The Youngs

Fall and Winter

2011-04-19T12:58:00.004-06:00

We have had such a fun fall and winter. The pictures uploaded in backward order.... We took advantage of the never ending winter and took the boys sledding. We were lucky enough to have the hill to our selves for a good portion of the evening. The boys loved it. At first Nixon didn't like the wind in his eyes, but once we switched up his tube and he felt more secure, he lasted longer than Parker.

Parker loved going fast with Daddy. He liked to tell the story after ward about how they almost went over the brim and Nathan had to dig his feet in the snow to stop them. He thought that was really cool.

We checked out the Ice Castles and they didn't disappoint. They were so beautiful I can't wait to see what they look like next year. Pictures don't do it justice. There were tunnels to walk through and tons of photographers. I'm pretty sure a National Geographic person was there, so if you see the article let me know, I'd love to see what they wrote about it.

Nathan and I were lucky enough to go on a cruise in December with 6 other couples from our neighborhood. It was 7 days of heaven. We stopped in Honduras, Belize and Mexico. It was so relaxing and enjoyable. It was hard for me to leave my kids for that long-the longest before that had been 18 hours -but I am so glad we did. It was tons of fun.

In November our family went to Disneyland with my grandparents and aunts and uncles on my dad's side of the family. It was so much fun. We love Disneyland and it was furn for Parker and Nixon to be there with my mom and dad.

Kings Canyon

2010-08-26T14:14:00.005-06:00

Two days after we got back from Bear Lake we packed up and headed for Kings Canyon. Its a 14 hour drive and we were so tired by the time we got there, but the scenery and company is totally worth it!!

Parker, Ela and Nixon playing at the river. We thing the love connections between Parker and Ela is so sweet. Ela has a little sister for Nixon, but she is only 6 months old so next year he will have a play mate too!!

Our home for the week. I love our tent its so roomy. We have three big mats we lay out in the back and have one giant sleepover all week long. We place the boys in the middle and Nathan and I each get a side just so we can each take care of one if they wake up in the night.
This is the part of the river we camp by, we take the boys here during the day to cool off!
Nathan is really proud of his fire here.
Who doesn't love a nap in the Hammock.
Parker jumping off the little rock in the river, He was nervous and only did it once, but we were proud of him for doing it once.
Nixon on his motorcycle.

Our family!!! This picture was taken after driving 14 hours in a car-then sleeping in that same car for 3 hours before the sun came up.

Bear Lake 2010

2010-08-18T22:43:00.002-06:00

Have you ever been to Bear Lake before? If not you are missing out, BIG TIME! Every year my family drives to this beautiful place to spend time as an extended family, and we have it down to a science.We rent boats
and Jet Ski'sand play in the sand

and play with family

and float on the island. This is the place of choice for my mom and my two aunts. All of the girls usually go out and spend and hour or so with them between boat rides and eating junk on the beach.

I was able to catch this great photo- I'll be honest I was trying to get something else but the moment passed and I was lucky this was the thing the camera caught. Two tsunami tubes= so much fun!!!

My dad, his brothers and My Grandma and Grandpa-the original family
Our family now-except for my cousin Landen who is on his mission.

We seriously spend 3 straight days in the water, we are at the beach all day with the boats, jet ski's ad floating on the Island. THEN, after dinner we go swimming in the pool, OK most of us prefer to sit in the hot tub.
And then once or twice during the week we head into town for a shake, I'll be honest though, Raspberry shakes are not my favorite. But you have to try it at least once!

Bear Lake 2010

2010-08-18T22:28:00.006-06:00

We pulled out the sumo suit for this year's Bear Lake trip. The family was excited and nervous to give it a try. On the last day, on the last boat ride of the day we finally got a good run of it. As always we would make the person model the suit before jumping in the water. Its always good for a laugh to see the person in the suit.

My Cousin Justin

Me
My cousin Nicole

Nathan

My Uncle Curt
My Cousin Jamie

My Cousin Mindi

I am happy to report that we were all able to hold on and get up out of the water this time. Last year we were not so lucky. Some of us were even able to do trick like do 360's in the suit or skim across the the water, making the people in the boat laugh. My 360 ended up being only a 180, I couldn't figure out how to get all the way around with out letting the water in my arm hole. Maybe next year!!

Nicole- this is you!!
To skim across the water you have to be strong enough to hold on with one hand, This is my uncle curt!

Nixon

2010-08-07T22:44:00.003-06:00

We love our baby Nixon, he makes the funniest sad faces. Who can't feel bad for this face?

He is talking so much now. It seems like he learns new words every day. He loves to swing and play with his brother. If Daddy is around then I can't do anything right, only daddy can. He joins in on our make believe play, he always uses a high pitch voice to play the "characters". He is such a good brother, more often than not if Parker wants something Nixon will give it to him-we try to make Parker give him a fair trade. Nixon loves to be sung to at night. Jesus wants me for a sunbeam is his current favorite. And in case you haven't seen him for 6 months, his curly hair is to die for and he knows it. He will pat his head and say pretty when I ask him to let me do it.
We sure love Nixon

Cascade Springs

2010-06-28T18:08:00.003-06:00

We went to Cascade springs this weekend as a family. We had a good time. We went up the Alpine Loop side, but came back a "back way" to Heber. The Heber way is defiantly quicker-The next time we go we will have to go the "back way."

The big blob in the middle of the trees is a Moose that we saw along the trail. It was really fun to see the wild life up close.
We are hoping to find more family Hikes to do this summer to continue our family hiking traditions during the summer! If you have a good one let me know.

Solvang Century

2010-03-31T12:41:00.002-06:00

Nathan headed to California two weeks ago to do the Solvang Century. That's 100 miles on bike. We are so proud of him. It was 7 hours of biking. He said the view was definitely worth it. They drove all around vineyards, and green country in California.

Our rides up the canyon will seem so silly now, but I will make him carry they boys in the trailer and hopefully it will slow him down a bit! He is looking forward to his next ride in a month or two.

Makes you think

2010-02-12T09:06:00.002-07:00

On the news last night was a story of a lady whose 16 month old son drowned in a tub, arrived dead at the hospital and then by the Tender Mercies of our Heavenly Father was allowed to come back to life. I was sobbing reading this story. Her two youngest boys are pretty close to Parker and Nixon's age and I couldn't help but put myself in her shoes. They were in the tub together when it happened. As a mom we can all relate to being distracted at some points, this story will make you slow down and hold your babies tighter. http://stakerzxposed.blogspot.com/2010_02_01_archive.html

Kitchen Helpers

2010-02-08T10:13:00.004-07:00

Nixon has discovered sinks. He loves the bathroom and kitchen sinks as if it were a new toy. He tries to spend hours with the running water and sneaks back to the bathroom whenever someone leaves the door open. Does anyone remember the commercials of the little kid brushing his teeth and a fish is swimming in a pond outside. As the kids leaves the water running the fish's water goes lower. So the fish has a talk with the boy and he turns the water off while he brushes his teeth. I think I might need to hire a talking fish!!

Merry Christmas!!

2009-12-30T15:13:00.003-07:00

I've just posed a month a half worth of posts and the kids are needing my attention again. These pictures will have to go without captions. Merry Christmas!!

Crafting

2009-12-30T15:06:00.004-07:00

Last year my friend Julie posted a game her sister had made for Julie's son. It was a card game with family pictures on it. I thought it was such a sweet gift especially since Julie had just moved out of state. So I just knew when my sister in law Eliza moved out of state that I would make her a cousin memory game for Gabriel. My niece Chloe picked Gabriel's name this year so I asked her if she would like to help me make it for him. It was so much fun. Seriously I loved making it.And then the whole family got involved. Nathan cut and Pasted. Chloe cut out the pictures. Emma cut out the papers. Parker cut his papers. and Nixon ate cereal and then made a huge mess!

Thanks for your help everyone. I had a great time!

Snow days!

2009-12-30T14:52:00.003-07:00

This picture reminds me of the Chirstmas story. Poor Nixon could barely move. And I was laughing so much and running to get my camera that I wasn't much help. Once we were outside Nixon was fine as long as i was pushing him in his car that he got for his birthday.
The boys loved our new train for our tree. I'll be honest though, I don't think they were quite old enough for it. It spent most of the time knocked over on the floor. I'd even leave it that way for days, finally set it back up and within 10 min it was back on its side. It got old after a while. But now we have it for when they are older.
Nathan and Parker built a snow man a few weeks ago. They were outside shoveling and then Parker asked Nathan "Do you know how to build a snow man Dad?" So cute, so they got right to work! We even used our potato head pieces for the face. I need to find those kits that are specifically for snow man because the potato head pieces had a hard time staying in. Does anyone know what I'm talking about and where to find them???
Nixon is finally getting old enough to sit through a story or two every other night. So we all climb up in our bed and Nathan reads to us. Sometimes I have to take Nixon out early and other days he is fine to sit there and finish with the scriptures.
We saw Santa! Parker was mesmerized by him. He told him exactly what he wanted and Santa said he's see what he could do. When we left the building Mrs. Claus walked by which was perfect because Parker has been very concerned with what she does while Santa brings us our toys. I tell him she makes his dinner and cleans the house so that he can relax when he gets home. If only I could do the same for Nathan every night!

Thanksgiving

2009-12-30T14:38:00.003-07:00

Its been so long since I've posted. I'll start with Thanksgiving. Nixon woke Nathan and I up at 3 in the morning. He had more than a few teeth coming through and he wanted us to all know it. As you can see by this picture. He was very tired and sad all day long. His face is so sweet though. Look at those beautiful eyes!After the food, that I didn't get a picture of the girls beaded watch bands. (I may or may not have bought my rolls from golden corral and picked them up on my way to my grandma's for the day. Best idea ever)

It was a lot of fun even if my face in both of these pictures doesn't show that it was.

Parker had a great time with our cousins. He loves them and loves their attention. Nathan took most of the pictures and was a good sport to watch a very grumpy Nixon while I made my watch band and then my grandma's. He was there but since he took the pictures I don't really have proof.

Fall

2009-11-11T22:07:00.005-07:00

We have been enjoying the great fall weather lately. Parker asks me to rake up the leaves so we can jump in them. Its been a fun activity for us.
Nixon is the boss at our house. When he points his fist and screams people listen. He definitely isn't a push over. He will let you know how he feels. I think this is a good characteristic for the second child, even if it sometimes hurts our ears.
This is my dad. He installed a fan in our bathroom over the weekend and Parker was his big helper. He could follow my dad around for hours and loves his tools.
On Halloween Parker and Nathan carved a pumpkin. Parker was so excited to put a face on his pumpkin.

This was the end result. Its blurry because I took a bad picture. It looked really good in real life. We've never made pumpkins like this before and I think we will have to start making it a tradition!
And we have two big announcements!! Nixon took his first step today! It happened at my parents house so I will have to take pictures tomorrow. And Parker is potty trained. After he uses the bathroom he usually runs circles around the front room dining room and kitchen until I can catch him. This is my view for a few min!! He thinks he is so funny!!!
Nathan promised Parker Lego's after he went number 2 twice in the toilet. And not those baby duplo's either(which would have been easier to clean up). Real live Lego's. And the had a deal going where we got a free Lego city tractor. Parker loves them! I can't believe my baby is potty trained.
Tomorrow its supposed to snow. Bring it on!!! This family welcomes the white stuff and Parker has been asking for a month now, Can it snow yet? I hope we wake up to it on our lawn but I'm not going to hold my breath.

Happy Halloween!!

2009-10-27T22:16:00.006-06:00

We are excited to go Trick or Treating at our house. Parker has been asking me for a whole month if it is time yet to go. A few weeks ago I took the boys shopping to the mall to get some items I needed for Nixon's Costume I was making. While there we wandered into the Disney Store and Nixon spotted the Nemo costume. He doesn't even watch the movie but he loved how soft and cuddly it was. And when I saw that it was only $20 I also fell in love with it. Then Parker saw the Pooh costume I thought they looked so cute we had to buy them.

5 years!!

2009-10-22T10:19:00.003-06:00

Five years ago this very day I got to walk out of the temple sealed to my best friend for time and all eternity. Oh how lucky I am. I love Nathan with all my heart. He always makes me laugh, He has a great sense of adventure and he isn't afraid to take a risk. I love his testimony of the Church, and his faithfulness to it. He is always willing to help and loves doing it. My love grows for him as I watch him interact with our boys. He is their hero. Just last night Parker woke up at 2 and called for me when I got to him he said "Where's Daddy?"

Nathan will sleep next to Parker when he is scared. He will run in circles with Parker until they are both exhausted. On the weekends Nathan is on duty full time with Parker because Parker only wants Nathan. I'm not going to lie its a nice break!
Nixon follows after Nathan all over the house and he is Heartbroken when Nathan leaves for work. During Nathan's showers Nixon will sit at the bathroom door and babble to him. And Nathan loves those boys right back. We are so lucky to have him and I am so happy we got married!!! It has been an exciting five years.

Nixon is 1

2009-10-16T15:23:00.004-06:00

Nixon turned 1 three weeks ago! And obviously we can't believe that time has gone by that fast. We had a fun family weekend for his birthday. We gave him this car and he absolutely loves it. It makes being outside so much better. He thinks he is too big to be held but he isn't quite walking yet so crawling on the cement is too painful for me to watch. But now we can push him all over the place if we need.
Nixon and Parker were entertained by riding the car in circles around our house while Nathan and I made Breakfast. We had buttermilk syrup and Nixon got a pancake shaped as a 1 while the rest of us had waffles. Nathan is so good to shape the pancakes for our boys.
Nixon ate it right up. Who wouldn't thought buttermilk pancakes with buttermilk syrup mmm... we might need to make more tomorrow for breakfast.
After breakfast we took Nixon out on a walk to try out his new car.

The next day we invited our families over to sing to him. We had costco chocolate cake that was so yummy. Nixon really got into it after a while.We love this sweet face at our house!

Family Fun

2009-09-25T22:00:00.004-06:00

I just subscribed to Family Fun Magazine. I am really excited for it to come. When you sign up you also get a digital copy in your email inbox 2 min later. I have a goal of trying to do a project or activity with Parker every day so that we don't get too bored here in the Young house. So when I saw a recipe for play dough I knew that would be Mondays project. Parker loved helping me make it and he loved it so much that it ended up being our project all week long. The dough is dyed by household items so we made brown with coco powder. It made me want a little snack every time we got it out, but the look on Nixon's face when he tried it told me it wasn't worth it.
Nixon kept eating it so I took it away from him because thats just gross.....He was very very unhappy with me

It was one of the first things we did every morning. Thats why my kids are still in the PJ's so back off. And sometimes we stay in our PJ's for a few hours in the morning. Judge me, thats fine.
It was so much fun I can't wait to plan the next activity for next week. I think we might tackle finger painting during Nixon's morning nap. I'm a little worried about that one though.

California

2009-09-23T22:16:00.005-06:00

Last month we headed to California for a wedding of Nathan's good family friend. My mother in law thought it would be fun for us to go to Disneyland for a few days before the wedding. We had so much fun!! Parker loved having Cecelia there with him.
The dads decided that Parker and Cecelia needed a really fast ride on the teacups. They are lucky that the kids didn't lose their breakfast all over them. They were spinning really fast.
Shannon and Nixon on the carousel.

Dumbo
Teacups again. On our second day we were the first people on the ride and it was just our little families on the ride. That was fun.
Heimlich's chew chew train
Flick's ride

Tuck and Roll bumber cars. In feb Parker was too small to ride these and you can tell by his smile he was happy to make the height requirement.
The wedding had a live band and dance floor at the reception. The kids loved dancing all night long.
Parker didn't want to cooperate for the picture.
And the band was so cute.
Our flight left at 7:00 the next morning. We got there at 6:35 and they wouldn't let us check in because they stop check in 30 min before the flight. So we had to rent a car and drive home. Talk about a stressful half hour. ps it was a teeny tiny airport and we totally could have made it. Even as we were checking out another airline and rental cars they were still calling people for our flight to head through security to board the plane. It was like we were in the twilight zone of not making our flight. Our GPS gave us wrong directions adding a few min to our travel. We hit every red light. The Gas station denied our card because Nathan put in our zipcode and in California you are supposed to put the zipcode of the city you are in-stupid. And then once in the station he had to play a guessing game with the attendant as to how much money he thought we needed to fill up. and then head back in and get the remaining change. Anyway if we would have known it was that close I could have dropped Nathan off to check us in and I could have dropped off the rental car and we would have made it. I'm tired just remembering it again. Someone on stand by must have really really really needed our seats. Our boys were so good on the ride home. I think it helped that they were exhausted after 2 long days at Disneyland and a wedding day. They slept a good portion of the ride. Overall it was a great trip.

Boating

2009-09-17T23:45:00.010-06:00

For Brookann's birthday my family went boating. Luckily Nathan found the sumo tube. He was so excited to try it. It was so funny!! My pictures just loaded in backwards order and I'm too lazy to fix them.... Here are the videos and pics from that day.
Scott and Nathan heading back into the wake.Nixon loving our kisses!! Ok so maybe he isn't loving them. but we love him!

There is his sweet smile!
Parker would switch between being very nervous and having fun. At that moment he was loving it!
My dad-we call him skipper when we go to Bear Lake because he drives the boat the whole time. Well he was the full time driver on this day as well.
Brook, Parker and Scott enjoying the front of the boat. Its my personal favorite spot as well. When I'm not trying to keep the wind out of babies faces.
Nathan and I. Poor Nathan, I like him to come with me but I always make the boat driver give us a fun/not crazy ride. And then I talk his ear off. But I always tell him the conditions and he still wants to be with me. I LOVE him!!
Me, steph Brook, Not a great picture but I'm going to be honest, I have no desire to be with the both of them on the tsunami at the same time ever again so this picture is history. Why am I being so rude? Well they were like wrestling pigs taking up 2/3 of the tube and inching closer and closer to me and everytime we hit a wave I fell off. I don't care about falling off I care about falling off because My sisters-who are 19 and 22 end up edging me off while they are fighting each other.

My mom was there too. She held babies the whole time and was in Heaven! And now for the sumo suit portion you have all been waiting for...
Me
Steph, Brook in the sumo suit and scotty

Scotty, Steph in sumo suit me
Scotty, Nathan
And Nathan was the lucky one to try it first. I tried it last. It was more fun watching the other people than actually being out on the water.

Sunday

2009-09-10T22:07:00.003-06:00

I read in a book that children who read the comics are smarter than children who don't. So I started reading the comics to Parker on Sunday. It has become a fun tradition that Parker loves.For some reason that day I felt like documenting our life on Sunday so later in the morning when we all ended back in our bed I grabbed the camera to document our family time! Church at 1 is not my favorite but it has been fun to spend some lazy time together in the morning.

Where have I been??

2009-08-08T00:19:00.003-06:00

I know you all have missed my blogging over the past 2 months. In fact I bet you just stopped checking my blog to see if I had posted. Well I just got done posting 3 very long posts chuck full of pictures. Honestly you have to love us very much be this interested in our family because it will take you awhile to get through all of my new posts.Today Parker went out to play in our garage. After a few min of playing I couldn't hear him anymore so I went to see where he was. I started laughing and ran for my camera.

Usually for about a half hour each afternoon Nixon wakes up before Parker and he gets some one on one time. So I took advantage of a great day. I think its a pretty fun picture.

Please enjoy the rest of the updates-we've been busy and we've had tons of fun!!

Kings Canyon and Bear Lake

2009-08-07T23:51:00.007-06:00

In Backwards order here are our July Vacations. At the end of our Bear Lake adventure with my family our friends Dave and Aubree and Felipe and Andrea came up to spend a day on the Lake with us. We had so much fun it was a perfect day. Parker was so tired from our week festivities he fell asleep on Aubree. Isn't Will so adorable??
Nathan and Nixon.
Parker driving the boat for us!
Nixon loved being on the boat as long as it wasn't moving. Other wise he wasn't all too thrilled with it.
Gracie, Parker and Olivia helping make breakfast.
Nixon did a lot of sleeping at the beach.
My 3 boys!
The kids are wiped out after 3 long days at the beach and swimming all night, but it sure is fun fun fun!!!
From left to right Steph, Nicole, Mindi Brook, Jamie. Fun times!!
Parker loved the boat!
Nixon, Tate and Curt

Kings Canyon....
This is me trying to rock Nixon asleep in the hammock. He wasn't falling for it and it was just making me sleepy. I love the hammock!
This was part of our camping compound
From left to right Leif, Jace Zach Nathan and Brad finally making an appearance after being invited to come 20 min earlier. The boys were tired of waiting...
Blake and Parker playing with a truck
Me and Nixon on the river. It was hot there so we made a trip to the river twice a day this year.
Parker and Nathan.

Our little family.
Nixon loved the rocks. It was hard to keep him from putting them in his mouth.
Gabriel and Parker. They loved going around in the wagon.

This was how we got Parker to take a nap most days. It was good exercise riding around the camp ground.

4th of July and In the Garden

2009-08-07T23:32:00.006-06:00

My inlaws have a great garden and the grandkids love to play it in. With only a few days left of the pea tunnels I had to snap a few pictures. Emma
Parker and Grace
Cecelia
Parker and Cecelia
Chloe
Jane
Sophie

Shannon Jane and Chloe. I'm missing Oliver but he wasn't in the garden at the time.

Also my cousins came down to see the Jonas brothers so for a few min before we had to head to our other family bbq we hung out with them. Parker LOVES having kids closer to his age to hang out with around my family. And he LOVES Gracie and Olivia
Here is Gracie!!
Parker, Olivia and Scottie. Olivia has a little crush on Scottie and Parker thinks he's pretty funny.
Parker played with the big boys during our bbq. He loved it.
Nothing says summer like parades and doughnuts.
I brought cookies to our BBQ's and this was Parker waiting for he dough to be ready to eat. We love our cookie dough at our house. I feel ya parker...

Play dates with friends

2009-08-07T22:47:00.005-06:00

This July was crazy for us. Nathan had a huge deadline the day before we headed for our vacation so he ended up working from 8 in the morning till 12 midnight most days. Including Saturdays. We managed to keep busy with family and friends. We were able to go to the zoo with my friend Ash from high school and then we headed to Thanksgiving point to catch up with an old friend from our ward the next week. We had a lot of fun!Parker and I also took a mommy and me swimming class. He loved it. He is more comfortable in the pool now so that is great. My friend Cass and her son Bridger took it with us. Don't tell Nixon because both my friends who took it brought their kids who were his age, but I needed to make sure parker was ok with the water and it worked! This was Parker in the play jail at Thanksgiving point. They have a fun little western village for the kids to play in.

He had tons of fun at the pony rides. And was excited to have me ride on the toys at the park. Nixon was there too but he wasn't so happy to be there so my friends Cass walked with Parker while I held Nixon.

This was Nixon on the Carousel at the zoo. It wasn't his favorite.

The train ride and the elephant exhibit. Parker loved the train ride-once we got on. I was a little worried at first he wanted me to hold him because he was scared of the train line. Luckily he got over that pretty quick.

2009-06-26T22:40:00.004-06:00

Most of you know the last few weeks have been a little rainy. But that did not stop Nathan from having the great idea of going on a hike a few weeks ago. Which then inspired us to make a goal to go hiking every Tuesday. The next tuesday I brought the camera along to document. This Tuesday we were plagued with the flu. Hopefully we will be out there again every Tuesday for the rest of the summer. Honestly it is so beautiful and Parker loves it.I think Parker loves it so much because he gets to throw rocks in the river. I guess we will be on the look out for hikes with rivers passing by them.

Nixon is getting to the age where he want to be down and crawling. This should make my summer vacations very dirty!
I love my boys!
Parker told me to be careful as we got closer to the river! He is so sweet. He also tells me to watch out for cars while I am driving. It cracks me up.
What a cute view!!

Art City Days!

2009-06-13T00:05:00.007-06:00

We took Parker and Nixon to Art city days a few days this week. The first night we went to have a scone but once Parker saw the rides we had to promise to bring him back the next day. We LOVE the scones!!! The second day we didn't make it to the scone shack in time so we had to get a funnel cake-sorry Ryan and Jayna I hope you make it there sometime this weekend. On our way to the carnival it started to rain so we waited for it stop. By the time we got down there all the good parents had their kids in bed so Parker rode each ride all by himself. And I'm pretty sure they let him ride twice as long.
My pictures just uploaded backwards and I know how to fix them but I'm too lazy tonight. The "dragon train" was our grand finale. The worker must have let us go around 20 times . I thought it was nice but it was such a small track that I thought I was going to die around every corner. Plus my parents always told me that these carnival rides weren't as safe as big amusement Park rides so I hadn't been on one in 20 years!
Parker didn't want to sit in the first seat because the dragon was "scary". He loved every minute of the ride.
Parker wanted me to ride on the other horse but I always think of the rattlesnake in the carousel story so I wanted to watch him closely. I know I'm a nerd.
Nixon braved the cold while his brother got to enjoy all the rides. It was past his bed time so I thought he would fall asleep on the walk over but he stayed awake almost until we were home.

On the mermaid/duck ride Parker would look away from the ride operator every time he would come around to him. Once I figured out what he was doing it was funny to watch him look out of the corner of his eye to see if the guy had passed yet. I moved away from the operator so I could convince him to waive at me. Parker doesn't smile in pictures right now but I promise he was having a good time. He was just too busy concentrating on driving the carts.

PS If you went to the carnival, what do you think of the new location? We LOVED it! but don't let that influence you, I really want to know your own opinion.

PPS We really go just for the scones. If we could we would sneak in and out with only participating in eating the scone. I promise we aren't super ghetto. But hey we have kids and we have to keep them happy! And we made sure to bring the purel to disinfect when we were done

Memorial Day

2009-05-28T23:18:00.003-06:00

My grandma has a family reunion at her home on Memorial day. So on Monday we drove up to Cache Valley.This is my grandma and her two sisters. My grandma is on the left.
Parker and Nathan getting ready to hit the volleyball. What is a family reunion without volleyball?
Parker and my cousin Gracie. Parker was so sad to leave Gracie and her sister Olivia. On the way home he kept saying What are Gracie and Olivia doing mommy?
Nixon enjoyed himself as well.
Parker and Tate playing. When the three little boys get a little bigger they are going to have so much fun together!

Bathroom decorations

2009-05-15T08:47:00.003-06:00

I'm a big believer in decorating your house with family pictures. So I've decided to decorate my bathroom with cute pictures of my boys. While I was in High School I babysat a family who had a pictures of their kids in the bath printed on tiles and hanging in their bathroom. I wish I could remember what family it was but now I'm stuck figuring it out myself. So has anyone ever transfered their pictures onto tiles?

Happy Birthday Nathan!!!

2009-05-12T10:02:00.003-06:00

Today is Nathan's 26th birthday. We hope he has a good one. We started the celebrations early by singing to him last night. He was nice enough to let Parker blow out some candles as well. Parker is sick though so we cut him off a special section that he could blow all the germs on it he wanted!! Nathan is such a good dad and husband. Parker and Nixon light up when he comes home. Parker loves to go everywhere with Nathan on the weekends when we get Nathan home all day long! We are very lucky to have you in our lives Nathan. Happy birthday!!

To Nancy and Angie

2009-05-10T22:22:00.003-06:00

Today we surprised my mom with a great Mothers Day gift. Lucky for you it will also benefit you both as well. Introducing the Nautica Party Island. Bear Lake 2009 here we come!!I know, I know, you are so excited for floating in Bear Lake this year. My mom was so excited she could hardly stand it. It comes with two coolers on the tube so we can bring out our water and sunscreen and food and the middle has mesh so the water comes in a little but you don't fall in! Just face it we are your favorite Niece and Nephew. See you in a few weeks!!!

Rub a Dub Dub

2009-04-15T23:21:00.003-06:00

Nixon has started sitting by himself this last month leaving him victim to my photo shoots. I love how both pictures show the drool on his clothes. He is one wet kid!
I couldn't resist taking this one during conference last weekend. I looked down from listening to see what he was doing and he was also listening to our leaders speak!
He has found a new love for trucks. Mostly he loves to taste them.
Parker and I work on our fort while Nixon takes his naps and it is cold outside. I made the fort and that same day Nathan wanted to decorate it with Parker. I came down and found a No Girls allowed sign on it. It was mine and Parkers fort first you know!

Now that Nixon has mastered sitting up by himself its time to master the tub. He loves bath time with his big brother and squeals with excitement as we walk down the hallway to the bathroom. Parker likes to pass the bath toys to Nixon and Nixon likes to chew on them.

PS Spring time can come now...no seriously NOW

Who wants to be a Millionaire?

2009-04-06T22:14:00.006-06:00

My Mother in Law thats who!!! Follow this link to see her story. http://www.millionairetv.com/
Also tune in on April 8th-thats Wednesday at 3 to see how much she wins!!

6 Months!

2009-03-26T14:10:00.006-06:00

Today Nixon is 6 months old. He is such a fun happy baby. His personality is growing so much lately. He gets so excited for life and he lights up when someone new walks into the room. Don't mind my baby talk in the back ground just enjoy the happy baby. Also if you listen closely at the end of the video you can hear Parker say "Good Job, Nixon" It however sounds very little like Nixon, but its cute to see how he pronounces his name rather than just say "baby."

He started eating rice cereal the other day and to my surprise he loves it! This is what he looks like when he is done.

One last day in the snow(we hope)

2009-03-13T00:15:00.004-06:00

We have been really low key these last two weeks. We have been taking it easy and staying around our house. Nixon is starting to love his bouncer. He is always so happy. We love him so much!
We have had to play with play dough every day this week. We make snakes and birds and baby elephants.
Yesterday Parker wanted to walk in the snow and he insisted on his snow suit. I hope this is the last time he hast to wear it.
Our front yard had little snow but he soon found the back yard to dig in.
The night before he ran in the snow while Nathan shoveled the walk. He loves being outside.

Disneyland!!

2009-03-06T23:58:00.007-07:00

Last week we were in Disneyland for three days. Its been a rough week back. Parker cried at the door on wednesday night begging to go to Mickey's house. We had such a fun time. Lets do it again guys!

Parker loved the Horsies.
We had breakfast with the critters on the second day. The critters loved Nixon...Parker did NOT like the critters.

Parker takes after me-the teacups were his favorite. The faster the spin the better.

Parker loved the rockets. On his first ride Nathan said he kept saying, I'm flying, I'm flying
Midtown Mania in California adventure is a fun 3-d ride.
On our last day we decided to stay as long as Parker wanted. Once Nixon fell asleep we headed to fantasy land Parker would say teacups-horsies(carousel) elephant. He finally fell asleep in line for Dumbo. So Nathan took him on one last ride. It was so cute.

We went to Mickey's house but the closer we got to seeing Mickey the more nervous Parker got so we left before we got to see him.
On Saturday we visited the beach. It was a great

We've been busy

2009-02-28T00:24:00.003-07:00

We've been busy helping buzz lightyear this week. 3 days at Disneyland have been awesome. More pictures to come next week. We are finishing up our vacation at the beach tomorrow!!

Happenings at the Young House

2009-02-02T23:49:00.004-07:00

We have done a lot of playing here at our house lately. We have tried to make the most of the snow and Parker loves to wander through it as I am trying to get him in our car. After Parker's aunt Cindy took him to the store he had to play with his new digging truck outside. Even if it was cold. Soon enough his hands were too cold to stay outside anymore.

Nixon has started enjoying his jumper.

Nathan taught the boys how to make the famous Young family peanut butter rice krispies. They are yummy!

We had our first family movie night a few weeks ago. It was soo much fun. We watched Kung Fu Panda. I think Parker liked the popcorn more than the movie but he would watch it every few min.

And we have mostly just been hanging out around our house having fun.

Isn't his face just so cute??

Rock Band

2009-01-29T22:32:00.003-07:00

We had a few friends over tonight to play rock band. Here are the highlights. Enjoy

FYI Nathan is the one singing. Felipe is laughing the loudest in the middle on the guitar and Dave is on the drums. Thanks for coming over guys it was fun!

Dear Nathan

2009-01-15T12:17:00.004-07:00

Dear Nathan,
Last night I noticed you were worried about Nixon. You thought he had contracted the extremely rare "lean to the right" syndrome. Today I tried to pay extra notice to him to make sure that it didn't become more serious. I am happy to report that while you have been to work he has started favoring his left side. Now you don't need to worry about his right side any more. It seems he is a baby and doesn't quite have the muscle strength to hold him self upright for very long. We do appreciate your worries though!

Love Celiece and Nixon
and while we are talking about Nathan I have to mention that he might just be the luckiest guy in the world. Two nights ago I washed my hair but didn't have the energy to dry it so yesterday morning he woke up to this......I'm looking for a biggest hair contest. please let me know if you find one!!

Parkers 2nd Birthday

2009-01-09T22:29:00.005-07:00

Two years ago today almost to the min I got to hold my little boy for the first time. He was born at 8:31 pm but because I had to go to a c-section I had to wait. He was so precious. I have loved every minute of these two years. I love being a mommy. Tonight we had our families over to have cake and ice cream with us. Thanks to everyone who could come. Also lots of people called to sing to him over the phone or just to wish him a happy birthday. He loved it!

While Parker was napping Nixon and I made his birthday cake. Nixon was then kind enough to take a nap so that I could clean up the mess for the day with two sleeping boys.
And last but not least I think Parker tries to be very grown up on the phone, its really cute. And just for a translation I think he says, Yeah, Yeah yeah yeah Birthday Cake yeah yeah yeah

Nathan bought us a Flip Video recorder a few months ago, we love it. We now use it more than our camera. Its so cute and little and we feel like we can take it every where. I recommend them for everyone! You might notice more videos and less pictures in the future!

Hair Cuts

2009-01-05T13:52:00.004-07:00

The lady who cuts Parker's hair just had a baby last week. I thought about calling her numerous times before she had him but I just never did. Last week Parker watched me trim Nathan's rat tail and he seemed fine with the idea of us cutting his hair too so today I went for it! and it turned out ok. I will most likely still have the other lady do it most of the time but now I know in a pinch I can do it too.
This was my before picture. I had actually already cut a little in front and then remembered that I had wanted to take before and after pictures.
This is half way through if you look at the other side of his head in the mirror you can see his hair is still there. I was laughing as I took this picture. Mostly because I was worried he wouldn't let me finish!Tada!! Parker has tons of hair like me so I made him hold it all up. We cut it three months ago and this is how much I cut off today. What a fun memory!I'm guessing Nixon wont need a hair cut for a long long time.

Parker's 1st Snow Day

2008-12-30T14:30:00.003-07:00

Nixon has tummy time yesterday while I folded the laundry. He doesn't quite get the activity thing but he will. He is such a good baby!

A few weeks ago we had our first really good snow storm so once Nixon fell asleep I took Parker out to play. He found his sand shovel and pail when I was looking for my gloves. I thought that was a pretty smart idea and now we have two uses for them.
Parker loves to read books at bedtime. We take turns reading to him and sometimes when I read to him Nixon joins us. His favorite book is Mr Brown can Moo.

Daddy

2008-12-12T09:54:00.004-07:00

Parker and I like to play with Parker's little people collection. We set up the sets he has and then we start playing. Well recently he has starting calling of of his people daddy. I don't know about you but I'd say he does look a lot like Nathan
And Parker has never seen Nathan's hair big and curly, but I think he hit the nail on the head.

Blessings

2008-12-08T23:07:00.004-07:00

Nathan blessed Nixon this sunday. He did a great job. Nixon was great he didn't cry at all and almost made it through all of sacrament meeting. Thanks to everyone who came it was fun to see you all!!
And speaking of blessings. This is what happened to Nathan's truck. Someone turned into him on a yellow light as he was going through the intersection. Luckily we had just switched cars that day. He had been driving our little car all summer and fall. If he had been in the car who knows what would have happened.

Nixon

2008-11-22T23:21:00.001-07:00

My friend came over to take a few pictures for the announcement. Here are a few of my favorites

Birth Announcement

2008-11-20T13:59:00.003-07:00

The past few days I've been trying to find the perfect birth announcement. I think I might use this picture.

Welcome Home Nathan!!

2008-11-13T13:18:00.003-07:00

This week Nathan was out of town for business. He comes home tonight and I couldn't be more happy. Tonight when Nixon and Parker plot against me I will have back up. Monday was my first night home alone. It started off great. I decided the give them both a bath at the same time in the big tub-silly idea but it worked. Parker and I made muffins once Nixon was asleep. Once Parker fell asleep Nixon woke up to eat and thus started the worst night ever. Once Nixon was back asleep Parker woke back up-something he hasn't done in months. After 20 min of holding Parker, Nixon woke back up and by this time its 11:30 and time all little boys should have been sleeping for hours! I tell Parker goodnight and thankfully he falls right asleep. Nixon however is a different story. He wakes up every 20 min until 2. Finally I run upstairs to jump in the shower because sometimes I only get to shower once they are both sleeping at night. I'm almost ready to get in and Nixon wakes back up but I make him cry-I really need this shower. I get out put Nixon back to sleep and think I might get a few hours in my bed all to myself. WRONG. Somehow Parker knew Nixon was asleep and he woke back up at 3 in the morning and he has peed through his diaper. By now I am too tired to care any more I change Parker and put them both in my bed where they both sleep as close to me as possible. Then at 6 Parker wakes up again and asks for cereal. In your dreams kid go back to sleep until at least 8! I didn't say that i just said shhh shh, its night night. The rest of the week went smoother but we sure are glad to have Nathan come home tonight!!
This was us right before their first bath together. I wont be doing that for a few more months but it was a fun idea. Nixon can sense the bath now and cries before I even put him in. The big tub was way way too much for him. Notice the Pink tub-funny for a house full of boys. Their rooms are both pink right now too!
On Tuesday I watched my friends baby. She is 2 weeks younger than Nixon. We were due within 3 days of each other but I cheated and went in a week early and she was in Labor for a LONG LONG time before her baby came. They both slept most of the three hours and I had to take a picture of their first play date!

Halloween

2008-11-04T21:16:00.003-07:00

Happy Halloween

Bath Time

2008-11-04T21:12:00.003-07:00

Nixon is NOT a big fan of bath time. We've moved to a new house and need to get the internet still. Updates might be few and far between for a few weeks.

The Kidd Genes

2008-10-29T10:55:00.002-06:00

My Kidd side of the family Loves to stay up late and sleep in. I got those genes. going to bed early to me means 10:30 or 11:00 and I can't even tell you when the last time that happened. In fact that is usually when we get Parker to bed-we try for earlier but lately we have been busy. But then again he doesn't wake up until 8:30 or 9 so then I get my wish of "sleeping in." Today we woke up at 10:45. On Monday it was somewhere between 10-10:30. Now that I'm not a teenager that usually makes me feel lazy but right now being a mom of a newborn, it makes me happy!! I'm sure once we are have re established our routine we will be back to 8 or 9. Until then, if you come to my house at 10 in the morning and I still have a hand imprinted on my face you will know why.

Nixon

2008-10-23T11:32:00.003-06:00

This is what Nixon enjoys doing all day and all night long. He pretty much sleeps all the time. Everyone is always excited when he opens his eyes for them!

Halloween

2008-10-22T11:47:00.003-06:00

I think I just figured out Parkers Halloween costume. Phew, it was getting close!

All by myself

2008-10-16T22:07:00.005-06:00

So this was my first week with my two kiddos without my mom or mother in law helping me out. It went pretty well. We managed to go to the Dr. for Nixon's two week check up and then we pretty much stayed in the rest of the week. On tuesday Parker decided that he didn't need a nap. However he wasn't too distraught in his bed. He would be quiet and then talk a little cry a little and run that cycle over and over. He was the one who told me he was ready for a nap so I let him stay in there for a while. Finally I decided that he wasn't going to cooperate I went in to get him and found this:
If only this was my only surprise. The room unfortunately also smelled of a poopy diaper which was no where to be seen. I had to search for the buried treasure under all of his blankets that he had thrown on the floor. Somehow the diaper managed to be underneath the blankets and his shirt and pants even though the diaper had to come off last. Lucky for me it was all still in the diaper and no where else.
Also we got a call on last Friday saying that the blood results were in and that Nixon has a serious metabolic disease called Galactosemia. This means he can't have any milk or milk products. If you know my family then you know that we live off of milk, cheese and ice cream all of which are very big no no's for children with this disease because it could cause handicaps, blindness, seizures and many awful side effects. After calling Nathan and sobbing on the phone and crying most of the morning we received another call saying that it was a mistake and he has a less severe form of the disease-Which means we still do soy formula every other feeding and after a year we are free to have him eat a normal diet. It was a huge relief especially since it is exactly what happened to my sister Stephanie and she is normal and healthy-and loves her cheese! Our prayers were answered once again on behalf of Nixon. He has been such a good baby. We love him so much. And Parker still can't get enough of him.

One Week Old!!

2008-10-03T19:08:00.004-06:00

Nixon is one week old today and we celebrated by taking him back to the Hospital and poking him for more blood work. His Dr. called yesterday saying he needed a little lab work done because of a test that came back a little low. His Dr says its very common and is doubtful that it will come back low a second time. In the mean time I have to feed Nixon soy formula every other feeding. They got most of the blood they needed with the first poke but then they needed a little more and it wouldn't come. After fishing for a new vein they sent me up to the pediatrics unit. Finally they got what they needed and we came home. And thats when he did this!!

I set him down for tummy time while we had our lunch and when my mom walked back in the room he was on his back. So she rolled him back on his tummy and he did it again. The third time I got out the video camera to document. I think Parker will have a wrestling buddy in no time.

And after a week of having Nixon home, Parker couldn't be happier to be a big brother. He wants to have Nixon around him at all times. Yesterday as my mom made Parker breakfast she HAD to hold Nixon. She tried to put Nixon down and Parker would have nothing of it, he wanted Nixon in the kitchen with him. He had to have Nixon with him while he took his bath yesterday. Parker even handed him all of his bath toys so that they would both have toys to play with.
Parker will sometimes lay on the ground and then pat the floor to tell us to put Nixon next to him. What a good big brother. I am starting to think I was boring him to tears with just the two of us over the past few months. I am so relieved that he is acting this way and not the opposite. I was really worried Parker would be jealous and that he would lose his cute personality for a few months and just throw fits all day long. We have been really lucky. Thats not to say that Parker isn't in the terrible two's because he is but he's is generally a really fun little boy.
And a great big brother!!

An Almost Smile

2008-09-30T17:23:00.003-06:00

The whole reason in posting last night was to put up this picture for my mom! Nixon is a smiley sleeper-even in the NICU.

Nixon Is Home!!

2008-09-29T22:44:00.003-06:00

By Some Miracle this morning I went up to feed Nixon at in the NICU at the best time possible. Nixon's pediatrician was just leaving as I asked the nurse if he had been turned over to his care instead of the Dr's in the NICU. So we had Dr. Paxton come over and look at Nixon. He said that since he was healthy there was no reason to be here any more and he quickly took action to speed up the release of Nixon to today with me, rather than late tuesday night or early wednesday morning. Nixon was having a hard time getting the air into all of his lung capacity so they took him up on Friday morning for a few tests, they even said he could be back in an hour or so. Then one test turned into another and before I knew it he was being pumped full of liquids which were making him not hungry. He couldn't leave until he ate a certain amount of food and they would only turn the liquids down very slowly. So as of last night he was still in the NICU from a problem created essentially by the NICU. Now don't get me wrong I'm glad they helped him with his lungs but then it seemed like he would never get out of there. But this morning thanks to some quick action by the Nurse and Dr Paxton they decided he could go home!!! We are happy to be home and need to catch back up on our sleep. Here are more pictures.
We were moved around a few times while we were there but the last day we were by a window so I had my mom bring Parker over so that he could finally see this baby we had all been talking about.
Finally home!! This was the first time he opened his eyes for my parents and they had to take a picture. He likes to sleep A LOT. Who can blame him though he has been through a lot these past few days, I'd sleep too.

Celiece is still on drugs

2008-09-27T16:46:00.000-06:00

MILO IS STILL AN OPTION!

More pictures

2008-09-27T16:26:00.003-06:00

Nathan has over taken the blog and added a few things I haven't been too happy with. Number 1 Milo is not an option. Number 2 Ugly pictures. He only had really bad close ups of the baby after he was just born or pictures where he isn't dressed and those are not appropriate for the blog. So I am sorry to all of you who have voted for Milo I don't think that will be the name and also thanks for the courtesy of saying how cute he is but he is much cuter than the last pictures. Case in point.

Pictures Yes, Name No

2008-09-26T23:45:00.006-06:00

Well according to our good friend Kathryn we broke some unwritten code by not posting pictures, note to apple, you need to allow uploading of photos from the iphone, anywho, here are some pictures of the little boy lovingly known as Parker #2 for the time being. As of tonight at 10 or so he was taken off of the air going in his nose and based off of how he does tonight we may be able to bring him out of the Infant ICU tomorrow and into our room.

Parker #2 is here!

2008-09-26T09:51:00.003-06:00

our baby boy is here, he was born at 7:45ish he is 8lbs 10oz and 20 inches tall. We don't have a name yet so we need everyone to vote, Jackson, Nixon or milo we will post pictures soon

UPDATE: Jackson Nixon milos lungs are a little underdeveloped so we are in the newborn icu with him on oxygen, we will know more in a couple hours

3 days to go!

2008-09-23T15:08:00.004-06:00

I know my count down says 10 days to go but when you have a c-section you get to go a week early!! We are really excited and nervous for a new baby. We are almost all ready-or as ready as we can get. So on Friday sometime after 9 in the morning this should be me and our new baby.
***This is NOT our new baby this is Parker and me the day after he was born***

Family Pictures

2008-09-16T16:48:00.004-06:00

Thats right two updates in one day. I'm on a roll. For my birthday Nathan wanted to have Parker's pictures taken for his 18 months. He's really 20 months but he had a big ugly scab on his forehead when he was 18 months so we waited a little longer. They turned into family pictures. Yep Family pictures with me 8 and 1/2 months prego. I like the ones where you don't really see my belly and sure enough those are the ones that are mostly one this blog. check out our family pictures here.

Labor Day

2008-09-16T13:57:00.004-06:00

Labor day was my birthday and the Young's annual Homemade Ice cream contest. Nathan and I made a cake batter Ice Cream and swirled in sprinkles and brownie bits. It tasted just like cold stone's Birthday Cake Re-mix and so we called it Celiece's Birthday Cake re-mix(nathan named it). It was yummy and we took home the Grand Prize. Anyway now we get to have this lovely trophy in our house for the whole year. We have just been laying low for the past month trying to get ready for the baby who comes on Sept 26th! We are very excited about him being here. Parker loves to give my belly kisses and he loves to hold babies so hopefully he will love our new one when we bring him home to live at our house for good.

This was just a cute picture of Parker and some of his cousins eating the birthday cake. I share a birthday with my nephew and he really wanted the whole group to sing to him so I had to stand up there with him and get sung to. It was pretty embarrassing.
I took this last week when Parker fell and his Tonka truck fell on top of him he couldn't get it off of him. So instead of running to his resuce I ran to the camera, took a picture and then helped him. Pretty mean I know but it was too funny not to pass up!

During the Olympics Parker would stand on the edge of the couch and jump onto the couch and then stand with his arms in the air like the Olympians. I uploaded the wrong video but after watching each clip i remember we couldn't get him to perform while we had the camera going and I can't delete the video so here you go anyway. Its only 6 seconds.

Kings Canyon

2008-08-21T23:16:00.003-06:00

We got home from Bear Lake late Thursday night and left for Kings Canyon late Friday night. Nathan likes to drive through the night because then we are there in the morning right when everyone is waking up. Unfortunately we left5-6 hours later than usual and we were exhausted with 3 hours still to go. We have a goal to NEVER leave that late again. This is us at the river after driving all night and taking a 2 hour nap. I think we look pretty good considering. You might recognize the view from previous posts because this is where Nathan proposed to me, so romantic, so planed to make me want to come back every year.
We had scones one morning for breakfast and Parker couldn't help but get powdered sugar all over his little face.

Parker loved the hammock-last year we would use it to take a nap with him this year he just wanted to play in it. We are sad our summer vacations are over but its been a busy summer so we are ready for a calm fall. Is that possible with the up and coming birth of our new baby?? Who by the way should be making his debut a week before his due date because of my scheduled c-section. SCARY! I'm excited and nervous and happy and sad all in one. I'm crying more because I feel bad for both of my little boys. I feel like both of them are getting the raw end of the deal. Parker is still so small so he still needs me so much. And it seems like lately he knows it is coming because he has been such a mamma's boy. I have to stop thinking about that or I will start crying again. They will be great friends and it will be a lot of fun, and a lot of work. Now I'm off to bed I need some sleep!

Bear Lake

2008-08-17T22:48:00.003-06:00

We had so much fun at Bear Lake this year. We always stay there for a week in the summer and its usually the Highlight of the summer. We sleep in, eat a big breakfast, get in our suits play at the beach for 6 hours. While at the Beach we float, play on the boat or Wave Runners and Eat on the shore. Nathan did a lot of the playing on the toys, I did a lot of the floating with Parker-He would take his nap sleeping on my mom or I while we were floating on the lake. When Nathan wasn't out boating he was usually on the shore showing Parker how to play in the sand. We miss it already.

Prelude to Bear Lake

2008-07-24T16:32:00.008-06:00

The Kidd family came down last weekend to go to Seven Peaks. On Monday we are headed to Bear Lake for our yearly family reunion. We really like events that deal with water. In fact as I am writing this most of my extended family is floating down a river in Northern Utah or maybe its in Southern Idaho. Anyway...Here are some pics from the weekend.We all gathered in my parents back yard the night before. Some of us played Croquet. I am the one with the Prego belly, and then there are my cousins Jamie and Nicole and my mom!We talked late into the night. Parker and I didn't get home until 12. Nathan left early to catch the midnight showing of batman along with a few of my Cousins and my sisters. Staying up so late caught up to a few of us...
like my sister Stephanie
my cousin Landon-who had just got his mission call the day before to South Carolina!!!

my Uncle Curt
And my grandma. I'm pretty sure she doesn't read this blog but if my relatives who do could just not tell her that I posted a sleeping picture of her that would be great!! We spent a lot of time in the Lazy river because the Wave pool was broken. The toddler pool was really warm for some reason so I tried to stay in there as long as possible but Parker enjoyed the Lazy river enough that I didn't feel too bad. He was loved on by all of his cousins. Olivia and Megan were good to stay by him as we went around and keep him entertained!

Thanks to everyone for coming down, we can't wait to see you at Bear Lake!!!

Baby Will

2008-07-21T23:08:00.003-06:00

Congrats to Dave and Aubree!! Will is one lucky little man to have you two as parents. We can't wait for you guys to come home!

Summer Fun

2008-07-17T16:13:00.003-06:00

We haven't just been sick this summer, but we haven't done any of our big vacations yet. Usually our July is chuck full of family vacations however this year they ended up being at the very end of July and the first of August so we've just been making our own fun until then.

Parker discovered my love for cookie dough and once we were done cleaning up the mess he decided to help me with the dishes. But once he was up next the the bowl he realized that the spatula still had some good cookie dough left on it so he went for it. I thought it was pretty funny because no one has ever eaten off the spatula in front of him before and yet he figured it out!
We took a day trip to my in-laws cabin and thought we would escape the heat. It was still really hot up there too so we let the kids play in the hot tub. Some bubbles had been spilled in there earlier and it made a pretty fun bubble play land once the jets were turned on.
My sister in law was kind enough to let us use a swim diaper for Parker so that he could cool off too. He had a blast!
And we don't know summer at our house with out irrigation. When our turn doesn't land in the middle of the night we like to let Parker enjoy the cool water. I know it seems gross and at first I was appalled at the idea, but he has so much fun and its just so hot. So I'm that mom that lets her kid play in the irrigation water.
It looks pretty cool when our turn is almost over and the whole back yard looks like a river!

4th Of July

2008-07-15T23:21:00.003-06:00

I'm back after a vacation from the computer. We have been busy doing nothing, oh and being sick for a week straight. Poor Parker had it the worst. I started out the week sick with him and Nathan finished the week sick with him but he managed to be sick the whole week. It made for the worst 4th of July EVER!!We Spent most of the week sleeping. And Parker pretty much lived in his diaper because every time I put clothes on him he would throw up or poop all over them within minutes of being put in them.Nathan even made him wear his plastic swim pants around the house so that he wouldn't strip out of his diaper leaving the whole house at risk!!!
And then we did some more sleeping. If you hear of people who are sick with the flu this summer run because its awful!!

Catching Up

2008-06-17T23:33:00.002-06:00

We've just been hanging around enjoying our summer. Here are a few pictures from the last few weeks. Super Parker came to visit us one night. We were glad he could come!
A huge branch fell in our yard and miraculously miss our car, our roof and our gas powered lamp in our front yard. I'm just waiting for the rest of the tree to follow and hopefully it doesn't land in the way either.
Nathan took Parker to father's and son's. Parker fell in he creek while throwing rocks into it and thanks to a quick response Parker wasn't washed away with the fast moving run off but just a little wet. The top picture is Parker is soaking wet after his brush with death.

I took Parker to the children's parade on Friday. Next year I'll have to decorate the stroller and take a picture.

Dave and Aubree

2008-06-11T13:30:00.003-06:00

Our friends Dave and Aubree have been approved for adoption!! We are so excited for them and know that they will make great parents. Parker loves to go to their house and play. So if anyone knows of someone who is looking for a family to place a baby in, let us know, they would be a great choice. Check our their profile HERE. WARNING!! it made me cry-and I don't think its just because I'm prego!!

Celiece Has a Problem

2008-05-31T23:43:00.003-06:00

My wife has a problem. This past weekend while Parker and I went to father's and sons Celiece was planning on accomplishing many of the items on her "to do" list. When I came home I found this on my computer screen and was informed that she had spent well over 10 hrs. playing Spider Solitaire. If anyone has any suggestions on how to help my wife get over this addiction please let us know.

Good Bye Kelvinator

2008-05-20T16:37:00.004-06:00

We got a new fridge this weekend and we are very excited. Its still small but its so much better than our Kelvinator. Here are some features that we are excited about...Our new fridge Has a light when you open it, two bins at the bottom for fruits and veggies and adjustable shelving.
Instead of just having a big heavy door, this fridge has shelving built in so that all of these items don't have to take up half of the fridge space.
Also above the fridge it has a freezer. A freezer? who would have thought? that's the best idea I've ever heard of.
And last but not least, this fridge has an easy open handle. These crazy inventors come up with the best ideas!

Here is our old Fridge. Its cute and retro, and has a fun name -the Kelvinator. And here are some features on this fridge that I don't think I will miss all that much.
Notice no light, or bins or places to adjust the shelving. Also that big block of ice has our little freezer cupboard in it. It started freezing over a few years ago and just kept getting worse. To the left of the ice box are some items that we will have to wait for the ice to melt to get.
This is the crow bar we had to use to open our fridge for almost a year because I broke off the handle. We were worried one day it would break and finally last year it did.

This is where our handle used to be. Sad Sad day for us. We are so happy to have a new fridge even if it is a office size fridge. We have so many possibilities now!!

Happy Birthday Nathan!!

2008-05-12T15:28:00.007-06:00

Today is Nathan's 25 b-day. We just wanted to let him know that we love him very very much and that he is a great Father and Husband.
This is usually where Parker is while I am making dinner. I think he must know that when I start making dinner Daddy will be home soon and he loves it when Nathan comes home. This was taken in the morning, I promise we don't wear our pj's all day.

Happy Birthday Nathan We love you!!!

The Alphabet

2008-05-10T23:14:00.002-06:00

Twice now I've gone to update my Friends and Family section and while adding a new name I have realized that I has misplaced a name alphabetically. Now thats embarrassing, maybe Parker and I should start practicing the ABC's

**no I didn't just have the ABC's as ABS's and have to change it quickly after I published it. Wow, its time for bed.

Spring Has Sprung!!

2008-05-08T09:33:00.003-06:00

It's been a strange spring here. We get a few warm days and a few cold days but during the warm days we try to be outside as much as possible. When we play outside I try to take care of my garden but Parker usually runs toward the street and then I get to chase after him.
If you look really close you can see Parker's whole head is caked in dirt. He wanted to help Nathan and his cousin work in the back yard but usually ended up throwing dirt on his head. But it kept him entertained for hours so I just let him keep throwing dirt.
Nathan likes to rent big loud things to work with in the back yard. It makes it go by so much faster. And it makes Nathan think that working back there is fun so we just keep renting them!
After a long day on Saturday and a day full of family on Sunday Nathan had to wake up at 2 to do our water turn. When he was done he couldn't get back to sleep so on Sunday night he only slept for two hours. On Monday while I was trying to put Parker to sleep he wanted to lay next to Nathan on the couch. Instead of Parker falling asleep, Nathan fell asleep because he was so tired. I was really hoping that both of them would be asleep for this picture but Parker just wasn't falling for it.

It's A Boy!!!

2008-04-28T15:05:00.002-06:00

We had an ultra sound done last week by my friend to get a sneak peak of the sex of the baby and its a boy!! I am so excited. I wanted another boy for Parker to play with. I'm 17 and a half weeks a long and I am feeling great! No picture because all of my ultrasound pics are in my car and Nathan took that to work today.

To The Highest Bidder...

2008-04-13T15:16:00.009-06:00

During a recent (recent as in a few weeks ago, don't worry Celiece and the baby are fine) emergency room visit I knew that our insurance wasn't going to cover much if any of our visit because the visit had to do with a pregnancy so with that in mind I decided to swipe some of the objects in the room to sell off to help pay for the visit. So up for sale we have:
One Doctors Stool, are you ever jealous of the fact that the doctor gets to sit on a sweet stool while you have to sit awkwardly on a paper covered table. Well be jealous no more, now you can have your very own Doctors Stool for the low price of: $250
Although you will see a lamp in this picture I was only able to swipe the computer. On this computer you will find the medical records of all close friends and family, spend hours figuring out what you friends from high school have been up to by means of their medical records. A steal at half the price this handy little number is up for $750
Who doesn't sleep better at the hospital OR Feel More Sexy in a Hospital gown? Bring all that comfort home with you with this assorted variety of hospital linens. NOTE: Gowns also make great Bridal Shower Gifts. Stock up now for the low price of $75
If you are sick of cranking your neck skyward to watch tv and sick of watching your favorite television shows in color, this piece of medical grade technology is for you. Imagine the plentiful disease ridden hands that have reached up to turn the channel on this little number, bring those many diseases home with you for the low price of $250

I was also able to swipe some gloves and various nick nacks so if you are interested let me know.

Bye, Bye Tire Swing!!!

2008-04-07T22:06:00.008-06:00

Once upon a time Nathan and Celiece moved into an old home that had a lot of junk in the back yard. Some of the junk included a very large tractor tire. It was Nathan's dream to hang this tire on his big tree in the front yard. One day while Celiece was away Nathan knew this was his opportunity to hang the tire on the tree. Celiece came home and laughed at Nathan because he is so funny. Once the joke wore off there was no way to take it down so the tire became a fixture of their house. Two years later Nathan got a little Giant ladder for Christmas and promised Celiece that the tire would come down once it was warm enough....Well this weekend it was finally warm enough!!!!!!!
Nathan was a little unsure about the height so he wanted to test the ladder out on shorter heights first.
Finally he could try going up next to the tree!!!. Can you see the tree's cancer spot?? It made Nathan very nervous to be leaning against the limb that is right above the cancer spot.
Finally no more tire swing!!

6 months and counting

2008-04-03T14:32:00.003-06:00

On October 3 we are expecting our second baby to arrive. We are so excited. We had the first ultrasound last week and got to see it move around and hear the heart beat. We needed to do an early ultrasound because we weren't planning on getting pregnant so this was a surprise. It will be a great story to tell. We were just getting ready to put Parker to bed on Valentines day, when Nathan convinced me to go get a pregnancy test because I was a week late and that was unusual. The whole way down to wal-mart I tried to talk myself out of it. That it would be a waste of money and that I would start the next day. When I took it, there was no question the line was bright pink. I just sat there staring at the test. Nathan didn't believe me. We were shocked. The next day I made my phone calls to the insurance and the Dr.'s office and they were both going to work with each other. I was relieved because I love the Dr that delivered Parker but we had to get new insurance since I don't work at UVSC anymore. It is defiantly a blessing. We can't wait to find out what it is . I know this picture isn't the greatest but its all we have.

Slobber

2008-04-02T10:43:00.003-06:00

Poor Parker has been teething since he had croup. He has quite a few teeth coming in all over. When I stick my finger in his mouth to try to see how many new teeth he has, my fingers get bit so I can't tell you just how many are coming in. He has actually been a pretty good little guy, he hasn't been too grumpy. The thing that gives his new teeth away is the slobber that shows up on his shirt and stays there all day, never having a chance to dry off. This picture was taken 15 min after he got dressed this morning. He already has slobber all over his shirt. Poor little guy, that would drive me crazy!!

Easter Weekend

2008-03-26T22:09:00.004-06:00

We had a busy Easter Weekend. We started it off Saturday morning at Nathan's Grandma's for Easter brunch. After brunch aunt Cindy organized the egg hunt. Parker had to find 14 eggs-he found 2 others helped him find the rest. This is me and Parker gearing up to find the eggs. He was excited to find that there was candy in the eggs since his eggs that he had been playing with all week had been empty.

Then after brunch we went to my parents for a bike ride up the canyon. Parker loved his trailer he climbed right in. He fell asleep on the ride. We had such a fun time we hope to do it more often.

After the bike ride my mom wanted Parker to search for eggs in her back yard. He was more interested in the swing, but at least we got our pictures because I forgot to take any on Sunday.
Saturday night we invited Ryan and Jayna over to color eggs. It had been a few years since we had colored eggs and we had a lot of fun. Nathan looks sad because his egg says Nathan loves Celiece, but someone dropped another eggs on it and broke it right where the it said love. Poor Nathan, but I was still happy he was making a mushy egg of love. This winter we started a habit of taking a nap on Saturday when Parker is taking his. Now that the weather is getting warmer we will have to start a new tradition of working in the yard while he is sleeping. We definitely
didn't get a nap Saturday and were exhausted by the end of the day.

Parker Cottentail

2008-03-20T13:13:00.003-06:00

This year the easter bunny came early to our house and brought us a bike trailer so that Parker can go with us on our bike rides. I am really excited to try it out and by try it out I mean ride behind Nathan as he pulls the trailer. However I was sad that Parker wouldn't wake up to a basket full of candy. Since he doesn't really understand what is happening, I decided that I would just buy him a small basket and little eggs to play with for the rest of the week. They were a hit!

The Croup

2008-03-14T11:03:00.002-06:00

This morning Parker woke up with very labored breathing. When I called the Dr. the receptionist making the appointment could hear him breathing and decided to have us bring him in right then. Luckily he doesn't have RSV but he does have Croup. He sounds awful when he coughs. It breaks my heart. Looks like we will take a few sick days.

Mommy's Helper

2008-03-11T23:58:00.004-06:00

Last week in an attempt to keep Parker from crying and to clean my house at the same time I came up with a great idea to have Parker be my "helper." So with a sink full of dishes and water I set him on one side of the sink and gave him a dish brush. It worked like a charm except for now he cries when I do the dishes without him. Sometimes his little pajama feet end up in the water but whatever makes him happy.
It worked so well with the dishes I thought it might work with dinner. It works, just not as long or as well.But usually 10 min playing peek a boo in the cupboard keep him happy. He opens it up, cleans it out, and then tells me to close it by lifting his hand toward the door and making a very pleasant noise. After about 20 seconds he pushes it back open and says boo. And then I am informed that it is time to shut the cupboard again.
Not only does Parker help clean, he likes to take every one of his toys out of the toy chest. And once they are out he doesn't like to play with them because then the room is way too messy!

And not only is he mommy's helper but he enjoys keeping Nathan company while he is using the restroom. Today he even went into Nathan's office and picked an additional book out for Nathan to read, Parker then passed it under the door to him. They put their hands under the door and wiggle their fingers at each other, pass books, magazines and toilet paper to each other. Its a sweet bonding moment. We love Parker!!

When You Find "The One"

2008-03-04T01:39:00.005-07:00

There are so many titles that could have been appropriate for this picture including but not limited to, When it's right it's right, Memories..like the corner of my mind etc.. feel free to post your own. This is Nathan by the way, I have hijacked Celieces blog seeing as how neither of us can seem to make regular posts on our individual blogs I have decided it's time to join forces. We were going through some old pictures this past Sunday and stumbled across this little gem.
This is a picture of Celiece and I the night we graduated High School, at our "all night party" at our school. Now I know that some "So Cali" schools are known to do lame activities like go to Disneyland and stuff for grad night but in Springville it's all about locking the kids in the high school with some Krispie Kremes and some Hot 'n' Ready $5 Little Caesar pizzas for one last night.

Now there is a lot to be said about this picture but I want to hit on one point and others can comment later but today I was trying to describe to my very single 25 year old cousin who has been having some dating troubles how much easier life is when you find a girl and fall in love right out of high school and then get married shortly after your mission, there is no worrying about awkward dates, bathing, showering, personal hygiene in general, once you are married it's easy street. So this post is dedicated to those of you who are still searching for that special someone.... If we can do it, anyone can.

I want to talk about me......

2008-02-21T22:54:00.002-07:00

I think I have been tagged by a few people but I have been putting it off so I will add the together in one long, get to know you blog post.

What is his name?Nathan

How long have you been together? We have been married for just over 3 years

How old is he? 24

Who eats more? Nathan, but not by much

Who said I love you first? Nathan

Who is taller? Nathan

Who sings better? Nathan

Who is smarter? We each have our different areas of smarts.

Who does the laundry? Me

Who pays the bills? I do, I love that sort of thing

Who sleeps on the right side? Nathan, that way he is closer to the door so he can protect me

Who mows the lawn? Mostly Nathan but sometimes I do-we have a riding mower so its kinda fun

Who cooks dinner? Me, but he is a better cook.

Who drives? Nathan 75% of the time

Who is more stubborn? We are both equally stubborn

Who kissed who first? Nathan

Who proposed? Nathan did at sunset, it was great

Who has more friends? Nathan, well we hang out with his friends, luckily I love their wives

Who is more sensitive? Nathan has 3 sisters so sometimes I tell him he is just like a girl. But I would say I'm a little more sensitive

Who has more siblings? I have 2 sisters he has 3

Who wears the pants? Nathan, unless I really feel strongly then I don't like to give in

Now 3 random things about me...One tag had 3 one had 7, sorry Jayna I chose the 3

1. When I put Parkers toys away I have to count them to make sure they are all there. Who likes to play with toys that are missing items?

2. I can plan out finances and budgets for hours. This is how I got through my last semester of school. Luckily one of my classes was business finance so it sort of went together

3. I should be doing Yoga with Nathan right now but I am finishing this list. Now I am on my way to do Yoga. yuck!

5 min Entertainment

2008-02-19T23:34:00.004-07:00

Parker has a new babysitter, its this box right here. He likes it for about 5 min. Anything to keep him entertained.
The picture below is Parkers first fort. Notice Parker is nowhere to be found. He could care less about his fort. I had fun with it though...

Young Look-alike Meter

2008-02-09T00:04:00.001-07:00

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Family name history - Free genealogy

I knew he looked more like me!!! I am going to print this off and give to every single person that says-"you look just like your daddy, don't you?"

I even uploaded twice to make sure it wasn't the picture. He does have Nathan's beautiful eyes though.

Yoga

2008-02-08T00:50:00.000-07:00

For the last three weeks Nathan and I have been doing Yoga on Thursday nights. Before we started the first night Nathan asked me if Yoga was hard and I just laughed at him. "Its a different kind of hard," I answered.
Well this Yoga is even harder than the Yoga I am used to. Its awful. Its 45 min of Upward dog, downward dog, runners pose and crescent pose. Then another 45 min of balance poses which is the Yoga I am more used to-by used to I mean I've done it 5 times to Nathan's zero times. The last 10 min is my favorite they have you lie on your back and just relax. It is amazing.
Why are we doing Yoga every Thursday night you ask. Well it is part of Nathan's new work our program called P90X. I work out with him on the nights that don't require pull up's or weight training, because 1, You have to be able to do at least 3 pull ups to do it and I can't even do one, and 2, I don't want big bulky muscles, I want lean ones. So every other day I get to do Yoga, or some kind of Cardio work out for at least an hour with Nathan. It has been really fun for me. And no post is complete with out pictures.

Spring Fever

2008-01-21T23:11:00.000-07:00

I love Utah and all of its seasons. I am the snow queen, I just love the snow. With that being said I have been experiencing Spring Fever. I am ready to be outside again. Here is what I am looking forward to.Croquet in our backyard is always fun.
One last year of taking loads and loads to the dump. Our yard will finally be Junk free in the back!! We have had to take 15 loads at least to the dump because of all the junk that was left over from the people who lived here before.

Bear Lake! We love it there.Kings Canyon. Its just so relaxing and beautiful.

Playing outside-even if Parker gets a little dirty.

Growing a garden. We used to grow corn but I don't think we will this year-we will have to see how the yard clean up goes. We did a lower key garden last year and it was nice because I have limited time to give my full attention to a garden.

Happy Birthday Baby!!

2008-01-13T23:32:00.001-07:00

Parker turned 1 this week on the 9th and we have been celebrating ever since. The morning of his birthday we made him pancakes shaped as a number 1. When I say we I mean I made the syrup Nathan made the batter and shaped the pancake. It was a tradition that his mom used to do with his family and he wants to keep it alive. Nathan LOVES tradition and this is a good one. Any excuse to eat buttermilk syrup is a good one for me.

After breakfast we opened presents. We tried to keep the presents to a minimum because he just got a lot from Christmas and our house is too small to hold a lot of presents. We gave him the little people farm and a key set so I think we did pretty good. And today we had a UNO themed family party where we had cake and ice cream. I was pretty nervous about the cake but I think it turned out pretty well. This is his invitation that Nathan made. Some of its upside down because we folded it but I think Nathan did a really good job.

Happy Birthday Parker!!!

Parker's first Christmas!!!

2008-01-06T15:19:00.000-07:00

We have been busy with family parties, shopping, Christmas and then being sick so we haven't been blogging lately. Here are some of our favorites pictures from the season.This year I invested in the Little people nativity set for our new decorations. Parker loved it and I didn't mind playing with it either. I recommend it to whoever wants a decorations that the kids can play with.

This year we bought rock band as an early Christmas present we were able to get a lot of use out of it with our family parties.
Parker with Santa. He couldn't quite figure out why this man had to hold him, but it was fun for Nathan and me to do the traditional take your child to see santa.
We let parker open his first present on Christmas eve. He loved it but then wanted to put it back in the wrapping paper he doesn't quite get it yet. Maybe next week for his birthday he will understand it more.

Let it Snow!!!!!!

2007-12-12T17:30:00.000-07:00

On Saturday Nathan and I wanted to take advantage of the Snow we received this weekend. So we bundled up and went to Nathan's parents house. Nathan's mom played with Parker inside while Nathan and I made a ramp so that we could play with the snow skate. We love the snow!! I was impressed that I didn't fall. Two years ago I wasn't so graceful on the snow skate. I'm hoping it means I will be a little better snowboarding this year. I'll have to see though.
Nathan isn't a big nerd like me so he didn't put on his snow pants. But he wasn't worried about falling in the snow as much as I was. It was such a fun Saturday night.

Here's hoping we have many more snow storms!!!!! Let it snow!!!

Story Time!

2007-12-04T23:23:00.000-07:00

About two years ago while Nathan was still in school, Nathan needed new glasses. Nathan's parents, being the people they are, offered to take Nathan to costco to get new glasses. The appointment was made during a break between classes for Nathan. He met his parents and the searching began for a new pair of glasses. He soon found a pair much like his old pair that needed to be replaced, black rimmed glasses that screams he is cool and he has a uniqe style of his own. And yet there were another pair sitting there screaming something else. This scream was more to the parents to grab their children and run from this man. Creepy brown rimmed 2 inch round glasses. Nathan's parents had to buy both pairs when they both made their son so happy. And so every couple of months or so these creepy glasses made their debut to get their laughs from Nathan's co workers and friends. And then last month his black rimmed glasses broke and we were out of contacts and suddenly these glasses weren't as funny when they were his only way of seeing the world. So we quickly went to costco and got Nathan some contacts. So he doesn't have to scare the parents or the children. The End

Also Parker has found a new face and he thinks he is so funny when he makes it.

Going, Going, Gone

2007-11-14T14:38:00.000-07:00

Here is our barn before Nathan started taking it down.
This is obviously half way down.
This is the log cabin that needed more attention to take down.

And this is Nathan's dad finishing off the log cabin. Now we just have to clean up all the wood and junk that was in the cabin!! That is our goal for this saturday.

A day in the yard.

2007-11-12T15:11:00.000-07:00

This Saturday was dedicated to yard work. We needed to rake the leaves and rent a track hoe so that we could tear down the remaining section of our back yard barn. The remaining section was a log cabin so it needed more than a saw to take down. Luckily as we started out Nathan's dad drove by and came to help. He has lots of yard experience and lots of yard equipment to help out. With our huge trees in front we were excited and grateful for the help. He brought over his lawnmower that sucks up all the leaves, three trailers and an extra leaf blower. With his help we were able to have the leaves all cleaned up by the time our track hoe arrived. Stay tuned for before and after pictures of our back yard coming up this week-I know you can't wait!
Thanks Jim, you were a big help!!

Happy Halloween

2007-11-01T23:28:00.000-06:00

This Halloween was packed full of friends and family. During the day my mom, sister brookann and Parker went with me to Gardner village where all the witches come out for the month of October. We went out to lunch to Cafe Rio and then I took Parker out trick or treating to all of our loved ones who I thought would want to see Parker that night. He kept his costume on all night without even crying or pulling on it. He however refused to smile at me for pictures no matter how big and dorky I jumped around my parents front yard! enjoy!!

ps this was my costume when I was a baby 24 years ago!!!

Fall

2007-10-30T23:42:00.000-06:00

Yesterday while Parker was taking a nap I pulled out the leaf blower to clean up the lawn. It took me about an hour but I have to admit it was a fun little project. Parker woke up in enough time to play outside in the pile of leafs while I stuffed them into 4 bags.

This was the biggest pile there was another on our front side walk and one on our driveway. This is what I woke up to this morning. Can you even tell I did anything at all?? These trees sure keep our house cool in the summer and sure keep us busy every fall.