I'm BaCk In the BLoGging WoRLd....

It has been FOREVER since I have posted anything on my blog. So many things have been going on, and blogging took a back seat. But I figure now I should get caught up on what has been going on in our lives.

A little up date on the pregnancy

As all of you know we are having a boy... I am 24 weeks now and things are going great. I can't complain. I have had a wonderful pregnancy so far. I have told many people, I sometimes forget that I am pregnant, things have been so good. For the last little while I have started to feel him move and I am getting a bit of a belly. It is so fun to feel him moving around, its still such a miracle to me how it all works. Everyday we get more and more excited for him to join our little family. We can't wait!!!

Back in School

Also... I am back in school. I guess I can't really claim to be fully in school but I am talking one last and final class online to finish my Associates Degree. I got looking into my schooling a while back and realized I only needed 2 more credits to get my Associates. So I decided it would be a no brainer if I didn't get those last 2 credits. So I enrolled in a Childhood Adolescence Nutrition Class. It has been the perfect class to take since we will be having the baby soon. I have learned a lot. I will be done on the 26th of June and have my Degree... For me who is not a fan of school....this is an accomplishment. I will be glad to have it done!

My Wonderful Husband who is always full of surprises

As some of you know, our life for the past year and a half...pretty much since we moved into our house...has been YARD WORK. We spent all of last summer doing the sprinkling system, which I hope to never tackle again, and for the good part of this year pulling weeds, picking rocks, raking dirt, picking rocks, leveling the ground and did I mention PICKING ROCKS!!! They say build your house on a firm foundation....Well I don't think we are going any where with the rocky ground we live on.

Digging trenches for the sprinklers....

I never thought I would be so grateful for a "Ditch Witch"...It saved our lives!

Anyways... we were hoping to get our sod in at the beginning of this summer/spring, and this is where the "wonderful husband" comes into play.

We finally got everything pretty much ready for sod and were just waiting to hear from the sod company. We had our name on a waiting list to get a little bit better deal and so we had to wait until the sod place called us to get it.

Well about two weeks ago...Devin was out in the yard working again and I was so SICK of yard work, so I told him to come in and "lets go do something fun". He told me he would be done in a minute. As I was about ready to head back in the house.... A semi full of sod pulled into our neighborhood...

When I saw it my words were "Oh Man, who is getting sod in the neighborhood I wish that was ours" The semi was about to our house when Devin said..."SURPRISE...IT IS OURS" I could not believe it....I was so surprised I about fell over. Then my mind was going 90 miles an hour trying to figure out how it all came about...and "who was helping lay all 17 pallets of sod". I should never doubt my husband who covers every track that needs to be covered. The crew was on its way and we had the whole yard laid by the end of the night. Insta-YARD is the way to go. It is so nice to look out and see green and not DIRT. All the hard labor the year before and this year PAID off! Thanks to all who helped lay the sod...we appreciated it so much.

The first few pieces laid

I am always amazed at Devin and the things he does for me. He is always full of surprises. It seems like he always has something under his sleeve brewing. It is so nice to have it all done and not have to worry about it anymore....just in time before the baby comes!

DrUm RoLL PLeAsE.....

We're having a little boy!!! We are so excited....Devin is thrilled to have his little soccer/basketball/football, you name it, sports player! It is still hard for me to imagine we're having a baby. Some days it seems so unreal....but having the ultrasounds each appointment definitely brings it all to real life. I can't wait till I start feeling him move, then I know it will become even more REAL!!!

A LittLe Up DaTe...

I thought I would do a little up date on how my pregnancy is going. A lot of you have asked how I have been feeling and all I can say is, I definitely can't complain. The minute I found out I was pregnant, one of the first things that came to mind was "Morning Sickness", so I was a little worried how my body would react. I have felt so good that I have told a few people that I sometimes forget I am pregnant. In the very beginning there was a few foods I ate that sounded SO SO good at the time....and NOW....BARF...I hope to never see a corn dog again!!! So, if anyone is needing corn dogs, when I went on my craving I bought two boxes and only ate ONE!!! I can't even stand to look at the box. Other than that and feeling very tired, I have been really lucky and have felt great.

We find out what we are having April 17th, so a week from this Friday...we can hardly wait! In the beginning I thought I was having a girl to the point when my grandma asked me what names we liked, I went off on the few girl names we liked and then she said..."what about boy" and I almost was like "Grandma, we're having a Girl". Then I went through a stage of thinking it was a boy and now I am pretty neutral, I don't really know. Devin on the other hand thinks its a Girl...so I guess we will have to wait and see. Whatever it is, we will be thrilled either way!!!

New Addition to Our Family.....

And NO its not another FISH.....(I'm sure that's what a lot of you are thinking...lol)

WE'RE HAVING A BABY!!!

I'm 12 weeks and 5 days to be exact...so 3 months!!!

Devin and I are so thrilled to be parents, we can't wait! Our due date is October 3rd. We can't wait to find out what we are having at our next appointment. Feel free to leave us your guess on what you think....BOY??? or GIRL??? (We'd love to know your opinion)

LeT's BoWL!!!!

Devin and I have been on a bowling league for the past two months. It has been so much fun!!! Lets just say we might not have taken 1st place...but at least I can bowl over 100 now instead of barely bowling a 60 if I was lucky;)

Thanks to Devin being a professional bowler;) and winning the last league he was on before we were married, he got a certificate for new shoes and I got to reap the benefit from it. I was glad to get my own pair of bowling shoes so I didn't have to wear the nasty ones that everyone wears at the Bowling Ally!

SWEET... I rolled another GUTTER BALL probably for the 50th time that night....but hey the gutter and I aren't so good of friends any more...I tend to keep it on the lane now!

Devin reassuring me it was O.K. and that someday my ball will go where its suppose too;)

Our team -"The Marshmallow Matey's" We had a great time playing with the Partridge's. We made some great memories with them!

WhAt A CuTiE!!!

My friend from Iowa came to visit. She brought her brand new baby that she and her husband just adopted. He is 7 weeks old and can I just say SO SO CUTE!!!

He is such a good baby...I couldn't help but just hold him and hug him!

When I saw this picture it made me realize I need to see a little bit more sun;)

He is so lucky to have been given to such great parents! I am so happy for my friend and the amazing story she has to tell about her precious little boy!

We had such a fun time. We went to eat at Maddox and had a great time getting caught up on each others lives. I wish she lived closer (hopefully someday).

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

I've been going to post this for a while now and just haven't...but it is something that definitely should have a post of it's own (according to Devin anyways)

About three months ago we got this fish aquarium....

Devin's PRIDE and JOY!!!!

At first I wasn't so sure about the purchase...but now that we have it I must say I have thoroughly enjoyed it!!!

Feliz Cumpleanos.......

Or in other words...HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

It was Devin's Birthday last weekend and he turned the BIG 24...we are now officially the same age. From the day we met it has always been a thing that I am 9 months other than him. I like to pull that card sometimes in different situations to remind him I am older and wiser;)

D = DELIGHTFUL

E = EXUBERANT

V = VIBRANT

I = INCREDIBLE

N = NEVER ENDING LOVE FOR ANYONE AND EVERYTHING

For dinner I took him to his favorite.... CHILI'S

He picked one of his favorite cakes....CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE PUDDING CAKE...with his all time favorite ice cream...BLUE BUNNY SUPER CHUNKY COOKIE DOUGH!!!

We had a fabulous day together...HAPPY BIRTHDAY HONEY thanks for making me so happy and my life so wonderful!!!

HaPpy HaPpY NeW YeAR!!!!

Devin and I took it upon ourselves to throw a New Years Party with his fam. It was kind of last minute when we decided to do an all out PARTY!!! We had a lot of fun putting it all together and we were really thrilled that we got his sister and her family to come down clear from Boise for the fun shin-dig!!!

The PARTY PLANNER himself...I have to hand it to my sweet husband... he did an awesome job putting everything together and making it all happen...great job hun!!!

We had a YUMMY...HEALTHY....dinner full of Domino's Pizzas, and tons and ToNs and did I mention TONS of appetizers and Desserts...

Thanks to everyone for bringing oodles and oodles of food.... A PARTY'S not a PARTY without FOOD!!!

Each person brought a WHITE ELEPHANT gift...I must say, we had some pretty crazy gifts... goofy, funny, cheesy, you name it...they were pretty hilarious!!!
The kids brought gifts also to exchange with each other. I think this one got the tiniest gift award. In amongst all the gifts was this little itty bitty one...Preslie brought it, and Harley ended up getting it...it was a used little thing of lip gloss...I got a kick out of how tiny it was...it was great!!!

The night was full of lots of fun and lots of laugh....especially when Devin decided to livin' things up while he was on the MIC...He is quite the comedian and had everyone laughing pretty hard.

The rest of the nights events consisted of:

DOOR PRIZE---given to the person who arrived at the Party ON TIME...(Good job Bric and Heidi...even driving clear from Boise you were the first to arrive)

PING PONG

POOL

AND...........THE HIT OF THE NIGHT..........

THE WII

Thanks to Brandt and Kriste for bringing it and sharing it with the rest of us! Everyone had such a blast trying all the games and seeing who could beat who...(Sorry no pictures...I don't know what I was thinking, I guess I was to busy watching everyone making fools of themselves;) or actually being quite good!)

We brought in the NEW YEAR as we all toasted with MARTINELLI'S SPARKLING APPLE CIDER!
The night didn't end there....the guys stayed up playing the WII and the girls talked until 5:30 in the morning...Yeah I know...What were we thinking!!! It was a lot of fun...we woke up after a few hours and had a big breakfast and played a few more games before everyone headed home.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

KuNzLeR ChRiStMaS PaRtY!!!

We had our Kunzler Christmas Party with my family on Christmas Eve and throughout Christmas Day. It was such a blast!!! My mom had everything planned out including the master menu posted on the fridge with the events taking place throughout the two days.

Checkin' out the train before the party began!
Mom cooked up a delicious meal of meatloaf, baked potatoes, peas, salad, and rolls.... It hit the spot!
We played lots of games...this was the famous wrap the present a million times and try to open it. There was a little bit of a twist... each couple got a set of gloves and each person wore one of the gloves. You had to work together as a couple to open the present if you got doubles!

After a million rolls of the dice, bruises, running through the whole house, LAUGHING, SCrEaming, and almost a bloody nose (thanks trent)...Devin and I were the CHAMPS!!! (Thanks for the extra spending cash Dad and Mom)
A game we play each year that has become a tradition is "The Giving Game". Throughout the season my mom and dad buy items that range from tools, household items, candy, food, etc etc etc...pretty much anything you can think of. The items are spread out and each person gets multiple turns to pick something from the pile and decided who they want to give it too. Everyone ends up with quite a stack of things. It is a great game and a good way to have the kids as well as we adults think of others and what they might want.
We also played "Pass the Bow" and had to guess ???How many Ornaments??? were on the tree that can only have ornaments on it if it is from someone or has a meaning. (Good job Weston for guessing the closest and winning the prize!!)
It is also a tradition to open a gift on Christmas Eve which is usually PJ's. We love getting new pajamas each year...thanks mom and dad for keeping our PJ wardrobe up to date!

The spiritual end of the night consisted of the grand kids making a manager scene with stickers and grandma telling all of us about the story of Jesus and watching a brief DVD called "Mary did you Know".

We had a wonderful time and love getting together with family spending time and building memories. We are grateful for our family and the fun times we have together . Thanks Dad and Mom for always making every moment together one to remember!

My WoRk ChRiStMaS PaRtY...With a BiT oF a TWIST

This last week was my work Christmas Party at the Prairie Schooner. Lets just say I never thought I would be caught dressed up, singing and dancing at a place that is suppose to be somewhat classy...but folks I DID! My friend and I decided at the last minute to do a little program at our party and surprise everyone. So the day of the party, while we were working, we put our minds to work at the same time to come up with something out of the ordinary!!! Well the day was about half over and the party was only a few hours away when we finally decided what the heck...lets do it! In the few hours we had, we ran down a Santa costume, hit Fun Dazs for an Elf suit and microphones, rounded up the song "Baby its Cold Outside" from the movie Elf, rushed to Walmart for some candycanes, and did somewhat of a pre-game before the show!

We broke away for a bathroom break (at least that is what everyone thought we were doing) and changed into our get up! Lets just say everyone was quite surprised and were a little shocked at the scene.

I think the doctor thought we were a little crazy...but loved every minute of it!!! He should be use to us by now...since how he has to work with us everyday!

I was hoping Devin would still claim me as his wife after all was said and done...as most of you know he is a ham himself so I was safe.

We had a great night with yummy food, gift exchanging, socializing, and cheap entertainment... ha ha ha!!!

LeT tHe PARTIES BeGin!!!

Miles Party

This was our first party out of the many we have planned for the season. We love this time of year and are excited to spend time with family and friends!

We had a great time at the Miles Party. It consisted of Devin and I, his parents, siblings, and all of the cute little nieces and nephews. We ate yummy food, played fun games, the cousins did a gift exchange, and this year the theme for the adult exchange was food storage. One of the fun traditions we do each year for Christmas is... each family thinks of a service project and has it completed by the party to report on what they did. It is such a great tradition and it is so fun to see what everyone comes up with.

The cousins all got together on the couch for a picture before the party began...so CUTE!!!



We all had so much fun. It is great to spend time with family! We are thankful for all of our family members and the memories that are built when we're together!

FaMiLy PiC

Even though family pictures are the dreaded thing (for me anyways), it was fun to snap a few family pictures at Thanksgiving.

I had to post this picture of my dad. We snapped it as he was waiting for everyone else to get ready. I love this picture. It is such a great picture of him, especially with the sheep in the background. My dad is such a great guy. I love him so much, he is definitely someone I look up to and is a great example to me.