Angelee.Samuel.Amilee.Maddyson

February already???

2012-02-01T00:05:00.000-07:00

Wow!! This past month flew by!! I feel like a horrible mom; I haven't been taking enough pictures of Maddyson. I need to work on that. I have also been a horrible blogger, but I feel like I am just so busy with the two girls and then trying to school on top of that. Life is busy, but great. Here is a little update with pictures to come tomorrow or the next day.
Samuel starts his new position as Assistant Manager tomorrow at Costa Vida. He is a little nervous, but I think everything will work out for the best. Hopefully we will be able to move out in a few months too with the extra income. Samuel is also working on school and being a dad. He is busy with his crazy work schedule and it is only going to get worse. He is so cute with the girls; I love it.
Amilee is busier than ever. She is talking more and more everyday and learns new words all the time. She is a great big sister too. She is so fun also. i love my little Amilee. but oh my, is she two!!! It could be worse, but we definitely have a few rough days every now and again. right now she is getting her molars, so that is no fun!!
Maddyson weighs 11 and a half pounds and she is such a happy, smiley baby. She is a great sleeper!! I love it. She got shots today, and that was so sad, but she has done really well today. Her blessing was a couple of weeks ago, and that was such a special day. It was great. Maddy loves to smile, and she is liking a few toys. I love her so much!!!
And me, well I am a busy mom. I am working on school and many sewing projects and serving my friends and family. I keep very busy, and might just need a pedicure or something coming up soon. haha I am wanting to make a cheesecake or something soon; I am getting the urge. haha. I am truly falling in love with sewing. It is so fun, and a great outlet for me. I wish I had more time to sew, but I know that will come with time.
We saw Gladys Knight and her choir on Sunday night, and it was amazing. I know there were so many people touched by her testimony and by the spirit that was communicated and felt through the beautiful words and music. I was also inspired too, and I can't help but think about what else I can do for the cause. This work is bigger than my family. i have more to do. And I can't help but be so proud of Chris for serving his mission and following the Lord. He has six more months and I know he will keep bringing more souls unto the Lord. It is awesome!!
All is well!! more to come!! love you all!!

Maddyson update!!

2012-01-03T16:04:00.000-07:00

Maddyson is 6 weeks old now!! man, the time has gone by really fast. She is a great baby. She is a good eater and a good sleeper. She holds her head up really good, and she is more awake during the day and its fun!! Amilee loves her so much too!! It is so fun!! Here are some pics!!

More pics to come!!! They were matching yesterday and it was darling!!

Christmas festivities!!!

2012-01-03T16:00:00.000-07:00

This year we were able to decorate a gingerbread house with Amilee. A few days before decorating, Amilee kept asking to make the house. She was very excited. And then when it actually came time to do it, she only wanted to help a little bit. Kind of funny!! Here are some pics

On Christmas Eve, Amilee put out cookies for Santa and some celery for the reindeer and we snapped her picture in front of the fireplace with all of the stockings. Sorry the pics are in the wrong order. We took the video of her Christmas morning right after she woke up to see what Santa brought her in her stocking. She loved her Elmo objects. We had a great Christmas with her.

On Christmas morning, Amilee opened her stocking and then we went to church. I sang in sacrament meeting with two other sisters, and it turned out really good. We went home and had breakfast and then we opened presents with everyone. Amilee loved it, but she was overwhelmed with all the presents. Poor thing was also sick, so that kind of made for a hard day. We put Amilee down for a nap and then she opened some more presents. We had a nice dinner and then went to Christmas tree lane again, and Amilee loves looking at all the lights. It was a great Christmas!!!

Amilee's 2nd birthday!!

2012-01-02T15:25:00.000-07:00

This year we had an Elmo themed party for Amilee. We had family and some of Amilee's friends from nursery over. It really was a great party, and for a 2 year old, Amilee did pretty good. We are so thankful for the friends and family that were able to come. We are also so thankful for Amilee. We really do love her so much and she brings so much joy and happiness to our lives.

Here are some pictures of the party!

I loved her cake!! it turned out great!!

And I love this pic of Steve!! sleeping with his granddaughter!! so sweet!!!

It really was a great party and Amilee loves her presents!!

Family Pics

2011-12-21T23:33:00.000-07:00

We had some family pictures taken last week by our dear friend Montez Barrow. Amilee did not want to cooperate during the pics, so there were only a few that had all four of us together. But we did get things separate. Here are a few of my favorites.

We had a great time despite our lack of actual together family photos. haha. Love our little family!!

4 Weeks!!

2011-12-21T00:00:00.000-07:00

Pictures to come in the next blog!!

Maddyson is four weeks old today, and will be one month old in a couple of days! Time has flown by. She is a great baby. She sleeps at night. There have been maybe two nights when she didn't go right back to sleep after eating, and she usually gets up to eat a couple of times. It is great. I am breastfeeding her, and it is going really well, but I have to be honest, breastfeeding is not favorite. I am not the mom who loves it, but I want to do it for the sake of Maddyson. I don't like not being mobile half of my day though, and it is hard to watch Amilee when I am feeding Maddyson. Amilee is starting to get the routine of feedings though, so her messes aren't so bad like before. haha. But occasionally she has a few moments where she gets into all the wrong things. haha.

Amilee is a great big sister. She loves Maddy so much. She always wants to kiss her and love her and hold her. It really is so sweet and so adorable. I hope they will be best friends. I hope they have a relationship like I do with my brother. It is special. I love watching the girls together. It melts my heart!!! so cute!! I also love seeing Samuel with both of them. He is a great dad.

We are still adjusting to everything, but we are almost through the six week dense and thick fog. it hasn't been as bad as I was expecting, but it has been hard and our world has been thrown upside down. We are working on our morning routine, and how to get out of the house at a decent time. I am also trying to balance giving Amilee her time with feeding and taking care of Maddyson, and then trying to keep up with all of my other responsibilities. It is getting there, but it really is hard. It is all worth it, but still hard. I know as Maddyson sets into a routine more, things will get easier, so I can see the light ahead. :D

But that's all for now. Pictures to come. A blog about Amilee's birthday to come. (which was so fun btw) and many more fun things!!

Maddyson Elaine Aedo

2011-11-30T15:51:00.000-07:00

Maddyson Elaine arrived 11/22/11 at 10:08 pm. She was 7 lbs and 7 oz, and 18 1/2 inches long.

Her arrival story is a bit of a crazy one. I started having contractions the Saturday before, the 19th, but they finally went away. However, Sunday morning they started again, and I went home after sacrament meeting because Amilee was sick. After going home, my contractions got really intense and about every 5 min apart, so we decided we should go to the hospital. We get there and get checked out and I am still dilated at a 3 (I have been there for a week), so they sent me home because nothing was happening.
Then Monday, I still had contractions all day, and they got pretty unbearable by the evening time. I went to Messiah practice and left early because I was dying. I could barely sing, let alone stand up. We called the dr to see what she recommended since my contractions were every two to three minutes apart. She said to wait a bit and see what happens. So we waited an hour and they just got more intense, so we decided to go in one more time. So we get there, and I am still at a 3, no change, just crazy contractions. They sent us home at 2:30 in the morning, but recommended keeping my doctor's appointment that was scheduled for 8 hours later. They also said to mention that we live an hour away from the hospital.
So samuel and I come home, sleep for four hours and head back to Sac for my dr's appointment. We told her what had happened, and I was almost at 3 1/2 cm, so still not really progressing. She asked if I wanted to be induced the next day, and I said yes, or even today if there are any openings. And luckily for us, there were no openings for the next day, but we could head over to the hospital right then and get things going. Of course, we rushed over there, and Samuel's dad picked up Amilee at the hospital.
I then had to walk a lot to try and get things going naturally, but nothing happened, other than my contractions getting more and more painful. So around 5:30, 6 pm they start me on some pitocin and give me an epidural. The pitocin wasn't helping too much, so they kept upping the dosage. I was okay though because it was the first time I was slightly comfortable in the last few days, let alone the last few weeks.
Around 8 pm, my nurse comes in to check me, and my water breaks, but I was still at 4 cm, so it would probably still be awhile. My contractions then again started becoming very painful, so they upped my epidural around 8:45, 9 pm ish, and I just felt a lot of pressure with each contraction. At about 10 pm, my nurse comes in to get the baby back on the monitor and decides to check me also. I was at a 10. It was time to push. Of course, samuel had just went out to the car, so I texted him to come back now, and he ran back to the room. The nurse calls the dr and staff to get things ready, and she goes to put her gloves on and turns around and sees the baby crowning. They ask me to push one time and out she comes. I texted Samuel at 10:04, (and luckily, he made it) and Maddyson arrived at 10:08. The dr didn't even make it for the delivery, and I didn't even feel anything. I never really felt any desire to push or anything. I am lucky the nurse decided to check me on a whim, or I would have had that baby on my own with no one else in there!! Crazy stuff!!
We are so happy she is finally here and apart of our family!!

This week

2011-11-19T17:52:00.000-07:00

I am almost 39 weeks pregnant (Monday will be the actual day), but I have been dilated at 3 cm all week, so we have just been waiting for Baby Maddyson to come. Today, my contractions have been about 10 minutes apart, and are getting stronger, so we will see what happens. Who knows?!?

I am so happy to have all my sewing projects done; now we just need baby to get here, and then I can start more projects. haha. I still have to finish packing my hospital bag though. It is like half way done; I just keep putting it off. But it is all right.

Today we bought Amilee her first birthday or Christmas present; a new tricycle. Her cousin Daniel got one for his birthday last weekend, and Amilee loved it, so we got her one too. She tried it out at the store and got so excited and just loved everything about it.

Hurry up baby Maddy; we can't wait to meet you and I also can't wait to be done with being pregnant!!

Car Seat Cover Canopy!

2011-11-19T17:46:00.000-07:00

This project was pretty simple!! Here is the final product.

Love it and love that it is reversible!!

I finally finished it!!

2011-11-19T17:42:00.000-07:00

I finally finished my comforter for my bed that I have been working on for so long!! It turned out so great!! Here is the final product!!

I chalked on my design to do the machine quilting, which is why the stitching looks so extreme, but after I washed it, all looks well.

I did everything on this quilt myself, minus a few stitches in the middle and the very last minute of hand stitching needed on the binding. I wanted to take my quilt to get it quilted, but it was just too expensive, but a lady in my stake gave me some great advice on how to machine quilt it myself on a regular machine; so that's what I did. For free, plus the cost of thread. And I really enjoyed it. I learned so much, and it actually didn't take forever like I thought it might. So happy to be done, and it looks wonderful on my bed!

Rag Quilt Part III

2011-11-19T17:34:00.000-07:00

Okay, the rag quilt is finally done!! Here are the next steps.
Our last step was to sew the blocks into rows. Then you will sew the rows all together.

Then sew a seam all the way around the edges, like so:

Those are just a close up of what I did all around the whole quilt. And then you start snipping the edges and all the seams on the top part of the quilt. Do not snip the seams however!!

And then you are done. The snipping is the worst part, but very much worth it in the end!! it turns out so cute! Make sure to wash and then all is complete!!

YAY!!!

A Sew-a-holic

2011-11-11T00:05:00.000-07:00

I admit it; I have become a sew-a-holic, but I am honestly loving it. I am currently machine quilting my quilt that I am making for my bed (no easy task, mind you, since I am using a sewing machine and not a quilting machine) and I am loving it. It isn't taking as long as I expected and it is not too hard after getting the hang of things, and I like the way it is turning out. It is not perfect, but all is well. Plus, I am getting it done basically for free (other than thread cost), compared to the at least $200 I would have spent to get it done.

Then, I am working on a rag quilt for a friend, which is also almost done and turning out so good.

And then my next project is a car seat canopy. Definitely, I think the easiest of them all. And I am so excited to get going on it.

I can't wait til my bed quilt is done though!! just a few more hours of sewing and it will be all complete!! can't wait!!

37 weeks pregnant!!

2011-11-08T16:54:00.000-07:00

I am 37 weeks pregnant. I have 20 days until my official due date, which really means, she can come any day now. We are mostly ready for her to be here; just trying to get done with my last few projects. I have been having a feeling that she is going to come earlier than expected, so I guess now it is just a waiting game. I have started dilating, but that doesn't really mean too much. I have an appt tomorrow, so we will see how things are progressing then.
I don't like this part of pregnancy at all. I look and feel like a whale, and everything I do is just uncomfortable. It is even hard to sleep because my back just hurts so bad. but somehow, I am still making it through. I am still going to Messiah practice; I am still doing all my duties at church; I am still working on a ton of projects; and I recently started school this last week. I have a lot on my plate while also being pregnant and having a two year old. It is hard, but so worth it. As much as I don't like pregnant, I am so excited for the outcome and can't wait for Baby Maddy to get here. We are also so excited about Amilee having a sister and just seeing Amilee interact with her. Amilee loves babies, and she is always trying to help their moms out with whatever they are doing, so I am excited/intrigued about how she will act with the new baby.

So now begins the waiting game!!!

Recent Sewing Project

2011-11-06T21:55:00.000-07:00

This was not my project, but Jolene did this for us this weekend!! We received a bassinet from a lady in our ward, and I wanted some updated fabric!! I love what Jolene did.

Here is the new and improved bassinet.

Halloween Festivities

2011-11-06T21:53:00.000-07:00

We had a great Halloween this year!! it was like a party all weekend!! Friday night, we carved pumpkins and made Amilee's costume. Saturday, we went to the Feather River Ward Annual Chili Cook-off and Trunk or Treat. We made chili and cornbread. My chili is nothing special, but it is quite tasty. Amilee loved getting all the candy and we enjoyed seeing all the kids dressed up in their costumes. Amilee also loves ward parties, since she is so social. She was saying hi to everyone and being super cute and friendly. It was really fun. Sunday, we went to Samuel's dad's house to celebrate Samuel's birthday with them. We had a nice dinner and fun time watching them play with Amilee. Samuel's sisters, Rachel and Allison are so good with Amilee and really do love her so much!! It is great. Monday, we had a little party for Samuel. We invited our friends Gene and Montez along with Baby Olivia over and Felipe and Chuwy to help us celebrate. We had green spaghetti and meatballs (Samuel's favorite and a tradition for his birthday), spooky salad, bone breadsticks, yellow teeth, and green beans (haha, I couldn't up with anything for those), along with a delicious punch and sheet cake for dessert. Dinner was delicious, and then it was time to trick or treat. We put Amilee's costume on her, and Samuel put some face make up on and we were off. We went to a lot of houses and Amilee loved every minute. She is such a big girl now; time has gone by too fast. It was a great halloween and a great weekend!!

Here are some pictures:

I love her little sheep costume, and we had a great time making it!!!

Rag Quilt Part II

2011-11-06T21:41:00.000-07:00

Sorry this has taken forever to post, but it has been a crazy house around here the last couple of weeks.

So we left off with our blocks. It is now time to sew each block together. I chose to follow the edges because I didn't like how the X's looked on the green fabric. I sewed in one inch on all the sides.

As you can see, my sewing is not perfect, but it is okay!! Then you sew the two blocks together. This is week it gets a little tricky. You have to sew wrong sides together; which puts all your other sewing lessons to shame. You also have to sew wrong sides together when doing the squares, but they aren't too hard to figure out. I chose a pattern for the front and also for the back, so I had to be a little bit more careful as I was sewing my blocks into rows.

Notice the green is facing one direction for the side where I will snip the edges, and a different way on the backside. You don't have to do that, you can make it all the same, but this made it a little more fun for me, and gives it a little bit more variety.

Here is the whole row:

I am almost done sewing everything together, so this is it for now, but more to come!! so excited about the final result!!

My First Rag Quilt Part 1

2011-10-24T16:05:00.001-06:00

I am making my first baby rag quilt!! I am super excited about it. Here is what a rag quilt looks like if you have never seen one:

These quilts are sewn block by block, but the seams and snipped to create a slight fringe look~~

To start, pick out your fabrics, and depending on how many you want to have in the quilt, you may need 1-3 yards of each fabric. Start by cutting off the selvage and cut fabric into 7" strips. It's best to fold your fabric in half, so it doesn't take as long to cut. After you have your strips, cut each into 7" blocks. If you are using a fabric that is 42-45" wide, you should get about 5 squares, maybe 6 from each strip depending on your selvage amount.

Here are my blocks:

Decide on the pattern that you want for the front of the quilt. I decided to go green print and then the brown, green print and then brown, with it alternating on the back. Put two squares (for front and back), wrong sides together (a total mess in my brain since I have been doing right sides together the last seven months on my bed quilt lol) and create your pattern. For a typical baby quilt, you need about 7 squares across by 8 squares down, so start with that. Here are my squares that are put together....

Similar pictures, I know, but if you look close at the corner, you can see the brown peeking out. and this square is basically reversed for the brown square that goes next in the pattern. Here is my pattern. I took the picture before I decided on how many squares I wanted across, so same idea, but add one more square...

Okay, sorry about my belly being the picture, but I was already standing on a barstool (so dangerous, especially being 35 weeks pregnant, so you have to deal...lol) And then you can start sewing.

From the top pictures, they used two different techniques. You can sew X's on each square to keep them together or you can sew along all the edges. Either way is fine, however, the X's definitely give an interesting look. And then sew the blocks together, using a 1/2" seam, so that you can snip the edges.

This post is too be continued as I am able to get more done...maybe tonight or tomorrow. But I am so excited for the finished product!!

You've been Boo'd!!

2011-10-20T23:42:00.000-06:00

This last weekend, we decided we wanted to BOO some friends!! This was kind of tricky, since I can't really be running too fast ( I look a little funny) and it would take way too long to buckle and unbuckle Amilee for every house so quickly. So we decided I would drive and Samuel would take Amilee to the doors to run with him and she would just sit in front with him and we would drive really slow!! This was quite an adventure for Amilee. We got the treats and the message ready to give out and got some jackets out and we were on our way. It was pretty funny watching Samuel run with Amilee and watching Amilee's expressions as everything was happening. We had a great night together and were still able to do booing, though we didn't have optimal circumstances!! it is definitely a memory we will remember forever!!

And don't forget when you are boo'd to make sure you boo other people too!! it takes the fun out of it if you don't!!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-20T23:34:00.000-06:00

On Monday for FHE, we headed down for a quick trip to Bishop's Pumpkin Patch. We had a great time and plan on going again next week to spend some time with Amilee there. Here are some photos of our little outing.

We had a great time. Amilee did NOT like the petting zoo at all. We took her in to feed the goats and oh man, that was like torturous for her. She was like screaming daddy, all done, all done. It was pretty funny and cute all at the same time!! oh goodness!!

A few Halloween Decorations

2011-10-17T12:47:00.000-06:00

Jolene is huge about decorating for Halloween, but this year, it was a little delayed since the decorations would have clashed with the baby shower decorations! haha

Here are some things that we made. I love the banner...it turned out so good~~

Baby Shower

2011-10-17T12:40:00.000-06:00

This last week, my mother in law, Jolene, and good friend, Montez threw me a baby shower! The theme was pink and green with safari animals!! Everything was so cute!! I am so thankful for them and their kindness! Here are some pictures. We had dessert shots-which were delicious with cake pops and tons of green and pink candies. so fun!!

picture overload!!

Tissue balls

Maddyson banner!! loved it!!

Theme and background for invitations

Pink and green candies

These are my new favorite chocolates...dark chocolate with raspberry swirl!!

dessert shots!!

Raspberry mousse over pound cake

Key lime pie

chocolate mousse over short bread

cake pops!!

presents

some guests playing game

not the best picture of me since I am totally slouching and my face looks so huge, but I am smiling in it!!

I had a great time and we are very thankful for the wonderful gifts and friends! We can't wait for Baby Maddy to get here!!

Orange Pancakes

2011-10-05T16:00:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, I made orange pancakes for breakfast!! they were delicious!! I am all about trying new things for breakfast, lunch or dinner, but breakfast has been my bandwagon lately.

For the pancakes, I used Great Value instant buttermilk pancake mix and added milk and water, and one egg. If making a ton of pancakes, I would use two or three eggs. The eggs help keep the pancakes fluffy, but if you go overboard on the eggs, your pancakes will turn out like crepes instead of pancakes. I then added one tablespoon of imitation vanilla extract and about one teaspoon to 1 1/2 teaspoons pure orange extract and then made the pancakes on the griddle!! They smelled so good!!

In the process I made some delicious syrup. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Directions

Bring butter, sugar, buttermilk, vanilla extract, corn syrup, and cinnamon to a simmer in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Once simmering, whisk in baking soda, and cook for 10 seconds before removing from heat. Serve warm.

The baking soda causes the syrup to bubble, so if you don't want that, don't add the baking soda. I also added a bit more cinnamon than the recipe called for and it was delicious!! The pancakes turned out warm and fluffy and the syrup was a perfect compliment to the orange in the pancakes!! Give them a try!! so delicious!!!

When baby comes......

2011-10-04T20:49:00.000-06:00

This last Saturday, I was talking with my friend Montez, who has a two month old precious baby, and we were discussing how hard it must be to nurse your new baby when you have other children, especially when nursing with just one is difficult enough. I thought on this for a while, since I am planning on nursing Baby Maddy. But how do I do that when I have a wild child to also take care of? How does Amilee come to understand that she might have to wait for a few things or whatever the circumstance may be? How do I have energy to nurse in the middle of the night when I still have to get through the next day and not be able to sleep when Baby Maddy is sleeping? And what about when I have to go somewhere longer than three hours? Should the baby know how to nurse and how to also take a bottle??

I think that nursing is very important, especially the first six weeks, but what about after that? When you basically have to get back into the swing of real life? I feel like Baby Maddy should be able to nurse and take a bottle? Or would it be better to just pump? I did that with Amilee and it was really nice, but how do you have time for that when you have other children? I am not sure what to think about everything, but it is definitely a little worrisome for me. I am not too stressed about it, but I am definitely wondering what the right steps will be to take. What about you other moms out there??

General Conference Weekend!!

2011-10-04T16:14:00.000-06:00

This weekend was wonderful and very relaxing. It all started with Friday night. Samuel's mom and the girls went to Utah for the weekend and Steve went to the cabin, so we had the house to ourselves. Friday night, we enjoyed dinner together, and then watched most of the BYU game, and went hot tubbing. Though BYU won, it is still disappointing to watch them play so badly. Maybe they will pick it up this season, and hopefully, they will play Rylie Nelson more!! We also decided that we wanted cinnamon rolls for Saturday, so we made the dough and everything for the cinnamon rolls Friday night. It was a great night.

Saturday, we woke up and got the cinnamon rolls going, along with some eggs and watched conference together. Amilee did pretty good, and when she got antsy, we turned on Elmo for her, and then she would be fine. The talks were great in the morning. I told Samuel that President Monson would speak first, because that has been his trend in the recent conferences, but he didn't speak until after the intermediate hymn. Turns out, he wasn't even there until the intermediate hymn due to being in traffic or something, which was why he spoke after the hymn, instead of at the beginning. I knew something was up. Haha. Between sessions, we had some delicious grilled cheese sandwiches with turkey for lunch and we took Amilee to the park! she loves the swings and the big slides. Thank goodness the weather is finally cooling down, so it is nice to go outside or to the park or wherever. We watched the Saturday afternoon session, and Amilee took a nap. During the session, I made some hair bows. I am still in a bow frenzy, and I really enjoy making them. It is a really good creative outlet for me. And out of all the bows I have made, there are still some days when I don't have a good matching one for Amilee's outfit. haha.

Saturday night, I went out with my friends Montez and Janay for girls night with our kids Amilee, Olivia and Brynlee. It was really nice to get out and have girl time and not stress or anything. We then went back to Montez' and talked for a while, and then Amilee and I braved Wal Mart at 9 pm, and it wasn't too bad. It was a good day.

Sunday, we had peanut butter chip and chocolate chip pancakes and they were delicious. I fell asleep during the first session and I wasn't feeling too good most of the day. no bueno, but okay. The talks I did hear were really good. For lunch, we had a little picnic in the living room and Amilee ate some pizza and we had tuna wraps and they were delicious. We also ate chips and queso and had a great time together during our little family picnic. The afternoon session was great. Amilee finally took a nap and I made a few bracelets...I am in a crafty mood. lol. I took a little nap after the session was over, and had choir practice that night. While I was gone, Samuel made dinner. He made Parmesan crusted chicken with a buttermilk Parmesan sauce with bowtie noodles and green beans!! it was so good!!

It was a great weekend! we are so blessed to be able to have continual revelation for our Father in Heaven delivered to us every six months in conference. It is wonderful!! we are also very excited about the new temples announced, especially the new one in Provo. I was very sad when the Provo Tabernacle burned down, so it is quite exciting, they are rebuilding it and making it into the second temple in Provo. And having lived in Star Valley, WY for a while, I am thrilled about that one too. All new temples are wonderful, but some have more meaning to each of us than others!! We are happy the gospel is progressing and the church is growing and that all is well!!

Going Public??

2011-09-30T12:45:00.000-06:00

I am thinking about making our blog public again. I always forget to add people to the blog, or someone can't access it or whatever, the issue. I am kind of tired of it. But I also feel like I don't know if going back to public is the right thing....a mini dilemma for the week!! haha

A mini San Fran trip

2011-09-30T12:43:00.000-06:00

Last Friday night, we went down to San Fran to meet up with my Uncle Doug and Aunt Jen. They were here visiting from Kansas to see San Fran for their 10th anniversary. We hadn't seen them in over three years!! They had never met Amilee before, so that was exciting for everyone that they were going to get to meet her. My aunt is also pregnant with her first baby, and they are having a little girl due in January. My grandma is super excited because she gets a grand child and a great grand child within a month and a half!! pretty fun!!

Now, silly me, I forgot to take pictures with them when we went to dinner and to get gelato, but I took a few pics on the carousel at Pier 39, where we stopped beforehand.

Amilee loves carousels!! she saw it as we were walking through the different shops and was going crazy to ride it!! I am not a fan of carousels, so I chose not to ride, but she sure loved it.

We enjoyed catching up with my aunt and uncle and talking to them about becoming first time parents. They are so excited to have a new baby; it was pretty good. And a little nervous too. My aunt is the youngest sibling and wasn't around a lot of babies and didn't do much babysitting, and my uncle is an only child, so they are in for a treat. They will do just fine though. My grandma is planning on staying with them for a few weeks when the baby comes, so that is great!!

We enjoyed a little night to ourselves in the city, and we also enjoyed the cooler weather!! it was a nice little mini trip!!

The BEST cake Ever!!! Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Glaze

2011-09-19T14:00:00.000-06:00

So I am not really a cake fan, nor really a chocolate cake fan, but this cake hits the spot!! and it is so delicious and so easy!! It is a Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Glaze!! yum!!!

Last night we had some friends from the ward over for dessert and I had been wanting to try this cake, so Bella and I made it. I forgot to take pics last night, but here are a couple from this morning!!

Okay, here is the recipe!

cake:
1 package chocolate cake mix (I used triple chocolate fudge)
1 (5.9 oz) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups peanut butter chips

Directions: preheat over to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs and water. Stir in the peanut butter chips and pour batter into a well-greased 12 cup bundt pan.
Bake for 45-5 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cake thoroughly in the pan at least 1 hour and a half before inverting onto a plate. While cake is cooling, make frosting and peanut butter glaze. Frost the cake with frosting and then drizzle with glaze. Heat up the glaze slightly to accomplish a great drizzle.

Peanut Butter Glaze: (I doubled this recipe)
4 teaspoons water
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon peanut butter

Mix well and drizzle over frosted cake

Chocolate Frosting: ( I double this recipe, and it is the best chocolate frosting I have ever had, and frosting, to me, is the worst part of the cake)

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups confectioner's sugar
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
6 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
In a medium bowl, sift together the confectioner's sugar and cocoa and set aside.
In a large bowl, cream butter until smooth, then gradually beat in sugar mixture alternately with the evaporated milk. Blend in vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. If necessary, adjust consistency with more milk or sugar!!!!

and voila!! you have a delicious dessert!! we served with vanilla bean ice cream~~ delicious!!

New Member of the Family

2011-09-19T12:39:00.000-06:00

Haha, I know this title is deceiving, but I have not had baby Maddy yet. I still have a couple of months to go. But my brother and sister in law did have their baby girl this morning, which is so exciting. We are planning on going to see her today when Jolene gets off work. I am so excited for them. They also have a little boy who is one month older than Amilee, so our kids are close in age and that will be really fun for them when they are a little bit older.

I also can't help but think that Baby Maddy will be here so soon. I know it is two months away, but that is going to go so fast!! and then we will have our own new member of the family. We are getting really excited, but I am really nervous too. I just keep wondering what it will be like to take care of two children who are both majorly dependent on mom. At least Amilee can do a lot of things for herself, but she has a ton of energy and needs to always be entertained and loves rough housing and such. I think she will try to be a big help too though. She loves babies and she is always trying to help them or help their moms with whatever they are doing. But still a little nervous. This is uncharted territory, not only for us, but also for this household. Nobody has really been around a newborn day in and day out for a long time. Katie and Bella never have, so it will definitely be an adjustment for all of us.

Can't wait to go see Baby Malia today!! so exciting and fun!!

Quilt Part 1

2011-09-16T14:49:00.000-06:00

I have been working on making a quilt for my bed, and it seems like it has been taking forever. It isn't very hard to do, but when I was working, it was hard to find time to do it, and then it is hard to sew with Amilee around also, but it is coming along. The top is all done, minus the border which I am currently working on. Here are some sneak peaks. I am so excited about it, and I have loved learning so much about sewing and can't wait to sew more things.

Bow Making Extravaganza

2011-09-16T14:44:00.000-06:00

Recently my mother in law Jolene wanted to make Amilee some hair bows. Somehow, it seems she never has enough or the right color, though she has tons. But needless to say, we have had some bow making parties, and I have really taken to it. Here are my recent creations. I will be making more and let me know if you would like any.

Beautiful and fun to make, and a good creative outlet for me!! Can't wait for more to come!!

Lake Almanor Pics

2011-09-12T15:29:00.000-06:00

Sorry so delayed...life has been busy lately!!

We had a great trip!! lots of fun up at Lake Almanor!!!

Lake Almanor Trip

2011-09-07T17:19:00.000-06:00

We had a great trip this weekend up to Lake Almanor!! We headed up Friday night after Samuel got off work, and Amilee did wonderful on the 2 1/2 hour drive. She played and danced almost the whole way. It was great. That night we didn't too much, just went to bed and stuff to prepare for the weekend.
Saturday morning we woke up and ate breakfast and we got ready to head out on the boat. We brought the tube out first and Sean and Loran Loosli, and Samuel braved the cold water. It was freezing, but you got used to it once you just jumped in. Amilee enjoyed the boat too. I will put pictures in the next post. We came back for lunch and took a little rest and then went back out to do some knee boarding. Jolene got up on the knee board for the first time. It was awesome. Samuel really enjoyed the knee board, but everyone was pretty sore by the end of Saturday. We roasted s'mores on the beach that night and watched BYU football. We won the game, but our offense played very poorly, so at least it was a win, but hopefully we get our act together ASAP!!!
Sunday, we went to church. At the ward in Chester, they do church backwards, they start with priesthood/relief society first, and the branch is so small that they don't have a nursery, so needless to say, church was miserable, since amilee is not used to having to try and sit and be quiet for all three hours. I didn't get too much out of church, which is fine, some Sundays are like that, but it was still rough. Glad it is over. haha We just relaxed most of Sunday and played games. After church and a nap, our Sunday was much better. We had a nice BBQ on Sunday also.
Monday, we headed back out on the boat. Everyone was able to do tubing and knee boarding, and we had a nice time getting our fill of vacation. Amilee also played at the beach and swam a little bit, and made sand cakes. She thoroughly enjoyed that part. She loves to help cook and bake all the time here at home, and it was no different up at the cabin, even if we are playing in the sand. haha

But it was nice to get away and relax for a little while and get away from the heat! It is miserably hot here, and this pregnant body is not liking it so much...bring on the fall weather now!! haha Pictures to come later tonight or tomorrow!!

Lake Almanor

2011-09-02T16:13:00.000-06:00

We are going up to the family cabin for the weekend up in Lake Almanor!! We are so excited. I hope I can still do some tubing...if they go slow, so I don't fall off too hard. I love being out on the boat! I hope to take a lot of pics, but here are some pics of Lake Almanor. It is beautiful.

I hope we can maybe go on some hikes or something...nothing too intense, but something a little bit out of the ordinary!! Have a great Labor Day y'all and enjoy watching some football...I know I will have some BYU on tomorrow!!!

Books

2011-09-02T15:24:00.000-06:00

I recently finished two books!! I read A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis and the Help by Kathryn Stockett.
I recommend both.

This book was about C.S. Lewis grieving the death of his wife, and his struggle to trust in God and his feelings about an after life. I am a big fan of Lewis, but this is one of his more easier reads, and it personally made me truly grateful to have the gospel in my life because I know, that, though death is a hard time for all those it hits, I am sure of where we are going after this life and that we will see each other again. It makes death not so hard to experience. We all still need to go through the grieving process in our own way, but it helps to make things more comforting, not so sad or devastating.

Next, The Help

I thoroughly enjoyed the Help. I haven't seen the movie yet and I can't wait to see it!! I love that America has come very far in the way we treat minorities, but there are still people who harbor resentment and ill feelings towards those of another skin color. And having lived in the South, where the population is very diverse, this is hard for me to understand, since I grew up treating everyone the same. I definitely recommend this book, and some time to just keep reading and reading because I couldn't put it down and I wanted to finish it as soon as I could. There are some downright funny parts and I found myself laughing out loud, and also being really sad as well!! great book!!

I have missed reading books, but with working and all that, I didn't have too much time to read or I would be too tired to read when I finally had some time. The next set of books I am reading are the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe series once again. It has been a while since I read them, so I am excited to start again!! can't wait!!!

Anniversary Day and Weekend

2011-08-30T14:24:00.001-06:00

Samuel and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary this last week!! I can't believe it has been three years! It has gone by so fast, but it also seems like we have known each other forever.
On the day of our actual anniversary, I made homemade banana pancakes and syrup, which I recently posted about. It was a delicious breakfast and a nice start to the day. We then watched the DVD I made for Samuel and he really enjoyed it. We then ran errands and had lunch, and mailed out a package to my brother to celebrate his one year on his mission!! we put in a whole bunch of pictures, bought him a new shirt, and got him some cookie crisp (his favorite cereal), crystal light lemonade packets for his water bottle, and some candy!! Just a few little goodies from home. I miss him so, but I am so proud of him and grateful that he is dedicated two years of his life to serve the Lord. Samuel and I then just relaxed and played with Amilee the rest of the day, nothing too exciting, but nice to spend the day together.

For the weekend, we left Amilee with Jolene. On Friday night, we headed to Roseville to go to a waterpark called Sunsplash. It was so fun, and we did the Night Slides, which we great. I didn't take any pictures, as I didn't want to risk getting my camera stolen, but here are some pics from the net of Sunsplash.

It was pretty fun!! we really enjoyed ourselves!! It was pretty funny thought because on the last slide of the night, they told me I couldn't go on the ride because I was pregnant, when I had been there for hours riding all the other rides. Kind of funny!!
We stayed at Samuel's dad's house since we had plans in Sac the next day. The next morning, we woke up and headed to the temple.

We got there a little late for the session, so we decided to do sealings instead, and it was really nice, since we were celebrating our anniversary. It was a beautiful session too. We were definitely close to the Heavens that day, and we were overwhelmed by the spirit that we felt. It was nice to renew our marriage covenants and remember those promises we made to each other and to the Lord. I love doing sealing sessions. They are beautiful!! We then went to Chili's for lunch; our classic spot and of course it was delicious!!

We were going to head home after that, but I was having some pretty strong contractions, and I was dehydrated, so after speaking to the dr, we decided to go up to Labor and Delivery just to get checked out and make sure everything was alright. And I was just dehydrated, which can bring on contractions, but it was nice to know that I wasn't having baby Maddyson anytime soon. haha
We then returned home and we were very excited to see Amilee. She did great for Jolene, and we definitely missed her, but enjoyed time to ourselves as well. And luckily, Amilee was tired, so we were all able to go to bed early, which was great, since we were exhausted!!! All in all, a great weekend and a nice anniversary celebration!!

Anniversary Movie!!!

2011-08-29T11:57:00.001-06:00

I love you Samuel Glen Aedo!!!

Make a free slideshow

The BEST Syrup!!

2011-08-23T18:08:00.000-06:00

This morning I knew I wanted to make pancakes, but I also knew all we had syrup wise was blueberry syrup, and while good, it is definitely not my favorite. So I wanted to make my own. Last week, I looked and looked for the perfect syrup recipe and I couldn't exactly find what I wanted, but this morning, I found this. This recipe is so easy and so delicious!! This is a lot like Magleby's syrup in Provo.

Here is the recipe:

1 (16 ounce) can evaporated milk
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1
Combine milk, sugar,and butter in small pan, bring to a boil.
2
Add vanilla, stir, serve warm.
3
Aprox 4 cups.

So good!!! I will make everytime I make pancakes or waffles or something!!!

a blah day................

2011-08-19T17:53:00.010-06:00

Today is just a slight blah day, and not really for any particular reason. Samuel wasn't doing too hot, because he is dealing with a lot of anxiety right now. I don't know if anyone is familiar with anxiety, but it is very different than stress, and unfortunately, it runs in Samuel's family on both sides, and lately, Samuel has been very anxious. I don't remember it ever really being this bad. and it is hard for me to understand because I am really a low-stress person. Even when big stress things are going on, I still tend to keep my cool and try to stay level headed, and lately, living in a house full of anxious people, this probably seems weird that I am calm and collected.

I am learning more and more on how to deal with anxiety and how it affects Samuel and what not, and I try not to add extra stress or pressure to him, but it is hard work. Hopefully it will get better.

but as a side note, Samuel started back with Yuba College this week. He is taking a tax preparation class, and so far he likes it. Online school just really wasn't for him, but that's okay. I, however, did sign up for online school and will be starting in October when all my transcripts are processed and what not. I am excited to get back into the school mode. This last year of no school really showed me how much I love school and miss it when I am not there...good thing I want to be a teacher. lol

I have been quilting a lot, and I am getting really close to being done with the comforter for my bed. It really will be beautiful, and I am learning so much about sewing through this big project. I have so many more ideas to do too, so this is great!!

We are considering switching Amilee to a toddler bed; she really likes twin beds, like they are just her size, but we are not sure yet on our decision.

I have been feeling a little like I am ready for the next chapter in our lives, and yes, I know, we have another child on the way, but I wish we were in our own place and living the way we want to live, and making our own little dinners, etc. Not that I am not grateful that we are here; because I am, but some days are hard, and it is different when you go from being on your own to all of the sudden, not being on your own. Samuel and I feel like we are here for a reason, whether it is to learn something or what, I am not sure, but I am ready to move on, and I wish our finances were in a place where we could, but they aren't. And some days, that is really hard for me to deal with, since I want so much more. But I trust in the Lord and in his timing, but it is hard. You know?!?!?

Next week is mine and Samuel's anniversary; I am excited for some alone time and hopefully a really fun date!! I can't believe it has been three years already. It has gone by very fast and I am excited for many more years and eternitys to come.

A Forever Family

2011-08-12T17:20:00.000-06:00

Forever families are made in the house of the Lord; in the temple of our God. For Samuel and I, our forever family was created and sealed for all time and eternity in the Dallas, TX temple.

( I love this pic of Samuel...a little boy, ready to be married....haha)

Today, I can't help but be filled with gratitude for my forever family that extends beyond the veil. This afternoon, Samuel, Amilee and I attended a grave site service for a lady in our ward. I have only known her since this last September, but I have grown to really love her. She was our ward choir director, and I loved everything I learned about her. I am happy I got to know a little bit of her beautiful, kind and sweet spirit before she was taken back home. But as I sat through the service, I expected to feel sad that I didn't know her better, but the spirit there was of joy and happiness of the knowledge of forever families and life beyond death through the plan of happiness. I am so grateful for my knowledge of the gospel, and to know in hard times, like death, I will be reunited with my family again, and that we can be together forever. Life expands beyond this earthly life. There is so much more than this. This is just a short segment of time compared to what we have coming, and what we had before we came to this earth.

This is my forever family:

I believe there is life after death with our family and friends. When we return to our Father in Heaven, we will be greeted with many open arms from family and friends. Some we may have known well here on this earth, some we may not have known on this earth at all, but with joy, they will be waiting to greet us. It will be joyous. It will not be a sad event that we have died. I can't remember who said it at the service, it was either Bishop Kim or President Johnson, but they said, we are not mourning that Lana is gone, we are mourning that we will no longer get to see her and we miss her, and I thought that put everything perfect. That's how it should be. A funeral should not be some sad event; it should be a celebration of that person's life; remembering all the good times and memories we made with them; and knowing that all is well and there are many more memories to come. It is a beautiful plan.

I hope that my little Maddyson Elaine, who will soon join us on this earth, will have a chance to meet dear Lana before she comes to earth and bring some of her sweet spirit to share with us.

A little down

2011-08-10T21:58:00.000-06:00

On Sunday, I wore a dress that I thought looked super flattering on me. I was actually okay with the way that I looked, and feeling good. And after Sacrament Meeting, I was speaking with one of the parent's of my primary children and they said, "Wow, you are looking huge. When are you due? Soon, right??" I was totally taken aback (wondering why someone would say something so inappropriate) and honestly, offended, and lost whatever ounce of self-esteem that I did have that day. Was I really that big? Did I look bigger than most people? had I gained too much weight? All these questions have just seemed to bombard me the last few days.

However, yesterday, I went to the doctor and she measured my stomach, and I am at 25 cm, and I am 24 weeks, so that is right on schedule, and my weight is great. So i am doing fine, but it still bothered me that people may think I look like a whale; when I already have issues with getting bigger and gaining weight.
Oh, the joys of pregnancy and the things we do for our kids. Good thing we love them and want them.

Cheesecake Recipes and Pictures!!!

2011-08-07T21:29:00.002-06:00

So the cheesecake turned out wonderful!!!
Cheesecake #1-Chocolate Peanut Butter with a strawberry jam drizzle

I added the strawberry jam drizzle to each individual slice! so good!! very rich though...definitely needs a good glass of milk. This cheesecake was very simple to make!! and just try it...cheesecake seems like a scary task, but it really isn't too bad.

Here is the recipe:

CHOCOLATE-PEANUT BUTTER CHEESECAKE

CRUMB CRUST:

20 crushed Oreos
2 tbsp. melted butter

Mix and press into 10 inch springform pan.

FILLING:

1 1/2 lb. cream cheese
1 1/2 c. whipping cream
1 c. sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. peanut butter
1 sq. melted unsweetened chocolate

Cut cream cheese into 1 inch cubes. Beat with mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add whipping cream and vanilla. Beat well (about 10 minutes). Very slowly add sugar and then add eggs 1 at a time beating well between each addition. Remove 1 cup batter. Add peanut butter to remaining batter and mix well. Spread in pan. Add chocolate to reserved batter. Swirl into peanut butter batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes; reduce oven to 325 degrees for 30 minutes then open oven door and bake for 30 minutes more (with oven on).

Just try it!!!

Strawberry Marbled Cheesecake...a little bit harder....

Now I forgot to take a picture, but this is exactly what mine looked like, but I used a spring form pan, not a tin. But here is the recipe....

STRAWBERRY MARBLED CHEESECAKE

Crust:

1/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons sugar

Cheesecake:

24 ounces cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs
10 ounces frozen strawberries (thawed), in syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

Puree strawberries and cornstarch in blender. Heat in a saucepan over medium heat until thickened, then cool. Combine melted butter, graham cracker crumbs and sugar; press onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan.Bake at 350°F. for 10 minutes. Combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla, mixing at medium speed on electric mixer until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Pour half of the batter over the crust then add half of the strawberry mixture by spoonfuls to the batter. Pour remaining batter into the pan then add the remaining strawberry mixture by spoonfuls. Swirl the mixture with a knife until it resembles a marbled effect. Bake at 300°F. for 50-60 minutes or until set. Allow cheesecake to cool then remove from rim of pan. Chill overnight before serving.
Serving Size: 12

This one was hard to get to swirl all pretty and nice, but however you swirl it, it will still taste delicious!!! Enjoy, and don't be scared!!

and of course, I enjoyed seeing Montez and baby Olivia. They are doing well. Montez is adjusting to being a new mom, and it is hard. I think the first 6 weeks are tough, whether you have a good baby or a colicky baby or whatever, it is hard, and they don't tell you that. Most moms make it out to seem amazing that your baby is finally here and it is so blissful and happy, when it really isn't. It is hard getting used to a new sleeping schedule, trying to figure out nursing and to get through the pain, and not to mention, you are all hormonal and bleeding all disgustingly. And you are sore and just not happy, and your baby just kind of stares at you, and you just want some sort of attention for all the hard work you are doing. But after those six weeks go by, things get much better, a slight routine starts to set in and your baby can start interacting with you and smiling at you!! that makes it all worth it, but until that time, it is hard. We discussed this at length!! I think Montez is doing great, just experiencing the normal mom stuff!!!

I enjoyed our time together and can't wait to spend some more time over there!!

It's a Cheesecake Kind of Night!!

2011-08-06T22:42:00.000-06:00

I have been wanting to make cheesecake, and today was the perfect day! I get to make some for my friend Montez, who recently had a baby and loves cheesecake and I get my craving fix all in one!! A couple of weeks ago I tried to make a peanut butter chocolate cheesecake with a strawberry jam drizzle and it turned out delicious!!!! we had Gene and Montez over to sample it. gene and Montez are in our ward, and are a little bit older than us, but we love them!! we try to do a nice dinner date once a month with them, and more often if we can. Here they are....

and they recently had a baby girl...Olivia Barrow...here she is....

So beautiful!! so needless to say, this was a perfect time to make cheesecake. Montez loves cheesecake!! she has tried like every cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory!! it is pretty funny! but I can't wait to go over there hopefully tomorrow to see them and their new baby girl!! so exciting!! pictures of the cheesecake coming soon!!

Time Flies too Fast!!!

2011-08-05T22:49:00.000-06:00

I am sitting here watching a movie, blogging and waiting on my homemade ice cream to get done, and I am watching Amilee, thinking that time has flown by too fast!! she will be 20 months here in a few days, and 2 before I know it, and I can't even think about where the time has gone. This last year has just went by in a flash and I don't like it. I still remember her being like this.....

And now, she is so big and grown up and looking like this....

she is not a baby anymore, she is a little girl, and growing into her own strong little personality. She is so much like me, but yet like Samuel with her own little quirks thrown in too!! I love watching her grow and develop and do new things and become more proficient at other things. It is amazing how much they learn. But some days, I still miss my little baby. I miss our rare, but sweet cuddle moments and the times when she needed me for everything.
I guess it is a good thing we are expecting another one for those days when I really want to have a little baby around here. But I just can't get over how fast time is going and how it never slows down, even when I think some days go by so slowly!! Crazy what a thing time is~~

Poison Oak

2011-08-01T21:25:00.000-06:00

Samuel went paint balling this weekend for some much needed stress-reliever time and he came home with this....

this isn't his hand, but this is what it looks like. He has a couple of spots on his body where it is pretty bad. He is at the urgent care right now to get some medicine for it, so it won't get too bad.............

no fun for him!!!

First set of San Fran pics

2011-08-01T21:22:00.000-06:00

Here are a few pics of us at Fort Point.

Good times at Fort Point!! I have more coming that I took of Parker and Amilee that turned out great, but I haven't edited them yet!!

San Fran~~~

2011-07-31T22:33:00.000-06:00

Day Two was San Fran!! My mom, along with Parker had never been to San Fran before, and my dad hadn't been there since he was five or six, so they were like newbies going to San Fran. We drove over the Golden Gate bridge, went to Fort Point where we took some great pics and got a great view of the bay, the city and the bridge. We went down Lombard Street, which looks like this....

It is crazy to drive down and there are people everywhere. It is fun to experience though and the houses are beautiful!! Amilee kept saying wow and whoa. She loved it. We then headed over to Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf when we enjoyed delicious sour dough sandwiches and soup and were able to walk through the shops and see all the Street performers. There are a couple of guys that spray paint these really awesome pictures. Here is an example of one:

sorry it is so little, but these guys are awesome. Then of course, there were a few bands and gold and silvermen and it is fun to see all the people there too!! There are also the sea lions at the end of the Pier!! The sea lions have taken over these docks and have been there for over ten years. Here is a pic of them:

It is funny to watch them because they fight and bark at each other and knock each other off the docks. There weren't this many there while we were there because they were off mating, but this is normally what it is like.

We also drove around looking at the beautiful and different architecture and went to North Beach for dinner. North Beach is the italian district of San Fran, so it smells awesome there and all the food is so good. We enjoyed awesome pizza and pasta for dinner and delicious gelato for dessert! It was a fun trip. We really enjoyed it.

The pics are in the next blog!!

Last week's Events~~

2011-07-31T22:17:00.000-06:00

This last week was really fun!! my parents and my little brother Parker came to California last Sunday and stayed for a few days. My parents haven't been back in Cali in years, so it was fun for them to come and fun to see them also. They arrived Sunday evening and we enjoyed a late dinner together and then talked outside on the back porch area. I was happy to see that Amilee warmed right up to them and seemed to remember them like she never left.
Monday morning, I had to get to work early, but they met me in Sacramento for the days events. We went to downtown Sacramento, which is known as Old Sac, where they have restored all the old buildings and have a lot of fun little shops and candy stores and lots of fun little museums. We wanted to go to the Military Museum and of course it was closed on Monday. I didn't get any pictures there, but here is an idea of what it looks like...

We spent about an hour there and really enjoyed ourselves. I would love to go back with Samuel on a date. There were a lot of fun restaurants to experience.

We then headed to the California State Fair. When I was a kid, we used to always go to the Blackfoot Fair and we always looked forward to it. So this was pretty exciting; and I like fair anyways. But crazy me, we get to the entrance finally and I realized I totally forgot the camera in the car, so I was and am pretty bummed about that. But we get there and buy some tickets so Parker and Samuel can do some rides. They enjoyed a few rides, while we walked around with Amilee. She was pretty fascinated with everything. We then walked through the booths and the food vendors and enjoyed test driving some new Chevy cars. I also won a sweet waterbottle at the Dannon yogurt booth!! We kept walking and walking and there were more and more vendors and things to do. There were a few exhibitions areas and those were really exciting. One of our favorites was the Rock and Roll exhibit. You could try out some drums and guitars, see authentic things from your favorite Rock and Roll bands, buy pictures and T-shirts and old brands of candy and just enjoy yourself. It was very fun and family friendly. My mom and I also liked the Quilting exhibition. The quilts were beautiful and gave me even more motivation to finish mine and then to do more. Maybe I can get really good at it one day. We also went to a hypnotist show. It was pretty funny!! We then went to the kid rides and Amilee loved loved the carousel. She was pretty sad when it was time to get off. It was fun going on rides with her. There was also a shopping expo with lots of different booths for tiling your home, massages, clothes, teeth whitening, etc. Tons of things like that!! Those are always so fun!! and of course, we had fair food!~! it was a lot of fun!! we really enjoyed and Amilee was quite a trooper. She barely got a nap in that day, and only had a few minutes of crankiness!!!! It was great!!

san fran pics coming

2011-07-28T19:21:00.001-06:00

My parents were in town this week!!! pictures and details coming soon...........................

a little late, but the 4th of July!!

2011-07-28T19:02:00.002-06:00

We had a great 4th of July. We celebrated all weekend!! Saturday day, we went to a BBQ over at Big John's (samuel's dad) and were able to see John and Michelle and Daniel and Drew and Ashley, who had traveled from Utah. We had some delicious burgers and bratwursts. That night we took Amilee to a firework show. She really enjoyed watching the fireworks, but she was way tired since it was way past her bedtime. Sunday was a nice relaxing day, and a nice fast Sunday for us!!
Monday we had a family BBQ here at the house and enjoyed Samuel's homemade burgers. We had our own little firework show at our house that night, and Amilee had a blast. She even tried out her very first sparklers!!

She kept saying wow and oh man!!!
and a funny story to top of the night. Earlier in the day, this lady was telling Jolene that the 4th of July is like the worst day for dogs because they are terrified of all the noises and lots of dogs get out and then get lost. So during the night, this terrified dog came to us and we tried to calm him down. he eventually calmed down a little bit and then left somewhere. however, the next morning, Jolene opened the door to the garage and in walks this dog. I guess he had hid himself in there all night, and we had no idea. We called his owners and they came shortly after, but it was slightly ironic that we ended up with one of those lots dogs!!

a really fun weekend!!!

Peach Festival

2011-07-28T19:02:00.001-06:00

A few weeks ago, we attended the 11th annual Peach Festival in a neighboring town. We enjoyed walking through all the vendors and booths and seeing what new peach things and treats were there. Samuel is allergic to peaches, so we didn't sample to many things.
They had this old cab from the 60's that someone had painted with chalkboard and donated to the event to let the kids have something to do at the Peach Festival and Amilee was in heaven!!!

We have a chalkboard at home that she loves to write on, so this was perfect for her since she was too small to go on any rides. We also had fried mushrooms and fried zucchini that were so delicious!!! But we don't usually eat deep fried foods like that, so they made us a little sick, but they were way good!!
It was a nice little family outing that we were able to attend and enjoy each other's company and do something out of the norm!!!

Swimming Days!!!

2011-07-28T19:02:00.000-06:00

Amilee loves swimming-whether it's just in the hot tub or in the actual pool! she is a water baby!! Here are some pictures!!!

Elmo's world!!

2011-07-19T11:59:00.000-06:00

These two pictures describe what my everyday is filled with. Amilee is in love with Elmo's world...she asks for it all day long and always wants to watch it. And we let her a few times a day. I even bought a few DVD's of just Elmo's world, so we would have it on demand whenever we want it. Elmo's world also comes on the last 20 min of Sesame Street, so we record it and save a few episodes, but sometimes, it's a hassle to fast forward to the end of the show and put Elmo on. But Elmo is on a lot and Amilee is learning so much from it!!! It is wonderful, and I get a few minutes where she is not destroying everything she comes into contact with. The terrible two's have begun. haha

This last week, my mother in law was high lighting my hair, and Samuel, Jolene and I were talking about our favorite moments of Sesame Street and the things we like about it. My sister in law was in the room laughing thinking it was funny that here were 3 grown adults talking about Sesame Street. But at least it is wholesome and we can watch it together and teach Amilee new things.

I Hate This Part Right Here

2011-07-19T11:51:00.000-06:00

As much as I love the outcome of being pregnant...I hate this part. I hate where you have a little bump, but still feel fat and mostly disgusting. I am definitely not that person that loves being pregnant and feels better than they ever have. I just want to fast forward the whole nine months and get to the end result.
And needless to say, everyone is telling me my bump is getting so cute, but I have a really hard time enjoying it right now. I don't like people pointing out that I am getting bigger or anything, because to me, its not cute yet.......hopefully I will learn to like it. haha

probably not. But I am excited for the end result, having the actual baby and bringing new life into this world and into our growing little family. That part is exciting.

anniversary coming up!

2011-07-16T20:31:00.000-06:00

Samuel and my anniversary is coming up here in the next month. It's crazy to think that three years have gone by. We have been through a lot together in such a small amount of time. I remember the day after we got married, we headed back to Utah with no place to live and no jobs, but it didn't matter to us; we had just married each other for time and for all eternity and were completely in love. (and not saying we aren't in love now, but we have experienced more now). and yet, somehow, things still worked out. But it hasn't been easy. We have definitely had our ups and downs and our little issues here and there, but it has been wonderful. And I can't wait for more time together.

This day coming up just keeps weighing in on my mind, and I am not sure why. I want to plan something special...with our few dollars we have to spare...haha But I am getting excited and happy for one on one time with my love!!! I love my Samuel and I couldn't have asked for anyone better!! he is great!!!

It's a GIRL!!!!

2011-07-13T15:23:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, we had our 20 week ultrasound and we were very excited to find out the gender. Samuel wanted it to be a girl, but for some reason thought it was a boy, and I think because of my girly nature, deep down inside, I wanted it to be a girl. However, I would have been happy with a boy, just as long as the baby is healthy. But it's a girl!! and we are thrilled. We are going to name her Maddyson Elaine Aedo. I hope she doesn't have too many problems with people spelling her name wrong or pronouncing it incorrectly. haha :D I had tons of issues with that,and still do, so I guess it is not too bad. haha

I think Samuel is the perfect to take on a family of girls. He is very good with them and is learning how to deal with our emotions better and better everyday. And he really does like all the girlyness and the cuteness of girls. He likes when we do Amilee's hair or when I get new jewelry or shoes or paint Amilee's nails, so I think girls for children for him are perfect. And he loves that his girls love him so much too.

but we are excited and can't wait for that special moment when we welcome another precious spirit into this world!!!

Dyeing Easter Eggs

2011-07-09T20:17:00.001-06:00

Easter was so fun!! i loved dyeing the eggs!!!

love this one!!!

We had a great Easter!!

Memorial Day cabin trip!!

2011-07-09T19:58:00.000-06:00

A few pictures at the cabin with cousin Daniel!!

sliding with grandma and daniel!!!

i didn't want to get off the swing, though it was freezing outside!!

bundled up in the golf cart

playing dominoes with daniel!!

a few zoo pictures

2011-07-09T19:55:00.000-06:00

a long set of blogs of pictures!!!

watching animals with dad!!!

loving the zoo with mom

Giraffe's have a long tongue and long neck!!!

not sure about this ride or the passengers in this car

watching birds with Callie

i love Grandpa Steve!!!

i loved chasing the chickens...mom, not so much!!!!

i forgot a few things

2011-07-09T16:07:00.000-06:00

i forgot to post that we went to the zoo. Steve has been really wanting to take Amilee to the zoo, since she loves making animal noises and looking at animals. We went one day to the Sacramento Zoo and it was so much fun! amilee loved the animals and she would get so excited about the different things they did.
Next to the zoo, they had Fairy town where they had lots of different slides and activities with different fairy tales and she liked that a lot too.

I have also tried a few new recipes as well. I have made homemade pear and gorgonzola ravioli, braised brisket and an apricot glazed chicken. I am always trying new things here and there, but I think those were the major ones. We also like Caesar chicken and tomato and basil chicken as well!! delicious!!!

a recap of the last few months!!!

2011-07-09T15:53:00.000-06:00

It's hard to remember what exciting things our family did over the last few months, but hopefully I can do us some justice!! I hope to get better at blogging so that this will be a treasure for us in years to come.

March-I started working at Natomas Physical Therapy. I really like it, but some days it is bit of a drive. But I really like interacting with the patients and making sure everyone is happy and where they are supposed to be. and it is nice knowing you are helping people also. Samuel started school online with Western Governor's University, and though he has been enjoying it so far, it has been harder for him to do than he thought it would be!! but that's alright, he is getting a few classes taken care of, so that is good! We didn't do anything too exciting in March, though I did find out I was expecting. I am due November 28 with Aedo baby #2. We are very excited for our next addition to our little Aedo family.

April-On April Fool's day, Samuel told everyone on facebook that I was pregnant and it was interesting to see who believed him and who didn't. It was still kind of a mystery to a few people though who did not know what to think or who to believe. We enjoyed General Conference together as a family also, the first weekend of April. We celebrated Easter at home by dyeing eggs and taking Amilee on her first Easter Egg hunt. She really enjoyed it and especially enjoyed the candy she was able to eat from the eggs. lol. The last weekend of the month, we (Jolene, Katie, bella, Amilee and I) took a girl's roadtrip to Utah to see family and friends. Bella had never been to Utah before, so we did all the SLC stuff and did a nice tour of BYU. It was good for her to see all the places we always talk about and understand more of the church's history. We also toured BYU and went to Brick Oven and saw a lot of friends! I love Brick Oven! it is delicious. One of my good friends, Arielle was also married while I was in town, so I was able to go to her reception with my family. It was really nice. It was nice seeing family and friends and letting Amilee play with new friends. We really enjoyed the trip to Utah.

May-At the beginning of the month, we celebrated my birthday and mother's day. As combined presents, I got a new sewing machine, which I am very excited about, a sewing box, C.S. Lewis books ( I want to have all of his collection) and a few other little things. It was a nice celebration. We had a nice family dinner for both days, and my sister in law Katie made a beautiful cake. May was really busy around our house with the girls preparing for last minute school activities and for finals. We helped in all of that. At the end of the month for Memorial Day, we went to Jolene's cabin with John and Michelle and their son Daniel. The cabin is about 2 1/2 hours north of here. It was freezing cold too, probably in the 40's, so we didn't want to do a lot outside. We did take the kids to the golf course, where they were able to chase down a lot of deer and get to experience something new. Amilee loved running after them and loved being able to have space to run also. daniel and Amilee played a lot together, but Daniel was a little rough with Amilee, so I think by the end of the weekend, Amilee wasn't sure if she still wanted Daniel to be her friend. lol. But they are getting better and learning. haha. Samuel's dad also had a mild heart attack right before Memorial Day, but he is doing well now. It was definitely quite a scare since he is only in his early 50's. We had a family barbecue with the Aedo side of the family also for Memorial Day and we were able to see family we haven't seen in forever or family we still had yet to meet. They had a beach ball that was about as tall as Amilee and she loved chasing it all over the yard. It was so cute!!

June-We celebrated Father's Day. We got all our dad's BYU hats and they really liked them. I got Samuel a basket of all the things he loves. It was really cute. We tried to make Father's Day feel as special as Mother's day and I think we succeeded. It went really well. We have been taking Amilee swimming in the hot tub, with it cooled down of course, and she loves it. She will go and get her swim suit and let us know she wants to go. We were able to go to the temple and do sealings with big John and Suzanne and we really enjoyed that. It was really nice. The girls had girls camp the last week of June, and we enjoyed a quieter house. As much as we love them, it was nice having some peace and quiet. I also spoke in church about self mastery. I learned a lot as I prepared my talk and I think I was able to contribute a good spirit to the members of the congregation.

July-We had a great fourth of July. We celebrated all weekend. Saturday, we took Amilee to a firework show and she really liked it. Poor thing was so tired though that it was hard for her to stay awake. sunday we had a nice relaxing fast sundayAmilee loved them. She keep saying wow and ohh. It was cute. She also tried her first sparkler. she was quite entertained by it and so were we. We have an ultra sound next week to determine the sex of the baby and we are very excited for it. I really don't have any impressions on whether its a boy or a girl, so we will find out.
But we have been busy with work and school and everyday life. It is nice. I am also trying to wrap up things on the quilt I am making for our bed and it is looking great. That is my big project for right now. Can't wait to see the final product!!

Pictures to come!!!

blogging tonight

2011-06-30T18:42:00.001-06:00

I promise I will do some blogging tonight and add some pictures!!!

Day Nine

2011-03-10T17:29:00.000-07:00

A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most

Well I would have to say before I met my Samuel, the person who has gotten me through the most is my brother Chris. (this is his personality in a picture)

My brother and I are really close. We would talk all the time and do a lot together. We had a lot of similar friends and enjoyed a lot of activities together. He is the one that helped me through hard times, and I would like to say I did that for him too. I love him!! And I miss him so much since he is on his mission in South Korea! so proud of him though.

Day Eight

2011-03-08T16:23:00.000-07:00

A picture that makes you laugh

Okay, I am not sure how this picture was captured, but it cracks me up!!!

This picture is so funny, and she never makes this face, so she must have been in mid noise, but I love it!!

Priceless!

Day Seven...I think

2011-03-08T16:21:00.000-07:00

A picture of your most treasured item

Okay, so I have three...and two are people....

First item...The Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon is a huge part of my life. It keeps me grounded; it is filled with answers to all my thoughts, issues, problems. It brings peace into my life. I find my life is different when I am more diligent at reading this book. but it is more than just a book; it is a part of me. I know it is true. I know a lot people outside of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints give a lot of flack about this book, but I know if they were to read it to find out if it is true, they would find out it is true. I did that; I read it and the spirit of the Lord touched me to know it is true.

The second item/person is my husband Samuel.

So don't look at the pants, but this is Samuel doing a demonstration of his favorite thing to do. He loves to shoot paintball! It's his hobby...and as much as it bothers me sometimes, I love him for it. He is my heart and soul and I love him so much. He makes me very happy and I enjoy all our moments together. I am so happy that I was able to meet him and fall in love with him. He is wonderful and I love watching him with Amilee. He is so good with her. It is great!!!

My lovely girl Amilee!

I love my Amilee. I love being her mom; she is wonderful!! She is so fun and has the cutest personality. I am so happy that she is a really good baby and never really has any problems. She learns so much everyday and is developing so well!! I can't believe she is 15 months! Time has been flying by!!

the last few weeks!

2011-03-05T21:50:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks have been super busy for us. It doesn't seem like we had anything ultra special going on, but just busy. I just got a new job at Natomas Physical Therapy as a physical therapist aide. I started Friday and really liked it and think that I will really enjoy it. It will be a really good niche for me. I work Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings. On Monday and Wed, the first half of the morning Samuel will watch Amilee and the other half, Jolene will watch her. And on Fridays, Samuel will watch Amilee. I am very excited and happy about this.

Samuel started school this week and I am so proud of him. I am happy he is doing it, though his first class is very boring and I am happy he is furthering his education and wanting to go somewhere in life. That makes me so happy. It is wonderful!!

A couple weeks ago, we went to San Fransisco. It was a blast. Amilee really enjoyed it too. We took her to the Bay Area Discovery Museum, which is especially for children 6 months-8 years, so they had a lot of specific toddler things and she definitely enjoyed every minute of it. We are hoping to go back soon with my nephew, so they can play together. We took a picture at West Point in almost the exact place where Samuel and I took a picture when I was pregnant. It turned out great. It was a very fun and exciting trip.

At the discovery museum!

This is the first picture!

And almost same spot on the dock area!! Great memories!

We also recently got Amilee's pictures done just for fun! and they turned out so cute! She is natural with the camera. the photographer was speaking to Samuel and was saying that she needed to sit on the red light, so by herself, she went and sat on the red light and posed. And kept posing and smiling and posing and smiling!! it was so cute.

We also went to On the Border Mexican Food Restaurant this week!! I have been missing this! I thought it was only in the south, but I was very happy to see it in Roseville. And I had the brisket tacos and they were so good. I miss good ole southern cooking!!

Deliciousness!!!

Well, that's all for now!!!

Day Six

2011-03-05T21:37:00.001-07:00

A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day

man, this is a hard one....I am not really sure.

I would definitely have to say Lady Gaga. Yes, a lot of her antics are crazy, but I love her music and her style nonetheless. Her wardrobe is crazy, her music is hott; she has got it going on. I would love to do her performances for her day and be the singer and the dancer. That would be so awesome!! I would love to have a skinny body like hers and would love to perform in front of thousands. Brillant.

Don't hate.

Day Five

2011-03-05T21:33:00.000-07:00

A picture of your favorite memory
So I couldn't just think of one memory...I thought of a few. The first is when I got married

Samuel and I were married August 23, 2008 in Dallas, TX! We were sealed in the Dallas, TX temple for all time and eternity. It was beautiful and I am so happy that I am married to my Samuel. I am very excited for the years we have to come and the many things that are in front of us.

My next favorite memory is when Amilee was born.

And now, I can't say it was the exact moment because my labor was quite painful, but after I was in my recovery room, it was quite peaceful and I loved having my little miracle. She was so beautiful and sweet. I remember the first few days at home were so peaceful and everything just felt quite right.
This picture is from when she was a couple of weeks old. I hate me in it....I hate the way I look from being pregnant til like Amilee was 6 or 7 months!! ugh. lol. I love my doll Amilee. She is quite wonderful!! She is so sweet and fun and I love watching her little personality develop everyday. It's great.

...........um.............

2011-03-05T17:59:00.000-07:00

so behind on my 30 day challenge!!

trying to catch up!!

Day Four

2011-03-05T17:57:00.001-07:00

A picture of your favorite night

These are definitely some old pictures, but this was one night that was unforgettable!! I have had many favorite nights since, but this one keeps sticking out to me !

During dinner at Macaroni Grill

A classic shoe picture

Outside our apartment...I think after dinner

A favorite past time of ours...at the hot tub!

We took many shots of this, but this one I think is a perfection description of our personalities!!!

These pictures pretty much describe how crazy the five of us were all the time and how much we had together!! This was definitely a quite a bonding experience for us starting out in our apartment. We had planned a girls night out to Macaroni Grill with pictures before, during and after and a little hot tubbing with dancing in between! We had a great time and truly enjoyed our time together. It's crazy to think how much has happened since then and the times we had when we were all living together. The girls are Scarlet, Kasey, Kylie, Shaeley and me. Scarlet and Ky are cousins and Scarlet and Shae are cousins. Scarlet and I grew up together since we were 12 and Kylie lived in the neighboring town from us. None of us knew Kasey. She is from UT and other than Scarlet, none of us knew Shae. And though we had a few ups and downs, as an apartment full of girls would, we became very close and enjoyed living together.
Where are we now??
I got married in Aug 08 to Samuel Aedo. We live in California with our baby girl Amilee who is 15 months old. Samuel is going to school online at Western Governors University and works at Costa Vida Restaurant, and I work at Natomas Physical Therapy.
Kylie married Michael Crump in April 08 and they live in Prosper, Texas. They have a 5 month old baby boy Preston and recently bought a house!!
Kasey in married to Danny Bandis and were married in Mar 09. They recently moved to Monticello, UT and are enjoying new jobs there.
Scarlet married Chris Reece in Dec 08 and they live in Provo, UT with their baby boy Grayson, who is also 15 months old. He is one day older than Amilee. Chris is finishing up a few courses at BYU and then wants to attend Dental School!
Shae lives in Vegas and is dating Bryce. They have been together off and on for quite a while. I miss that girl!!

But that's us. Friends forever.

Day Three

2011-02-26T16:12:00.000-07:00

A picture of the cast from your favorite show

Grey's Anatomy

I have been a fan of Grey's since Season one!! I love it so much! I love the drama, I love the stories and the real life mixed with fictitious stories. It's great. I like how each season has played out and I love wondering what is going to happen each week.

Another show I have gotten into this year is
No Ordinary Family

No Ordinary Family is about a family who acquires super powers on a trip to Brazil. They think they are the only super heroes, but soon learn to find out they are not the only ones. This show reminds me a little bit of the Incredibles, and I love it!!!

Day Two

2011-02-25T22:38:00.000-07:00

A picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest

Other than Samuel, my brother Chris is my best friend. He is currently serving a mission for the LDS church in South Korea. Today is his 6 month anniversary, and he has 18 more months to go. I really miss him, but I am so proud of him and his decision to serve the Lord and dedicate his life to His service. Today was a bit hard because my sister-in law was having a rough day. I was talking to her and she was tearing up and she mentioned how she wanted to talk to Chris. Chris always knew what to say in these situations and would always stay up late talking to her. A few more things were said, and I was tearing up myself too. And I started missing him and wishing he was here. Chris and I used to stay up late talking too. We talked about everything and did so much together. I can't wait for him to get home. Things will have changed so much!

Another thing about Chris is he has a very special relationship with Amilee. She has always liked him. She would get excited every time she saw him and she never had to get used to him. It was so sweet and cute and you could see how happy he would get when she was around. When Uncle Chris gets home, Amilee will be almost three!! Crazy stuff! i love him and miss him!

the 1st day

2011-02-24T21:44:00.001-07:00

I guess I will start today while I have some time!!

I love this picture, though it is almost three years old!!
Ten facts about me
1. I truly do love being a mom and staying home and learning and doing new projects!
2. I think Amilee is one of the cutest toddlers/babies I have ever seen. She is more cute than normal.
3. I change my hair all the time. I am a natural blonde, but I have had black, red, brown, bleached and a little bit of pink hair. I get bored and want to try new things. It keeps things fresh.
4. I wish I had better knees so that I could still dance and dance everyday. I miss it a lot.
5. I love, love, love Grey's Anatomy!
6. I can't wait til the day when Samuel and I have own house that we can decorate and paint however we want.
7. I think that California has truly become my new home. I am really enjoying it here.
8. I love singing and want to be able to share my talents more than I do now.
9. I love photography also and truly enjoy capturing all the beauty around me.
10. I love my Samuel with all my heart!! He is my life and I am so glad we have each other forever!!

I am giving in.......

2011-02-24T20:35:00.000-07:00

I have decided to give in to do the 30-day challenge!!! I have been so bad about blogging lately, so I hope this will help!! These are the ones I am going to do!

A picture of yourself with 10 facts

A picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest

A picture of the cast from your favorite show

A picture of your favorite night

A picture of your favorite memory

A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day

A picture of your most treasured item

A picture that makes you laugh

A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most

A picture of the person you do the most ****** up things with

A picture of something you hate

A picture of something you love

A picture of your favorite band or artist

A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without

A picture of something you want to do before you die

A picture of someone who inspires you

A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently

A picture of your biggest insecurity

A picture and a letter

A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel

A picture of something you wish you could forget

A picture of something you wish you were better at

A picture of your favorite book

A picture of something you wish you could change

A picture of your favorite day

A picture of something that means a lot to you

A picture of yourself and a family member

A picture of something you're afraid of

A picture that can always make you smile

A picture of someone you miss

Pictures!!

2010-12-16T14:40:00.000-07:00

Chris right before going to the MTC!

Amilee not sure what she thinks of the grass!!

She is already a great model!!

At the pumpkin patch!!

Dad's birthday!!

Amilee was an Octopus

Yosemite!!

Helping to decorate the tree

I am really good at dishes!!

Making my cake!

Family pictures!

I think it is fall now.....or winter....

2010-12-16T14:30:00.001-07:00

Okay, I haven't written since August, so it has been a while and a lot has happened!! Oh man!! I will post pictures in the next blog.

August-I finished up with school and took finals and did really well. We moved in with my parents to help save money. Samuel got a job at Costa Vida, and my brother Chris went into the MTC. It really was quite a busy month for us; we always had something to do. My grandparents from OK came and stayed for a little over a week and it was really fun and nice to see them. My grandma brought her jewelry stuff for me to borrow, and since then, I have made some really cute bracelets and continue to make more.

September-In September, we decided that we needed to move to Yuba City, California, so we did. Samuel's boss at Costa Vida in American Fork knows the boss here at the Yuba City location, so he helped Samuel get a job out here. Samuel's mom and step dad came out to Utah to help us move. My parents were sad to see us go, but know we needed to be here.So anyways, we came out here to California. We live with Sam's mom and step dad and sister Katie and family friend, Isabella, so it is a crowded house, but really nice. Steve put up some temporary walls around the living room and dining room, so we could have our own space. It has been really nice so far. Samuel was able to start working a few days after we moved in, and is now in charge of catering, so he has been learning the ropes of that. I joined ward choir, and we started practicing for Stake conference.

October came quickly. Amilee started adjusting quite well to her home. She also started taking her first steps. We had general conference and we watched the Saturday sessions at home, but for the Sunday afternoon session, we went to my brother in law's, John and Michelle and baby Daniel. It was fun seeing them and seeing Amilee and Daniel together. they are so cute. I also joined the Stake choir and we sang in this festival with a few other churches. It was really fun, and a great missionary tool.
I made Samuel a Halloween quilt for his birthday and it turned out great!! We had a fun Halloween party for him. We also gave out candy to the kids and attended our Ward trunk or treat!

The first weekend of November, we went to Yosemite National Park. It was beautiful!! There were so many breath taking views. Going to places like that help you to remember all the beauty the Lord has placed on this earth for us!! The next weekend, we went to John and Michelle's to celebrate Daniel's first birthday!! It was very fun and nice to be with family. I also spoke in church this month, and we became more and more used to our callings. We went to Thanksgiving at the Family Cabin up in the mountains, about 3 hours north of here. It was fun, and Amilee loved the snow. We took her sledding and it was great fun.

And now we are here in December-last weekend, we celebrated Amilee's first birthday!! She loved everything about it. We had a princess theme, so everything was purple and pink. It was very cute!! We are just getting ready for Christmas, and our trip to Utah to see my side of the family! It's been great!! Pictures to come!

So it's August!!!

2010-07-30T22:41:00.000-06:00

I cannot believe it is August!! I last posted in the middle of April, so I guess we should get caught up. But first a cute pic!!!

Such a cute girl!! At the end of April, Samuel's nanny and long time family friend, Heidi got married. We were lucky enough to be part of her special day. Chris and Parker came up to Temple Square to watch Amilee, so we could attend the sealing. It was really nice. Here are some pictures I took of Heidi and Don

Jolene also came for the wedding! She watched Amilee while I helped with Heidi's dress and took some pictures!!! Here are so pics!!

We also went to see Tanya and Trevor and Abby!! Here are a couple pics of all the girls

At the end of April, I started back to school for Spring semester, so life got much busier for me. The first few days felt like torture because I wasn't used to leaving Amilee for those long amounts of time. I really enjoyed Spring semester. It was great!!!

Aunt Michelle and Cousin Daniel came to visit with us also. Daniel and Amilee are one month apart and so cute together. Here a few pictures!!!

They love each other!!! Daniel is so cute, and so much bigger than Amilee!!!!

May went by pretty uneventfully. However, for my birthday, we spent the day in Park City and did some shopping and that was really fun. I got a lot of Bath and Body Works stuff, which I love, some new tennis shoes, a new bag and a few other little things. My mom and dad got me nail polish, which I wanted, and a really cute picture frame and we had a nice dinner at my parent's house to celebrate mine and Chris's birthday. It was really nice. Samuel worked outside for grandpa during the day and worked at PJ's at night, while I just went to school and did homework.

Jolene came out in June, while Katie and Rylea were at EFY. We had a great time together. She helped me get started on a quilt for Amilee that I just finished a couple of weeks ago. Jolene, Samuel, Grandpa and Amilee went to Antelope Island one day while I was at school. Here are some cute pics!

They had a great time!! I really enjoyed my time with Jolene!! In June, Chris got his mission call to Korea!!! He leaves for the MTC August 25!! I am so excited for him, but I will miss him a lot!!! it's a bittersweet moment, since we are so close! Amilee also went swimming for the first time. After she got used to the water, she loved it. She got an ear infection at the beginning of the month though, but it didn't really phase her, so that's good.

Amilee also learned how to crawl and pull herself up onto everything!! She is way fast and can do the stairs and basically everything. She walks around everything too, so someday soon, she will figure out walking~! We are in trouble!! She says dada and it is so cute!!

July has been a bit of a crazy month for us. I went to the dr because my knee was really bothering and found out I needed surgery. So on July 9th, I went in for knee surgery. I got a lateral release done and it has been a slightly rough recovery. I am doing physical therapy and things are coming along. We couldn't really afford for Samuel to take off work during my surgery, so my little brother came and stayed with me to help out with Amilee and while I needed things. My visiting teaching companion Jena came too. I am so grateful to them. I am also grateful for my visiting teachers because they brought dinner the first couple of nights. It helped out so much. Oh in June, I also finished up Spring term and started summer, so while having knee surgery, I still had to keep up with school, and I think I did okay. We went swimming last week with Daniel and Michelle, but I don't have the pictures on my computer yet. It was fun and cute to see them splashing together.

In a couple of weeks, we are moving to Lehi in with my parents and we are really excited for lots of reasons. We need some change and are grateful for this opportunity!! I hope all is well!!!

So it's been a while!!!

2010-04-12T23:07:00.000-06:00

Well, it has been a couple of months!! so sorry, but goodness, it seems we are so busy. Since my last post, a lot has happened.
On February 14th, Amilee was blessed by Samuel. My nephew Daniel Aedo and my niece Abby Hood were also blessed. The blessings happened here at home all together and the whole family was here. It was a wonderful experience!!

What a blessed day!!! it was great to see everyone and have the baby cousins together to be given a name and a blessing!! Samuel was really excited to give his daughter a blessing from the Lord.

The rest of February was just school and work for Samuel. Not too much going on. That keeps Samuel pretty busy and I am pretty busy with Amilee.

In march, it was school and work everyday again. But our friends from Nashville, Scarlet and Chris, came to visit Utah and we were able to spend some time with them. They have a little baby also, named Grayson. He is one day older than Amilee, but he is so much bigger than her. He was a cutie and it was so good to see them. We hadn't seen them since their wedding in Dec 08. So it was good! Amilee started discovering her voice this month and started babbling so loud. It was so cute. She talks all day every day and smiles so much.

She is such a happy and smiley baby. April marked conference weekend and Easter. We went up to my mom and dad's for the weekend. The boys were able to attend the Priesthood session in SLC Saturday night. They had a really good time. Sunday, we watched conference and celebrated Easter. Amilee got some new toys and some clothes and we got some money and a subway gift card. Yum!! We also celebrated my little brother, Parker's birthday. He turned 15. It was a really nice weekend!!

Today I took Amilee to the doctor because it was her 4 month check up appointment. She is doing so good!! She also is starting to roll over. It's fun!! She eats rice cereal and does really well with it and we will be introducing new solids to her next month. I am super excited for that, but not for the stinky diapers. Wednesday is Samuel's last day of school for the semester and he is so happy about that. This semester was hard, but good!!

Last Thursday we had a really neat opportunity. Samuel and I and my brother Chris, along with a few other students from the Business College had the opportunity to meet with Sister Dalton, the general YW president and her counselors. We sang the business college school song to her for her birthday and then we were able to be taught by her. It was so awesome. It is cool to hear her speak in conference, but this was different because she was speaking directly to us and tailored her remarks to us, rather than the whole church. It was great!!!

Samuel's mom is coming to visit this weekend for a wedding and we are really excited about that!!!

Next month, May, I will be going back to school. I am super excited to get back into the swing of things!! But that's about it for us!! Lots of love!!

Pictures!!!

2010-01-31T21:39:00.000-07:00

our christmas picture!!!

bath time!!

i love my bouncer!!

my pink dress!!

I will be making our blog private tomorrow, so please leave email if you haven't already!!! We are loving Amilee so much. Poor thing has a cold right now!! it's sad. Samuel and I have both been sick as well, but I think we are coming to the end of it!! We are blessing her on the 14th of Feb and we are getting very excited as we will get to see a lot of the family!! Can't wait!!

So it's been a while!!!

2010-01-16T23:55:00.000-07:00

So life has been a little crazy since Amilee was born and with all the holidays and family, we have been very busy!!!

After Amilee was born, we enjoyed a nice week or so at home. I took finals the week after she was born and did really well. Samuel was so great to watch her for me. We went up to my parents a few times and let the dogs check her out and Skip loves her so much. He always wants to lick her, but the other two don't really care about her too much. Since then we have stayed the night a couple of times and we just take her bassinet with us. We have yet to get a pack and play, but we really need one. It's really nice to go there because my parents help out with Amilee while we sleep a little more. It's great!!

Steve and Jolene and Katie came into town for Christmas and it was so great to see them. They helped out a lot with Amilee and they love her so much. Jolene always wanted to hold her, so Amilee got to spend some time with her Grandma Hood that way. Steve helped out at my parent's house working on the base boards for a couple of days and I know he enjoyed that. They really appreciate/d all his hard work as well. It was really nice. Christmas eve we celebrated her at Grandpas with all the Bezzant side that was in town and with my family as well. Christmas morning we went to my parents for breakfast and had our Christmas with them. Then we saw Sherlock Holmes with the whole family. It was a lot of fun and a great movie. And Amilee did really well also. We really enjoyed having Samuel's family here. I always love spending time with them. We had a really good Christmas and a nice break from school.

Samuel started school this week and likes his classes a lot. He missed Amilee a ton while he was at school though. He has been really sick as well and Amilee is kind of congested...poor thing. She has a lot of mucus and we can't give her any medicine or anything. It's sad. I have been home with Amilee this week getting adjusted to Samuel going to school and working and me trying to keep the house running. It was a rough week because none of really felt good. I hope it gets better from here. And I am sure that it will.

We are blessing her in a couple of weeks and we are really excited for it because 1) the whole family is coming and 2) our baby nephew is also being blessed on the same day. We are so happy because we have not seen John in over a year and Michelle since the summer and we have not met little Daniel yet. It will be great.

We are enjoying life and loving little Amilee. She is wonderful. We are looking forward to the many adventures with her!!!

Also, our blog is going private in February, so if you would like to keep reading, please leave your email!!!!

Baby Amilee is finally here!! :D

2009-12-11T20:22:00.000-07:00

Baby Amilee is finally here!! She came four days early from her due date on December 10th, 2009 at 5:55 pm. She was 6 lbs and 5 oz and 18 inches long. She has a lot of beautiful black hair! She is so little and cute. She has been very alert and smiley since she was born.

I started having contractions about three weeks ago, and I started slowly dilating. This past weekend, the contractions got pretty bad and I started having back labor. On Monday, I went to the doctor and I was 3 cm dilated, 90% effaced, but the head was all the way down. The doctor said she would be surprised if I didn't go into labor this week. The contractions worsened over the week and on Wednesday night they started getting pretty bad. Around 2 am, they were 8 minutes apart and kept getting closer and closer together. Around 5:30, or 6 in the morning, Samuel woke up to go to the bathroom and I was in so much pain. He said we were going to the hospital even though I didn't want to. We packed some clothes and I took a shower and off we headed to the hospital. We got to Labor and Delivery and they checked me and I was at 4 cm dilated with my water ready to break, so they decided I could stay and to admit me. I decided to get my epidural ASAP because I had been toughing out the pain long enough. It really helped. I kept dilating even more and I got to a six and a half and was kind of at a stand still because my water was still not broken. We finally went and got the doctor and she broke my water and it started to go pretty fast from there. I started feeling too much pressure, so I got some stronger medicine. It worked for a little bit. Then the pain just got worse and worse and I could feel everything, so they gave me more medicine and it didn't even touch the pain. It was then time to push and I could feel everything because my epidural started to wear off. I even started to begin to feel my legs. But we started pushing after the doctor got there, and having the worst pain of my life, we pushed for about 10 min and baby Amilee arrived into this world!! It went very fast and hurt terribly. But she is so beautiful. She was very alert and already smiling and has been ever since!!

The past night and a half, we have been working on getting her to breast feed. She is getting the hang of it, but has to have a little bit of formula supplement to keep her blood sugar up. She is really healthy though and we are all doing well. We are just very tired, but eager to go home tomorrow!! We are so thankful for our bundle of joy!! And we are thankful for our family and all the help they have given us!! We love you all!!

Almost here!!!

2009-12-01T18:57:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of things that are almost here!! This is a very exciting time for us.

Amilee Grace is due in two weeks, but could be here any day now, and that is very exciting. This last part of the pregnancy has been very tiring for both of us, but especially me, since I no longer get good or even decent sleep and I am just uncomfortable all the time. I started having contractions about a week and a half ago and I have started dilating, so that is a good sign, but we wish she would just hurry up and get here.

Samuel has one week left of school. I still have a couple more, but I am glad he is almost done, and so proud of him. He took 18 credits this semester, so it was rough a lot of the time, especially since he was working as well. I am glad he is going to be done before me, so that when Amilee gets here, we will only have to worry about my finals and not his also.

My family is moving to Saratoga Springs, near Lehi, this weekend, and we are happy that they will be close again. We love Texas, but it is just so far away for us, that it is hard to get there, and expensive. We are poor college students, so it's hard to afford to go to many places, so it is great they are just right up the road. Plus they want to see their first grandbaby a lot. My dad has been up here the past month and half working and he flies home to bring up the family this weekend. It will be fun.

Things seem to be moving right along for us. We are excited for all the new adventures that we are about to have. We can't wait for this new chapter of life to begin. We are happy. We love each other, and are trying our best to follow the Lord in all things!!!

New Camera!!

2009-10-12T18:45:00.005-06:00

I can't believe that it is already the middle of October. Man, how time flies!! The past few weeks have been crazy. Samuel's grandpa had a knee replacement, and he is in a care center getting better, meanwhile, leaving us in charge of the house. We have been winterizing everything, since it has froze a few nights. Samuel's, Aunt Julie came over during conference weekend and realized there was a whole patch of tomatoes we hadn't picked yet, so that next week, we went out and picked all the tomatoes we had left. There were so many. It was ridiculous there were so many!! We decided we were going to make some more homemade spaghetti sauce and can it, and we ended up doing 30 jars of spaghetti sauce!! It was a lot!! Oh man!! And hard work too!!

Samuel and I were able to watch conference together and Samuel had the whole weekend off. It was so nice!! We never spend Saturdays together. We really enjoyed conference as well. There were so many great things said. Samuel's uncle Bill was in town the week of conference from Saipan, and we got to spend some time with him and that was really nice. We also bought a new camera, a canon Rebel t1I and it came in that week. Bill is really good at photography, so he showed us some things with our camera!! it's so nice!! I will post some pictures we have taken at the end of this!! We also went to a cool devotional at LDSBC. Susan W. Tanner, the former YW general president came and that was very cool. She was the president most of the time I was in young women.

We are heading to California on Wednesday and we are so excited!! it's just a short trip, but its a trip nonetheless and we can't wait!!! Things are going really well. They have been very busy lately!! But things are great!! Here are some pics we have taken!!

Our friends Meg and Chase

Almost 32 weeks!!!

Fall Colors!!!

And so we love our camera and can't wait to do more work with it!!! :D

Fall Semester

2009-09-16T18:44:00.002-06:00

So it's been a little while since I have last written. The last couple of months have been busy.

After we found out our little one is a girl, we have been shopping and getting super excited. Jolene (Samuel's mom) came down the beginning of August with a crib and we also went garage saleing. We had a great time with her and Steve and Katie. Samuel had a three week break in August from school. We didn't really do too much though. I quit my job, however, because I was just getting tired of it. Samuel and I went on a retreat for his Mentors and Ambassadors at school and we had a great time with an awesome group of people. He loves being a mentor and ambassador. On Thursdays, I get to go to a couple of his classes and its pretty cool because I go to his mentor and ambassador class and they make you feel like you are at home. It's really nice. At the end of August, our stake had Elder Richard G. Scott come speak to us at a special fireside to commemorate our Stake's 80th anniversary. It was pretty awesome, and we got to shake his hand. That was pretty sweet.

September started and we both started school. Samuel is taking 18 credits and I am taking 6 credits. I am taking American Heritage up at the Salt Lake Center, so on Thursdays we get to spend a lot of time with each other. It's really nice. I love it. Samuel has been very busy with work and school, and I keep busy with school and keeping the house in order and working on my photography skills. Yesterday, Pres. Monson came and spoke at our devotional at BYU and that was really neat. The Marriot Center was packed, but definitely way worth it. We are keeping quite busy, and everyday we get more and more excited for our little girl to get here. I am in the 3rd trimester now, so its getting close. Time is going to fly by so fast. Next post, I will have to post some of the most recent pictures I have taken!!! Loves!!!

It's a girl!!! :D

2009-07-29T16:50:00.006-06:00

So yesterday we went to the doctor for a check up and for our 20 week ultrasound!! We found out that our little one will be a little girl!! We will be naming her Amilee Grace and she will be here in December. We are really excited. Samuel knew all along that it was a girl. He said he had dreams about her. You know, its funny to think about, but I feel so young having a baby and all, but now that I think about it, I am following in the footsteps of my mom. She was the same age when she got married and same age when she had a baby and same amount of time being married as well, or close to it. So it's fun.
Here are some ultrasound pictures!!!

We are very excited for the new addition to our family! She has a great family ready to love her and care for her forever as an eternal family!!

The last month or so has been busy. We have both been working a lot and we had a couple Sunday barbecues. I went up to school with Samuel a couple of weeks ago and we got to take some fun pictures in Salt Lake. We will be doing the same thing tomorrow too. I am really excited!!

We are about to celebrate our 1 year anniversary. We don't have any official plans yet, but it seems like time has just flown by. It seems like yesterday that we were just getting engaged.

Samuel's mom, Jolene and family are coming to visit in a couple of weeks. I love spending time with them. We miss them. We miss all our family and wish we could be closer!!!

I think that's it for now. We are just enjoying life and are excited to buy baby stuff!!! :D

Oh the summer

2009-06-18T13:38:00.002-06:00

So it has been a long time. I am a horrible blogger, but I guess things have been kind of busy. I haven't written since March, so I guess I can do an update month by month because a lot of things have happened.
Let's start with April
Samuel's parents came to visit the first week of April because Steve (Samuel's step dad)'s son Trevor and his wife had a beautiful baby girl, Abagail. We got to spend a lot of time with them. Jolene, Katie and I had girls' night during the priesthood session of conference and we ate at Goodwood and went to see The Knowing. It was really fun. My play for New Play Project also showed that week. The whole family came opening night and we went out for pie afterwards. We had some family dinners and that was nice. Samuel and I both finished up finals for winter semester and we were excited for a fun summer and a nice little break. We also found out that I was pregnant, and not doing too good, so April was a rough month for us.
In May, we moved to Samuel's Grandpa Bezzant's basement. We love it here. It is beautiful. I celebrated my 20th birthday and had a little get together and that was really fun. We haven't done too much this month except work a lot and have some family get togethers. One of the many good things about living at grandpa's is that we get to see the family a lot and that is really nice. At the end of the month, we went to the doctor and heard the heart beat of the baby and that was pretty exciting. We also got ready for our trip to Texas for Chris' graduation from high school.
June started with our trip to Texas. We loved being there. We did a lot. One of the high lights of the trip was the No Doubt concert. They played with Paramore and I love both of them. I have been a fan of No Doubt for a very long time and I wanted to see them in Utah, but things didn't work, so it was sweet getting to see them at home. They put on an awesome show. We saw a lot of friends and family and that was fun. We ate at some sweet restaurants since Utah Valley doesn't really have too much. It's sad actually. There are so many things they are missing out on without the restaurants. Graduation was fun. I can't believe my little brother is 18 and done with high school. It seems weird. But it is also weird that I have been married almost a year and I am pregnant. Man, how things change. On the way home, we were told that Samuel's cousin Kristan had died, so that slightly dampened our trip home. But we were still excited because we knew that Jolene was here because Katie was at EFY this week. Despite the rough circumstances, we still did a lot with Jolene. She bought us a ton of stuff for food storage and that was way sweet. We are really excited about that. I got to meet people in the family that I had yet to meet. The viewing was Friday night and Saturday morning and then Saturday at noon was funeral. The viewing was hard for me; I don't do too good with things like that. But the funeral was very beautiful. The spirit was there to help ease the pain and start the grieving process. It was very nice. It was nice having family here. We had a full house for a little bit. Next week, I go to the doctor for another baby check-up, so more news to come.
But that's a good update for now.

Oh how time flies

2009-03-04T21:21:00.002-07:00

Wow, I feel like I never get on here, and maybe I don't. Life is just busy. School is difficult along with work and church and trying to spend time together. We love it, but oh man, it is busy. I don't think anything too new has happened. We are just enjoying school. Samuel was pretty sick this last week, and still is not feeling all the way better. He needs to get more sleep, which seems impossible. I just have a little cold, so it is not as bad as Samuel has been feeling.
For the next month ish, I will be an assistand director for the New Play Project. It's this program in Provo for amateur play writes and actors and directors. It is all volunteer. The plays are awesome, the actors are great, and the directors are inspired. And I was just chosen as an assistant director. I start that tomorrow. I am really excited. I think this is something I will really like doing.
Friday is a really special day for us. My old roommate and best friend, Kasey, is getting married inthe Jordan River temple. I am really excited for her!! We can't wait. We are also going to the Draper temple open house, and we are excited to see the new temple also. I am also going to the doctor to get my knee looked at because it is not doing too good!! Pray that it is not surgery.
The weather has been way nice here lately. The last few days have been in the seventy's. I love it. However, we are supposed to be getting this crazy storm tomorrow and continued through this weekend, so that is no bueno. Provo has a weird winter-spring transition. It can't quite make up it's mind on what it really wants.
We are doing really well, just stressed a bit, but we love each other and we are doing what's right, so that helps. We love all of you!! Happy Wishes!!

Winter semester so far

2009-01-29T12:38:00.001-07:00

Sorry, it has been a while! We have just been busy with Christmas and school!! Christmas was really nice. Sam's mom and step dad and sister came to Provo, so we got to spend a few days with them. For Christmas eve and Christmas, we went to my grandparents in Idaho, and got to spend some nice time with them. We made out pretty good for our First Christmas and we really enjoyed making and creating our own traditions.
Samuel and I are both doing school this semester and working about thirty hours each. Samuel goes to LDSBC and takes a bus every morning at 5. It's really really, but he loves it. He loves his school. I love school too. It is a lot of reading, but I do love it. I have some really good teachers! We bought a new computer today! We are really excited about it.

There is more to write, but this will be continued later!

Our First Thanksgiving!! :D

2008-12-02T09:15:00.002-07:00

So we took a little vacation this week for our first Thanksgiving together. We went to Northern California to the the Hood-Bezzant cabin off of Lake Almanor, near Chester and Susanville. We left Tuesday afternoon to head up there and got there around one in the morning. We went immediately to sleep and crashed. But as soon as the sun was up Wednesday morning, we were awake. Samuel's mom, Jolene, was up cooking breakfast for everyone. We ate and then got ready for the day. Then we started cooking food for Thanksgiving. We made some pies, stuffing, and a few other things. We played some games, ate lunch and dinner, and just enjoyed the family together. Steve, Jolene's husband, and John, Samuel's brother, had been fishing all morning and brought home a couple of fish to eat. I heard they were pretty tasty. But I didn't eat them. We watched Wall-E that night. I liked it, but I thought it was very political, but still a good movie.
Thursday morning, we woke up and started getting things ready for Thanksgiving and more family started to arrive. Dan (Jolene's brother) and Susan and their kids came and Mark and Julie (Jolene's sister) and their kids were also present, along with their cute dog. I loved playing with their dog, since I haven't seen mine in a while. We had appetizers during the day, and then had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner. It is a cabin tradition to have Martenelli's with dinner, so that's what we had. After dinner, we played more games, took naps, and just kind of did whatever for the rest of the night. Before bed, we ate pie and played more games and then headed off to sleep.
Friday morning, we got up and Dan had started making some french toast for breakfast. We then got ready to go up into the forest to cut down our Christmas tree. (another cabin tradition). Jolene also made rice krispie trees that were green and had red hots. They were perfect for the occasion. :D After returning home, we played games, ate, watched some football and got ready to go into Chester. The day after Thanksgiving, Chester does a thing like trick or treating through the stores and you get free food and also a parade. We were in the parade this year. It was actually kind of fun, even though, we were slightly dreading it. We went into a few stores and got cider, peppermint ice cream, meatballs, cookies, etc. It was fun, but we were ready to go home and play some games. We played a lot of games. We then packed that night because we were heading to Rocklin, near Sacramento, the next morning.
Saturday morning, we said bye to everyone and headed to Rocklin, where Sam's dad, John lives. We went over to Glen's house (John's brother) for a really good lunch. Everything was awesome. We also played the Wii and the Wii fit. I really liked the Wii fit. We might invest in one. They were really fun. John's brothers and sisters all chipped and bought each of the couples some really nice casserole dishes, since they couldn't attend our weddings. They were really nice. We then went back to Sam's dad house and looked at pictures of the boys when they were little, played more games, and ate dinner. We stayed in a hotel that night and Sam's little sisters and Suz, (his step mom) made us some little gift baskets. They are so thoughtful.
Sunday morning, we woke up, went to Sacrament meeting, and then headed home. We got home around 9:30, so not too bad. As fun as our trip was, I was still looking forward to heading home. I wanted to sleep in my own bed. I really enjoyed the trip. I enjoyed getting to know more family and getting to meet more family. It was a lot of fun. We are decorating our tree tonight, so I will get pictures up very soon!! Lots of love!! and Happy Holidays!!

Our first blog

2008-11-21T12:09:00.003-07:00

So we have decided to start blogging! We are loving life. We are both working at the Training Table Restaurant again, where Sam has become a manager. It's a good life. We are getting ready to go and spend some time with Samuel's family for Thanksgiving in California. We are really excited because this semester has been very long. So far, we are loving being married. We have a lot of fun together. We both cook a lot. And try to spend as much time together, since we are both really busy. We usually go to the temple on Tuesdays, and we have started on our Food Storage. We are pretty excited about getting that started. We have been called as the chairs of the Acitivities Committees in our ward and right now, we are working on our ward's Christmas party. I think it will go well. We are getting to know more people and meeting friends! And overall, life is going well!! We love it!