Third Year....

Aviel Shopping..

2011-08-29T08:56:00.000-07:00

Aviel's aunt Jaclyn told us of a neat little trick to help toddlers build up confidence and start walking a little sooner. Aviel loves pushing everything now. She refuses to be sat is her stroller or in the shopping cart. She would much rather be pushing it.

Aviel Walking and Cleaning...

2011-08-28T09:06:00.000-07:00

Idaho Falls Zoo

2011-08-25T12:16:00.001-07:00

Last week Shawn took a Saturday off to spend some time with Aviel and I. We tried to make the most of our time together, so we went to the little zoo in Idaho Falls. I was actually pretty impressed with how many animals there were. Shawn's favorite animal were the black swans. Aviel loved the camels and the lions. I think that these were the easiest for her to spot. My favorite animal was the red panda. They reminded me of Aviel. Cute and small.

Here is Aviel hatching out of a little egg. She got some new shoes she loves walking around in. She is a full toddler now. She crawls maybe 20% of the time.

Aviel and the Bagleys

2011-07-14T19:43:00.001-07:00

Gran and Papa came to visit for a baptism and a baby blessing. Aviel was a little tired, but very entertained by both of them. She even snuggled into Papa, which is something she only does with Shawn and I. Pretty cute. Gran came home from shopping and spoiled her with even more attention. Aviel is so lucky to have cool grandparents who take care of her and play with her. We went to a friends little girls BBQ last weekend. Aviel felt like a pro racer in the sporty little car. She was pretty tired, again. We had just climbed the 'R' mountain about an hour before, but she was a great sport and loved the watermelon.
Baby update! Liam is now bigger than Aviel was when she was born. He feels a lot stronger and I am a lot more sore and tired than I was with her. I hope to carry him full term and have a big healthy boy. I just can't imagine getting much fatter than I am now!

St. George Trip!

2011-06-09T18:13:00.000-07:00

One of Shawn's bosses daughters got married last week and daddy paid for her to go to St. George for a couple days. By agreeing to be gone for the weekend, Shawn was allowed to bring Aviel and me. We loved it down there. Beautiful sunny days, lots of swimming and splash parks, visiting the Walker side of the family; all paid for by the big boys. What more could we want?
Here are Shawn and Aviel at the St. George temple. It was pretty bright outside. And Aviel splashing at the park. She loved it! I was afraid she cry and get cold but she actually crawled for the spouts. She lasted about 5 minutes before I grabbed her to sit her in the sun so she could dry off. She was shivering and cold, but she wanted to go right back in.
She figured out the headsets on the way back. She doesn't have much fat on her, but the headset squished what she did have.

Our Lil' Guy

2011-05-23T18:26:00.000-07:00

Much to Shawn's relief, our little boy is still a little boy. Everyone kept telling us horror stories of the gender changing due to ultrasound tech errors. But our ladies had the gender pinned down 6 weeks ago. We had a 3-D ultrasound for the first time ever. Here is how it turned out.
He is very healthy and seems to be the right size.
Aviel turned one last Thursday! She was a little tired by the time we got around to her party, but she did pretty well. We sure are proud of how well she is doing. She crawls everywhere and gets into everything. She will climb the first step or two of a set of stairs and wait for me to notice before trying to climb all the way up before I can catch her. It has become her favorite game, and I love making her giggle all the way up by making loud sounds and calling her name. This is a pic a friend took after Shawn had landed in the Stearman. Aviel was at the airport to watch him land and taxi.

How to Gain Weight

2011-05-14T18:25:00.000-07:00

Aviel is doing very well. She crawls around and gets into everything. We introduced her to grass and now she wants to play outside all day. Her first word was "Dadda" followed by "Uh-oh!".
My teenage sister lives in our basement. I yell down the stairs to tell her when breakfast is ready or when she needs to leave for school. I was doing so one morning when I noticed Aviel copying me. She was standing up holding onto the railings and yelling gibberish down the stairs at Veronica. It was pretty funny. It is weird what she picks up on. Now she yells at poor Veronica all the time. She is going to be a great mother some day.
Her occupational therapist is excited by how fast she is developing. His only concern was how slowly she seems to be gaining weight. She is a year next week and weighs under 15 lbs. I think they like to see them at about 22 lbs. He asked us to start feeding her whip cream to try and help her put on some weight. She loves eating the nasty stuff, so it works pretty nicely.

2011-04-16T18:31:00.000-07:00

"HI, DADA"

I may be a little biased, but, Avi is not only saying her first word here, but also her first sentence. She has babbled Dadadada for some time now, but the recent development of her adding a subtle "hi" beginning the word gives her a few sentences.

A few of these sentences are:

"Hi, Da"

"Hi, Dada"

and "Hi, Dadphth"

Just one more reason I have the best daughter ever.

Shawn

Aviel in her stunna shades...

2011-04-07T17:45:00.001-07:00

Here is Aviel with her newest accessory. Pretty freakin' cute.

Aviel's Tooth

2011-03-02T09:55:00.001-08:00

Now that I have time, I want to tell you more about Aviel's first teeth. As you can see, she is just starting to break a second tooth next to the first. The first tooth has been very elusive to pictures until this one. She liked to cover it up with her tongue. When we give her apples you can hear her tooth scraping the apple. We are very proud of our daughter, who is actually ahead in her solid eating milestones.

Avi's WWII Experience (And First Solo)

2011-02-20T08:13:00.000-08:00

Yesterday (Saturday February 19, 2011) was Aviel's 9 month birthday. As her gift of reaching that pinnacle, we took her to the Legacy Flight Museum to try her hand at a few of the planes and jeeps.

First Chantal and I put her in the Mormon Mustang, to get her revved up for this year's airshow season. I was impressed that as soon as she hopped in the Mustang, she immediately familiarized herself with the plane. As you can see, she got a feel for the throttle and the stick.
She insisted we take up the plane, so we let her. Here's some in-flight pictures of Aviel flying the Mormon Mustang.
In the Picture above, Aviel is taxiing for take-off. Note that the canopy is open and she is looking to the side, as she S-turns to see over the long nose.This is Aviel pulling out of a loop. The strain in her face is due to the high G-loading.

At the end of her flight, we thought it appropriate to take a nostalgic fighter-pilot picture at the side of her plane.
We thought she looked rather heroic in this picture.
When she was done flying, she told us she was hungry, so to top off the WWII experience she drove the WWII Willies Jeep to get some food.

Blood clots and a new job...

2011-01-17T12:39:00.000-08:00

My poor mother noticed her leg was a little tight about a month ago. She decided to take it easy and only run 3 miles a day instead of her regular 7. And then her right shoulder began to hurt very badly. Mom had a hard time sleeping because of the pain. She thought it was a pinched nerve, and, having no insurance, tried to tough it out. Last Tuesday I called her about getting Veronica on some kind of state insurance and my poor Mother Dearest could barely talk. She claimed it felt like her lungs were always tired. She couldn't bend down to kneel and pray. She could barely stand up once she had sat in a chair. And yet she refused to go in and see what was happening. I talked to her about it being a problem that she could barely breathe. Breathing is a big part of my life. She finally went in Tuesday afternoon. She saw a regular doctor, but was quickly rushed to the ER. They did x-rays and found that her lungs were almost completely full of blood clots. Her shoulder hurt because there were blood clots lined up in her arteries trying to make it into her lungs. Her left leg was completely full of clots. She had to have a line ran into her veins from her hip into her calf. The line whipped up the blood clots and got the blood thinners directly into the middle of all the mess. 5 days in the ICU and she was discharged; feeling much better and being able to breath pretty well. She still has a filter in her chest to prevent clots from getting into her heart. I love my mommy and I am glad she is ok.
And Shawn got a new job that he absolutely loves. We are a very blessed family.

Can't Get Enough of Aviel Marie

2011-01-05T10:30:00.000-08:00

As the mother, I get to stay home and take care of this little bundle of joy. In Shawn's words, she is pretty stinking cute. She is becoming mobile and loves rolling everywhere. I have to keep an eye on her or she will get herself hurt. She rolled into the stair railing today and hooked her leg. She had the saddest little cry but luckily I got to her before she got hurt. Her personality is coming out. She seems like a pretty happy little baby.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-29T17:36:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas this year. Growing up, my mom always did two things around Christmas time. She baked treats for the neighbors and we lit candles every Sunday and on Christmas Eve. Having more Davison in the house with my little sister coming to live with us, we decided to keep with the traditions.

Aviel got a lot of cool presents. I hope she doesn't become spoiled. Her is a picture of her and a little present from her fav Grandpa. Shawn has a mustang silver tie pin and I have a matching necklace. And now Aviel has a little piece as well.

Holding Her Own

2010-12-15T08:47:00.000-08:00

Shawn's birthday was yesterday. He turned 25. In the last year he has graduated college, gotten a job, and acquired a baby and a 16-year old. My little sister Veronica is living with us for the next two years.
And then there is Aviel holding her bottle like a big girl. She has gotten to where she loves to hold our fingers and walk around the house. It is pretty cute to see. She looks like a newborn walking around.

Thanksgiving Weekend

2010-12-03T18:11:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving, we all went down to Orem, UT. Utah was supposed to have the storm of the century. Hospitals, colleges, and roads were closed down. When the storm did eventually hit, it was pathetic. Orem received a 'trace' of snow. My youngest sister, Olivia, was so disappointed.
Grandpa Hart made a delicious ham and turkey. Poor man. He is a great cook, but the doctors told him to lose the weight and go in for back surgery. He was about 276 and he made it down to the 230's Thanksgiving morning. 239.5, but the 230's non the less. As someone who loves good food, I feel for you Grandpa.
Nacelle, his wife, made the best yams, which just happens to be my personal favorite.
Olivia, Kamilla, Veronica, and I played football all morning. We got a little carried away with the face paint. Then we went and visited the Davisons. They absolutely love Shawn. They ask his opinion on everything. We don't know what he did to make them worship him, but its all good.
Curtis and Melanie came over with their girls to salvage what leftover they could. At about 5 o'clock, most of the girls under 25 went for a walk to try and work some of the food off. It was so cold. The little girls, Sara, 5, and Brynn, 9, did great. It ended up being about 1.5 miles. Felt good though.
Black Friday came and went with our family only spending 50 dollars on new work shirts for Shawn and a onsie for Aviel. The onsie says,"Party. My crib. 3 a.m.". Its so true we couldn't pass it up.
Friday night we went to the temple to see all the Christmas lights. Breathtaking.
We left Saturday morning and beat the blizzard home.

Before:1 Month-After: 6 Months

2010-11-17T07:05:00.000-08:00

Here is Aviel at about 5 weeks when she had only been home for two days. So different and yet her personality really hasn't changed. Still curious and cute. She weighed a little over 3 lbs. and was about 17 inches long. She had to eat 1.5 oz of high calorie mix of milk and formula every 3 hours. She slept about 2 hours and would be awake for about 30 minutes at a time. Shawn and I were still getting used to being able to hold without having to worry about pulling monitors off of her body. We had to visit the doctors twice a week.

Here she is today. She has been talking a lot lately. She is also sleeping about 5 hours at a time during the night. This is so nice for both Shawn and me. She will take about three 2 hour naps throughout the day. She eats one jar of solids every day and about 6 oz of milk every 3 hours. She has normal check-ups like any other baby.

Aviel at 5.5 months

2010-11-02T14:08:00.000-07:00

Sixth Crossing

2010-10-26T13:54:00.000-07:00

150 year ago-Hoping for more supply wagons, the Willie Company waited until October 23rd, before undertaking the worst ordeal of their journey...the five mile climb over Rocky Ridge in a howling snow storm with eighteen- to twenty-four inches of snow on the ground. The total distance between campsites was approximately twelve miles and took some emigrants over twenty hours. Wagons and handcarts were taken back to help many that had given up and laid beside the roadside.
Shawn and I were going to go visit Dad and Lue, but Shawn got called on a business trip. Tamazine agreed to go with me.
Here we are on Rocky Ridge. The little girl with me is also named Shantell. Pronounced just like my name.

Rocky Ridge. It wasn't too hard to walk over, but it was pretty hard to push the handcart over. And we only had maybe about 30 lbs of stuff in it. Atleast it looked hard. I was just carrying Aviel.

Here is Aviel bundled up for the day. She actually got a little too warm on the 7 mile walk.

The pioneers used buffalo chips as firewood. We tried cow chips with poor results.

I know she looks a little concerned in the picture, but Aviel absolutely loves her gran. It was nice for me to get a break from taking care of her every now and again.

Dad carried Aviel's carseat everywhere for me. Again, it was nice to get a break from lugging that around.

Shawn was so bummed out he couldn't come with us, but he wants to come next month.
We love you, Dad and Lue. Proud to call you family. Take care of each other and we will keep fattening up little Aviel.

General Conference Weekend

2010-10-12T11:47:00.001-07:00

I know these are close to two weeks late. Just took me a while to get the pictures uploaded. But here they are.
There was a forest fire somewhere in the area. The dust particles in the air give the sun light a lot to reflect off of and this makes for very vivid sunsets.

Here is a bunch of cuddle bugs. Shawn, Aviel, Lleida, and Cairo.

Here is Aviel ready for a walk. I kifed the baby carrier off the Brunsons.

This is Aviel starting solids all on her own. Too cute.

Lleida and Cairo had a good old fashioned jousting match where they tried to push each other off of our backs. The girls won this one.

Jackson Hole

2010-09-26T09:37:00.001-07:00

Fall has finally arrived. The leaves on the trees look beautiful. Don't worry, Dad. When they start to fall we will make sure they get raked off of your lawn.
The very first time Shawn and I decided we might really like each other, we started holding hands. That night Shawn drove me to Jackson, WY. It is a cute little town with a western theme. We held hands and walked around looking in store windows. We found an very old looking Hotel and looked around inside. Some of the doors have amazing carvings.
That was about 3 years ago. In memory of our dating days, we decided to make a day trip to Jackson. We packed some food and headed out. Aviel slept the whole drive and missed out on the cool Fall colors.

Here we are at the park before our walk.

This is Shawn and Aviel walking on the boardwalks.

The old Hotel mentioned above.

Splish Splash

2010-09-20T11:15:00.001-07:00

We are going to have a little swimmer in the family. Aviel LOVES taking baths. As soon as she hears the water running she starts cooing and kicking around.

I took this on my phone, then flix messaged it to my e-mail. That is why it is so small.
We had a doctors appointment today and she is up to 7lbs 3.5oz. The doctors are excited by how alert and smart she is. Her little head is a little flat on one side, but the doctors weren't concerned with it at all. We just lay her on her right side when she is going down for a nap. When she wakes up she get tummy time. She can't pick her head off the ground yet, but again the doctors said her head is so big compared to her little body, that this really isn't concerning.
Shawn is driving truck for grain harvest and he comes home covered in dust and grain. Everyone has hayfever, even little Aviel. She sneezes about every hour or so.

Professional Pics

2010-08-09T18:03:00.000-07:00

I spy..with my little eye...

2010-07-30T17:38:00.001-07:00

Hahaha..I love this picture. Shawn went downstairs with Avi to grab some freshly dried clothes. He plunked her in the basket and she was asleep by the time she came back upstairs. I do not look like this everyday, just on depressing wash days.

Huge Mile Marker

2010-07-29T09:43:00.000-07:00

Aviel Marie Bagley is over 5 lbs!! She doesn't seem near as fragile as she did 2 lbs and one month ago. The doctor who delivered is tickled pink with how well she is doing.
1) She started smiling about a week ago. That has become our new favorite hobby, finding things that will make Avi smile.
2) Aviel is able to follow objects with her eyes pretty well. Yesterday she got some professional pictures taken. She followed the camera around with those beautiful little blue eyes.
3) Our little miracle loves being outside. She was crying for about ten minutes one evening so I decided to wrap her up and take her around the block. As soon as I stepped outside she quieted down and fell asleep. Some people put their babies in a car and drive them around. We just take a turn around the block and she is out like a light.
4) She fits into newborn clothes. Well, most brands of newborn clothes. She looks so cute in little onsies. And those are a lot cheaper than the preemie sleepers she had. Grandma Bagley got her the cutest little blue and white dress before Aviel was born. I am so excited for her to grow into it.
I will post the professional pics when they are ready. A sister in our ward did it as a gift for us. Pretty sweet gift.

Baby Blessing

2010-07-19T16:09:00.001-07:00

Aviel's baby blessing was a wonderfully spiritual experience. As a teenager, I would have to ask friends for priesthood blessings. I am so grateful for the worthy priesthood holder who leads our family. Shawn is a great husband and father. He helps with our little daughter whenever he can and makes sure I get a break every now and again. How different our lives would be without the gospel. I love you, Shawn. You are my best friend.

All the Bagley siblings.

My favorite bishop and dear friend, Don Snow, was able to make it.

This is my moms dad. The man who raised him was Anson. This picture speaks a thousand words. If the spirit hadn't touched Harold's heart, he wouldn't have become a member. But he did, and so my mom was baptized, and so I was baptized. I went to a church school and met Shawn. In comes beautiful little girl who gets a baby blessing. And I have Grandpa Hart to thank.

Shawn holding little Aviel after the her blessing.

Dad, Avi, and me. I hope her eyes lighten up to something like his or Shawns. We Davison's are suckers for blue eyes. Out of 9 children, 7 of us have brown eyes.

4 lbs 6 oz!!

2010-07-14T18:58:00.000-07:00

Aviel had her two month check up this morning. She weighed in at a whopping 4 lbs 6 oz. She probably lost about an oz from screaming after a mean old nurse gave her four shots. She is in the 2nd percentile for her height. Not bad, all things considered. Little Avi isn't on the charts for any other measurements, but that is ok. She will be soon if she keeps gaining a lb every 2 wks. She slept the rest of the morning until Daddy came home, and then decided to stay awake for some quality Daddy daughter time.

Running Ad

2010-07-10T14:58:00.000-07:00

If all we want to do is feel good about ourselves, jogging is the ticket. It doesn't challenge us. It doesn't test us. It doesn't exact a physical or psyhological toll. Worst case scenario is, jogging may cause mild perspiration on color-coordinated sweat suits. But if we are willing to push ourselves into uncharted territory, a place littered with broken bodies and remnants of the human psyche, running may be what we're looking for. Without question, it dishes out more heaping helpings of humble pie than any sport we know of. Little wonder so few people have the testicular fortitude to lace up and run like an animal.

Almost 2 Months

2010-07-10T13:02:00.000-07:00

Thanks Mom and Dad

2010-06-30T16:07:00.000-07:00

Avi was stuck wearing only boy preemie clothing. She hates collars and all the little girl outfits seemed to have collars. Mom found some really darling outfits w/o them and Avi now looks like a little lady. Here is our favorite. She is sporting a cute beanie made by none other than Dad himself. Pretty impressive handiwork. Thanks Mom and Dad.

Aviel Having Back Time

2010-06-28T05:44:00.000-07:00

Adjusting to Avi

2010-06-25T13:24:00.000-07:00

Life with Avi is like the Hood to Coast Relay. Intense activity followed by little bits of sleep. Shawn is a big help and pitches in when I need a break. He is a geat father and husband.

I love my little family.

Home Sweet Home

2010-06-22T15:28:00.001-07:00

Here is little Aviel at about 3.25 lbs. She is adjusting to life without beeping and other babies crying very well. We checked out of the hospital, moved out of Scott's and Rakell's, and came home. Shawn got her out of her car seat and introduced her to the house. Avi approved. She stared at everything for about two hours.
Shawn and I are so grateful for all the blessings we have, especially our little miracle of a daughter, who is grunting in her sleep. I better go check on her again.

One month old!

2010-06-18T08:12:00.001-07:00

2010-06-09T17:33:00.000-07:00

Aviel was bundled up after getting washed so Chantal could "do her hair" without her crying. It's hard to be beautiful. She became very content once she was wrapped up.

Sitka

2010-03-20T11:18:00.000-07:00

So we're super slow on updating our blog but here's some pics from our Christmas trip to Sitka.

This is our niece Heidi. Shawn and Heidi took a walk on New Years Day for three hours. On their way back they decided to go to Swan Lake, which had just frozen enough for people to start walking on.

Beautiful Sitka!! Views like this everywhere.

Shawn and Heidi on their 3 hours walk. They are standing on Swan Lake. The story goes there was one swan on the lake, hence the name. But then someone shot it. Maybe I am sick, but I think that is actually pretty funny.

Mason having fun in the dryer with a little piggy. I don't know who the little piggy is. Maybe Heidi? Maybe Shawn?

Here is my oldest sister, Rochelle. You can't really tell, but she is about 4 months prego in this picture. I am about a month behind her.

I love this picture of Mason. He turns two in a few months. Pretty cute little boy with the longest eye lashes I have ever seen.

Baby Girl!!

2010-02-19T13:47:00.001-08:00

Here are her little feet. Kind of hard to make out.
The 2nd pic is a profile of her little face. She is a little small for her age, but nothing to worry about. She was squirming during the first half of ultrasound, but then fell asleep towards the end. So cute.

Its Been a Little While

2009-10-29T19:58:00.000-07:00

Wow. Sorry I have updated in forever.

Shawn and I are both on track this semester. Seems like school will never end. Shawn has two more semesters and I have three. He is graduating in Business Communication and I am in Finance.

I work at a cool little business here in town called OpenBook, (http://www.openbookit.com/). I am the customer relations manager. I upsale our existing customers and make sure everyone stays happy. It is a good job; flexible with my hours and decent pay.

Shawn has a couple students here and there. The weather is just getting worse and worse, so its hard to teach flight instruction. But anytime he has time and the sky is clear, you can bet he is up.

Well. That is about all that we have been doing lately.

We built one of these in August. It is hard, hot work. But we take home a pretty decent paycheck. There was one day when it rained, but it wasn't too cold. It was nice to just feel rain on my face. Weird what things you miss when you leave Washington.

And another pretty cool thing. Shawn has been flying Ole Yeller. That is the yellow plane his dad usually flies. His dad now flies another mustang called The Mormon Mustang. Cool, huh?

And Life Carries On...

2009-06-05T15:29:00.000-07:00

Tamazine, my little sister, doesn't have school on Fridays so I decided to take her mt biking. It was very scenic and made me even more homesick than I already am.

Everything was going great for a couple of miles. And then Tamazine's back tire got a thorn stuck in it. Luckily, we had a patch kit. We stopped and took the tire apart. And that is when the mosiquitos seized their chance. Tamazine killed three of them with one swat. It didn't help that we were wearing shorts. They tried to carry Tamazine off, but she swatted diligently at both of our legs while I tried to patch the tube. Patch didn't work. We were out of rubber cement. We found a shortcut, I rode my bike back as fast as a I could to get the truck before Tamazine lost too much blood to the suckers. That was the end of biking for the day. We had fun and are ready to try it again. The trail goes all the way from Ashton to West Yellowstone. It will be conquered.

Our little neice Juliet!!

2009-05-26T06:12:00.000-07:00

Brandi, Shawns sister, took the kids to Disneyland and left her youngest, Juliet, with Shawn and I for a little over a week. She is doing a lot better than we thought and actually seems to enjoy all the attention we give her. Shawn loves playing with her.

She likes pretzels, baby ducks, and sitting in any water she can find. I took her to a little nature park here in town. The baby ducks just hatched. Juliet was not content with watching from the side. She had to get in the water. I took off her shoes and rolled up her pants. The water was very warm and it was about 80 outside. She dipped her toes in at first, then both feet, then she bent over and tried to drink from this big pond. I grabbed her out and sat her on a chair. That lasted about thirty seconds before she wanted to go back in.

The house...finally..

2009-04-08T15:35:00.000-07:00

Ok. Lots of pictures. The first is of our living room. Its finals

weeks. Little messy. All the furniture is from Shawn's parents.
The second is our backyard. Yes, that is our neighbors house. Our little puppies aren't so little.

This is my cedar chest. I love it. It has all my precious stuff
in it. I got it for Christmas last year.

There is an outside view of the house.

Kitchen. My favorite place to be. It is nice to have counter space. And cupboard space.

And Shawn's favorite place. It is nice to have
a place to store the vechicles in the winter.

Puppies!!!!

2009-02-08T06:44:00.000-08:00

So..for an early Valentine's Day present, Shawn took me to the animal shelter here in Rexburg and let me pick out my favorite puppy. Here he is. His name is Charlie. He is terrier/lab mix. I have yet to hear him bark. Seems intelligent. Defintely cute...as you can see -------->

While there, Shawn met another girl and fell in love. He couldn't stop looking into her big brown eyes. He loved everything about her...the way she walked..her cute little butt...she was a redhead, I just couldn't compete. And then she opened her mouth and Shawn was hooked. She barked the first night we left her alone, but only for five minutes. And now, two days later, she doesn't bark at all. She is pretty smart. She doesn't jump up on people or nip, like Charlie does.

I am glad we got two puppies. They keep each other company and they learn from each other. When we took them on their first walk with leashes, Susan, Shawn's dog, was having a hard time being led. She fought the leash until Charlie went and nipped at her. It was pretty cute.

Shawn's Art....

2009-01-24T12:11:00.000-08:00

So as Chantal and I were driving early in the winter we saw the perfect photo opportunity. This is not our house directly under the temple but we liked the clouds and piercing sunrise. Go temple!

X-Country Skiing!!

2009-01-24T11:57:00.000-08:00

Ok. So we finally did something worth blogging about. And we brought a camera. And took a few pictures when we could remember.

I don't know why I am smiling like that. Probably just so happy I am on my feet and not my seat. You can barely see in the picture, but there are a few trumpeter swans up to the left of my head.

And there is Shawn. Sorry it is a little fuzzy. Doesn't he look cute in his cowboy hat?
We rented x-country skis for 20 bucks at the college and drove up by Island Park. It was beautiful and we got there early enough to miss the crowds. We went a good couple of miles and took breaks to snack and drink our water. It was so relaxing and quiet. It was snowing pretty hard when we got there, but stopped after about an hour. It was sooo much fun. The perfect date.

Fishing at its best...

2008-12-12T16:22:00.000-08:00

This is a pic of my little sister Kamilla fishing up in Canada. You can't tell from the distance, but one her eyes was completely swollen shut. Looked pretty painful. That was a really fun trip and I had the picture saved, so there we are. The other picture is of a bunch of family. My little brother and I are a lot more alike than either of us would like to admit. We have the same terrible posture and the folded arms. Thats us leaning against the canoe. Love that little guy.

Shawn and I are doing great. We moved into a nice little house that we absolutely adore. We get to stay in it till April. We both just finished finals and both of us passed Accounting, which is the most tedious class ever. Shawn is doing flight instruction and I am training people at the gym. We both love our jobs and get just enough hours to make it work for us. My job picks up during New Years, (New Year resolutions) and his slows down, due to the weather. We are very happy and enjoy working out together, flying together, talking about our goals and dreams, and just being around each other.

Sorry it took me so long to update. I will do better.

Learning to fly!!

2008-09-24T15:38:00.000-07:00

Last week for date night we decided to go night flying and try to catch the moon rising. I had a blast. Shawn took off and then let me take the plane. It is a little decathlon. It is very responsive. I climbed to about where Shawn told me to, and then he taught me how to do slips. This is where you loss a lot of alititude without gaining airspeed. I usually get sick doing stuff, but because it was night and I was in the front seat, I felt fine.
Today we decided to take it up again and do some landings. I helped out on the last one and didn't do to shabby. Planes are pretty pricey, so you really don't want to be impulsive or rash. I am learning a lot. Once you get high enough up it is pretty easy. But take offs and landings can be tricky. Shawn is a great teacher and I am just eating it up.

Our new do's!!!

2008-09-16T19:21:00.000-07:00

I know what you thinking? What happened and why?!! Well Shawn thought he needed a haircut. It took me about 3 minutes to mess up enough to have to use a one on the back of his head. He was so sweet about it. As you can see, he is fast losing his hair. Before long he will have hair like his uncles...or should I say he won't have hair, like his uncles. I still love him as much as the long curly haired man I married. And my hair is blonde and short again. I just wanted a change. I was trying to let it grow out, but it was taking 4ever. It is fun to play with it.

This is how I feel sometimes...

2008-09-13T21:11:00.000-07:00

I love the Farside jokes. They are so funny but sadly very very true.

We are doing ok...

2008-09-12T19:51:00.000-07:00

I am guessing by now everyone has heard about our little baby. I thought I was 8 weeks. The doctors took a look and said 6 weeks. A week later I have a misscarriage. The baby was 9-10 weeks old with a heart beat. But it was less than half the size it should have been. It is for the best, we are sure. We love you all and we are doing better everyday.

Visit Curt and Mel!

2008-09-04T11:33:00.000-07:00

Shawn and I stopped in Utah and got to see Sarah off to her first day of school. She is one cutie patootie. We always love visiting Curt and Mel. Lots to do and see. Our day at Curt and Mels started off with a bowl of cereal and muffin. Then we watched a couple of episodes of the office with Sarah. Our favorite was the episode when Dwight traps a bat on Merediths head. Or maybe when Dwight is the hero and saves Jim's life. They are all so funny.

Then Shawn took me out to lunch at Sego Lily. It is a little french restuarant in Bountiful. Delicious. When we got back it was time for Sarah's first day of big kid school. We all went to drop her off.

We went to Gateway Mall for a couple hours and saw some cute skirts, bought some cute shirts, and ate delicious cookies with Mel. It was pretty fun!

3 Not-so-little Girls

2008-09-04T11:17:00.001-07:00

Here are what used to be the little girls. They are all so huge now. Well...taller and a little thicker. Cute and pretty. Olivia is in 5th grade now. She is pretty much an old fart. Kamilla is in 7th grade and ready to play sports. Veronica is a new freshmen. They are nice little girls who always listen to their mother.

Arizona!!!

2008-08-27T19:05:00.000-07:00

Shawn and I are in Arizona. Its beautiful here. We are staying on Route 66. It is just like it is in Cars. Well....sorta. There are lots of old buildings and histoirical sites. Its fun to ride around and watch the tourist checking everything out. Lots of Europeans. The community is very nice. Lots of old stuff. Nice nice old cars. I think I saw Mater. He was sleeping, but I could see buck teeth peeping out from the front bumper.