Since I have no ambition to do anything else at the moment, I figured I would update my blog. Life has been so crazy lately. I don't know what I expect with the holidays and whatnot upon us. Craig has finished football season which is a relief! His team did very well, they made it to the 2nd round of the playoffs losing to Thermopolis, the would-be state champs. He loved it, but was ready to be done. He has so many different hobbies that it really cut into his "play" time. I can't say we have seen him a whole lot since, but at least he is available.

I can't believe Thanksgiving has been here and gone. Unfortunately, Craig had to work this year. It was our year to be in Burlington, so Hailee and I went to Burlington to spend the day with my family. Craig went to his mom's when he got off of work to eat, then just watched football. I was going to come back over, but was wiped out by the time evening rolled around. We just stayed in Burlington Thursday night since Craig had to work the day after too. Friday morning Mom and I ran to Cody to hit the sale at Walmart. Becca ended up staying home with the kiddos and just sent a list with us. It was kind of a bummer, Mom had one big item she was after and we figured out after we got there that it didn't go on sale until Saturday... We still got some decent deals and got some Christmas shopping out of the way though. I was feeling really bad about not spending any of the day with Craig, but by Saturday I was glad I hadn't come back over... All of Craig's family ended up with the flu!! Rob had it Thanksgiving Day, Jacob got it Friday, and by Saturday everyone was sick! Craig didn't get it, but I am SO glad that Hailee and I avoided that one!

Hailee turned 3 on Tuesday. I can't believe my baby is already 3! For some reason I was awake that morning about 5, which is when she was born, and I couldn't help but think how much our lives have changed since she came to our family. I don't really even remember life before we had her. It seems like she is just the center of our lives. Hailee had kind of a long day of waiting before we got to party. I had a dr. appointment in Cody that morning, so she and I ventured up there first thing. I was a little worried that she would want everything in sight while we were at Walmart, but she was actually really good. I took her to McDonalds to get a happy meal for lunch though and that was when she fell apart. I was ordering and she was howling in the backseat. Finally when I was done ordering I asked her what she wanted if she didn't want a happy meal... she told me that she wanted birthday cake for lunch! After some discussion she decided that she would eat the happy meal and we would make cake when we got home. We had my family and Craig's family over for dinner and cake. Hailee had an absolute ball! She loved everything she got, especially her cake. Lorraine made her cake again this year and she couldn't have done a better job, it was exactly what Hailee was expecting! She got some great gifts that she is just thrilled about. 2 tea sets, an apron, books, a tutu... We have done a lot of playing since! We are so glad that our families we able to share Hailee's special day.

I can't believe we are into December! I have a feeling this month is going to fly by. I keep telling myself I need to get my sewing machine out so I can start sewing on a few Christmas stockings for Cailee's "new" family. We'll see how that goes ;)

Where does the time go!

I am such a slacker! I guess life has just been too crazy to feel like I have time to sit down and blog. Since I don't feel like doing the other things that I should be doing at the moment, I figured I would sit down and update this thing. Life with a 2 (almost 3) year old, volleyball, and football have definitely kept us on our toes around here lately. I was feeling pretty good about the load I had taken at the beginning of the season, but have been much busier lately. We are down to the last week of reffing though. I am glad that I won't be having to find a babysitter quite as often, but I will miss the extra money! I just can't believe how quickly it goes... new clothes for me, new clothes for Hailee (who never stops growing), tags for cars. I am glad the extra money is there right now for all of those expenses. I am going to splurge and buy a nice recliner for my nursery this time. I thought about a glider, but I figured I might as well get something that will be a little more comfortable to sleep in if the need arises.

I had my 20 week ultrasound almost a month ago and found out that we are expecting another little girl. I was kind of hoping for a boy, but I am excited for another little girl. Now we just have to start trying to come up with some options for names... We had a hard time with Hailee so this time ought to be interesting. I just hope we can come up with something we agree on a little quicker than last time.

Hailee is forever growing up on us. She is hardly a little girl anymore. I just can't believe how big she is getting. I keep waiting for her to slow down in that department, she just never does. She loves to dance and sing. It cracks me up, I am not sure where that came from. I definitely do not dance! I suppose music has always had that effect on her though. Since she was just little she has always really liked music. I should find out about putting her in a dance class or something, she would thoroughly enjoy it! I was asking my mother-in-law the other day how we were ever going to get her on the court, she just smiled and said, "I do, in a cheerleader's skirt..." We'll have to see how it goes I guess :)

Well, that is kind of an update on the goings on around here. Maybe after this week we'll do a little better, or have a little more time on our hands.

Summer is about over!

Well, like it or not, summer is pretty much over. Craig started football practice last week and I start reffing this weekend. We really enjoy football season though and I was really glad to look at the volleyball schedule and realize I didn't take TOO much. We have really enjoyed the summer, but we are looking forward to a little bit of a break from the heat. I just hope it doesn't freeze too early this year! I am really looking forward to getting as many tomatoes canned as possible this year along with more green beans and corn.

Cailee and Chris left us last week to head down to Cheyenne for school. We are excited for them to be moving on, but will sure miss them. Hailee hasn't quite grasped the fact that they are gone, she still looks for them. I am sure it is going to be kind of a hard adjustment for her to have them gone. Things are just so much more exciting when there is someone around besides just mom and dad. The other hard one is going to be that Lauren is leaving us tomorrow. Lauren is probably Hailee's favorite. She spends hours playing with her. She is headed to Russia with the ILP (international language program) for 4 months. I don't know what we'll do without her, but we are excited for her to have this unique experience. We know that she will be great and that the Russian kids she is going to teach are going to be very lucky to have her!

We had a check-up with the Dr. today. I must just be paranoid, but I always feel better after we see her and know that everything is going good in there. She did a quick ultrasound to see if there was any chance we could see the gender... no luck, the little stinker had it's legs crossed. We will hope for better results in 4 weeks when I have my 20 week ultrasound. A boy would be nice so that there is no pressure from here on out, but little girls are fun too. We just hope for healthy no matter what. Other than Brac's little incident last week things have been pretty normal lately... Such is life I suppose.

I suppose it is time...

To share that we are expecting another baby! Our families have known for a while I thought it would be a good time to share with everyone else. We are both excited and nervous. It will definately be different having two little ones running around here, but we are up for the challenge. I am almost 13 weeks and due Feb. 1. Like I said, we are so excited!

It's been a while...

Ok, so it has literally be MONTHS since I have updated this thing. The longer I wait the more I wonder where to even start... This year has been full to the brim. We keep waiting for things to slow down, but they never do. One of these days I will just get used to the idea that things seem to just speed up instead of slow down.

I suppose the biggest thing we have done is buy a house. That's right, we are homeowners!! We started the process in April and put an offer in. We closed on the 20th of May and moved in a week later. We are so excited to have a home of our own, even though there are countless projects that need done. We got the bedrooms painted and new carpet in the master and have kind of stopped there for the moment. The lawn and garden keep up very busy. There is much more painting to be done, but I am not even sure where to start that project; so, I just haven't. Despite the mess and wanting to get things done NOW, I am learning patience and loving that it is OURS!

Next on the list, Cailee got married in June. We are so excited to have Chris as an official part of the family. He is great! It's not secret that when he got home from his mission last year we tried to hook him up with Craig's younger sister Lauren. It just wasn't there for them and Cailee and Chris just kind of found their way to one another and we couldn't be more thrilled!! We actually have the privilege of having them stay with us until they are ready to take off for school in Cheyenne this fall. We have all of this room and figured we may as well share it since it would only be 2 months! It's nice to have a little extra help around the house and the company is great, we love having them here.

Craig is staying super busy with work and all of his summertime hobbies! He loves to ride the dirt bike and fish. He has worked in a few trips up there mountain to cut firewood, so we are glad for that! Hailee and I have just been trying to keep up with the weeds in the garden, watering and mowing the grass, and eating as many popsicles as we can :) Now that we have that out of the way, maybe we can keep up with this a little better. Hope everyone is well and surviving this latest heatwave.

For the "blushing bride"

Summer Olson, Becca and I are throwing a Pampered Chef bridal shower for Cailee on Tuesday, May 25th at 6:30 pm, at Summer Olson's home in Burlington. This is going to be so much fun. If you didn't recieve an invitation I appologize, I think we are all running on burn out mode around our house, and my mom's, so forgive us. Anyone is welcome to come!! I figured I would kind of explain how it works on here. Cailee will be making a "wishlist" of items that she would like to have. Instead of everyone bringing gifts, you can purchase something for Cailee from her wishlist. Or, you can just put money in and it will go toward the items on her wishlist, so you can spend as much or as little as you like. Cailee will also be considered the "hostess" of the party so everything purchased goes toward points for free and discount items! You can also purchase items for yourself at the party. It is going to be so much fun and I am excited for Cailee to get some of Pampered Chef's outstanding products! Again, even if you didn't recieve an invitation and want to come, come!
I promise I will post something interesting that pertains to our lives soon!

so funny!

If you are a Twilight fan, or know someone who is, you have to watch this!! I enjoyed the books and probably stayed up a little late a few nights to read, so I suppose I can relate. So funny!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVy8Dr_SxWg

Need people!

Over the Christmas break I took a step aerobics class over at NWC. It was really fun and a GREAT workout! Tiffany Phister teaches it. She is willing to do another class on Tuesday and Thursday nights from 6 to 7 in Powell if enough people sign up for it. If anyone from Lovell/Byron/Cowley is interested let me know, we could car pool!

It may take a few days...

I have been such a horrible blogger these past few months... ok, like the last year. I'm going to take it easy and try to work up to Christmas and the new year! December was an extremely busy month for us!! Hailee and I rode down to Utah with mom and Becca the first week to get Cailee from Weber. It was a quick, hecktic trip! We made it though and we are glad to have Cailee at home.

In November sometime I started sewing... For a couple of years now I have been going to get my act together and sew some Christmas stockings for my in-laws. So, I finally got started. Like everything else, I should have started much sooner. I sewed like a mad woman until like Dec. 22! In all I completed 17 stockings and did a little bit on a few others. I was SO glad to be done with them in time for Christmas. Since I did all of that, Becca and I are hoping to sell a few next year, so if anyone is interested, let me know! I made one for each of Craig's family members to leave at Dave & Suz's, one for Craig's grandma Dorothy, and one for Kev and Chanda to have at home. While I was working on them Chanda was admiring a kind of western print that I had, so I decided to get a couple of them done for them to have. I had Kevin's name for Christmas too, so that was the other part of it. Here are Kev and Chanda's after they were done. I still need to take pictures of the others that I did so I can post them.

I took time from my sewing to go ice fishing with Craig on the 19th. He absolutely LOVES to ice fish, he could do it all day everyday and not get bored! He is all hooked up with a little ice hut that you can put a heater in and has the gas powered auger, so that helps. It was really nice to be able to get out of the cold and warm up a little!! We went to upper Sunshine Reservoir above Meeteetse. My dad, Eric and Brac also went, Daniel and Max came up for a little while that afternoon. The fishing was a little slow and I was mostly the spectator, but it was a nice relaxing day! Brac was the one who looked after the fish! He was pretty funny!

I will be quitting there for now, hopefully I will get Christmas and New Year's covered in the next one!