The Locke Family

Christmas time!

2012-01-28T15:40:00.003-07:00

I'm a little behind still, but I've been trying to finish up our 2011 scrapbook. I can't believe it's already been a month since Christmas and that I have been back at work for a month. It is a little crazy at time with two little kiddos. But they are worth it! We had a great Christmas and Carter discovered his love for opening presents!

About a week and a half before Christmas we took the kids to zoo lights. It was freezing!! Carter loved all the lights though!

After we got back Carter wanted to help feed his sister.
On Christmas Eve, we made some sugar cookies. Carter was so excited to help out. I'm not sure if he ate more or cooked more...
He loves watching things cook in the oven!

Christmas Eve before church
Some one was so excited for new pj's and to go look at lights

Audra loves to sit up and see everything that is going on. We finally broke out the bumbo and she LOVES it!! She tries to take everything in.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

2011-12-16T12:32:00.003-07:00

I can't believe how fast time has gone by. I already have to go back to work in a week and a half. I think with all the holidays that time goes by even quicker. Carter is definetly getting into Christmas more this year. He is getting so big and so grown up. He loves his baby sister so much and is always trying to help out. He wants to do everything that we do. I can't believe it is almost a new year......

Our little family at boo at the zoo.

My crazy monkey and my little banana

One month old!

Carter is already 23 months old!!!

She loves tummy time

Carter wanted to help cook Thanksgiving dinner

Carter loves loves loves his baby sister

Someone had too much turkey.....

Everyone at Thanksgiving dinner

So tuckered out

The Sunday after Thanksgiving my grandma stopped by to meet Audra and to play with Carter. Audra listened so intently to grandma talking.

As the year comes to an end I have so much to be thankful for this year. I am overwhelmed with all that I have and am blessed with.

Audra Elizabeth Locke

2011-10-19T17:36:00.001-06:00

Audra decided to listen to her momma and not make her appearance until after the 7th of October. The doctor decided to induce me on the 10th of October because he was worried she was going to be too big. So we headed to St. Mark's on Monday morning at 9am. At 1130am the doctor broke my water and than about an hour later I got my epidural. They had to keep switching me around in the bed because I wasn't progressing because she kept falling ASLEEP. Apparently this llittle girl likes to sleep. Finally about 330 pm the nurse decided to have me try and sit almost straight up with my legs crossed. Man did that work. About an hour later, it was time to push. I pushed thru one contraction and they called the doctor in. One contraction push later and her head was here and than one more push and her shoulders were out. I was in AWE!! Audra was born at 457pm on 10/10. After Carter's delivery I couldn't believe how fast it was. Our little girl was here and we were in love! She was a big girl at 9 lbs 2 oz. (the dr had guessed 9 lbs over a month ago).

Last preggo pic!!

Jason gives her her first bath

I think she is a spitting image of Carter in this picture

October already????

2011-10-04T19:55:00.002-06:00

I can't believe it is October already! This summer just flew by!!!! It still feels like summertime here in Salt Lake though. We are still hitting mid eighties everyday. I am so ready for some fall weather :) Life has been pretty busy between chasing after this little guy and getting ready for his little sister to arrive. They thought that little girl was going to make an early appearance, but she decided to listen to her momma and has stayed put. If she doesn't come this weekend, they will induce me on Monday morning. I am so excited for her to join our little family and for Carter to be a big brother. Hopefully she makes her arrival quickly :) Sorry no updated pics today. The camera is all packed and ready to go to the hospital.....
These two pictures were taken almost two months ago while the Avery family took some family pictures. Mr. Man did not want to smile for any of the photos.....

catchin' up

2011-08-10T22:10:00.004-06:00

It has been another busy two months. Carter is getting so big (and so am I!) Luckily it has been a pretty mild summer, but we have managed to stay pretty busy which helps make the weeks go by pretty quickly. We are still working on a name for baby girl, but her room is almost ready for her.
Carter has started to get pretty independent and has figured out how to climb and get into everything as you can see here.

We weren't sure how Carter would do with the fireworks this year. He LOVED them! He even tried to help daddy out with them. It was nice this year in Salt Lake because they changed the laws and now you can buy the bigger fireworks so we didn't have to go anywhere as we had quite the shows from our street of several large firework displays.

A couple of weekends after the 4th we met Jamie, Amanda, the girls, and Alex at the zoo. It started off as a pretty warm day, but about halfway thru our trip it started to POUR RAIN!! Carter found a few puddles in jump in and his cousins help him enjoy the rain. He was exhausted by the end of our trip.

Carter turned 19 months old! He is getting so big so fast! He loves to eat, play with the dogs, and help out mommy and daddy. He also gives his baby sister kisses and hugs (well on my belly)

Jason and I gave in and got a membership to Discovery Gateway (kids museum). It was less than the cost of going two times. Carter had SOOOOO much fun! Here he is playing in the life flight helicopter. We also discovered that if you go on Sundays no one is there. He played so hard for over 2 hours and fell asleep on the way home!

Alex introduced us to free outdoor concert at canyons ski resort. Carter had a blast being outside and getting to eat without being restrained. The band wasn't very good the time we went, but we all had a great time being outside and doing something different on a Saturday night.

Did I mention that Carter loves helping out! He likes to help with whatever we are doing from unloading the dishwasher, cleaning dishes, cleaning the blinds, sweeping the floor, putting laundry away. It is SOOOO cute!

Well it will only be a few more weeks until baby girl arrives. I can't belive how fast time has gone by. It is definetly more challenging to be pregnant with a toddler and definetly more tiring.

And baby makes four!

2011-06-02T19:40:00.003-06:00

I haven't been so good about updating this...way too many pictures lately and not enough time. Pictures in this post are in reverse order. Jason and I went to San Fran for a week in May while his parents watched Carter for us. Carter is almost 18 months!!! Not sure that he gets he is going to be a big brother, but is becoming more and more independent. He won't let us feed him at all, he tries to put his shoes and socks on, and can go get things for us. Also we found out two weeks ago that he will be having a baby SISTER! Everything is going great so far besides making mommy sick still! I am so excited and have already started shopping and learning how to make hair bows/flowers and tutu's. We are past the 1/2 way point and can't believe how fast it is going by!

Carter at 17 months

Jason and I at the baseball game in San Fran. It was an amazing game with an amazing view of the bay. Go Giants!

Jason and I under the bridge

We went down to my grandma's for Easter. The weather was so nice and Mr. Man had so much fun. He really enjoyed searching for eggs, which surprised me. My parents and brothers also came to St. George for the holiday.

The weekend before Easter we took Mr. Man to Sugarhouse to feed the ducks (and seagulls). He had a blast and I am glad we went early cause the pond is now flooded and out onto the street at the park.

catch up

2011-04-13T20:01:00.003-06:00

So it has been another busy couple of months. However, it is still snowing outside so sometimes it feels like it is still January. Just over two weeks ago Jason gave in and let me take Mr. Man for a much needed haircut. I didn't think it would be such a traumatic event....

We did okay until the shears came out and as soon as the lady turned them on the screaming started!! Even bribing him with a sucker didn't resolve all the issues...

He apparently likes the end result though...

Carter recently has taking a liking to ice cubes, just like the dogs. Two days ago he was sucking on an ice cube and his hands got cold so he brought it into the living room, put it on the end table, and sucked it without having to use his hands!! It was hilarioius! Neither Jason nor I could figure out where he learned that one. And of course everytime we tried to take a picture he would stop donig it...

I can't believe my little guy turned 16 months old yesterday. This picture truly captures my son....always with something to eat!!!! He is so much fun! He has the happiest laught and is so easy going for the most part!

One of Carter's favorite new things is to climb on these stoewls and look out the window. It may not be quite the safest thing, but Jason or I are right there to supervise....

Well, Mr. Man will be a big brother come October. I am 14 weeks pregnant. We are sooo excited to add to our family. I am just hoping this all day sickness stuff will pass soon. We will find out in 5 short weeks if Carter will have a baby brother or baby sister. Hope everyone out there is doing great and loving life!

quick update

2011-02-23T19:15:00.004-07:00

It has been another busy two months filled with lots of travel and not a lot of photos. First thing first, Carter turned 13 months! Shortly after Mr. Man got really sick so I took him to the pediatrician and turns out he had a double eye and double ear infection and the stomach flu! Poor guy!!! The only good thing was he LOVED cuddling!

For the super bowl, we had some friends over. This was the only football looking shirt. Too bad it wasn't in either teams colors. I think my favorite commercial was the e-trade baby commercial with the taylor and the dorotios commercial where the guy licks the other guy's fingers.

While we were all watching the game, Carter was able to reach the chips on top of the table and pull the whole bag down. Here is the end result!!

Daddy and his boy watching the game!!

Not much else happened that month besides Carter turning another month old! On that day Daycare called because he had "boogers" in his eyes again so I thought we would have a quick trip to the dr's office, get some antibotics again, and be on our way home. Turned out Mr. Man had a pretty severe case of RSV and we didn't even know it. The pediatrician commented on how tough of a kid he was because he was running circles in the doctor's office. Let's hope we can stay sickness free for a least the next month!!

We actually celebrated Valentines Day on the 13th since we both had to work on Monday. We had our traditional take out (this year from Cheesecake Factory) and chocolate covered strawberries. This year we added a homemade chocolate chip cookie for fun! No gifts this year. We are going to go to San Fran for a week in May instead. Plus we are both horrible about getting each other gifts since we both buy stuff we want for ourselves. I did get Carter a Spot Zoobie. He LOVES the book and opening all the flaps. The Zoobie (which is a stuffed animal, blanket, pillow in one) not so much of a hit. Maybe next year....

The Wednesday following Valentine's Day, my mom called advising me that my grandpa had taken a turn for the worse and he passed away Thursday morning. He had battled a horrible disease of alzhimers for more than 15 years. So Jason, Carter, and I headed down to St. George on Friday morning. Carter even got to meet his Aunt Mindi for the first time

Carter loved all the attention he got all weekend long. He thoroughly enjoyed playing with everyone, especially my parents dog Missy. Missy on the other hand did not enjoy Carter as much.
On Saturday morning we all got to say goodbye to Grandpa after he was dressed in his temple clothing. I had never done that before. It was a very calming experience and I could tell that my grandpa was there with us and was reassured that he was at peace and was happy where he was. He now has his mind back and gets to play with all the children in heaven. My grandpa always loved children. Wherever we would go he would always talk to the little kids. He looked more like the man I remember from when I was a little girl. I will miss you grandpa and look forward to the day that I get to see you again! Please don't come asking for grandma yet...

Here we all are at grandma's before the graveside service. It rained the whole day!! Sorry I couldn't crop and zoom the photo in blogger...

Happy Holidays!

2011-01-08T22:54:00.004-07:00

It has been a busy month!! Hopefully life will slow down soon!

Well the Friday before Christmas, daycare put on a little Christmas program and than Mr and Mrs Claus showed up too. We weren't really sure how Mr. Man would react, but he seemed to have cared less.

I got this balloon for Jason on his birthday. Carter LOVED playing with it! We finally had to let it go yesterday.

I was a little worried putting up a Christmas tree with a wobbling toddler. However, we did only loose two ornaments this year, which neither were broken by Mr. Man. He would simply walk up to the tree, look at the ornmanets, and than walk away.

We had our traditional Christmas Eve. We went to church, opened our pj's, and than had a late Christmas Eve dinner of steak, mashed potatoes, mushrooms, green beans, and wine.

On Christmas moring, Mr. Man didn't wake up until 8am! That was a great present!!! He still didn't understand the present stuff and we ended up opening most of his gifts for him. I'm still not sure where to keep all his toys and books he got. After presents we had our traditional breakfast with mimosas.

Later that afternoon, we had to have the traditional gingerbread making. However, this year we got a kit to make it a little easier.

For New Years, we headed down to St. George to hang out with my family (well minus Mindi). It was the first time Jason and I had made it to midnight in YEARS! Thanks grandma for the fireworks!!!

My little brothers couldn't figure out how to get Carters seat belt on and Mr. Man was a little tired of sitting in the car seat....

All of us playing a game of phase 10---or should be say "skip Jason"

Carter loved going up and down golden grams stairs

My mom brought this chair for Mr. Man. It was mine when I was little. He LOVES it!!!

On New Years Day we went and visited my grandpa in the nursing home. We played some UNO while Mr. Man ran ammock

Well I can't believe it is 2011 now....not sure where 2010 went. I am super excited to see what the year has in store for us. Hope everyone had a great holiday season.

It's beginning to look a lot like...

2010-12-20T21:09:00.005-07:00

It has been another busy couple of weeks. On Sunday December 5th we decided to go and see Zoo Lights. It was REALLY foggy that night which I think was fun (and made it a little warmer). Carter LOVED looking at all the lights and I got to have some hot chocolate and a fried smore (not recommended)

The 6th was Jason's 29th birthday. The only photos we took were after dinner when everyone came over for cake. We had a great time at Fridays for dinner. My hubby was definetly spoiled by all!!

On Saturday the 11th both my grandma and my mom came down to help us celebrate Carter's first birthday. We decided to go down to temple square. It had to have been the busiest Saturday night downtown. We lucked out though with some VIP parking.

Sunday was the big day! My baby turned one! We had quite the turnout of people. I didn't think that I would be emotional about it, but I just can't believe how much he has grown and learned this year. It was also very touching to see how much love and support he has. Thank you everyone that was able to make it.

Cake smashing

2010-12-05T12:40:00.003-07:00

I can't believe my baby will be ONE next week! We decided to let him have his cake a little early and get a little photo shoot in since last week we tried to do his one year photo shoot and he cried the whole time. I'm pretty sure he enjoyed this photo shoot a little bit more. Plus we were getting him warmed up for his real party where he gets to smash a whole cake!! He ended up eating SIX of these cupcakes!

Happy Halloween

2010-11-01T20:44:00.006-06:00

I hope everyone had a great Halloween weekend. Here in Utah we feel that we are extra special and celebrated on Saturday instead of Sunday!
We carved pumpkins with Jeff and Alyssa on Wednesday night. Carter didn't care much for it. He just liked throwing everything on the ground!

Here's all our finished pumpkins (From left to right--Alyssa, Jeff, me, and Jason)

So proud of our finished work!

On Saturday morning we took Mr. Man to boo at the zoo! I can't believe we had never been before we Tori and Elle! Carter had so much fun looking at all the other kids in their costumes. By the time it was time to go he was wiped out! He even slept in his carseat for over an hour while we ran errands!

On Saturday night we had a few friends over to help celebrate. Carter sure enjoyed all the attention.

Ben and Leslie. I am pretty sure that Ben wore his "fangs" the whole night!

The whole gang

It rained all Saturday evening. We still took Carter out to a few houses. I think he had had enough and was ready to be in normal clothes. He found the trick or treat bowl and was in heaven. I can't believe he will be 1 years old in less than 2 months...can someone please slow time down!!!

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta (picture overload!)

2010-10-14T21:25:00.011-06:00

So this past weekend, Jeff, Alyssa, Jason, Carter, and I all took a roadtrip down to Albuquerque, NM for their annual international balloon fiesta. I have been trying to get Jason go for years now. He decided he wanted to go after seeing a segment about the fiesta on tv. Go figure! Anyways we drove half way (Monticello, UT) on Wednesday night. We decided to go to four corners since Alyssa had never been. I hadn't been in 10+ years and man is it different now. It's $3 a head to get in and there is massive construction going on in the area. Here is Mr. Man sitting in all four states. As soon as I sat him down everyone was saying how cute he was. We had a hard time getting him to sit still since he wanted to look at all the people.

Jeff and Alyssa

Mr. Man was getting tired of being in his car seat so we let him drive for awhile....

We arrived Thursday afternoon and decided to go up the tram that night. I forgot how beautiful the Albuquerque sunsets are. (and how cold it is once the sun goes down)

Thought this was pretty funny...

We got up bright and early the following morning for the special shapes mass assension. It was too windy for the special shapes, but some of the normal balloon's still went up. They also filled most of the special shapes which was fun to see. Some of them are just massive! Carter did great with getting up so early too! He LOVED the balloons!!

My dad ended up having meetings in Albuquerque so my mom came along. She met up with us at the park.

Such a happy baby! Even at 5am!

After the balloon fiesta, we met up with Cari, Ryan and their kids at the hotel for some swimming while others rested. Hope decided to have a little mess up with some milk and had to go home. The rest of us spent the rest of the afternoon at the Children's Museum. I am not sure who had more fun--Carter or Jason and Jeff....

After the children's museum, we headed back to the park for the "Glodeo" which is when they inflate the balloons at night and they glow from the flames. Cari, Ryan, and her kiddos met us at the park for a fun filled night finished off w/ some fireworks!!

Hope loved Carter! She told me multiple times that he was her best friend. She was constantly giving him kisses and hugs and talking to him. It was so sweet!

One of my favorite balloons---the bees

We got up again the following morning to hopefully catch a better mass assension. We were in luck!!

This balloon is MASSIVE!!!

Later we spent the afternoon in Santa Fe shopping and eating and having some great margaritas!!

This is the famous mayor's mansion where all the local Native Americans sell their goods. It was a little pricey for my liking...

That evening we met up again with Ryan and Cari for some good Mexican food at El Pinto. It was a fantastic evening. Carter did great the whole night and fell asleep in the car before we had even left the parking lot!!

And for the 3rd day in the row we went to the farewell mass assension. We had a great trip!!

Going to the chapel...

2010-09-27T20:49:00.003-06:00

This past weekend Steve and Tanika got married at Millenial Falls in Draper, UT. It was a great night! Jason's parents even drove down from Montana for the event.

Alyssa and I with the bride

Carter on the dance floor

My handsome little man

1/2 marathon done!!!

2010-09-22T20:41:00.003-06:00

So little man turned nine months on last Sunday! Apparently he is shocked too!!!

He is definetly getting more and more mobile. He even managed to crawl right out of his pants!!

Another new trick we learned is to climb up the stairs! We had just put our baby gates in when we discovered that he was halfway up the stairs (the gate was at the top so he didn't fall down-we didn't know or think he could climb up yet)

The dogs are not a big fan of the gates.....

This past weekend Jason, Carter, Ben, Leslie (and Izzie) and I traveled down to Cedar City so that Leslie and I could run our first half marathon! Leslie did awesome (you can see her finish time). I didn't run quite as fast, but I did finish and ran more than half of the race. It definetly feels good to have finished and to accomplish a goal I never thought I would.

Izzie and Carter waiting for momma to finish the race

All done and EXHAUSTED!!!!

After the race, we cleaned up, grabed some Chili's to go and went to the park to have some lunch. Than Jason, Carter, and I headed down to my Grandma's house. We went and visited my grandpa and than played for the rest of the afternoon. Carter LOVED chasing around this remote control car. He definetly was worn out by the end of the day!

Last night while Leslie and I were at a movie, Jason found Carter trying to play the piano. For those of you that know my husband well...this meant sooo much to him.

We've got another couple of busy weeks ahead of us. Jason's buddy Steve gets married on Friday than next weekend my family is here and the weekend after that we are going to Albuquerque to see the Balloon Fiesta. If life could just slow down for a few months.....

And if anyone knows of a cheap 10k at the end of October let me know.

Another month has passed....

2010-09-11T20:06:00.008-06:00

Wow--summer is over already!! We've had another busy four weeks and I can't believe my baby will be 9 months tomorrow!!!

Well the second weekend in August, my old college roomate came to SLC with her two kiddos (and mom) for a visit so we hit up the zoo. It was actually a pretty cool day for August. I couldn't believe Sarah had never been to the SLC zoo!!

The only way we can get Carter's hair this way is with sunscreen! (and lots of it!!)

It was a very busy day at the zoo! It was this babies first birthday! They even gave her cake and presents!!

The mommies and their babies (sorry Pipi's head got cut out of the shot). Blame Hubby

Mr. Man loves the zoo

The next day Sarah, Jota, Holly, and I all met up at Sugarhouse Park for some lunch and some good company. I can't believe it has been 10 years since we all met!!!

sorry can't get the pic to turn

Here's the 3 babies (minus Bridger). You would never guess that Carter and Zoey (on the left) are four months apart or that Zoey and Pipi (right) are only 1 week apart!

Jill and Zoey, me and Carter, Sarah and Pipi

A few weeks ago we decided that Mr. Man has outgrown his baby tub and since he can sit on his own we decided to let him take baths in the big tub. He LOVES it!!! He loves splashing around and being able to move around too. He is such a water baby!!

We got a new vacuum and Mr. Man decided he needed to see what was in the box!

Last weekend, Jeff (Jason's brother) came to SLC for a visit! What a crazy busy weekend we had. The siblings (Jamie, Jeff, Jason, and Alex) all got to go golfing. We went swimming, watched CU vs CSU, went to the Children's Museum, did some bbqing and hung out.

Carter loved throwing the rings and having Elle go get them. He watched her the whole time

Carter couldn't seem to keep his eyes off of Elle. She is so sweet to him too!

Carter splashing in the water

Elle

Uncle Jeff and Carter after a long afternoon of swimming

The sunset from Jamie's house

Alex and Carter

On Monday (Labor Day), everyone except Amanda and Maddi went to the Children's Museum. All the kids seem to have a blast--including Carter!

Carter in the construction area

Carter and Uncle Jeff

They had all these little "cars" around to play with. They were the perfect size for Carter

Tori climbing

and now Carter's turn............

and Elle's turn...............

Tori, Alex, and Carter

Jason and Tori

Mr. Man had soo much fun!!

Tori checks out Jason at the "grocery store" Tori and Jamie playing make believe

What another busy month!! Carter finally got his first tooth about a week ago (thank goodness!) He was being a little cranky, which is not like him at all. He has started pulling up on EVERYTHING and wants to be wherever we are! He is such a fun kid.

Next week I have my 1/2 marathon in Cedar City and I am pretty nervous. I never imagined that I would ever be doing something like this. I guess you really can do anything you put your mind to.

Than the week after the race Jason's long time buddy Steve is getting married, than Brady comes home from his mission, than my parents will be here for LDS conference, than we go to Albuquerque for the Balloon Fiesta with Jeff and Alyssa.

When does life slow down????

It's August already???

2010-08-12T17:59:00.005-06:00

What a busy month it has been!! Jason's brother, Jamie moved into their new home so on July 24th (also Jamie's birthday) we went and spent the day with them. They built a GORGEOUS home up against the mountains and we spent the day out by the pool. Good thing Carter loves the pool! Here is Carter with his cousin Tori. He is such a good baby! He doesn't care who holds him as long as he is getting attention

The pool has a very shallow area that Carter was able to sit and spash in. There is also a very large umbrella to keep him shadded.

Here is Carter with one of his other cousins--Elle.

Than the next weekend was my birthday! I got SPOILED!!! Jason got me a new ipod touch. I am still trying to figure out everything it can do! My grandma got me a beautiful diamond mom and baby necklace. My parents got me a gift card to get some new shoes for my upcoming 1/2 marathon and than I got several itunes gift cards and a gift certificate for a pedicure which will come in very handy! Thanks everyone for an amazing birthday!! We went to dinner at Johnny Carino's to celebrate and of course my camera was dead so no photos. Than we went to Jeff and Alyssa's for cake and ice cream. Thanks again Alyssa for the cake--that was sooo thoughtful.

Than on Saturday (the 31st) we decided to take Carter for his first camping experience in Big Cottonwood Canyon. Except the weather didn't want to cooperate and it rained on us! So we had to sit in the tent for awhile and play some phase 10. Carter did great and even slept the whole night!!!

Carter eating his dinner

Hanging out in his carseat

playing Phase 10 while it rained

Sunrise in the mountains

Daddy and Carter

Another busy weekend this last weekend, but no photos. We did some swimming, went to the aquarium, did some shopping, Jenn ran 8 miles, ate at Ruth's Diner for the first time (amazing food and amazing atmosphere), and tried to clean the house.

Today Mr. Man turned 8 months old! And guess what?? We have a CRAWLER!!! On Saturday the 7th he crawled for the first time!! Now to babyproof the house!! Video hopefully to come in seperate post! Here is a photo from today of my little bugger!! He is getting soooo big!

another month has flown by...

2010-07-12T19:52:00.005-06:00

Carter is another month older and I am not sure where the time goes. It has been another busy month. We had a long fourth of July weekend filled with running (well for me at least), shopping, swimming, bbq, baseball, and fireworks.
Here is Carter in his fourth of July outfit. He is such a happy kid :)

Here we are swimming again on the fourth. The pool was EMPTY!!

Carter loves his turle float

But sometimes he wants mommy to hold him!

Carter "flying" in the sky

What a gorgeous day we had!

On Sunday, the 4th, we went to the Bee's baseball game. We were a little worried about Carter since it was a late game. But man was he a trooper. He stayed awake for the whole game except for about a half hour when he slept with Alyssa. He even enjoyed watching the fireworks and smiled at all the people while we walked to our car after 11pm! What a great baby!!!!

Jeff and Alyssa at the ball park. They both wore blue and Jason and I both had red. We did this without meaning too :)

Jeff tried to rock Carter to sleep.

This last weekend Jason and I went to Las Vegas for the weekend. We dropped Carter off at my grandma's house in St. George and my mom also came up from California to enjoy her grandson. My grandma bought him some 2 piece pj's and I couldn't believe how big he looked in them. He is growing up soooo fast!

Today Carter turned 7 months old! I can't believe it!! He is getting soooo big. We just barely started putting him in h is 6-9 months clothes. He is able to sit by himself for just a little bit and he is getting soooo close to crawling as well. It's just a matter of time before he's off wandering...

6 months already!!

2010-06-22T21:24:00.006-06:00

I can't believe my little baby turned 6 months old on the 12th!! Where has time gone?!! At his 6 month appointment, dr said everything was looking great. He has doubled his birth weight--weighing in at 16 lbs and 1 oz and is 25 1/2 inches long. He is in the 25% still for weight and dropped a little bit in the height department to 19%. Looking at how tall Jason and I are he doesn't stand a chance. Poor guy!! He has started to get more and more personality and is such an easy going, happy baby. He is such a good roller, but has no desire yet to sit on his own. Someday we will get there!

These photos (above and 3 below) were taken on his 1/2 birthday!

The day after his 1/2 birthday we decided to start some "real" food. First food-sweet peas. He LOVED them!!! He probably would have eaten more if we let him. I just didn't want to fill up his belly too much.

Here he is already trying to feed himself...

Also another thing Carter has learned to do is to hold his own bottle! It is exciting and sad at the same time since my baby is growing up soooo fast!!

On Saturday the 19th, Alyssa, Jeff, Jason, Carter, and I headed down to the Gateway mall downtown. They were having a chalk art festival. Here were some of the entries. It was amazing to see what they could do with just chalk! After walking around we enjoying some drinks and nachos at Sky Box.

Mr. Man loves his stroller and shades!!

We had a pretty relaxed Father's Day. I went for a 6 mile run in the morning while Carter got a much needed nap. Later that afternoon we went and saw Toy Story 3D with Jamie, Amanda and the girls. It was the first movie we have taken Carter to and he did AMAZING! He watched the first half of the movie than took a nap. He woke up and we had his bottle ready already and than the movie was over. Maybe Jason and I will be going to more movies with him. After the movie I cooked Jason some dinner and his favorite--chocolate cherry brownies. Carter got him a Mickey Mouse golf towel, a Mickey Mouse driver cover, and 2 passes for 18 holes. What a great daddy!!

Nap time for the boys! (You can't see the dogs in this photo, but they were sleeping too)

Daddy and Carter

5 years!!

2010-06-10T20:10:00.005-06:00

I can't believe it has been 5 years already!! What a whirlwind it has been. We have been so blessed by amazing family and friends, great jobs, a nice house, 2 fun dogs, and a beautiful baby boy. We left Mr. Man in daycare on Friday and celebrated just the two of us. We went and saw "How to Train Your Dragon" (highly recommended) and than went and had some sushi at the Gateway. We walked around for a little bit and than went home and relaxed for a little bit, enjoying the house w/o Carter. After we picked up Carter from daycare, we went and grabbed some In N' Out, dropped Mr Man off with Alyssa and went to the Nicklecade. We than picked up Carter (he was SOUND ASLEEP) and got a bottle of wine and some ice cream to finish off the night. Happy Anniversary honey! Here's to many more years to come

Carter will be 6 months old this Saturday. His personality comes out more and more each day. He is such an easy going, relaxed baby.

On Saturday, Alyssa invited us to the pool again. Carter and I went while Dad and Jeff (and Steve) built the rest of our fence. Can you tell this child likes the sun and water?! He is definetly my child! :)

So we have caught Carter "scotting" a couple of times. He is really good at pushing himself all the way up on his arms until his arms are straight. He also gets his legs going pretty good too. Too bad he seems to have NO INTEREST WHATSOEVER in sitting up on his own. Everytime I try he pushes his legs straight and falls down. I guess he will do everything when he wants to...

Here is the beginning stage of the rest of our fence. If you want to see the rest I guess you will just have to come over. It has been so nice this week just letting our dogs run free and not having to tie them up everytime they go outside. Thanks Jeff (and Steve) for your help!!

So for the last couple of days Carter just hasn't seemed to get full enough from either breastmilk or formula so we decided it was probably time to start some rice cereal. Here is his first feeding from Sunday. (He looks like such a big boy in his highchair)

He's ready for it....

Mouth open....

Already trying to help mom....

Such a cutie!!!

Mr. Man will have his 6 month check up next Monday. Hopefully he does okay with his shots because I have to leave town for work that afternoon. It will be my first overnight trip away from him. I hope that I do okay....

And the training for the 1/2 marathon seems right on target. I wanted to do the one at Disneyland, but Jason said no. So I think I will be running the Cedar City one on Sept 18th. Apparently it is one of the fastest courses in the nation (cause it's almost all downhill). Sounds perfect to me!!!

Also Jason and I have started doing p90x to get rid of the rest of the baby weight. It is such a good work out (and we've only done 5 of them!)

Hope everyone else is enjoying the summer!

Summer has arrived!!

2010-06-02T20:59:00.005-06:00

It has been a busy couple of weeks for the Locke household. The first week of May we had to find Carter new daycare and all the stress and headache and heartache that went into that. Carter also turned five months old! Man, where does time go???
The second weekend in May we went to Carter's first Bee's game. Luckily it wasn't very busy so we got seats under the shade. Carter finally got to wear one of his baseball outfits!

This past weekend we enjoyed some nicer weather and decided to take Carter swimming. He LOVED it!! He was in the water for probably almost 2 hours!!!! I'm glad I have myself a water baby!!!

Than after swimming, we had everyone over for a bbq, some smores, and some hukah. It was great food and great friends. Carter did great getting passed around to everyone too.

This next weekend is Jason and I's fifth wedding anniversary. We planned on going to Vegas to celebrate, but daycare fell thru so we are going to celebrate in Vegas in July. Hope everyone is having a great summer so far. My baby will be 6 months next week!!!

trip to the 505

2010-05-10T20:57:00.006-06:00

So this past weekend Carter and I went to Albuquerque for a long weekend since daycare was closed. I didn't realize that it was also Mother's Day weekend until after I booked my flight. We started out the trip right with some Weck's for breakfast and than off to Santa Fe for a new Coach purse. I forgot to take the camera up to Santa Fe so there are no pics. Everyone kept commenting on Hope (Cari's little girl) and Carter's sunglasses. Carter did NOT enjoy the wind!!
On Saturday morning Isaiah had a T-Ball game. Go Yankee's. I took more pictures but my computer won't let me turn them around :(Isaiah had some great hits and he enjoyed talking to every player that came to his base.

Hope wanted to help feed Carter.

After we got cleaned up from baseball we headed to the Albuquerque Aquarium. They had some huge salt water tanks with sharks, sting rays, all kinds of fish and this albino turtle.

This puffer fish just stayed right next to the glass and starred at everyone.

After the aquarium we headed over to the Children's Museum--Explora. I hadn't been there in probably 12-13 years. There was so much stuff for the kids to do from water to arts and crafts to musical instruments to bubble machines.

So many Isaiahs!!!

These were like life size linkin logs!

Lucky for us, Cari had all the baby supplies that we needed while we were there (which made it MUCH EASIER to pack). One of the things that I have for Carter is an exercauser (sp?) but haven't taken it out as I wasn't sure he was big enough for it yet. As you can see he quite enjoyed himself in it. Guess what we will be putting together this week????

On Sunday, Mother's Day, we headed over to Cari's moms house for some BBQ.

This is the view of the Sanida mountains from Cari's moms house

Me and my BFF Cari. Love this girl

Alex and Hope being silly (always up to no good :))

4 generations!!!

We had a great weekend but it was also nice to come home and relax. Jason even surprised me with a jogging stroller for Mother's Day! Too bad it is raining.....

I realized three important things this weekend: 1 I am so thankful for a husband who shares responsiblity in raising our child as I could never do this alone. I barely survived four days and I had Cari's help. 2. I don't think I could be a stay at home mom. I need my sanity! 3. Sometimes your family isn't related by blood

update...not much to update

2010-05-03T20:52:00.004-06:00

Not too much excitment in the last two weeks. Carter continues to grow and grow and grow. He rolled over from his back to his belly for the first time on Saturday. He is also starting to be able to hold on to things like his rattle, his birp rags, and his teethers. He laughs more and more each day and is just such an easy going, happy baby the majority of the time. Here are a few pics from the other day.

We went to the zoo again last Sunday (gotta take advantage of our membership). This time Carter was way more awake and excited. One of the animals he really enjoyed was the giraffes. He tried talking to them and just stared in amazment at them. He also really enjoyed all the sounds that the elephants were making.

We also became members of the aquarium in town (over-rated) and decided to go on Saturday. Pretty much the whole city of Salt Lake decided to go on Saturday as well. Carter loved looking at all the colors and really enjoyed the penguins! Let's hope that spring is here to stay (finally) so that we can get to some baseball games!!!

Carter and I are off on Friday morning to go the 'Burque for a long weekend trip to visit Cari and her family! Hopefully Carter will behave on the flight....

race day

2010-04-17T14:27:00.004-06:00

Carter turned four months old on the 12th. Where has time gone?!

Today, I ran my first 5k post baby. It was part of the Salt Lake Marathon. It was a GORGEOUS day!! Leslie ran it with me and Ben did the bike tour. It was fun to watch all the thousands of runners. It was pretty inspiring! I am seriously considering training for a 1/2 marathon now. I'm pretty sure I have lost my mind!

Ben and Leslie before our 5k and after Ben's bike race

Leslie and me before our "race"

And after the race

Carter and I

Half the photo is in the shade...but still a cute family photo

Easter weekend

2010-04-05T19:58:00.004-06:00

I can't believe how fast time has gone by! This past weekend Jason and I both had a three day weekend (since daycare takes good friday off). So we decided to take advantage of the one nice day this weekend and go to the zoo. We bought a year pass so we could go back whenever we wanted. Carter did great in his baby bjorn!
After the zoo, we headed over to Fashion Place mall so we could get some photos of Carter with the Easter Bunny. Only this Easter Bunny didn't want to hold babies....what the heck??? Maybe next year....
On Saturday we laid low, cleaned the house, and watched some movies.
On Sunday we went to church. When we got home, Carter got his Tonka Truck easter basket. We started to show him his new rattle and he LAUGHED!! It was the best sound ever!!! Too bad we took the video camera out and he would NOT do it again. For Easter dinner we had Jamie and Amanda and the girls over along with my brother and Jeff and Alyssa. It was a wonderful weekend which made it even harder to come back to work today.
Enjoy the photos!

3 Month photo shoot

2010-03-27T14:57:00.005-06:00

Last Saturday we did Carter's 3 month pictures at Wheeler Farm. It was the first day of Spring and it was a gorgeous day!! Neither Jason or I had ever been to Wheeler Farm. I was amazed at how much there is there. We will definetly be going back! Enjoy the photos
p.s. the same girl did his 3 month shots that did his newborn. Highly recommended!!

Mr. Man is 3 months old!!

2010-03-17T18:36:00.004-06:00

I can't believe my baby is three months old already!! He is getting bigger by the minute! He is doing really good at daycare (and I am adjusting having him there). Here are a few pics from the last two weeks...mostly for the grandparents....

Dash has been feeling left out of pictures....

My handsome son is 3 months!!

All my boys are tuckered out

Go Broncos!!

New Toys

2010-03-10T20:52:00.002-07:00

Jason has been a little obsessive lately with the camera and getting new "toys" for it. His latest purchase---a fish eye! Here are some of my favorites from this week:

Back to reality

2010-03-06T10:06:00.003-07:00

So Monday marked my return to the "real world". We found an amazing woman to watch my precious Carter during the day and thankfully she is close enough to my office that I get to go feed him at lunch time. (except than I have to hand him back over to her :( ) Not too much other excitment going on here. My dad started his new job in Bakersfield, CA the same day that I started back to work. The dogs are definetly not enjoying the long days in their kennels. (I had been working 1/2 days from home since September). Hopefully they will get use to it again. Carter will be three months old next week---I can't believe it!! Here are some new pics of my adorable son. He will be getting his 3 month pics next week too...

Carter with some of his frogs

We finally got a remote and tripod for our camera

So glad they get along

Carter's first visit down south...(picture overload)

2010-02-15T11:54:00.008-07:00

This past weekend Jason, Carter, and I headed down south to St. George to visit my grandparents and my parents who had come for the week. The weather was absolutely perfect! It was 60 degrees!!! We took a walk at a nearby park that had ducks, went out to eat at my grandma's favorite--Cracker Barrell, played Uno and Phase Ten, helped grandpa put together some puzzels, and went for a hike in Snow Canyon. It was funny to watch all the grandparents (and great grandparents) fight over holding and taking care of Carter. It was also neat to have Carter meet his great grandparents. My dad also celebrated a birthday on Saturday and it was fun to be there for that since I haven't celebrated a birthday with him since I was in high school. Enjoy all the pictures....

Grandpa Avery and Carter

Great Grandma and Carter

Carter is ready for his walk

Carter out for his first walk in St. George. It was gorgeous weather--just too bright for a 2 month old

The ducks at the park. They were pretty aggressive with each other

Carter enjoying his walk

As soon as grandma got the stroller she took off

Grandma reading Carter his first spot book

The two grandpa's watching/talking to Carter

The family in Snow Canyon. Carter loved the baby Bjorn once we figured out how to tighten it up

Me, my grandma, Jason and Carter, and my grandpa in Snow Canyon

The four generations of men

Carter waiting for me to get ready (he doesn't get to sleep in bed with us)

Valentine's morning--great grandpa and great grandma

family photo on valentine's morning

me and my son. Can't believe he is 2 months already!!

Four generations!

My grandma, me, and Carter

Cari's visit

2010-02-15T11:38:00.002-07:00

My bestest friend Cari came from Albuquerque to visit and meet Carter at the end of January. We had a busy and relaxing time while she was here. Of course we shopped everywhere for South Towne mall, to Carters, to IKEA, to the outlets at Park City. She even helped us interview the lady that will be watching Carter when I go back to work in two weeks. She is a L&D nurse in Albuquerque and I am sure is very sick of all my questions/concerns that I ask her like everyday...I love her so much and only wish that she lived closer or that I got to see her more! Here are some pics from her visit.

Just a quick update..

2010-01-28T15:57:00.005-07:00

Nothing new to report. Carter continues to be a good baby. Not fussy and pretty content all day long. I can't believe how fast 6 1/2 weeks have gone by!! He has started sleeping 6 hours straight at night!! He is also so easy to take places since he loves sitting in his carseat. He did get to attend his first University of Utah sporting event 2 weeks ago. We went to the gymnastics meet. He did great. (well until he spit up on my dry clean only shirt and soaked himself!)

It's been pretty quiet at home as we have had a 2 week break from visitors. My best friend Cari comes tomorrow. So I will have much more pictures next week. But for the grandma's and greatgrandma's that read my blog...here are some more pictures from the last few weeks:

Carter is one month old!!

2010-01-13T14:02:00.003-07:00

I can't believe how fast time goes! It has been an amazing month. So far he has been a really good baby. He is very calm and rarely fuses. He was even sleeping so much that he lost too much weight and so now I have to wake him up every three hours to eat. He has started to make more and more faces and more and more different noises (mostly when he eats :) ) I love this little man so much and am so excited to see what the next month holds for him...

Carter's first photo shoot

2010-01-06T09:48:00.004-07:00

Carter had his first official photo shoot about 2 weeks ago. I love all the pictures and am having a hard time choosing my favorites to print for the house. I may be a little biased, but I think he is pretty stinking cute....

Carter's first Christmas

2009-12-28T16:57:00.005-07:00

I can't believe my baby is three weeks old! One day seems to run into the next lately. This post is a little late as we have been having "issues" with our internet this week and I finally got hubby to fix it today. Here are some of the pics we took from Carter's first Christmas. For the most part he slept thru the day. We spent the morning at our house with Aunt Alex opening presents and eating breakfast. After we all showered and got ready we headed over to Jamie and Amanda's house to see the girls and have Christmas dinner. By the end of the day I think we were all exhausted! It was a great day and hope that everyone else had a Merry Christmas! We look forward to what 2010 will bring for us.

Elle finally gave in and held Carter

Elle, Alex, and Amanda playing Strawberry Shortcake.

Madi and Carter

Aunt Alex and Carter

The dogs get stocking stuffer's too!!

Our family on Christmas morning

What a difference a week makes...

2009-12-18T17:53:00.006-07:00

In a matter of hours to go from this.......to.............

After his first trip to the pediatrician..

Grandma's first visit

First bath at home

First family portrait

Carter has arrived!!

2009-12-16T15:29:00.004-07:00

What a whirlwind of a weekend!! After eating some Kung Pao Chicken on Friday night, Carter decided it was time to make his debut in this world. So at about 7:15pm my water broke and we headed to the hospital. After a long night, Carter Jason Locke arrived on 12/12/09 at 12:02 pm weighing 8lbs even! His head is a little cone shaped from the forceps, but gets better everyday. Jason and I are both still in shock that he is our son! Thanks to Jamie and Amanda for watching our dogs all weekend long. They definetly enjoyed it and were completely worn out by Monday night!

Carter is such a good sleeper and the best cuddler. And I think he is quite adorable.....

(I will post more pics in the coming days...it's just so hard to narrow it down)

ready to go home

proud Papa

Our family (after a LONG day)

8lbs exactly

ready to take on the world

update

2009-12-03T07:18:00.002-07:00

Nothing too exciting to report. Had a good Thanksgiving. My brother came down from that other school down south and we had Thanksgiving at Jeff and Alyssa's since I didn't feel like cooking or cleaning up this year (I'll do it next year). We had a great afternoon of food, drinks, and games. I than decided to brave Target at 5am on Black Friday! I didn't get pushed even once!!! I got everything that we needed and am now done Christmas shopping :)! I was home by 7am and ABSOLUTELY EXHAUSTED!!! Probably wasn't the best idea being 9 months pregnant, but I got some amazing deals....Now we just have to wrap and mail gifts.....
As far as baby Carter, Doctor says he is doing great and is thinking he will make his debut about a week before Christmas (that's one week early!) As of yesterday I was dialted between a 2 1/2 and a 3cm!! He's head down and has dropped!!! I am anxious for him to come, especially by Christmas. I think God is really trying to teach me patience here as I have no control of when he arrives and that is so hard for me as I like to be in control of everything. So I just have to relax and let my body do what it knows how.....hopefully it knows how about the 15th.....

Maternity Shots

2009-10-31T16:19:00.004-06:00

My friend Nicole took some maternity photos last weekend for us. Here are just a few of the ones I like..

Eviction Notice :)

2009-10-27T09:47:00.001-06:00

I am issuing a 45 day notice for EVICTION. Tenant will have 45 days in which he can either gather his belongings and promptly vacate the premises, or wait until the final day. After this date, the tenant will be physically removed from the property.
Tenant is being evicted due to breech of contract and destruction of property. Expansions only to the FRONT of the house, within reasonable limits, were discussed. Not only have these limits been exceeded, but additions to the back and sides of the house were also made!
Remodeling and gutting of the home was never approved, nor were alterations to plumbing, changing the initial layout, or modifications to the base structure. Due to the damage by the Tenant, the foundation has been compromised, and the structural integrity of the house is questionable. Due to property damage, there are now leaks in both the upper AND lower levels of the home. On top of which the landlord has received numerous complaints about nightly disturbances.
After 45 days from the date provided in this notice, tenant's noncompliance will result in immediate and forceful removal at Landlord’s discretion.

31 weeks!

2009-10-21T07:40:00.002-06:00

I can't believe we only have 9 weeks left!! Time seems to be slipping away from me. A friend of mine is going to take some maternity shots on Saturday for me and I'm kind of excited. It has been a really easy pregnancy (compared to other women--I have nothing to compare to) and I don't mind remembering this part of my life. I seem to have "grown" quite a bit in the last two weeks. Oh and I cut my hair off again last night....

My crazy dog (s)

2009-10-21T07:33:00.002-06:00

So I will start this post out with a disclaimer...I tried taking photos of Dash on Monday afternoon outside and I left the door cracked just a bit by mistake and Gus ran out of the house and down the street. So being 7 1/2 months pregnant and trying to chase my dog was probably pretty comical to the neighbors. Thankfully one of the neighbors came to my aid and got in his car and helped me catch Gus about 1 1/2 miles away!! It's a good thing Gus is cute....

Dash

Gus

Fall colors

2009-10-21T07:23:00.004-06:00

This past Sunday I dragged Jason away from the TV for a little while and we took a drive around City Creek Canyon and the East Bench to look at the changing colors of fall. It has been so warm lately that I think we are getting an extra long fall which I am LOVING! Here are a few pics from our drive....

east bench

city creek canyon

Gus was tired from all the head in wind action (see pic 2 down)

leaving city creek

It doesn't get much better than this for a dog....

Pumpkin Bread

2009-10-14T07:51:00.002-06:00

I love fall! I love the changing colors, the cooler weather (but not too cold), the smells, the food, everything about fall. And I think I like it more this year cause it means Carter is closer to being here.
Anyways, last night I tried a new reciepe--Pumpkin Bread. It is amazing!! I am not trying to take credit for the reciepe--I just don't remember where I found it. Pretty easy--just takes too long in the oven....and healthy people beware---not the healthiest snack :)

Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:
2 cups canned pumpkin puree
3 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
3 1/3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon ground cloves

step 1: pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl combine pumpkin, sugar, water, oil, and eggs. Beat together until mixed well.

step 2: In a seperate bowl sift together, flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and cloves.

step 3: slowly mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients beating until smooth.

step 4: grease 2 9x5 inch loaf pans. Pour the batter into the 2 loaf pans evenly divinding the batter between the 2. Bake at 350 for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

****I did reciepe without ground cloves and I don't think it made a difference

ENJOY AND HAPPY FALL!!!

growing baby bump

2009-10-05T18:19:00.003-06:00

I had my 29 week check up today. Doctor says everything looks good and I passed my glucose test!!! He said I am measuring ahead of schedule. But that doesn't mean I get to deliver early...

27 weeks

29 weeks....11 more to go!

going to the chapel...

2009-10-05T18:00:00.004-06:00

This past weekend was Jeff and Alyssa's wedding. Here are a few pics we took of the special occasion...

Jeff and Steve

Steve and Jason

The happy (soon to be) Mrs and Mr.

Steve, Jeff, Jason, and Matt

The happy couple

View from the reception

Jason and I waiting for more photos

Jeff, Alyssa, me, and Jason

quick update

2009-09-28T18:23:00.003-06:00

Nothing to report on the Locke front. September has been a busy month and I can't believe October is just around the corner....
Well after all the visitors left and things calmed down...the scrapbook expo was in town and I have now decided to start doing digital scrapbooking. Once I am done scrapbooking Carter's baby shower I will post the album. It is so quick and easy to do. I am loving it so far!
After the expo, I headed off to Omaha, NE for 2 days. Don't worry---not for fun--for work. We meet up every year for a few days to discuss the past year and what we want to change. The travel was very uneventful until we got back. I found out the day after we got back that one of my team mates was diagnosed with the swine flu. My boss was really worried, but luckily I have showed no signs and the doctor says the incubation period is over so I am in the clear.
Than that following Saturday I headed up to Park City to do some shopping. I was looking for a dress to wear to Jeff and Alyssa's wedding and of course looking for stuff for baby Carter. Let's just say I went a little overboard on Carter's clothes....(and I still have another baby shower)
I have one last trip to take tomorrow to Boise for a mediation. Luckily it is just an overnight trip as the 3rd trimester has hit in hard. I have been exhausted the last two days! And I just entered the last trimester...
No belly pics this week...waiting for hubby to upload them to the computer. He has been under the weather lately and I have been trying to stay away from him....Hopefully will have pics up next week...

Cari comes for a visit

2009-09-09T19:41:00.004-06:00

My bestest friend Cari came to visit me over Labor Day weekend. Of course Gus was on his best behavior and within 10 minutes of Cari being in my house, had chewed up the corner of her drivers liscense! The rest of the trip was less traumatic! On Friday night we enjoyed a quiet night at the Gateway complete with dinner and ice cream. The next day was my amazing baby shower! Cari and my sister in law Alex put on amazing baby shower! I had both grandma's there, several Aunt's, Carter's great grandma, cousins, and several friends from all my walks of life. I hope everyone had as good of a time as I did. There will be a seperate post later w/ photos.

On Sunday, we enjoyed a beautiful day at the Bee's game and than a BBQ with friends. We than had to play the new WII sports game...

Cari and I at Gateway

"carter" at the baseball game

Jason is happy to be at the game

Me and My best friend reunited

The newlyweds...ben and leslie

The soon to be newlyweds....

The old married folk...

Cari and I

Cari takes her hand at the Wii

Gus was soooo tired by the end of the week....too many visitors for him

Than on Monday, we had breakfast and than it was time to say goodbye! At least with this goodbye, I knew when she would come again....

The nursery is done!

2009-09-09T19:29:00.002-06:00

My mom came to town for a week at the end of August and helped paint Carter's nursery. We had decided that we wanted to paint the room some type of green even before we knew what we were having. Here is the final result---well minus the crib and glider... First the cream.....

Than the green...........

Than the curtain rod and the window valence...

Than the chair rail........

And the belly pic....

We have a name.....

2009-08-23T15:23:00.004-06:00

Carter Jason Locke!!!!

And on a lighter note, I bought a body pillow so that I could sleep a little bit more comfortably...well the dogs seem to think it is their bed and for their comfort..

And for Cari....here is the latest belly pic...taken at 22 weeks 1 day...

Our little leapster....

2009-08-14T10:50:00.003-06:00

Well we finally decided on some baby bedding that we found on EBAY! I am so excited and it was so much cheaper than any of the other sets that I found...........

We will be paintin the bottom half of the room in 2 different lime greens and the top in a cream color with a chair rail. We had decided on the colors we wanted before we found the bedding! I think it is a perfect match.........now we just need to decide on a name...........

IT'S A ..........

2009-08-02T09:32:00.003-06:00

BOY!!!

The ultrasound on Thursday went great. He was a little shy at first, but than there was no question that he was a boy! Heart rate was good, all his measurements were right on track. The only thing is that he just wouldn't sit still enough for the tech to see all four chambers of his heart so we have to go back in 4-6 weeks for them to do another ultrasound to make sure everything is okay. The tech said not to worry that it happens all the time where they just won't sit still enough to see all 4 chambers.

It was so exciting to see him and see all his toes and fingers and spine and heart beating. I haven't really felt him moving around yet so it was so surreal to see him moving and kicking on the ultrasound. I can't believe we are only 20 weeks from him joining our family! What an amazing experience!!!

As far as names....we can't decided...so it will probably be another few weeks.....

A newborn's conversation with God

2009-07-24T11:44:00.002-06:00

I found this poem online and of course made me cry...Good cry though

A Newborn's Conversation with God

A baby asked God, "They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?"
God said, "Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you." The child further inquired, "But tell me, here in heaven I don't have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy."
God said, "Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you. And you will feel your angel's love and be very happy." Again the small child asked, "And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don't know the language?" God said, "Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak."
"And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?" God said, "Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray."
"Who will protect me?" God said, "Your angel will defend you even if it means risking its life." "But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore." God said, "Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will teach you the way to come back to Me, even though I will always be next to you.."
At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, "God, if I am to leave now, please tell me my angel's name."
God said, You will simply call her, "Mom."

love the camera

2009-07-14T19:43:00.002-06:00

I have been playing around with our new camera and who else to take pictures of but my adorable neices...Elle

Tori

Elle

Jamie and Tori recently had their test for their yellow belt for karate. They both passed and Tori was great and had so much fun! Here is Jamie with his two girls afterwards.

As far as me and this baby, things are progressing along nicely. I had my 16 week check up last week and am measuring at 18.5 weeks. Hopefully it's just extra fluid....And even better news they are letting us find out on my birthday (July 30th) whether we are having a little girl or a little boy! It's only a few days before I am at the 20 week mark so the doctor said I will have to come in for an extra visit...but I totally think it's worth it to find out on my birthday! I'll post some belly pics soon...

pictures from Disneyland

2009-07-01T17:38:00.005-06:00

I know how all of you have been anxiously awaiting our photos from Disneyland. Well Jason finally made it home after three weeks in Nebraska and I needed him to change the photos to a jpeg format so I could download them to our blog. We both LOVE our new camera...now I just need to figure out all the options/buttons on it and how to use it. Enjoy!

2 of my favorites--My hubby and Mickey

What came in the mail?

These cars were later in the Pixar parade. They actually run and have a motor in them! Pretty authentic we thought

On the ferris wheel at California Adventure

No explanation needed!

All the 3-D glasses for the new Toy Story ride at California Adventures--by far my favorite ride

Another photo of my sexy hubby-who was usually the photographer

I didn't think I would get that wet on Splash Mountain--I guessed wrong-I was soaked!!

The famous Matterhorn as the sunset in California

Have I said I love this camera?!

My hubby in the dog pound

Jason on his favorite ride-Astro Blasters. We rode it so many times I lost count. Finally by the end of our trip he admitted that the new Toy Story ride was cooler :)

Good bye Disneyland!! We had a great time and are exciting to bring our kids back one day!

Disneyland!!!

2009-06-09T18:13:00.002-06:00

We just got back on Sunday afternoon from a wonderful trip to the "Happiest Place on Earth." We had such a great time. The weather cooperated the whole time too. It never got warmer than 80 degrees and no colder than about 65! Jason thoroughly enjoyed the new camera and took over 300 pictures. However, I can't get the pictures uploaded to either my blog or to a slideshow and Jason got called yesterday to head to Nebraska today for a big hail storm they had...so the pictures will have to wait.
As far as baby news, I got to hear the heartbeat today. The doctor was kind of surprised at how strong a heartbeat it was at just 12 weeks. I am not too sure what that means, but he said it was good. We still have another 8 weeks to go before we get to find out what we are having and that couldn't seem to come soon enough!
Hopefully I will have pictures up soon!

vacation!!!

2009-05-29T15:36:00.004-06:00

That's right. We are headed off to the "Happiest Place on Earth" on Tuesday morning for a fun filled, relaxing week alone to celebrate 4 years! (since we got engaged at this wonderful place) And...the doctor cleared me to ride whatever rides I feel up to! :) Plus our condo isn't too far away with rooftop hot tubs (that I can put my feet in) and watch the fireworks every night! And the other best part....for our anniversary we decided to splurge on a nice camera due to our upcoming arrival and bought a Nikon SLR!! It is amazing! Jason already took about 100+ pictures of the dogs! And that was after one day....I think we are going to need a bigger memory card.....

SURPRISE!

2009-05-12T19:15:00.002-06:00

I just had my first check up this morning. So far everything looks good. I even got to see the little peanut! And on the plus side--no morning sickness thus far!! The only down side--I am due December 22nd. No Christmas baby please!

SEATTLE!!

2009-04-23T19:30:00.005-06:00

I know I haven't posted in what seems to be FOREVER! I know how disappointed you all are. It has just been a crazy couple of weeks. Jason even took off and went to Dallas for 2 weeks for a hail storm. But we managed to squeeze in some fun with a vacation to Seattle. We had an AMAZING time with AMAZING weather. I know what you all are thinking... Seattle...amazing weather?? I know-we could hardly believe it! The only overcast day we had was the day we left!!

We managed to stay pretty busy while we were there. We visited the market several times ( a day), took the Underground Tour (highly recommend) went to a baseball game (lost miserably), went to the Space Needle, visited the aquarium, rode "The Duck", ate at lot, walked A LOT, and shopped a little bit. All travel went extremely smooth and we even got switched from a 2 stop flight to a direct flight on the way home FREE!!

Staircase from the underground tour

Sunrise outside of our hotel

Fish anyone?

Some of the MANY flowers at the market

Safeco Field--home of the Mariners

View of the city from the concession stands

Play Ball!!!!!!!!!!!!

Picture from our seats

View from the Space Needle

Our "duck"

One last view of the famous Market

P.S.

And to top it all off, when we got home our neighbors informed us that they had torn down the broken fence, purchased the wood, and had started putting up a new fence!!

GO JAZZ!!

2009-04-01T19:42:00.003-06:00

On Monday night Jason and I decided to go to the Jazz game. They played the Knicks. The Jazz have been playing pretty good lately and will hopefully make the playoffs. We sat in the upper bowl EXACTLY underneath the air conditioner vents. Needless to say we FROZE thru the whole game! (section 125 is a no-go!). Also in the 2nd quarter, some friends of ours showed up and actually had bought tickets right next to us without us knowing--seriously--what are the chances of that at the Delta Center?! Well at the half the Jazz were up 20 points, but somehow almost managed to loose the game! Either way, Jason and I had a good time.

Jason in front of the Delta center (oh I mean Energy Solutions Arena)

Jason and I trying to stay warm

spring time

2009-03-29T22:09:00.005-06:00

Not too much excitment at the Locke household. The weather in Salt Lake has been kind of funky the last few weeks. One day it's spring and than the next day it snows! Luckily for us the spring days seem to always fall on Saturday. You see whoever owned our house the last oh 20 years or so never bothered to do ANY yardwork. So now, Jason and I get to take care of that mess. So far we have ripped out a roshbush/tree and three dead/overgrown trees. We still have a lot of work to do, but it's starting to get there. Our truck will even come in handy this year with taking trips to the "dump" with truckloads of roots and trees. Next week we have a few more trees to get out and than start getting the yard ready to plant some veggies. And for those of you that live in Salt Lake....I have FIVE fruite trees so come pick and take whatever you want. I have a cherry tree, an apricot tree (that is already blooming), two apple trees, and a plum tree.

Anyways, on to funner things.....

Jason and I leave to go to Seattle in less than three weeks. We are starting to get excited and plan things out to do. We decided to go to a Mariners game while we are there. So we bought those tickets today.

Among others things we will also catch a horse race (I've never seen one), PIke's Peak Market, the Space Needle, some delish FRESH seafood, the aquarium, a dinner cruise, and some much needed R&R!!

Also we decided a few weeks ago to go to Disneyland again for our anniversary to celebrate where everything began. So today we finally got our plane tickets. We will stay at our condo down there (worldmark). It is one of the newer reasorts and has a rooftop hottub that is perfect for watching the evening fireworks!

There once was a HUGE, OVERGROWN rosebush...

2009-03-16T15:58:00.003-06:00

Since the weekend weather in Salt Lake was so nice, Jason and I decided to take full advantage of this spring like weather and get some yard work done. So on Saturday we decided to take on the task of digging out a rose bush in our backyard that was severly overgrown (like 15 years worth of overgrowth). We did not realize how overgrown it was until we started digging. Not only that, the smart people that lived in our house several years ago must have decided to plant this rose bush next to an existing, what appeared to be, tree!! Except they didn't take the roots out of the ground--just left them for us to enjoy!! Needless to say SEVERAL hours and about 200lbs later, the rose bush/tree was out of the ground!! I don't think I will ever look at a rose the same way :)

Keys on Main

2009-03-04T21:31:00.004-07:00

On Friday night, Jason, me, Leslie, and Ben went to Keys on Main in downtown Salt Lake to celebrate a friends husbands 30th birthday! I can't believe that I am getting that old to be celebrating people's 30th birthdays!! Well, the VIP section was rented out for the occasion so we had instant access to the bar and chairs, couches, and tables. For those of you who haven't been, it is a dueling piano bar (no, it's not the tavernacle) where you have to pay to hear songs played by the pianist and you can also pay more to have a song stopped. Well we all had a fantastic night out and Jason and I enjoyed getting out of the house for once (we seem to have become home bodies lately). Enjoy the pics!

Jodi, me, and Leslie

Leslie and I (with Jason in the back)

Birthday shots!

Jason and I

Well on Monday morning we told Gus that it was time to "load up" which means that it is time to go in his lennel. He of course ran off like he does almost every morning. This is how we found him in our bed. Now how could you get mad at that face?

Gus gets fixed!!!

2009-03-04T21:17:00.003-07:00

We finally got Gus fixed about two weeks ago. He seemed to do just fine. Dash, now he is another story. He was scarred to death of the "cone" on Gus's head. He would not come near Gus and would run as fast as he could away from Gus! Compared to Dash, Gus did really well with the "cone" and honestly didn't seem to mind it on his head! Now let's just hope the "marking the territory" will stop....

Crafty Time

2009-02-18T21:42:00.005-07:00

On Sunday afternoon, I headed up to the Streams house to make some crafts. I was a little nervous to say the least, since I am not at all a crafty person. I was also a little sad since Adri couldn't make it due to bad weather. The drive on Highway 6 was absolutely beautiful. It was crystal clear and a fresh layer of snow everywhere!!

Everyone trickeled in Sunday afternoon, but man was it a full house with all the kids and grandkids! We had some delicious dinner (and as many cookies as you could ever ask for) and just kind of hung out for the rest of the night. The following morning, Monica showed up and it was time to get to work. We started at about 11am and I didn't finish mine until about 3:30pm! Crafting is HARD WORK! We did get to enjoy some pizza from BK's though! Thanks Carol Ann!!

Monique, Tiff, and Nat

Aut and Crew

Nat and Aunt Carol Ann

Tiff (showing off her work) and Monique

picture turned out a little too dark

Nat, Aut, and Amber

The little ones wait patiently for us to finish

The finished project

It was so much fun seeing all the girls again. I just wish I hadn't been so sick and could have stayed longer. I hadn't seen them since Stevie's weddding almost 2 years ago!! Thanks you guys for inviting me--hopefully I will see you again in May to finish our 2nd project!!!

Fondue....more like fond DON'T!

2009-02-18T21:23:00.004-07:00

So for the first time in a long time, I was SICK on Valentine's Day. There is some nasty bug going around the office and even has a co-worker hospitalized. Well, I wasn't going to let a little cold get my day down. First thing in the morning, my sister in law, Alex, and I went to Marie Calendars to have breakfast with our favorite neices--Madi, Tori, and Elle.

Alex and Tori

All my favorite neices

After breakfast, I told Jason that for his Valentine's present that he could go pick out a new WII game since we had been budgeting lately and Wii games got cut out of the budget. Of course, he picked Tiger Woods 2009. After getting his game, I took a nice little nap and spent some time reading my newest book--The Appeal by John Grisham. (I know what you are thinking--we are so romantic! :)) Earlier on in the week, Jason and I decided to stay in on Valentines Day and have fondue for dinner. So after my nap, Jason started getting the main dish ready--garlic bread, cauliflower, and chicken with chesse fondue. We both tried to take a couple of bites so that the other person didn't feel bad, but never one of us could handle it. It was DISGUSTING!! We ended up having Wendy's $.99 menu for our Valentine's Dinner. Later that night, Jason's mom came over (she was in town visiting) and we made chocolate fondue and dipped a variety of fruits into the fondue. That fondue was much better--but still not so enjoyable. I guess we tried! After the chocolate mess, Jason, me, and his mom played a few rounds of Rumicube and I kicked everyones trash!! Also for Valentine's Day, my lovely husband picked out some sunflowers for me. Sunflowers are my absolute favorite!! and got me a massage to use when I felt up to it.

Even though dinner didn't work out and I was sick, it was still probably one of my favorite valentines cause there was no stress involved and we got to enjoy each other all day long (well except for the breakfast time). I LOVE YOU SUNSHINE!!

What an exciting life I lead...

2009-02-11T20:24:00.003-07:00

Still nothing too exciting to report. I have been traveling the last week and a half for work so nothing too exciting to report. The first part of last week I was in Denver for some work training. Than nothing too exciting for the weekend. I swear sometimes I feel a lot older than 26! Than on Monday evening I traveled down to Cedar City for some depositions so I decided to have dinner with one of my cousins, Adri, that lives in Cedar now. We had a great time at dinner and I loved meeting all of her kids. The last time I saw her was at her brothers, Stevie, wedding and that was 2 years ago!

Well, nothing else exciting to report for this week. I don't know what we are going to do on Valentine's Day. I would rather just stay at home and do something special a different day of the week to be honest. And than on Sunday and Monday I am going up to Huntington, Utah to make some crafts and hang out with some of my cousins that I haven't seen in years!! Should be fun and I get a day off of work---what could be better?!

But I hope everyone has a happy Valentines Day or single awareness day--whichever they prefer!

Nothing too exciting to report...

2009-01-26T22:02:00.003-07:00

There is not much to report this week. I spent another week with a cold and another week with an inversion in Salt Lake. Jason and I had been talking about taking a trip to somewhere we had never been after getting inspiration from the movie "Yes, Man". We had tossed out the idea of going to Seattle. On Tuesday, Southwest announced that they were putting their flights to Seattle for 1/2 price!! Part of our timeshare (Worldmark) is in Seattle and was available, so we decided to book a trip to Seattle for April. Now we just need to get some passports so we can take the ferry over to Victoria. Best of all, because we have been "budgeting" we were able to pay for our flights and will be getting passports in the next week or so.

Nothing else exciting to report. I have been cooking a lot (like everynight). I have found several cool reciepes from my friends Marci's blog. I never pictured myself in the kitchen, but it is a lot cheaper than us eating out all the time and than I also have lunch the next day and eat A LOT healthier! And I may be a little partial, but I think I am pretty good (well at least I can follow directions). Now I just need to buy some cool new gadgets. Pampered Chef party anyone?

I can't believe January is about over, but that means we are one month closer to the Spring and sunshine and warmer weather and less and less snow.

Utah Parade

2009-01-19T19:57:00.004-07:00

On Friday, the city of Salt Lake had a parade to honor the University of Utah football team on State Street. I met up with Amanda, John, Clara, Regan, and Annabelle and we walked down to state street to enjoy the parade.

The "U" flag!

The TailGaters

The Mountain West commisioner

Kyle Wittingham (in the middle)

Regan and Bella

Amanda and CJ

Jeff's Birthday

2009-01-14T20:57:00.004-07:00

For Jason's buddy Jeff's 27th birthday, Jason, me, Jeff, and Alyssa went to Wendover Saturday night. And of course we had to take the FUN bus!! Let's just say that the bus ride out was a little interesting....

We ate, gambled, drank, gambled, drank, took some shots, gambled, drank, and than came home. Jason and I only lost about $15 (including paying to go on the Fun Bus) !! Not bad for a night out!

Wendover here we come...

On the way out you get to play Bingo--this was on the back of Alyssa's card

Jeff and Jason take a birthday shot

We didn't get back home until 5am on Sunday morning and man were our dogs excited to see us! Happy Birthday Jeff!!!

The Amazing GUS!!!

2009-01-14T20:53:00.002-07:00

For Christmas my parents dog, Missy, got my dogs this plastic rope that they can both tug on. Gus absolutely loves it! He will tug for hours on it! The other morning, Gus was getting really strong while we were tugging so we decided to see if he would let us lift him off the ground the way that Dash use to let us do to him when he was a puppy. As you can see from the picture below, he was successful!!

GO UTES!!!! 13-0!!

2009-01-04T15:36:00.003-07:00

In case any of you haven't watched TV this weekend, the Utah Utes kicked the trash out of Alabama 31-17 on Friday, January 2nd. What a fun game to watch (if you are a Ute). It was never a close game with the Utes going up 21-0 in the first quarter and never looking back. It's too bad that the BCS sucks and we won't ever get a chance to be national champions (or anytime soon). I would love to see us play Florida or Oklahoma and get that chance--but we will just have to settle for beating (aka humiliating) Bama. I am proud to be a Ute and they proved that they did belong in the game!!

Christmas in St. Louis

2008-12-28T17:35:00.010-07:00

WARNING---LONG POST! SORRY

Jason and I decided to go to my parents house this year for Christmas. Back in August my parents moved to St. Louis (which is a lot easier to get to than Dubuque). We arrived on Saturday evening (after a very short delay in Salt Lake). The next day, Sunday, we headed to the St. Louis Rams vs. the San Fransciso 49ers football game. My dad's company has box seats so that was quite a treat for my first NFL game. (and the 49ers won!!)

Jason and I before the game

Our $10/each treats (man were they good)

The "kids" after the football game

After the football game it was time to decorate the tree....

Everyone works on the tree

Missy investigates.....

The finished project (sorry blogger wouldn't let me rotate photo)

The next day we headed over to the ever popular Arch. It was quite the site and an amazing experience. We got soooo many good pics, it is hard to pick the best ones. Before going to the top of the arch we watched a movie about how the arch was made. What the endevor it was and no one died in the process!!

view of the arch from the other side of the Mississippi River

Jason hiding...

View of the arch from the courthouse

Now here are some of the views from the top of the arch:

Baseball stadium

downtown St. Louis

view of the Mississippi (notice the ice chunks)

view from the top--football dome off to the right

Jason and I at the "top"

The following day we went to the Science Museum of St. Louis. It was an AMAZING museum...one I wish we had in Salt Lake. There were hundreds of exhibits, all kinds of movies playing, hundreds of hands on activities, and it even was FREE!! The only photos I took were of the dinosaur exhibit and the film reel (room) before we saw our movie "Sharks" that was in a dome like theater (I forgot what it was called--not an IMAX). I wish we could have stayed longer cause there were so many exhibits we didn't get to see!

T-REX

The film for these movies was HUGE!!

For Christmas Eve, Jason and I went to the mall for a little bit (they had a Coach store) and than we went and saw "Yes, Man". It was hilarious. We than had the Avery traditional Christmas Eve dinner (steak, mashed potatoes, cheese cauilflower). We than opened our pj's (Jason and I even got some) and than headed out to look at lights. We even managed to find several neighborhoods with luminarias! One neighborhood was COVERED in them!! It made me miss being in Albuquerque. No pics from Christmas Eve.

The next morning we all slept in until about 10am. It was WONDERFUL! Jason and I were definetly spoiled for Christmas! Thank you all so much!! After opening presents we had our standard Christmas brunch (egg casserol by Shaun) and than headed out to some state park (don't remember the name) for a nice walk and than played games for the rest of the night.

Jason Christmas morning

Christmas brunch with the family

The missouri forrest

The boys go marching one by one....

Jason and I

The last day of our trip we headed down to a small town called St. Charles. It is where the Lewis and Clark mission started at. We went thru the small museum there and than headed over to the small town to do some wandering and some shopping. I was amazed at how friendly people are in the Midwest (much different than Utah). Jason and I had a great trip and arrived safely home (after a medical emergency on our flight and all flights in/out of Chicago being canceled) We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and we look forward to the New Year and all the possibilities it brings!

Jason outside the museum. The Missouri River is in the back.

GO JAZZ!!

2008-12-28T17:29:00.003-07:00

The Thursday before Christmas, Jason found tickets online to the Jazz game for $6 a piece!! So, Jason, me, Leslie, and Ben went to the game. The parking ended up being more than the ticket price (and we were one row from the last row in the stadium), but we all had a good time.
view of the court from our seats

My hubby can never take a "normal" photo

me...Crafty????

2008-12-28T17:24:00.003-07:00

So since Jason and I decided to fly to my parents house this year for Christmas, I decided to try and be a little "thrifty" on some Christmas presents this year and make them myself. I thought they turned out pretty good for my first go at it....(and none of them took terribly long)
frame

frame

Magnetic bulletin board

picture frame

7 YEARS!!!

2008-12-04T19:56:00.002-07:00

Today marks 7 years that Jason and I have been dating! Where the last seven years have gone I am not sure, but man have they been an amazing seven years!!!! We have been thru quite a bit in seven years from graduating college, our first real job, trips to Vegas, surprise trips to New York, being rear ended in California, multiple moves, family weddings, poker nights, 2 puppies, etc. I can't imagine how my life would be if he wasn't mine. He really completes me. My weakness is his strength. He is my best friend. He knows how crazy I am, but still loves me just the same. I love you honey! Here's to another 7 years!

Thanksgiving

2008-11-29T18:07:00.006-07:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving complete with good food, good friends, and good family. We had a not so traditional Thanksgiving this year. We decided to stay at our house and host all the couples (or individuals) who didn't have any family in town to go to.

But before the buffet of food could start, Leslie and I ran a 6k race up City Creek Canyon, which is right by the capital. The race actually started on the east side of the capital. There were a few crazy people dresses up very festive. It definetly wasn't my best run, but it was still fun and a good way to start out a day of eating.

The state capital

The Indian and the Turkey...but seriously these guys finished so fast!

The race is done....time to EAT!

Everyone that came for dinner was in charge of some food item. Jason was in charge of the turkey. There was only one minor setback. He did NOT want to take the guts out of the turkey. He just about REFUSED to. It's a good thing my brother came down from Provo to eat with us cause he had the job to take out the "guts" and butter the turkey. I wish I would have gotten a picture of this special occasion, but I missed it. He would have made my mom proud. Here are the boys preparing the turkey:

Jason and Craig getting the turket ready

Jason stuffs the turkey

Craig cleaning out the turkey

In order to make sweet potato biscuits, you have to roll out the dough. Well, we don't have a rolling pin, but we do have wine bottles!!

Once everyone arrived we their assignment, we had quite the "feast!" Also, Ben and Leslie brought over Izzy for Dash and Gus to play with. By the time dinner was ready, they were too tired to even beg for food. They all sat and slept on the couch while we ate.

Our lovely turkey!! It turned out SOOO good!

Our feast!!

DIG IN everyone!! From left to right...Ben, Craig, Tanya, Mike, Ashley, Leslie

Izzy all tuckered out

Gus looks so comfy!

Dash is in his usual spot...

Dash's other favorite spot....

All tuckered out from the yummy food!!

I would just like to say that I am so thankful for my amazing life. My amazing families, my amazing friends, my fun loving dogs, my house, my job, and lastly (but not least) my amazing husband who loves me unconditionally. Happy Holidays everyone!!

Office decoration party

2008-11-29T17:59:00.003-07:00

This post is a little late...but I still feel it is necessary. On the Friday before the big rivalry game, we had an office competition where we were allowed to decorate our cube's in either red or blue (or another color if you didn't like either school). I couldn't get a good photo, but our office was overwhelmingly RED!! The only BYU support was a lonely flag! GO UTES!!

P.S. We also had pizza brought in as a treat...apparently our office was hungry!

12-0 BABY!! BCS here we come!!

2008-11-24T21:08:00.002-07:00

So for the big game on Saturday a bunch of us went to Green Street to watch the game. BYU tried to keep it close for about half the game and than Max Hall seemed to kind of give up and we DESTROYED BYU--48-24!!! It was a great way to end the season...I just wish I could have been there to rush onto the field just as I did in 2004 before we went to the Fiesta Bowl. Now we have to sit and wait until December 7th to learn of our fate (which bowl game we will go to). I am hoping for either the Fiesta Bowl again or the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. Either place would be exciting to go to. GO UTES!!!

LOVE RIVALRY WEEK

2008-11-21T11:42:00.005-07:00

Rivalry week is probably my favorite week of college football. This year has been especially exciting because the "U" is having another AMAZING year and BYU is doing alright also. I wish that I had tickets for the game on Saturday, but we will have to settle for watching at Green Street (at least we can drink there--unlike at the stadium). So if anyone is interested in joining us, you are more than welcome. We would watch it on our new TV, but it is being televisted on The Mountain and Direct TV does not get that channel. But, after the "U" wins on Saturday, we will be traveling to whatever BCS bowl game they get into. GO UTES!! CRUSH THOSE COUGS!!!!

This photo pretty much sums up my feelings toward BYU: