The Brown Family

2012-01-20T20:17:00.000-08:00

Well this is the only photo i have really taken in the last 4 months....other than christmas. it has been a long one too....4 months that is. i have been non stop sick, and it has been really draining.... i have thrown up 2 times...considering.....that is actually pretty good for how sick i have been. we have been busy. i am so lucky for Olivia. She is such a great child. while i was sick a number of days, i would just lay on the couch and put dora on and she would just watch and check up on me every few minutes... i love her!! she is getting really big... she has grown 2 inches since her birthday. We find out next month who this little bug is in me...can't wait. just switched doctors and the new one moved up my due date. July 5.....i don't know what it is with holiday babies, but i am really hoping that this child isn't born on the 4th of july. i was hoping the same thing with Olivia and halloween.
anywho... i can't talk too much now, about to puke....time for bed.
will update you all more later.

Olivia is 2...and we start over.

2011-11-07T11:55:00.001-08:00

Ben and i celebrated our 4 year anniversary. it was so fun. we drove to sacramento and spent the night at Le Rivage hotel. it was so pretty. Our friends watched O overnight. it worked out!
O turned 2...i made her this cake. it took a lot of work, but she loved it.

She is getting so big... i love how pretty she is getting...

She was a strawberry this year for halloween. we went downtown chico for the Treat street. it was really fun, and she really enjoyed it.

We are pregnant. we are both so excited.... it will be fun to add another little baby to our family.

This is our new stroller. i love it. i try to go jogging with O as much as possible, but it is too cold sometimes. but she likes it too because she is locked in there, so there is a little more freedom with her toys, books, snacks, etc.

Had a small party for her, she loved getting all the gifts. we just had family and friends.

i decided this year that i didn't want to get her any toys. she always gets so spoiled from family, so i made her an apron. i have one more to make, but it was really fun. now when we are cooking she and i can match.

cupcakes, football and a sick child.

2011-10-29T13:09:00.000-07:00

I have been busy. i won't deny it. Ben has NEVER been home, so i have had O a lot, by myself.
These are all backwards....but some updating.
We have an exchange student. Her name is Ann. well that is her american name. she is great. she is going to chico state and is really helpful around here. We took her to a High school football game. she had never been to one, so we drove to Oroville and her and her friend came. it was really fun. Ben got the night off, so we had a little date. it was pretty fun though, LP was actually playing PV and PV killed them! ;)

We went to the Pumpkin patch.. it was kind of sucky, to be honest. we went on a friday afternoon, and i guess TJ farms only has the fun things going on the weekend. last time i checked, friday afternoons were the weekend...but whatever. we were the only ones there. Another first for Ann.

O was sick, so it was kind of hard to have her there. she did start to lighten up once she could run around though. this was a tree swing made out of a tire.

This was O for a whole week. EVERY DAY!!! she threw up 3 times in one day. would NOT leave my side. Regardless of what this pic looks like, i am NOT picking my nose. She was really sick. Fever all week, i felt pretty bad for her. I am glad she isn't sick anymore. there is nothing worse than a sick child. Especially her age.

Barely ate applesause. i had made some sweet potatoes and mixed them in, so she got more than just applesause.

She loved being pulled in the wagon.

I was released from being the choir director at church. Now i am in nursery. it is pretty fun.

We went to the salmon festival again this year. it was really fun. i wish that ben had gotten the day off. I guess a bunch of guys decided to go fishing or hunting, and so 3 days before we found out that he didn't get the day off. i was MAD!! we had been planning on this for a whole year. we went last year, and it was really fun. anywho, this is the sunscreen station.

Up at the dam. this is a neat view. all the fish are going crazy. Jumping non stop.

Next to the dam, there is the fish ladder. they jump from each step to the next. they have windows to look at thi fish. it is a pretty cool thing.

This is Jen. She is my neighbor, and closest friend right now. She literally lives next door, and we hang out everyday. it is nice to have someone since ben is gone all the time. We actually met at the gym, and that was almost a year ago. she is the one who informed us about exchange students.

Now that ben has quit his job, he will be home MORE!! i can't wait. we decided it was the right time, so he quit. he will be finished in May and then it will be off to looking for ANY PE teaching job in california. I love this picture, O loves when Daddy gives her a bath. She can count to 15 now. thanks Ernie.

O LOVES Ann. She is always trying to go in her room. It is funny, sometimes Ann runs from her and shuts her door so she can get homework done. But when Ann is out of her room, O LOVES it.

Otherwise, we are excited for Christmas season. O is going to be old enough to know somewhat of what is going on. I think it will be a challenge to keep her from touching the tree. she did GREAT last year, but she is a little more sassy this year.

I am so excited for Ben to be finished with school. I can't describe it. This has been our WHOLE marriage. Speaking of which, we are having our 4th anniversary on Nov. 2nd. I can't believe it has been 4 years either. Ben is 27 today and O is 2 tomorrow. Busy time of year for us....huh?

Scentsy

2011-10-01T21:52:00.000-07:00

Well I started selling Scentsy...I LOVE IT!! It is this wonderful Wickless Candle. AMAZING!

camping in santa cruz, the last hurrah!

2011-08-26T08:13:00.000-07:00

we went camping this summer, it was really fun. it was the first time for a few things for Olivia. First camping, first encounter with the sand and ocean, first time sleeping in a tent, and first time showering with both mom and dad. Of course, camping sites dont have bathtubs, so it was quite the experience trying to give her a shower at night. Santa cruz was great for being close to the ocean, but warmer than fort bragg, so there were TONS of mosquitos.
This was our last big trip for the summer before ben started school.... we actually left a day early, because i needed some sleep...Olivia did NOT sleep the first night, and we now have an exchange student living with us from China, and we needed to get ready for that!

Olivia had fun in the water, she did NOT like the sand, and did NOT like getting dirty from the sand and the waves. This is a little cove we found so that we didn't have to go to the full ocean with the babies. They were able to walk around and play and we didnt have to worry about them getting swept away with the waves. it was great.

her saying "yuck" to the sand. it took quite some time to get her to be ok to walk in the sand alone.

we did go to the pier and she loved the sea lions. that was fun to watch.

Santa cruz county had a CUTE childrens park right outside of Santa Cruz. we stopped there on the way home, and just played. it was great. there wasn't any gravel or wood chipps. everything was that new rubber. it made it really nice when Olivia fell.

Discovery Kingdom

2011-08-07T22:05:00.000-07:00

Ben and I had a chance the other day to go on a MUCH needed date. Lila watched Olivia and we drove to Vallejo for a day at Discovery Kingdom Six Flags. It was really fun. I am not a ride person, so we just went to the shows and watched all the animals. it was really fun and i am happy we got a break for just the two of us before school starts. we might have to have another date day before school.
We watched the dolphins and the orca show. they were good, not great. i am pretty sure that since the whole sea world thing happened with the trainer drowning, they don't do much with the orcas in the water. still entertaining.

The sea lion show was the best. BY FAR!

YES, that is a tiger swimming in the water after a piece of meat. Tigers swim,did you know that?

and me and ben.... we had a lot of fun.

trip to utah in a nutshell...

2011-07-23T20:15:00.000-07:00

well it started out good....we left saturday night and stayed in a hotel in sparks, nv. we left the next morning and drove to rexburg. that was the longest day of my life and i never want to drive that drive again!!! seriously. i won't! i might fly to SLC and then drive there, but not ever again straight from Chico. we then visited my sister who just had a baby. it was fun to visit with her family. We went to Provo and stayed with LaNell. it was great. it was fun to see family and hang out. We went to a water park, Seven peaks....great fun. and then went to a cabin for 3 days outside of heber city. that was really fun too.

This is the view from the front porch of the cabin. it was beautiful. three stories high and TONS of deer, moose, bear, and every other animal that you can hunts heads all over the walls. We just played games and hung out...i am sad that i didn't take more pictures...next time.

This is my best friend beth....it is amazing to say that we are still best friends after all these years. We sure don't talk enough, and we rarely see eachother, but when we get together, it is like time never lapsed! I miss her and wish we lived closer, but it was great to hang out with her so much...i definately didn't get enough of her though.

Seven Peaks. Olivia had the best day of her life, by far. she loved it so much we are going to venture again to another park in Redding. i hope she is just as much fun.

I took this picture because i have one just like it when i was about this age and let me tell you, we are looking more and more alike. I love her. She did SO SO good on this trip. There was very little whinning on the drive to Idaho. But whenever we got out of the car she definately had a skip in her step. i could tell that she was happy to be out of the car, but she sure didn't cry much. and her naps and sleeping was great. we sure do love you little miss Lily!

2011-05-27T20:03:00.000-07:00

We have been quite busy.... it is the end of the year, and now we are finally going to have some fun! This is Ben and Lily playing after his graduation. it was fun to go play in the grass. She loved kicking the ball.

Lily loved the Lai i got for Ben at graduation. She pulled the whole thing apart all over the front room. This is right before church.

We went to the Sacramento Zoo. She was pretty entertained, except for the fact that she somehow peed through her pants on the way there, and we had NO extra pants. so we took them off. yet she still had fun.

Daddy and Olivia. She wanted to play with the camera.

Mommy and Olivia and the "cheese" face.

Ben Graduated. We are SO happy!!

Molly Graduated as well with her Masters. Molly and i are both holding her diploma to demonstrate how much i helped her through her program!

Olivia got really sick the week before. Fever, throwing up, tired, cranky...you name it! Daddy even stayed home one day from work, so I could work and he took care of her.

We FINALLY hiked Feather Falls. it was really fun, we went with Ben's outdoor education class. It was pretty cool. 10 mile hike round trip.

The Falls....this is all backwards, sorry...but i am sure you all know how that goes with blogger.

We have had a fun semester, and i can't wait for all the fun this summer. Next year, ben is in the credential program. he will be student teaching at Oroville high school, and then working full time at the Juvenile Hall in Oroville, and class 2 nights a week at chico state. It is going to be rough, we won't see eachother much, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel..... right??

17 and Blonde

2011-04-18T20:25:00.000-07:00

Well i found my camera. Ben hid it in the car when we went to Sacramento. THANK HEAVENS!!!
Olivia is getting bigger by the minute! She can now climb onto the piano bench, open the lid and start playing. Yet, she is still taken into another room when i put music away. She is not allowed to know that the bench opens....not yet at least.

I went back blonde. This is about 3 weeks ago. The most recent picture. We have been busy.

Did i mention that i lost 17 lbs. Yes....that is right. 17! I am stoked about this. I have been doing weight watchers and working out 2 hours a day. i am dedicated. Only 40 more to go, and i have hit my goal. This summer. I am loosing about an average of 2 lbs per week. LOVE IT!

Olivia now knows how to take her clothing off. It is really annoying. but she sure is cute.

Playing at the park. She seemed a little scared of the slide. when ben let go, she just clenched on and hung there for a little while. we finally peeled her fingers off, and she didnt seem excited.

Other news:

Ben got into the credential program. It is going to be tough. BUT they are totally willing to work with him. His supervisor was really impressed that he has all A's and B's at Chico State with a wife and child at home, while working full time. He told him that and pretty much asked him where he wanted to student teach. AWESOME!!! the un-awesome part is that he still needs a few classes before he gets in, which means summer school. They decided not to tell him until after it was too late. So this summer he will be taking an aquatics class, tennis, health, and Magic, witchcraft and religion. It is going to be a tough year for me and Olivia. BUT i can't wait. i am SO happy that there is only one year of school left, i could almost cry. I am just tired of being in school(well ben being in school). it has been a Large stress on our marraige. He is never home, and when he is, he is usually doing homework. He works so hard. i am excited for him to finally do something he wants to do.

She is not a huge fan of the camera but she will stare at you until you take the picture.

We went to the mall and let her have a ride. she DIDNT like it. but loved climbing.

carmera, camera, anyone seen it??

2011-03-24T20:17:00.000-07:00

i can't seem to find my camera...i think we left it in sacramento at the hotel....THIS SUCKS!!!

silly girl.

2011-03-02T21:45:00.000-08:00

some days i get really sad thinking about how much Olivia...now calling her Lily, has grown up. she really is turning into a little girl. she is fun! SHE LOVES RUNNING!!! I mean, running. she doesn't walk too much. she is usually running.

She is being silly here, she likes wearing my beanie.
Being silly here again.

And even though we are REALLY busy, we found time to go to the park on Tuesday in between rain storms. She had a ton of fun on the swing. She really didn't want to leave.

She also loves saying... Daw Daw.....rrrroooooorrrroooo

loves those dogs....now just have to work on getting ben to let us get one!

what a baby!!

2011-01-22T21:17:00.001-08:00

Olivia sure has been a handful lately...she has been teething like crazy....and then she got sick...and then she got me sick, and now i think that ben is sick.... it has been a crazy last month or so. BUT, ben starts school on monday, his new schedule started today. tomorrow is the first time he has come to church since june. We are happy he gets to come to church again, his work permitting! I am super excited to get to a SET schedule as well... i can't wait to start running again. This weather here has been crazy. it was in the 70's today! i sure can't wait for spring and summer to start running in the park again. but above all that and even though Lily has been quite a challenge, i sure do love her!! what can you expect when her K-9s came in, and her molers are sure trying to cut through the skin. she sure is a trooper!

The New Year!!

2011-01-06T19:34:00.001-08:00

With the new year, Ben and I set up some resolutions. Ben's being weight management, have FHE every week, and daily scripture study. Mine, LOSE WEIGHT, Daily Scripture study and read 4 books within this year(1every 3 months. Non church, and Non Baby). Well i have chosen them. I am actually pretty excited. Let the games begin.

I purchased this when it came out, i think it might have been last year at this time. Have yet to read it. this will be the first i tackel.

Purchased this last year as well....have not made time to read it. can't wait to get to this one. Right around spring time...the time for love.

This is the #1 best selling book for non fiction. that is why i chose it.

this just sounded good.....

Wish me luck! and good resolution-ing to you all! ;)

to quote the king of siam...."a snow"

2011-01-03T17:07:00.000-08:00

Olivia had never been to the snow....so on sat we went up to paradise and played a little...it was fun!

Her new track suit from aunt lanell...

Her modeling pose.

she is so cute!

happy happy.

sorry it is sideways..

2010-12-27T19:46:00.000-08:00

Christmas came and went this year. It seems like it came faster than normal, but i think that is what happens when you have children. Olivia had fun. She got TOO many things. My sister Brooke came to visit this year with her family. That was fun. Olivia's hair is now long enough that we put it in pig tails, but as you can see, she was having a melt down and ripped them out.

Her upset look.... she was READY for bed!

and after all her toys, she still wanted to play with the place mats in the office.

Smile on command. (it took a while to learn this one)

Daddy trying to make her laugh.

I made sugar cookies this year....TOO MUCH WORK!!! i think i will stick to other goodies.

they sure were good though. fluffy, soft and cream cheese frosting.

All in all it was a good year. i am excited for the new year to start though. i feel like there were too many things going wrong this year. Ben and i had our talk last night ( we have weekly companionship inventory) and we set our 2011 goals. i am pretty stoked about them. one of my goals is to ready a non church non baby book every 3 months. 4 total for the year. First on the list is Mitt Romney's No Apologies. I am going to be looking around for the next ones. any suggestions??

colors

2010-12-10T10:04:00.000-08:00

We have been working on changing our house around for the last few months. yesterday we painted half of our cupboards...we have to work in stages with Olivia...now that she is walking...(YEAH!!) but as you can see, they look WONDERFUL compaired to the ugly color they were...we are just trying to decide what color to pain the kitchen...any suggestions?

Did i say busy???

2010-11-20T16:10:00.000-08:00

This would be Olivia trying to feed herself. She usually gets beside herself and starts rubbing it in her hair!

Her 12month check up...the dr said she is VERY healthy. She is 31inches, 22 lbs, and in the 75th% for both!

She was VERY over me taking her picture. We have been trying to teach her to feed herself.

This would be Ben and the Mover moving our new piano up our stairs...and Aaron watching.

We got a new piano. This is my christmas present from Ben. We got it early, because we found a REALLY good deal on craistlist that we couldn't pass up. The new piano becoming Olivia's playstation... She loved playing with that roll of film. I found it in our luggage. It was left over from Ben's mission...hahaha.... not used....so she loves chewing on it and throwing it around the house.

We painted....Neverminds the mess. Olivia will find any pile of clean clothing and make sure she throws every piece on the floor.

I love our living room now. I love this color. it makes a WORLD of a difference.

Our new "ride". As from the last post, we have been very busy. We had Olivia's First Birthday, Ben's Birthday, Halloween, My car accident, our wedding anniversary, and looking for a new car all in about 3 weeks time. This is what we found. IT IS WONDERFUL!!!!! it is a 2007 Jeep Commander. Leather, 4x4, Hemi engine, Navigation, DVD system, power everything, back up camera, sun roofs...yes i said sun roofs. there is one at the front of the car, just like others that opens, and there are 2 smaller ones in the back seat. they don't open but they do make the backseat a lot roomier.... there is even a 3rd row seat as well. it is a great car for us right now. we love it and it is the nicest car we have ever had. i love the auto start on the key chain. now the car is heated up by the time i get in it and they have heated seats too!!! needless to say, we have been busy this last month and are DEFINATELY looking forward to the holidays...

Busy Busy...

2010-11-08T20:03:00.000-08:00

This happened on Monday on the way to the Gym.... we are ok...but the car is a total loss. That is why we have been looking for a new car.
Olivia getting ready for church. she is playing with my hair clips already.

She LOVED the cake!!

She is good at hugs.

My little girl turned one this month!! she is getting so big. not walking just yet, but standing up and thinking about it.

She is so much fun at work. she loves hanging on me.

at the pumpkin patch....daddy thought this would be a good pic...and it was!

just hanging out in the stroller at the patch.

Our latest family pic. we have been meaning to get to the studio...but ben has been gone in fresno for the last 4 weeks. he is finally home and it is nice. this month for sure! We have been on the hunt for a car. we didn't even have time to celebrate our anniversary. we have been married for 3 years now! It is great to share everything with my best friend, lover and husband! i love you benjamin!

Halloween and the BIG 1!

2010-10-11T17:41:00.000-07:00

This is a busy time of year for us!!! Pictures to come!

11months

2010-10-01T11:02:00.001-07:00

My my, she is sure getting big. Can you believe she is almost 1 year old??!!?!?!

follow up and a little upset......

2010-09-24T14:21:00.001-07:00

Well we went the fish hatchery again on thursday. I forgot my camera, but i found these and this about sums it up. I don't know how i was imagining it, but i sure didn't imagine it like this!! They cut the female fish open, scoop out her eggs into this black tub, and then take the male fish and squeeze out their sperm and throw them in a bucket....it was pretty gross, but i guess they were doing it to "save" the fish.... i just was a little upset. i wasn't NOT expecting this!! It was fun to see it all happening though. We can't go to the Salmon Festival this year, but for sure next year!

date night

2010-09-18T11:16:00.000-07:00

Ben and i went on a date to the Feather River Fish Hatchery. It was really neat. All the Salmon and Steelhead fish were just JUMPING out of the water. I have never seen anything like this before. We then went to Tong Fong Lo's for dinner. Ben's parents babysat. it was nice to get away for a night!

the Blanket

2010-09-09T20:36:00.001-07:00

She now cuddles with the blanket next to her head. as she takes her nap, she is on her stomach and crazy hair when she wakes up...but boy is she happy when she wakes.

10 Months...

2010-08-31T19:50:00.001-07:00

At 10 Months, she is doing pleanty.....

Pulling herself up and walking...holding on to anything.

saying baba, dada, mama, papa, we are working on lala

she has officially forgotten about the pacifyer.

her hair fits into a clip. I love this one.

she crawls like crazy!

Eats just about anything. i even made a lasagna and put her portion on the ninja with some water and she ate that.

she sleeps through the night and takes her 2 naps a day, but she has been doing this for a while.

and she has 2 teeth.

she is GREAT and we LOVE HER!!

Our DVD player died. we gave her the remote since she wanted the other ones that worked.

she is teething. This is what i come into in the mornings. plus the snot running down her face.

bed time. She loves it when daddy puts her to sleep with a song. Church hymn of course.

She loves bananas. I asked ben to cut some up for her. he gave her the whole banana. but she ate it...

Getting ready for church. She is such a lady.

She LOVES these sunglasses.

2010-08-24T19:25:00.000-07:00

I would just like to say how much i love my husband. He called in sick to work yesterday so that i could just sleep and get better..... thank you!!! and i love you!

utah-idaho

2010-08-15T09:57:00.000-07:00

Monday -Monday 8/2-8/9 we went to utah and idaho. it was really fun. it had been too long since i had been there. I got to visit with my really good friend Beth. i love her and miss her so much. then we hung out with Bens family for a day, then went to the SL temple. ben had never been, so we did a session, went the the Lion House Pantry for lunch, and walked around a little bit. That night, we got to visit our friends Kevin and Emma Cherry. It was nice to see them. We then headed up to Farmington to see some of my mission budies. that was a highlight...it had been 5 years since we had all seen eachother.

thursday we headed up to pick up my mom and molly and we all drove up to idaho where brooke got married. it was awesome. her husband, Tyler, is great. we were up there for 3 days. first time i had been to idaho. very remote and full of fields. peaceful. my whole family was there is it was really fun! this is the first time all 5 Cavaness kids have been together since my wedding. we didn't really get a chance to all hang out there either, so sat night was really fun. we all just talked and joked around.

we came back on sunday and oliva had a pretty rough week. i think i was probably the lack of schedule that we had out there, since i am pretty strict with our schedule here. but all in all we had fun. cant wait to go again.

Olivia loved being thrown into Aunt Lanell's Love sak.
A. Lanell took her swimming while ben and i went to the temple. i guess she had fun while pooping all over the deck. ;)

GOING PRIVATE!

2010-07-14T16:50:00.000-07:00

HAHAHAHA just kidding...i think it is so funny when people say they are going private and then dont.....i don't really care who looks at my blog. I actually put a counter on here to see if anyone other than myself was actually looking at this thing! and suprisingly there are! so for all you out there who are blog lookers and aren't very good at making comments (like me)..
YOU ARE BEING COUNTED!! ;)

4th of July

2010-07-04T19:59:00.000-07:00

puckering up for a kiss! she even makes the smacking noise!

Ben loves taking her swimming.

I saw a post today on FB that said ....do we celebrate the 25th of December, the 17th of March, the 31 of October, or the 14 of Feb.? no it is INDEPENDANCE DAY!!!....i thought it was stupid! so what, it is independance day.... it is also the 4th of july. does it really matter what we call it as long as we understand what we are celebrating?? no! at least not to me!

I don't really like it when holidays are on Sundays. Today, we didn't really do anything. we went to church and came home. although, olivia looked pretty darn cute in her new dress...thank aunt Lanell. Ben and i dressed patriotic today as well. it was fun to sing all the USA songs in church. we had to leave early. Olivia was NOT happy in Sunday school. it didn't help that is was during her nap. so we came home and ate lunch. on the way home, this looser backed into our car. i guess he didn't know the difference between reverse and forward. we got all his insurance stuff though. i have to call tomorrow. Then after lunch Olivia took another nap. 30 min into it, she cried...those first teeth still haven't come through....and when i went to get her, i picked her up and rocked in the recliner in her room, she fell asleep on me. so i just layed there and enjoyed it for about an hour. then i had to wake her up so she would sleep tonight. I sure do love her though. i give her kisses everyday and she is catching on. she is starting to pucker up for them. she is also rocking. any day now, she will crawl..i can't wait!
I just can't get enough of that girl! 8 months and getting bigger by the day.

Fort Bragg

2010-06-26T16:56:00.000-07:00

This last week we went to Fort Bragg. It was really fun...other than the cold weather and everyone getting deathly ill!! Ben's family all got together and we went camping. Ben, Olivia and I stayed in a Hotel. I thought she was just a little too young to camp out. Although, i am sure that the air matresses were more comfortable than our cheap motel beds.

This was our last day..wed. the sun finally came out and I felt like we could actually go to the beach. Olivia did pretty well. She had to sleep in the moby...thank heavens we took it.
Ben on the first night. it was COLD... we didn't really have much of a fire either. the wood we brought was still a little green. the last night, we buckled down and bought wood...talk about costing an arm and a leg. but we were all much happier once we were warm.

For one reason or another, everyone got sick. out of all of us, Ben, me, Olivia, Lanell, and Lila were the only ones who didn't get sick. So maybe next year. we are talking maybe Bear Lake...that would be fun!

Olivia at the beach. she is just so cute!!

at the end of the last day...she was so tired, she actually fell asleep in Lanell's arms and then stayed asleep until we woke her up for her shower....yeah... the crappy hotel didn't have a bathtub, so we had to give her showers everynight. which means we had to take them with her.

WE NEED HELP!!!

2010-06-18T19:43:00.000-07:00

we are flying out to utah aug 2-aug 9th. we are renting a car and we need a car seat...to rent a car seat with the car is $50 a day...that is right...you read $50/day!!! so i am wondering if there are some WONDERFUL people in utah that might have a car seat that we could borrow for a week and return it before we leave...any takers?? we would LOVE to borrow a pack n play as well that Olivia could sleep in...please let us know ASAP!!!! we would like to save the money and not have to purchase them when we get out there. I mean, come on...how can you resist this face??

2010-06-12T13:38:00.000-07:00

Ben's grandma's 80th bday was this last weekend. I was asked to make the cake. this is the first big cake i have made for anyone. i was a little nervous, and ofcourse, there are things that need to be adjusted next time. but you can see that it turned out ok. the worst part was that ben's family made a big deal about it. and that just wasn't me. i felt a little embarassed that they kept talking about how good it was. that is why ben was there for me!! i had a person to hide behind.

It is supposed to be a wishing well....the roof was a little small...but i think it turned out ok. It was 3 layers, so it was a little hard to cut and serve.

anywho...we had a really good time. part of ben's family was there. not everyone, but it was at the park in Redding. Olivia did really well, until after she ate the 2nd time, she was NEEDING a nap. so we took off and i think she fell asleep as soon as we got to the car.

The Silver Dollar Fair

2010-05-31T21:04:00.001-07:00

Today we went to the Fair. it was fun. we got there right at 10am.... Ben had to work at 2 so we got there right when it opened so that we had some time to walk around and enjoy, rather than being rushed. i HATE rushing! so we went to all the exhibits. They were acutally pretty neat...and i decided that i was going to enter the fair next year. that would be fun!
Above is Olivia and Daddy near the baby animals.

These were the baby goats...they were so cute. they kept crying and they seemed kind of scared. and there was this little boy taunting them, i wanted to punch him. i wanted to pet them, but i didn't know if they were scared or what. so we just walked on. poor little goats.

all in all, it was really fun. we got TONS of gross, greasy food. but hey, that is what the fair is all about right>>>>the corn dogs! ;) Olivia will definately have more fun next year...i am sure of it. she wasn't all that interested this year...i think 7 Months is a little too young.

Thank you Aunt Lanell

2010-05-09T19:45:00.001-07:00

I love my new outfits and i made my moms mothers day great!! i love you! -Olivia

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-08T21:18:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all! This is what I made for my mother and Ben's.
On another note, Olivia is doing GREAT! i will have her 6 month pictures done soon...and will post someothers. I just love being a mother!

cakes...

2010-04-27T22:03:00.000-07:00

well i started decorating cakes again...it is super fun! i can't wait to do more. i am doing it for fun so if anyone needs a cake...i sure would like the practice! :)

Food food food

2010-04-19T20:04:00.000-07:00

This is a typical evening feeding. She sure loves sweet potatoes. This is what happens when the baby food isn't thick enough. she loves talking while she eats as well...therefore..i should probably get a bib as well. she sure eats a lot too! when she was nursing...she didn't eat too much. that is why i switched to formula. now she is a HEALTHY eater. that is making me really happy. she is slinder too, so i don't feel like i am over feeding her. We sure love her a lot right now!!!

OATMEAL!

2010-03-27T08:05:00.000-07:00

She loved it, as you can see the oatmeal landed all over her face.
she still doesn't have the swallowing thing down. she likes to chew on the spoon, so she only swallows part of the oatmeal. most of it lands on her face or on the bib.

New bows and a vacation

2010-03-22T19:51:00.000-07:00

I ordered some bows from my friend tacie in Idaho....she makes them. i got them sat in the mail...i love them, but as you can see Lily isn't as excited as I am.

I LOVE THE RED!!

This is daddy and Lily in the hotel room before our friends wedding. My childhood friend got married in sacramento and we decided to go down there and attend. we stayed the night in the marriott in elk grove and it was fun. this is before the reception. Olivia has a problem with slobbering, so i took off her dress until we left.

I love this girl

2010-03-19T06:38:00.001-07:00

almost 5 months

My Life is good...

2010-03-11T20:46:00.000-08:00

The other day my wonderful husband and I were at the kitchen table eating lunch, as we always do since he works nights, and we were talking....Ben says to me" I was thinking today about how good my life is. We are happy, healthy and have a wonderful little baby. We have a great situation being in our apartments and we are going somewhere. I am really happy!" SO AM I! things are just going great right now...and I could jinx them, but lets pray for the best.

Today we had a little play date...it was fun to see them together...Diesel was so happy and Oliva wasn't sure abou the whole thing...it was really cute....can't wait until they are older and we can play more and more.

Vday and my Birthday

2010-02-19T20:06:00.001-08:00

the movie was great!!! good chick flick, but great!

Oijya japanese steak house and suhi bar....WONDERFUL and entertaining...

this year was a little different. ben had to work on both valentine's day and my birthday, so we decided to celebrate both together on tuesday. so on vday he bought me roses and then tuesday began the journey. we started early because Olivia gets up about 6 am every day... then i started to get ready and ben watched her. about 12noon we took Lily to my dad's house and he babysat her while we went to the movies. we watched Valentine's Day. i loved it. but then again i usually always love chick flicks. there is just something to be said about a happy ending. that is what we pay for right? i mean who wants to go to the movies for a sad ending and pay for that? you could just watch life for free....anywho... then after the movie we went to this new resturant here in chico. it is like a bennyhanna's. they have the grill right there at every table and it was neat. ben had never tasted sushi and so we got some and both ordered steak and seafood. it was great..... but after 5 hours we definately missed Olivia. she was pretty happy to see us too. ben got me some new clothes and best of all a jogging stroller. i have wanted one since i got pregnant. i found one on craigslist...blessed craigslist...and bought it! i am so excited for the warm weather so i can try it out. Thurs, my actual bday, my dad(who actually shares my bday) took me out to dinner to thai food. it was really good....and then today was hula's with my sister molly and tomorrow another meal out with my mom....it has been a busy week, but i must say that i enjoy it for turning retched 27.

portfolio.

2010-02-12T21:24:00.000-08:00

this one is my absolute favorite!! she is just loving the camera at this point.
she is figuring out how to use her hands....you can see her separating her fingers...

she loves to drool..

i recently taught her how to stick out her tongue...and so now when she gets excited....she kicks really fast and sticks out her tongue.

and the classic smile...

more pics..

2010-02-07T13:51:00.001-08:00

these are the most recent pics of Lily...she sure is getting big..enjoy!

3 months

2010-02-01T21:19:00.000-08:00

i love this hat! i got it at apple blossom baby for $2. Great buy!!

i am still figuring out my new camera. i know there are tons of settings on it, but i haven't figured out how to use them all...therefore...she always has a delayed reaction to the flashing from it.

i can't believe that Olivia is already 3 months old. she is getting prettier and prettier. she is FINALLY on a schedule..i love it! sometimes she takes 1/2 hr naps and sometimes she takes 3 1/2 hr naps. but she is taking naps! she is sleeping through the night. i can tell when she is hungry, tired and board. it is amazing how much we know eachother. i love her more and more!

PURE BLISS!!!

2010-01-25T20:39:00.000-08:00

well the last few weeks, Lily hasn't been sleeping too well...and i felt like i tried everything. so about 2 weeks ago i went to get secrets of the baby whisperer...it is wonderful! this woman knows Just what she is talking about. so i have Lily now on a schedule. she is sleeping about 10-12 hours at night and she takes about 6 hours of naps during the day. she is still only sleeping in my arms....needless to say that is why i was able to watch the whole first season of desparate housewives in 2 days. but we are slowly getting there. for some reason, she won't nap during the day in her crib. she will only sleep in the swing for about 15 mins and then cries. as soon as i pick her up, she falls back to sleep. crazy child. anywho.....tonight was bliss......she was tired, and fussing, so i held her tight and she calmed down. then i put her in her crib, swadled her and put her hat on, her eyes were open, she she fell right to sleep. ON HER OWN!!! this is like the 3 or 4th time she has done this. it is hard for her not wanting to sleep on her own during the day, but i guess i pick my battles, because she is a WONDERFUL sleeper during the night.

the holidays

2010-01-01T17:35:00.001-08:00

well the holidays are over...and i am glad. i love that time of year, but i LIVE for a schedule. it was fun though. it was Olivia's first Christmas and she slept through the whole thing. it will be more fun next year. she can at least open her own gifts. she is growing faster that we know. she is still skinny for her age, but she is getting big. she laughs now and is starting to talk. she is definately discovering her voice. we have noticed how different she cries now that she knows how to cry. this is her last night in the tub. we give her a bath every night and she was so tired from running errands yesterday, that she fell asleep in the tub.

she loves her swing. that is her nap place during the day. she is just so cute!

Lily

2009-12-23T21:34:00.000-08:00

here is the newest on Lily. she is smiling now on cue...well if you can make her smile. she is trying so hard to talk. i can see it everytime i say good morning, or hello, or how are you to her. she is great and we love her more and more.

Sending Christmas cards

2009-12-06T07:12:00.000-08:00

we are sending christmas cards this year. i am pretty excited about them...if you would like one...please send me your address...i will be mailing them this week!

New Pictures

2009-11-26T09:34:00.000-08:00

we decided to get some pictures of Olivia while she was still really little....this is what she got! they aren't the best quality because i can't get our scanner to work...but they are sure cute!

a lot to do...

2009-11-16T09:23:00.000-08:00

ok, well i have a lot to do today so i can't post too much, but we had Olivia's blessing yesterday. ben starts his new job next week and will be working on sunday so we weren't sure when the next sunday would be to do it. but it was really nice. Ben did a good job. it was a little scary being out with her. we haven't really taken her a bunch of places. my mom made the dress and it looked really nice!!

off to bed!

2009-11-12T23:47:00.000-08:00

it is 1145pm and i am just now going to bed. 10 months ago, i was in bed everynight by 9pm. this sleeping schedule is totally different than what i am used to, but i wouldn't change it for anything. Lily is wonderful and i love her more and more. even when she is crying, i love hearing it! and i LOVE being able to sleep on my back!!!

ben and i have decided that her favorite place to sleep is on my chest. after i feed her and i am in the process of burping her, she always falls asleep, and will stay that way. one night i just layed down with her on my chest, and we took a nap together. it is a great feeling.

We love her!!

2009-11-10T17:06:00.001-08:00

my back hurts, my tailbone hurts, and i am always tired. but we sure love her!!! we gave her the first bath last night and she loved it!!... i can't sit for long because of the tailbone soreness from delivery, but i will post more later!

She arrived....

2009-11-01T21:29:00.001-08:00

Daddy was so so excited to have her finally arrive. He had a smile on the entire time!

I was exhausted...and still am. but she came and we love her!!

well just an update. our little girl finally came. she is wonderful. Wed night, i kept having this feeling that i needed to get things together and take a shower. i kind of got scared thinking it was going to happen in the middle of the night and i really didnt want my water to break on our new bed...well luckily i listened to that prompting. i took a shower, ben got home that night about 930 from work and we hung out. i went to bed about 11pm and just slept like normal, not very well. the next morning, i had another drs appt and so before i left, i told ben are you ready? and he was like yeah. i said well if i go to the dr and he says head to the hospital are you going to be ready for that? he says...you are so funny, like it is just going to happen that smoothly! well, i went to the drs and he wanted to strip my membranes again. well when he stuck his finger in to check for dialation, my water started leaking. then he asked me if i wanted to be induced today if he could get me in. i of course said yes! he said ok head to the hospital. so i got dressed, and called ben. Luckily he wasn't in class and answered right away. i asked him, are you ready? and he giggled because of what we had talked about earlier, and said yes. and i said ok, meet me at the hospital. he said oh, your ready? what happened? and i said i just asked you if you were ready. " i thought you were teasing me because of what we talked about this morining."says ben. i said nope, my water broke, he is going to induce me today, meet me here.

so i checked in about 9am, got in the room and they started with a vaginal tablet. i had to lay there for 2 hours before they would check me again. then ben got there about 20 min later and just hung out with me. after the 2 hrs, we went to walk around for a while to get things going. well i came back and i was only to a 3. so they upped the induction to an insert. i had to lay there for another 2 hours....still in pain because the baby put so much pressure on my hips, and i am in an uncomfortable hospital bed. after that, only dialated to a 4. about 6pm, started on pitocin. that got things going quickly.... Olivia was face up, so i started into back labor. that was the deal breaker for getting the epidural. i really wanted to see how far i could go with out it. that did'nt last long. i received that about 830pm....around 11pm, it wore off....WORST PAIN OF MY LIFE! the dr came back around 130am and did another epidural. that was wonderful! i was totally numb from the mid waist down. normally it would bother me, but the back labor was so painful, this allowed me to sleep through the night. around 430am the nurse checked me and i was dialated to a 7, went back to sleep. 7am, the nurse checked me and she said, ok there is the head...we are ready to push. so ben woke up, and called my mom. she met us there and we started pushing about 715 and she was born 10/30/09 at 904 am. Ben was so excited once the nurse said it was time to push. he was so tired the night before, and once that nurse mentioned pushing, he jumped right up and had a huge smile on his face.

other than the pain, the worst part was the vomiting. i think it was from the pitocin. i am not a big medication person. so between that and the 2 epidurals, i threw up quite a bit. once being in the middle of labor. i was pushing so hard, all the water i drank to keep my mouth wet came right back up. but it was worth every minute. Olivia came out crying on her own. she was healthy and so alert when she came out. they rested her on my chest and it was just amazing to know that she was mine and i helped create her. She looks SO much like Ben. she is just a cutie. I had GSB (Strep B) for the pregnancy so i was on anti-biotics for the labor and the drs wanted to monitor Olivia to make sure she didn't get it. but we left today about 1230 and she was doing just fine. it is nice to have her home. ben is off work until wed and so we are looking forward to spending time with our new family. we will show her off soon enough, but we are loving her and the whole process of getting to knowing her.

waiting...

2009-10-27T16:36:00.000-07:00

i thought this explains it pretty good.... :)

well today is the day! we haven't had Olivia yet. she is taking her time.. i went walking for about an hour today and nothing! if i haven't had her by monday the dr is going to induce me...so we will see what happens. and the hospital bag is all packed..including my camera. so there won't be any new pictures until the baby comes!

elephant feet

2009-10-18T18:03:00.000-07:00

well i am to the point of being sick of my feet being swollen....but i have eight days left until my due date... i am excited to get this baby out. we are ready for her. the nursery is done, we have a TON of clothes, and ben and i are just ready to meet our addition. i am having contractions... but we will see what the dr says tomorrow...

Super Saturday and my walls...

2009-10-01T23:27:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago, we had a super saturday at the church. it was fun! i always love these activities. i feel like they are just like homemaking from days of old. well this year, they had a few different things. both of the activities that i signed up for were wall hangings. i made a really cute one with the pictures that ben and i took at the temple, yet, on my way home, i stopped by michaels and got some things, i set the bag on top of one of the pictures and of course, the writing on the bag came off onto the picture. RUINED! so that project in on hold. i am actually waiting for bens brother to send me a copy of photoshop, so i can finish that one. the other project was a tile wall hanging. i still have yet to pick it up. it needed some repair. anywho...well with the skill that i learned from this specific wall haning project( turning a picture into a canvas to hang on the wall, i decided to spice up our wall a bit. i added a little ribbon and VIOLA!! the two center pieces were already hanging on the wall, they just needed a little more. so i added the bow on top of the FAMILY, and then i made the two side pieces. all did was buy canvas at walmart, paint it black, spread modge podge all over the back of the picture and stuck that to the canvas, let that dry and then spread the MP all over the top of the picture and canvas. i then added the ribbon and bows. it was quite a fun activity.

Emma

2009-09-29T17:29:00.000-07:00

well friends i have started a new adventure. I have started reading a lot more in the last few months and i LOVE it! i know that my desire for reading in the past has really been non existent, but since we got pregnant, i have read some really good books. so i have decided to keep on with my latest desire. I know that might change some when Lily comes along, but i will still try to get some reading in every day. I just finished the Baby wise book. MAGNIFICENT! i will definately give the schedule thing a try. hopefully i can get some sleep too. with anywhere from 2 to 4 weeks left, i have decided to start reading Emma, Jane Austen. This actually has me very excited. i have seen the movie( with gweneth paltrow) but it was so long ago. i don't even remember the story all that well. I have begun this journey and i can't wait.

yes i did say 2-4 weeks. I went to the dr yesterday and he said that he didn't want the baby to get too big, so he might induce me early. Well she is at 6.12 lbs right now, and i was 9.2 lbs, ben was around 8 lbs, so i expected a 8 or 9 lb baby. well i am not complaining though, i would love to have her come early! it would just make everything else grand! we will see. i am hoping that Heavenly Father will have mercy on me, and help me go into labor early, rather than being induced. it does kind of scare me. i just don't want it to make things get harder or longer....ya know? anywho....back to Emma.

new camera...

2009-09-28T08:45:00.000-07:00

i have been looking for a while now to get a new camera. i have wanted one before the baby comes so that we could get some really good pictures and so on. well i finally went to best buy and got one! i love this camera. it takes WONDERFUL pictures and it was on sale. that was the best part! so we will definately have more pictures on the way!

baby room...

2009-09-21T20:24:00.001-07:00

we are almost fully done with the baby room. when ben and i got married, my grandma gave me a quilt that she had for over 20 years and it was made by my grandpas mother or grandma.....it is beautiful. it is hand quilted....i didn't want it to get dirty so i am going to hang it on the wall. so i have yet to do that. but other than that, here is the closest finished product.

my new recliner that i found on craigslist for $150...it is great!

we took the doors off the closet so that i could have room for the dresser..i have to still get curtains for this area.

I love fall!

2009-09-10T14:00:00.000-07:00

well i know this is a little early but i changed my backround for fall. i love this time of year. it is my favorite. i love going to HS football games, smelling the fresh air, and seeing all the trees change color. they haven't really changed all that much here in chico, but it is september and i know they will soon. today also means that we have about a month left before Olivia arrives. we are excited. the crib finally did come. it is in pieces in the front room, but ben bought some mountain dews, and him and aaron are going to put the set together tonight....so we will update soon!

the baby and the blanket...

2009-09-07T20:02:00.000-07:00

I finally finished the baby blanket....it took me a while but it is DONE!!! i am happy about this one!

i had my baby shower aug 22...and it was great! it was fun to see everyone there and i am SO greatful for all the things i received. Here is the cake...it was a costco cake and it was so good. i haven't had one of these for a LONG time! my mom made this salad, actually the same salad we had at our wedding. it was WONDERFUL!!! i loved it. i am just glad that my mom could put this on for me and that everyone came.

a little annoyed!!

2009-09-03T16:40:00.000-07:00

well i ordered our crib....and it was supposed to come this week. they said it will arrive between aug 31 - sept 4th... it is the 3rd for cryin out loud...why isn't here yet???

Olivia Ann's first picture.

2009-08-13T15:37:00.000-07:00

Well we had our 3D ultrasound at 30 weeks. This is what we saw. She is so cute! I can't wait to see more. the other picture that we have is a little better, but i already framed that one, so this is the next best.

a 4 step program...

2009-07-29T19:27:00.000-07:00

Step 1: paint walls yellow...
Step 2: Paint ceiling blue...

Step 3: Paint clouds on ceiling....

Step 4: add grass, flowers, butterflies, and dragonflies...

Soon to come, the finished nursery.....

why i haven't blogged so much....

2009-07-28T08:38:00.001-07:00

well here i am almost 7 months prego...just getting bigger and bigger....i will tell you, she is moving all over the place!! so i don't sleep a whole lot at night!

i have been working on crocheting a baby blanket. it takes a lot of time. it isn't hard, just time consuming. so when i am home, i have been trying to get these squares done. but as soon as this is finished, i will be back to life and blogging more.

ft bragg and tahoe

2009-07-23T19:55:00.000-07:00

this is ben and i in tahoe. we went this year for ben's dad's 60th birthday. it was really fun. Except for the fact that Dan(ben's dad) couldn't stay. He has a heart condition, and it high elevations, he can't breathe very well. we thought it wouldn't be that bad in tahoe, but it was. so next year, we are definately going to have to stay near sea level. other than that, it was fun. all of bens extended family was there. Lanell, ben's sister rented a house with like6 bedrooms. it was nice to have a bed to sleep in.

in june we went camping...this is ben and i on the beach! it was really fun. we went camping with our friends niki and cevin, and ian and amanda. it was fun to go with friends that were couples. definately a yearly tradition!

old cake pic

2009-07-23T19:24:00.000-07:00

ok so the colors are ugly...because twords the end of the class, we started mixing all the colors together and that is what came out...and of course i couldn't get a picture before someone had to eat part of the cake. ps..this is from may!

A new adventure embarks...

2009-06-26T18:26:00.000-07:00

Well as many of you know, or don't know, i have done hair now for about 8 years. i LOVE doing hair. i have been at Jecca's Hair Salon for the past 3 years, and i felt like it was time for a change. My friend Vicki Hair( i know, her name is irronic) ownes a salon here in chico, and she had an opening. i was excited to talk to her about it. we came upon a plan that worked for us. well she had an opening for a part time booth and that is what i needed. so i took her up on it. it is actually at 2nd Street Salon on 2nd street, of course. it is a great salon. there are about 6 girls there. so i know it will be fun and i can learn a lot from the other girls. 2 of the girls i worked with when i first got out of beauty school. we all worked together at Laura's Wig and Beauty. that was probably the most awful place i have ever worked( as far as doing hair). So i will be starting there July 15th. I am really excited. i just finished designing my business cards...you all can check them out. i like them, of course.

So for the future, if you want to come in and see me...give me a call!

on another topic, the baby is doing great. i am feeling her kick now, and it is getting more and more exciting. we are going to be painting next month and getting more and more ready!! until next month!

A little behind....

2009-06-20T12:04:00.000-07:00

Ok, i know that i have been behind in this blog. and i am sorry about that. i would like to do more, i just have been so lazy when it comes to spending time on this and taking pictures and downloading them and all... i know that will change when we have Olivia. Oh, by the way, all of you that aren't on Facebook, we are going to name our little baby girl Olivia Ann and call her Lily. we are really excited for her. She is due to arrive Oct. 27th and i feel like i am just growing and growing. sometimes i don't even remember i am pregnant until i have to go to sleep at night and i can't sleep on my back( which i HATE!!!! i am a back sleeper), needless to say, another reason that i can't wait for this baby to arrive so i can go back to sleeping on my back...or when i go to put on clothes and they used to fit and all of the sudden they don't fit over my boobs or belly. amazing huh?!? or when i walk up the stairs to our apartment and i am TOTALLY out of breath when i get to the top. anywho...
So i want to get back into blogging....and i will. i am going to start the next day or so. i will start taking more pictures and downloading them, plus i want to update you all, if you really care, about our situations and the progress of the baby room and such. so until then, i will post soon!
*** on a side note, i know that some of you have such cute fonts for your titles and stuff..how do i get those??**

ITS A GIRL!!

2009-06-09T15:01:00.000-07:00

We went and had our ultrasound today. it was so fun! she was moving all over the place. waving and kicking....we loved it! we are due Oct. 27th and are so excited!!

TEMPLE!!

2009-05-18T18:19:00.000-07:00

well all, we went to the temple this weekend to be sealed!! i must admit, i am pretty happy we are finally sealed! it has been a long road. our pictures are getting ready as we speak...but if you want to check out sneak peaks...you can go to wendy mayo's page on here and check it out!!! thanks again for EVERYONE that came. we really appriciate it!

Cakes Cakes and Cakes!!

2009-04-07T15:10:00.000-07:00

well everyone...My sister Molly and i are taking a cake decorating class....and i can't wait!! last night we had our first class and it was so much fun. this next week we will be doing our own and learning more and more. i am so excited about this whole thing. i will keep you all posted and more pictures to come for sure!

2009-04-06T13:54:00.000-07:00

alright...i don't know about the rest of you, but i LOVE the salt lake temple. this past weekend, ben and i ventured out to utah. it had been almost 2 years since i was out there and about 3 for ben. it was a long awaited reunion. and being the wonderful picture taker that i am, i didn't take one single picture! so i stole this off of google. our trip began with driving out there on thursday. we left chico about 3pm. we finally reached sandy utah, to where we stayed with bens aunt nancy, about 4am utah time. we had to stop every 2 or 3 hours for me to use the bathroom, eat and then just get up and walk around. i was sick the entire time and we ran into a horrible snow storm in nevada. we put the chains on and by the time we got them on, 10 semi trucks or so, cleared the road, so we pulled over to take them off. we slept in until about 9am and then started our day. we layed around for a while when everyone was at work, and watched a little judge joe brown, then headed to temple square. it was nice to just walk around and hang out. ben and i both love looking at stuff, so we took our time looking at the MASSIVE paintings of Christ. we went to the distrabution center and got ben his first set of temple clothes and me some maternity g's. they are great! then we went to bens reunion friday night. it was fun to watch him. i thought he might pee his pants when he saw some of these elders he served with. and then whole time, they just reminded me over and over that "elder brown was a major sister hater". yeah, funny how we got together. then sat we went to the afternoon session of conference. it was so fun! ben had never been to a conference session. we had really good seats too. we then hung out with family for a little bit and then i went to have a MUCH needed reunion with my friends from high school...beth smailes(taylor), courtney lee and Deanna Madsen(Dickerson). it was so fun! just to hang out and talk! it had been 2 years since i saw beth and i missed her so much! we hung out until midnight and i couldn't stay up anylonger!! sunday we slept in and headed back...it was definately a nicer trip back. it was sunny the entire time! we loved it and can't wait to go again!

well well...

2009-03-23T10:27:00.000-07:00

this past week has been rough! we moved in to our new apartment. it is nice to have a small place. we just didn't realize how much CRAP we have! anywho..i took this past week off of work so that i could move and clean and all that...well, this by far has been the worst week ever! i could only clean and move for about 2 hrs before i had to lay down and pull the bucket next to me. i can't eat anything, and then i am starving! the only thing that sounded semi good last night was cheez-its. ben got me some saltines and they have been heaven today for my first day back at work. it was nice to have a week off though. ben just kept telling me not to get used to it. anywho...i feel better today..and i hope it gets better. 3 weeks to go and i will be in the 2nd trimester. as soon as we actually get everything put away, i will post pics of our apartment. just because we moved doesn't mean that we have everything in its place. :)

my baby!

2009-03-17T08:53:00.000-07:00

well everyone...this is what our baby looks like as of yesterday! only 223 days to go. i go to my next appt in 1 1/2 weeks. i will post more pics later.

CHICO!!!

2009-03-12T13:15:00.000-07:00

We are finally moving to Chico! i am so excited! i will be sure to take pictures when we get settled in and everything decorated!!! can't wait!

baby stuff...

2009-02-23T18:56:00.000-08:00

and since we are are now expecting... if there is anyone out there that is finished having kids...and has baby stuff that they would like to donate..or sell we would love to know...please let us know..:)

we love you all and are so greatful for all of the love left on our blog!

newest news!

2009-02-22T17:52:00.000-08:00

thats right baby...there is a 2nd line!! the picture isn't as dark as it is in person.

well after much time....well after about 6 months of me trying to get ben on the band wagon, and then him acutally agreeing that it was time, then of 4 months trying and after about 20 tests...we are finally pregnant. we are both way excited. it is definatly time for that new adventure in our lives. now as long as everything goes well, we are due in october. my first drs appt is on wed. so we will keep everyone updated.
this is ben excited. this isn't exactly what he looked like when i told him but he was a good sport for the camera.

New Bedding!!

2009-02-15T18:27:00.001-08:00

YEAH!!!! we bought new bedding yesterday. i am so happy. this is the first thing that ben and i have bought together for our new apartment. We are going to be moving to the Joshua Tree apartments in about 2 weeks. next to come is the front room furniture. ben was not wanting anything purple, pink, or flowers. so it narrowed all the options. we went to jc penny, and saw this display, and that was it! ben loved it and i loved the red! anywho...we will send more updates!!

I hate the snow!!

2009-02-10T22:08:00.001-08:00

it is snowing in paradise right now and i just want everyone to know how much i hate it!

2009-01-11T20:23:00.000-08:00

ok everyone...well i am retarded and i didn't take one picture of christmas or new years... so i am sorry but i have nothing to post. i am really busy though. i am trying to get everything ready. we are trying to make some big changes in our lives. i am trying to really build up my salon clientele, so i can work in there more. we are getting ready to move to chico here in about 2 months and not sure where we are going to go. so we have a lot of kinks to work out. but i will keep you posted. i have been playing a lot on the computer lately trying to make new business cards. i will let you know when i have the finished product! thanks for reading....

fooorrrrttteee nnniiinnnneeerrrsss!!

2008-12-30T18:36:00.001-08:00

Ben and I sitting 10 rows from the field...we were so excited to be at candlestick park!! we got there late ofcourse, ben got off work late. once we parked and paid $25 for that...we hiked to the field. we saw all of the parking lot parties...it was pretty fun to see everyones pride in the niners!

the game was PACKED!! it was nice though, we had some room between us and the other seats. i guess not that packed! the players were so close to us. it was neat.

everyone was so excited to be there and all in all the game was great. there was like 3 minutes left and we were tied. within 30 seconds of the game being over..the niners kicked a field goal and won it. it was awesome!!!

and obviously, my favorite part was the cheerleaders!! it was a great game! next time we are definately bringing a BBQ and a cooler, because hanging out in the parking lot for 1 1/2 hrs before starting to leave was not cool with nothing to do! we would do it all over again though!

Are you ready for some Football!!!???!?!

2008-12-26T08:53:00.001-08:00

alright everyone, This is probably the most exciting gift ben has gotten. i decided to splurge this year and i purchased us 2 tickets for this sundays football game. the 49ers and the redskins. we are leaving sunday at about 8 am and then going to the football game and spending the night, coming back monday. i am excited and ben is too!! this is probably going to be cold but super fun!! we can't wait.

Haircut anyone...???

2008-12-12T08:25:00.000-08:00

Ok everyone...I am trying to promote my business...if you don't already know...I do hair!! need an eye brow waxed?? I am your girl!! come and Check me out, and you can get a free Eye brow wax! Just mention this blog!! :) Call Today!! 530-591-5847

tis the season...

2008-12-07T15:59:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas time. it is that time of year again and i love the decorating. it is the best part of the year to me.

this is our christmas tree. it is really bare because it is only our 2nd christmas together. we decided that since we are in someone elses house, we would get a fake tree and try to bypass all the clean up. maybe next year...the other picture is my garland. i made this all from the dollar tree. pretty nice.
last year, being our first year, the relief society pres brought us this little city. it was so nice.
our stockings, just me and ben. and then this santa, i made. i must say i am pretty happy about that. we gad a super saturday activity and we made christmas decor. it was fun!!

temple trip

2008-11-25T20:13:00.001-08:00

we went to the temple this weekend for ben's brother. he is going to the mtc in jan. it was fun to see almost everyone...

one year anniversary

2008-11-14T15:51:00.000-08:00

This is the start of our anniversary trip. we went to santa cruz and to monterey for the weekend. it was so fun and so nice to spend some alone time with ben. i got off work at noon and i picked up ben from school at 3 and we headed down to the bay. we got a really good deal from our friend that works at marriott. we stayed at the hotel for $45 a night. it was nice. we took this trip with the money i got from my quarterly bonus. it was nice to have free money!

once we got to the hotel, we just dropped off our stuff and went and got something to eat. we had been in the car for about 5 hours. normally it would have only taken about 3 but we hit traffic friday at about 5. go figure.

saturday morning, we slept in and then went to the mystery spot. it was so much fun. the tour was crazy and we enjoyed it a lot. it is this 150 ft diameter circle that is kind of crazy with its law of gravity. and well....you are just going to have to check it out for yourself! go to google.com and type in mystery spot santa cruz. anyways, we had fun!! because there was just the two of us, we didn't get very many pictures of us together.

sunday, we went to monterey to go whale watching. it was so much fun!! i was a little scared, because it was awfully windy. there were 35 mile an hour winds, which made for a really choppy ocean. but we got out about 1 mile from the harbor and we saw 2 humpback whales. they were so cool!! they just took there time, no hurry and came up, got some air, showed off their blow holes and dove down for about 5 minutes each time. it was really cool. we were only on the boat for about 1 1/2 hr and it usually will be 4 hours. so we are going to come back next year, in the spring when the grey whales are giving birth and see that. otherwise, we loved it and enjoyed our time away. i am so glad that we got married and can't wait for many more anniversarys to come.

santa cruz and monterey...

2008-11-10T22:13:00.000-08:00

we went to santa cruz and monterey for our anniversary. it was so much fun!! we had a busy week and it is going to be even busier this week. so i will give you a preview and there will be more to come!!

one year!!

2008-11-05T13:45:00.000-08:00

so our one year anniversary was on sunday and i wanted to post something, but we just hung out and our BIG trip is going to be this weekend...so i just want to say how much i love my husband and love being with him all the time...he is just so cute!!
pictures coming soon!!!....

happy halloween...

2008-11-01T09:59:00.000-07:00

the pirates

we had a halloween party last night and it was so much fun!

the indians

the handicapped boy from the

ringer and 80s girl the farmers and cow

zorro and catherine zeta jones.

it was so much fun to hang out with everyone and play games...thank you all for coming!

Ben's birthday and Halloween...

2008-11-01T09:44:00.000-07:00

Well, ben turned 24 this week. i decided that i would make him a cake. i saw this really cool website that makes these cupcake cakes. it is actually make originally for kids, so as to not have to cut the cake. everyone just pulls off a piece. he loved it!!!

i was pretty proud of myself. they will actually get better as i make more...

football!!

2008-11-01T09:28:00.000-07:00

well if you don't know, ben loves football..so a few weeks ago, we went to oroville and ben and his friends and brothers played. it was fun to watch..

he is so cute!!

yes again on prop 8

2008-10-16T22:00:00.000-07:00

ok so i just went to this website and it is incredible what power we really have when it comes to prop 8!! check it out

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1815820715?bctid=1822459319

Tshirts for Prop 8

2008-10-10T07:47:00.000-07:00

i need to take this time to annouce to everyone that ben and i are voting yes on prop 8 in california. this is stating that marriage is between a man and a woman. thousands of people back in 2000 voted yes on prop 22, which was the same thing. yet 4 supreme court judges think that they can just override that decision. the last time i checked we were a democracy, right?? how are they just going to change the opinion of the people when we voted on it! that is just stupid!!! so i am here to promote this again. as the general authorities just had a broadcast and were talking about this, well it seemed pretty serious! so i went to protectmarriage.com and i found that they sell tshirts....now ben and i don't have all the time in the world and the GA's asked everyone to give 4 hours a week. well we decided that wearing these shirts would help donate that time! so go and get your shirts today!!

the circus???

2008-10-04T12:03:00.000-07:00

yes, the circus came to town and ben and i went on a date!! it was great!!! there wasn't a whole lot of stuff, but it was fun to attend. we saw a few people there. mia and the kids and colleen and eric and their kids. here are some pics...

these are the ponies and horse. they were cute. didn't do anything spectacular but it was fun to watch.

this was awesome and scary all at the same time. there was this large ball and there were 3 guys on motorcycles. then the 10 year old boy went in and i swear they almost hit eachother. it was crazy, thats for sure. at one point they got 5 people in there.

this is ben and i having the time of our lives at the circus. you know the last time i went, i was like 8 and kerri laufer took me and my sisters. that was a long time ago. so now we have new memories to take us through the next 17 years!

i got tagged too!

2008-09-19T21:57:00.000-07:00

I have been tagged by Dawn. Here are the rules ...1) Link to the person who “tagged” you. 2) Post the rules on your blog. 3) Write six random things about yourself. 4) Tag six people at the end of your post. 5) Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. 6) Let the tagger know when your entry is up.
1- i am a morning person.
2- one of my favorite tv shows was americas greatest dog
3- i have danced for approx. 14 years
4- i lived in pakistan for a year when i was 14.
5- my favorite food is ice cream
6- i have never broken a bone
thats me!! and i tag... alisa, deanna, kelsie, jill, brynn, and angie...good luck girls!

Tender Mercies...

2008-08-29T19:02:00.000-07:00

i just have to tell you all how much i love my husband! this picture is from when we went to marine world on our 1 month anniversary of dating in may 1 year ago. He is the sweetest thing there is! the other night he had just got home from his 3rd day of school and he was TIRED!! the poor guy had worked from midnight to 6am, came home and slept for 1 hr then got up and got ready for school from 9am to 3pm. so that night, we were finished with dinner and decided that we were going to watch a movie. well i put in the wedding planner with JLO and matthew mcconahey....spelling..? anywho, it was so cute. we were actualy enjoying and then ben turns to me and says "Katie, you are one of the most beautiful people i have ever met". and i am like what?? and he says no really, i think you are so beautiful. i love you! and i just melted. i, of course, started crying and he got a little teary eyed. BEN I LOVE YOU!! you are the greatest and you mean the world to me! and i feel like Heavenly Father has really made ben a tender mercy in my life!

Jog in the park, slumber party, and camping!

2008-08-19T22:07:00.000-07:00

this last few weeks were just great!! it started out by going on walk with my husband ben! i love him. one night we decided that we would check out billie park. it was very nice!! we went on a little trail they had there and there was a "grotto". it was a small area on a trail and at the end was a little water fall. it was nice.

of course, ben and i were just the two of us, and so we couldn't take a picture of us both. so just one by one.

it was a fun date! we don't seem to do those much any more.
the next adventure we had was babysitting our nieces and nephew for the night. we had ally, 11, mady, 8, rylie, 5, and brayden, 1 1/2. it was fun but tiring. the girls were great and so was brayden for the evening and then when the night came, he did NOT want to sleep well. between ben and i, we were up with him until 5am. and 7am came around and that is when rylie wanted to watch hairspray. so i had to get up and watch hairspray. but it was fun. later that morning, we went back to billie park and had some fun.

trust me they were so cute to be around.... and they loved uncle ben!!

then camping at ft bragg...it was fun. me and ben and his family. i got completely sun burnt! but it was worth it.

aaron took the pic and he did a great job huh!??!!!

we had fun, the beach was beautiful and we enjoyed hanging out. the best part was to come home and sleep in our own beds and not the floor.

here we go 'round the blueberry bush..

2008-08-01T21:53:00.000-07:00

well this is my benji!! i love you!! this wonderful house that we are living in right now had some blueberries and peaches growing in the back yard, so we decided that to pick them and make some cobbler. we made two blueberry cobblers and 2 peach cobblers. family and friends loved them. it was so fun just to hang out and learn about food.

the summer is coming to an end and it is just so sad to me. i love the summer and i have only had time to go swimming once this summer. how sad is that??? tomorrow is a day off for me and i am so excited. if you don't know, i don't get anydays to sleep in ever. m-th, i work 8-5 at the drs office, then mondays i work at night at the salon. then fridays i get off the the drs office at noon and then do hair fridays until 6 or 7 and then saturdays i do hair from like 10 -4. then sundays we have church at 10 and choir at 9. so i don't get to sleep in ever, unless i actually mark off a day. and that is exactly what i did for tomorrow. so i am excited. i get to sleep in and do nothing all day. we are going swimming and then ben has to work at 4pm. so i get some time with myself. my nieces and nephew are in town from michigan too so we are going to have a fun 3 weeks.

2008-07-02T19:22:00.001-07:00

one more thing..here is a picture of my ring....