It's official. blog fail.

I can't believe how bad we are at blogging! Looks like the last time we updated was around circa 1973 (a.d). Tons has happened since then!!

Owen is now driving and dating and has a job at the local 5 and dime. That previous sentence was exaggeration for dramatic effect. He's getting so big so fast. He'll be 1 year old in 2 days and it seems like just yesterday that we were at the hospital and I was almost fainting. He started crawling (full-on) in September and we could hardly keep up with him. He started walking the day before Thanksgiving. Now we don't know what we're going to do.

He has the cutest little personality, laughs at everything and makes us laugh while he's at it. On the flip side to that he's as stubborn as a mule sometimes. He refuses to be manipulated (moving his hands and stuff) or rocked to sleep. He wants to do everything on his own. He won't even cuddle with us unless he's super tired. We're starting to see a lot of physical and personality traits that he gets from his parents. We like him. Here's a little video of him learning to walk:

Let's see... what else? Oh yeah, birthdays! I turned 33 and Michelle turned 28 in September. We made some cake. We have been watching tons of food network lately and thought we'd try our hands at some cake decorating with fondant and stuff. They were a moderate success (we think). The star cake was for my b-day and the other one was a combo for Michelle and Brandon. Your opinions?

Hmmm.. oh, Holidays! Halloween happened. I went as a pirate and Owen was a monkey! we went to the ward Halloween party and that was about all for that. Owen was adorable in his little monkey costume (that we bought on clearance a few months before he was even born).

Then there was Thanksgiving! We are so thankful for all of the MANY blessings we have. Most especially, we are thankful for our family and friends.

Owen is thankful for Uncle Brandon and turkey.

We'll try to do better from now on about being more up-to-date with our blog posts. For now, these are the highlights of the last few months. Next time we post, hopefully we won't already be grandparents.

How to tell if you need to blog more

...you forget how to log in!! Great!! Things have been busy around here but not that busy. I'm a slacker!! This summer has been busy with trips and fun things. I'm not good at blogging(obviously) so the pictures are loaded backwards. We had a really fun family reunion over the fourth of July camping at Downata Hot Springs. It was pretty perfect for our family. The kids just ran around like crazy and went swimming and the adults were a little more calm but not much:) It was nice to get together for a few days. My brother Doug was able to bless his daughter the same weekend so it was a good combination of events.

This is Owen hanging at the park for his cousin Raegan's birthday.

His new trick lately is to try and tip over the laundry basket. He is a tough little buggar.

Grandpa hanging with Liza and Rachel at Doug's house.

Cute cousins Brynlee, Addison, and Macey.

Eric and George.

Nathan loved baby Holland.

Camping is never good for pictures but for some reason we don't take pictures together anymore. All of the cousins after a few days in the wilderness.

Somebody loves camping.

George and Owen hanging out.

Olivia, Macey, Emma, and Abbrielle.

Owen and daddy:) Owen is getting big but not feeling like crawling or really rolling over. We have known for months that he can roll if he wants to but he never really wants to. Stubborn little guy. He is starting to look more like Barrett every day and he is so dang funny. His latest trick is to squeal. And he is good at it!! After his nap he will just lay in bed and squeal. So funny. We are just loving life and hoping to survive the summer. It's looking good so far. A few more road trips and then we will be stuck for the winter. Good thing we have a cute kid to entertain us:)

Moving again...

The middle of May we moved from our retro casa into a new, modern place. We love it and one day I will get some pictures taken but for now lets just say it's safe for the little guy to play on the carpet. The whole house had wood paneling, every single room. It was so crazy. Plus one whole wall was this lovely fireplace. We weren't even allowed to light fires. The landlords were a little nuts.

This is the beautiful decor in the kitchen. I would set things down on the counter and lose them. The tile was that bad!!

So we are glad we are out of that place. Our little guy just keeps getting bigger. No surprise he is a little pig. He has eaten every nasty vegetable that I have given him no complaints. He is such a happy little guy we can't help but take way too many pics of him:)

Hope you all have a great day!!

Crazy May

May was not my favorite month. But we had lots of fun trips planned and that made it so much better. On the eighth we made our way to St George to see one of my best friends get married. It was so fun to get together with my favorite roommates ever. It was so beautiful in St. George!! I wanted to move there and get away from the frigid temperatures we were having in Vernal. But then I remembered what the summer would be like and changed my mind:) I'll take the cold for a few months over the"dry" heat any day. It was a quick trip but so worth it.



My boys. Owen was so tired he was asleep by the time we walked back to the car. What a trooper!!

Me and Lucy Lu one of the best friends a girl could have.

All five of us. We lived with each other off and on for a few years. The best years of my single life. We always had a good time and they all make me want to be a better person. Angie was the last to get hitched and it was the first time we had all been together since before I left on my mission. I love these girls!!

Before the bride made an appearance:)

Angie's niece and one of the butest girls I know!! Aly is so good with Owen and he loves hanging out with her. We had so much fun with everyone.

What a week!

Yep, that's a hospital bed holding my baby. We had quite the adventure this week when Owen went from a tiny cold to Pneumonia in a few days. I was trying to set a record with amount of Dr. visits in a week. I did pretty good with four in three days and then we were admitted to the hospital. Poor Owen was in respiratory distress. The Dr. wasn't sure what he had other than a random virus that turns into sinus infections, ear infections. and then pneumonia. Our last appointment before the hospital Owen had double ear infections, bad congestion and pneumonia. So we spent two nights in the hospital with breathing treatments and major anti-biotics. He was released on Friday morning and he is doing lots better but he still has a cough. We are glad the worst is over and he is feeling better. We have been so blessed and are so greatful that our sweet little guy is ok. He looked so tiny in that big bed.
They had to give him an IV and that was painful for me to watch. He was so tough.

He is such a good kid. He wasn't himself but he was still really calm. He would be fussy and then suddenly stop and focus on something else.

Just chillin'

He loves his daddy!

Playing with his new ducky.

Getting ready to go home.

Before we went to the hospital we had some adventures with family. One of my brothers came to Utah for a visit so we were able to go to Salt Lake for a quick trip. We went swimming in Lehi at the coolest pool ever. The kids loved it and Owen got to go swimming for the first time. Luckily cousin George was there with us. It was his first time swimming too.

Grandpa sleeping after our big day swimming. He was supposed to be keeping Owen happy.

The boys swimming. They were pretty quiet the whole time but at least they weren't freaking out.

The boys getting ready to have fun!

Hanging out at home. I tortured him and put his bear hat on. He hates hats!! The second I put them on him he freaks. I still have to do it, I'm his mom. And he looks so cute!!

Tired little guy. He was sick but the only way we could tell was he was sleeping... he doesn't do that normally:)

Hanging out with daddy after he sprained his ankle.

Laughing with Mommy

Our best buddy Keaton left on his mission. We are so excited for him to go to Mexico and learn to love it like we do.

Way tired...

A few weeks ago we met up with my sister Ann at my brother Andy's house and had a house full of crazy kids. Owen got to hang out with his cousins and meet his cousin George. He's only a month and a half older than Owen. It was lots of fun and more than a little nuts. I'm pretty sure there is a reason that Barrett still needs ear plugs around my family!! We didn't do anything too exciting but it's always nice to be around family.


This is our new favorite picture of Owen. He's too cute for his own good:)

Andy's youngest Taizley and George.

Ikea was too exciting for the poor little guy.

Lexie was doing a really good job getting Owen to laugh.

Lizzie keeping Owen happy.

All the crazy kids, Maddie, Taizley, Truman. Samantha, Lizzie, Andyson, George, Lexie, Owen, Abbrielle, Dawson, and Rachel

Lizzie and Owen. I'm pretty sure she loves him!

George and Owen

We switched it up.

Food is always the main event. Rachel, Lizzie, and Andyson.

Abby and Owen

We love our family and are super glad to be close to them. And maybe one day we will get better at updating the blog:) One day...