Ten Months

Tomorrow Mason will be ten months old. He is so much fun! He has four teeth and he crawls everywhere. Some of his favorite things are drawers and ceiling things. He loves anything on the ceiling. At church we keep him entertained by pointing out the hanging lights in the chapel. He loves talking to the ceiling fan in our bedroom. He's so funny :) His favorite foods are bananas and crackers. He may have an issue with lactose, which is terrible for me because that means I have to watch what I eat too since he's still nursing. I'm terrible at cutting things out of my diet! It makes me crave it more when I know I can't have something. We bought Mason a little walker at Kid-to_Kid and he gets so excited wherever he sees it. He feels so cool standing up and walking behind that little lion all on his own.

Call me a hippie, but this week we started using cloth diapers. You can read more about those adventures at: www.stinkybabies.blogspot.com (Start with the oldest post. There aren't very many yet).

We love the warm weather and are looking forward to many outdoor adventures this summer. We already went camping once! Hopefully we can catch up with some friends and family now that the dreaded winter viruses are at bay for a while *knockonwood* We planted our garden a few weeks ago and I think half of the plants are already dead (I saw that coming with the snow, I was just a little anxious to get going!). This year we have planted corn, peas, beans, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, onions, zucchini, carrots, potatoes and pumpkins. Can't promise that we'll get any of them, but we planted them at least! ;)

I've made a discovery that should help me keep up on my blogging. It's the blogger app! I never get on my computer anymore so I never blogged (unless you count my tri-yearly posts). So, like I've said in the past, hopefully I'll post more frequently now ;) We shall see.

Six Months!

I can't believe Mason has already been in our family for half of a year... It seems like I just had him, but at the same time it kinda feels like he's always been around.  Time goes much faster when they're on the outside than when they're still inside... I love him :)

Some of his favorites:

laying on his back holding his toes
crinkling paper
my cell phone
the blinds in our house (they hang vertical and are loud if you move them around)
his usborne (sp?) tractor stroller book
sleeping in mom and dad's bed with us
long warm baths


Things he does/doesn't do:

Rolls from back to front.  Hasn't figured out the other way yet.. (I've never seen him try)
He still has no teeth
Eats baby food (when he's not sick)
Smiles and talks a LOT
Will lay on the floor with a few toys and be happy for quite a while!
Doesn't crawl (I kinda like it that way!)
Sits up on his own - still tips over sometimes though

Stats:

97.75% for height (28.5")
37.13% for weight (17.09lbs)
55.97% for head (17.2")

We have a tall, skinny boy on our hands :)

six months:

Mason - 2 months old

Today is Mason's two month birthday :)  A little update on him: he is getting really good control of his head.  We can hold him under his arms and he doesn't flop TOO much anymore, ha ha. He's starting to make eye contact and really talk to us.  He loves when we just sit and chat :) He smiles on occasion, but he's usually pretty serious.  He only wakes up one or two times in the night now... still looking forward to when I can get a full night's rest!  But honestly it hasn't been too bad.  He's been growing like a weed.  I don't know if I'm crazy, but I swear he got so tall so fast... Tomorrow we go in for his two month check so I guess I'll find out for sure!  He's finally getting a little bit of chunk on his body.  He had twig arms and legs for so long, and now all of that eating is starting to finally show.  He takes a glorious 2-3 hr nap in his swing every morning so I am finally getting my house back together, horray! (I said getting.  It's far from done).  Mason loves bath time.  At first he screamed and cried, but then I realized I was being way too careful and he was probably just cold... He likes really warm baths :)

We have loved having him here with us!  The first few weeks were crazy and I'm sorry to all of you who wanted to come over but I never really got back with you.  It took some work getting used to his schedule (which is really hardly a schedule at all... that's the hard part), but now things are better and it's a lot easier to get out!  Thanks for everyone's help and support as well... we have some really good friends and family :)  Here are some pictures for ya!

Blessing day

Two weeks old

One month old

5 generations

Posing at Seven Peaks

Scera Shell

Where to start... 

This weekend was supposed to be a family reunion in Zion.  The plan was to go down Tuesday night, camp one night then check into a cabin for the rest of the week.  Tuesday morning I went to the doctor for my weekly check (I was 38weeks and 2 days) and he said that I was only dilated 1cm and I hadn't had any contractions so I should be good to go as long as there is a hospital close by.  So we went!

Wednesday at 3am I woke up at the campground (we were sleeping out under the stars - I was on a cot though, ha ha) and noticed a little "fluid" had leaked, but it wasn't a ton.  So I waited till the morning to really think about it much.  When we got up, the family was all going to go canyoneering and I was going to go to the cabin.  Well, I talked to Rich and we decided he would stay with me and we would make a "quick trip" to Cedar to just make sure things were ok and maybe say hi to a few friends.  

We got to the hospital and they were doing some tests to see if it was amniotic fluid, but they were all coming back negative.  Luckily the nurse was convinced that it WAS even though the tests said no (I was having regular contractions at this point) so she kept checking.  Finally, 4 hours after getting to the hospital, we got a positive test back!  So instead of the big gush of my water breaking, it had just gotten punctured and was leaking.  Once someone's water breaks, they like them to deliver in 12-24 hours so that they don't get any infections or anything since that barrier is no longer intact.  

SO, we get admitted and they induced me the rest of the way (I still wasn't dilating, just contracting and effaced 85%).  By about 7:30 or 8pm it was time to start pushing!  (we were excited cause she just told me I was at 10cm.  Notice the smile- I had gotten an epidural so I was good by this point, ha ha)

 At 8:23pm, Rich delivered our little Mason Jay Brandt (with the help of the Nurse Midwife of course - Laurie Hansen).  He was 19.5" long and weighed 7lbs 12oz.  He's already a little champ at everything so far - sleeps good, eats good, poops good (he he) and he was even put on bili lights for one night and his levels were perfect by this morning!

This is the last picture we took of my belly before he was born

 And thank goodness we already had the nursery set up before we left on the trip!  We have so many wonderful neighbors and friends who gave us the stuff they don't need or aren't using anymore, so thanks to them (and KSL) this cute room only cost us about $2-300 total :)

I'm trying to not make this too long of a post so that I can get back to my cute little kid sitting next to me asleep, so if I forgot something, I'll just add it later :)

We love being parents and didn't plan on having our baby in Cedar City, but we couldn't have been happier with the whole delivery and everything!  It's been great!

11 Things

I've been tagged and would feel irresponsible if I didn't continue this...

The rules for this game are:

1. Post these rules.

2. Post a photo of yourself and 11 random things.

3. Answer the questions set for you in the original post.

4. Create 11 new questions and tag people to answer them.

(it didn't say it had to be recent!)

11 Random Things:

1. I hate cold water/being cold and wet. I have to have the door shut when I take a shower so that it traps all of the warm air in the bathroom. If I only had cold water for a month, I probably wouldn't shower that month... (only sort of kidding, ha ha). When I was a kid and my mom would drain the warm water from the bath tub, I would lay in the deepest part as long as I could and splash every last drop to keep me warmer longer. I also hate getting out of swimming pools. You get the idea ;)

2. I hate when my house is a mess, but my bedroom is seldom clean. I have to change clothes so many times in a day that I feel like it's a waste of time to put them away. AND if I only wore them for a few hours I'm not going to waste even more time washing them... so I can't just drop them in the hamper. They usually overtake the foot of my bed (sorry Rich)

3. I'm not a very healthy eater. I'm a big fan of cereal. And ice cream. When I eat fresh fruit, it makes my throat get all itchy and sometimes I lose my voice. It makes me nervous that one day my throat is going to swell up and close... so I don't eat a lot of fresh fruit. Preservatives! Wohoo!

4. I like potatoes a LOT. When I go to Wendy's I always get a baked potato and fries (and a frosty of course). I like pretty much anything made mostly from potatoes... mashed potatoes and hash browns included.

5. I love hugs, but I'm not an initiator. I know that some people don't like hugs, so I never start it (unless I know them really really well) but I always love when people see me and give me a hug. I'm pretty sure my husband thinks I'm annoying because when he comes home from work I just like him to hug me for a minute or two... :) (PS being pregnant kind of changes things... hugs just aren't the same when there's a basketball on your stomach)

6. I like to be needed. I love when people ask me for advice because they trust me. I hate when people treat me like I don't know something that I actually know quite a bit about.

7. I'm generally a quiet person and I'm pretty sure people think I don't say much because I don't have anything valuable to add to a conversation when in reality I'm pretty opinionated, I just don't want to cause contention.

8. I've been baby hungry longer than I can remember...

9. I love anything that's small. I used to make fun of my mom for this one ("oh look how CUTE it is!!!") but I'm the same way. I like little bitty flowers, baby animals, small kid furniture etc.

10. I used to be the neighborhood bully. I convinced my neighbor friends that the mountain behind our house was a volcano and could erupt any day. I'm pretty sure my sister Heidi had something to do with it too though... she's the one who made up the Jelly Bean Monster (sorry Megan)

11. It's really hard for me to come up with 11 random things...

11 questions for me:

1. What is your favorite season and why?

Spring! By the time it's been cold and mushy all winter, I'm ready for some sunshine! And the flowers are always so beautiful

2. Who is your favorite person in the whole wide world?

Rich. And not just because I'm obligated to say that since we're married - he really is my favorite. Although he's not perfect and sometimes gets on my nerves, he's super goofy, but can take things seriously when needed and he genuinely cares to make me happy even if it means doing something that's really hard for him or he thinks is unnecessary (see post above about hugging).

3. Where is the most random exotic location you want to visit?

Hmm... good question. I applied for a school nurse position on Wake Island, so now I want to go see what that place is like :)

4. If you could adopt a quality from someone...what would the quality be and from whom?

Uh... I can't really think of one specific. Maybe my mom's ability to just remember everything. Like the address and phone numbers to practically everywhere she's lived in her life

5. Favorite cartoon/movie growing up?

I really liked barney (I'll admit it) and Aladdin

6. Favorite "treat"? Doesn't have to be food.

Food: Ice Cream. And Oreos. Not food: going on a vacation

7. What do you do to relax?

Sleep

8. What makes you smile without fail?

When I feel my little man wiggle in my stomach. I smile a lot lately :)

9. What is the least 'scary thing' that you are scared of?

Big river rapids. I'm not a huge water fan... I guess that might still be considered a scary thing though?

10. What came first, the chicken or the egg?!

Chicken

11. Favorite physical feature of yourself?

Right now? My belly. I could stare at it all day... It's so weird!

11 Question I have For You:

It's already taken me like three days to get this far, so I'm not even going to try to come up with 11 new questions. Just answer the ones that I had to answer... they were good ones (thanks Nate and Kacee)

If you read this, consider yourself "tagged" (sucker! ;) ha ha)

March

Well, what's new? Baby. That's all that's really exciting in our life right now. We're having a little boy :) We got a cute little DVD with the ultrasound and some pictures of the little guy. I have a feeling I'm going to be one of those annoying new moms who gets excited for their kid to do what EVERY kid does, but it's HIS first time doing it so I have to tell EVERYONE!!! So sorry in advance ;) I'll try to keep myself in check. They changed our due date to July 8th now since he measured a little big at the very first appointment and the 20 week one. I'm excited about that!

We've both been able to feel the little guy moving around ever since about 17 weeks. I love it. I feel like I already know him and can't wait to just see what he looks like finally! We already know his name (Don't ask, I won't tell. There are name stealers out there!), just need to see his face now (in color and 3D)! Rich was so relieved that we're having a boy. You see, he has no sisters and it was a shock enough for him when we got married and he had to live with a GIRL! ;) We both wanted to have a boy first, but now I NEED to have my little girl eventually cause Rich already told me I can't paint the boy's toenails (we'll see about that).

Nothing else has really been going on. I've been super bored and ready for life to get moving lately (I'm not a very patient person). Rich told me to go do something for me... so I colored my hair dark again. I told the lady that I wanted it dark brown with a tiny bit of red, but NOT black. Well, I guess she got confused because it's pretty darn black. Looks like I get to be Snow White for a while!

I'm pretty sure most people know by now (thanks to facebook), but I'm pregnant! I'm 14.5 weeks along and super excited! We went to the doctor at ten weeks and got our first look at the little guy (or girl) and I loved it. Baby was just moving all over the place! I think they knew we were looking and wanted to say hi ;) Here's the picture they sent us home with. Looks like we're due July 12th. Yay for a summer baby!

Some other things that have happened lately, I quit my job at the hospital and now work at a doctor's office (no weekends, nights, on call, holidays.. wohoo!). I think it'll be much better that way when baby comes. For now I'm planning on working just one day a week or two half days after baby is born just to keep up my license. Didn't go to college for four years just to let it go a year and a half later ;)

Rich got surgery on his nose/septum/sinuses. It was more brutal than we expected and he was out for a good week without even turning on the TV. All he wanted to do was sleep. I felt so bad for him... then his first time out trying to do anything, he basically fractured his ankle and had to use crutches for a while! Worst part was I was already pregnant and in my first trimester so I was a little nauseous and a lot grumpy so by the time he was better from his surgery, but still healing from his ankle I wasn't super excited to wait on him. Hormones.

We had a good Thanksgiving with the Brandt family in Manti (minus Rich hurting his ankle the day before). Most of the family was able to get together for the holiday and that rarely happens for some reason. I enjoyed it :)

Christmas was spent with my family this year. We went snowshoeing/snowmobiling up to a yurt in the Uintas for two nights. It was an adventure actually finding the dang thing, but once we all got up there it was really fun! It was nice being up by snow around Christmas since there hasn't been any around Orem. It made it feel more Christmasy.

I'll post some pictures of these events when I find my camera and upload the pictures to my computer. I figured it would be better to just finally update this thing than to have it perfect.

La Casa

We got a house! And I finally got around to taking a few pictures today :) I'll give you a little tour of the place...

Here is the outside. A little old school, but all brick!

The garden is on the side of the house. We have lots of tomatoes and peppers still if anyone wants some! Next year I'll be able to plant things I will actually use, ha ha.

Our little back yard. There are two peach trees with TONS of peaches. PLEASE COME GET SOME!

The front room in the house. Cute little fire place that I'm so excited to hang stockings on at Christmas time :)

This room is the far right of the living area/dining room/kitchen. Not really a full living room, but a couch to hang out on and chat while someone is eating or in the kitchen.

Dining area and kitchen. We have plans to update then kitchen when we aren't broke anymore ;) We just have a little tiny 4 person table but it's plenty for the two of us right now

The master bedroom. It's got lots of space which I LOVE! Two decent sized closets and a master bath with a jetted tub, his and her sinks, and a little vanity area. There are also two more bedrooms upstairs but they are currently filled with boxes we still need to sort through

Most of the basement is a two bedroom apartment we have rented out, but there is also another bedroom (where a friend of ours is temporarily living) a small food storage room, and the MAN CAVE! It's not set up completely, but Rich finally got "his TV" that he's wanted since before we got married and a place to display all of his man stuff. Really I just didn't want to hang up his guns, swords or shield anywhere else in the house ;)

See how much he loves it? :)

So there you have it. We are home owners! Tied down for the next 30 years ;)

This weekend was Rich's drill- MI ball/Governor's day. Our first date was three years ago at the MI ball. Rich asked me the day of, and I had to find a dress and get all dressed up and ready in like an hour. We didn't take a picture (It was a first date. I didn't want him to think I was crazy! I regret it now) but this was our first time back since then. There were two more that went by, but Rich was in Spain for the first one and Iraq on the second... He wasn't required by the military to go to this one, but he was required by his wife ;) We didn't take a lot of pictures, but here's one. His uniform isn't completely up to date.. he's missing a few awards and junk, but I think he looks good. Bow tie and all :)

I had never been to governor's day before, but it was pretty cool. SO MANY people in uniform! It was really neat. It rained the night before so the sky was really clear and just a little breeze blowing the flag. After the formal stuff, there were fun booths set up and lots for kids to do. We got some delicious breakfast food, AWESOME ice cream, stocked up on groceries at the commissary then headed out by the afternoon.

That's about it. I'll think of something else to blog about soon... maybe.

Rich is Home!

I'm a little behind, but Rich came home! He got back a little over a month ago now and it's been great :) My whole family was able to come to the air base to welcome him back.

The day consisted of carpooling up to Salt Lake, waiting, waiting, and more waiting. During the waiting, there was a band playing, food galore, and a lot of anxious kids and spouses. When the plane landed, everyone was rushing up to the front of the hanger to see their soldier first. They rolled up the stairs, opened the door to the plane and soldiers started filing out. I was standing on my tippy-toes and it's a good thing I have crazy good eyes cause I saw Rich from the second he stepped out of the plane. Believe it or not, I didn't cry! (I thought Kylie, a fellow military wife, would make fun of me... ha ha) As he was walking down the stairs and shaking hands, I weaved my way between banners and kids on shoulders out to the open where Rich was just shaking the last hand and heading right to me. Nope, still didn't cry... I was way too excited I guess. Nate, my brother, was my personal photographer for the day so we got some really neat pictures that will help us remember how happy of a day it was for us. I didn't think I would make it, but I did. So if you think, "I could never do that..." You could. I don't have super human powers that allowed me to do it, but if you love your husband and have any pride in your country, you could to it. It's just one of those things that people don't usually go looking for, but they just rise to the occasion when it comes. It for sure has made me appreciate the country that we live in and treasure the freedoms that we all just expect a whole lot more.

ANYWAY, since Rich has been home we've been up to a lot. We didn't go on any huge trip or anything, but we have been camping, out to Wendover, stopped at the salt flats, celebrated our anniversary by renting a wave runner out at the lake, went to my cousin's wedding, drove up to Logan for Rich's mom's family's reunion where I met a lot of his relatives I had never met before, um.... I can't remember what else. Oh yeah, we're in the middle of buying a house too :) We're kind of excited about that part. It won't be all finished until September 1st though cause the owners are moving to St. George and don't want to move there in the middle of the summer heat. That's ok though. We're not in a huge hurry. I'll post more pictures later if I remember to.

Hope everyone is having a great July! I wish there was a better way to keep in contact with friends and family, but it never seems to happen... life has been busy but we still want to make the rounds and visit :) Miss you all!

Something to Blog About

Sometimes I don’t blog because I don’t feel like there is anything going on in my life worth telling the world about at that moment. I usually wait till a big trip or family event before I post anything. I guess tonight isn’t an exception to the rule… I finally have something new to blog about

Last weekend I went back down to Cedar City to walk in my official graduation. Rich has been doing school online along the way while he’s been in Iraq, and he is currently finishing up his last two classes for his degree. He completed his graduation papers a while back, so we weren’t positive what ever happened with it all.

When the big ceremony on Friday started, I got a program as we all marched into the arena, and before I was where the audience could see, I checked for Rich’s name on the list of graduates. Lo and behold, there it was. Richard Jay Brandt. I turned to some of my friends who were in line by me and pointed out his name. It took me by surprise, and emotions were already on edge after marching through a whole group of teachers, family and friends applauding us for our accomplishments, so naturally, there were tears immediately. Even though he was half way around the world (and still working on finishing those classes, ha ha) we got to graduate from college together! It was really neat.

Later that day, I was talking with my parents, and we all kind of thought it would be cool if I could march in place of Rich the next day to get his diploma (well, the cover at least). Some of my friends who are married had arranged in advance to march with THEIR husbands in the School of Business ceremony rather than their own (Science for me), so I figured they would let me march “with” mine too… I was told to just show up on time the next morning, get Rich’s card for him, and let the person announcing the names know what was going on.

To make a long story not quite as long (it’s still not short.. sorry), the teacher who was introducing the graduates as they walked across the stage was one who Rich had JUST finished a class from, so he knew the situation already. He took my card, and after the girl in front of me shook hands with President Benson, he announced something like, “This young lady is here marching in place of her husband who is in Iraq and completed his degree online. Richard Brandt… accounting” Immediately, there was incredibly loud applause from the audience, and my tears that started before I even stepped foot on the stage doubled as I walked to the president. He gave me a huge hug. As I moved to shake hands with the next person in line, I noticed that the entire arena was up on their feet. Wow. What an incredible feeling.

Although I was the one walking across the stage that day, I know that all of those people were standing in support of Rich and the amazing things that he has been doing. I already know how awesome he is (ha ha), but to have that many people agree with me and show their support for him all at once is overwhelming. It was a nice reminder of how wonderful he is and how I should really appreciate him and all that he has done and continues to do.

I’ll have people ask me about Rich and when they find out he is deployed they’ll sincerely express their appreciation for him and the sacrifices that we’re both making, and I’ve also been in areas where a large group of military families are present and we are all applauded as a group. Never did I imagine having an experience so personal to just the two of us though… I continued on and had a red-eyed, makeup smeared picture taken, then took my seat back with the other graduates.

After the whole ceremony was over, I went and found my mom in the audience. She still had tears in her eyes, and as people I knew came up to talk to me, they all said that they were crying right along with me through it all. Even after it was all over, a few people started tearing up just talking about it again… The best way I can think of to describe it all is spiritual. I know that may sound lame, but to feel that kind of love and support from that many people is amazing. I know I didn’t do it justice when I told Rich about it later that day, but there’s not really any way to explain it without just being there. People I had never even met were in tears because of the united support shown for one of OUR soldiers and his accomplishments. Ugh, my eyes STILL water when I think about it.. There are so many amazing men and women who serve and support our country. It's kind of a breath of fresh air in the middle of all of the political debates that seem to always be going on.

Anyway, I guess it’s just time that I let everyone who reads this know how much I love my husband. :) I’m not usually one of those girls who publicly announce that, “I have the BEST husband in the world!” and go on to tell of the great things he’s done recently that make him better than everyone else. Although that’s probably great for his self-esteem, I don’t like making others question or compare the “quality” of their own husbands because I’m publicizing every little thing that mine does that’s good. I will, however, say that I love Rich very much. He has had so much come at him in life lately and he is still coming out on top of it all. He didn’t let a deployment get in the way of finishing school, and he hasn’t let it have a negative effect on our marriage either. Not only is he defending freedom, he is taking time to care about me personally and both of our families, AND getting a degree. I think a standing ovation was very appropriate :)

Thank you to all of you who have supported us this year. It really makes it all a lot more bearable to feel love and support from those around you. If you know someone who is deployed, send a letter or put together a small care package for them. It REALLY makes a difference just knowing that your friends and family still think and care about you. Those at home may hear it a lot, but I think it's important to tell the soldiers directly as well. Rich will be home soon, which means no more cyber husband for me, ha ha…

*and you thought your last blog post was long…? *

New Awlins

Before I get started on this post, I just want to throw out a disclaimer. I was reading through my last post, and I was thoroughly embarrassed by my typos and the other mistakes I made throughout it. Like lunch. My parents don't take us to lunch for our birthdays... it's ALWAYS dinner. I have no idea where lunch came from. Basically, they're things that are no big deal, but when I was reading it, I felt like I was reading the blog of someone else, ha ha. The reason? I blog at work. (rough job huh?) And work is usually from around midnight till 8-ish am which means (like right now) I blog around 4am. Good enough excuse? I hope so cause I'm sticking to it.

Back to the post at hand. I recently went on a trip to Louisiana for the annual convention of a company I'm part of. It's kind of a random thing I guess that I'm even part of the company, but lets just say it's a fun time-filler while Rich is gone :) I don't really know what to say about the convention other than it was fun, informative, but kinda weird. I went there by myself and met up with a girl in Baton Rouge who I had never met. We just emailed and decided to share a room at the hotel. Good thing she wasn't a creeper, huh? Anyway, there are some women in the company who are really neat and fun to be around, and then there are the crazies who, well, we've all dealt with crazy people in our lives at one time or another.. you know what they're like.

It's probably more fun to just look at my pictures and I'll tell you a little bit about each one. This first one is at the welcome party. It was 80's themed.. can you tell? ;) This is me with the owner and founder of the company.

At the party, I also met KISS! You should have seen their shoes.. they had to be at LEAST 6" tall.
Oh yeah, and Michael Jackson came back from the dead to sing a few last songs for us. He shrunk a little.
There was an awards night where the ladies in the company who take their business more seriously than me won some awesome prizes and awards! We're talking trips to Hawaii and Disney Land, $1000's of dollars in cash, 14 cars were given away and a brand new Harley. The part that was the most fun for me was just dressing up :) It was a formal event. These are my roommates from the weekend
Bourbon Street. Pretty cool huh? They were good..
Although New Orleans was fun and all, It wasn't my favorite place in the world. If I'm going to go to a big city with lots of people, I'll go to Manhattan. I like it MUCH better. When I flew in, the girl I mentioned earlier picked me up from the Baton Rouge airport and drove me to where she was staying with her family till the convention started. It was family property and she was staying at her grandma's (doodah) where her great grandma (grand nanny) was also living. Her parents lived right next door and her aunt's house was down a little dirt road about 200 meters back. Basically, they all lived really close. This family was so cute and they were SO nice. Talk about southern hospitality. Spending time here was probably my favorite part of the whole trip. My flight didn't leave till Monday morning, so on Sunday we had nothing to do. Between the aunt's house and doodah's, there's a little pond that they like to fish in. They stock it with their own fish and feed them so they get really big. They're not really big yet though as you'll see below.

Here is our quaint little fishing pond :)

with little white flowers in the grass all around it
This is Samantha, my roommate for the weekend. I can't remember if that was her bait or what she caught ;)
They were little, but they were pretty
So what if I fished with a pink and purple princess pole.. ha ha
So all in all it was a fun trip. I have to say I didn't know a whole lot about Louisiana until I went. I couldn't even spell Louisiana! Doodah said if I come back I can stay at her place again. I may just take her up on that one day :)

R&R

R&R stands for rest and relaxation, but I think both of us were ready for some R&R after Rich's R&R! We did SO much while he was here and I loved every second of it! Here are a few pictures of some of the things we did for the two weeks that he was here:

Rich played indoor soccer a few times with two of our brother-in-laws. He loves any kind of sport and was happy to play.. even if he had to wear pink shin guards :) He also played in multiple basketball games both for a city league and church ball.
While Rich has been gone, he's gotten a new niece and a new nephew! He was so excited to meet them both. Here is Rich with little Jaxon

Lucky for me, Rich was able to make it in time for Valentine's day! We decorated cookies at my parents house and went out to lunch AND dinner to celebrate :)
Oh, and we also helped cupid deliver a Valentine to Parker at work :) He had quite the crowd following him.
We were lucky enough to have two free passes to Canyons so we spent a day out on the mountain. It was really fun other than it was a little windy at the top.. ok, it was REALLY windy. But still fun.

Rich's birthday was in January and we wanted an excuse to have everyone over to see him-so we called it a late birthday party and had cake and ice cream. The little kids loved the Army man cake :)
Everyone though we were crazy planning a cruise during leave.. Dates ALWAYS change with the military so we were really risking it. I was so set on a cruise cause I'd never been and being on a ship with all you can eat food, room service, entertainment and sun sounded like the perfect way to spend leave. Anyway, after some worrying of my own, it worked out perfectly! We went to Cabo San Lucas and loved it so much

After the cruise, we flew into SLC and just stayed there for the Linkin Park concert at the ESA. While we were there one of our friends just happened to be sitting a few rows behind us.. he is also deployed with Rich and was on his R&R. What are the chances? Anyway, I tried to be the crazy photo taking wife the whole time Rich was here cause I wanted to document the only two weeks we'll be together this year.. but I guess I'm not quite there yet. I forgot to charge the camera... so this was the only picture from the concert before it died for good:Oh, and Linkin Park is really good live but they didn't chose such a great band to open for them... Lets just say they weren't too creative with their choice of vocabulary :)

Although we had already had cake and ice cram, its tradition that my parents take out the birthday couple for lunch. Since Rich missed his, they had to make it up while he was in town. Turns out the best day to go was Austin's actual birthday, so we decided to do a combo. My parents didn't want to leave Heidi and Parker out however, so they talked and decided to celebrate Parker's birthday a month early! So we went out to dinner for the three son-in-law's birthday then had yummy cupcakes and MORE ice cream. The kids liked to help blow out the candles :)


Just a few days after that, Rich had to leave and go back for the last part of his deployment. I wasn't too excited about it, but he had to leave again before the countdown could REALLY begin. Not too much longer now and he'll be home for good! I can't wait for the day... Although we aren't perfect, I know that Rich and I are perfect for each other. We work together, and can correct each other when correction is needed. We can both be stubborn, but it just makes for a good laugh later ;) I love him so much and couldn't be more proud of what he is out doing right now!