Sweet home...Tennessee

We are finally settled in Tennessee! I unpacked my last box this week and have officially hung decor on my walls! I still have lots of organizing to do but at least we are unpacked! We absolutely LOVE the south and are so grateful for the opportunity to live here. Things I have learned so far:
- Southern hospitality is one of the greatest things that has ever entered my life
- Jason does NOT like to be hot and "sticky" (this is what he refers to when it is hot and humid)
- Humidity is lovely! I really do like it...strange I know!
- Public preschool tuition in TN is ridiculously expensive.

We feel right at home here in TN and I would love to spend the rest of my life here, unfortunately that will not happen. But I am living in the moment and embracing my time here!

I really don't have many pictures to share because I am a slacker (something I WILL improve upon). Here are a few I have taken over the course of last five weeks.

This is an awesome park we found in Farragut. It has a bike/walking path all the way around it. It is absolutely beautiful. Jason didn't make it far because he was hot and "sticky"!

Kim copying Jason's usual face and Jason not so happy about it.

Hailey's 1st birthday. We took her to breakfast at a yummy restaurant where she had french toast and bananas.

We have done more swimming in the past five weeks than we have in the past two years! This is Kim and Jason at the hotel.

This one is for Aunt Jan. Jason at the Knoxville zoo, which is amazing. They have over 800 animals. We were there most the day and only saw 1/4 of the animals.

Jason at the pier downtown Knoxville after a delicious dinner at Calhoun's.

Jason feeding the ducks at the pier.

Patiently waiting (okay so only some of us were) outside Calhoun's for the rest of our party to arrive.

After a DELICIOUS dinner at Calhoun's. This is Kim's sister Trudy and her husband Brett and their kids Ryan and Bryce. They currently live in Fredrick, MD and came to TN for a campus tour at U of T. We had a great time with them.

We celebrated Kim's 31st birthday this past week. Jason helped me make the cake, frost it, and put the candles on it. He was so proud of his creation.


Kim and Jason blowing the candles out.

Please stay tuned for more info and pictures. I will try to keep this updated as much as I can. Jason starts preschool this week so hopefully I will have a little more time on my hands for things like this! Take care ya'll!!

Spring Time

Oh how we have enjoyed the sunny and warmer days here in Idaho. We have spent the past two weeks outside playing, more like Jason playing and I raking and bagging leaves, cleaning out flower beds, sweeping and re-sweeping the patio. Nonetheless, we have both welcomed the warmer weather and the fresh air. Here are some pictures of Jason playing in his "dirt box" and riding his new Jeep that he received for Christmas.


With us spending so much time outside lately, our dog Sadie has become practically another child. She is with us practically everywhere we go. Inside and out. She was recently groomed and so I haven't mind letting her inside. Jason and Sadie have a special relationship and Kim and I often comment what a patient dog she is with Jason. He lays on her, crawls on her, pulls her around, etc. She just takes the heat and loves him regardless.

On Saturday, Kim and I hit a couple garage sales and found some killer deals. I have been looking for Jason a bed frame for a year now and could not bring myself to pay the money for the frame when Kim and I don't even have one. However, on Saturday I found a perfect fit. A never been used headboard/foot board with frame and nightstand for $50!! Jason was so happy to get it home and set it up. He loves his new bed and yesterday I walked in his room during quite time to find this...

Jason had covered Sadie with a blanket and was reading her a book. Both of them were perfectly content and I just let them be!!

As most of you know, sorry to those of you who do not, I am expecting again and I found an AMAZING deal on diapers last week. I decided that I should probably stock up and that I did!!

I bought 25 packages of diapers and 4 packages of wipes for $3.50 a piece!! I just love the thrill of a deal!

Be a Real Man Dad

Jason was playing tonight and informed Kim and I that he was going home teaching and would be back. Kim asked who he was visiting and he responded, "Elmo and Zoe." He proceeded to climb on his bike and then said to his dad, "Dad, do you want to come with me?" Kim was late in responding and as Jason was riding out of the room, looked back at his dad and said, "Come on Dad. Be a real man and come home teaching with me!"

On Friday, Jason and I ran to Idaho Falls to sign some forms for our taxes, after which we went to ShopKo to grab a baby shower gift. Jason is big enough now (sadly) that he doesn't like riding in the shopping cart, so he trails shortly behind me on foot. We parked the car, went into ShopKo and headed to the back of the store where the baby department is located. It didn't take Jason long to find a display stroller to push around. So there we were, mom trying to find a baby gift and Jason weaving in and out of display racks. I stopped at one rack to grab a closer look at an outfit when to my surprise there was a beautiful little girl with big brown eyes starring at me. I tried to carry on a conversation with her and in return on got a deeper stare. I commented to the mother how beautiful her daughter was and turned around to move farther down the isle and noticed that my son was not there. I thought he was close by, so as I continued hunting through the rack I said, "Jason, you need to come over here." I heard nothing in return. A couple seconds later I moved closer to the main isle and repeated, "Jason where are you?" Nothing again. So I walked over where the strollers were parked thinking he would be exchanging the current stroller for a different one (so typical of Jason) but no Jason. This time I yelled, "Jason?" Nothing. My heart started to beat and my mind began racing. I quickly walked to the toy isle and yelled for him again. I heard nothing back so I walked up the main toy isle looking down every isle and still no Jason. I really began to panic now and was beginning to think of every mother's worse nightmare. One more time I ran over to the baby department and yelled for him and there was no response. I really thought someone had taken him at this point. So I began running to the front of the store thinking maybe I could catch whoever had taken my child. I ran through the shoe department, men's department, boy's department, and through the purse department and to my surprise, relief and dismay there was Jason pushing a baby stroller with a purse over his shoulder. "Jason!!!" I yelled. "What are you doing?" As I am about to pass out from my heart jumping out of my chest, he responds, "Look at this cute purse Mom!!" He must have saw the terror in my eyes as I squatted down to his eye level because his face dropped as I started to explain to him that I thought someone had taken him and that he was gone. His response was, "Mom, I am sorry I left you. I just wanted to get a purse." "Where were you going to go after you got the purse?" I asked. "To find you," he said.

I was sick to my stomach for about an hour after this incident. Many questions arose and we had the stranger danger talk. Jason continued to apologize for his behavior and so innocently explained that he just want to carry a purse around. Now that the incident is over and all is well I find myself laughing that my three-year-old son wanted to carry a purse so bad that he left his mom at the back of ShopKo and set out on his own to find the perfect bag. Kim is officially worried about Jason and the escalated level of his purse obsession. I must say, the kid sure does have a eye for a cute bag!!

December in Review

Where has the time gone? November and December flew by and Christmas came and went. Jason and I spent two weeks in November visiting my friend Kasey who had a set of twins. We had a great time. The weather was divine and it was a good break from the day to day routine, although we were both ready to come home and get back to the routine. When we got home Kim had bought Jason a small white Christmas tree and he LOVED it! In fact when people asked Jason what he wanted for Christmas he would say, "A Christmas tree"!

December was filled with parties, graduation, family, friends, and more parties. Kim and I attended two ugly sweater parties. Although, I am ashamed to say that we only dressed up for one of them. I was a little unprepared for the first party and I ran out of time and energy so we went as our normal selves, which shocked many because usually we are the ones promoting costumes.

Here are a few pics from our ugly sweater party that we did dress up for.








December 19th Kim graduated from BYU-Idaho. It was an amazing spiritual and emotional experience. Elder Richard G. Scott spoke at both the commencement and the convocation. What a great opportunity it was to hear from him twice!! I am proud of Kim!! It has been a long, rough, and sometimes emotional ride but he stuck it out and made it through!! It is no small task to attend college, work part-time to full-time, raise a family, serve in the church, take time for hobbies, house projects, care for the yard and garden, etc. meanwhile maintaining sanity and not wanting to throw in the towel.

I am grateful for the challenge of attending school and raising a family. It has a had a great impact upon Jason. Even though he may not comprehend the full scale of the importance of education, he does understand that education is something we should all do.









Christmas day was crazy and fun. Jason enjoyed unwrapping his gifts. He didn't really understand the Santa Claus concept, which is fine with us. All in due time!! We got a camcorder for Christmas so I used that instead of taking pics with my point and shoot. So we will end with these pics. So cute!!

Halloween 2009

Kim and I had a Halloween party Friday night with some friends. We had a great time! We ate yummy food, had our fortunes read, shared lots of laughs, and completed a scavenger hunt. Thanks to all you who came!! Here are some photos from our night.

Jason Turns 3

Wow...it has been awhile since I have posted. This could indicate that our summer was eventful or that I was just too lazy to be online and enjoyed being outside more than inside on the computer. Whatever the reason, I figured it was time to get back in the mode.

Jason turned 3 years old two weeks ago. It was a bitter sweet experience for me. I am sad that Jason is 3 however, I love watching him grow, learn and change. He is such a sweet boy who brings me so much happiness.

Here are a few of Jason's favorite things.
Favorite color- Blue
When asked "What do you want to eat?" he often answers "Blue"
Favorite thing to do- Play in the yard with his dog Sadie or go swimming
Favorite food- pancakes
Favorite songs- Rock around the clock tonight, Ring of Fire, Jingle Bells, and anything by Sugarland (random songs I know)
Favorite character- Elmo
He is a great helper and loves to help his mom clean or cook
Jason loves people and is quite social
He loves his "blanky" and can't go anywhere without it
Jason loves to walk around the house with a purse over his shoulder and high heels on his feet. This absolutely kills his dad!!
He loves music and can snap his fingers better than most adults
Jason loves to read books and can remember almost word for word each book. If I miss a page or say a word wrong, he is sure to correct me.
Jason can count to 20 and he knows his colors and the alphabet

Funny things he has said:

When I walked in the door from coloring my hair (going from semi-blond to dark brown) he starred at my hair and asked, "What did you do to your hair?" I replied, "I colored it. Do you like it?" He replied very honestly, "No."

When my dad asked Jason if he was a big boy, Jason replied, "No. I am a boy. I am not a girl. I smell good though."

I bought a pair of shoes at DI and I was putting the shoes on one day and he said, "Mom are those your DI shoes?"

I was wearing a necklace and Jason asked, "Can I wear that?" I said, "Sure!" I took it off and gave it to him and he put it on and said, "Oh, mom look how gorgeous this necklace is!" It is apparent he hangs around his mom too much! I keep telling Kim that he will grow out of it...let's hope so!!

When his dad peaked through the window last week at nursery, his nursery leader was telling them about the Book of Mormon. She held a copy of the book up and Jason started to clap and yelled, "Yeah!!".

It is never a dull moment around this house with Jason. I am so grateful for him. He has so much love to give and is usually very considerate of others and their feelings. He often tells me that he loves me and when laying next to him for naps he asks, "Mom, do you have enough room?" He is such a sweet, sweet boy! I feel so blessed to raise such a special spirit. My life would not be complete without this little man in my life!

Here are his 3-year old pictures.