Pictures of a walk from February

A LONG time ago...before Daddy came home, Mason, Carter, and I went for a walk around the lake. The boys were so excited to be in their wagon and it was so fun for me to get to use it for them!









No walk around the lake would complete without feeding the ducks. Mason is an old pro...and Carter caught on quickly

Our new place

Well...as always, I am slow on the updates. I decided to just take some pictures tonight after the boys went to bed and post. It's been a busy past week, but a fun one.

We ended up driving out to Provo on Monday, 4/20. This was a little later than we had planned; we had to postpone because of the weather. We didn't really want to chance driving a huge truck and our angels over the mountains when it was supposed to be icy.
We have a lot of stuff. So...we had to rent the largest truck that we could. David and Brandon spent a lot of hard work loading it. We are so grateful that Brandon was able to help us, we couldn't have done it without him!

As you can see, they also had another little helper. Mason was SOOO excited to help load the truck. He went non-stop bringing in random toys and other things that he could carry.

Carter would have loved to help, too...but we decided it was better for Aunt Cindy to entertain him. Thank you again, Cindy!

I didn't take too many pictures of the unloading or trip over, and if i did, they are on the other camera.

Here are my three boys in our hammock after a long day of driving and unloading. David and I bought this hammock on our honeymoon in Costa Rica and this is the first time that we've been able to use it.

Now...please excuse the mess, but here are some pictures of the house.

Here is the family room. We were excited that our couch, tv, and piano fit with room to spare!

Here is the kitchen...there is a dishwasher in the shed. I have never heard of this kind, but I guess it's one that you hook to the kitchen faucet, so it's removable. We will hopefully be moving it in soon. My only complaint is that there is no disposal :( but I'm sure we'll get used to that.

There is a TON of storage and pantry space so we are happy about that!

Off the side of the kitchen (next to the stove) is the laundry room. The washer is in the room, and then the dryer is in a hallway outside of the laundry room. When Daniel described this to me, I was kind of confused, but it works out great!

Here's the little hallway and dryer.

Above the dryer are some deep shelves where we put our Christmas and Halloween decorations and camping stuff.

Now I asked you earlier to please excuse the mess...but I am serious this time.. Right to the left of the dryer is our toyroom. I am REALLY excited about this. Now the kids toys don't have to be in the family room the whole time. This is the room that we have worked the least with during unpacking, we just throw any random toys we find in...and the boys have been havin fun. But try to imagine it all picked up: (How did we accumulate so much in just 3 years??)

Now...for Mason's favorite part, by far....our big backyard!....and the best part is the little sandbox that you can see at the far side of this picture. Mason has already spent hours out there! We only wish that his cousins could be playing with him. Even though we are excited to be in our new home...we will really miss seeing my familly every day and especially being so close to Brandon, Diana and their kids. :(

I didn't include a picture of the office/extra storage room or the bedrooms. That will have to be for another time.

Any of you Utah-residents...we would love to see you!

News, News, News....

So...
David was discharged from the army because of his back problems. We didn't know what those problems might be, so he went to a chiropractor. The GOOD News is that it is not permanent and reversible! The bad news is that it is 70 dollars a visit and it was recommended that he go 2-3 times a week for the next 2-3 months.

But then, we got some GOOD news last week and found out that the Army finished their investigation and determined that David obtained his injury 'In the Line of Duty' and so will hopefully qualify for benefits. We need to talk to the VA to determine what sort of benefits.

The Bad news is that neither David nor I have a job...so our savings is going to have to sustain us until that situation changes.

The Good news is that I finally obtained my certification from Career Step to be a medical transcriptionist and have been applying for jobs.

Ever since we realized that David would probably be discharged from the Army, we knew we had to figure out some sort of a backup plan. We do own our townhouse here in Littleton, but we have a renter all set up there.

One of the main reasons that David joined the Army was to get his education done. This is still a main priority for us, so we decided that we would move to Provo where the cost of living is cheaper and he will try to go to BYU. He will be attending BYU as a visiting student this Spring and Summer and then as a night student this fall. Hopefully by then, he will get his GPA to a 3.6 (he's not too far away) and he will be accepted as a transfer student this Winter.

We have been blessed and didn't have too hard of a time finding a place to rent in Provo.
We had actually planned to move there today...but the weather reports said the driving conditions would be 'hazardous to impossible' so we postponed our plans and now will be moving out there on Monday.

We are sad to leave our family and friends here in Colorado. We will miss them a lot! But, we both feel that this is the direction that is right for our family at this time. So, for the time being, we will be living in Provo. My biggest concern (besides finding a means of income) is that Mason adjusts ok. Hopefully our new ward will have kids his age and I can find a preschool program for him to start this fall.

So...if you are in the Provo-area...we should get together. If you're in Colorado...we will visit as much as we can!

Thanks to everyone and your support! We look forward to what our future holds!

A tribute to Carter

Our little Carter turned one on March 28! I really can't believe that a whole year has passed! When did this sweet newborn:
















...turn into this bright-eyed ball of fire???
















Here's a look at how it happened...without further adieu...a tribute to Carter








At one month, Carter had already rolled over! In fact, he was only 2 weeks old...and it wasn't just a fluke. He did this at least 10 times over a period of 2 weeks. He has always been very active and on the move, even before he was born (remember my C-section because he had suddenly flipped to become breech?)...so he would just kick and kick his legs until he rolled from tummy to back.


From the very beginning, Carter has loved and admired his older brother. He is always trying to be like him. It's so fun to watch them interact!


















Carter has always been a little smiler. His second month was full of smiles and park days in the sun. He was always ver content to be outside while we watched Mason play.











At age 3 months we could always count on our baby boy to brighten our day.













Four months was a great age! Carter was aware of his surroundings and always wanted to be involved. He began trying to sit up at this age.













Having a 2-year-old brother often meant that Carter spendt time in his carrier while Mason played and had fun with his cousins during our various outings. At 5 months, Carter was still happy to sit and be entertained by his mommy. He especially loved this pig toy that Mason got from the dollar store when he was 1. This was just a foreshadow of how much Carter would love balls in the coming months.









Carter's eyes seemed to become brighter blue right around 6 months. I love all of his many different expressions.













At 7 months, Carter had to say goodbye to his Daddy for what would turn out to be more than 4 months. Carter and Daddy (and Mommy and Mason) tried to spend as much time as possible together in the time leading up to our separation.





(Daddy is holding him in this picture)








At 8 months...Carter and I spent many long days packing up the rest of our townhome (Thanks to Diana who watched Mason for me!) He was still relatively easy to entertain at this point, but always needed a watchful eye because he was all over the place!








At 9 months...Carter, with the help of Mason, perfected the art of escaping through the doggy door. I love the look on his face here...it's like 'what? I'm just hanging out, not getting into trouble!'











Here is another 9 month picture that I just couldn't leave out. Carter loved to pull himself up on anything and be a big boy with Mason. This was taken at a museum, and Carter is leaning on the rail, looking at the exhibit.














At ten months, Carter was unstoppable...he loved to get into mischief and his winning smile and gleeful laugh kept a smile on our faces while cleaning up the messes.











Here is Carter at 11 months, doing one of his favorite things...eating! He can usually out-eat his brother and once ate a fruit cup from Chick-fil-A, along with SEVEN chicken nuggets! He is still on the small end of the weight percentile so I just figure all that food goes to fuel his non-stop energy.













Which brings us to our current condition-happy and full of life! Carter sure keeps us on our toes and we love him so much!

Carter is 1!!!

I just have to put something up for my sweet little boy. Carter turned one on March 28. I am currently working on a birthday blog, but with 2 computers crashing and moving...our pictures are all over the place on different cd's and all mixed up so it's taking me longer than I would like.

Here is a cute picture of him to whet your appetite. :)