Bridgette, John and Gretal

Something in the making...

2011-02-23T07:20:00.001-08:00

I know I haven't posted in awhile, but there is something in the making...and no it's not another baby :) I am working on another blog, so keep checking back and hopefully soon (fingers crossed) it will be ready.

Bootcamp

2010-11-08T07:20:00.000-08:00

A month ago I started taking a bootcamp class...a very intense bootcamp class. I wanted to do something for me, and to make myself feel better and have more energy. I decided to take this class to help me jumpstart my body into wanting to workout again. That is exactly what it did. I am going on my second month and have signed up to keep going. I love it! The first week I was so sore I couldn't even walk up and down stairs without crying (well not really crying but I wanted to). Every morning taking a shower was hard because I couldn't even raise my arms to wash my hair. Some people may say that being that sore isn't good for you, but I thought it was wonderful. It showed me that I worked my butt off and that being this sore means my muscles are actually being worked and getting bigger. I never thought I would ever enjoy working out this much...but I actually get excited for class.
The gym where bootcamp is held is a few blocks from my house so I walk there Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings at 5:30am. (I thought waking up that early would stop me from going every day but it hasn't...I acutally like it because I can get home, take a shower and be ready for the day before Gretal wakes up). We do a mix of cardio and weight training circuits. It is intense. It is usually non-stop, the only time we stop between circuits is to take a drink or to get ready for the next circuit. I actually drip sweat (sorry you had to read that), the whole class...everyone does. When I first started a month ago, I was usually the last one done with each set, but after only a month I am usually done when everyone else is done, I am rarely last anymore. I've actually lost a an inch around my waist, an inch around my thighs, 3/4 of an inch around my arms and gained an inch around my butt (that's because it lifted:). I love this class!

If you are wondering what kind of stuff we do see their website: www.fitclubutah.com/boot-camp/ .

Deutschland and Austria and Oktoberfest

2010-10-30T10:31:00.001-07:00

I will let the pictures explain a lot of what we did here in Germany and Austria. We went to Megan's house for a few days to recover :) One day Megan and I went shopping in Trier while the guys took the babies and went to a few tourist areas (I had already been there last time I was in Germany). Of course we saw Oktoberfest, well Megan and I did the guys just saw the inside of the beer tents :) It's like a big fair, there are rides and food vendors, and souvenirs and a ton of people wearing lederhosen. The guys decided to go to the BMW museum before we drove down to Austria so Megan, the babies and I drove down to Austria...but half way there we smelt something funny coming from the back seat. Gretal had pooped and then played in it. There was poop on her, her clothes, the car seat, the car door, a balloon she was playing with, it was everywhere. We stopped at a gas station to clean it up but there was so much poop we had to pretty much hose everything off including Gretal.
In Austria it rained most of the time but we did get to see Hitler's Eagle's Nest and a few castles.
Overall we had a great time! I would never do it again with kids but we got to see a ton of stuff and we had some pretty cool experiences. I can't wait to go back and see more. I am thinking Italy next :)

We all went down to Amsterdam

2010-10-30T10:28:00.001-07:00

Amsterdam was fun, we were only there for 2 1/2 days so we didn't get to do a whole lot, but if you're not there to party, then there isn't really a lot to do. I had the best pancake I have had in my life (they are known for their pancakes, btw). This pancake was amazing. It was filled with bacon, sausage, cheese, mushrooms and then grilled (there is a picture above), yummy!!
We saw the Red Light District which was actually quite funny and interesting, and I think we all saw a few things that we really didn't want to see or hear :) We went to the Anne Frank House. By far (well besides the pancake) this was my favorite place to see in Amsterdam, I can't believe the things the family had to go through and it wasn't that long ago. We saw the Heineken factory and went to a wax museum as well. We got our pictures taken with quite a few celebrities that were visiting too!

I see London

2010-10-24T09:15:00.001-07:00

London! I love London!!! It was by far my favorite place we went on this vacation. The people are friendly and courteous, they speak Englishwith the coolest accent, they drive and walk on the left side of the road, the city is beautiful and clean, it is just an amazing place. Megan, the babies and I spent more time together without the guys here than other place, which was perfect :) The guys went to Stonehenge, and a soccer game while Megan and I went shopping at Piccadilli Circus and ate at the yummiest Italian restaurant I have ever eaten at. All together we saw the inside of Buckingham Palace (they only tour the inside for 2 months at the end of summer), the Changing of the Guard, the London Eye, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Tower Bridge, Tower of London and we went on a Jack the Ripper tour. I will definitely visit London again. (I don't care what John says!)

Paris

2010-10-23T08:16:00.001-07:00

Paris, the city of Romance, or something like that :)
We spent 4 days in Paris and we saw the Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, Arc De Triomphe, Champs Elysees, Catacombs, we took a bus tour around the city and saw parts of Paris that most tourists don't get to see, and we took the train out of town to the Palace of Versailles. We got lost, almost forgot a baby, watched baby fights and celebrated Gretal's first birthday! The first 4 days in Europe wore us out and we had just started :)

Yum Yum in my Tum Tum

2010-08-16T07:23:00.000-07:00

I have been on a cooking kick lately, and I am starting to really enjoy it, mostly because for one I am getting better at it and two I don't have a choice :)

A few weeks ago we had a family reunion in Great Falls Montana, and to raise money for the reunion we do an auction. Everyone is supposed to bring something to auction off. I brought two pies, one peach and one strawberry rhubarb (this is my fave, so I really didn't want to auction it off) :) I also made a few little pies for us to eat as well with the leftovers. So of course John, my dad and I dug into the small peach pie...it was gross! The peaches were still hard, and the crust was frozen (I put it in a mini fridge but it must have been too cold for pie). I was so sad, plus I had already put the big pie out for auction. Oops :) One of my great aunts bought it so hopefully she doesn't really remember who made it and hopefully she likes hard peach pie :)

My grandma bought the strawberry rhubarb. She shared it with some family that stayed after the reunion...they said it tasted great so I hope they weren't lying. My grandma is my biggest fan with the things I make, whether it be pie, bread or scrapboooking. She always tells me that I do a great job and she loves whatever it is I made (I think this may just be a part of being a grandma, but I don't care!). A few months ago my grandparents were in town visiting and my grandma taught me how to make her homemade bread (see all recipes below)...it is so yummy and if you do it right it tastes like heaven!

I have also made a very yummy banana bread,it's super moist yet crispy on the edges, just how I like it! I've made White Chili, I got this recipe from my cousin Emily. She made it for us once and we have been in love ever since. I also made pizza for us one night too. Personal Pan pizza's. They tasted just like Pizza Hut Pizza's.

Another really yummy recipe I made not too long ago is pulled pork sandwiches. I got the recipe out of a cookbook my mom gave me for Christmas (Refreshments Provided By 22nd Ward) and it's for Rio Pulled Pork. You know what the Rio is if you've visited me or have had Cafe Rio before. It's the best pork you have ever tasted! At the Rio they put it in tacos, burritos, salads, ect... but I put ours on a roll and it tasted amazing, especially with some provolone cheese, mmmmm!

Recipes:

Pie:
I got thisrecipe on the back of Bob's Red Mill Pastry Flour package for my crust, it's the best I've found.
2 cups of Bob's Red Mill Stoneground whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp sea salt
3/4 cup chilled butter
5-8 tbl cold water

Mix flour, and salt into large mixing bowl. Cut butter into 12 pieces and rub into dry ingredients until the mixture resembles a course meal with pea size pieces. Sprinkle water over mixture, 1 tbl at a time just until dough forms. Form dough into a ball. Cut in half and press into a thin disc shape. Wrap each disc in wax paper and put in fridge for 30 minutes before rolling. Makes 2 9" pie crusts.
Filling: Just use your favorite filling recipe!

Grandma Vance's Super Yummy Homemade Bread (that's my title for it anyway)
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup powdered milk or 1 cup regular milk minus water (I always use powdered milk)
2 1/2 tsp yeast
1 cup warm water (minus this if you used regular milk)
2 tbl honey or 2 tbl sugar (I've used both, honey is way better)
1 egg
4 tsp shortening

Mix all ingredients together in a bread maker. Put shortening in each corner of breadmaker (so 1 tsp in each corner). Let rise in maker. Take out doughand put in a greased loaf pan. Let rise again until 1/2 inch from top of pan (about 1/2 hour). Put in oven and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
For Scones: Let rise in maker, take out and make flat pieces about fist size, thicker around edges. Drop in a deep fat fryer or pan with 2 inches of oil.
For Rolls: Let rise in maker. Make rolls. Use thumb to make good rolls (put the dough on your thumb and pull down around your thumb). Put in greased 9x13 pan at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Moist Banana Bread

I got this recipe from allrecipes.com: http://allrecipes.com/bread/banana-bread-V/detail.aspx

White Chili from Emily
(This recipe takes about 2 1/2- 3 hours to make)

2 lbs or white beans (2 cans of white beans)
6 cups chicken broth
1 tsp chicken boullion
2 white onions (I don't like onions so I don't use this ingredient)
6-8 cloves of minced garlic
7 oz diced green chilis
4 tsp cumin
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp cayenne pepper
4 cups cooked and diced chicken (I used canned)
1 cup sour cream
3 cups shredded monterey cheese (I usually use 4 or so cups)

Combine beans, broth, and boullion in a large pan. Cover and simmer for 2 hours.
Saute onion and garlic.
Add everything else except sour cream and cheese. Simmer for 30 minutes.
Add sour cream and cheese. Cook until cheese melts.

Rio Pulled Pork

3 lbs Pork roast (butt or shoulder)
1 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp powdered ginger
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tbl dried minced onion (I don't usually have this so I didn't use it)
1 cup dark brown sugar (I use regular brown sugar)
1 can enchilada sauce

Cook all ingredients, except brown sugar and enchilada sauce, in a crock pot on day on low. Once hour before serving, remove pork roast and shred it. Dump out cooking juices. Put shredded pork back into crock pot and add brown sugar and enchilada sauce.

Personal Pan Pizza Dough

1 1/3 cup warm water
1/4 dry milk
2-3 tsp garlic salt
3-4 cup flour
1 tbl sugar
1 pkg. dry yeast
3 tbl olive oil (or vegetable oil)
1-2 tsp Italian seasoning (I didn't use this)
Olive oil
Pam

Stir yeast, sugar, salt and dry milk in a large bowl. Add water and stir to mix well. Allow to sit for two minutes. Add oil and stir again. Add flour and stil until dough forms and flour is absorbed. Turn out on a flat surface and knead for about 10 minutes. Divide dough into 3 balls. In three 9"cake pans put oil in each to make sure it is spread evenly. Using a rolling pin, roll out each dough ball to about a 9" circle. Place in cake pans. Spray the outer edge of dough with Pam. Cover with a plate. Place in warm area and allow to rise for 1-1 1/2 hours. For each 9" pizza: Preheat oven to 475. Spoon pizza sauce on dough and spread to within 1" of edge. Put cheese and other toppings on top. Cook until cheese is bubbling and outer crust is brown.
Note: If you have a pizza stone, place the 9" pans on top of that while cooking, it will help the crust brown on the bottom. Also dough can be made ahead of time just put saran wrap around it and put in fridge.

Alright I hope you all enjoy some new recipes!!!

Long time no see

2010-08-09T10:31:00.001-07:00

I realize it's been awhile since my last post, sorry about that.
Here are some pictures (of Gretal mostly) to make it all better.

RAGNAR

2010-06-22T09:36:00.000-07:00

Ragnar is a running relay race with 12 people, 2 vans, 188 miles in two days. Each person runs 3 times and each van has 6 people so the first van of people run their legs and then they have a few hours rest while the next van of people run their legs. John ran it this last weekend and he did amazing, he ran all 3 of his legs (about 18 miles ) in 2 hours and 12 minutes (or so) He was the fastest on his team for sure :) The first one he started running at 4pm and was 6.9 miles, labeled as Very Hard. He ran downhill the whole way. His second leg was 8.1 miles and he started running at 2am, also labeled Very Hard. It was uphill most of the 8 miles. His last leg was 3.1 miles and he started running at noon it was labeled Easy, and it was flat the whole way.
John's team finished in 28 hours and got 73rd place out of over 500 teams. They did awesome! My aunt Janene, cousin Jody and cousin Ben were all on the team plus my mom's cousin Craig.

Way to go you guys you did amazing.

Weeks 2 and 3 of our budget crunch

2010-06-22T09:25:00.000-07:00

Ok so we have been very busy the last few weeks, so I forgot to post how we have been doing...
Week 2:
We spent $10 less than our budget this week so we are now $60 ahead of schedule. We went to Winco for grocery shopping...what do you guys think of Winco? I like the prices, but I feel like I'm in Walmart and I HATE Walmart. I read some reviews on Winco and most of them were bad reviews by employees. We bought some produce and it went bad pretty fast too. John likes it because it's cheap and they have everything. So I'm not sure if we will go back...John wants to and I don't so we'll see (I do the grocery shopping most of the time so it's really up to me I guess :)
Week 3: = Bad week
We blew past our budget this week...
I had to buy a few pairs of short and I couldn't find any that I really liked and that looked good on me at the thrift stores (I actually found a pair at Uptown Cheapskate a few weeks ago for 5 bucks and they are awesome). So I went to Old Navy (bad idea) and found a pair of capris, a tank top, shorts and a shirt for Gretal (they were on clearance) and a pair of shorts for me which I a going to return because I don't like them as much as I thought I did.
John also ran in Ragnar, which is a relay race this weekend so we ate out a lot and I drove a ton (I was the baby van...because I had Gretal and Jerome who's mommy needed to nurse him every few hours). So needless to say we spent an extra $40 this week.
This week we are going to be in Spokane and probably will blow past our budget again because we still have to get TJ a wedding present, a shower present for Bailey and food at Hoopfest. Oh well we did for the first two weeks which is a hard thing for us :)

Week One of Budget Crunch

2010-06-08T11:28:00.000-07:00

It went well and we were even under our budget by $50!
We decided to "shop from our pantry" this week because we weren't going to eat at home much. My aunt Janene had us over for dinner a few times because of things we were doing so we ate at their house a lot. Is that cheating??? Oh well I don't care we made our budget and that's all that matters.
I had to get gas in my Jeep and that always sucks because it's usually 50 bucks :( Which brings me to my next idea...public transportation...
Here in Utah we have the trax which is like a subway but above ground. There is a stop here in Sandy that is about 5 miles from my house. Since I drive downtown probably twice a week I decided that I would try to take the trax at least one of those times to save some gasoline. This Friday John and I are going to take it downtown just to see how it works and all that. I am actually kind of excited. I was going to do it tomorrow when I go to my momm and me class but John said he wanted to do it too so I will wait until Friday. I will probably drive to the station in Sandy since Gretal doesn't like the bike trailer (silly baby), and then take it downtown. Plus I will have to take the stroller because we will need to walk about a mile from the stop to mommy and me.
This week we have to buy Gretal's passport and John and I both have to get gas so we are going to be cutting it close so we'll see.

Budget, Budget, Budget

2010-06-01T09:29:00.000-07:00

I hate budgets. As do most people I guess but they really suck. John and I have been spending money like crazy since we moved here. There is just so many new things to do and new food places to try. We decided that if we want to pay off the Jeep, have money to spend in Germany, and keep trying new things that we need to stick to our budget :) So starting today we have a strict budget and by helping us to keep to this budget we have decided that we are going to:
Eat out less, go grocery shopping once a week, buy used, get a freezer (used of course) and buy in bulk when things are on sale, only buy things we need not what we want, and find free things to do, because there are a ton of free things to do here, plus we need to be working out more so taking walks and bike rides will help too.
To help us do all of this I decided to keep a "journal". I am going to keep track of all of our spending, activities to do that are free, keep a list of things we buy all the time so when it goes on sale I can get it in bulk, pretty much write down everything. I dont' know if this will help but we'll see.
Don't get me wrong we are not in debt, besides our house, cars and John's student loans but we would like to pay things off faster and have a bigger savings. I know we can do it we just have to really pay attention to what we are spending.

TJ is getting Married

2010-05-05T16:54:00.000-07:00

My brother is getting married...my little brother who is still 12 in my eyes is getting married. I can't believe it but it's true. He is getting married to Bailey, a girl I actually like. She has a little boy name William and he is 3 but looks like he's 5. They are getting married Friday June 25th, yes that's the Friday before Hoopfest, and yes it will be crazy, but so is TJ :)

2010-05-03T10:15:00.001-07:00

Megan came to visit the states for a month. She spent 2 weeks in Spokane and then she came here for 2 weeks. We had a blast...really we did :) We went swimming, to the Zoo (yes I went to the zoo again, and this time I bought a year membership), the Aquarium (I bought a membership there too), shopping for bridesmaid dresses (see next post), shopping in general, and watching the babies play together. Anton actually is kind of mean to Gretal but it's ok she will get back at him soon :)

Heinz minus one

2010-05-03T09:39:00.000-07:00

My friend Lacey came to visit a few weeks ago. We had an amazing time. Her kids are so much fun and very well behaved! Arabelle was full of energy from the minute she got off the plane. She was showing us somersaults and doing the "dishwasher dance", plus she kept throwing the ball for the puggles so they were tired at the end of the day too.

We went to the Zoo and the Aquarium, which the kids loved...James and Arabelle rode on the carousel at the Zoo and loved it. We also went thrift shopping, and found some great deals. Lacey got a few outfits for the kids and I got a few outfits for Gretal plus a nice fleece zip up that I wear all the time :)

James was crawling everywhere, but he really liked the puggles water bowl :) And for some reason her like the slate (which scared me because I didn't want him to get hurt on it). He is such a happy little boy, and he eats like no ones business :)

We had a great time having them come visit! I hope they will come see us again...

Arches National Park

2010-05-02T10:40:00.001-07:00

For Easter weekend my family came to visit us (Megan and Anton came from Germany too!) and we went to Arches National Park. We went hiking, saw some rock crawlers and just hung out. We had a lot of fun...well most of us :) Gretal and Anton got some new hiking backpacks which Gretal loved, Anton did not. I think he is a lot like his mom, he doesn't like to hike.
P.S. Sorry there is not a lot of writing to go a long with the post, I typed up a long post but then when I added the pictures it all got deleted...grrrr.

Hogle Zoo

2010-03-23T16:00:00.000-07:00

On Saturday my Uncle Kirk and his family were driving through and invited us to the Zoo. We had a great time and Gretal loved the animals! The sad thing is, that was the 3rd time I've been to the zoo and I haven't even lived here a year yet :)

Uptown Cheapskate

2010-03-23T15:30:00.000-07:00

My friend Lacey is doing The Compact, it's where you only buy used all year long, except for a few things like underwear :) She sent me a few links on some places she would like to check out while she's here visiting me in April, so I figured I would check them out before hand, just in case. One of the links was for a place called Uptown Cheapskate...it is now my new favorite store. They only take gently used or new clothes that are name brands. I found 4 shirts (1 is brand new, and at the time I didn't even realize it) for under $25! I am super stoked. Thanks Lacey.

Lacey: The other store, Thrift Town is just like Value Village or Goodwill, except with a lot more stuff. I bought a juicer and a vegetable tray for under $4.

If anyone would like the puggle in the picture please let me know, she is very cheap :)

St. George Utah

2010-03-11T13:52:00.000-08:00

I just realized I forgot to post our St. George pictures.

Yep it was that warm...we had to roll up jeans and put on shorts.

Over a long weekend we went to St. George (land of the sun as we like to call it) with some family. It was amazing! It was in the mid 60's the whole time we were there. We hiked on some red rock, went swimming, played pool, and a whole lot of shuffle board. We had a great time, plus I got a little tan!

Gretal - 6 months old

2010-03-11T13:34:00.001-08:00

MY BIG GIRL!!

I really can't believe Gretal is 6 months old already. People always say that it goes by fast so enjoy each milestone...to be honest though, I enjoy the most recent one of sitting up all by herself the most. She can play by herself, pick up toys and put them in her mouth of course, play with the puggles (they even play back), and sit up in a highchair! Don't get me wrong I've loved watching her grow, when she first started smiling I thought I was going to cry everyday with joy. After awhile she started watching me walk around the room, then she rolled over for the first time by herself and I was so happy. She finally giggled at me about a month ago(she still mostly still does it at the puggles but every once in awhile I can get her to giggle at me)and I started jumping up and down and clapping my hands (I think it scared her). But now that she can sit up we can do so many more things, for example today we went to the library and watched a puppet show. She sat in front of me all by herself, she smiled and laughed at all the kids.
Gretal is also starting to scream. Fun stuff! Out of nowhere she will just scream while she is playing and then stop like nothing happened. Silly baby. She is also grunting a lot. I guess she found her voice :)

The most amazing Gretal pictures ever!!!

2010-03-09T09:19:00.000-08:00

Remeber my Seattle post where I said that my friend Bethany took some amazing pictures of Gretal...well her husband Jeramie edited them and posted them on his blog...take a look and while your at it become a fan of his on facebook :)

www.blog.shodaphotography.com

"The Dans"

2010-03-08T11:10:00.000-08:00

Uncle Dan

Lunch at Snowbird on Sunday

Irish playing RockBand with John's leg

Irish holding Gretal while wearing his new "killer deal" ski outfit

Please excuse the Puggle butt...

"The Dans"

This last weekend John's brother Dan and our friend Dan (Irish) came to visit us. Well mostly they came to ski but whatever :)

On Friday they went up to Park City and it ended up being a really nice day for them. When they got home we (by we I mean Irish) wanted to go to Sushi, but it had to be all you can eat, John and I haven't had sushi here yet, so we googled it and found Sushi Yah. They had this silly rule that if you don't eat your sushi rolls that you order then you have to pay the all you can eat price plus the price of the roll you didn't finish...Of course we all ordered more than we could actually eat so we made ourselves sick and forced down part of the rolls. We ended up not finishing some but when the waiter brought our bill, they didn't charge us. We made ourselves sick for nothing...it was actually quite funny :)

On Saturday we did some shopping at Gateway and the Park City Outlets. Dan, John's brother ended up finding a great deal on Lucky Jeans, Irish got a killer deal on snow pants and coat, and John finally found a coat that he liked that was on clearance. Then we ended up going to dinner at Tucanos Brazilian Restaurant...another all you can eat place. A little side note, the last time John and I ate here was with my parents and we did not feel very good afterwards, we ended up having to stop at a gas station to go the bathroom...don't get me wrong the food is amazing, but we ate way too much. Ok so knowing this we still went and we enjoyed the food, and yet again ate way too much. Plus since Irish ordered dessert, I had to order dessert too. By this time it's 11 at night we are all way to full...again, and I had to get Gretal home. I drove myself so the guys could stay downtown. I got home and about 20 minutes later so did John and The Dans...:) I think our whole house stunk all night :) We all got a good laugh from it.

Overall we had a great weekend. We hope they come back soon...maybe this summer for hiking season:)

Giddy Up Cowgirl

2010-02-07T11:49:00.001-08:00

When we were in Spokane we dressed Gretal up in her Wrangler Baby outfit that my parents got her for Christmas, and this is what happened...

Seattle

2010-02-01T10:19:00.000-08:00

I love Seattle and the reason I love Seattle is because Bethany, Jeramie and Evey live there. I was there this last weekend and had a great time (although Gretal was a turd most of the time we still had fun). On Friday night we went to the Spaghetti Factory for dinner,. I love just sitting there and listening to J and B talk... they are hilarious! They can find funny in everything. On Saturday Bethany, Evey, Gretal and I went to the Tukwilla (sp) outlet mall. Of course we had to buy matching outfits for the babies, and they were only $1.99! On our way home we stopped at Frost Donuts, which I now know that they are the best donuts ever. One of the employees made us some fresh salted, caramel donuts...OH MY GOSH...YUM!! We were talking about how everything makes us cry, so we were both pretty much crying in the car on our way to dinner. We met up with some friends of theirs, the Criddles for Thai and then went back to their house for playtime and dessert. Guess what we had for dessert...Donuts :) The Criddles bought donuts for dessert too. Bethany and I tried every donut I think, we were sick. On Sunday Bethany wanted to show off her photography skills...she is pretty good, but I think she has a great teacher (Jeramie is a professional photographer, check him out on shodaphotography.com). Bethany took amazing pics of Gretal, and actually Gretal did pretty good for most of it, but then we put Evey and Gretal into their matching outfits and Gretal was done. I will post some pics if Bethany sends them to me :)

Anyway we had a great time and I always love to see my favorite Seattle people. Now it's their turn to come to the ever dry Salt Lake City (that's for you Jeramie).

4 months ago

2010-01-11T09:05:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it has been 4 months since Gretal was born. It seems like just yesterday I was changing diapers, and feeding at least 12 times a day. I remember thinking I don't know if I can handle much more of this, and that's about the time she started sleeping 6 hours at a time...and oh man that was a relief.
I love when she reaches for her toes and actually grabs them. I love that when she sees me she smiles so big that her whole face lights up. I love her big cheeks, big blue eyes and roley poley thighs. I love when she rubs her face in my neck when she's tired. I love that I know her tired cry, her hungry cry and her whiney cry...finally. She is starting to giggle now, except not at me, only at John and the puggles, and my dad...little turd :) I love when John comes home she gets really excited and starts kicking her legs and waving her hands for him to hold her. I love that she is a great baby.

2010 Wahoo!!

2010-01-06T14:59:00.000-08:00

Last year was filled with so many adventures... it's going to be hard for 2010 to top it.
This year we have many things planned...who knows if we will get through them all but ya never know. Here's a list of goals/resolutions we have:
Go to Germany- we are planning a trip to Germany in September to visit Megan, Ivan and Anton. The kids will be one so we are hoping that will make it even more fun...hopefully :)
Pay off our Jeep- we have been meaning to pay it off for a few months now but something always seems to come up so we never do...
Build a deck- The deck on our house right now is about ready to fall down, plus it's kind of small, so we want to build one that goes along the whole back of our house. So if anyone feels like helping let us know :)
Explore Utah- This will be easy since Utah has so many fun things to do. For sure we are going to Arches National Park for Easter and Bear Lake in the summer...
Save money- This will be hard to do since we have so many things planned but we need to save money in order to do them...right :)
Get in Shape- Ok so having a baby really took the shape right out of me...and John :) We are looking into a hiking carrier for Gretal and maybe a pull behind trailer for our bikes so that will help.
Eat healthier- Since we moved to Utah we have been eating a lot of crap. So we are going to get back into the swing of things and eat healthier. We are also going to try new recipes. Once a week we will pick something out of a cookbook or online and make it...we will probably be ordering out a lot too then :)
Have friends come visit- Everyone is welcome!!

This year will be awesome...I just know it!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2009-12-22T11:09:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone!! We are going to be in Spokane so if anyone wants to see us give us a call :)

I love Christmas...in fact after my birthday it's my favorite holiday. I love everything about Christmas...
Holiday light displays
Fun decorations
Christmas carolers
Christmas music on the radio
Goodies from neighbors and friends
The giving attitude everyone has
Christmas movies on the Hallmark channel (especially this year since I cry during the commercials...I officially have turned into my mother)
Watching White Christmas (I usually watch it with my sister but not this year...)
Hot cocoa and cider
My mom's pumpkin rolls and caramels
Making goodies for friends and neighbors (although I didn't this year)
Holiday parties
Gift exchanges
(a little bleep real quick...Gretal is sitting on my lap talking like she's telling me what to type)
Christmas pictures
and much more...but most of all I enjoy spending time with family and friends. It is so amazing to know that you are loved and cared for by so many people. We are so grateful for everyone of you and we want to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

Ok so now for the real reason you look at my blog :)

Thanksgiving

2009-11-23T10:31:00.000-08:00

This year we have a lot to be thankful for. A lot has happened this year. We found out we were pregnant, John got laid off, we moved to a whole new place, we had to sell our house, Megan and Ivan moved to Germany and that they were also going to have a baby, my mom and I went to Germany to take Megan's cat's to her, we bought a house and had an amazing beautiful baby girl both within two weeks. We are thankful that John found a job that he really enjoys and that he can support us so I can stay home with Gretal. We are thankful for our families for helping us through the crazy and tough times of moving, having a baby and so on. We are thankful for our friends who have supported us in our decision to move and told us that they will come visit :) We are thankful for each other because without the support and love from each other we would not have been able to do everything we have done and be happy about it.
I love the holidays and I am excited to experience them differently this year. We are staying here in SLC for Thanksgiving and spending that time with Janene and her family and Grandma and Grandpa Vance are coming too. For Christmas we are going to drive to Spokane for a week and celebrate with both of our families.
I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!

Pictures from our Spokane trip

2009-11-17T11:16:00.001-08:00

We are home now. We had a lot of fun hanging out with friends and family.

Spokane

2009-10-25T22:08:00.000-07:00

Being a mom is the most wonderful feeling in the world (except at night) :)
Here are some pictures of our Spokane trip so far...

I will be in Spokane for 3 more weeks! So look for more pictures. ( I actually have time to post stuff since grandmas and grandpas are holding Gretal).

September 10th, 2009

2009-09-17T16:09:00.000-07:00

Bridgey's a little busy right now because we have a girl that is very hungry so she asked me to step in!

It all started on Thursday morning when Bridgette woke up at about 2:30am with some irregular contractions. At first she wasn't sure if they were real or just false labor, so she went out to the living room with a watch and began timing them. At about 5:00 am they started becoming more regular and a bit more intense, so she woke me up.

Since they were still pretty far apart we decided I would go into work and she would go to the doctor as soon as they opened (about 9:00am) to see if she was in false labor or if this was the real deal. As a result I went to work and wasn't able to focus on anything until I received a call from Bridgette at about 9:15 saying that her doctor sent her down to the hospital and that she thought it was the real thing. Then she called her mom and told her that if she wanted to see the birth of her first granddaughter she better get on the next plane to Salt Lake City. So Jackie got to the airport all lickity split and moved her flight from 9/16 to 1:00pm on 9/10.

In the mean time I drove far too fast to the hospital and found Bridgette to see how things were going. Because she didn't think she was really in labor she did not take along our hospital bag and Gretal items so once again I hopped in the truck and drove very fast to the house and back. By this time it was about 11:00 and her contractions were starting to get intense and she was dialated to a 4+.

Over the next couple of hours we tried to eat when we could, relax whenever possible, and just let the contractions get closer and closer together. We paced up and down the halls, bounced on the pilates ball, and rocked in the rocking chair to see what positions were most comfy. During this time Aunt Janene, and cousin Emily also came to help support her. Jackie ran into the hospital room at about 5:00pm and was very grateful that Gretal hadn't come out to meet everyone yet.

At this point Bridgette was in a lot of pain and my hand hurt a bit as well. Her contractions were coming at about 2 minutes apart and lasted 45-60 seconds. She was dialated to a 6 now and was starting to hate life :). Her nurse Katy though was very supportive and encouraged Bridgette to stay calm and keep breathing through the contractions because she was doing so fantabuluous!

Another hour passed and contractions started to fall one right after another and Bridgette started to scare the people in the neighboring birthing rooms :). At this point the nurse said she was at about a 7+ and we would still likely have another 3 hours before Bridgette could start pushing. Bridgette and I decided to go with an epidural at this point because we both wanted to be able to enjoy the birth expereience, not have nightmares about it. After the y put in the epidural it was like hitting a light switch and the pain began to go away.

After about another hour the nurse said Bridgette was at a 9+ because she got to relax and process sped up signficantly. At this point because we were about ready for pushing the doctor, Dr. Loewen, wanted to check the position of Gretal to make sure she was ready to go. Come to find out during the labor process Gretal rotated around so that Bridgette was in back labor, which apparently is pretty painful. If you'd like more details on the pain I'm sure Bridgette would be willing to elaborate :). Because it was back labor, the nurse and doctor were pretty impressed that Bridgette made it all the way to 7 without any medication.

After the epidural the labor went fairly quick. Bridgette was able to relax enough to have the energy to push. When pushing time came Gretal's heart rate fell everytime Bridgette would push so the doctor thought that maybe the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck. Bridgette would push through one contraction and then wait for a few to give Gretal a break and thankfully it helped. Finally at 10:30 pm Gretal made her way into the world at 6lbs 9 ounces and 20 1/2 inches long. The cord was wrapped around her neck but because the doctor knew that it was they cut it right away and she was fine. I was happy too because I got to cut the cord after the doctor.

We are so proud, happy, excited and a little tired :) I love being a dad and I know Bridgette loves being a mom, this is what she always wanted to do.

Introducing Gretal Amelia Harris

2009-09-13T09:17:00.001-07:00

I will post the story later, but for now here are some pics of the newest Harris addition.

We are now Homeowners...again.

2009-09-04T12:09:00.001-07:00

Last Wednesday we got the keys to our new house and by 11:00pm Thursday night we had everything moved in, with the help of My aunt Janene, uncle Paul, Ben, Emily, and Christopher. John took a few days off work and we pretty much had everything put away by Tuesday night. We were obviously excited to be in a house again :) The puggles love the yard and the stairs...maybe Kaiia will lose some of the weight that she gained at the apartment :)

I'm an AUNT!!

2009-08-23T07:49:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it, I'm an aunt! I feel so happy. Megan had Anton Marijan Alandzak on Thursday morning at 12:30 am (Germany time). Megan was laboring for almost 2 days after her water broke, and the baby was getting stressed so they ended doing a c-section. Both Megan and Anton are doing great. Megan is really tired and sore but she is thrilled to be a mom. Anton is the cutest little boy I have ever seen!!...Don't you think...

*I know everyone has probably already seen this picture, but if my mother would send more I would post a different one :)

Our New Home

2009-07-22T09:28:00.000-07:00

WE FOUND A HOUSE!!!

After looking at over 30 houses and in all areas of Salt Lake, we finally found a house we think we can live in for awhile. Our closing date is set for 8/24/09 and we will be moving in our stuff that weekend. I can't wait!! Then about two weeks later we may be having a baby :) At least we are getting into a house before the baby. The house is in Sandy, which is where we wanted to be because we are only 5 minutes away from my aunt Janene and about 3 minutes from my cousin Emily. YEAH!!

On Friday night we put the offer in on the house and didn't expect to hear anything back until Monday. We offered 10 grand less than their listing price. Then on Sunday afternoon we got a call from our realtor stating that they accepted our offer and the house is ours!! We were stoked, they didn't even counteroffer. Things worked out pretty well for us. We are lucky.

House Hunting

2009-07-14T10:01:00.001-07:00

Well we officially started actually house hunting here in Utah. Last Saturday we went around to some houses with our realtor, 6 houses to be exact. We didn't find anything we really liked. There were two house we kind of liked but there are major flaws in both of them. One of them is righ next to a major highway so it's loud and noisy, plus the house itself is kind of small. The other house we sort of like is in a great location, on a culdesac, has a huge yard but the house is very outdated. I know we are being really picky, but we don't want to have to move again in a few years. Anyway we are going with our realtor again on Wednesday so hopefully we find something that we like.

If anyone is interested here are the MLS#'s of the houses we kind of like. Keep in mind that the other houses were either really bad or there were major flaws in them as well.
The one by the highway: MLS 888027
The one with the big yard: MLS 891485

1st Week in Utah

2009-07-07T09:12:00.000-07:00

Well yesterday marked our first official week of living in Utah. We were extremely busy. Since it was the 4th of July on Saturday and John only works four ten hour days he had Friday through Monday off, which was great. All weekend we looked for houses. We looked in four different suburbs of Salt Lake: Sandy, West Jordan, South Jordan and Draper. I bet we looked at (and my looked at I mean drove by and checked out the exterior of the house and the neighborhoods) probably 40 different houses, and out of the 40 we decided we wanted to tour the inside of 12. People can do crazy things to make their house look good on the internet :) Hopefully this coming up weekend we will be able to tour some of the houses and hopefully put in an offer...I really want out of this apartment!
During the week while John was working, I ran errands and cleaned and pretty much did "house-wife" stuff :) My cousin Emily and I (and Bennett, her baby) hung out a lot, we are actually becoming great friends! I am so lucky to have family here, otherwise it may have been a little more of a challenge moving away from my parents and everyone I know. Don't get me wrong it's hard, especially with a baby on the way, but with my aunt Janene (who is my mom's older sister and they are a lot alike) and Emily it's way easier to adjust.
The puggles are very depressed :( Tucker has not been eating, and Kaiia has been eating slowly and sometimes will leave her food unattended. Now if you know the puggles, you would know that they love food and Kaiia usually is done within seconds of me putting her food bowl down. I think they are depressed because they don't have a yard to play in and Rocky (my parent's dog) isn't here to play with anymore. I actually have no idea if that's why but I know they are depressed. We actually took them house hunting with us (they rode in the back of the Jeep) and they seemed to be pulling out of it...hopefully. Anyway I had to update everyone on how the puggles are doing :)
Overall our first week officially becoming Utards, was a pretty good one. I can't wait until we get a house and have everything all set up, so we can concentrate on more important things, like our baby :)

Germany

2009-06-19T11:50:00.000-07:00

My mom and I flew to Germany about 2 months ago for about 10 days to deliver Megan's cats. It actually wasn't bad at all flying with the cats, they were pretty good the whole time. When we got to the airport in Germany we waited out front for Megan and Ivan to come pick us up, and we waited, and we waited. Finally my mom said that we should call them (our cell phones don't work there, so we had to call from a pay phone),$100 later we got a hold of Ivan. We drove from Frankfurt to Megan's house (about 2 hours) and dropped the cats off, then got back on the road for Austria. It was a long day for sure but it was well worth it.

Austria is amazing! We were only there for a day and we could have stayed longer but we still had a great time. We went and toured a castle...

The Castle

The castle up close.
A view from the castle

We took a Sound of Music Tour and saw where the movie was filmed...

This is the mountain where they are hiking to get away from the Germans...which actually didn't happen in their real life.

The Gardens where they are playing in their new play clothes.

The steps where they sing DO RE ME.

The place where Leisal sings and dances with the mail boy.

The tunnel where they sing DO RE ME.

We also toured the city of Salzburg, which is where the castle and Sound of Music was filmed...

This is big building that is connected to another big building, which is also connected to anther big building.

There are pretzel stands everywhere in Austria.

At the base of the castle there were horse drawn carriage rides.

Salzburg from the Castle.
Ok when we were leaving..it was on a Sunday and everything is closed so we decided to go to McDonald's :) This is the McDonalds...it's pretty crazy inside. They have a salad bar, a cafe, and the kids toys are basketball games, and dance dance revolution (not balls and slides).

We drove back to Megan's house on Sunday, which was a 6-7 hour drive on the autobon (so we were going at least 90 the whole time, and people were cruising past us, it was awesome!) At one point two Ferraris and an Aston Martin passed us.

On Monday (Tuesday and Friday too) Megan my mom and I went to Triar, the oldest city in Germany, we actually went to Triar 3 times because we loved it so much. We saw some of the oldest structures in Germany.

The main Square in Triar, this picture was acutally taken from the Porta Nigra- which is the oldest building in Germany.

We saw the Porta Nigra...

The Roman baths...

The old Roman arena...

and went into an old cathedral that was still being used (we had to leave early because the service was starting).

This is the ceiling, way cool!

We also went to Luxemourg one day too. We saw another castle there...

We spent some time in Bitburg (the closest city to Megan's house) and did some shopping and eating ice-cream. Overall the trip was awesome, I did not want to come home. The funny thing is the whole time I was in Germany John was in Spokane making arrangements to sell our house and move to SLC. I'm glad I was in Germany :)

MOVING

2009-05-29T07:11:00.001-07:00

We sold our house!! Ok I may be jumping the gun for some people :) This last winter John found out the company that he works for is moving to Florida and mostly to Taiwain. They asked John to go to Florida but we both agreed that Florida is not the place for us so he decided to start looking for jobs. He looked around for about 2 months and had at least 3 interviews, but none of them worked out. Finally he got an interview for a company in Salt Lake City (SLC), he went to the interview and they loved him :) They gave us an offer and we accepted so 2 weeks later John moved to SLC, we put the house up for sale, and then 2 weeks later we sold the house. I think that sums it up for the most part.
Ok, we sold the house and we close on June 25th which is a few days before Hoopfest (and if you know my family we would be shot if we were going to miss Hoopfest). So that means we are both (plus the puggles) going to be living in SLC by the 1st of July.

We are having a going away party on Saturday at Plantes Ferry Park under the Pavillion (the old side of the park) at 4:00 and we would love it if all of our friends could make it :) We hope to see you there!

Megan

2009-05-19T08:26:00.001-07:00

Yes Megan is my sister, but since we haven't lived in the same house we have become great friends :) Where do I start... when we were kids we loved to play barbies, my little ponies, house, dress up, cowboys and indians, kick the can, hide and seek, capture the flag but most of all we played together. Don't get me wrong we still fought...it was mostly me doing something to Megan and then her telling on me. As we got older it was still the same, I would do something I wasn't supposed to and then I would have to beg Megan to not tell on me. :)

Now that we are "adults", married and pregnant, we have grown to appreciate each other and our differences. Even though we are sisters and only a year apart we are very different people. For instance I like to be outside (summer only, I hate winter), hiking, camping, walking, swimming... whereas Megan would love to lay oustide on a blanket and read a book (summer only as well).

Our differences hasn't stopped us from going on vacations together with though :) A few years ago Megan and Ivan came to Spokane and we decided we would take a few days and drive to Seattle and then the Oregon Coast. We had a blast, except we said we were going to camp every night and we ended up camping one night (all of us in one tent), and then staying in hotels the rest of the nights. We didn't plan that trip well, but we still had a blast. Luckily our husbands really like each other! Then we planned a trip to Hawaii for Brandy's wedding, Ivan got shipped to Iraq so he didn't get to go, but my parents went also. We had a great time there too. For the most part we all got a long and did everything we all wanted to do. It is hard to go on trips with your family as an adult because usually everyone wants to do something different, but we still had the time of our lives :)

The most recent trip I took was to Germany to see Megan and Ivan (and to deliver her cats to her). It was great! I love Germany and I am jealous that Megan gets to live there :) (more about the Germany trip in the next blog).

Megan is the most loving, sincere, selfless person I know (almost the exact opposite of me:), and I love that she is my sister. Even though we are so different and we can only stand each other for a few days I know that if I need her for anything she will come running pushing everyone else aside to get to me. I love you Megan and miss you everyday!

Lacey

2009-05-15T07:02:00.001-07:00

Lacey and I have been friends since 7th grade. Since the first day I met her we were friends. In Junior High we played basketball together, spent the night at each other's houses, took walks to meet up with boys, and many other silly things. In high school we played basketball together, spent the night at each other's houses...well it was pretty much the same as junior high :)
Since high school we have both grown up a lot. Lacey met Dave, got married, bought a house and now they have the most amazing kids. Arabelle (one and a half) is the cutest little thing you have ever seen. She is shy at first but once she opens up you can't stop her from showing off. The other night when I was over at their house she was showing me her somersaults (she learned how to do them all by herself). She is the smartest little girl.
James their newest addition, is only a few months old...well maybe only one month. He is a very good baby. He never cries (except when he is hungry), he loves to see everything that's going on, and he wiggles like crazy :)!
Lacey is amazing! She has her own business (http://www.cookermomcreations.com/), she has two children, she loves to do research :), she helps me out with everything (I have so many questions regarding this motherhood thing), and on top of everything else she uses cloth diapers (she actually is the one that inspired me to try cloth diapers as well). She reminds me a lot of her mom (she is going to kill me for that). I love you Lacey, and I love your family! Thank you for everything.
Again I am at work so I will post pics later.

Jaime

2009-05-08T07:17:00.001-07:00

I didn't know Jaime in high school but I feel like we have been friends forever. Jaime and I have a lot of fun together. Every week we try to get together for dinner at one of our houses, we walk our dogs together, we crap it up together (that's what we call crafting) and we just hang out talking about everything. Actually her yellow lab Ivory is Tucker's girlfriend and her hound dog Harley is Kaiia's boyfriend (it's a love hate relationship for Harley and Kaiia).

Jaime is a great person. She would do anything for the people she loves and she does. No matter how busy or sick or mad she will drop everything if you need her. She will sit and listen to you (or me) whine and complain about silly things that don't even mean anything, she will watch your (or mine) dogs for a week and expect nothing in return (and believe me my dogs are not fun to watch, well not for a week anyway), and most of all she will love every minute of it.
I love being around Jaime and I love Jaime for being Jaime.

I win!!

2009-04-22T18:40:00.000-07:00

It's a girl!

SEX

2009-04-22T07:16:00.001-07:00

Of the baby, get your mind out of the gutter :) John and I made a wager on the sex of the baby, he thinks it's a boy and I think it's a girl (mostly because I think I am going to have the opposite of my sister and she is having a boy). So the wager is: If I win and it's a girl John has to give me a back rub once a week (and maybe buy me a real massage sometime during my pregnancy). If John wins then I have to go to an MLS soccer game. The winner is...

Emily

2009-04-20T12:19:00.001-07:00

Where do I start with Emily... The first time we really hung out was in 7th grade at my house. She came into our house and an elk head stared her in the face (at the time Emily was vegetarian, she is now vegan), then after awhile we went down to my room and my porcelain dolls freaked her out and she couldn't sleep all night. We've been best friends ever since :) In high school we were together a lot (except when she was dating Kaipo, but that's another story). On Emily's 16th birthday (she turned 16 before everyone else) we took her parent's van out for a drive. We picked up pretty much everyone we knew and cruised around. There were probably 10 people in a 8 passenger van and we took this bump at 40 mph. We were probably in the air for a good 5 seconds. It was crazy! Then when we started taking everyone home Emily got pulled over. Everyone was freaking out (I was laughing I'm sure) but she only got a warning and the police office told us to get home right now. After we dropped everyone off, Emily and I ran up to my room and burnt the warning ticket (yes in my bedroom). She was so scared that her parent's would find out and never let her drive again :)

Emily and I have stayed really close since high school. She moves around a lot and I love that about her. Her life is constantly changing, which means that I get to go visit her in som really fun places. A few years ago Bethany and I went to Asheville, North Carolina to visit her. We had a blast! Actually everytime that all 3 of us get together we have so much fun. Last time we were all together was a Surprise (for my birthday, which was months before). I went to visit Emily in Portland for a weekend and it happened to be during one of the presidential debates. Emily and I went to a pizza party at one of her friends house and started making pizza (the pizza was awesome!). The debate was about to start so we all headed downstairs to watch it. After awhile Emily got u pand said "Bridgette will you come help me, my friend is coming over", I was thinking, is her friend in a wheel chair or something, why does she need my help. I went upstairs with her anyway and walked outside. There was Bethany!! I was so excited, I could hardly contain myself. It was the best belated birthday present ever.

Emily is one of my best friends and no matter how long it's been since we've seen each other or spoken to each other, whenever we get together it's like time stood still. I love you Emily!!

P.S. I will post pics later of Emily, I'm at work :)

Brandy

2009-04-01T13:18:00.000-07:00

I don't have a "how we became friends" story about Brandy, but I do have a few good ones. In high school Brandy and I would skip class all the time, and not for any good reason either. One time we skipped and drove the "back way" to Sandpoint. It was a hot day so we took off our shirts and drove in our bras :) Yeah weird I know. We actually didn't know we were headed to Sandpoint because we would just drive and end up where we end up. Another time we ended up in Spangle, again another "back way". Don't get me wrong we got good grades and we did graduate :), but we didn't attend a lot of classes our Senior Year of high school. If we weren't driving around skipping class we were over at our friend, Sean's house (he was in college) just hangin out eating pizza and watching TV.

Since high school we have actually taken a lot of trips together. For John's 21st birthday we all flew to Vegas to celebrate. We had a great time. Jaime (coming soon), Brandy and I hung out most days together because we were the only ones not hung over :) We walked the strip and checked out every hotel, ate at all the good restaurants, and enjoyed every minute of it. Until we stopped and realized our feet were killing us. So one night we stayed in the hotel and soaked our feet in the bath tub. It felt so good, but when we drained the bath tub we realized how dirty our feet were. There was a black ring around the whole bath tup, it was pretty disgusting, but John and his brother did have their feet in the tub too :)

Another trip Brandy, John and I took was to the Oregon coast, but it wasn't supposed to be just the three of us. We had been planning a trip with some of our friends (I can't even remember where we wanted to go) but the day before we were to leave everyone bailed except the three of us. So we decided to just plan a trip for ourselves, and we did. We drove down the Oregon Coast just John, Brandy and I and we had the best time! It was actually kind of funny because we camped most nights and all slept in the same tent (me in the middle) but one night we wanted to splurge and get a hotel. We spent around $40 for a hotel and the room was awful, the floor was soaked, the bed was nasty and we were even afraid to use the shower :) That night we all slept on the same bed in our sleeping bags with our shoes right next to the bed. It was really funny!

Brandy and I always have a great time together no matter the circumstances, and that's really what I love about her, we can always have fun!

Friendships-Bethany

2009-03-21T08:13:00.000-07:00

I have a group of friends that I have known since high school. They are my best friends!! The next series of Blogs is going to be all about them, because to really know me you have to know them. I am going to go in alphabetical order so no one gets their feelings hurt :)

Bethany-

We actually have a pretty funny first time meeting story and then a great becoming friends story. Bethany moved to Spokane with her parents from Utah our freshman year of high school and we were in the same ward at church but we didn't know each other very well. Amanda Gillespie (another friend) and I were going to go shopping one Saturday afternooon when my mom asked if we wouldn't mind asking the new girl from our ward (Bethany) to go with us. Of course we said sure and went to pick her up. We picked her up, yes it was aukward for all of us and went to the mall. It was getting close to summer so we wanted to find some swimsuits to wear. We all found ones we liked and went to the dressing room. Amanda and I decided we would just share a dressing room (I really don't know why) and asked Bethany if she wanted to share with us (hahahaha). Bethany said no that's ok I will go in a different one. Later I found out that she was thinking that we were very weird and she probably would never hang out with us again. Little did she know we would become best friends and share dressing rooms all the time ;)

We didn't hang out much after the dressing room incident until girls camp that summer. It was our 4th year so we got to go on a canoe trip. We were all very excited!! The rules were two girls to one YCL in a canoe (or something like that). Amanda and I go our canoe and we were ready to go, but then we saw Bethany standing by the YCL's and no one to go with. So Amanda and I decided to plead with the YCL's to let her in our canoe without a YCL. We told them that we knew how to use a canoe and we would behave ourselves (yeah right). But they believed us and Bethany rode with us. That was one of the best summers of my life. I met my best friend for the second time. We were perfect for each other, crazy, funny, cooky... It's funny because she describes it as knowing that she met her best friend that summer too. Bethany and her parents ended up moving from their apartment to a house around the block from me and we spent pretty much everyday hanging out the rest of that summer. Eventually we lived together after high school and then she moved away from me to Seattle :( It's ok though because now like we've always wanted (not really but we thought it would be cool) we are both pregnant!!

I love you Beffy!

This time last year...

2009-03-12T11:21:00.000-07:00

This time last year we were in Hawaii. Oh the good ole days! Everytime I look at these pictures I want to be there...speakin of my friend Bethany just arrived home from Hawaii. They went on a babymoon :) If you don't know what a babymoon is, it's the last trip you take before you have a baby. That's right, my sister and one of my best friends and I are all pregnant together...YEAH!! Anyway I wish I was back on the lands of Aloha...instead of at home with a migraine for the second day in a row.

Snow pictures

2009-03-12T11:14:00.001-07:00

TUCKER AND KAIIA'S DOG HOUSE HIDDEN BY THE SNOW

JOHN SHOVELING THE ROOF, AND MY DAD IS THERE JUST IN CASE HE FALLS :)

PUGGLES ARE READY TO COME IN

HERE COMES KAIIA SHE IS CRAZY!!

PUGGLES PLAYING IN THE SNOW.

These pictures are of our huge snow storm that we had in December. If you notice I am taking the pictures from inside, it was too cold to be outside :)

Life takes on crazy turns

2009-03-04T07:11:00.000-08:00

Last week John got laid off from work, but he will still be working there until May 29th. Itronix, the company he worked for laid off 300 out of 380 people. The 80 people that weren't laid off were asked to move to Florida because that's where they are moving the company...Florida and Taiwan. John has been looking for jobs all over the place and there are quite a few of them out there for him...luckily. Most of the jobs are in Arizona, Texas, California and Seattle, which means that we are probably going to move. I've always wanted to move to a new place, somewhere new and exciting and now is our chance. The only bummer is that we are just starting a family and I wanted to be close to my parents and John's parents. I'm sure they want us to be close too, I know my mom does. The puggles don't want to move either, they like our neighbor's dog :) I may be jumping the gun and we may not move but there are no jobs in Spokane for John and he is the one that brings home the bacon.

Sunday Dinner

2009-02-17T17:10:00.000-08:00

This last Sunday we had our parents and my sister and Ivan over for Maui steaks. If you've never had a Maui steak you are missing out. This little grocery store on the North side of Spokane tenderizes and marinades steaks in this Maui marinade. They are so sweet and easy to chew...they are good! We also had horseradish mashed potatoes, jello, pasta salad, deviled eggs and brownies. It was an awesome dinner! Before everyone sat down for dinner John and I took off our sweatshirts and revealed our new t-shirts, mine said "I'm pregnant" and John's said "I got her pregnant". It took awhile for everyone to notice but they finally did. My mom freaked out, jumped up and down, screamed...the usual. John's parents were smiling and speechless, they were very excited too. So that was the real reason we had everyone over for dinner, to announce our soon to be new addition.

Whistler, BC

2009-02-06T10:41:00.000-08:00

Ok so I know it's been awhile, but I suck at blogging:) We went to Whistler, BC a few weekends ago and we had a blast. The sun was out and it was pretty warm outside. We went with John's brother Dan, his girlfriend Kathy, Dan Irish, Nordy, Elondros, Wade and Amy. The first day we all went up to the mountain and of course rode the Peak to Peak gondola, which is amazing by the way. If you don't know what I am talking about, the Peak to Peak is a gondola that goes from the top of Whistler mountain to the top of Blackcomb mountain. Which means that you can ski or snowboard on two mountains the same day for the price of one! Anyway it was cool. The next day everyone went up again and I stayed down and had a spa day. It was awesome. I slept in walked to a local bakery and had breakfast and then went to the hardest yoga class I have ever been to. I was twisting my body in ways that I didn't think I could twist too, and most of the time I fell over, but it was still fun. After my yoga class I sat in a steam shower and then got a massage. After the massage I walked back to the room, dropped my stuff off and went to a burrito place for lunch. The burrito was amazing, I can't decide if the massage was better of the burrito :) By the time I was done eating everyone else was back from the mountain and we went shopping and got some dinner. Since the Olypmics is going to be there next year they had a ton of apparel for it. The next day John, Nordy and I went shopping around in the village. If you have never been to Whistler you should go...I've been in the summer and winter (I like the summer better, mostly because I like warmth) and both times it was beautiful. The drive suckz though. From Spokane to Whistler it took us 11 hours (we did stop and shop a few times, but not for very long) so the driving took up two full days, but it was worth it.

Netflix

2009-01-09T07:17:00.000-08:00

Instead of cable and internet we thought we would save some money and just do Netflix (since we watch movies mostly anway). Netflix is amazing! For $15 a month we see about 16-20 movies a month. When we first started we got all New Release movies, now we are into the TV shows. We are watching Grey's Anatomy from Season 1 to Season 4 (I think that's the last one on DVD). We are only on season 2 disc 2 :) We are addicted to it. Every day when John gets home from work he goes to the mailbox to check for Netflix, if it's there all we do that night is eat and watch Grey's Anatomy...it's bad...really bad :) The first time I really watched Grey's Anatomy (I've been addicted since) was in Asheville, NC with my two best friends Emily and Beffy. (I will continue with the Ashville story in another post...it's pretty awesome). John has been addicted since last week on Season 1 disc 2 when Dr. McDreamy's wife shows up and Meredith doesn't know a thing about him being married. See it's the best show ever...until we start another TV on DVD :)

New Year Resolutions

2009-01-04T09:25:00.000-08:00

Usually every year along with Resolutions we make a list of things we would like to accomplish this year.
John: Resolution: Stop drinking pop, teach the puggles a new trick.
Bridgette: Resolution: Eat and be healthier.
Puggles: Learn a new trick, stop fighting with each other.

Things we want to Accomplish This Year:
Save more money.
Pay off Jeep.
Go camping in 2 new spots.
Go on a overnight hike.
Visit Ivan and Megan in Germany (around August since she is due on the 14th).
Open more songs in RockBand.

As you can see we usually want to accomplish more things than resolute. Which is ok with us!

ROCKBAND

2008-12-31T07:05:00.000-08:00

I LOVE ROCKBAND!! It's the best video game ever. We got Rockband from John's parents and brother for Christmas and we haven't stopped playing it since, well we do have to go to work and the bathroom but other than that... John is really good at the drums and I rock at the guitar. Actually I suck at all of it but it's still really fun to play. If you don't know what Rockband is or you've never played you are missing out. On New Year's day Brandy and Mark (friends of ours) are coming over and we are going to have a concert to celebrate the new year :) I can't wait!! So if anyone wants to come over and rock out let me know I'm sure we can arrange something!!

Snowy Christmas

2008-12-23T07:18:00.001-08:00

Ok so I suck at blogging...obviously! It's been crazy busy with Christmas and everything. Anyway... I love this snow! With the crazy winds and the 23 inches of snow in 24 hours, the snow is about 5" from the top of our back fence in some places. It is crazy. Kaiia is lovin it (Kaiia is the younger one of our dogs, puggles actually). Tucker (the older puggle) goes outside to potty and then comes right back in... he is a baby. The snow was so bad last week that I didn't have to work on Thursday or Friday... John did though, ha ha!
I really love this time of year especially when it is snowing. Christmas is my second favorite holiday...my birthday is the first :) I love all the treats, the happy people (unless you are shopping at Walmart), the smells of cinnamon, cookies, pine trees, and peppermint but most importantly I love that friends and family can get together (and not fight, the first day anyway). Even if you don't get to be with your family on Christmas, you are usually with someone you love and they love you back and that is the best gift anyone could receive! Merry Christmas everyone!!!
P.S. I will post pictures of the snow later!

The Puggles

2008-12-12T22:01:00.000-08:00

We have two dogs...Tucker and Kaiia..The Puggles (puggle/beagle mix). They are our children and we treat them that way. I think this has backfired :) Tucker doesn't listen to a word I say, when I yell at him he turns his nose up at me and keeps doing whatever bad thing he was doing, he barks at anything and everything and he thinks he owns the toys, the couch, the blanket or whatever is close to him at the time. Kaiia still goes potty in the house on occasion(she will be one in January), she barks at little kids, and she can't stand to be by herself. They both dig in the back yard, the couch, the blankets or their bed. I think we have raised hellions (sp). "The Puggles" are spoiled rotten but they are so cute and that's how they get away with so much.... I just hope our kids are ugly :)

Long Thanksgiving Weekend

2008-12-01T07:02:00.000-08:00

Every year since we have been married (and one year before), we have done two Thanksgivings. We have lunch, at 1:00 or so at my parents house, then we take a nap, watch a movie and then go over to John's parents house for dinner around 6:30. After dinner we usually watch a movie or play videogames and then about an hour later we eat pie. By this time I am so full I don't think I will be able to eat anything else ever again...and I stay full for the rest of the weekend :) We are both very fortunate to be able to be with both of our families for the holidays.
On Black Friday we woke up at 4:30 and got ready to go shopping...until about 8:00 in the morning :) This year we went to Best Buy at 5:00 in the morning (We were looking for something that we saw in the ad that was 1/2 off), when we found the item that we were looking for it wasn't really what we thought it was so we picked something else...which was not on sale. We got in line to pay for our item that was not on sale and while we were in line we saw the itouch (it's what I want for Christmas), and so got that too...again not on sale. Ok so now we are done with Best Buy so we head over to Kohl's to get another Christmas present for someone. We get there and get the item and head up to the register, but of course the line is wrapped around the whole store...so we say nevermind and we put the $12 item back on the shelf and leave. Now it's time to meet up with my mom and Ivan at Office Depot (they waited in line for about 5 minutes in the freezing cold so we decided to meet up with them instead). While we were waiting to check out (we were 3 people from the front and it took 30 minutes for us to check out...) Ivan was telling us, when they opened the doors to let the line in some guys just walks right in. So Ivan being Ivan yells "let's get him". No one did of course but it got people hyped up. So finally we get to the checkout (John and I didn't buy anything). Now we are on our way to Staples, Circuit City, and Sports Authority. Out of all three of those stores we bought two items (they were on sale!)both at the same store and they were located in the front rack right when you walk in. Ivan wants to go to Best Buy too so we walk back over to Best Buy and start looking around again. John finds something that he needs for his truck so we got it (it was not on sale, and he ended up having to return it). So...we went shopping the busiest day of the year and we didn't buy anything on sale, we bought most of our items from Best Buy, the first store we went to, and we were home by 8:00. What a day!!

First blog ever!!

2008-11-26T07:24:00.001-08:00

I've finally started a blog!
I just want to wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving and I hope you are all with loved ones and friends.