Cards!

Please check out my scrapbooking blog here to see my Christmas cards prototypes and learn more about my plans.  If you are interested, let me know!  Thanks!

A Day at the Zoo

So, I have to admit...I am really liking this stay at home mom thing!  It is so much fun to be able to stay home with CJ and do fun things together.  Today we went to the zoo with a friend and her little girl.  We were there right when it opened and the weather was pretty cool for Tucson in September.  Here are some pictures:

The giraffes were right up close and the polar bear was jumping in the water and playing...it was alot of fun.  Connor was pointing at the animals and loved the fishes.  He also had fun eating his treats and running around!

Check This Out

Since my last post was long and I was rambling....sorry for that....Check this out:

http://www.heatherbaileystore.com/

I love this site.  It is just so happy and bright.  I also like her patterns and fabric.  It's also her grand opening and there is a discount and you get a free pattern!  I want to make that ring stacker for babies...if only I was good at sewing!

A Crazy Week

This last week has been VERY stressful and pretty much life changing....for us at least!  

I'll start with last Saturday night...(Aug 2nd, to be exact)...we went to dinner at On the Border and then went to Big 5 and were going to the mall, which was right around the corner, and for some reason we noticed our air conditioning wasn't working.  Then, our car started smoking and smelling bad....yep, our AC went out in the middle of the hot  AZ summer...great, huh?!  We drove home at about 9:00pm and we were dying...it was about 100 degrees in the car.  YUCK!

Come Monday morning, we dropped the car off at the shop and we both went to work, our typical Monday routine.  Scott calls me and tells me that the car is going to cost about $2300 to get fixed!  Yep, that's right, 2300 bucks!  I was upset about that, alittle.  Then, my project manager calls me and wants to see me in the conference room.  I get laid off!  What a great day!  I knew I could, but I didn't really think I would.  I was a little annoyed that I worked 1/2 of the day and then they did it....why couldn't they do it Friday?  I got some severence pay and I was upset and crying a little because I was surprised and a little scared about what we were going to do about everything, but I was also a little relieved.  I think the worst part was calling Scott and telling him and he had to come and get me because I didn't have a car.  His boss let him take the rest of the day off and he came and helped me pack up my stuff and we went to get Connor and went home.  IT was a hard day, but that is the way it goes.

The next day we left our escort and the shop so they could fix an oil leak that happened after they fixed it a few months before.  It was supposed to be for free.  Then, about 600 dollars later...that car was fixed and I was pretty stressed out about our money situation.  That day Scott got a bonus at work, which helped pay for the car and we had some left over.  We still haven't figured out what to do about the Explorer, but it looks like we are going to trade it in even though it has lost value and has problems.  It seems like it is the best deal.

We have learned a lot this week and realized that we need to be on a budget and rely on the Lord alot more.  I think this was a wake up call of sorts.  We weren't doing everything we were supposed to be doing and we needed to put our priorities in line.  I was thinking about going to school again, but just didn't feel great about that.  We finally decided that that wasn't the best thing since we do want our family to be the main priority.  So, for now I am looking for something that will work with our family and make everyone happy and not have to be away from Connor too much.  IF I can't find that, we will be fine living off of what Scott makes and my unemployment.  It is nice to get to stay home with Connor....I am loving it and am happier and not stressed about work.  I am stressed about the car and our benefits problem....they are so expensive, but that is another story.  I did lose like 5 pounds this week from being so stressed.

The moral of this is to rely on the Lord and pray and things will work out....they are and we are all happier because of this....the Lord really does know what he is doing!

Stuff

I've just been thinking alot this week about choices and some of the ones I have made in my life.At first I was second guessing my choices and thinking that if I had only known...., but I don't have a time machine, so I can't fix it, even though it might be nice to have one!  At the time that I made my choices, it felt right.  Looking back and seeing how everything turned out, I might wished I would have chosen differently, but I didn't know and could have never known at the time what the outcome would have been.  I can't say that I totally regret anything I did, but I have realized that by making different choices, my life could be alot different than it is right now.  I might not like some of the things in my life, but I guess everything isn't perfect.  I do know that I am so glad to have my family and am glad that my choices have brought me here.  I am not in a bad place....I might be living in Tucson, which I don't like and I might have a job I don't like....but I do know it could be worse.  I am beginning to see how I can learn from my choices though, which is good.  My mind has just been going non stop lately thinking about all of this stuff and I can't seem to get it to stop!  I am also missing my family in Washington and wish I could be there, which always makes me feel sad!  Anyways....here are some more random pictures to show that were taken lately.  Connor is getting so big and is learning and becoming his own little person, which I think he has quite the personality.  (The pictues go oldest to newest...the first few were taken just before our trip and the last few were from this week.)

Playing with HIS, yes, his, ZIP ZAP.

Look at that look!

Helping dad put together his toybox.

Talking on my touch....he likes to act like he is talking on the phone.

Another look.
Playing with his piggy bank, that is actually a froggy.  He has been liking to put money in it...he just gets mad that he can't take it out.  (Can you guess who gave us the frog?)

Thanks for looking and sorry that I do like a million posts in 1 day....I just fall behind!  We hope you have a great weekend.  It is so hot here.

Pudding+Chocolate=YUMMY!!!!

Lastnight we had chocolate and Connor got to feed himself.  I think these pictures tell the story pretty well!

Doesn't this look like fun?!! I think he just looks so happy...he really had a ton of fun playing in it, I think he even ate some of it too.  He also managed to splatter some on the walls. 

Next came the bath...it ended up being a chocolate bath...who doesn't love chocolate baths?!  

A Crazy Night

This last Saturday (July 26th) Scott and I were both up before Connor was.  It was 7:30 and he hadn't even made any noise yet, so I went in to check on him.  This is what I found.

He had pulled back the fitted sheet and mattress cover from his mattress, moved his stuffed animals, turned sideways and had his feet up on the side of the crib.  Now, that's a pretty crazy night!

Washington...Home, Sweet Home!

Last Wednesday, we went home to Washington because my baby brother was coming home from his mission in Cordoba Argentina.  We flew in to Seattle at about 10:30 and he was going to come at about 1:30.  So, we went to lunch at McDonald's and then hung out waiting for him at the airport.

Here is Scott and Connor walking around waiting....

We didn't know where he would be coming down to baggage claim so we split up...my mom got to see him first.  Here is Elder Walters and my mom.
Connor gets to meet his Uncle Conrad for the first time.  Aren't they cute?!  Conrad looks so handsome and grown up in his suit.  It was so exciting a great to get to be there and see him.  My mom, dad, sister, Nana and Popou and us were all at the airport waiting for him.  My parents rented a big 15 passenger van so that we could all drive back to Wenatchee together..it was pretty fun, a little bouncy, but fun to all be together.
THat night Conrad had to go meet with the High Council and Stake President and get released.  We got back a little early, so he couldn't wait to see the Bronco that my dad redid for him.  It was kind of his welcome home present.  I think he was about to cry when he saw it.  He just put his head down on the steering wheel and was pretty happy to see his truck.  I think it looks really nice.  My dad did alot to it and the color was just perfect.  Here is Connor and his Uncle in the big truck.

Connor chillin with his Uncle Conrad eating popcorn (Connor's favorite!).  They were so cute together.

Saturday we went boating and jet skiing.  Connor went on the boat at least 3 times and loved it.  He would close his eyes and make noises when we went over bumps.  It was pretty cute.

Of course, playing in the sand on the beach was pretty fun too!

This is home!

I think this picture is just beautiful...at least it feels like home to us!  We miss Washington and our family and didn't like having to come back to Tucson.  At least this time, I didn't cry though, which I usually do.  It was wonderful to see my parents new house and see our family and Popou's new puppy (she is so cute and Connor loved her because she was tiny and he could actually hold her!).  It can be stressful going back to see family though.  We never get to go everything and people always end up getting upset with us, which makes things not as fun!  It was nice to come home and get to sleep in our own beds and be at our house too.  Vacation is great and we want to go on another now.   I just have to get some vacation time back now that I used it all up!  :)

Connor's cool new toy

So, I've been wanting to get this toy for Connor and not this weekend, but the one before, we finally got it for him. He got a little spoiled that day and got a bunch of new things, but oh well, everyone needs spoiled sometimes....although with him, he is pretty much just always spoiled!

Anyways, here are some pictures of Connor and daddy putting together the toy....Connor liked to steal daddy's screwdriver and try to do it himself! Then we got out HIS tools and showed him that he could help with them, but he didn't really dig it because he knew that his were fake! He is so silly like that....he totally knows what is real and what is for play and of course, he wants the real ones! I just thought they were so cute....NOtice the grouchy face on dad in the one picture.....he was getting a little annoyed, but he has a helper who just loves to "help" his daddy, so he'll just have to get used to it! he he he!!!!

Nothing exciting has really been going on here, but I wanted to post a few pictures that I took this last weekend. We have been working in our yard....it now has grass! Maybe I should take some pictures of that too. It looks really nice. I am growing some plants in my pots outside and only 2 have died so far. Connor has been having a hard time sleeping at night lately. I think he has had some dreams or something because he wakes up really scared and is just screaming. He doesn't want to go back in his crib and only wants to be held and lay on us. He also gets his leg stuck in between the slats of his crib so we can't just leave him in his room when he starts crying because he might be stuck! Poor baby. So, we have been up a lot lately. Monday night we got about 4 hours of sleep. Connor is gaining weight finally....he was so skinny after he was sick for so long. We weighted him on Sunday and he weighs 26.4 pounds. That is almost 6 more pounds then he weighed at 12 months! Thats our big boy....who, still isn't walking yet though! :) So I hope you enjoy some of these pictures of him!

He loves Mac and Cheese....as you can see! Maybe this is why he is getting chubby! :)







That was his first time of having graham crackers and frosting and as you can see, he enjoyed it!

Maybe I Should Get Serious Now....

So, since it has been almost a year exactly since I started this blog, maybe I should use it. I have about a million excuses why I haven't....like I didn't like the layout and other stupid things, but really, I keep thinking about it and just never get around to using blogger. . So, to say the least, alot has happened around here lately. Connor is almost 15 months old! Yikes! So much has happened, I just can't even begin to know where to start. But, I will post some pictures to show some of the highlights!

















And some more....




And then a few more... (see, it has been really busy around here!) :)