so I could start a little vinyl business. I was planning on taking it slowly, but now that we have it up and running Devon is really pushing me to get my business license and start for real. I am okay with this idea, I enjoy working with the vinyl. My only problem is that I don't have any ideas for the name of the business. Most of the other businesses are called lame and boring things like..Vinyl Letters, Vinyl Words, Thoughts in Vinyl, etc. I want mine to be something fun...not boring. My sister gave the the idea of Stick em Up, but it is already used. If anyone has any other ideas PLEASE let me know. I have no idea what to do.

A work in progress

So, now that it has been almost 2 months since I last posted I have decided to stop feeling guilty and just start blogging again. We had a wonderful eventful holiday season, but it was too much fun and I don't have enough time to share so I am going to start again. For those of you who don't know, I am expecting my second baby in June. I don't find out what I am having until the 28 of January but I am 99.9% sure it's a girl - hence the beautiful new background color. As for life - right now we are just trying to get back into the swing of things. The local high schools around here have finals next week so I have been swamped with tutoring. Work for Devon has officially passed their slow season and they are starting to pick up pace. Austin on the other hand is content at the pace he is going, a slow steady crawl. At least he is actually crawling now and not just scooting around on his belly. We are hoping that he will walk soon, but we are not pushing it at all. As long as he is walking before the next one comes we will all be happy.

Thanksgiving

So, anyone reading any of my family blogs would never know that over Thanksgiving we all got together in Utah and had a wonderful time! I am usually the last to write about family events - hence one reason why I have been named the worst blogger of all times, but for some strange reason I seem to be the first, if the only one to write about our Thanksgiving. None the less.... here it is.

We decided earlier this year that we would rather have Devon take time off and travel over Thanksgiving than for Christmas. Ever other year my mom's side of the family has a large family reunion over Thanksgiving and Devon and I decided we wanted to go. So Devon took a 1/2 day on Tuesday, although we didn't end up leaving until 3:30, and we drove to Mesquite, NV where we had a hotel reservation. The 5 hour car trip ended up taking up more that 7 hours, and by the time we got to the hotel I didn't think that Austin or I could go another mile. The hotel was great. Cheap, but clean. The beds worked, I don't think I even moved that night, and neither did Devon (or Austin for that matter, yeah!) The next morning we got up and of course hit the breakfast buffet. For those of you who don't know Devon skipping an all you can eat buffet - especially breakfast - would truly be a sin, and I think he might really die if I told him no. So we went to the buffet and it was great, probably one of the best I have ever been too. The variety was awesome and the food really good. Unfortunately I ended up leaving half of mine in the parking lot before we left, and the other half on the side of the highway once we started. None the less, we were off to Utah. The trip the second day went well, but being the day before Thanksgiving we hit traffic and it added about 1 1/2 hours to the trip. We finally made it and were greeted by tons of family. A couple of hours after we arrived my parents and little sisters arrived, followed shortly by a "surprise" arrival of my older sister and her family. Pretty much for the next 4 days we just spent hanging out. There were always different activities going on and you could participate - or not. There were movies, Nintendo, games, shopping, eating (there was tons of great food) talking, laughing...everything you could hope for with a family get together. And surprisingly enough, especially with my family, there was NO DRAMA! Nothing happened. Everyone just played and got along and had a great time which is quite the accomplishment since there were about 60 people there ranging in age from 1 - 70 (or however old grandpa is) I had an absolutely wonderful time and so did my husband. Our wonderful vacation was over before we knew it. Sunday morning we got up to go to church and then pack and leave, but I got food poisoning -yuck. I spent the whole morning over the "bowl" puking my guts out. Devon took Austin to church by himself then came home and pack everything, then loaded me up in the car, with plenty of large ziplock bags and off we went to Las Vegas. It was probably the worst day of my life. I couldn't keep anything down, I didn't feel good, couldn't get comfy, plus the moving vehicle didn't help, and Austin decided that he was over the whole car thing. So we finally pulled over, and got some Dramamine for Austin and I, knocked him out so that we could have a little peace a quite, but I didn't take enough to knock me out so I just kind of sat - half dazed. We finally made it to Las Vegas, and the next day (after feeling much better) made it safely home. Although he drive was kind of traumatic for me, I loved the trip and can't wait another 2 years for the next Thanksgiving.

Tutoring

HELP! Tutoring is officially taking over my life! Who would have ever thought? Not me! I have already had to turn away several students and am still working at least 16 hours a week. If I wanted to (which I don't) I easily have enough students wanting to be tutored for me to tutor every day from 3pm - 9pm! It is so crazy. It's hard to turn people away because they need help, and it's good money... but I never even see my husband anymore until Saturdays! It's hard to juggle schedules with tutors, Austin, Devon, church...I just wish that I could set my schedule and leave it, but apparently that doesn't work out so well when students have tests that they are freaking out about. I just wasn't expecting this kind of result. But the good side to it is that I can finally afford the Vinyl Cutter Plotter that I want, and for those of you who are wondering the answer is yes, I am planning on getting in hopefully this week, so if you want stuff for/or by Christmas let me know. Hopefully this vinyl thing will go as well as the tutoring thing. That would be GREAT! But I am not counting on it. Even if I just use the cutter plotter for me and not make any money on it I will still be happy that I got it. I just think vinyl lettering is so cool, and I love it for home decor.

As for other things, I CAN'T WAIT FOR THANKSGIVING!!!! I am SO excited. We leave a week from yesterday and it won't come fast enough. So we are driving from Southern California to Kaysville, Ut. We have decided to do it in two days instead of one so we have a hotel for the way there and one for the way home, and as sad as it sounds my husband is more excited about staying in the hotels then the actual trip. He is so weird sometimes! For thanksgivings it's more like a family reunion for my mom's side of the family. Every other year we have a big Thanksgiving and all my aunt and uncles and cousins come. Almost all of the family is going to be there. I have one cousin that might not come, one aunt who may not make it and a couple of my siblings that can't come, but that still leaves too many people to count! We always have so much fun, and eat good food and play games. I just can't wait!

Austin, oh my. He is being such an ANGEL lately. I really can't believe it. He is so content to play by himself. He just crawls (army style only) around the house but he doesn't get into things that he shouldn't. The only things that are really off limits are the bathroom (because it has the kitty liter box) and the cords for the surround sound. Once he learned - through a couple of trips to time out - that those were off limits he totally stays clear of them and just plays in his own little world. He just crawls around and plays with the kitten and laughs and talks to himself. I just can't get over how good he is being and I hope that it stays this way at least for Thanksgiving.

Well that is all the time I have for complaining and rambling today. Thanks to everyone else who write on their own blogs. I have found a couple of them really enjoyable lately! Good work and keep on blogging.

Good and Bad news

So, my sister-in-law had her baby on Saturday early morning. She woke up at 12:30am and rushed to the hospital, ended up having the baby at like 1:20am or something ridiculous like that. I am so jealous, well kind of. This is one of my sister-in-laws who can't have a epidural so I am glad for her that it went quick. She had a baby boy that was 7.5lbs. Making the count now 4, with 3 boys and 1 girl. They are both healthy and doing well. They were able to come home from the hospital and were doing great, so Britain - the new father went to work on Monday and on the way home from moving pianos his truck was hit and sent him flying off the road rolled over the center divider and into oncoming traffic. It totalled the box van and left him upside down hanging from the seat belt. (with a side note that the box van was brand new I don't even think it was a week old yet) He was able to get the seat belt off and started to crawl out of the truck when he screamed with pain that his back hurt. He ended up being life flighted to the hospital where he has been staying. The doctors say that he has ruptured some of his lumbar vertebrae and they are going to have to go in an do surgery. Poor Britain, poor Dawn. So with all of this happening Devon called me from work today and said that he felt he needed to go home and see his brother, but he can't go this weekend because we are babysitting 3 kids in our ward, so he wants to leave after work today and take tomorrow off and come back late tomorrow night AND he wants to take Austin with him! I'm kind of excited, Austin is almost 1 and I have never been without him for more that a couple of hours, and never over night. I think it will be great! So there it is, the good news and the bad.

That is Britain laying on the ground, and we just found out that their 6 year old son was going to go with him (which he often does) but decided to stay home at the last minute (Thank goodness)

Happy Halloween

Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year, but I usually like it because it is Fall, and it is starting to get cool, and the leaves are changing color and everything is wonderful because summer is coming to an end and I can wear and my winter clothes that I love. BUT... aparently we now live in California and here Fall doesn't exist. It just makes me so sad. Everything is still green. Everyday has been in the low to mid 80's and it just doesn't feel like Fall at all. It really makes me sad. I know that some of you may think I am crazy but I really miss Idaho and I can't wait for that day when we go back. - So as a side note I swear Austin gets sick like every month. It is driving me crazy! Not only does he get sick but it is alway something different that I don't have medicine for and I have to go and find something to give him. First it was alergies, then it was nose congestion, then it was cough with chest congestion, now it is just a cough with a runny nose. I am sitting here listening to him cough up a lung and I have nothing to give him until he wakes up from his nap and we run to the store. Poor monster. - Okay back to Fall and halloween, so since it hasn't felt like Fall I have had a hard time getting into the Halloween spirit. But I did make some sugar cookies and "Boo'd" some people in our ward. I was trying a new way to decorate the cookies and I really liked them. Plus, as an added bonus these cookies were made with 1/3 less sugar (on accident) and 1/2 the fat (on purpose) and they still tasted great. Even Devon who is ULTA picky about less fat kind of things really liked them.

They were really fun to make and pretty easy once I figured out the icing.

As for Halloween it's self we really didn't do much. We had a Halloween party on Friday night that Devon and I went to. It was pretty fun. Devon and I dressed up as "Hit and Miss" where he was bindfoled and had a bow and arrows, and I had an apple on my head and then arrows that "missed" on my dress and body. It was pretty funny but for some unknow reason I didn't get a picture of Devon and I togeather, but I know there were some taken I just need to get a hold of them. Sat. we had the ward party and trunker treat, we dresses up again and I think I really scared some of the poor kids in my primary class...oops. Austin dressed up as a little monkey and was so cute. Then on Wed. it was pretty much a regular day. I let Austin wear his costume all day and we had play group at the park and then I tried to run errands and then took him with me tutoring. Once we got home I made some yummy soup and then we put Austin to bed and had some friend over and watched Transformers (which we all really liked) We ended up not having a single trick-or-treater, well kind of. So when the boys went to go get the movie my friend Meg and I were talking and someone knocked on the door. Me thinking it was Devon yelled "come in" then Meg looked at me and said "um, I think it might be trick-or-treaters" I was like crap, don't come in! So I ran up and answered the door and it was a couple of teenager girls who weren't even dressed up. The only reason I gave them candy was because I knew what ever I didn't give them I would end up eating LOL. SO, that was the sum of my halloween and Austin's first halloween experiance. Here are some pict.this is me playing with the Halloween make-up and blood - creepy I know