Josh + Heather + Lily = Love

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-22T19:19:00.006-06:00

Pumpkins galore. Bumpy hay rides. Delicious, hot mini doughnuts. Allergies from the hay.

The Pumpkin Patch at Linder farms is turning in to one of my most favorite fall traditions. Josh, my mom, and I took Lily this year, and I was so excited because I thought that Lily would love all of the sights and smells. And needless to say... I was not disappointed.

We headed to the hay ride first, eager to get the perfect little pumpkin in her waiting hands. I think the fact that she hadn't napped that day made her a bit apprehensive at first, nervous with every bump and jostle of the hay ride. But once we jumped off and entered the pumpkin patch, she was in heaven.
It was the cutest thing to see her discover the baby pumpkins that were growing underneath all the vines. She was fully committed to rescuing each one, digging in the dirt and carry them around. She loved that they were just her size.
In the end, we found the perfect sized pumpkin for my beautiful one year old. I think she loved it.

After the patch, we headed to the petting zoo. We all know how much i love, ok HATE, animals. Sorry animal lovers, I just don't like them. Sure, baby lambs are cute, but they are smelly and dirty, and don't think for one second that I will pay a dollar to feed them. Sorry Lils.

Luckly, her daddy stepped up to the plate, and Lily couldnt' get enough of the baby lambs eating the feed. Lots of hand sanitizer later, I was glad she had a good time.

We topped the day off with some doughnuts, and all in all, it was a perfect day.

Fall truly is my favorite season. The smells, the food, the chilly air, the scarves and boots. Love it all. I am so glad we live so close to family so we can do these things with them.
Can't wait for halloween... I am trying to whip up a family costume this year, so stay tuned for pictures of that spooky event.

Y.M.C.A. with Auntie Karalee

2011-10-22T19:11:00.007-06:00

Lily is such a lucky girl, because she gets to spend time with her Auntie Karalee every week! Karalee is one of our amazing, incredible, perfect nannies. She devotes her complete time, energy, and love in to making sure Lily has an awesome day. She is so good about choosing activities that Lily will enjoy.

A couple Fridays ago was no different. Karalee took Lily to the YMCA to go swimming, and it turns out, Lily is absolutely obsessed with the YMCA... Karalee said she LOVED it.
The first stopped to look at the rock climbing wall. Apparently Lily was memorized by the height and color. Then, they went in to the locker room, and Lily loved to crawl in and out of every locker in the row.
She spent lots of time in the pool, splashing away. Zoe and Sophia swam with her too, and it turns out, Lily loved the baby pool! I feel bad I can't take her to swim as much as she would like, so I am so happy that Karalee took her this day.
They spent some time at the gym after the swim. Karalee says that there was a super intense basketball game going, and Lily was taking it all in.

They spent some time in the raquetball court. Apparently, I am raising an athlete, just like her Daddy.
Lily loved watching the workout room as well. I can just imagine how excited she was by all the sights and sounds, and I am so grateful that Karalee took her on such a fun adventure.

That is one thing that I absolutely LOVE about Lily. She loooves adventures and new things and being happy. I can just tell that she thought this whole place was full of new sights and adventures. Being a toddler is amazing... Love that girl. Love the Y. Love Karalee... perfect combination.

She loved it so much, it completely wiped her out...
Thanks sis for making Lily's day!

Babies for my Baby... 16 months!

2011-09-25T15:06:00.007-06:00

I'm sorry, but is this my baby one year old, or a five year old child???
She is so stinkin' grown up these days... sometimes I have to check. Where did my baby go?!?!

As fast as time flies, and as much as I am missing my Baby Lily Jane, I have to say that i LOVE my toddler as well. She is at such a fun age!! 16 months is just awesome. I seriously love every day more and more. She is so full of personality and surprises. I can't imagine life without this little dear.

Here is a quick update on 16 month old Lily Jane Davis...

"MAMA" TIME
This little girl is obsessed with anything and everything about Babies now a days. It is the absolute cutest thing ever. She has about seven babies between the three houses, and she loves all of them. She carries them around, gives them her fluffies, changes their "bum bums" with her own wipes and diapers, puts their binkies in and out, and gives them a lot of loves, snuggles, and kisses. It really melts your heart. Whenever the day comes, she will be a great big sister.

Little Miss Mobile
She may have gotten off to a late start, but once Lily figured out how to walk more than 5 steps on a Friday, she was running around everywhere by Saturday. She is loving her new found freedom, and is definitely a toddler, exploring anything and everything in sight. She is finding new cupboards to dig through, new furniture to climb up, and new ways to get away even faster when she knows mama is coming because she did something naughty, like eating yucky things off the floor. It's been months now, and I still can't get over how cute it is so see her toddling all around on her own. She gets so proud of herself.
(And, as see below, she is still obsessed with her "fluffies", and always has at least one or two in tow at all times. So cute)

She is grown up enough to have these amazing big girl "up do's". Thanks to Karalee for this one... I love her long hair. You can do the most fun styles! I have the most amazing nannies that always do her hair so cute, way cuter than anything I could pull off. Thanks for always making Lily look so beautiful!

She loves pushing her babies around in strollers all the time. She is getting quite fast, and actually can run around while pushing strollers or walking toys. And you got to love her little shorts. I am going to miss dressing her in cute summer clothes.
Star Performer
This girl loves to sing, and she is quite good at it!! I am amazed at how well she can mimic melodies that I sing to her almost perfectly. She has recently discovered microphones, and she loves it. I am hoping that will continue and I can't wait to watch countless performances that she will come up with.

One of my favorite things about Lily is that she is still such a cuddle bug. She loves to snuggle up with mama and dada, and gives the best head snuggles and nose kisses. One of the most precious moments of my day is when she grabs a book and literally climbs up into your lap and wants to just snuggle and read. She can now say "love you", and it just melt my heart.

She is just growing up so fast, and we love her so much.

One of the all time favorite 'tricks', the squinty eye!! She can pretty much do this on command now, and she giggles and giggles so much, like she just did the best trick in the world. She loves to make people laugh.

Overall, it's been the best 16 months ever. She seriously has us wrapped so tight around her little finger, and we couldn't be happier to have her in our lives. What a blessing.

Things she loves:
1. GRAPES. Will never stop eating them.
2. Her nighttime routine, which is finally turning out successful. Awesome.
3. Going Outside. Anytime, anywhere... outside is always the first choice.
4. Num Nums. Almost any time she sits down in her stroller, carseat, highchair, she knows exactly how to ask for snacks.
5. Please and Thank Yous. She is so cute now that she can consistently says "pleeez" and "dank do" in the right context.
6. Repeating everything we say. I am amazed at how much she can say correctly.
7. Laughing and giggling. For those of you who have heard it, you know its the absolute cutest thing in the world.
8. Taking pictures and talking on the phone. Any phone or camera she sees, she picks it up, points it at her face and then says "CHEESE!" and smiles really big, followed by "Hellloooo" in to the phone. Adorbs.
9. Saying Hello and Bye Bye to EVERY person we walk by. Seriously... everyone.
10. Putting any shoes she finds on her feet. Daddy's shoes, mama's shoes, even tries to put daddy's shoes on her babies. She loves shoes.

I could go on and on.... so much to this little girl. We love her.

Art in the Park

2011-09-25T14:55:00.003-06:00

Amanda and Jeremy came to visit for two weeks and we absolutely LOVED having them here! They live way too far away in Arizona, so it was so nice to have them back in Boise for a bit. We went to Art in the Park on Saturday, and Lily loved it. The puppies, the colors, the sunshine... it was her perfect day.

She was so happy she decided to make some funny faces for the camera...

My baby is growing up way too fast.

Lily is SUCH a daddy's girl recently. She absolutely loves every second she gets to spend with him. He has been working so hard this fall, working full time and going to school, and so when she gets to see him, she is the happiest baby. It's really sweet.

Lily's new favorite thing to do on walks... hold people's fingers while we walk along. It's precious!

The Davis Clan!! Love these guys!

Art in the Park 2011 was another success...

1st Boise State Football Game

2011-09-25T14:42:00.006-06:00

IT'S BRONCO FOOTBALL SEASON!!!
And we couldn't be happier about it...

I can't even tell you how big of a deal the BSU Broncos are in my family. We drop everything on Saturdays and have a massive football party to watch the games, and everyone is involved. My adorable friend Amber moved to Boise in the summer from Utah, and she commented on how crazy it is that EVERYONE dresses up for BSU games... and boy is she right. You seriously can't escape the orange and blue. Case in point... even little babies love to wear their bronco colors. See the three matching jerseys below.

Kellen Moore Baby #11

Hugs!! xoxo

Auntie Karalee

Daddy and Lily in their jerseys!!

The Bronco season opener was a lot of fun. I don't quite think Lily understand football yet :) But she can definitely tell that people get excited and she loves to play with her friends Cash and Crew. We can't wait for the rest of the season.

GO BRONCOS!!

A Night in the Park

2011-09-25T13:58:00.002-06:00

My mom used to always take us to watch the hot air balloons light up, and I wanted to carry on the tradition with my little Lily Cakes. Besides, it combines her three favorite things:
1. Outside
2. Balloons
3. Music

Needless to say, she loved it!! A bit overwhelmed, but smiling and clapping and dancing the whole time. We went down while Manda and Jeremy were visiting, and it was a lot of fun. While I am so sad to see the summer go, I am actually really excited for fall. I love wearing scarves, crisp air, falling leaves, and how it just smells like fall all the time. Come on Boise, where is the fall?!?!

Summer Recap in 30 Pictures or less...

2011-09-17T23:44:00.017-06:00

Ok, I give up... It's almost September, and the fact that I am putting off updating the blog because there is just too much to update is getting worse. SOOO... the answer?? Let's just update the entire summer months of July and August in less than 30 pictures, and then I can wake up tomorrow and move on with my blogging life.

Last time I checked, blogging was supposed to be fun and relaxing and a way to record my family history, NOT stressful and something that makes me feel guilty when I fail at it. :) So I think this will be a good thing. I would just skip everything, but I want to print off the blog and have a more accurate overview of our awesome life adventures, so it's still worth it to me to catch up since I am the one who will be reading it. :)

So here you have it, our summer, in 30 pictures or less...

3rd ANNIVERSARY
We had an awesome date night celebrating our special day. We got some delicious food, and then went to see Transformers. I just love this boy so much. I can't believe I get to be with him forever... wow am I one lucky girl. Love you babes!

LILY'S FIRST TRIP TO THE ZOO

We have been wanting to take Lily to the see since she was born, and it apparently took 14 months before we got there. Needless to say, she LOVED it. This girl is so obsessed with being outside, and the Zoo fit in perfectly. We got to go with the Barnes Family, and Lily loves playing with Max and Deagan. I think the Penguins were her favorite. SO cute.

FOURTH OF JULY
It was so crazy for me this 4th of July because I couldn't help but think of last year on the 4th when Lily was almost 2 months old and was getting blessed by her Daddy. She has grown up SO MUCH since then. She looked as adorable as ever in her special 4th of July dress. We had an awesome BBQ lunch at my parents, and then headed over to Davis' for another awesome meal and Lily's first sparkler! She was a bit hesitant. Finished the day off with Lily's favorite, a trip OUTSIDE to the park. It was such a great holiday.

LAS VEGAS with the PACES
What a killer birthday weekend we had in Vegas. Apparently Josh and I can't get enough of that place. Amanda called us up and asked if we wanted to go for Josh's birthday (10th) and Manda's birthday (7th), and we had plane tickets within an hour of the phone call. The week was amazing. Good food, great company, awesome time tanning at the pool. We got to go to a show and enjoy laughing all together. It didn't hurt that Josh won us some sweet money at the slots. Gotta love the Vegas.

I am really quite obsessed with the new casino, The Aria. So gorgeous. I also couldn't get enough of these cupcake place... it was seriosuly to die for and I went there twice.

HAPPY 26th BIRTHDAY JOSHY!

Josh turned the same age as me finally on July 10th! It was a fun day, and Lily loved sharing all of the attention her dada was getting. We were actually in Las Vegas on his actual birthday, so we celebrated with the family once we were home on Monday.

Lily Growing Up Too Fast

This seemed to happen all summer long. It was so crazy to see her go from a baby to a real, full blown toddler! I just love this little princess. I can't get enough of her adorable smiles, and for those of you who have heard her do her genuine belly laugh, you know it's absolutely the cutest thing in the world. Love you Lils!

FAMILY REUNION in PRESTON, IDAHO!
My mom's side of the family had a reunion in Preston, so Karalee, Lily, and I got to go with her! It was fun to see our Canadian family. We stayed in these adorable little cabins literally inches from the loudest, most beautiful rushing river I have ever seen. I really enjoyed being outdoors. Lily had her first campfire experience, and it was a real success.

Big Girl Jammies
Lily got her first actual nightgown, and I thought I would die. She looked sooo grown up. It really stood out to me as a huge moment of the summer. You girls out there know what a big deal it is to get your first disney princess nightgown! Lily picked Ariel, and I was quite happy with her selection. She looked so cute.

CANADA- Lily's first International Trip
A huge highlight of the summer was our trip to Canada! Lily had to get her own passport and everything! We piled in the car with Mom and tons of stuff, and only 13 hours of driving later, we were there! :) It really wasn't that bad, and Lily was a total rockstar in the car. We got to go to my beautiful cousin Bethy's wedding, and then spent the weekend at our cabin in Waterton. Seriously the most beautiful place I have ever been.

We threw a lot of rocks in to Waterton Lake with all of the little cousins.

Lily couldn't get enough. She really is an outdoor girl. (The Lake is gorgeous, eh??)

The little kiddies playing in the truck.

Pure happines....

FALL 2011
Since then, fall has started, and a whole new chapter of our lives. Josh is going to school again at nights and working all day, so he is hardly ever home. But Lils and I are so proud of him! He will graduate in May... Best day ever!
I started teaching school FULL TIME. And let's just say, it was a hard adjustment to say the least. That should have been a whole other post on its own. I am missing my little baby so so so much, but I am really loving my students. They are totally on the ball, and it's been an insane and crazy year so far already.
Lily is 16 months now, and is walking up a storm! I really well do a separate post for some of her details because she is at such a fun age! She is really becoming her own independent little person, and her voice is found 100%. I have so many cute Lily stories to share, so I am so excited to actually be caught up now so I can post as those stories come up. I really think we are so blessed to live in an age when recording our family history is so easy (in theory... life gets in the way alot as we all know), so I want to do a better job of recording our lives and all of the wonderful blessings that we have.

Well, we made it through. 2 months in 1 post... hopefully this will NOT happen again.

And to top it all off, things I am LOVING about Fall right now.
1. BSU Football! Love the football parties
2. My Intro to News Writing Class fourth period.
3. Lily walking everywhere like a little champ
4. all the new shows starting again!! love my DVR. no appologies.
5. All of my AMAZING nannies for my little girl. Mamacita, Karen, Karalee, Raquel, and Amber. You ladies are incredible. My Lily loves you!
6. Bliss Chocolates
7. My new phone case (thanks josh!)
8. The cooler weather... despite this heat streak, it really smells like fall somedays!
9. Skyping with Krystin in Alaska
10. Daydreaming about the winter holiday season.

Love you guys! xoxo

Family Fun in McCall

2011-07-07T12:16:00.006-06:00

For our three year anniversary, my amazing mother let Josh and I use a gift certificate she had for a two night stay in McCall! It was perfect timing, because the week before was crazy, and we didn't get much family time. So we loaded up the car, took our little Lily Love, and the three of us headed to McCall to play for the weekend.

I absolutely love that Idaho has beautiful places like this. I have so much Idaho Pride, and I really feel like it is such a gorgeous state. It was so fun to get outside in the sunshine, and introduce Lily to what I am sure will be a long line of outdoor Idaho experiences in her life.

As always, some photos to document the trip:

Eating our Icecream from Icecream Alley down by the lake

Mr. Safety, always using the cross walk flags (haha)

Pancake House!!

Lily Bug, all ready to go home

It was an awesome weekend. Thanks again Mama!

Lily Moments caught on my Phone Camera

2011-07-01T13:09:00.016-06:00

I seriously can't tell you how much I love this little girl.

That precious, crazy morning hair gets me every time :)

She is my absolute whole world, and because of that, I have a bajillion pictures of her on my phone. I wanted to do a quick post to show some of the adorable Lily moments that I get to see everyday in no particular order...

Here are some Lily highlights and a quick peak in to the moments you see when you get to be the mama of this little pricess...

Her new favorite game... unloading every cupboard in the kitchen...

I think she is the most beautiful sleeper

My favorite time of the week, Sunday Morning Family Snuggle Time (love 1:00 church for this reason)

Lily is really missing her aunty krystin (drinking a "baba")

hahaha this made my die laughing the other day. Lily loves to climb all over her daddy, and apparently she needed to take a little rest break

Eating with the girls

McCall

Sunday Best

Picking up Grandma at the airport...

As you can see, she is one adorable little baby. Well, not really a baby anymore, which is sort of breaking my heart, but also really exciting!! She is SO FULL of personality, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I love my Diva baby...

Josh and I are off to Las Vegas for the weekend because someone has a BIRTHDAY on Sunday! Wahoo! Happy Birthday babe! We will sure miss our little munchkin though.

Way back to Memorial Day

2011-07-01T13:09:00.010-06:00

We had an awesome Memorial Day... a last minute trip to Utah. I am all about the last minute trips. In College, there were countless weekends where we decided on a Thursday night to go to Disneyland the next morning, and totally pulled it off. I loved continuing that spontaneity with my daughter, and we decided to go to Utah last minute with my Mom and Sister Krystin!!

It really was an awesome weekend... We sent to my Aunt Britani's 40th surprise birthday party, spent some time with my Grandma Helen and Temple Square, shopped it up at the Park City Outlets, and laughed and laughed with my crazy family. It was really an awesome trip. Even though it was a while ago, I felt like it was still worth documenting...

Here are some highlights of our adventure:
Of course, we had to stop for fresh strawberry banana shakes at Iceberg

PARK CITY: Then it was off to the outlets in Park City!! This is a picture of main street where Josh proposed to me!! Had to take a picture of such a great memory...

Lily is such a great shopper....

Got in some good play time with the cousins.

Temple Square with my Grandma Helen

I was so excited for Lily to see the Christus Statue. She was asleep, and right when we walked in there, I was so happy that she woke up to see it! She absolutely loved it. It was the cutest thing ever. The biggest smile I have ever seen from her, with her saying "Jesus!" (which sounds more like cheeeesusssss)

Then we headed over to the Church History Museum and checked out the interactive Book of Mormon display for kids! Lily looooved it. Here she is dressed up with my mom and krystin learning some dancing.

Learning obedience from building Nephi's shp

This sassy little face loved it

It was a great weekend... I am so grateful for my family and to live so close to them!! My Mom and Krystin have actually been gone all week because they have been driving to Alaska... That's right, you heard me, they DROVE TO ALASKA!!! It was about 5 days of driving all day long. It's like the same distance of driving from Boise to Miami!! But Krystin got a job there, and she moved to Alaska for three years! It was such a terrible, tear-filled goodbye, but it was great to reflect on this memorial trip and be grateful for how close Lily and I are to Krystin.

I can't even tell ya how much Lily will miss Krystin. Those two have this special bond, and we miss her already. But we are so excited for you Kryssy! Skype us soon so we can see you! Love you!

3 Year Anniversary

2011-07-01T12:42:00.005-06:00

I can't believe that today it has been THREE YEARS today since I married my best friend in the Bountiful Temple. I seriously can remember the entire day like it was yesterday. How excited I was when we met outside the temple and walked in together, knowing that when we walked out, we would be sealed for time and all eternity. How overwhelming it was to have so much love and support from our family and friends. How special the sealing was. We were only 1 of 2 weddings that day, since we got married on a Tuesday, so we had all the time in the world. How handsome Josh looked in his tux, and how much I couldn't take my eyes away from him. My Mom helping me change in to my wedding dress and veil after the sealing, and how happy she was for me. Hugging my Dad and sisters for the first time outside the beautiful Bountiful Temple doors. The absolute joy and love that just surrounded us. The excitement at being an official Davis, and getting some wonderful in-laws and new sister! The absolute happiness that is found when you marry your best friend in the right place and by the right authority.

Wow babe... I seriously loved everything about that moment, and every moment since then.

Josh and I have known each other since the 5th grade, so when I say we have grown up together, that is quite literally the case. I remember being in the same ward, combined YM/YW activities swimming at Hosacs, driving around the Centennial Parking Lot together, constant Wendy's runs, football games watching you kick, wakeboarding and boating trips, washing our cars together, the amazing trek where I felt like we really got even closer, you leaving and coming home from your mission, you driving me down to Provo for my birthday and telling me that you loved me, getting engaged in Park City, driving almost every weekend long distance to see each other, and all of the ups and downs in between. It really was such a wild and crazy ride, but we both finally figured it out, and 3 years ago, we started this family, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Now, we have this absolutely gorgeous little girl to show for it, and every time I look at her, I think of you and what an incredible father you are. I am constantly amazed at how much you love her and how well you take care of her.... We both know she truly is a daddy's girl, but I think it's so sweet that I can't be mad about it. :)

Thank you for all the trips to Vegas, late movie nights, temple trips, getting obsessed with finishing TV series like 24, Bones, Heroes, and our new love, The Glades, yummy meals at home, telling me dinner was good when I totally burnt it and it was horrible, the beautiful flowers "just because", the countless thoughtful gifts and surprises, remember everything I say and giving me things I need even when I don't remember asking for it, being so supportive and encouraging through all of my ups and downs (and we all know there are way too many to count), and for truly being my best friend. I love you babe, it's been an awesome three years, and I can't wait for the countless years ahead.

Happy Anniversary! Love you!!

The Davis Family
Established July 1, 2008

My baby turned ONE!

2011-05-27T17:26:00.003-06:00

May 10... a day that I had quite literally waited a year for!! Our little princess turned one year old. It was such a fun day! I had to teach, unfortunately, but at least Lily got to spend the day with Grandma Karen! My parents were still in Europe, but we had a party with my sisters and Karen and it was so fun.

Look at how happy she was to finally be wearing the perfect birthday outfit. (I searched high and low for the perfect tutu, i swear...)

I rushed home from school just in time to take her to the doctor for her 12 month check up. I was so sad she had to get shots on her birthday, but she was a champ. She is growing and healthy! 68% for weight and 80% for height!! She really is my little princess...

After the doctor, Karen and I took Lily to get her first cupcake!! We went to "Lilly Jane Cupcakes", which NO she wasn't named after, but i do for sure love that place. I, however, wanted them to THINK she was named after it, so they would give us a free cupcake, which they did not. haha. that's ok... it was still a really special moment for me to have MY Lily Jane at THE Lilly Jane's and sharing my favorite thing in the world... CUPCAKES!! (I am kind of obsessed)

She loved all the sugar for the first time. After the cucpake store, it was time for a party!!!

She loved opening her presents, and of course loved the paper just as much or more than the gifts. She was quite the center of attention.

My two little sisters made her this ADORABLE cake to surprise me! I loved the theme they chose! (Lily was a lady bug for halloween! so I always call her Lily Bug) It was perfect girlies... thank you so much for making her day special!!

There are tons more cute pictures I put on facebook, but that's all we have time for today! Her birthday was a Tuesday, and we had a big party for her on Saturday. I will post pictures from that another time... But I just couldn't let another day go by without saying how grateful I am to my Heavenly Father for sending this little bundle of joy in to my life to love and teach, and I am so grateful it has been the most amazing year of my life.

Truly, I have always loved my life and the blessings I have received, but Lily takes the cake. I know Josh would agree... there is just something SO special about being a parent, and I have loved the chance to reflect on that this last year. Lily has grown up so much, and we have learned so much from her!!

Here are a couple things that I will always just absolutely adore about Lily.
- She is stubborn and knows what she wants, but I love the passion she has for life.
- Just like me, she can go from super happy to super sad in t-minus 2 seconds, but I love the drama she has. It makes things so fun!
- She has the softest hair and lets me dress her up in bows and flowers
- She has the most adorable little smiles, ranging from cheesy to coy to flat out beautiful. She is always willing to give her mama just one more smile before I tuck her in at night.
- She is a genius. Talking so much, and can mimick and copy and figure things out. Everyday I am amazed at what she knows. I think she will be a smarty pants and make her parents proud.
- She is so forgiving and loving, and always has a snuggle and a kiss.
- She is so happy, and the joy she brings us is truly infectious.
- She loves exploring places, like under her bouncy chair, in the closets, and under the couch
- She loves to do naughty things like pull all the DVDs off the shelf, dump out her treats, throw her food all over, and pull out all my nicely folded laundry, but she is so darn proud of her self its hard to be mad about it
- She is the best thing about us, and we love her so much

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY LITTLE ONE!! We love you with all our hearts!

from the mouth of babes... well, sort of...

2011-05-27T10:10:00.003-06:00

Lily is such a little talker lately... of course it's always in "lily language", but she is actually getting quite good at talking to everyone! I feel like she is starting to understand a lot from me though...

This was our conversation while she was eating her cheerios this morning:

Lily: (with a mouthful of cheerios) "Bye Bye! Bye Bye!"
Me: "Lils, who is going bye bye?"
Lily: (pointing to the front door) "Dada. Dada Dada"
Me: "Where did Dada go?"
Lily: "Bye Bye!" (a little louder)
Me: "Yep, dada went to work. Do you want more cheerios?"
Lily: "mmmmmm, tank u" (thank you)
Me: "ok, there you go. What do you want to do today?"
Lily: (pointing to the balcony window) "outsssside." (starts clapping like crazy)
Me: "You want to play outside at the park?"
Lily: (Huge cheesy grin) "bye bye!"
Me: "Ok, we can go outside. Are you all done?"
Lily: "Baba, baba!"
Me: "Where is the baba baba?"
Lily: (points to the bottle on the counter, so I give it to her.) "Tank u!"

This girl is adorable... She is getting WAY to old. But each day is so exciting and I love it. She is the cutest little one year old in the world.

By the way... look what happened AGAIN.

This little girl can't get enough of those fluffies.

priceless moment with her fluffy

2011-05-25T12:28:00.005-06:00

So I went in to check on Lily last night, and this is how I found her...

She was literally folded up in half, sleeping on her soft, pink bunny

She has been going through a crazy no-sleeping phase recently, and the last few nights we have FINALLY had some awesome success with her sleeping all through the night again in her crib! So this little picture just melts my heart. I know she must have gotten up, wanted to get out, and just collapsed in exhaustion, poor little dear.

However, she absolutely LOOOVES snuggling with anything fluffy. Many times, she just faceplants in to blankets, pillows, and soft toys (as seen below), so Im sure that is what happened with the bunny in the crib.

Man, do I love this girl. I seriously love every day with her, every moment. She is the absolute joy of my life, and I love moments like these... This girl is FULL of personality, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Easter... (and some catching up to do)

2011-05-22T00:34:00.006-06:00

Well yes, I got so behind again. Surprise, Surprise... So I guess I have to start somewhere right? We had such a wonderful Easter, and I just couldn't let it pass without saying how grateful we were for a fun trip with the Davis family! Since then, Lily has turned one, had a birthday party, parents got back from Europe, Josh finished school, and so much more to come. But for now, let's journey back to last month...

We got to go down to Axtel in Utah where Josh's grandparents live. They have a house one some beautiful land, and the town is so small that the only other building besides the houses there is literally a small, wooden shed that is the post office, and an LDS church. It was a very relaxing weekend, and Lily really loved the sunshine! Here are some photo highlights of the trip...

Lily had nothing but snuggles for this little bunny.

Going crazy for the easter egg hunt. Her eggs were filled with yummy treats like dried fruit and star puffs and goldfish. It was Josh's idea. He knows that I didn't want her to have candy, and he is so sweet to put up with all my neurotic worrying about our little baby. :)

stylin baby

Lily in her sweet Easter dress after church.

I love this boy to the moon and back. It was so nice to get to spend so much time with him over this trip, since he has been working so much and going to school. We have missed you babe!

Dad and Lily riding on the buggy on the farm!

I seriously can't get over how much I love this little baby. She is the absolute best thing in my life.

We stopped in Manti, and the temple there is so breathtaking.

Lily loved the bright tulips and flowers

Happy girl playing in the grass. She did NOT like touching the grass at first, but slowly she has started to love it, and now can't get enough of the outside!

Family Photo Op

Lily just leans forward and points at everything. She is so observant and asks "Whas that?" constantly. It's adorable.

I loved getting to spend Easter with my baby girl! I was so sad because it was her last "FIRST" holiday! She is growing up way too fast! The Davis's made the trip so much fun, and put us up in a nice hotel the night before we left. Thank you so much for such a wonderful trip!

After Easter, we were so excited to look forward to Lily's birthday! I have been picturing what we would do for Lily's first birthday for months now, and it was everything we thought it would be. More to come on that later...

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T21:04:00.004-06:00

Last year I missed mother's day as a mom by about 19 hours. I remember saying outloud to everyone on Mother's Day last year, May 9, 2010, that I could not be pregnant for one more day. Even though my little bundle of joy wasn't due for 2.5 more weeks, I was ready to be a mom. I felt it that day, and to my joyous surprise, my water broke at 6 am the next day. Already, my little baby girl was trying to make me happy by coming early because she knew how ready I was to be a mom...

Fast forward one whole year, and here I am on my first official mother's day as a Mom, and I can't even put in to words how much more I love my daughter. Lily Jane is the most beautiful, wonderful blessing I could have ever imagined being in my life. Every day when I wake up, I am grateful to be a mom. I remember the first time Lily said "mama" to me, and I felt my heart melt. She started off by only crying "mama mama!" when she was sad, but then it quickly turned in to her saying it all the time, and I love it every single time I hear it. It's like a sweet little reminder that I am her mom, and she is my baby, and nothing can ever change that.

I have loved reflecting on the calling of being a mother today, and how glad I am that it's such an integral part of the Lord's plan for me. I have such a testimony of motherhood, and how much the gospel plan is all about LOVE. The Savior died for us because he loves us, we are supposed to find a husband that we love and spend eternity with, love connects families forever, and now I get to love my daughter and teach her how to love the Savior. It makes me think of my own mother, and how grateful I am for her...

My mom really did teach me to love the Savior. Through actions, words, and spirit, she loved the Savior, and I could see that everyday. My mom has been gone in Europe for three weeks now, and I am just DYING without her. All of us girls are. :) It made me realize how much I look forward to talking to her every day, and hearing her comforting words. Here are a few things I love about my mom...

- She is genuinely excited for all of my little successes, and is one of the few people who likes to listen to all of my stories about Lily all the time.

- She is supportive, and remembers all the big and small events in all of our lives. I love getting a text from her saying "good luck teaching today", or "hang in there through your evaluation" She always knows when I need those words.

- She is so beautiful, inside and out.

- She truly is THE most Christlike person I know. Those of you who know my mom can attest to that.

- She is the most incredible mother to all five of her dramatic, demanding, high maitanaince girls. (sorry sisters... but it's true most of the time) Over the years, she has scrapped our windows at five in the morning, written us notes in our lunches, made us endless amounts of food, and been there to support us in every game, recital, or show. Mom, we can never thank you enough.

- She always is so positive and opptimistic about everything, and sees the good in everybody.

- She is a life long learner, and loves to travel, read books, and is passionate about education.

- Mom, I could go on and on...

I thought that when I became a mom, that i would wake up the next day and be able to do the things taht I have seen my mom do. That I would be a great cook, full of service, handle the details of everyone's lives, and the energy to keep the house clean and do all the things I need to for Lily. Unfortunately... it's not happening. I am learning more and more everyday how motherhood will truly be a journey. Somedays are great, somedays I feel like I fail... But I do know that I can keep looking to my mom as an example, and will keep working on becoming like her. Thanks mom for your amazing example.

There are so many other amazing examples of Moms in my life. My sweet grandmothers are so kind and beautiful, my dear friends with young children and so fun to watch and grow from, and most of all, my dear sweet Mother in Law Karen is such an incredible mom and grandmother to Lily. She is so selfless and caring, and I know we can count on her for anything. She is truly so giving and genuine, and we are so lucky to have her so close. We love you Karen so much! Happy mothers day!

From all of these examples in my life, I am so blessed and happy to be a Mom. I feel like everyday, Lily is giving me great Mommy Lessons as I learn the tricks of the trade, and I really would never have it any other way. I love learning how to be the best Mom to my little girl that I can, but I couldnt' resist the chance to say how much I love my mom, and how she truly is my best friend.

Love you Mom!! Come home from Europe right now! I miss you! :)

March 2011

2011-04-11T22:39:00.007-06:00

March flew by, and I can't believe it's already 1/2 way through April! We had a great month... Lily just turned 11 months on Sunday! I have about 2 months of school left, and Josh is on his last segment of his semester! Here are some highlights from the month...

Lily, 10 months on March 10, 11 months on April 10

Our little baby is growing up way, way too fast! She has been learning so many new things lately, we can barely keep up! She is moving all over everywhere, and inevitably, even when I just vacuumed 5 minutes before, she can find every little spec of anything on the carpet.

She is babbling and "talking" so much, and loves to have conversations with everybody. She can say even more words now, like mama, dada, baba, baby, puppy, papa, bye bye, hi, granpa, and a bunch of other words, as she likes to try and repeat whatever we say. Her hair is just getting longer and longer, and she still has her bright, blue eyes. Here are a few things I am loving right now...

- she has the most amazing crazy bed-head hair in the mornings
- she wakes up, and instantly starts talking and laughing, smiling from ear to ear
- she loves to clap, and she HAS to clap whenever she sees anyone else clap, even if she is crying
- she loves to give high fives and waves bye-bye at everyone
- she points her little finger at everything and says "whas that?" over and over
- she loves to hiss and tsssss all the time, and whispers to us
- she loves to read her books, and can sit and talk to her self and touch the pages over and over
- she is such a great eater, and loves to eat whatever I am eating! I sometimes let her try it :) We shared a yummy, peach popsicle today while we waited for Josh to get home, and she absolutely loved it
- she loves Scott and Karen's puppy, but whenever the puppy gets close, Lily squints her eyes really tight and blinks really fast, but she still holds her hand out to pet her, the brave little girl
- she is LOVING swimming, and gets so excited whenever she sees a pool. we have stayed at a lot of hotels the last few weeks, and she has had lots of experience swimming, and splashing constantly

We can't believe she will be ONE in only a month... It seriously blows my mind. I can't wait! She is so adorable, and I really do love evey second of this mom thing.

SPRING BREAK 2011

Josh and I went to Vegas for a few days, and it was so nice to be in the heat for a few days! We stayed at the Planet Hollywood, and our room overlooked the Bellagio Fountains! We love Vegas, walking around, seeing the architecture, eating the yummiest treats. Because of our busy work and school schedules, Josh and I hardly ever get to see each other, so it was so fun to have his undivided attention for a few days, and laugh like old times. Here are a few pictures from the trip.

After Vegas, we got to see Jeremy and Amanda in Salt Lake! We haven't seen them since Thanksgiving, so it was a great weekend. Josh and I went to the Jazz-Lakers game, and boy was it intense. About 1/2 Lakers fans and 1/2 Jazz fans. Overall, Lakers made a great come-back, and I had one happy husband after watching Kobe play a great game.

KRYSTIN GRADUATED!!

We are so proud of her! She looked so gorgeous in her new outfit and robes, and it was a great weekend. We sent her off on her well-deserved Mexican cruise, and we can't wait for her to come back to Boise!!

- I have so many plans and goals for this year, and sometimes I feel so overwhelmed at getting them all done. So lately, I have been interested in simplifying my life. I want to de-clutter my house, do an intense spring cleaning, get a simple, organized schedule, and stick to it! I want to keep running (all my sisters and I are trying for a 1/2 marathon), learn to cook better, finish school strong, and get ready for a summer of my little girl all the time!

And I may find time to update the blog a little more frequently :)

2011... and a 9 month old already!

2011-02-24T16:07:00.006-07:00

2011

What an awesome new start the New Year brings. I made Josh sit down with me and type out goals in several categories for 2011. I know he is not a huge planner, but for me, it makes me feel so excited to see it all on paper. Totally motivating to go out there and get things done.

And then January 2nd happens...

...and things already start to slip a little bit. BUT, I am not giving up, and I think 2011 is going to bring some great things for us! I got a BodyBugg, we have a fun trip planned, great goals to save for, Josh is still doing awesome in school, I am going to finish my first year of teaching, and of course the MOST IMPORTANT one is seeing how fast Lily is growing up!!

9 months

It's hard for me to even say that I have a 9 month old already, and she will actually be 10 months here in a couple weeks. Words can't express how much I have loved this little girl growing up in my arms. She is the most absolute precious thing in my life. I am amazed when I wake up every morning and hear her cute babblings and her rolling around in her bed, and I actually love her even more than the day before. Every day that happens. more and more love. She is amazing.

SO FULL of personality and spirit. She makes everyone around her laugh and feel so good. Here are some other things she is doing lately...
- clapping up a storm
- waving and saying "bye" to everyone, unless she doesn't like you, and then you get either the looking-up-at-you-from-under-my-furrowed-brow look, or the shy turn-my-face-away-and-look-down move, but it's mostly the waving and waving....
- she babbles and "talks" ALL the time... and she is getting quite loud
- she loves to imitate everything we do, and loves it when we imitate her. Josh and lily can go back and forth for hours just imitating each other and laughing and laughing
- she is so intrigued with small, detailed things. she flips all of her toys over until she finds the screws on the bottom, and then just carefull points and and pokes them over and over.
- she is mastering mama and dada and baba, and an occsionally hi, baby, and tons of other sounds. she even gets the random "gmpa", which makes her grandpas smile so big
- not crawling yet, but oh so mobile. she can scoot and roll and reach and dive everywhere
- she loves pulling her socks off her toes and her hats off her head, and then just looks at me and laughs as if to say "nice try mom...i am NOT wearing that"
- her hair is getting quite long, and even curly a bit in the back!! with Josh and I both having stick straight hair, I am so excited if she keeps that!

There are so many other things I could say, but as we speak, the little Munchkin is in need of some love and play time. I can't believe that she will be ONE in only three months. That seems crazy to me.... She truly is the best thing that ever happened to our family, and we love her with all our hearts.

Here are some pictures of Lily each month so far... It's crazy to see how much she has grown up!!

Newborn

One Month

Two Months

Three Months

Four Months

Five Months

Six Months

Seven Months

Eight Months

NINE MONTHS!!!

We love you little girl!!!

Holidays 2010

2011-02-24T15:35:00.005-07:00

We had such a very Merry Christmas... two months ago.

One of my resolutions for 2011 was to keep a better family history, like photos organized, journals, and keeping a blog updated. So far... I have definitely done a big fat ZERO when it comes to blogging. I would have already posted about New Years, My birthday, Snow in January, 2nd semester of teaching, Valentines Day, McCall, and Lily swimming for the first time, which was absolutely adorable.

Well, I guess it's better late than never, and I got to start somewhere. So here are some random Christmas pictures in no particular order.

We got to spend Christmas Eve at my parent's house. It was full of games, great food, matching PJ's, and family traditions (my favorite part of Christmas). Josh's parents came over for dinner as well, as did the Petersons. It was great to be with everybody. It makes me so grateful for family and the blessing to live so close to them.

Lily loved her first holiday season....

Since Lily truly is a princess (and a bit of a diva most of the time :), and we love her just the way she is) it seemed perfect that she got her own little throne that matched her room perfectly from Grandma and Grandpa. Now she has a great place to be able to read all of her books!

Grandpa Scott helping her to open presents

She was quite spoiled as the only grandbaby and niece on both sides.

I really wanted to get her the perfect "First Christmas Dolly", and I thought this one was so cute.

Christmas morning with the munchie!

She looked like a little Santa Baby in her Christmas PJ's!

Lily got a high chair FINALLY, and was all smiles about it.

Mama and baby on Christmas Eve

I still have to get her everything that says "My 1st Christmas", or whatever holiday it happens to be.

Our little snowbunny loved the holidays

Seeing Santa at the mall

Lily playing with her friend Crew at the BSU bowl game

All the girls on Christmas eve....

The boys! We are up to THREE now! wow....

The whole family!! Matching jammies will probably have to stop here soon.... so many of us!

TONS of awesome loves from her aunties

We went to Lily's first sporting event and went to cheer on my Dad at his hockey game!

Overall, it was an awesome Holiday season. Lily truly made our lives so incredible in 2010, and we are looking forward to another incredible year with her growing up way too fast.

4 month Fly By

2010-12-15T22:58:00.012-07:00

Wow... Just, wow. I don't even know what to say. When I looked and realized that I haven't posted since August? I mean, BEFORE I even started teaching?? How can I ever catch up on all that has happened. Let me just say it has been a whirlwind of a few months.

Lily went from 3 months to 7 months, and has made the most incredible changes!

Josh has been working full time all day and going to school from 5-9 all night, every single day of the week! so he has been one busy boy.

Heather: I have been teaching at Renaissance High School, working at the bank a few days a week, and doing a grant program for education. As well as being a mom to the cutest little baby you have ever seen.

Needless to say, a LOT has gone on. I won't even try to do everything justice, because that is just not possible, but here is the last 4 months in review so we can get ready to post about the holidays and the new year! Sorry in advance that this may be long...

AUGUST
I started teaching at Renaissance High School. That is a post all on its own. But, I LOVE it. I teach every other day, but I am there almost 12 hours every day that I teach. The good thing is, however, that I walk out of school so happy that I was there. I truly am so passionate about education, and it has been amazing so far. I have some awesome stories of my students... but I'll save that for another day. I have been teaching US History, as well as all the Newspaper and Yearbook classes. I have no clue what I am doing in the journalism classes, but I figure things out and the kids are having fun. It's a headache, but I love the extra challenge. I am already developing so much school pride for my high school, and the staff there is awesome. TOTALLY a blessing from the Lord to land this job. I couldn't ask for a more perfect spot for me. A huge thank you is due.

Lily was 3 months until August 10, and as cute as ever. She started laughing a lot during this time, and we called her "Angel" all the time. She slept through the night like a champ (10-12 hours). Josh also started school this month. He is completing a Cisco Networking associates degree program, and might I say he is ROCKING IT! We are so proud of you Joshy!

SEPTEMBER
School was in full swing this month! We took Lily to the Women's Fitness Celebration, and she did her first 5 K! She got her own baby t-shirt and number. She loved being in the middle of the action. Except during the middle of the race when she decided to take a quick nap in her stroller amongst the thousands of racers. What can I say, her first 5 K wore her out!

Lily was 4 months in September. She started to grab her toes all the time, and really learned to belly laugh. She is so ticklish and fun to play with. Big, huge smile for everyone she sees.

OCTOBER
Working 2.5 jobs started getting a little hard for me at this point, plus trying to be a good wife and mom on top of that. JOSH really stepped up and proved to me once again that he is the perfect husband. We took turns cooking meals, changing the baby, and we made it through!

Lily was 5 months in October, and started sitting up really well! We started to call her "Munchie" all the time (short for Munchkin). Her personality really started to shine through, and she instantly charmed anyone she met. Lily truly is a happy, happy little girl. I do see some dramatic sides to her, which makes me beleive she has more of her mom in her than we thought :) She is such a bundle of joy.

For Halloween, we dressed her up as a Lady Bug, which was fitting, since we called her "Lily Bug" all the time. She loved it... and even wore the tights the whole time! Atta girl!

NOVEMBER
November absolutely flew by! I honestly don't know what happened! One minute, October was ending, and then the very next, December was starting! We did enjoy an awesome ONE WEEK BREAK for Thanksgiving! That was a much needed vacation. We planned on going to Utah with Josh's family, but we ended up staying in Boise because of the bad roads. So we had a little staycation and slept at Scott and Karen's house, and Manda and Jeremy flew up from Arizona! It was so fun to see them, and Lily loved to see her Aunt and Uncle!

I am obsessed with getting her things that say "My First _____", so here is her "My First Thanksgiving" bib!

This is her "I AM SO EXCITED!" Face that we just love to see!

Lily was 6 months at this point, and so much happened! She started rolling over, sitting up all the time, reaching for everything, got two teeth, got her first hair cut, and so much more! She truly is a joy, and every minute I am apart from her does NOT get any easier. I am so increidbly blessed to have my mom and mother-in-law watch her when I have to work. She really is my little side-kick already. She laughs and babbles and talks all the time. She loves her books, and anything bright and shiny. (Yes, that may include her reaching for every single diet coke can she sees).

I made her wear this white blouse BACKWARDS for an entire day. Apparently the buttons go in the back... geeze, what a good mom. :)

Lily's first hair cut at Graffiti Salon! She loved it! It was free since it was her first!

Cute little jean skirt for the occasion

All snuggled up in a car seat cover for the freeeezing cold weather.

DECEMBER
Which leads us right to December! Karalee and Austin got home from a month of Central America, Krysitn and Kayla are coming home for Christmas, and School is out for two weeks!! Josh rocked his last final and school is done for the semester! Wahoo! I am quitting my job at the bank so I will have more time for teaching and Lily, and so I can find some balance in my life. All in all, it's turning out to be a great month so far! We just barely put up our Christmas tree tonight (gasp....) But I love it so much.

Lily is SEVEN MONTHS now! Can you believe that?? She is closer to being 1 than to when she was born! She is loving all the Christmas lights. She gets so excited and opens her mouth so wide and waves her hands around. She is loving her solid foods, and her food choices are quiet extensive these days! She is getting more and more mobile, and she is growing up way too fast for me. We can't wait to spend Lily's first Christmas together.

All dressed up to go see Santa at the mall. She loved him!

Wearing her new party dress (thanks grandma Nola!) for a work party. she was a hit!

In case you can't read it, her shirt says "I cry when ugly people hold me." Yes, her dad thought he was pretty funny buying that for her :)

Our happy little princess all ready for church on Sunday!

Well, that was a whirlwind recap of the last few months.If you made it this far down, WOW, I am impressed. You must really love our little family. :)

I will be better about updating from now on... We have had lots of other good times. Here are a few bullet points of highlights for me over the past little while.

- Harry Potter 7.... wow. no words to describe how much I loved this.
- Left over turkey at Thanksgiving
- Glee Christmas Album
- Crying so hard in the most recent Bones episode
- Listening to christmas music two weeks before Thanksgiving. no shame here.
- Seeing all of our siblings from all over at some point in the last couple months!
- singing crazy, silly songs to Lily and hearing her laugh and laugh
- Dressing Lily up for Halloween
- Moving in to a new apartment which we love
- still being so in love with Joshy and spending time with him when he is home
- watching Eclipse on our new leather couch
- soaking up every ounce of Lily that I can!

Hope your Holidays are wonderful and happy! We love you guys!

"Mrs. Davis"

2010-08-19T15:27:00.002-06:00

A phrase that I will be hearing a lot soon... because I start at my first teaching job in one week!!

I cant even believe it! I feel so lucky that I even got to interview since the teaching market is sooo awful right now, but I got a call last week that I will be teaching U.S. History at Renaissance High School! It's a part time job, which I am thrilled about, because I get to spend one or two days a week with Lily!! I am nervous to start and make a syllabus and try to figure things out, but I think it's the first step to finally getting my teaching career underway... I will let you know how it goes. Hopefully I wont have too many paper airplanes thrown at my head the first week...

Growing SO Fast...

2010-08-14T00:25:00.003-06:00

I really can't believe that my baby is three months old. I just look back at these newborn pictures, and I have to admit that I miss this little teeny thing! But she is growing up so cute... I love her more everyday! But it's always fun to take a moment and remember just how far she has come already....

We couldn't be happier...

Lily's Weekend

2010-08-10T11:50:00.006-06:00

Lily's first Fourth of July was extra special because it was the day she had her baby blessing! The whole weekend was so awesome... we had family come in to town, and all of her aunts and uncles and grandparents got to be there! We had an amazing lunch afterwards, and a fun bbq for the Fourth. I really love this holiday, and it was so fun to have it combined with Lily's blessing weekend! Josh did such an amazing job, and it was the sweetest blessing ever. He really is such an incredible father.

Lily looked like such a beautiful angel in her white dress and booties. She was the perfect baby through the whole blessing, and I was such a happy mama.

Here are some photos from the weekend.

Her little booties...

Our matching bracelets for the big day

Just after that, Josh had his 25th birthday! Lily and I decorated the apartment for him, and we spent a fun day eating lunch at his favorite place, Buffalo Wild Wings, watched a movie "Despicable Me", and had cake and games with the family and friends. I just absolutely love Joshua, and I was so happy we got to celebrate his first birthday as a dad! He really is my best friend, and he keeps us all together and going strong. We love you Joshy...
Happy Birthday hunny!

A Lily Update...

Lily is now 3 months old!! Ahhh...i can't even believe it! She is so much bigger and stronger! We watched some footage from the hospital when she was born, and its so shocking how much different she looks!

- She is so much more interactive and smiley! She has cute little giggle sounds, and babbles constantly. She really tells the best stories. She is finding new sounds in her voice and new faces all the time. Her smile really does just melt your heart, and she is so fun to talk with for hours.
- She can defintiely recognize Josh and I by our voices and by sight, and there is nothing like seeing her little face light up and smile when she sees us.
- She is sleeping through the night most nights 6-8 hours, and really is such a good, good baby.
- She absolutely loves music, and she does her "dancing" by kicking her legs and waving her arms sooo fast when she hears it, smiling the whole time. It's quite adorable...
- She likes to imitate faces and sounds, and she likes it when you imitate her too.
- Her eyes are still bright blue, and her hair gets longer and blonder all the time! Who would of thought that I would have a blond, blue eyed baby! Atleast for now, anyway...
- We just love our little angel... she is growing up way too fast.

Well, once again, way too long of a post, but I never seem to find the time to keep us updated. Things are going really well, and we are really looking forward to the fall when the weather gets cooler and the colors start to change! Josh will be starting his computer program at school this fall, and I am looking forard to seeing some Broadway shows in Boise!! For our anniversary, Josh got me season tickets, which means I get to see WICKED in May!! I can NOT wait...

Love you guys!! Here are some photos of the little one to make you smile :)

so much to come...

2010-07-15T00:35:00.004-06:00

Well, so much has happened lately, that I got a little behind on my blogging!! We celebrated our amazing anniversary, Lily got blessed, it was the fourth of July, Josh turned 25, I started working again, and lily just keeps getting bigger and cuter!!

I will try to catch up later this week. I have started working again part time, and even just a couple days a week is enough to get me way behind and miss my baby so much I want to cry! Just another adjustment I guess....

But stay tuned, cuz there are a lot of cute pictures coming your way!!

Happy Two Year Anniversary... I.LOVE.YOU

2010-07-01T10:00:00.007-06:00

July 1... this day two years ago I married my very best friend for all eternity in the beautiful Bountiful Temple. I really can't believe it has been two years already!! When I think back on all that we have done and how close we have grown, I get even more excited for the time ahead.

Josh has just blown my mind with what an amazing husband he is. I mean, I thought a lot about what it would be like to be married, and it really is better than I ever could imagine. I know I bragged about how great he is in the last post, but I just can't say it enough!! He is the most generous, funny, kind, smart, talented, good looking person I know. He really is my answer to everything, and keeps me going. He is so much stronger than me at times and has so much faith that our lives will work out, even when I stress about planning the details out. I am so glad he is the priesthood leader in our home, and Lily is so lucky to have the best dad.

I think hands down the best thing that has happened this last year is the new addition of our beautiful little lily!!

Being a mom is INCREDIBLE. And I know Josh feels the same way about being a Dad. I'm so so so happy that we got married two years ago so that we could have this little bundle of love in our lives.

Me and Josh are constantly just playing with her and staring at her, and then one will look at the other and just say, "Man, she is so beautiful. What a cute, precious daughter we have!" We can't get enough of her little stretches and facial expressions and smiles and cuddles.

I took this picture on my cell phone the other day, and i was just dying because LOOK... SHE HAS MY CROOKED SMILE AND LEFT SQUINTY EYE!! For those of you who know me well, you know how I hate that squinty eye, as it shows up in every single picture I take. Now, it appears as though Lily may have the same thing. But I have to admit, on her, it's awfully cute.... and really cool to see a trait of mine in another human being. So weird. so cool.

Having Lily has made me feel even closer to Josh, as we work together and try to figure out this parenting thing. He is so patient as I am CONSTANTLY asking him questions like, "Do you think she is too hot?? too cold? is that hurting her? do you think she is bored? Did she kick her blanket off? is she ok?" and he constantly reassures me that YES, she is just fine. :) It's a great partnership we have going on.

This past year has had a lot of other amazing things too!!
- I graduated from Boise State with my teaching certificate and finished my student teaching
- Josh decided that he wants to do computers and found an awesome program at school
- We went on an incredible trip to Mexico!!
- Lots of our friends joined the married club
- Had a baby the same month as our good friends the Barnes!!
- Moved to our awesome two bedroom apartment
- days and nights full of laughter, love, and good times

I can't even believe that this time a year ago we were getting married!! I still love looking back at the pictures, seeing the pure joy on our faces, and still getting to feel that same feeling every day.

Happy Two Years hunny! Thanks for making it the best two years of my life!!

Can you believe that this time next year Lily will be ONE??? craaaazy....

Love you!

Happy Father's Day to a new Daddy...

2010-06-20T15:29:00.006-06:00

It's official... Josh gets to celebrate his first fathers day today!!! Me and Lily are so so lucky he is in our lives, and I can't tell him enough how much I love him. It really does seem like just yesterday that we were driving to the hospital together, saying how cool it was that we were about to become parents. Then, later that same day, I remember how amazing Josh was as he held my hand and told me that i was doing great and that she was almost here. Then, tears in our eyes, we looked at our new baby for the first time. It was amazing...

I always knew Josh would be an awesome dad. it was one of the reasons I married him!! But from the first time that I saw him hold her in that delivery room, my heart just melted for the two of them, and I knew I was the luckiest girl in the world to have a dad like that for my kids.

So, Happy Fathers Day to you sweetie!! You work so incredibly hard for our family all day, then you come in the door and the first thing you do is ask how you can help. You change the messiest diapers, get up with Lily and get her to sleep, and do whatever we need you to do. We love you so much. You are my best friend, and you make life so worth living. Love you sweetie.

The proud Daddy..

Lily in a cute new dress for Fathers Day

The happy family...

I swear I was made to be a mom... best thing I have ever done.

Also, another huge shout out to these guys!!!

We LOVE OUR DADS so much!! Both Scott and my Dad are such amazing leaders in our families. I am so excited that Lily has two amazing grandpas that love her so much and are so incredible. We love you guys, Happy Fathers Day to you both too!!

And to end things off, here are some cute pictures of Lily, cuz if you can believe it, she is SIX WEEKS tomorrow!! I just barely had to put away all of her newborn outfits yesterday, and I was actually crying cuz she is changing so fast!! But we love her so much. She is already a Daddy's girl :)

Isn't that the cutest love bug you have ever seen...

She is awake now so much, and opening her big beautiful eyes all the time.

I am so lucky to have such a good baby!! seriously, she is amazing....

Happy Fathers Day everyone!!

bath time

2010-06-06T18:15:00.000-06:00

I just can't get enough of our little girl. She is so warm, squishy, smells so sweet, makes cute little newborn grunts and squeaks and sounds, has the softest baby skin, the sweetest mohawk, and cutest blue eyes. Her fingers are so long and wrap so tight around ours, she has an adorable little nose and mouth, and the most perfect little ears. Best of all, she is such a little snuggle bug, and she loves to snuggle and cuddle and gives the best loves. We just love her. Enough said.

Lately, little Lily found something new to really love... getting a bath. She is such a cute little wet wiggle worm. She loves getting her hair washed most of all, and she smells so good after a clean, warm bath. I am so lucky that so far bath time is a good time for her, and I think we are both getting better at it.

Look at how cute she is all clean and wet!

I mean... isn't that look total relaxation or what...

I love her...

She is even sort of smiling about it...

I can't get over how fast she is growing!! She is already so much bigger from when she was born, and I love her with her eyes open.

Little snuggly girl

I can't believe Lily is already a month old tomorrow! That was probably the fastest four weeks of my life. It's so fun to watch her grow and get bigger, but I want her to stay my tiny little baby forever! Josh is such an amazing Dad, and I think we may be sort of starting to get this baby thing figured out.... a little bit anyway. :) Her grandparents and aunts and uncles all love her so much and are so so helpful... Lily truly is such a blessing of love and joy in our lives, and we couldn't be any luckier.

Kayla Graduated!!

2010-05-30T13:13:00.003-06:00

KAYLA GRADUATED FROM CENTENNIAL!!

I can't even believe that it's already time for my baby sister to graduate from high school!! I remember being in high school, and thinking that "2010" was so long away, knowing it would be here graduation year. And now, here it is!!

Kayla was such a rock star. She is her senior class president, so she got to speak, and she did so amazing!! I can't believe how poised and grown up she has become, and so beautiful. We were so proud of her...

The proud parents and their baby girl

Me, Josh, and Kay

Karalee, Mom, Krystin

Me + Joshy = L.O.V.E. :)

Kayla is going to go to BYU in the fall, which just totally blows my mind. I feel like it was just the other day when I was moving in to Rogers Hall on campus, meeting the girls that would become my best friends and roommates for five years. I know Kayla is going to do so awesome, and we will miss her a lot! At least we get one more summer of her here. Kayla loves Lily so much, and is such a great auntie, and I'm glad she will be around for a bit longer.

I am so proud of you Kayla!! I love you!!

Loving Lily-- L.O.V.E.

2010-05-16T13:16:00.011-06:00

What can I even say... we LOVE our little Lily so much, I don't even know what to write about her!! Josh gave some details of how she got here, and it's already been one week, and we love her even more!!

Here is our girl... Lily Jane Davis.

We have so many nicknames for her already... I'm pretty sure she gets called something different every time we talk to her. Baby girl, peanut, precious, princess, little girl, angel, Lil, Lily baby... if there is a cute name out there, you name it, she gets called it. We just can't get enough.

Here is Dad at the hospital with her!!

Josh really is such an incredible father already. He is so loving and natural at it, and being a family is the most perfect fit for us. It's so natural, and I really feel like Lily is the perfect addition to our family right now. Lily was born on a Monday evening, and we stayed at the hospital until Wednesday morning when we headed home.

It's funny how attached you get to some nurses. Our Labor and Delivery nurse was named Rachelle, and we just loved her!! I kept telling her I didn't want her to leave, because I knew the shift would change at 7:00, and we weren't thinking the baby would come until 10, midnight, 2:00, or later.... LUCKILY, she checked me just before she left and I was at a 10!! So she decided to stay longer on her shift and help us!! She was so sweet, and I felt like she really cared about me and the baby and getting her here safe for both of us. So she was awesome.

I went back and forth about who I wanted to be there when Lily was born. When it came down to it, it happened so fast, and I actually loved how things turned out. My sister Ally, who is finishing up Medical School this month, has been such an amazing source of help and information, and I loved that she got to be there, watching the process and making sure they were all doing their jobs right. :) It was amazing to have my mom and mother in law both there, as there is nothing like the love from two grandmas to bring her into the world.

And most importantly, it was so special to have Josh right by me, telling me I was doing so good and he was so proud of me. I just kept looking in to his eyes, and felt so much love and excitement that we were about to be a family. The whole thing turned out perfect, and
LILY WAS FINALLY HERE!!

As you can tell, I was a very proud mama from the start!! :)

Here we are... our little family. It was so crazy to think that we get to have Lily now in our lives FOREVER, and we would forever be a family through all eternity. I can't really put in to words how amazing it is to have her here, and all the emotions I feel, so I can't even try to tell you how much I love her, but I know our little family is so strong, and we can't wait to keep growing together.

Here is Josh, loving his little girl so much...

We got to go home on Wednesday. We enjoyed a mere precious 24 hours with her at home, and we were right BACK AT THE HOSPITAL. It really was an insane week. Full of the most excitement, love, but also stress and fear that I have ever felt.

My little 3 day old baby had to be rushed back to the hospital on Thursday, and we had to stay until Saturday afternoon. I have never had such a stressful, scary experience as seeing her, only 6 pounds, hooked up to an IV, sleeping in a scary "cage bed" as I called it, just holding her tiny hand and snuggling her and praying that she would be ok!!

She had insanely low blood sugar and was dehydrated. She was just so sleepy and small, and I kept asking the nurses at the hospital, saying she wouldn't wake up to eat, and they kept saying she would wake up soon, and that she was just a little early and so small, but that it was normal.

Well, apparently it was not normal, and we now had a sick baby on our hands who would refuse to eat anything. I think one of the lowest points was when we were trying to feed her and she wouldn't breastfeed, wouldn't take a bottle, and we had to force feed her with a syringe in her mouth just to get her to get some calories in. It was almost more than I could take. :( She had to be hooked up to an IV all night long, and needless to say, I pretty much slept a total of 2 hours for 2 days.

TENDER MERCIES

However, despite the fact that we had this big scary thing happen to her in her first week of life, I have to take a moment and say how blessed we were by the Lord. Lily's pediatrician is actually my family's home teacher. He has been an amazing friend to my family for years, and is such an incredible guy. I am so happy that we chose him, because he is the reason we were able to figure out what was wrong and help her. At her two day check up, she was still pretty jaundice, so he ordered a blood test for her. Another tender mercy was that he just had a gut feeling that he should also check her blood chemistry. He says he doens't usually do that, but he just felt like he needed to. That was the only way that we could tell something was wrong, and get her help as soon as we could!!

He was also able to give Lily a very special blessing in the hospital, and he truly went above and beyond to get her the best care she needed. It was so amazing to see the hand of the Lord so much in her first week of life!! We are so lucky to have made it through that experience, and now are even closer together as a family.

Here is josh, comforting little Lily in her hospital bed. It was so big, that it made her tiny little self look even smaller. But the nurses were great, and made us feel really comfortable there. One in particular named Karen really loved Lily and did everything she could to make me feel like things would be ok. She called her "peanut", and the name may stick. :)

Our entire family was a huge help getting us through. Our sisters and dads and moms and brother in laws all came and cuddled Lily and helped us out. I do have to give a shout out to my MOM though, as she has been an aboslute incredible help. She stayed with us hours through the night, and helped keep me going and was a huge support. I couldn't have done it without you mom! You once again showed me what it means to be Christlike and to sacrifice for your kids, and as I was able to learn how to do whatever it took to keep my daughter safe, you did that for me, and I appreciate it. I love you!

HOME AND HAPPY

Anyway, she finally got to go home on Saturday!! We have been working really hard on feeding her exactly the way we need to, and Lily is growing already!! She went back for a check up on Monday at the pediatrician, and he said she already looks way better, is getting stronger, and is acting like a perfect, normal, healthy, precious newborn. We just LOVE having her... and I already can't imagine life without her!!

Here are some cute pictures of her growing up already!!

Her first attempt at wearing a headband!! This one is from Benita... Lily's head is still so tiny that not a lot of the bows and headbands fit her yet (much to Josh's delight) but I can't wait to keep her growing and dressing her up so cute! :)

Daddy loves to cuddle with our little snuggle bug... I know she is only one week old, and things will change crazy fast, but atleast for now, she is such a cuddly baby, and I hope that stays!!

Her is Lily sleeping in her bed in the pediatric intensive care unit, with Dad sleeping right next to her. We didn't get a lot of sleep, as I just wanted to watch her all night and make sure she was ok...

NOW she is home and doing so much better. She has the most beautiful blue eyes right now, and she is opening them more and more as she is getting stronger and staying awake more!!

I love this picture because it shows just how small she really is. She stretches so cute, and has the most amazing hair!!

Everyone comments on how crazy and cute her hair is. It really is funny that it pretty much is Josh's EXACT hair. He woke up one morning in the hospital, and his hair was sort of in a mohawk and standing up all over, and he and Lily had the exact same hair style and color!! They were like twins... I love it.

Her we are at the doctor's office. I think I am starting to get *some* sleep from the awful week, and I am no longer looking like the living dead. :) haha.... I just love this girl.

Washing her hair... She looks so different with her hair all slicked back. So adorable!

Her first little sponge bath...

Anyway, we are just loving having her home!! Our families have been so supportive, and I love that they all love her so much. I know this post was super long, but I just had to catch up on the last week of happenings. Lily makes the cutest little faces and stretches and noises, and I can't wait to see what the next week will bring!!

LILY JANE DAVIS

2010-05-12T22:38:00.003-06:00

Lily is finally here! And let me tell you Heath is so happy. She was having a rough day sunday and we just prayed that if it was time that she would come soon. I woke up monday morning to get ready for work and Heath came out of the bathroom and said she thought her water had broke. Me still being out of it asked if i was supposed to go to work :) We made it to the hospital by 930 and they checked her out and admitted her. We had to wait around for some stuff to happen before the pumped her full of drugs to help with the contractions. Before long we had her hooked up with her epidural and boy was she happy after that. Our amazing nurse that was with us all day was getting off at 7 decided that she was going to check how far along she was right before she got off and asked Heath how far along she thought she was. Heath said she thought she was only at a 5 cause the last time they checked she was only a 4, but nope she was at 10. The nurse had her start pushing at 7 and by 713 our little bundle of joy was out and crying. She weighed 6 pounds 10 ounces and was almost 19 inches long. She is so tiny and has so much hair! She has Heathers nose and my chin and head full of hair that looks almost identical to mine. Heath was laughing the next morning when i woke up from my chair/bed because our hair was done up almost the same and we looked like twins. We just got home today and are loving having her in our lives. I will let heath post most of the pictures but i will upload 1

Finish Student Teaching.... CHECK!!

2010-04-29T10:32:00.006-06:00

First of all, can I just say that I sort of wish I was HERE right now... because Boise weather thinks it's playing a joke on everyone, but being 80 degrees one week and snowing the next. Not a fan. And I just miss Mexico...

Anyway, back to real life, I finally FINISHED MY STUDENT TEACHING!!! Such a huge accomplishment for me!! By the end, it was pretty hard to get through the days. Being 35 weeks pregnant and trying to teach and contain 150 9th graders a day is quite the task, and I was so exhausted every day! BUT... so so worth it!! I miss the kids already! I had such a great set-up, and my mentor teacher truly was one of the biggest blessings that got me through. She was so helpful and encouraging and flexible, and made things go so well.

Here is one of my more difficult classes... gotta love em all though!

The school I taught at was so beautiful! It was such a classic, red brick building, right in the middle of downtown. Everyday when I drove down there, I could see the capital building and the tall buildings of down town with the sun coming up behind them, and it was really a beautiful view. Here is the school... North Junior High.

Here is the classroom I taught in... There were huge beautiful windows that looked out to the tree-lined street. It was such a classical feel. Way different from the 6 inch windows I had at Centennial. This was an old style school, and I loved it. My teacher even still used chalkboards!! She doesn't like whiteboards, so she is the only one in the school with old-school boards.

It really was such an incredible experience, and it made me SO EXCITED to be a teacher and have a classroom of my own!! My last day, they threw a party for me. They made this big portfolio card that they all signed.

Here were some of their comments to me"
" Mrs. Davis, Thanks for being a great teacher... I hope you like your baby."
(thank you, i'm pretty sure I will like her :).....)
"Mrs. D, you rock, name your baby Chance like me!"
"Mrs. Davis, You made history really fun and clear! You should sing this song to your baby, 'I love you little baby!'" (not sure what that even is)

And one sweet little student from Afghanitstan who came such a long way wrote "Mrs. Davis, Thank you for being the best teacher ever. I really like U.S. History now because of you! Good luck in your life to come and with your baby!"
Comments like that are so sweet, and make all the hard days worth it.

Anyway, I only have a couple more paper/projects, and then i'm officially done and graduating this month!! Finally, I will be a real teacher... I can't wait. Now, getting a job is a WHOLE other story. I'm pretty sure Idaho is almost officially the WORST state in the entire country for education spending, but we will figure it out. It's just so great to be done with such a milestone.

ANYWAY, another fun thing we did recently was go to UTAH!!! My cute little sister-in-law and her husband Amanda and Jeremy graduated from Weber, so we went down to celebrate wth them! It was our last trip before the baby gets here!!

It was so great to be in Utah. I just forget how BEAUTIFUL it is until I go back, and I want to move there so bad!! Atleast for a few years.... now all i need to do is convince Josh that it is a godo idea. I finally got him to say that if there was a job for him, then he would do it!! So if anyone knows of a Utah job, let us know and we may be moving. :)

Here with are with Manda and Jeremy at their cute apartment. Thanks for being such great hosts guys!!

Josh and his little sister

Weber really is such a beautiful campus... the sun was out and we walked all around. It made me realize again how much i LOVE college campuses, and I really want to teach part time at a University someday...

They also had a BABY SHOWER for me!! So much work, and it turned out great!! Yes, I am defnitely 36 weeks pregnant in this picture.... but only a month to go!!

I got to see BENITA!!! It was so so so fun to see her!! And not just because she brought me the most incredible cupcake I have had in a long time. :) She is so darling, and I really miss those girls alot. Maybe if I move to utah we could see them more!! (I can dream, right??) Megs was in Texas, Linds in the midwest, and Jenna in Dallas with her baby, so we are still spread out all over the country.

We got a new camera and it has the best "SMILE" feature. As soon as someone smiles, it automatically takes the picture!! Hence my cheesy smile below.... but I think it's so cool! I'm sure that is nothing new, but it's new to me so I really was loving it. Can't wait to try it out on the baby when she learns to smile!

Overall, such a great couple weeks!! Now, I am just working a lot at the bank, and trying to get my MASSIVE to-do list done before the baby comes! Those of you who know I love to-do lists can only imagine how long this one is!! But it's so fun to get things crossed off, and know that each day gets us closer to the baby!! We have been going to some classes at the hospital, and I can't believe it could be happening at any time this next month. I am hoping for a miracle, and that she comes a little early.... we will see how that goes. :)

Anyway, love you guys and we will update soon!

Baby Thoughts

2010-04-18T21:57:00.009-06:00

Well, Student Teaching is coming to an end this week, we are heading to Utah for one last trip before the baby gets here, Karalee is all married and happy, families are great, work is steady... I guess it's finally time to start thinking about BABY getting here!! As I am sure everyone already knows, it's still so fun to say that....

We really are counting down the days until May 25 when we finally get to meet her! I have been keeping a fun baby journal on my computer to document all the little and big things that have happened since we first decided to have a baby. It's so fun to go back and read it, and see how far things have come!! There is really so much to say, as I am all consumed with thoughts of pregnancy, having the baby, and constantly trying and failing not to complain about how ready I am to be DONE (Sorry joshy... and the rest of you who hear about it all the time)...

Here we are, just waiting to be parents, thinking this is going to be the longest 5 weeks left...

BUT, at the exact same time, I think that we only have 5 more weeks to get ready for this little one, and be prepared emotionally, physically, spiritually, and in every other way to be parents, and I start to freak out a bit. I know it will just be insane, but insanely awesome. I haven't really written anything about how we are feeling, what's been going on, and what we are looking forward to.

Pregnancy definitely has not come easy to me, and we have had a few scary issues come up, but things are going great now, baby is no longer breech :), fluid seems great, and everything seems to be on track!! My friends at work threw me an awesome SURPRISE BABY SHOWER! It was so fun! They said we were having our monthly staff meeting at a co-workers house, but we could bring spouses and it would be a bbq. I was thinking Josh was going to be pretty bored at a meeting, but the food should keep him happy. The meeting lasted all of 20 seconds, and then we walked to the backyard and there was a baby shower waiting!! So so so sweet of them.... Here are the cutest little pink shoes my friend Katy got for the baby...

It was a great day, and made me excited to really start focusing on the baby and what we need to take care of her. Oh, and to make her look really cute too. :) I have just been so swamped with my crazy full-full time schedule, but now, things are starting to relax a little bit, and I'm getting in to major mommy-to-be mode. Here is one of my favorite dresses that I begged Josh to let us buy. I went to Target about 4 times, picked it up, and put it back, saying we didn't need it. Finally though, on the 5th time, I told Josh we just had to buy it. Good purchase I think...

This is the start of her nursery!! She is sharing with the office... We bought a crib! That was an exciting and crazy day. Josh put it together, and after every nail or screw he put together I just kept asking him "Was that tight? Is that tight enough?" I don't want her to be falling out or anything!! haha... Josh puts up with alot. He deserves like a bazillion gold stars... The bedding we got is really, well, GIRLY. :) I surprised myself by picking it, but it was a great deal, and I love the rich textures and colors. I know it's a lot of pink, but it will look great.

Here is the diaper cake my friend Kelsey made for me at the shower!! And also some BEAUTIFUL flowers Josh got for me at the end of a particularly hard day. He is so amazing to be so patient, and he let's me cry on his shoulder... A LOT. Flowers always help though to calm me down and help me remember everything will be ok.

SO... as you can see, we have been getting very excited, and our house is filling up with pink stuff. My father-in-law Scott keeps joking that the baby will come out a BOY... I really really hope that does NOT happen. Don't jinx us Scott! :)

I wanted to take advantage of the AMAZING weather we have been having lately, and Josh and I went on an amazing hour walk on the greenbelt. Our apartment complex is right on the river, and we can finally start taking advantage of that again with the good weather!! Here we are, all ready to take in the beautiful (even though mostly dead and dry) scenery!!

Josh kept betting that I would only make it to the first big bridge... and he was right. haha. my poor hips have really taken an awful beating lately, and that is literally about as far as I can go!! But it was probably a couple miles! Give me some credit Joshy!! As you can see, I am getting quite prego these days.... But I love that belly. It makes me know she is growing and moving, and I love that reassurance.

Josh is such a good, and might I add handsome, sport to let me take pictures of him all the time. I just have to document everything!! This river walk was definitely worthy of documentation...

A little panorma shot for you...

It was so, so nice to get out in the sun, and talk about the future and what's coming up. I love these long talk and walks about our excitements and fears and goals. Josh does not love them as much as me... but he is always a willing participant, and I do appreciate that :)

We did finally see some life growing! These beautiful pink buds!

Overall, it was a great day... We have a big week ahead of us, and then I will be working only 20 hours a week, getting ready for the next big step!! I am actually GRADUATING on May 15, and I could not be happier!! It has been an insanely hard graduate program, but I am so glad I did it. I absolutely adore teaching, and I love that the Lord let's me feel the reaffirming spirit a lot that it is where I need to be.

Here are some things that are making me really happy lately:
- We can't wait to see family this weekend in Utah!! Manda and Jeremy are graduating! wahoo!
- Big huge glasses of Orange Juice
- Having a married sister and new brother-in-law
- Seeing all my sisters and parents and in-laws all the time
- Washing the baby clothes in baby soft detergent
- Josh rubbing lotion on my poor feet and ankles because I can't always reach
- Jenna had her baby on Monday!
- Making the most amazing lists of things to do
- My incredibly hilarious, frustrating, and oh so cute students at my Junior High
- Cottage cheese and oranges (not together)
- Spending time with my amazing, supportive, perfect husband
- and most importantly, feeling the baby move ALL the time, and seeing where her little feet are poking out and kicking and my stomach jumping all around. Yes, it hurts, but it's adorable.

Life is great, and we really do appreciate all the love and support. Can't wait for the next month to go by! We start some baby classes tomorrow, so I will have to let you know how it goes...

WEDDING!!

2010-04-02T11:14:00.004-06:00

Karalee and Austin officially tied the knot on Saturday, March 27. They were sealed in the Boise Temple at 9:30 in a beautiful ceremony, and then we partied the rest of the day! I don't really have any pictures from the temple yet :( I will try to track some down, but here are some great shots of the reception that Josh took. I think it turned out so beautiful, and they were such a gorgeous couple. Warning, tons of pictures to follow!!

They had their reception at this really cool coffee house/cafe place. It's in an old church building, and it turned out really nice!

The cake...

Me and my little sis... the two married sisters now!

Cutting the cake...

They had a first dance while my Uncle J played the guitar and my Aunt Britani sang. It was so beautiful. I love little Olivia's face in this picture...

My amazing husband, holding Raquel's baby Crew. Just getting in some good practice before our little baby comes... Josh was such a HUGE help setting everything up, and even sustained some battle injuries from hanging all those lanterns. Hope your finger is still not burned hunny!

The bubble goodbye...

The cute couple stopped for one last picture...

Everything turned out great. Everyone worked so hard, and especially my mom needs tons of credit. It was so fun to have family here from both sides. Here is a collage of some more pics from the reception.

Love you two! Thanks for letting us share your special day!!

Unfortunately, now I have nothing to distract me from the prospect of 7.5 more weeks of being pregnant!! Ahhh! So I have just started cleaning and organizing everything, and I think these next two months will go by way too slowly.... We just are too excited to meet her! Anyway, more on that later...

Karalee's Bridal Shower

2010-04-02T10:57:00.004-06:00

Well, we have definitely had wedding on the brain lately. Little Karalee got married on Saturday! It turned out to be such a beautiful day, no snow or anything!! Here are some shots from the amazing Bridal Shower that Krystin and her friend Nicole put on for Karalee. It was so pink and so fun!

They had such a beautiful spread of treats, and tied tons of pink balloons everywhere.

Yummy Cake Pops!

Yes, I'm looking very pregnant these days...

Watching the video questions that Austin answered...

Karalee's friends

Krys and Nicole did so awesome. We played so many fun games, and Karalee got tons of really cute stuff. It was a great kick off to wedding season.... Thanks for letting me come girls! Love you Karalee!

Strength of the Gospel

2010-03-30T19:32:00.000-06:00

Well, so much has happened lately, and we have had so many amazing experiences happen in our lives. I can't wait to post pictures and talk about my beautiful little sister's bridal shower and amazing wedding. She was such a gorgeous bride. I am finishing up student teaching, and the baby is coming in less than 2 months!! We even bought a crib!

But, before I can post all those things, something completely tragic happened last night, and it has really made me think about a lot of things. I just found out today that last night, a family in my ward got in a car accident. The mom and four of her daughters were driving in the van to go visit a brother in Rexburg. It was the first time that the 15 year old was driving on the interstate, as she had just gotten her license. They were in a terrible car accident, and one of the daughters, Courtni, was killed at the scene. I just can't even begin to imagine the pain they must be in as a family. The mom is still in a coma, last I heard, and two of the daughters were in intensive care. I am, however, so completely in shock that Courtni passed away.

I had the wonderful pleasure of teaching Courtni in primary for about 6 months. Then, she turned 12 and moved to the young women's, and starting in January, I was called to be the Young Women's sports coordinator. I got to talk to Courtni all the time. She was a dancer, and we swapped stories alot about dance competitions and hours of practices. Also, we recently finished up young women's basketball. Courtni was always my first young woman to show up, and was so excited to play and be there. I teased her about her shot, and she really did get better as the weeks went on. It was so fun to see her grow every week. I really had a great relationship with Courtni, and she was such a smart, cheerful girl. I wanted to take her a thank-you-for-playing-basketball gift or treat, and I never did it... now it's too late. It is really unbelievable how fast things can change.

I just can't wrap my mind around the fact that she is no longer on this earth. I really can't even begin to imagine what the family must be going through. I have been so stressed lately, with so much going on with school, baby, wedding, work, and everything. Then, once I heard this news, I really had to stop and think. It caught me totally off guard, and made me think about the gospel perspective. It really put things in perspective for me. It made me even more eternally grateful to have the gospel in our lives. Only a testimony of the Savior and the plan of salvation could get someone through an experience like this. I am so so happy that we have the strength of the gospel to help us through tragic times. I know so many prayers are with the Henretti family right now. I still just can't believe that she died. She is such a young, innocent girl, with her whole life ahead of her. Josh keeps reminding me that the Lord is in charge, and that she must have been needed on the other side. Still, my heart breaks for the loss of her life, but I really am grateful for the gospel. If it wasn't for my testimony of the plan of salvation, I wouldn't be able to cope with this or anything like this that happens in our lives. i can't imagine what the family must feel, but I just pray that their friends and family will be uplifted and strengthend through this time. Send your prayers their way.

Anyway, I know that our Savior loves each of his children so much, and I know that Courtni is being watched over and loved on the other side. A similar situation happened about 6 years ago, when a young girl I coached on the Lowell Scott Dance Team died at a young women's activity. The picture above really helped me get through that, and I know when I look at it, that our Savior is with Courtni right now too. I just couldn't let this pass me by without saying how thankful I am for my testimony, and the support I have from the Gospel. I am so sorry for this family and their tragedy. I hope everyone takes a minute to stop and appreciate the family and friends that have, and tell them they love them everyday. Things change so fast... I know families are eternal, and as we are getting ready to start our little family, I know that testimony will keep us strong and together, no matter what...

WAY BACK TO CHRISTMAS....

2010-01-15T13:57:00.000-07:00

There are so many things I want to blog about...

- thoughts about baby

- wrapping up 2009

- looking forward to a CRAZY 2010

- student teaching

- birthdays

BUT... here we are, stuck back at Christmas!!

It really was a great holiday!! We had Christmas Eve Dinner with my family and the Petersons! And then we headed over to the Davis' for Christmas Eve night and Christmas morning. It was a blast to get to be with everyone! here are just some random pictures to give you a taste of how much fun it was :) Alot of my pictures got deleted, but I just have to post what I have or else I will never get started....

Karalee and kayla... i just love my sisters.

Tons of puzzle time!! They actually completed a 2000 piece puzzle, which i thought was pretty impressive...

The Whole crew... mom still buys us matching jammies. Thanks mom. :)

We got to make an AWESOME GINGERBREAD VILLAGE!!! The buildings were as follows...

- Ally and Karalee: The hospital (naturally, since they are both studying in the health care field)

- Krystin: The perfect little house

- Heather and Josh: The school... complete with slide and playground

- Michaela and Austin: The Eiffel tower (apparently we were making a french village)

- Mom: A beautiful garden full of candy flowers

- Dad: An impressive train station

We loved making the village... I, for one, was definitely NOT that good at it, but Josh kept us going strong.

At the Davis' we loved playing Mario for the wii with four players, and had an awesome christmas morning. I will never get over how much I love being close to our families and getting to see everyone for the holidays! It's just so crazy to me that next Christmas, we will have a little baby around!! :) can't wait!!

Anyway, since then, we have had TONS of birthdays, an awesome New Years, I turned TWENTY FIVE! (I was not too happy about this for some reason), looked back at a great 2009, and can't wait for our already crazy 2010. Maybe I will get to blog about all these things soon.

We are 24 weeks pregnant now!! It's so amazing, and we love getting ready for our little baby! Stay tuned for updates... we are having another ultrasound on Wednesday, and we can't wait.

Back to November...

2009-12-27T20:38:00.000-07:00

I'm not ready to post about Christmas yet, but it was amazing! :) I felt like I needed to go back to November and catch up on an awesome Thanksgiving! This year, we ate Thanksgiving dinner at the Bateman house, and once again, the dinner was incredible!! I wish I had any of the cooking skills my mom and sisters had. Well, some sisters anyway... haha just kidding girls. (But really, Krystin is unbeatable). Here are some pictures from the holiday weekend, out of order, as usual...

We got to go to the BSU game Saturday night in the POURING RAIN! We were literally soaked through by the end of the 1st quarter, but we love the Broncos enough so it was worth it.

Here is Josh and I, loving the smurf turf.

Little Krys was all bundled up...

Cute little Ally and Kar... hanging out at Mom and Dad's.

The family sitting down for dinner....

Cutest Mom, organizing and cooking queen... in her new cute apron!

We enjoyed some SERIOUS Beatles RockBand sessions.... just singing as loud as we could. It was awesome...

Josh making fun of my pose... i always put my hand on my hip.

The RockBand Crew

Kay Kay helping me peel potatos

The girls in aprons, helping cook.

The food was amazing, and the people were even better!! We are so lucky to have BOTH families so close and to see them so often.

The rest of November went by fast!! I was really struggling to get through the semester, but i FINALLY finished about a week before Christmas, so that was a huge relief. After pulling possibly the LAST all nighter of my 19 year school career, I finished everything, and am getting ready to student teach full time next semester, and then to graduate AGAIN in May! I can't wait... Josh is still working a lot, and is probably starting school again next semester. So we are keeping very busy.

We loved decorating our apartment with our christmas stuff!! I will post pictures with our christmas post. But Josh did the BEST SURPRISE for me. I mentioned to him that I wish we could have a REAL christmas tree, and that I didnt like fake. So when I came home from a long long day of work and school, he had a REAL TREE, all set up in the stand, making our apartment smell so good! What a great surprise! THANK YOU JOSHY!! Best christmas ever...

More christmas pictures to come...

THE SECRET IS OUT...

2009-11-17T22:24:00.000-07:00

Yep! You guessed it! Little Baby Davis will be here before you know it! :)

and we couldn't be happier! :)

Loving the Fall....

2009-10-18T22:35:00.000-06:00

Our day at the PUMPKIN PATCH!!

Well, October is here and its AMAZING!! I love the fall, I love the trees, and the smells, and wearing scarves, and everything else!! Amy had a great idea to go to the Pumpkin Patch, and it was so fun!! Every single one of these pictures are backwards, so you get to see our entire day in reverse!! The pumpkin Patch was so fun, and they had mini-donuts, which I was really excited about!! You just hop on these huge hay tractor beds, and there are 15 acres of pumpkin fields! So you just get to jump off the tractor, pick out your pumpkin, and then get a ride back to the barn! We loved it and got some huge pumpkins!!

Max was so cute all day, and he really liked the jack-o-lanters!

The finished products.... AND i must say, everyone did so good, considering the fact that I personally broke both of the pumpkin knives, and everyone had to use STEAK KNIVES to carve their designs. Sorry guys...

Josh's pumpkin is on the left, and it weighs THIRTY SEVEN pounds!! crazy!! Then mine, she is a girl pumpkin with eyelashes and curls (NOT blood, Kayla...), then Jeff's flame pumpkin, and Amy's cute smiley one!!

Our pumpkins finally done!

Josh had a LOT of digging out to do, with his 37 pound pumpkin.

The Linder Farm Barn

The Boys and their finds...

Little Max and Amy

A pumpkin just his size!!

Josh, the hay ride wasn't that bad, right?!?

The Hay wagon

We have been loving fall, and have been able to do such fun things!

We love our apartment so much, and things are going really well. We basically watch football ALL the time, and Josh can't stop wanting it to snow. I am definitely NOT ready for that yet, but I do love the rain and fall weather.

Kayla went on a walk/jog with me, and we live right next to the greenbelt. The fall colors are just beautiful, and I feel so lucky to live here.

Anyway, things are great. We love our pumpkins!!

MEXICO!!!!

2009-09-27T18:01:00.000-06:00

About a month ago, Josh and I got to go on a trip with Josh's family to CANCUN!!! It was incredible! It was a delayed "honeymoon" trip, but the whole family got to go! We stayed at a beautiful resort, the Marriott Casa Magna, and got to see some incredible things!

We waited so long for our end-of-summer trip, and it was well worth the wait! We got to see so many Mayan Ruins and tour some ancient cities. We even got to have an LDS guide at Tulum, and he used a lot of Book of Mormon references and really made the Book of Mormon people come alive for us, so we were so blessed to have that experience!

We got to go to the BEACH every day! (Which was of course MY favorite part of the whole trip!) The waves were seriously insane sometimes, and after I got sick of swallowing salt water we got to lay out by the pool every afternoon! So the whole week was full of pool side treats, boogie boarding, bartering at the markets, eating out, seeing ruins, snorkeling, getting an awesome tan (that has since faded...boo), and spending some amazing time with our family!!

A huge thank you to scott and karen for making that happen for us all.... we loved it so much!!

Here are a few random pictures! I'm not quite sure why the quality is so bad, but just go with it...
I just couldn't get enough pool time...

Josh hates laying out, but he let us stay at the pool for many long hours. Thanks babe!

Getting ready to leave...

Here we are in front of a huge temple at Coba. YES, i really am wearing that hat. My sunburnt cheeks could NOT take one more minute of sun by the end...

This is the view from outside of our hotel room!!

Beach Lovin....

Chichen Itza! This is one of the world wonders!! So so impressive when you walk up to it...

Snorkeling at an outdoor water park... Yes, we saw some baracudas and yes i was freaking out.

Nights in the town

The beautiful Cancun road where we caught the bus

Getting ready to eat dinner one night...

TULUM!! This is where we found the LDS guide. This place was right on the coast, and probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.

Tulum again.

Classic...

Loving the waves

The whole crew!! We seriously had a blast...

Well that was basically the highlight of our summer!! We then got back, MOVED to a new apartment which we love so so so much, started observing in an awesome 9th grade classroom, working, going to school, and spending time with friends and fam! We are staying so busy, but loving life.

Here are some things I love about fall so far:
1. 9th graders
2. BSU Football
3. Pretty much any football
4. Wearing boots and scarves soon (if it would stop being 90 degrees...seriously)
5. having jamba juice so close
6. sue is having her baby soon!
7. getting to see utah friends
8. decorating pumpkins at work
9. running outside
10. Kayla won Homecoming Queen! pictures to come soon...

I still need to catch up on so many things, but we just had to give Mexico a shout out first. Love you guys!!

Catch up!!

2009-07-16T22:38:00.000-06:00

WOW... so much has happened lately! This month seriously has FLOWN by. I am in shock at all of the amazing things we have been able to do!!

We started out heading down to Utah for Lindsay's wedding!! It was such a great weekend.

The happy couple...

What an amazing bride!

Her dress was so beautiful!

Little Bbear caught the boquet. love it.

HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!!
Our anniversary was seriously amazing. It was the most perfect day ever. I was looking forward to spending all day with Josh. We both got off work, and went to P.F. Changs. We totally splurged and got all the good stuff. Then we went to see "The Proposal" and it was so hilarious!! I can't wait to see it again. Then we got to use our gift certificate, and the whole day was just amazing.

This is our cake topper we saved and totally had to bust it out and try to eat it one year later... It was NOT good... but really fun!

These are my GORGEOUS flowers he got me!! All of the flowers that we had at our wedding, so that was so precious of him. They were huge and I loved them!

Happy Fourth of July!! Swimming with the friends, dinner at Goodwood, and watching the fireworks out on the grass with Jeff and Amy. Awesome.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSHUA!!!! 24!!
We are finally the same age... I'm definitely loving this.

Josh's birthday was on the same day as Lindsay's Boise reception. She looked so gorgeous!

We ate at Tucanos and it was AMAZING. So much great, amazing food. And since Josh is a meat and meat guy (not even meat and potatoes, just meat and meat...seriously) He couldn't have been happier.

This is when they made him get up on his chair and shake a little maraca while they sang really loud and played some drums. He shook his little tooshy and was such a cute birthday boy.

The gang!!

We went to a co-worker of mine, Kelsey's, wedding in Nampa. It was at this gorgeous little outside venue, and josh especially loved every second of it :)

Anyway, it has been a crazy summer, but we have been loving it!! With the anniversary, Josh's birthday, weddings galore, NON-STOP working and school, we have had alot going on.

And we are counting down the days until we get to go to CANCUN!!! I seriously can't wait... Then, we get back just in time to move and start school! Can't wait... love you guys.

ONE YEAR down, eternity to go!!

2009-06-30T23:12:00.000-06:00

Yes, that's right folks... it has been ONE AMAZING YEAR since Josh and I tied the knot!! July 1!!!! I can't even believe it. Part of me feels like it was so long ago, and the other feels like it was just yesterday. All I can say is, it truly was one of the most amazing years of my life!! The great times, the hard times... love it all. I am so grateful for how much closer we were able to grow together and to the Lord. We have gotten to do some pretty crazy things, and I love that we get to spend it all together!! Here are a few photos from a year ago...

I love Josh so much!! He is such an amazing strength to me!! You all know just how emotional I can be... haha... and Josh handles it like a Champ. I love watching him grow and be the leader of our family. Thank you Joshy for being the reason I get up everyday! You are seriously the absolute best part of my life, and I still can't believe how lucky I am to have you!! I love you so much!!! muah muah muah. Happy 1st Anniversary babe.

As for posting... YES i am behind. haha. but I will have to catch up later this weekend. Memorial Day weekend, Lindsay's wedding, future plans... it will all come soon enough.

Love you guys!! Thank you so much for your support and love! We couldn't have done it without you!!

Here is to another amazing year!!

TRANSITIONING...

2009-05-17T16:30:00.000-06:00

"Nothing is secure but life, transition, the energizing spirit."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Well, we are in the middle of the transition right now from Winter to SUMMER!
I can't believe it is finally here! Just like the quote says, I am totally feeling an energized spirit at the thought of our new schedule for the summer!! Despite the fact that my days will consist of me working straight all day from 6:45 am until 3:45, and then school from 5:30-9:00, I am still so jazzed about all the new possibilities!!

This was totally me when I walked out of my last final...

I sort of thought that this feeling of complete, uncontrollable JOY wouldn't really come after the 1st semester of your SIXTH year of college (yes, 6, that is the right number) but it totally did!!

Now, I get to start my TEACHING PROGRAM on Monday!! Everything finally worked out, and hopefully this will be me in one short year...

Here are some other things that have come to an end this month....

1. The Royal Park Ward: Josh and I will be changing wards as of next week! It's so crazy, but we will be going to the married student ward down at BSU. We are so so so excited. It will be great to be with people who are in our same situation.... We loved this family ward, but we are excited for the new transition! Here we are on our last day there...

2. PRIMARY CLASS: Leaving the ward also meant me leaving my primary class!! so sad... I had about 14 cute, CRAZY girls, the 11-12 year olds. They were pretty crazy, but I'll miss them. We had some fun with the camera on our last day.

3. KAYLA'S JUNIOR YEAR: We also got to help Kayla get ready for her JUNIOR PROM!! Her Junior Year is also rapidly coming to a close, and I can't believe she only has one left!! Since we have lived here, we have gotten to go to so many of her games and see her at dances and things, it was so fun to be a part of it!! She was actually in charge of Prom because of Student Council, and her and my MOM did so much of the planning and decorating! My other sisters helped too... (I didn't cuz it was Lindsay's so fun bridal shower). Here she is with her date Chris.

Ally and I did her hair...

She looked so so so GORGEOUS and it was so fun to see her off!! Great work lil Kay!

With so many things coming to a close, we have so many things to look forward too! Our new ward, our new schedules and school programs, Josh working LONG days until 8 at night (not really looking forward to this), discovering ZUMBA at the gym and loving every second of it, best summer of MOVIES ever, HARRY POTTER 6, and the best part, hanging out with our friends the Lookharts and the Barnes all summer long!!

Here are a few sneak peaks at some things we get to blog about here soon.

1. Josh's new summer project....a little pocket bike!!

2. A little of this coming up on JULY 1st for our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!

3. An amazing fun weekend that will hopefully involve THIS next weekend with our friends Seth, Sue, Brad, Jeff, Amy, and baby Maxton!! Can't wait!!

Needless to say, we are EXCITED FOR SUMMER!!

New Look, Dancing, and Flowers!!

2009-04-26T18:14:00.000-06:00

Well, Spring is officially here, and I couldn't be happier! While it's a fresh start with the flowers blooming and it finally getting warmer, it's the end of the semester for me!! Only a couple more weeks and then finals. I can't believe it's here already!!

I took my third and final Praxis yesterday!! Woohoo!! and good news... I PASSED THE FIRST TWO! so now as long as i can pass this stupid technology test that you all have heard me complain about, I'm good to go!! Teacher world here I come!! Keep your fingers crossed. Or if you know of ANY technology test offered at any school or university in Idaho or Utah, let me know :) seriously tho...

Here are a few random pictures. We got to go to my little sister's DANCE FESTIVAL on Saturday. Every stake in the city participated, so there were tons of Dancers. It was so fun to see Michaela perform, since we got to see her practice leading up to the big day!! Here is a picture of her and her friend Kirstie in their cute costumes.

This is Kayla and her partner doing the bolero and the samba. Our stake had the hardest choreography i think, but she did great.

so graceful...

There she is in the middle... that's my girl. Check out those hands...

This is all the kids doing the opening and also finale number. They did a really cool wave thing across the floor. Taylor's mom Kandi choreographed this number!! Great job Kandi!

My Mom LOVED it... and she waved and cheered for every single kid when they ran on the floor. so cute.

Even Joshy came!! He is so nice and supportive!! and so cute :)

And not to mention he is so sweet!! He got me these AMAZING bright colored flowers after I took my test on Saturday!! I had been so stressed about it and studying so much! He drove me all the way out to Nampa at 7 in the morning, dropped me off, picked me up again at 11, got me breakfast, and while I was napping and trying to recover, he got me these flowers!! I wish you could see them in person because they are so BRIGHT and so so beautiful!!

THANKS JOSHY!!

Anyway, we are just getting ready to transition in to summer schedules!! Josh will be working tons more, and I will hopefully be working more and going to night school everyday. The classes for my program are offered on a weird schedule, only at nights. So hopefully I can work full time now.

Here are some things we are looking forward to this summer...

1. WEDDINGS!! yeah for Linds and also for Brad!!
2. So You Think You Can Dance... obviously the best show of the summer
3. Boating with seth and sue
4. MOVIES.... Harry Potter, Wolverine, and so many more
5. Golfing and swimming and being outside as much as I can, and getting a TAN!
6. Trips, camping, and to see our families!!
7. Just hanging out and enjoying summer #2 as a married couple
8. The big ONE YEAR anniversary in July!!
9. Josh finally being the same age as me on July 10...
10. So many more things too... it will be a great summer.

A good quote for the week:
By: Will Rogers
"Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there."

2009-04-13T21:18:00.001-06:00

This is my photography blog, let me know what yall think. http://www.joshsfotography.blogspot.com/

Spring Break..awahooo!!

2009-03-29T18:34:00.000-06:00

FINALLY... a break!! I can't tell you how much Josh and I needed a break. Spring break couldn't come fast enough. We went down to Utah, visited some provo besties, drove to st. george, and headed to vegas for about 24 hours!! It was a lot of hours in the car together, and we loved every second of it. Oh, well... besides the car ride when josh had violent food poisoning and was sick for about 24 hours. That wasn't the best part... but overall, it was so great! We got to eat at the Mayan with Benita and Megs, and then saw a movie. St. Geroge was really pretty, and Vegas was a blast! On the way back, we stopped in Ogden and ate at Wingers with Manda and Jeremy... let's just say there were a lot of all-you-can-eat sticky fingers there! Here are a few pictures of the weekend....

This is us at my new favorite casion... "The Wynn".... it's so so gorgeous!!

The Venetian, my second favorite... (Notice the squinty eyes... that's right, it was really sunny and i loved the heat)

The forum shops!

getting ready to head out down las vegas blvd

The girls at the Mayan... pre food-poinsoning of course! Notice all all three are BRUNETTES!! amazing! it took a lot of years....

Utah, staying at J and Brit's, heading out to dinner

Josh and Spongebob at the Excalibur

These really cool parachute things that slowely moved up and down all at the same time! At the Wynn.

Lights and balls of flowers, whats not to love!

The Wynn and Encore... both matching and both amazing!!

A beautiful waterfall!

Love Caesars!!

Excalibur where we stayed!!

Overall, it was a blast. So nice to not worry about school or work or anything.... I just can't wait for it to be sunny and summer!! Summer is going to be so so great. We have some of our best friends moving here from provo and rexburg, lindsay is getting married, amber's having her baby, school is starting, and we will hopefully get to go boating too! So many fun things to look foward too... love you guys!!

2009-03-04T21:13:00.000-07:00

Well here are some random pictures from the last little while... Things are going great here in B-town. Pretty much the same, but we have done some extra fun things lately!

First of all... WE GOT HAIR CUTS!!! Crazy, I know.... More so for Josh. He really misses his long hair, but look how handsome he looks!! :) It was 8ish in the morning before church, so don't mind the squinty sleepy eyes I have goin on....

Little Kayla went to Sweethearts and I got to help her get ready and do her hair!! Look how adorable she is!!

For VALENTINE'S DAY, we went to build a bear and we made and adopted this cute monkey named Marshmallow!! haha... and its wearing something that we both love, BSU GEAR!!

Also for Valentines Day, we got all dressed up... in our sweats :) (our favorite), got some good food, and watched a movie! It was great!

We went down to Utah for Josh's cousin Jake's Wedding! He married a cute girl named Danica. Here is the view from the 19th floor of the Wells Fargo Building where their reception was...

Here we are getting reading to walk around the streets of Salt Lake!!

Ok, but the BEST thing happened on Tuesday. I had a LONG day, with work from 6:30 to 11, then school from 12-5, then back to work until 7. But when I got home, I had this little treat waiting for me. A sign that says "Just because it's Tuesday.... and I love you!" And my favorite treats, cookie dough and diet mt dew, and also the movie AUSTRALIA that had just came out that day. i am so obsessed with it.... and the most BEAUTIFUL bouquet of Roses I have ever gotten in my whole life. They were swirly painter roses, and they were so so so pretty. Isn't Josh the best ever?? THANK YOU SWEETIE!!

Overall, things are great!! One of the best things... I am going to go watch TOP MODEL right now... yeah baby.

Go check out Josh's photo blog... he is doing great work. Love you guys!!

My Photography Blog

2009-02-26T16:51:00.001-07:00

I decided instead of sticking every single picture i take up on the family blog i would make one just for me and my pictures http://joshsfotography.blogspot.com/

so stupid but still so loved....

2009-02-19T13:39:00.000-07:00

So, on Tuesday morning, I was driving to work. It was a typical Tuesday. 6:45 AM. Dark outside. My leather seats still FREEZING cold. Barely making it on time to work, but still excited that I WOULD Be on time. Then, my car started chugging. No good. It started to chug about every 3 seconds. I just kept my foot floored on the gas and prayed I would make it to the corner gas station. But I didn't.....

So there I was, 6:50 AM, on the side of the road. Parked right next to a CEMETARY mind you. I was freezing cold, and my car shut off. So this is about where I was at, and not very happy.

How could I be so stupid?!? The sad thing is, this is NOT the first time. I ran out of gas once in Provo and just happened to coast down the hill to the pump. No such luck in Boise. So I was in trouble. What is my answer to everything???? Calling this guy....

Coming out of a dead sleep so early in the morning, he jumped in the car because this is what he is....

MY HERO!!! He was so nice and came to my rescue. A cop had shown up, which freaks me out, and I assured him that my young, strapping knight in shining armor was on his way. Which he was, and he brought this with him...

I was saved!! We booked it to the gas station, filled up, and put it in my poor little car. It really does suffer from some neglect on my part.

ANYWAY, the whole thing just made me EVEN MORE happy about this....

I just love this boy, and I love that he will literally do anything for me!!

Stay tuned for some updates about school, Valentines Day, and coming up on EIGHT MONTHS!!

THANKS JOSHUA!! I owe ya... I LOVE YOU!

winter wonderland....

2009-01-31T18:26:00.000-07:00

Well, Josh did such a good job of showing off all of his McCall pictures! It really was a blast.... We stayed at "The Hunt Lodge"... and a hunter's lodge it was indeed. The swimming pool area had nothing shy of 30 animal heads on the wall. Very rustic. :) But it really was a nice place, and it was so fun to stay with the fam!! We even got to watch the Miss America pageant on Saturday night, so I was pretty jazzed about that.

Anyway, here are just a couple more pictures of the both of us and some of the fam spending some time in the freezing cold weather....

Krystin and I watching the hockey games.

Beanies!! Or as the Canadians say, "Touques!"

Like I said, "the Hunt Lodge"

Eating at the best place ever! The Pancake House!

Yes Josh, they ARE skating on ice... contrary to your belief...

Pretty lights...

just a couple of bears

i love him.

It was such a fun weekend! Thanks Dad for playing hockey so we could go!

We are going to Utah THIS week on Wednesday! I can't wait! It will be so nice to have a little break from busy busy busy life of work and school. I can't believe it's already February!! Crazy!!

2009-01-29T14:02:00.000-07:00

These are some of the pictures i took around town and by the lake in McCall. Hope yall like them.

McCall Preview

2009-01-24T20:45:00.000-07:00

This weekend we are in McCall Idaho watching Papa Bateman play hockey. Its really snowy so only 1 outside picture and the hockey.... well lets just say that its a really fast paced game and kinda hard to photograph but here is a sneaky peaky of what i got.

back to school, back to school...

2009-01-23T10:02:00.000-07:00

Well, it's official. As of Tuesday, I am a STUDENT again!! Yes, I do feel a little like Billy Madison, being kind of old with all the 17 year old fresheman, but i love it still. Crazy to say, as I know those of you who were close to me know that I was SOOO ready to graduate. :) But I have made some major life decisions, and I am back in school to be a teacher. But let's be honest, I could be a student for my WHOLE life. I love it. There is a thrill I get from being on campus, walking with my backpack, listening to my ipod. Sitting in class and taking notes. I really really love taking notes. I love to color code them. What else is there to do with someone who loves taking notes then keep them in school. haha. So far, it's been great. Most definitely it is insanely different from BYU. I am already really really struggling with my two of my completely one-sided, extremly liberal professors. I mean, I don't mind hearing views that contradict my own, but at LEAST present both sides of the issues! Apparently, that doesn't happen here. But it's ok... overall, school is awesome.

I have been thinking so much about why I love learning and education. I guess it stems back to my parents. Both my mom and dad have been huge influences in teaching me the importance of school. It is a value that has always been at the forefront of our lives. I have run across some good quotes from some of the Brethren that support education too. Here are some of the good ones..

"The Lord has commanded, "Seek learning, even by study and also by faith" (D&C 88:118). He has counseled us to learn the gospel and to gain an understanding "of things both in heaven and in the earth, . . . that [we] may be prepared in all things" (D&C 88:78–80)."
"We should always work to educate our minds and our hands so we can succeed in our chosen fields. Our education should be an influence for good and our use of it should distinguish us as people of integrity. A good education will prepare us for opportunities as they come and will help us be an asset to our families, the Church, and our communities. -True to the Faith"

This is the BEST quote ever. These following things are some of my very favorites.
"In addition to furthering our education through formal schooling, we can continue learning by reading, attending wholesome cultural events, visiting museums and historic sites, and observing the world around us. -True to the Faith"
My heart beats a little bit faster when I am about to enter a museum or embark upon some ruins or other historical site. Call me a NERD, (I call myself that), but it is an incredible feeling to expand your understanding of the world.
"Russell M. Nelson, Ensign, Nov. 1992, 6–8Because of our sacred regard for each human intellect, we consider the obtaining of an education to be a religious responsibility."

I can't wait to teach my own kids the importance of education. It is so important to me, and as a teacher, I couldn't hope for more than trying to pass on just a taste of the passion I have for learning and education.

Anyway, enough of this soap box! I just am so excited to be a true BSU BRONCO!!

Josh and I have some fun things coming up!! We are going to McCALL this weekend to watch my Dad play in a Hockey tournament. I'm sure Josh will take some sweet photos, so I will post those. Also, we are going to UTAH next week because Josh's counsin Jake is getting married! I love weddings!! :) So all good things....

Anyway, I better go, apparently I have some homework to do.... haha.

Under the weather :(

2009-01-15T17:34:00.000-07:00

Well, Josh and I both have been feeling a bit under the weather lately. No fun at all. Getting up early to go to work for me, or Josh working outside all day in the freezing fog is hard enough, but doing it when you are feeling so sick is NOT ok. The coughing, the chills, the sore throat... i'm just not loving it. And the thing is, I think I got HIM sick, which I feel really sad about.

Sorry Joshy!!

So I decided to make a list of things I am happy about so that I would have something to distract me from not feeling so hot.

1. Good TV Shows started!! We love The Bachelor, American Idol, Biggest Loser, 24... love it all.
2. School starts on Tuesday! I can't wait to be a student again. I even got a new backpack for my b-day for it...
3. I will officially be a BSU BRONCO for REAL, not just in my heart! :)
4. Krystin is here for the semester, so that's a blast.
5. I made tons of goals and things to work on for 2009.
6. I finished my book today, THE HISTORIAN.... you have to read it. it's amazing. if you like vampires, history, the chase, mystery, suspense, love, you will like it.
7. I have been married to my best friend for over 6 months now!! And it just gets more and more amazing everyday, even when we are sick.... I love him.

Happy New Years!!

2009-01-04T22:36:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that 2009 is here!! I distinctly remember being in ninth grade in 1999 thinking, "That will be so weird when it is ten years from now and it's 2009! That seems like such a "space travel" year... Anything close to 2010 is crazy!" (i was not always the brightest child...)

Well, 2009 is here, and things haven't really changed that much!! However, I must say, that 2008 was an AMAIZNG year!! Literally, I bet it will be the most important year of my life!! I mean, just the number of important life events that happened in one year will never amount to the same again as they did in 2008. Here are some amazing things that happened to me, ALL OF WHICH WERE LIFE GOALS that i have had since I was a little girl!! love it!!

1. I started dating my life long best friend Josh. (goal accomplished = date my best friend)
2. We got engaged on March 14 in Park City!!! (goal accomplished = get engaged)
3. I graduated from BYU with a Humanities/History Degree! (goal = graduate college)
4. I went through the Temple for the first time in Boise with Josh!! (goal = temple)
5. I got married in the Bountiful Temple on July 1 to Joshua Scott Davis. (goal = temple marriage).
6. Life continued on as we moved into our first apartment, spent time with our families, figured out how amazing it is to be married, and kept making goals and trying new things. We worked full time, Josh went to school, and we learned just how many more bills you get when you are married...

Overall, i got to cross so many life goals off my list of 100 things to do before I die. (megs, you know what I am talking about haha) The point of all this is simply to say how BLESSED i feel for such an amazing year. All of those amazing things happened to me because I am well taken care of by other people, and my prayers were truly answered. So before I welcome in 2009, I just wanted to say THANKS 2008 for probably the BEST year of my life!! I am so so lucky... I try everyday to live up to deserving it, and I have learned so much in the process.

ANYWAY.... 2009 is HERE TO STAY!!!!

Josh and I started off the year right, as Jan. 1 was our 6 month anniversary!! Can you believe it has been 6 months? That was so crazy to me to realize that!! But what a great 6 months it has been.

New Years eve we got to spend with some of our best friends!! Lindsay took me to lunch and to get Pedicures for my birthday!! After all of the stress of moving, it was AMAZING to relax and catch up with her. Then, she came over later, and we met Seth and Sue and all went out to dinner!! Then we headed over to play games with matt and sarah and welcome in the new year!! Here are some photos of the girls and the guys.... Linds, you are right. Some things do not ever change...

The Boys... just like it was yesterday... love them.

Linds, Sue, and I getting ready for dinner.

It was so fun to see everyone!! As we are looking forward to 2009, things are changing a bit! I will be going back to school to get my TEACHING CERTIFICATE!!! So I can start teaching grades 6-12 (hopefully 11th grade) any type of history, humanities, or social science class. This has been a dream of mine since I had a crush on my 7th grade Biology teacher, and I told him I wanted to be a teacher just like him. haha. While I was maybe joking then, ever since, I have not been able to get teaching out of my head. For years I have known in my heart that it is what I wanted to do, and I finally am letting myself get that dream accomplished!! So within a year, I will be all certified and ready to go!! It will be a hard year, an accelerated track, while still working at the bank, but I'm actually really looking forward to it!! I guess I am destined to be a perpetual student, and i have NO problems with that...

Josh is going to work full time and do school too!! He works so hard for our family, and he is being so supportive of me teaching. I am so grateful for that. Krystin is home for this semester, and so is Kayla! So that will be fun. The rest of our sibs, Ally, Karalee, Manda, and Jeremy, are all at school all over, so we will miss them!!

I am looking forward to running a race with my sister in April, so training for that will be fun!! We will probably end up moving again, and who knows what else the year will bring!! I already have about 12 books I want to read, catch up on scrapbooking, learn to cook (haha). I like to divide my resolutions into the following categories: physical, work, social, school, spiritual, family, money, and home. So needless to say, those of you who know how much i LOVE to make lists, know that i have TONS of things I am excited to work on!! I love what Megan said about change, and how we always have the power to change whatever we want to!!

Anyway, sorry for the long post, but I just wanted to say how excited I am for 2009!! Josh and I will hit the 1 year mark, and so many other amazing things are sure to happen. We loved 2008, but we will love 2009 even more!!!!

We love you guys!! Happy New Year!!

Bateman Christmas!!

2008-12-27T15:05:00.000-07:00

Bateman Family Christmas!!

We got to celebrate Christmas again on the 24th and 25th with the Bateman Family!! It was so fun to be all together! Here are some photos to show some of the highlights. (once again... out of order)

Me and my cutest hubby on Christma Eve!!

Here are some of the girls making christmas wreaths on Christmas Eve!! A tradition...

All the siblings in matching pajamas... Josh is still the only boy!!

Our First Christmas!!

We loved out jammies!!

Mom and me cooking the yummy dinner!

Getting ready for dinner!!

Hanging out on Christmas Day!!

We got a really cool antiqued picture of where we got married... the Bountiful Temple!!

Josh loved his new goggles!!

Krys and Kay making a snowman at midnight!!

the matching boys.... haha FINALLY!

The whole Bateman Clan.

It was a great Christmas Eve and Christmas day!! We had a blast!! Thanks so much to everyone for making it so amazing... its only 363 more days til next Christmas!!

Now, it's time for NEW YEARS, moving, new semester, and jobs!! Love you all!!

DAVIS CHRISTMAS!!!

2008-12-27T00:39:00.000-07:00

CHRISTMAS WITH THE DAVIS FAMILY!!

Since Manda and Jeremy had to leave on the Sunday before Christmas, we had Davis Christmas early, the Friday and Saturday before the 25th. It was such a blast!! We made gingerbread houses, went and looked at lights, and played tons of games. Here are some photos from the event, out of order of course....

Here are Josh and I modeling our new coats that we gave each other!!! Isn't he a stud??

The four of us on Christmas morning... I know it's blurry... sorry...

Christmas morning!! (a little early...)

Looking at the lights and being freezing cold, but so worth it...

Bro and sis riding in the back with the door open, they wanted to get as close to the lights as possible I guess.... haha. love them.

new sisters!!

Just the typical Davis Christmas dinner... always a surprise...

The Christmas Tree.... and Our First Christmas!!

The finished house!! Our house KILLED manda and Jeremy's house... haha

Look how cute it is!!

Hard at work....

Scott and Karen have some more pictures on their blog too...

But it was such a blast!! We loved it!! Christmas eve night would not have been complete without a trip to Walmart at midnight, trading in some pajama pants for some fleece neon purple and green moomoos.... (i obviously can't spell that word). We even got Maya a little reindeer costume, which turned out to be made for a cat. But it was great!! Thanks so much for making it so fun!!

p.s. its a BLIZZARD right now. Josh and I wanted to go snowboarding, but don't worry, its a blizzard, so we can't....

Stay tuned for more pictures of the Bateman Christmas!!