Merry Christmas!!!!

I know it's late, but we hope everyone had a great holiday! It seems like each year is passing us by. I can't believe that we are expecting #2 in less than 3 weeks. YIKES!! Please wish us luck!

I had to post today because my friend Heather took our family pictures (if you got our card, she did those too) and I couldn't wait to tell you about her. Not only is she a wonderful photographer, but she is also such a sweetheart! You would not be disappointed with her!!! Check out her website www.heatherdickens.com and see what she is all about! Thanks Heather!

I'm finished... finally!

I finished the quiet book for Zach and am never going to sew again! No not really, I actually really love sewing now, I think I just need a break for a while.

"Zach look at mommy!"....

Yeah right! This kid will not hold still for a second. Every picture I have of him is either of his head looking down or he ran out of the picture. It doesn't help that digital cameras were not made for toddlers. But I love all these pictures of Zach trying to pick up every pumpkin he saw!






Petting Zoos gross me out, but Zach was having a blast chasing after the sheep!

Happy Halloween!

One of Chris' many talents is pumpkin carving! Every year he outdoes the last. This year he did the Joker from Batman Returns. I love it! Great job babe!

Call me Crazy...

I decided to make a Quite book for Zach to enjoy during church! Crazy right? Especially for someone who doesn't know how to sew! Well, I was determined and after many months of hard work I am pretty much done. I have a few finishing touches but am pretty pleased with the outcome. This book has opened a whole new love of sewing and crafting. I am definitely no Martha Stewart, but I enjoy the satisfaction of actually making something... I will keep you posted with all my projects! Here are some photos of the pages before I sewed them together. There are a few more that didn't make this photo...


This is the old sewing machine that my mom let me use, it worked pretty good for being so old- I didn't really have anything to compare it to.

BOYS WILL BE BOYS....

I never really understood that saying, until I had ZACH!!! He is definitely all boy! There is no slowing him down, he is either in 1st or 5th gear, no in between!!! I always knew we would have some trips to the ER but I didn't think it would be so soon! Last month on Aug. 16th @ 1:30 pm (I will forever remember this day) Zach was in Nursery at church and fell straight into a door jam, of course he was running!!! He split his head right open, so bad that when he was just about to get the stitches Chris and I looked at each other and said, "Is that his skull?" Never a sight a mother wants to see. After 8 lovely stitches, Chris crowned Zach with the nickname of STITCH. I don't know who this whole ordeal was harder on- Zach or Chris and I? Anyway we survived and I am an even more paranoid mother than before. Can't wait for what he has in store for us next. Here are some pictures of the before and after. I will keep you posted of his changing scar and give you tips as to what gels, creams and oils work best, because we are using them all, (sunscreen is a must)!




My don't mess with me face!!

SLACKER...but better late than never

I've been so behind in my posts lately, so bare with me with all the "catch-ups"...



1.) 5 Years of Happiness.



On July 2, 2004 Chris and I were married for time and all eternity! And we couldn't be happier!!! Since that wonderful day so many blessings have come our way, and there is no one in the whole world that I would rather enjoy them with than Chris. He is a wonderful husband, father, and friend and I feel so blessed that he chose ME!!!

Which brings me to #2) Happy 30th Babe!!!!

I can't believe my man is the big 30! July 16th is a very special day for me, I love celebrating the birth of my sweetie! (Sorry it's so mushy)

3.) ZACH- 18 months... FINALLY

I can't believe my little man is 18 months. He is growing up so fast I can't slow him down. Each day there is something new he has discovered. He is having a major vocabulary explosion right now and I love it. Some words need my translation but he is quite the little talker, I should have known when he was saying Mama at barely 6 months. Can't wait to hear what he has to say next... Here he is doing his favorite game... climbing under the chairs and hanging off the floor...WHAT??

4.) River Olympics 2009
Yes, we had our annual river Olympics this year at our friends the Hoke's river house. It was ultra fun and super relaxing (like my adjectives?) because we had ZERO kiddos there. Yes, I parted with Zach for longer than a few hours. It was very weird at first, but then I started to get used to it and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I loved just being able to do what "I"wanted to do: long boat rides, reading a book, having normal conversations, floating down the river, and staying up late playing games or just talking. But without a doubt the River would not be the same without some crazy ideas. Here are a few of the insane things the guys schemed up this year.
You gotta watch this. Here is Chris being pulled by a ski rope tied to a seadoo going down their man made slip-n-slide, finished with a ramp??? Yikes... I was not okay with this, but it looked like fun!



There you have it; our summer in a nutshell...

IT'S A.......

BOY!!!


We can't wait to meet our new little guy. Zach is so excited to have a little brother, (not really but I'm hoping he is)! I'm only bummed because we have NO boy names yet, so if you have any ideas...

In case you haven't heard...

WE ARE EXPECTING #2!! Yes, we were a bit surprised ourselves! We had such a hard time getting pregnant with Zach that I was preparing myself for another emotional roller coaster, but my doctor said that having a baby is one of the best cures for infertility and she was right! My due date is January 18, 2010 (one week before Zach's 2nd birthday). We are so excited and we get to find out next weekend on the 25th! Stay tuned for the big announcement!

We've been busy...

This month has been pretty crazy for us. We took our first plane ride with Zach... (yikes)! He actually did really good on the plane rides. I couldn't keep him awake for the life of me for the take offs. Something about that engine put him out fast! We didn't complain though and either did the people sitting next to us.
We went to Texas for Chris' Family Reunion at their family ranch. We had lots of fun experiencing the Texas Culture. We also got to see his brother Scott's new house out there as well. It was nice spending time with all the family.





My happy little boy!!!
Daddy's dream come true: a fishing buddy!
Fishing at it's finest! A catch with almost every cast!
This is were we slept! Just kidding, this is were Brandon slept! (not kidding) Ask him about it!
Sorry this is really the only picture I had of mostly everyone. It was kinda hard to take pictures running after a 16 month old.

When we were at Scott and Ami's we went to this wild animal park and took a tram ride through the park. The kids got to feed the animals; it was fun to see their faces.



Zach was not interested in the animals; just their food! Yuck!



This bull screams TEXAS. I guess each horn weighs 60 lbs. Does he look a little malnourished to you?

Thanks to everyone for such a memorable trip!

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The day after we returned home Zach and I drove up north (9 hours) with my sister and her two kids to Sacramento to see my brother and sister. (Crazy, right?) My sister graduated from dental hygiene school and my whole family went up to support her. Yeah Meredith!!!

Sara and I went up early to see my brother's new house and spend a couple days with them.


Zach fell in love with the little car and sprinklers. I wish we had a big yard!


We went to another animal park, called Turtle Bay and had a fun time exploring!



This was Zach at the beginning of the day!They had a beautiful butterfly sanctuary. It was so clam, cool and serene in there. Hundreds of butterflies fluttering by you. They had misters and relaxing music playing. I wanted to just lay down in there. I had a bunch of pictures of the butterflies, but this one was my favorite!
They also had a huge Avery with birds flying around us, but of course Zach was more interested in splashing in the water. Notice his big scab... he is such a boy!
Uncle Scott taught Zach how to say, "SHISHES!" so when he saw these he was so excited to use his new vocabulary!
This was his face at the end of the day!! In fact it probably shows how mad he must of been at me for draggin him on these trips. I can't blame him. After flying on a plane twice (6 hours) driving to the ranch (2.5 hours), driving to Scott's (4 hours), driving to animal park (2 hours) then driving up north (9 hours) and back down to Sacramento (2.5 hours) and then back home (6 hours) for a total of 32 hours strapped in a seat, all within 10 days. I'm sorry Zach! You were a trooper and teething at that!!

Mer and Andrew treated us to a gourmet waffle breakfast one morning! Yummo! I guess Chris and Andrew thought there was an award for most creative waffle.
Chris' berry banaza!!!

Andrew's patriotic homage!

Sorry babe my vote would go to Andrew.. It was memorial day weekend.


My big family! Finally one picture all together. And can you believe we are still growing... Sara is due in two weeks!!!

It took me a whole week to recover that is why I am finally back to blogging!!