Mike, Beth & little Miss Harli

Christmas 2011

2012-01-13T13:04:00.006-06:00

[I'm a little slow, as always...nevertheless...]

Merry Christmas everyone!

This year we were able to go home to Utah for Christmas - which rocked. We had so much fun! Originally, Mike's parents were going to come out here, but when Mike's mom's company told her that they needed her to stay, and offered to pay for us to come home instead, we jumped on it! {Can you say 'job security!?'} We ended up keeping it a secret from my parents and were able to surprise them the night we flew in. THAT was awesome. We had all schemed for a good two months on how we should surprise them.... trust me, that was one of the hardest secret I've ever had to keep!
We wrapped a box inside a box inside a box with a note on top. We door bell ditched it on the porch, and ran to the side of the house to listen/peek. When they came to the door the note said, "Schwartz family: STOP - gather your family on the porch and unwrap this present together." The second box had a note in it with a poem about a special gift they would find, and the third box had a digital recorder in it and a note to push play. When they pushed play (They had moved inside the house by this point because it was so cold out), it sung "I'll Be Home for Christmas," which is when Mike and I came bursting through the door and yelled, "WE'RE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!!!"
Although this isn't the greatest picture, all of their faces and reactions were priceless. Of course my Mom cried. Zoe cried. Michael cried. I think Erik even got a little teary-eyed. My Dad was just shocked! It was really a neat thing to get to do. Thanks to Ranae for all the help scheming! :)

We were able to see my Grama and Grampa Herd for a little bit at my Aunt's house. We all sat around while my Grampa told us stories about his life and growing up. That is one of those memories I will never forget. When I asked him what is one piece of advice he could give me about raising my kids he said, "I wish I would have loved them [his kids] more. You can never love them too much." Amen Grampa, amen.

We also had an awesome dinner at the Maddox (fav!!) with my G & G Schwartz and an uncle and cousin. It was nice to catch up for a minute!

At Mike's parent's house, we had a lot of fun hanging out, shopping, and playing games. It was so great to have the whole family there all at once... (Something that is getting harder and harder to do!)Christmas Eve[Our niece, Brianna]
This is what happens when you get to close to the pie when Uncle Mikey is around...

Harli made herself a little throne out of her presents... So cute! (She loved wearing her gloves (indoors or out) too!)

Christmas day - this picture sums it up pretty good... I think we were all more excited about the whole thing more than she was! She liked opening the gifts for about four presents and then she was done. Typical 1 1/2 year old!

Needless to say, our holidays were filled with wonderful family and friends, good food, and great times. SO glad we had the chance to be with our families, as we realize how fortunate we are to have them as ours. We hope yours were wonderful too! Here's to an awesome 2012!

Huntin' Husband

2011-12-17T22:55:00.000-06:00

Mike went duck hunting this weekend with Travis, Phil, and Travis' daughter, Rylan - they had a blast!! This was Rylan's first duck hunt, so it was fun for Mike to see what he can look forward to with Harli. :). The ducks loved their set up so they were all able to limit out (6 each). Good job, guys (and girl)!

An Early Christmas Wish

2011-11-26T12:37:00.001-06:00

Harli found the nativity set today... She loves it! She keeps trying to climb on top of the coffee table so she can get to baby Jesus. (Welcome to Christmas with a one year old, eh?)
I hope she never stops trying to climb higher to get closer to her Savior, for I know she will not be disappointed. May we all remember this year the reason we celebrate Christmas.
Happy Holidays everyone!
Enjoy.

Miss Harli

2011-11-08T07:47:00.001-06:00

Harli looks so grown up in this picture!
It's like she turns one and a switch goes off and she starts to grow double time!!
I've said this before and I'll say it again- you don't realize how fast they grow until you have one of your own...
(Oh and don't worry, her attitude is keeping right up! Ha ha)
But I love her more and more everyday. She's such a sweet little bug. I can't get enough! :)

Halloween 2011

2011-11-03T14:37:00.004-05:00

Halloween was pretty low-key this year... which was fine by me.
Harli will more than likely hate me for this when she gets older, but she was a cow. Oh and what a cute cow she was! :)

"Hey! What happened to all the candy I had in here??"

So cute.

Hope y'all had a great Halloween too!

Well hello there!

2011-10-25T11:44:00.000-05:00

Harli's FIRST Birthday!!

2011-10-11T16:19:00.004-05:00

Our baby girl just turned ONE!! So hard to believe it's been a year already. It's been a wonderful year, we couldn't be more proud!

We had a little party for her on Saturday where we just had a couple of her little "girlfriends" and their families over. It was a pink and brown/princess theme.

She got her very own smash cake -
She was a little confused at first what she should do exactly, and started out pretty dainty...

...But she figured it out pretty quickly! :)

She got about half way through the cake and had enough.
I was kind of worried that she was going to barf all night, but luckily she just had lots of energy!

Didn't get too dirty either!

Her new rocker motorcycle and jacket from G & G V.. True Orencole fashion! :)

She got a new swing from G & G S.... She loves it!
('Scuse the annoying overexcited parents in the background of the video! ha ha)

Better late than never.

2011-10-11T15:45:00.004-05:00

So I said I'd post the Vandercook family pictures from this summer.... I'm a little late, but it's better than never, right? :)

Cute, right? Enjoy. :)

Lately...

2011-09-23T13:30:00.001-05:00

(See! This is what happens when I get a facebook. I slack on the blog. Sorry.)

Anyway-

As of late little Miss Harli has become...... mischievous.

Very mischievous.

She is into EVERYTHING! She does not discriminate- toilet, dog food/water, electrical cords, cupboards, you name it. (I thought this wasn't supposed to come until they could walk? Which, she can do by the way, but she just doesn't feel like it yet. Really. She's already got an attitude.)

Here she is caught in the act:

This is her walker, which I found her helping herself into the other day...

...and back out.

If we didn't close the door to the kennel, she'd be in it WITH Fergie.

(This isn't the greatest picture, but her face says it all!) I usually put her in her Johnny-Jump-Up while I get in the shower so she can't get into too much trouble while I'm preoccupied.... I guess didn't worry about the TP! She was so pleased with herself!

All I can say is thank goodness for child-proofing gadgets! ...and doors. :)

Besides running around cleaning up all of Harli's messes, I haven't been up to too much. I am planning her FIRST Birthday party though! Can you believe she will be one in just a week and a half!? Where has the time gone?

As for Mike, to say he is busy is an understatement. On top of his Scout Master calling, they have called him to be the first counselor in the Young Men's, which would be busy enough, let alone his school schedule. This week alone he had FOUR tests, and THREE next week. Last week he did his very first surgery on a live animal. SO exciting!! And he will do his first spay this coming week, which is also quite cool (but very stressful). Needless to say, the poor guy just needs a vacation! I am SOO proud of him for putting in so much hard work. He is amazing to me!

And this is WAY late, but while we were in Utah, we got some family pictures taken with Mike's family. I'll put more on later, but here is a preview:

Lately

2011-08-13T17:40:00.008-05:00

This summer, Mike did some neurology research for the vet school and he loved it! To make the deal even sweeter, they sent all the research students to Orlando to the Animal Kingdom for a conference where they would present their work that they did.

Mike and his poster he made to illustrate his findings.

With Dr. Eells - Mike's "mentor"

Safari Mickey and Minnie

Mike brought Harli a Minnie Mouse purse... she carries it around EVERYWHERE!

Because he did so well presenting his research, he was chosen to present again at the MSU CVM research day - in front of the whole school next week!! Good luck, sweetie!!

I never liked the taste of crow, but baby, I ate it.

2011-08-06T16:37:00.002-05:00

Well, we got a Facebook.
Yes. Us.
The people that have totally dogged on it.
...And now we have one.

...it's just the best way to keep up with friends anymore these days I guess!

Stop by and say hi. :)

Yes, one more post.

2011-07-07T15:39:00.001-05:00

We took pictures of the bike yesterday, so I have to show off the bike too... :)

Summer Projects

2011-07-07T14:22:00.000-05:00

We've had summer projects out the wazoo, but are so glad to have them all done!

Summer project #1:

Kitchen backsplash

While I was in Utah, the kitchen fairy/husband visited and left a backsplash!!

I was SO surprised!

If you recall, this is how my kitchen used to look...

But now...

Much better!

Thank you, hubby!

Summer project #2:

Cement/ patio revamp

(This picture doesn't show very well, but Mike poured the cement the firepit is sitting on, and also the cement under the chair. He also built that little table!)

He also poured a sidewalk along the garage and a driveway (not pictured) for his bike into the garage.

Summer Project #3:
Finish bedroom

If you remember this awful moment in our lives..........
After
-ripping the ceiling, old insulation, and support beams out
-pulling all the furniture out
-treating for mold spores ...scrubbing, bleaching, scrubbing, treating, scrubbing some more...
-reinstalling beams, insulation, drywall
-installing furring strips for the new ceiling tiles
-installing ceiling tiles
-putting up new crown molding
-reorganizing furniture
and
-cleaning it all over one last time.....
It's FINALLY over!!!!! Our bedroom is back together and useable again!! Woohoo!
Not that a permanent sleepover in the front room wasn't fun for a whole month...... I'm just glad to sleep in my own bed!

...And now that it's all done, we're just in time for us to start the school year. Phew! Where'd the summer go!?? :)

Utah ....Yeah, it's a long one.

2011-07-07T08:37:00.000-05:00

Utah was a blast, ya'll. I had so much fun (Notice I said I not we... more about that later)!

The recap is much better in pictures:

Harli's first plane ride!! She was SO good. The plane was full except for the one lucky seat next to me, so she got her very own seat for a minute. She thought she was so big sitting all by herself! (Can you see the attitude already?)

The first week while it was just me and Harli, we were in Lehi with my family.

We got to go to a couple of Erik's baseball games. [He's #14 - up to bat]
Go Royals!

And Zoe's track meet! Get it girl!

Harli hangin' out with Grampa S during the meet.

What's a trip home without a little girl shopping!?

I love this picture.

We went to the Living Planet Aquarium which was awesome. Harli LOVED it! She could have stared at all the fish all day.

We also made it to the Foster Care Foundation's Chalk Art Festival at the Gateway.

SO cool. Some of these people are so talented.

This one was my favorite.

We got to meet Snow White there too! [Harli didn't know quite what to think of her!]

Harli got to meet all of her great-grandparents.

This was one of those moments you just want to bottle up and take with you forever and ever. I have always pictured myself as that little girl on grampa's lap, and now to see my own baby right there - so sweet.

Four generations:

Grama Herd, Mom, Me, Harli

Grama Schwartz, Dad, Me, Harli

And then, Mike came!!

[Mike was supposed to fly in on a Tuesday, but changed his flight to Sunday (which was Father's Day), and was able to surprise his Dad for Father's Day. They were both pretty excited! :)]

Another four generations:

Grama Robb, Mom V, Mike, Harli

We went to see 17 Miracles (about the Willy-Martin handcart companies) at the District in South Jordan. Highly recommend... Both the theater and the movie!

We're not neccissarily Pirates fans, just of the skulls. LOL

Of all the toys, Harli loved the phone books the most. Go figure.

We took the motor home to Lagoon on Friday [Grampa V loved his co-pilot!] and were supposed to camp overnight, but......

That's when it all happened.

[Mike is going to hate that I posted this picture... but I had to!]

So I'll have to back up a little to tell the whole story.
By Tuesday, Mike wasn't feeling too hott, but he just pushed through. Wednesday, not good either. Thursday, he went to the gym... He was lifting when he heard a pop and a little pain. Didn't think anything of it, and kept on. That night it hit him pretty hard. His body ached all over so bad he couldn't be touched, he had a fever that would go up and down, and then he'd get the chills. He was in bad shape. He felt a little better Friday morning, so we thought we'd try Lagoon, but the poor guy got there and couldn't get out of bed. After calling Ranae's doctor, we decided we'd better get him to the ER. So we drove back to Tooele, went to the ER, waited THREE hours [worst ER ever.], and found out he had a hernia. But that they didn't know what all the other stuff was - but figured it was a separate entity, and to just go back home and wait it out. Fast forward to Saturday evening, Mike's fever hit 104, so we took him to the LDS hospital's ER. Much better! They rushed him in and ran all kinds of blood tests, and a CT scan. Long story short, they said the same thing, but wanted us to come back the next day to check him out again. Monday we went back and they told us he was clear. They only thing they could figure was that it was a nasty virus his body would just have to fight off itself.

Needless to say, Mike's Utah trip wasn't as fun as mine. :(

To try and end on a high note, the last day we went out to "Black Rock" off I80. It was such a pretty day! :)

I am so glad we got to visit home for a while. It was great catching up with everyone! Sorry if we missed you - we'll make sure to catch you next time.

Little Update

2011-06-05T20:09:00.001-05:00

I figured an update was in order before I left... (only 5 more days! Woohoo!)

As Harli has been eating more and more solid foods, she makes a bigger and bigger mess... I tried wiping her off one night, but that just wasn't cutting it. So I stuck her in the sink.. :)

Feet kicked up and everything....

We also got her a little baby pool for the backyard. Oh my heck she is so cute in it.

She. Loves. It.
She'd swim all day if I let her... It's really the only way we can stand to be outside, because it's just SO hot out lately.

....No worries though, because we're headed to UTAH in 5 days! Yay!

PS- More to come on our room situation.....

Part III: The just plain HORRORIFIC.

2011-05-02T11:47:00.000-05:00

I thought we had it bad...

I'm just grateful I even have a home to come home to.

Normally, something like this wouldn't affect me this much - but because it happened litterally just 20 miles away, it really hits home. People in my ward were affected.

The good Lord protected us and I am so grateful for that.

These people have nothing. Nothing. It breaks my heart.

Please pray for them.

If you are even thinking of helping, do it. These people need you.

...And thank you to all those that have helped. You are so wonderful.

Part II: The BAD.

2011-05-01T19:21:00.001-05:00

This one we're going to have to back up to last Saturday (before Easter)..

I got home from the grocery store about 5:30ish, put the groceries away, blah, blah, blah...

I walk back to Harli's room, and I hear water running. Look in the bathroom, no water. Harli's room, no water. Other bathroom, no water. Walk by my bedroom.... oh. fetch.

A STREAM of water. Coming from our ceiling.

Long story short, here in the South, people put their AC units in the attic. Turns out, the drip-pan underneath the unit was never set level, so all the condensation that was being caught has been pouring into the insulation above our bedroom for quite some time now (probably even before we moved in), which eventually led to this....

Mold, fungus, nastiness like you wouldn't believe.

BAAAD news.

By the time we got things pretty much contained, ripped out, stopped dripping, bleached and so forth, it was about 11:00.

So now we get to have a slumber party in our front room every night for the next couple of weeks!! Woohoo! :) ha ha

You think this is bad, this is just the half -maybe even quarter- of it.

More to come...

Part I: The GOOD

2011-04-25T21:25:00.000-05:00

Part I: The GOOD.

Our Easter was happy. :)

Harli looked adorable

and we took a million pictures.

My FAVORITE! :)

My two besties.

We are so grateful for Easter, reasons which we celebrate it, and all that it brings.

Such a wonderful time of year.

Rain, anyone?

2011-04-18T12:16:00.000-05:00

Friday it rained-scratch that- it poured. So much so, that we had a river in our backyard.

Thank GOODNESS our house is high enough we didn't flood.

I've never seen so much [rain] water!

We had tornado watches, sirens, the whole bit too... Kind of crazy.

The water from our neighbor's house was rushing so fast it not only looked like a river, but it sounded like one too.

(Mike was shoveling leaves away from the fence so the water could flow better)

Almost up to his knees!

Gotta love this crazy Mississippi weather! :)

Crawfish season.

2011-04-02T20:06:00.000-05:00

This is why I love the Spring in the South, y'all. Really. Not only do we have 70-80 degree weather already, but we have good 'ol Southern cookin'. Loooooooooooovvve me some Southern food.

There is a place in Memphis called Fat Larry's that is number one on my list. THE best barbeque I've ever had. So good. I always get the fried pickles, bbq pork, and coleslaw. I know, I'm drooling on the keyboard too just thinking about it.

While we're not in Memphis, there is a place here in Starkville called The Little Dooey that we like. It's a super famous bbq place that is a close second... Last night we went there because we wanted to try crawfish for the first time. I loved it. It was just like bite sized lobster. I told Mike we have to go back every date night until crawfish season is over, it was that good; and that I want to learn how to cook them so when we come home in the summer we can have a crawfish boil for everyone! :)

[These pictures aren't very good because I took them with my phone. But I was that excited about eating crawfish... I just felt so Southern! :)]

It was only $3.50/lb - can you say 'woohoo for cheap dinners?' ha ha

As long as I didn't look at their beady little eyes I was good.

I can't wait to share it, y'all!!

It's official.

2011-03-28T15:45:00.000-05:00

Dear home, I'm coming your way, baby!!!!! June 11. Be there. I can't wait to see you. Love, Me.

Heeeeere she isssssss!

2011-03-25T15:51:00.000-05:00

When your baby is teething, you learn to appreciate moments like this one when they're actually laughing and not crying/bitting/slobbering a river/fussing. :) [I forget how not fun teething is. Just come in already, you dang teeth!!]

She's learned how to squeal too. Oh my. So funny at times, but

not so appropriate at others - ie: sacrament meeting, the gym, etc.

"Who, me??"

Mid-squeal.

Mommy loves you, baby girl. ...and your high pitched squeal.

Zoo!!

2011-03-14T14:35:00.001-05:00

Saturday, we drove to Memphis to go to the temple. After, we decided to go to the Memphis Zoo with our friends Jason & Jamie. (This zoo kicks the pants off Hogle Zoo. The animals were very active.)

My favorite. Love me some giraffes.

Ok, so I guess it was a tie. I like zebras too.

This was Mike's favorite part. The grizzly bears. Their "habitat" was really big and so cool! They were very active... Just before this picture, the one on the far left stood on the rocks and jumped on top of the middle one and started playing. So cute.

The polar bears.

...And Mike doing the 'Lion King'.

Harli says "Really Dad? You better not drop me!"

(Everyone loved her glasses and hat. She probably got as many ooh's and aah's as the animals!!)

Elephants. (Duh.)

You have to look close, but the monkey at the bottom was a mama with her baby. You can see the cute little baby's head poking out on the right. :)

I kind of get hungry for Panda Express every time I see a panda bear now. ha ha

Jamie & Jason

What is the zoo without a ride on Daddy's shoulders?

These guys were kind of creepy. All the big cats were for that matter. They were all pacing back and forth the whole time, staring at people. Scaaary!

The middle tiger was really pretty. He was orange and brown stripped.

You can see him a little better in this picture (he's on the left).

We had so much fun! I can't wait to go back again!

Yes, she is her Mother's daughter.

2011-03-10T12:00:00.000-06:00

I laid Harli on the floor the other day (on her back), walked out of the room for a minute, and when I came back, I found her enjoying the TV. Oh boy. I think I've created a monster.

People. You have to try this. Really.

2011-03-07T10:53:00.000-06:00

I bought asparagus the other day to eat with our Sunday dinner. We usually eat it with hollandaise sauce, but I usually buy the mix because I didn't know how to make it. When I was at the store, I forgot to buy the mix, and didn't really remember that until the asparagus was in the pot boiling last night... So I thought I'd look it up online to see if it was easy enough that I could make it homemade. Turns out it was. And it was 10,000,000,000,000 times better than the mix. (Sorry McCormick. You're out.) It was even good on the pork chops. Mmmmm. --Thank goodness for leftovers!

This is the sight that taught me how:

http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/recipes/recipe-how-to-make-hollandaise-sauce-044743

She called for heavy cream, which I didn't have, so I used half-and-half instead.

She also called for lime juice, which I didn't have, so I used lemon juice.

It still knocked my socks off. Mike liked it too. You'll have to try it.

(What a post... all for hollandaise sauce.)

(Almost) A Southern Belle.

2011-02-28T18:26:00.000-06:00

You know you're living in the South when you feel the need to say 'y'all' instead of 'you,' 'you all,' 'you guys,' or any place else you could stick it - just to be sure the cashier will understand you.

Baby food.

2011-02-25T12:54:00.000-06:00

I've been on a baby food making kick lately... The first time I tried it just to see how easy it would be and if I could even do it... It turned out pretty good, and Harli likes it much better than store bought food, so I guess if I have the time, I might as well. :)

It is really easy to do. You just have to steam the vegtables or fruits and blend them. I put most of it into ice cube trays and freeze them and then after they are frozen, take them out and put them into freezer bags. It makes it really convienient when I go to feed Harli becuase I just pull a cube out and stick in the the microwave on dethaw for 2 1/2 minutes and Ta-Dah! Baby food.

Blending the broccoli

Carrots, Sweet potatoes, Applesauce (Miss Harli's FAVORITE! ...that's why I don't really bother with the ice cube tray portions on that one. She could eat it for every meal if I'd let her.), and Zuccini-Spinach

Johnny Jump Up!

2011-02-18T16:15:00.000-06:00

Grama Vandercook sent Harli a Johnny Jump Up.

I. LOVE. IT.

It's hot pink. Can you get any more girly??!!

She loves it too. :)

update.

2011-02-07T21:39:00.000-06:00

So.

Apparently God sent me an angel child. (Does that mean I can't handle anything harder? Or does that mean my next one is going to be a hellion? Oh boy. I'm betting it's the latter of the two.)

Anyway. Back to the purpose of the post... Harli's sleep.

It only took one really bad night and a couple semi-good nights and she is finally SLEEP TRAINED!!! It is so awesome.
Yay Harli!

Guilty.

2011-02-02T22:30:00.000-06:00

So tonight was the first night that we tried the Cry-It-Out method to put Harli to sleep. Oy. So hard. I cried. Harli cried. Bad deal.
I feel so guilty! I know it's only a few nights of sadness, but it's so hard to hear her cry so much! :(
We tried to watch TV to distract us, but it was still traumatic.
Any good ideas?

Photoshoot.

2011-01-29T17:23:00.000-06:00

Mike took some pictures for a girl in our ward today so

Harli and I had a mini photoshoot while we were at it.

Let's just be honest here, people...

Oh my gosh my baby is cute!

So serious.

" No more pictures, please. I've had just about enough of you people."

Etsy

2011-01-26T16:46:00.000-06:00

Y'all. I'm on Etsy now and I'm so excited about it.
You'll have to check it out!
(There's a link over here...) ------------------------->

Baby girl.

2011-01-20T20:11:00.000-06:00

My little baby is not so little anymore!

She has started to jabber and it is so much fun. I could listen to it all day.

This baby loooves to stick her tounge out.

We love big bows. They're just so stinking cute!

I also love being a Mommy. It is the best thing in the whole wide world.

Miscellany.

2011-01-02T20:59:00.000-06:00

My baby is growing up so fast!!

Harli is able to hold her head up long enough to sit in her Bumbo now. Wow! Who knew a chair could age your baby. ha ha

Santa says Harli made it on the GOOD GIRL list. :)

It snowed on Christmas day. I just about cried when I saw it. I was wishing and wishing it would snow to make it feel more like home, and my wish came true!! I was so happy... and on Harli's first Christmas. So perfect.
Mike shot a white tail deer over the break (I couldn't get those pictures to work... I will post them later...) so we got a meat grinder and made deer sausage. I'd never had it before and surprisingly, it was pretty good!

Just before bath time Harli likes to look at her reflection in the mirror. So cute. :)

This is just because the picture is so stinkin' cute.

Don't you just want to pinch her little cheeks? I do.

Harli's Blessing

2011-01-01T21:00:00.001-06:00

We were able to bless Harli a couple of weeks ago. Fortuantely both Mike's parents and my Mom and brother, Michael were able to be there. It was such a special day. So neat to be able to watch Mike bless our little baby. He said he felt so humbled by her..

Harli's blessing dress was actually the dress that I was blessed in when I was born, which was also the dress that my great-grandma was blessed in in 1893. It is SUCH a beautiful dress and so special to us.

So beautiful.

Harli's Mama and Mimi. :)

Grampa Vandercook was so cute with Harli. She loved all the little faces he'd make at her.

Uncle Michael loves Miss Harli

Orencole Family :)

The guys

Update

2010-12-03T19:34:00.000-06:00

Well, life here in Starkville hasn't changed much.
Mike has his finals this week and next, so he will be a happy camper when he is done. He'll get a 4.0, I'm sure of it. He's a good studier!! :)
Harli is still growing like a WEED! She has started to put on the chunk - SO cute! She's also started to coo, which I love.
I'm just hangin' out at home, and I love being a mommy. So awesome! :)
Mike's parents are coming next week to spend some time with us, which will be so nice to have company. We are also going to bless Harli next Sunday while they are here, which I am really looking forward to. My mom just surprised me yesterday and told me that her and my little brother, Michael, are going to come for a day for the blessing too! It will be so wonderful to connect with family, especially so close to the holidays.
It's been very different being here in Mississippi this time of year. It was 60 degrees yesterday. It barely reaches freezing at night. No snow. SO weird.
Hope all is well with everyone. Miss you!

Pictures with Harli

2010-11-18T20:19:00.000-06:00

Mike's friend, Daniel, took some pictures of our Harli for us yesterday... They turned out so nice! Thank you Daniel!!! :)

Daddy's little girl.

Vroom, vroom

2010-10-31T22:00:00.000-05:00

Yes, we're starting her young. :)

Miss Harli

2010-10-20T18:04:00.000-05:00

My little peanut is getting so big. I love it but I hate it at the same time. I just want her to be bite-sized forever!

Harli Ranae Orencole

2010-10-10T20:36:00.000-05:00

So much fun!
Right after her long trip from heaven ;)

One of her favorite spots... right in Daddy's arms.

Three generations :)

It was SO nice to have 'Mimi Schwartz' help the whole week. Baby Harli sure loves her

Our sweet Harli was born

Tuesday, October 5 at 4:37 PM

weighing 6 lbs 10.5 oz

and 19 inches long.

She is a DREAM baby! We're so in love. :)

I hate fire drills.

2010-09-27T19:48:00.000-05:00

After a pretty-darn-good-20-minute contraction and 20 more minutes of shorter ones last night, we decided to head to the hospital. Much to our dismay, it was only a false alarm. DAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGG IT!! I was SO frustrated - not only for having it be a false alarm, but for the fact that I looked like a total rookie (as if I'm not!). Better safe than sorry I guess.
On a happier note...
My mom is coming to see us in less than one week!!!!!! Yessssssssss!!! It's going to be so nice to have her here to help me know what the heck I'm doing [This is a side note/hint for you, little Miss Harli... hurry up in there! We're ready for you! ;)], and to just have some company from home.

My belly.

2010-09-22T18:10:00.000-05:00

Here "it" is... 37 1/2 weeks - 2 1/2 to go!

I went to the doctor yesterday and had an ultrasound and things are looking great! After a big confusion about my actual due date, it has been set to October 11... if I can make it that long. My regular doctor was out yesterday, so I saw one of the others and he doesn't think I'll even last to next week! Ah! Who knew! She has dropped a lot in the last couple of days too, so when they went to do the ultrasound, they couldn't get a picture of her head because it was so far down in my pelvis... They also did a "non-stress" test, and apparently I've been having contractions and I didn't even know it! ...I always thought that they were like cramps, so I hadn't been tracking them.
I guess we'll just see.

Sorry Charlie.

2010-09-12T11:07:00.000-05:00

I've had a lot of people ask to see pictures of my belly.

Well, the truth is, I haven't taken any.

...And then our camera broke. (We know now not to buy Sony or Kodak...just go for the expensive one.) So, in the meantime, we are trying to fix it hopefully before October - seeing as there might be a couple of events we would like to capture.

So just look closely at the 'white out' picture. It's definately there.

Amen sista!

...5 more weeks, 5 more weeks, 5 more weeks...

Mississippi State vs Memphis

2010-09-11T12:39:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday we were introduced to what "real" college football looks like. Wow. For those that have never been to a football game in the South, we'll just say that it is definately not a Utah State or even BYU game. It is CRAZY!! People started tailgating for this game Thursday night... Certainly not lacking in the school spirit department. It was a total blast. We had a great time.

The student section - this is only about 1/3 of the stadium.

Cowbells are also allowed this year, which is what most people in this picture are holding. Oh boy, what fun that is!!! It gets pretty darn loud in there.

Mike's football helmet face paint :)

If you couldn't tell, the game was a 'white out'... Second row baby!!

GO DAWGS!!

Goose (Geese? Gander? Gaggle? ...whatever) Hunting

2010-09-04T09:40:00.000-05:00

Notice I changed the wallpaper to match? ha ha)

Yesterday Mike's good friend, Travis, took him goose (again, the tense throws me off... I'm just calling it goose. :) ) hunting for Mike's first time. They left pretty early, about 4:30 - but not after Mike had his special hunting breakfast of toast and hot chocolate (when he was little, whenever he would go hunting or fishing with Grampa Robb, they'd sit and eat toast and hot chocolate together before they left. I think it's pretty cute he keeps the tradition). Within a couple minutes of them getting there and all set up Travis had his limit and it only took Mike a couple more minutes to get his. NOTE here: He didn't take longer because he's a bad shot - he's actually a pretty darn good shot. He was shaking and fidgety because he was just so excited!! He was like a 5-year-old on Christmas day! He said that it was right up there with one of the best hunts he's ever been on.

Travis took his video camera and got some video of Mike shooting at a flock (which was pretty cool to watch). In the video clip, while Travis and his dog, Dan, went to go get the goose, the camera was still rolling... (Mike forgot about that part) and he was fidgeting with his gun, then the net, then the ground... I could tell he was just excited! :) By the end of the outing, Travis got 5 and Mike got 4. They had such a blast!

...Anybody got any good goose recipies??? Yeah. We've got lot's of meat.

This is Dan and "his" collection... You can see on both sides of him the holes the boys were hiding out in with the sheets over them for camo.

Mike's biggest goose of the day...

Travis and Dan

Mike and Dan (the goose on the left is his big one)

Dan was a really good dog the whole time - probably more even-mannered than Mike! :)

Harli's 'H'

2010-08-09T14:40:00.000-05:00

This is the wall decoration I made for Harli's room a couple of weeks ago. I was super excited to finish it because it took forever to do! I'm pretty happy with it though - it's just happy. :)

I'm thirty weeks along now, and I'm starting to get ANTSY! I just want to meet this little girl... But then I also have to remind myself in the same breath not to get too excited, and just enjoy this "alone time" I have with Mike while I still have it - because Heaven knows, life as the Orencoles know it is about to change big time.

I'm slowly getting used to Starkville/the South. The heat is becoming bareable and the culture is starting to make a little sense... The thing I miss the most about home (besides family and friends) are the mountains (which is funny because I never realized how much I loved them until I didn't have them around anymore.). So enjoy them for me while you're there, would ya?!

Mike is ROCKING school. Seriously. He is doing really well and I'm so so proud. :)

That's about the extent of our excitement for now... Keep in touch 'yall.

Finally! A house tour.

2010-07-27T13:23:00.000-05:00

Hi! Welcome to our home!

Yes, Mike did all of that yard work. He's awesome at man stuff like that. :)

The condensed version of the back yard...

The shed. (It really is manly on the inside, I promise...)

See, I told you!

Inside the shed - (this picture was taken before Mike rewired the whole thing and installed 3 shop lights and a motion sensored light on the outside all by himself. He did a really great job.)

One of my favorite places in the house. I'm surprised that couch doesn't have a little worn out patch where I like to curl up.

Living room

Kitchen

Note here: when we moved in, these cupboards were kind of really ugly. They were the fake brown manufactured stuff. So we decided to jazz them up a bit and paint and antique them... We banged them out in about 2 1/2 days (which was pretty amazing considering when we painted the cupboards in our old house it took almost a week). We still have a bit we'd like to do, like a backsplash, but that's on the back burner for now.

Dining room

I love this little corner or the dining room - a table full of family. :)

Side A of the office

Side B of the office

My little desk area of the office. :)

Guest bathroom

This is where our spoiled dogs spend 90% of their day, asleep.

Our (mis-matched, hodge-podge) bedroom

Harli's room

These organizer bins are SO SO cute. Loooove Target! :)

The master bath - it has two kind of rooms to it. This half...

And that half...

...And that's our house! Feel free to visit any time... :)

Coating Ceremony

2010-07-09T23:43:00.001-05:00

Getting a little blog-happy here.... ha ha

Here at Mississippi State Vet School, they do a little ceremony the first day of classes called the Coating Ceremony. During the ceremony they have each member of the class go on stage and a vet places a lab coat on them, welcoming them into the field of veterinary medicine. It was really neat. This sounds like a little love-fest for my husband, but it makes me so proud! They all looked so official. It's weird to think in four years he'll be a "real" DOCTOR! (Yay for that!) ("real:" kind of an inside joke. MSU CVMs have this joke that "real" doctors treat more than one species. ha ha)

MSU CVM Class of 2014

This picture is kind of nerdy, but I had to post it... It reminds me of all those pictures my mom has of me when I was young, starting my new schools, with my little backpack, holding my lunch box. :)

Macho, macho, macho maaan

2010-07-09T23:22:00.000-05:00

Mike has a good friend, Kaleb. (I really do believe they were separated at birth. They're like twins. Talk the same, react the same, think the same... crazy.) And as we all know, Mike has two homes - one of them being the gym (also Kaleb's other home). For a while, Kaleb and Mike lifted together, and right before we left, Kaleb's sister, Randi, who is really into photography came and did a mini photo shoot with the twins while they lifted. So we just got the pictures back. They are so cool - they totally show off the boys' personalities and their true intensity when they hit the gym. I'm proud to call him mine. :)

"The twins"

Another little update.

2010-07-06T19:19:00.000-05:00

So... Mike has started school finally. They're really still just in the orientation stages, but it's school nonetheless. He is so excited! I'm not sure which he's more excited for - to learn the stuff or to get the books! :) ...which are RIDICULOUSLY expensive by the way.
Mississippi is still great.
Other than the "Fourth-of-July-a-mony" last Sunday, the ward is awesome too. We've already made some great friends. I'm so glad to have that base. I'd be SO bored and even more homesick without it.
...Speaking of which... The closest temple to us is 3 hours away in Memphis. So we decided to make a day out of it last Saturday and get a session in before things got too hecktic around here. So we head to Memphis... Three hours later we arrive in Memphis... Drive up to the front gates... "Hmmm.... Sure looks dead around here...." "Well, let's call their number." "Hello, you have reached the Memphis temple. Just a reminder, we will be closed Saturday, July 3 for the holiday." UUUGGHH!!!!! That sucked. Call us true Utahans, but don't they get Monday off?? Needless to say, it kind of truned out to be a crummy day, having to drive for 6 hours to do nothing. (Not much to see in Memphis. It's actually kind of a hole to be honest.) Guess we learned our lesson, huh.
We've finally finished unpacking though (well, except for Harli's room) and painting Harli's room and the kitchen cabinets, which feels really nice. I love our house! It's just perfect for us. (I'll post some pictures soon.)
In the mean time, I'm just hanging out at home while Mike is at school. I actually really like it. It's a nice change. My nesting instinct has kicked in, and when I'm done, Harli's room is going to rock! ;)
Pictures coming soon!
Miss y'all.

We ARE alive.

2010-06-25T13:44:00.000-05:00

...Even though I don't really feel like it, not having the internet or TV at the moment. (Thank goodness for cell phones, right!?)

Anyway, we made it, and we love it! :) It's pretty darn hot and humid, but it's a nice change from the rain we'd been having everyday before we left. The people here are so great! They are the nicest I've ever met. ...And our house is so so cute! We FINALLY closed yesterday, so it's officailly ours. Can't wait to finish decorating and getting settled.

...More to come as soon as we get re-connected to the outside world. ha ha Miss ya'll!

The results are in....

2010-05-27T17:16:00.000-05:00

...And...

IT'S A GIRL!!

Yessssss! I'm so SO excited! ...Mostly to play dress up, but the Mommy part won't be too bad either. ha ha

Also...

2010-05-19T22:52:00.000-05:00

So I'm a little late in posting this, but...
Mike graduated from USU! Yay! It's been really nice for him to just come home from work and not have to worry about homework and what else is going to be due and how he's going to do on this or that test... It's almost been a relief for me too!
Congrats, sweetie! 4 down, (at least) 4 more to go!

Dr. Lyle McNeal - very very smart man. He has been a major influence and great resource for Mike during his time here at USU.

Gotta love Grama Robb. :) Mike has a picture of him on his high school graduation day with Grama in his arms, so it was only fitting we'd get take two!

I felt the baby kick today!

2010-05-19T22:32:00.000-05:00

It really is in there! ha ha
We get to find out the gender next Thursday... My vote is a boy. Mike concurs (and insists).

Cute or what?

2010-04-30T17:54:00.000-05:00

My mom sent me some family photos a while ago and I ran across them again today... They were fun to look at, so I'll share. ;)

This is my dad one day after church. Probably my favorite picture of him ever. Still has that little smile too. :)

This is my Grama Schwartz. I kind of looked like her at that age.

This is who I would love to name one of our boys after. His name is Frank, and I've kind of fallen in love with the name Franklin lately.

This is my mom and grampa on their horse Old Blue. :)

I love old photos.

More to come....

2010-04-21T19:05:00.000-05:00

I.
Heart.
Mississippi.

Nothing but good came from our trip there. I can't wait to tell you more.

A little (Ok, not so little) update...

2010-04-08T21:55:00.000-05:00

Well, where do I start!?
First and foremost...
Mike got accepted to Mississippi State University Veterinary School! Wow. What an accomplishment for him. I'm so so proud! School starts July 1, and we finally got our house sold so we'll be out of here by the last week of May. (Eek! So soon!) This will definitely be a new experience for the both of us, so we're excited.

To tell me that he had gotten accepted, he came to me while I was making dinner and told me that he had an assignment that he had to do for class, but I had to do it and it had to be when I was distracted. He sat me on the couch and brought out a white board with hangman on it. I was kind of confused for a minute, but I started to play. Long story short, this is what it said...[Mississippi accepted me to vet school.]
I thought that was so clever!

Next, Easter/Conference weekend...
For the weekend, we went up to both of my grandparents houses in Idaho. I love spending time with them. :) When my mom was a kid, she used to make sugar Easter eggs with her grama. Every Easter, my Granny would make a couple with the grandkids and great-grandkids. They have been this cool memory in our family for a long long time, but because I was too young, I never got the chance to make them with my Granny, but I wanted to try. My mom, my sister, Zoe, and I had a blast! It was a ton of work and they broke a couple of times, but I think the memories and a proud Granny looking down on us was worth it! :) [She was the inspiration of my choice of wallpaper too... Don't you love it?]

This mixture is sugar and egg whites with food coloring. You bake it, and that is what makes the hard egg shell.

Always double check the recipe. Always. I've learned my lesson on that one!
Finished product! (Zoe's is the yellow and mine is the pink)
Now we have a fun decoration we can keep for years to come and remember the fun we had making them. :)

In other news,

We are going to have a baby!! I'm about 13 weeks now, and my due date is October 17th. I really want a girl, but Mike is set on having a boy. We'll find out right before we leave what we're going to have. Either way we're totally excited!This is a picture from my 12 week ultrasound (that was surreal). It's not super clear, but you can tell it's in there! ha ha

Other than lots of new changes, we couldn't be happier! :)

[Oh yeah, It's Mike's birthday today... Happy Birthday sweetie!!]

Kick me.

2010-02-09T22:31:00.000-06:00

This morning I was running late (as usual), and didn't have the time I would have liked to get ready, so my hair ended up really flat and yucky. I was subconciously whining to myself about it all day. Made it through work and I came to the Sports Academy to work out. I go to put my hair up, and this lady with a shaved head looks into the mirror next to mine and rubs her stubble and says, "Well, at least it's growing back!" with a smile on her face.

It was one of those moments that just makes you stop and think and kind of kick yourself for being so selfish and worring about such small and simple things. Now, I don't know her personal story. I don't know if she actually had cancer or some other type of illness that made her loose her hair or if it were even her choice. I just made me grateful that I have hair. That I have two legs to get me through my de-stressing runs. That I am healthy and happy and can get through life with considerable ease.

Thank you, God.

Yay for Vet school interviews!

2010-01-31T21:16:00.000-06:00

So this week Mike is headed to Vet school interviews...
Thursday to Mississippi State, Saturday to Iowa State, and then next Friday to Washington State. I am so super proud of him. He has accomplished so much and this is so important to him. I know that he will just do awesome.

His preference would be to go to Washington (where he interviewed last year), which is also where I would like to end up too. It would be closer to family, the climate would be similar, it's a really good school, and Washington is just a great place overall. I'm really rooting to end up there. Really rooting.
Wish him luck!!

Merry Christmas to you and yours, from me and mine.

2009-12-21T23:15:00.000-06:00

Christmas is here! I'm so happy. I love Christmas and all the festivities that it brings.

Good food, good friends, and holiday cheer. Love it.

While deciding what to get people for Christmas this year, I had an idea to visit the local antique shop. Holy moly. I am so in love!! I have found so many down right COOL things there. So much history and so many stories. Thus, my new found love of all things vintage/old/antique. (That includes old people too, ya know! ;)

After the gifts have been given, I'll post pictures of them. They are fabulous!

I think I might have a stye. Yuck.

2009-12-07T23:29:00.000-06:00

How do I get rid of it?!

(PS- Mine is not that bad yet... It just hurts!)

This one is for you, Sam. :)

2009-12-02T22:36:00.000-06:00

It was brought to my attention I do not have sufficient pictures of my wedding on my blog - So here are just a few.... :)

Let there be lights!

2009-11-29T18:54:00.000-06:00

So, if you're in the neighborhood, stop by and take a look at my house. Wow.
Clark Grizwald aint got nothin' on Mike.

Update

2009-11-29T18:09:00.000-06:00

Our Thanksgiving was wonderful! It was really nice to be able to get together with the whole family and not worry about much.
...except for pie fillings.

Oh boy. Let me tell ya this story!

This year, my mom put me in charge of some of the pie fillings for Thanksgiving. No problem, right? Uh, not so much (for me, anyway). My cousin (who is a culinary genius) that was in charge of some of the other pie fillings and crusts, emailed me a recipe of hers and told me it was super easy... I was confident that I could do it... even though it had some ingredients I wasn't super acquainted with. Long story short - I ended up adding CUPS of flour instead of TEASPOONS of flour. Can you say DUH, BETH!!? I felt like an idiot when I realized what I did. (Now with help from Grama and Ma) We scrapped the whole batch (which I had already tripled) and started all over with a new recipe. Oy. What a learning experience.Patient little Grama helping with the re-mix of the fillings. (Which finally turned out, thank goodness!)

Grampa Schwartz - Bless his heart. We love him. :) (And Tucker-my brother's dog)

In other news - Mike and I had our second anniversary last week. ;) He sent me a dozed roses at work. I love it when he does that! It has been a wonderful two years. I love you, Mike! We had agreed that re-doing our kitchen would be our present to each other.... Which brings me to the next point.

Our kitchen! It's finally finished! I think it looks great. I'm so happy with it. (Thank you, dear!)Before...

After!

P.S.

2009-11-23T00:35:00.001-06:00

Can I just tell you how excited I am for Thanksgiving!? Good food and family - what more do you need?

Family Pictures!

2009-11-23T00:10:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, my side of the family had family pictures taken... We had then taken in Salt Lake at Wheeler Farms. This was Mike's first time ever doing family pictures, so it was quite an experience for him, I'm sure! ha ha We had a good time though. We even got to have the dogs in a couple of shots. I was so proud of our little ones - they were so well behaved and photogenic! :)

This on is my very favorite! ;)

THAT is trouble! ...Cute trouble, nonetheless.

Well, you missed it.

2009-11-01T21:08:00.000-06:00

Our Halloween party was ROCKIN'! We all had so much fun. Thanks to everyone that came.

We kinda forgot to get a picture while every one was there, so this is most everyone... Frandsens - "School of Rock-ers"; Browns - Cool dude, and cute witch; Livingstons - Curt Cobaine and Courtney Love (my favorite!); Us - Popeye and Olive Oyl; Binghams - Treasure Troll and Army Guy

Ladies of the night -
Who picked that pose of mine? Geez. And I did it all night in every picture too. What a dork.

We swear they are fake, bishop! ha ha

Funny story about this can... We were all dressed up, ready to go, the party was started, and Jana said to Mike that he should have a can of spinach to complete his costume (I forgot to get that part...). So Mike looked in the pantry to grab a can of green beans and just write 'spinach' on the label, and lo and behold, we had a can of POPEYE's spinach! I never buy canned spinach! What a coincidence.

This is Mike's pumpkin. This was ALL FREEHAND. Seriously. He had fun carving it and making a mess of my house. :)

Halloween Party Invite

2009-10-25T21:13:00.001-05:00

We are having a Halloween party... and this is an open invite to all those who read my blog! Call me or leave a comment (I'll try to check often) if you would like to come and I'll send ya all the details! Hope to see you there!

This is why I don't post offen.

2009-09-11T00:51:00.000-05:00

Uh! I am so frustrated! I just spent probably about a half an hour composing a post, and when I went to post it, I got a message that said that there were errors with it. I am NOT technically inclined, and I have no flippin' idea what that error was, so I deleted the whole. dang. thing. Oy! I'm fuming mad right now. Stupid technology!

Kerry for Council

2009-08-13T23:44:00.000-05:00

So my Dad (Kerry Schwartz) has decided to run for city council. I think he would be such a great councilmember! He has had a lot of experience and knows just what Lehi needs. ...So if you are a Lehi citizen, check his website out, and don't forget to vote (for him of course)! :)
Go Dad!!

www.schwartzforlehicitycouncil.com

...And one more thing (or two)

2009-08-09T21:51:00.001-05:00

This is Fergie, our new puppy. She's a weener dog. SUPER cute and cuddley. We got her about three weeks ago - she is 11 weeks old now. I named her Ferige in honor of Ferd, a dog we (or Mike, I guess) had for years, but had put him down in December.
We love her. :) Welcome home, Fergie!

Alaska

2009-08-09T19:37:00.000-05:00

So it only took a couple of weeks, but here are a couple of pictures from our cruise to Alaska! We (Mike and I, and his parents) had so much fun. Alaska is SO pretty - it has so much to offer (honestly, more than I thought). I had a hard time deciding which picutes to post because we took so many!

We left from Seattle, Washington and stopped in Juneau and Skagway, cruised through the Tracy Arm Fjord, stopped in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada (My favorite) and ended up in Seattle again. I really hope we get another chance to visit all of those places again - they were worth it.

Ranae and Mike

Over-looking Seattle

We went whale watching in Juneau. This was our guide/captain. I would have posted a picture of the whales, but you would need either a magnifying glass or really good eyesight. ha ha

Our ship -Rhapsody of the Seas - when we were docked in Skagway. So beautiful.

Here are the boys before they take their fishing trip in Skagway. Unfortunately, they didn't catch much to brag about. Mike did get to hook up with Dolly Parton on this little excursion, though! ha ha (*side note - Dolly Parton is a type of fish. ...One of the not-so-brag-worthy fish he caught.)

We rode the Yukon Rail and White Pass train up to the Canadian border while we were in Skagway. It was a very pretty ride. A lot of very dangerous, hard work went into building this railroad.

Tracy Arm Fjord Glacier. The ice was so cold it was litterally blue. Who knew old, dirty ice could be so pretty. ha ha
This is a piece of the glacier... This is the blue that I was talking about. So amazing.

There was a rock wall on the ship - and Mike just so happened to be walking by as they were starting a timed competition. He decided to sign up - spur of the moment- and he WON! Good job, Mike!

At Butchart Gardens. There were so many different kinds of flowers - but this was my very favorite. Mike said it looks like someone took an ice cream scoop and scooped the middle right out. :)

Mike and Bear (my father-in-law) just LOVED the gardens!

Yes, he's a high roller.

This is Luis. He was our assistant waiter for our formal dinners. It was really hard to say goodbye. He called us "his family."

-HI LUIS!! ;)-

Here we are - Bastu (our head waiter), Bear, Me, Mike, Luis and Ranae - on the last night. It was hard to say goodbye to everyone. We had all become such good friends by the end of the week.

Utah State HOG Rally

2009-07-12T23:32:00.001-05:00

HOG RALLY!! This weekend was the State HOG Rally. We had a lot of fun - parties, poker, games, tours, friends, family... What a trip.
Here are just a few pictures of the highlights of the trip - I couldn't possibly put them all on, there were so many good ones.

This is just a couple of the bikes when we were stopped at Promintory Point.

For the second year in a row, Mike took first place with his bike. :) Proud Daddy right here!

My FAVORITE picture of the whole weekend. :)

Portland, Oregon!

2009-06-16T23:33:00.000-05:00

So I know that it was like 2 whole months ago, but I never posted about Oregon. I LOOOOOOOVVVVEEED IT!!!!! We had a blast!! It was quite a quick trip, but I fell in LOVE. Oregon is so amazing. I want to live there someday.

How can this not make you smile? Such a goof.

The twins adore Mike. :)

The kids at the Portland temple.

On our way home, we stopped by Multnomah Falls. These pictures don't even do this waterfall justice. It was breathtaking! None of us wanted to leave, we were having so much fun.

I know that I have bragged a lot about my adorable siblings, but I love Michael in this picture. So cute. Like a little tourist. :)

I'm so glad we got the chance to see Oregon. It was an awesome vacation. (Thanks for getting married, Cassie! ha ha)

(Yay new post!) St. George weekend

2009-06-16T22:28:00.000-05:00

So last weekend we were supposed to head to Yellowstone on the bikes with Mike's Mom and Dad. Yeah. Didn't happen. It snowed all that weekend up there. So we spur of the moment headed to southern Utah. The boys had a lot of fun riding while Ranae and I BS-ed in the car. ha ha

Zion National Park. Gorgeous!

This was while we were riding... I was pretty impressed this picture even turned out.

Bear and his bike. Yes, this one is also while we were riding.

Long time no post...

2009-05-28T23:31:00.000-05:00

Wow. It's been a LOOONG time since I posted...
Just in case everyone was wondering -- We are good. :)
Mike is a work-a-holic. He is working two jobs (full time at North Cache Vet Clinic where he is a Vet-tech, and then part time at our new Wal-Mart --mostly to keep him occupied. ha ha) He is like the energizer bunny, really. He has been working on his bike lately too... (I guess I shoudn't say "lately," because that is an ongoing thing. :) )
I am still working at Zions Bank and at the Sports Academy.... Not quite as many hours as Mike, but it keeps me busy. I planted my garden a couple of weeks ago in the cute planter Mike made for me, so that has been fun for me to watch. I'm so proud of it. :) I'm not doing much other than that right now. Just hangin' out at home with Ginger. (She is doing well too, by the way.)
Needless to say, we are happy, healthy, and just plain grateful to even be employed. I can't wait for summer the rest of summer. I love the sunshine!

PS- Just a random question-- It seems like everyone is "Twitter-ing" lately. What the heck is it?? I just don't get it. Please enlighten me if you do know.

Mike's Birthday

2009-04-15T16:18:00.000-05:00

Last Wednesday was Mike's brithday. He had no idea, but I planned a surprise birthday party. :) I was pretty proud of myself for keeping it a secret for that long. ha ha Without knowing it though, it turned into a Harley themed party. I think my favorite was the cake though...

His balloons were pretty cute too. ....I mean, uh... "bad!"

I think he had a good time. I know I did! Thanks to everyone that showed up too. :)

I love my husband.

2009-03-19T23:52:00.000-05:00

During Mike's spring break, he made me a flower box, so that I can have a little garden this summer. I am so excited and he did such a good job. Mike spent a lot of time on it to make sure that it was PERFECT to the 'T.' He is like that in everything.

We bought peas, tomatoes, basil, bell peppers, jalapenos, cilantro, and some daisy seeds tonight. ...Too freaking bad I can't plant until MAY because it is so cold in Logan!!

I can't wait to plant though. Come check it out when you're in our neck of the woods... it's adorable.

This is the half-way stage box....

Half-way stage again... I love Mike's hands - and these are them at work. That was really the purpose of this picture, I swear. Not the fact that it's almost a crotch shot. ha ha I just realized. Oops. :/

Ta da!! There she is. Finished product.

Ginger & Ferd

2009-02-24T19:14:00.000-06:00

This is Ginger, our seven year-old pitbull. No - she is NOT mean or vicious, like everyone says pitbulls are (that's a whole other story....). She is the love of our lives! She is the most loving, loyal, smart dog. She LOVES to cuddle and be right in the middle of everything - just like her dad, Ferd.

This is Ferd - Ginger's dad. What a dog he was. Ferd has one amazing story of survival and determination. Mike's family found Ferd abandoned, bloody and freezing in a garage. To make a long story short, Mike was able to keep Ferd. They became unseperable best friends... Ferd saving Mike's life several times. About a year ago, we found out that Ferd had cancer. After watching his condition slowly get worse -but never giving up - we decided that it was time to put Ferd down. It was one of the hardest decisions we've ever had to make. ...Like putting one of your own children down. :( We sure loved Ferd. He always fought to the end - no matter the circumstance. We sure miss him, but are so glad that we have a little piece of him, named Ginger, in our home. ;)

Snowmobiling!

2009-02-23T19:29:00.000-06:00

This last weekend was a blast! Mike and I and his friend from high school, Shelton, and his fiance, Erin all went snowmobiling. We went to a place called Monte Cristo, which is by Ogden. It was GORGEOUS!!

Mike and I laying in the snow

Shelton and Erin

Yeah. You see that nice little ridge? Mike almost took us right over it. ha ha ha Oh boy that was fun. Scary, but fun.

Shelton (the "expert"/GENIUS of the group) got himself and his sled stuck. He dug himself a nice little (3 foot) hole trying to get out. We had to flag some other snowmobilers down to help lift the sled out. So this is him sitting in it.. It was pretty comical, actually.

Live to Ride - Ride to Live

2009-02-20T21:01:00.000-06:00

Mike's dad bought himself a bike earlier this year.... He was SO excited when the roads were finally clear enough to come get it. It was like watching a kid in a free all-you-can-eat candy store. The boys were extatic to be able to ride together - they rode all the way to the other end of town in 28 degree weather. "We ain't no fair weather riders, babe." Mike tells me. ;)

Washington

2009-02-01T12:19:00.000-06:00

Mike has an interview with Washington State University on the 13th of February to get into vet-school. I am so proud of him! I know he will do well. Wish him luck!

Life is SO good, and we are so grateful.

2009-01-25T19:15:00.000-06:00

Life seems to come at you fast. Just when you start to feel that you couldn't get any worse, and that you just have bad luck, something happens, and you realize how good you have it.
Just last Friday Mike and I learned that one of our friends and riding buddies, Kelly, is battling cancer again for the second time. Over New Years she realized it was becoming harder and harder for her to move her left side. She went to the hospital and they told her that the cancer had come back. Long story short, they didn't give her very long to live.... Now, I've had friends and aquaintences who were diagnosed with cancer before and it's been hard. But there was something that really hit me when Mike called me to tell me the news. I started sobbing. I came home and sat on the couch and just thought about the wonderful blessings God has given me. I AM SO FORTUNATE! I have my health, my family's health, my husband is amazing, and so on... All I could think to do was tell everyone I love, that I love them. I love you all!

Apparently, we're a little behind.

2009-01-15T23:41:00.000-06:00

So, I was just looking through old friends' blogs tonight... Wow. It looks like everyone has grown up a lot since I've last seen or heard from them! ...As in, having babies! I guess we're just a little slow. ha ha

Yeah, we're kind of obsessed.

2009-01-14T21:51:00.000-06:00

Mike and I love the Harley. To be honest, we plan to name our first daughter Harley. Kinda cute, huh. :)
I am so excited for this summer! We've already planned two rides... The state HOG rally, and one to Yellowstone. I can't wait!!

This is Mike and I on a summer ride around town.

These are from Halloween. Our pumpkin was a the Harley logo. It was awesome. And this was Mike in his costume. He looked like a creeper!