The Voorhees Family

Life...

2011-06-15T23:52:00.001-06:00

Warning: Picture Overload!!

Also, Ryan's newborn pics are in the post below.

Ryan's Baby Blessing - Sadly not one picture I have was of Ryan alone in his outfit. Oops! Pretty sure he is 8 weeks here.

Hunter's first time dying Easter eggs

The Easter Bunny gave him paint supplies! Hunter loves it!

Ryan ready for church

Reading "The Potty Book"- trying to promote positive potty vibes

This is how Hunter felt about the potty most of the time. This is the first day of potty training. He was so mad at me for making him sit on it!

Success! He was so proud of himself and was hooked from then on. He rarely had any accidents and if he did it was because I was feeding Ryan and could not get to him fast enough. It took 3 days to potty train this boy. I am one lucky mom! Now he loves to "stand and squirt," but I will refrain from posting pics. (Probably too much info. sorry.)

Reading his Book of Mormon Scripture Reader

He loves his big boy underwear! This is what he looks like most mornings.

1st time in the Bumbo

Gettin' chubby!

Playing in Grandma's Backyard - How did Hunter get soooooo big?!

Ryan @ 4 months old. Stats: 27.5 inches (99%) and 18.8 lbs (96%). He is the HAPPIEST baby. He smiles and laughs all day long and is in love with Hunter. We call him "Mister Smiles." He goes to bed between 8 and 9 and sleeps until 6:30 or 7:00am without waking up in between. He takes a 2-3 hour nap in the morning and about 3 small afternoon/evening naps that are about 45 min. each. I am excited for the day that we can transition to one good morning nap and one good afternoon nap.

In other news we are finally finishing our yard! Cement added, fence is in, sprinklers are almost done, and soon to come are the grass and plants! We are so excited!! This project has taken most of our time and resources. Hopefully pics will come soon.

Ryan's Newborn Pics

2011-06-15T23:13:00.000-06:00

I am in love with these. I love all the pictures that Stephanie Tueller takes for our family.

Check out her website: www.stephanietueller.blogspot.com.

Ryan - 6 Weeks

2011-03-24T16:03:00.001-06:00

Ryan will be six weeks old tomorrow. I can't believe how fast time as flown by! Ryan is a gigantic boy. He is already in size 3-6 months clothes. I am excited for his 2 month check up to get some new stats on this boy. Here is some info about Ryan:

He is such a content baby! I was nervous to have a 2nd child because Hunter was such a good baby, but Ryan has proven to be a happy boy content to be in our family.
He sleeps sooooo good! He takes great naps during the day and sleeps so well at night. Normally he will eat around 7:30 or 8:30pm and sleep until 5 in the morning. I love it!
He is big and (getting) chunky! More baby to love!
He tolerates Hunter playing with him, touching him, hugging him, kissing him, screaming by him, poking him, etc.
He makes the cutest sounds and I love listening to them!
He loves taking his bath in the sink, but hates being dressed.
The only time you hear him cry is if you take too long getting ready to feed him.
He does not like to be rocked. You must cuddle him tight and walk around the house.

We are so happy to have Ryan in our family. It feels natural to have 2 children in our home. Now Hunter asks, "Where is my baby sister?".

My 2 Boys

2011-03-20T22:32:00.000-06:00

I wish these handsome boys would just STOP GROWING!

Introducing: Ryan McGuire Voorhees

2011-02-18T12:45:00.002-07:00

     I know that it has been forever since I have posted and a lot has gone on since November. I may do a catch up post of Christmas and other events, but right now I want to get Ryan's story recorded while it is still pretty fresh.
      Chuck's company was going to switch our medical insurance to a new policy on January 1, 2011. This made us happy as it was a better policy than the one we had. January 1st came and his company said they were going to be switching insurance on February 1st instead. This made me nervous because our baby was due February 17th and I did not want to go into labor early and have insurance problems.
     At 35 weeks, I went in for my appointment and had to do the test for Strep B. My doctor decided to go ahead and check me since I had been having contractions that week. I was already 3 centimeters dilated. I told my Dr. that my insurance was going to change in 18 days and I really needed to wait until then to have this baby so we didn't have to pay double deductibles. He put me on bed rest and I had regular contractions everyday/all day.

Here I am on February 1st at 37 Weeks. I had my first pregnancy emotional breakdown the day before when Chuck's work decided to switch insurances (again) and go with a completely new policy. They had no information as to a plan for us, but it was supposedly supposed to start on Feb. 1st as promised. I was stressed! Feb. 1st came and I had my Dr.'s appointment. My doctor was impressed I had not had this baby yet. Amazingly, I was only 3 and a half cm dilated after 18 days of straight contractions (prayers were answered!) and he stripped my membranes. I immediately went to a 4 and the contractions were coming stronger. As this was my first day off of bed rest I had some last minute errands I wanted to run before the baby came. My doctor didn't think I would make it through my errands before I needed to head to the hospital.

I did finish my errands and my contractions were strong and coming 2 to 3 minutes apart. I finally headed to the hospital around 4 and was on observation. Because I was under 39 weeks, I had to be able to progress on my own without the help of having my water broken or using pitocin. After being at the hospital for several hours, I was still a 4, despite my contractions. They sent me home. After that, I asked my Dr. if I would even know when to go the hospital again because my contractions are always that close together and hard. He told me he would rather I go to the hospital every night for 3 weeks than to have my baby at home with my husband delivering him. =)

I had an appointment a week later on a Tuesday (38 weeks and 5 days) and I was still a 4 and still having contractions. My doctor stripped my membranes some more and sent me home telling me that if I didn't have this baby before Friday, he would admit me to the hospital and break my water because I would officially be 39 weeks. Nothing much happened Tuesday besides the usual contractions. I didn't feel that great and I started cramping, but I didn't feel like anything was happening. Wednesday I just cramped and my contractions slowed. Thursday came and I was still cramping. I started having hard contractions less than 2 to 3 minutes apart around 3 in the afternoon. I went about my afternoon as normal and by 6pm I decided to take a bath because my little baby was so low and in my pinched nerves that my back was killing me. By 10 pm I decided we had better head to the hospital. My contractions felt the same as they had for a month, but I was cramping, and my nerve pain was bad. I figured that if my body wasn't progressing, I didn't think my doctor would send me home because I was 39 weeks and he was planning of admitting me in the morning.

We got to the hospital around 10:30 and I was a 5. An hour later I was a 6. I got an epidural at 2am and it was so nice to not have to feel that awful nerve pain. My contraction hadn't bothered me, but my tail bone was starting to swell and the baby's head kept pushing into my pinched nerve. I was nervous about the epidural because my epidural with Hunter didn't work, but the anesthesiologist listened about my nerve problems and put in my epidural a little higher, so that hopefully I wouldn't have any problems. It worked wonderfully!

I slept from 2:30 to 4:30am when my dr. came to break my water. By 5am I was a 7. I slept until they checked me at about 7am and I was still a 7. So, I went back to sleep. At 9am they woke me up and I was complete! They began prepping the room and I was trying to wake up! I started pushing at 9:30 and Ryan was born at 9:57am on Friday, February 11, 2011. After a month of labor at home, I think the Lord gave me a break and let me sleep through most of my labor at the hospital. I was never uncomfortable (besides the nerve pain, which completely went away after the epidural) at all through that night.

When Ryan was born my doctor found out that I had a Velamentous Cord Insertion, which is a complication with the baby's umbilical cord and the placenta. This happens in 1% of single pregnancies. Normally, the veins of the baby run from the middle of the placenta via the umbilical cord to the baby. Velamentous insertion means that the veins, unprotected by Wharton's jelly, traverse the membranes before they come together into the umbilical cord. The 3 veins were hanging on by a thread to the placenta, each in a different place, and could have ruptured at any time during my pregnancy resulting in a stillborn baby. With how insanely active Ryan was in the womb, I feel it a great blessing to have been on bed rest, so that the chances of the umbilical cord veins rupturing were slightly diminished. My doctor agreed that it truly was a tender mercy from the Lord that little Ryan is here with us today.

Ryan was no small child! .7 of an ounce away from being 10 lbs and he was 23 inches long! They had to do an episiotomy to ensure that we could get this big guy out! As with Hunter, I also hemorrhaged, which I supposed will likely happen with each pregnancy. At least this time I didn't lose as much blood and felt like I wasn't going to pass out, which is good. I felt so good after delivering Ryan. There was a night and day difference with my delivery with Hunter and Ryan.

Here is our first family picture. I looked drugged up from all the meds that were helping me with my tailbone and nerve problems. Not to mention I just gave birth to practically a 10 pounder!

Hunter loved meeting his baby brother and kept asking to give him kisses. He only wanted to hold Ryan for a second, but would keep coming back to hug and kiss him.

Here is Hunter with Ryan at home. Hunter loves to check on his baby brother and loves to hold him. Every time he gets to hold him, he hugs and kisses him and sings him songs. It is so precious! Ryan loves it and had the biggest grin when Hunter was singing him, "I am a child of God." It has been a challenge adjusting to having two kids at home. Ryan is so big he eats like crazy. It takes an hour to just nurse him and change his diaper, which is an hour of Hunter running around the house doing whatever for attention. I am so grateful my mom has been here all week to help. I am worn out, but so thankful for my two handsome boys. I am getting a better hang of things now that Ryan is on a more established schedule.

Being a mother is such an amazing experience. It is hard work, but so rewarding. I am in awe of these precious spirits that Heavenly Father allows us stewardship over. The other day I was thinking about High School and how I was voted "Most Likely to Succeed." Yes, I did get a college degree, but I am not in the work force, nor do I have a career. As I was thinking about my "success" that has been accomplished since leaving home, there is nothing I am more proud of than being a mother. So, even though in the world's eyes, or maybe even in the eyes of my high school peers, being a mother may not seem like an accomplishment or as rewarding as being successful outside the home, I am grateful the Lord allows me to see and be aware of the success that is happening on the inside of my home and that raising a family is the most successful/rewarding thing I can do.

Update (=

2010-11-09T00:43:00.001-07:00

So much has happened since I announced I was pregnant. Honestly, I feel like the first trimester was wasted away sleeping all day. Luckily, when I hit week 13, I began feeling so much better! I actually had energy to function! Here are some of the things that have happened since then:

We took a wonderful trip to Georgia to visit my brother Troy and his beautiful family. His Eli just tured 2 and his sweet little Allie was being blessed. Eli and Hunter are only 2 and a half months apart. Hunter LOVED spending time with him!

Hunter has spent a lot of time playing at the new North Park here in Spanish Fork. He absolutely loves this park- especially the fountains and those green chairs that spin you around like crazy!

We had our pictures taken by the very talented Stephanie Tueller. She always does such a beautiful job and I am so happy that she is able to capture our family pictures. The weather cooperated this year and it was GORGEOUS up Springville Canyon. I am also almost 5 months pregnant in this picture.

Hunter celebrated his 2nd birthday! We had a wonderful sports themed party and his got this awesome bike and lots of fun presents. I can't believe how fast time flies when you are busy. Hunter is such a sweet boy and he can talk up a storm. He uses full sentences and can sing a plethora of songs all by himself. He goes around the house saying things like, "Mom, I have an idea." or "Thank you, thank you, thank you! This is delicious!" He can say his own prayers and recite the 1st Article of Faith. The other day he sang the whole first verse of I am a Child of God. He is gigantic- still. 34 lbs and 3 ft. 1 inch tall. Our Dr. predicts he is going to be one big guy! I just wish he would stop growing up so fast! Every day he is doing new things that just amaze me! It is really a fun thing to be a mom and watch a little one blossom.

We carved pumpkins for Halloween and Hunter loved it! We even made the Tootsie Pop Owl. It was a fun family project.

For Halloween Chuck and I were Thing 1 and Thing 2 from Dr. Suess' The Cat and the Hat. Hunter was one super handsome skeleton. I think next year Chuck and I will reuse these costumes and have Hunter be the Cat and the Hat and our baby will be the goldfish. I really enjoyed this Halloween and Hunter had so much fun trick or treating with my cousin Becca. It was so fun to see him run from house to house. Once again, being a mom is so cool!

This is a picture from Saturday night. We had a movie night and grabbed our pillows and blankets to watch Toy Story 3. It was so fun (despite how hard our floor is for a pregnant lady) and Hunter loved it! I look forward to many more fun nights with my boys.

Speaking of boys.... if you made it to the end of this post and don't know yet, our next child is going to be another BABY BOY!!! He is such a mover! I think he enjoys practicing his gymnastics when Hunter isn't jumping all over my belly. We are really excited to have another little one join our family soon and I am grateful to be pregnant during the Holiday Season to help keep me busy while pregnant. At the moment, I am feeling really great. I have crazy "nesting" going on. I clean everything! On the downside, I have severe "pregnancy brain" and am forgetting everything and struggling to even formulate sentences. I am pretty pathetic to hold a conversation with.

Hopefully, I can stay caught up on our blog now that I am feeling well again. =)

A Day in the Life of Stacie

2010-07-29T09:47:00.000-06:00

6:45am: Hunter wakes up. I think about getting him out of bed, but roll over and go back to sleep.

7:00am: Chuck gets Hunter out of bed while I sleep. Chuck gets cereal and Hunter snacks on it while he watches cartoons.

7:45am: Chuck takes a shower to get ready for work. I guess I should get out of bed and watch Hunter. I lay down on the couch in the living room with my blanket and fall fast asleep.

8:30am: Chuck is ready to leave for work. I am still sleeping. We have family prayer and in order to be a good mom I get Hunter some breakfast. Oh yeah, I don't feel that well either. It's time to eat.

9:15am: Back on the couch.... asleep.

10:00am: Time to get my act in gear! I get off the couch, still tired. I play with Hunter until his nap time.

11:15am: Hunter goes down for his nap. I sleep on the couch.

12:30pm: Not feeling so hot. Time to get up and eat lunch. Hunter is still sleeping.

1:00pm: I guess I better clean the house.... a little. Still too tired to get anything big accomplished.

2:15pm: Hunter wakes up! Time to get the boy some food.

3:00pm: Hunter plays while I fight falling back asleep. If I sit down I will be knocked out! Stomach is unhappy- time to get a snack.

4:30pm: I have no clue what I am going to make for dinner. Food doesn't sound too appealing so I can't decide what to make. I go through ALL of my recipes and look online. There has to be something that sounds good!

5:00pm: Head to the store. Pick up food for dinner. I'm too tired to think. I miss certain things on my list and walk around the store trying to figure out what I've forgotten. Thank goodness Macey's has the big blue carts with the stearing wheels for Hunter to "drive." That is the only way I can keep him from throwing food out of the cart.

6:00pm: Start dinner. Chuck's home. Dinner's late. I'm not feeling well. Ugh.... this is my least favorite part of the day.

7:00pm: Dinner is over. Dishes are semi-done and Hunter and Chuck play while I take a "break."

8:00pm: Hunter goes to bed and Chuck works on his extra projects. I turn on the tv or put in a movie.

Somewhere after 9:00pm: Fall asleep on the couch and decide to go to bed. The toothpaste makes me SICK so I have a debate about brushing my teeth. Pray with Chuck. Climb in bed. Snoozing within seconds.

Moral of the story: It sure takes work to GROW a BABY!! We are expecting baby #2 and while I am SO EXCITED, the exhuastion is killing me! I am 11 weeks and due Feb. 17th. =)

18 months

2010-05-08T01:35:00.002-06:00

Hunter turned 18 months a few weeks ago. I can't believe he is so big! I am loving the fact that he gets to go to nursery at church. It makes my new calling as the Young Women's Secretary so much easier. These pictures are of us all dressed up to go to church on Hunter's first day of nursery.

Hunter is one big kid! He is in the 98% for his height and weight. He wears 4T shirts and 3T pants. He grows out of clothes so fast! He can say any word he hears and has been able to since he was about 10-12 months old. He holds real conversations and asks questions, replies with multiple word answers, reads books, fills in the blanks of songs and stories, says the prayer, etc. He is one vocal child and has been for most of his life. I love that he can tell me exactly what he wants and what he doesn't want.

He doesn't really like to play with toys. He would rather read books, sit on the air vents when the heater is on, climb on anything around the house, help cook or sweep, play in the cupboards, play with the blinds, look out the window, throw his balls (or anything really), go on walks, and swing at the park. I am having so much fun with him, except for the times I get frustrated because all he wants to do is hit and throw things. Some days he is a regular in time out.

Life for our little family is happy. Chuck is enjoying working on some of his own projects with his computer stuff, and I am enjoying reading, working out, and eating healthy. I have lost more than 25 lbs since November. It is nice to get all of that baby weight off and I feel ridiculous it took me so long. We are all loving the beautiful weather and spending time outside.

Life is good. =)

Please join me!

2010-03-26T11:41:00.006-06:00

I've been working hard at losing a little weight for a while. I got sick this week with a super bad, burning sore throat and soothed it with ice cream and the likes. I am ready to get started again with me diet/exercise program and I am wondering if there is anyone out there who would like to do a competition with me. I do best under pressure! Besides, who doesn't want to look great with summer approaching?!

Information:

The contest will be approximately 8 weeks long- Starting Monday, April 5 and ending Monday, May 31.

There will be a prize for the winner- given to the person who has lost the most percentage of body weight.

We will keep track of the results on my new blog http://www.thehealthyroad.blogspot.com/. This can be a private blog so only those participating can view the information.

Each week, there will be a "challenge" in which you can earn points. Whoever has the most points at the end of each wins a prize.

I really hope this will interest some people to join me! I'm just looking for anyone who wants to be a bit healthier! This contest is open to men or women. Please leave a comment or email me and let me know if you want to join. I need everyone's info by April 1st.

It will be fun! :)

*I had a friend contact me about my own exercise/nutrition program that I will be doing for this contest. Back in November, I bought all of The Biggest Loser cookbooks and read about what they reccommend doing. The book reccomends counting your calories and working out. This is the formula they ask you to follow:

Take your weight and times it by 7.
Example: 180 (weight) x by 7 = 1260

1260 would be the number of calories you are allowed to eat in a day if you want to LOSE WEIGHT. I made a spread sheet in excel that allows me to write down the food I eat each day and keep track of the calories I eat. I love a lot of the recipes that are offered in The Biggest Loser cookbooks. Also, each week as you evaluate your weight, you need to recalcuate the number of calories you need to eat to lose weight. The book does say that you stop calcuating at 150 lbs (1050 calories). If you weigh less than 150 lbs. you should never go under 1050 calories.

* I reccomend all of their cookbooks and their calorie counter book. You can also use online resources to figure out calories like www.calorieking.com, etc. Once your look up calories for a week or two the numbers really stick with you and it is easier to remember and keep track of how many calories are in the food you eat.

I also follow the "The 4-3-2-1 Pyramid" found in The Biggest Loser Family Cookbook. It reccomends:
4: The bottom, or widest, tier of the pyramid represents the fruits and vegitables in your diet. You should eat at least 4 servings daily and it suggests you never eat for fruit than vegitable servings.
3: The next tier up represents protein foods- 3 servings daily.
2: The next tier up is for whole grains- 2 servings daily
1. The top and smallest tier is for extras (200 calories daily), such as fats, oils, and spreads, desserts and sweets, condiments and sauces, spices and herbs, etc.

The books also recommend that you eat your breakfast in the first 30 minutes of when you wake up. I struggle doing this because I am not a morning person and I have a little boy to take of first, so I try really hard to eat within an hour of waking up. I also try to drink 80-90 ounces of water a day. This is really helpful and my body feels so good when I can drink this much water!

You should be eating every 2-3 hours like this: Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, and dinner. You should eat things high in protein and fiber. I also worked out 6 out of the 7 days doing a program/routine of my choosing (P90X). We also got an elliptical for Christmas so I do cardio too. I lost 17lbs. in a few months doing this program and I could have been a lot more dilligent with working out.

This will be the program I follow during this competitiong- counting calories, drinking lots of water, and exercising.

The challenges we will be doing each week will be things like making sure you drink enough water, get plenty of sleep, try a new healthy recipe and post it for others, get 2 miles in a day (walking, running, eliptical, etc.). They will be simple challenges that should make us all feel great.

You do not have to follow this program to join the contest, this is just what I found works for me. If you have any other questions let me know!

Scott's Wedding

2010-03-15T11:56:00.005-06:00

My brother in law Scott got married on Saturday. Unfortunately, it was snowing and raining like crazy! We had a great time and are so thrilled for Scott and Tiffany to be married. I just love Tiffany and I am so happy that she is joining the family. It was a beatuiful ceremony and I love the Mt. Timpanogos temple. It was fun to think back about my own marriage and the festivities that go on with weddings.

This isn't the best taken picture, but Hunter loves to bust out his dance moves.

I love my boys and it was fun to get dressed up as a family! I can't get over how handsome my little guy is and how BIG he is getting! He needs to stop growing!

Hello.

2010-01-26T00:18:00.002-07:00

I'd like to get back into the blogging world. If only blogger would cooperate and let me actually post pictures. For now, I guess I will leave you with a list of things that are blogworthy, one day:

November
- Hunter's fascination for any type of "broom" became very apparent
- We had an intersting Thanksgiving!

December
-Hunter got a much needed haircut
- Stacie turned 24
- We had a fantastic Christmas party with friends
-Marissa comes in town!
- Hunter got sick
-Christmas with a sick Hunter
-Hunter is still sick and cutting all of his molars
-Stacie gets to clean up throw up for weeks straight
-New Year's Eve with a sick Hunter

January
-Hunter is still sick
-Bekah comes in town!
-Hunter goes on a trip to the ER @ 2am
-Hunter has a respitory infection
-Hunter is still cutting his molars
-Wait, what's this?! Hunter is finally better (after one LONG month)! Yay!!! :)
- My brother-in-law Scott is engaged to a wonderful girl! I'm finally getting a sister-in-law on the Voorhees side! :)

That has pretty much been my life. Poor Hunter was so sick for so long. It definitely took it's toll on me. I felt like I had a newborn agian, having to get up every few hours during the night to take care of him. He wanted to be held all day long. I got nothing accomplished. Yet, I loved being able to snuggle with my boy and now he will cuddle with me more often than he used to. I love it. Now he is back to his incredibly happy self. He is just so much fun!

I have been working really hard on getting back in shape. I still am trying to lose some of the baby weight I gained with Hunter. I am doing great and seeing great progess! I'll blog about it in more detail when I actually get to the weight I was when I got pregnant with Hunter- 5 lbs away! (I'd like to lose another 10 lbs after that). Pretty realistic goals, in my mind.

It's late. I need to go to bed. Hunter likes to wake up early. I will be back and I promise it won't be months between posts.

October- the CRAZY month!

2009-11-01T22:39:00.005-07:00

I feel like October has been the shortest month of all time. We have just been so busy that with so many things that I feel like October has just come and gone in the blink of an eye. Here is recap on this crazy month:

First, I got the crazy idea that I was going to make Hunter a blanket. Let me inform you that i.do.not.sew.but.i.secretly.want.to.be.amazing.at.it. It is a super cute rag and here is where you can find the tutorial. I spent many hours on this blanket and got little sleep, but I did finish it in time for Hunter's B-day.

Next, we all know that this little dude turned 1. So we had a party and I spent a couple days making tons of treats and goodies. Now... Look at these pictures below. Isn't he so handsome?! My new friend Stephanie Tueller took his pictures for us. She is amazing. Please check out her website or her blog! You have to know that I am a horrible mother. Hunter had a fever of 100.5 or a little higher and there was no other time to get these pictures done. He had his fever for 4 days! Even though he was totally unhappy through most of the shoot, she got some INCREDIBLE pictures. I am so grateful!

Then, after batting my eyes and flashing my smile, I was able to convince my husband to go to the Train concert with me. You know how we all have a favorite band from high school (which just so happens to still be my favorite band) that you listen to over and over and just LOVE?! Well, mine is Train (don't judge). They have very clean music and creative lyrics. My senior year of high school was so ridiculous and I really loved winding down to Train's music. I loved their concert and my husband enjoyed it too. I would definitely go again. It was nice to go on a date and incredible funny to watch the lead guitarist from Uncle Kracker (the opening band, which I could have done with out) flirt and hang all over the 2 women next to me.

The next day, Chuck & I went to our friend's Halloween party and had a blast! I spent the day making cupcakes and frosted and decorated the tops to look like spiderwebs. Chuck was a hockey player and I was a referee.

We stayed out way too late and Hunter decided to wake up at 6AM! You got to love when your kids do that to you. We had a good, but tired morning and then got ready to visit our old ward's Halloween Carnival that we got invited too by some friends. Hunter was a turtle for Halloween. He had so much fun and he loved his costume! He was smiling and giggling all day long.

We had a great Halloween, but had about 5 trick-or-treaters! I guess that is what we get for going to a concert instead of the church trunk-or-treat. After a month like this, it is no wonder I woke up this morning with 3 cold sores on my lips. Do you think I had a pretty stressful/exciting month?!

Happy Birthday Hunter!

2009-10-19T13:37:00.007-06:00

Approximately:

2,555 diapers

2,190 bottles

96 cases of formula

18,250 kisses

607 latenight feedings

6 teeth

3 houses

12,775 smiles

and a gazillion "I love you's" later

This little sweet baby

grew into this handsome little boy

(taking his first steps)

Happy 1st Birthday Hunter!

For your information, Big "H" keeps living up to his nickname:

1 year stats:

29 lbs. 99%

32 3/4 inches 95%

And here are the festivities...

We had a small party at our house with Hunter's close family

My lovely mother who was a great help!

This is the rag quilt a made for Hunter's birthday

We decided to take a quick picture and then took off on a walk before the party

Hunter loves his presents!

And his cake... even though he hardly ate any of it.

Spoiled boy!

I can't believe my little guy is 1 year and walking. Time goes too quickly! I love being his mom and I sure love those handsome smiles that melt my heart!

New Clothes

2009-09-22T11:37:00.003-06:00

When did my 11 month old son
get big enough to wear size 2T clothes?

10months!

2009-09-13T23:27:00.007-06:00

Hunter will be 11 months old on Friday. I have been so bad at blogging lately, so this post is dedicated to Hunter's 10th month of life. He is crawling fast, walking along things, saying a ton of words, and is such a blast!

Hunter and Dad looking at the ducks

My super cute boys!

Family picture when Chuck's brother Brad was set apart as a missionary

Fishing at Strawberry Resevoir on Labor Day

Grandma and Hunter with our fish! He even liked touching them!

Hunter lounging at the Lake

Family Pic

This is funny. Poor Hunter had a cold and woke up at 5:30. We put in a movie and he was eating a snack. Next thing I know he is fast asleep!

Hunter loves the airvent, even if it makes him freezing!

Hunter loves to look outside. (And yes, our back yard is just dirt and weeds)

Love him!

When Hunter gets excited he flaps his arms and his legs and balances on his bum using his ab muscles. It is pretty funny to watch.

Just being cute.

Daddy loves to tickle!

Playing with the dishwasher

So handsome!

Hunter loves to pull out the pans from the stove

Playing the drums while Mom does the dishes

Eating mashed potatoes and making a mess!

Hunter loves to play peek-a-boo!

The first time he got into the toilet paper!

My little guy makes me so happy and I can't believe he is going to be 1 next month! Time goes by so fast! He is such a joy and I love watching him grow up!

I love this boy!

2009-08-25T23:28:00.002-06:00

2009-08-07T11:34:00.004-06:00

It is my nephew Eli's 1st birthday today. Hunter is sad he can't celebrate with him, but we hope this picture makes Eli happy. Happy Birthday, Eli! We love you!

2 years!

2009-08-03T09:59:00.003-06:00

Today is our 2nd Anniversary! We celebrated this past weekend with a great steak dinner, watching Harry Potter, staying at a hotel in Bountiful, and then spending a day at Lagoon. Hunter spent the weekend with Grandma and Grandpa McGuire and had a blast. It was a great weekend and I was so happy to spend time with my hubby!

Happy Anniversary, Sweetie! I love you!

"Big H"

2009-07-22T22:20:00.003-06:00

Hunter is now 9 months old! It is amazing how fast time flies.

Both of these pictures were taken last week during our mini vacation to Heber and Idaho.

Here are his stats:

Weight: 27 lbs!

Height: 31 inches

98 Percentile

Hunter is as big as the average 2 year old. He is such a chunker!

Marissa's Wedding

2009-06-29T14:14:00.005-06:00

I made a whole bunch of posts today so scroll down and check them all out. This one is especially exciting because Marissa got married!

She was a stunning bride and we are so happy for her and Jonathan!

Hunter's First Cupcake

2009-06-29T14:00:00.003-06:00

We gave Hunter his first cupcake to try to help him get excited about other food besides the baby food he eats all the time.

He smushed it and rubbed it every where

But when he tasted it... he did not like it and then gagged it up.

We gave him a bath in the sink and he loves to suck on the wash rag.

Baths make him happy, unlike the cupcake.

Then we gave him his baby food

Which he loved. Who would have thought my baby would love his fruits and veggies more than a cupcake with chocolate frosting!

Here are just some cute pics of my boy and a box I finally emptied.

Nauvoo Trip

2009-06-29T13:02:00.006-06:00

Here is Hunter on his first airplane ride. He did well, but it was hard to keep him occupied.

One of our first stops was Liberty Jail in Missouri

Far West, Missouri

A turtle we found on the side of the road

Adam-ondi-Ohmen

Chuck's family at Adam-ondi-Ohmen

The three of us

Hunter was teething about 1/3 of the trip. Poor guy! He broke his first tooth the night we got home and then his second tooth came a couple days later.

The Nauvoo Temple! I love this temple!

The Red Brick Store in Nauvoo

The Mississippi River

The Mansion House in Nauvoo

Joseph Smith's Office in the Red Brick Store

Joseph Smith showing Brigham Young the way west

A cute picture of my boy when he wasn't teething!

Joseph, Hyrum, and Emma's Grave

The first duplex in Nauvoo. This was actually a funny story because the families who lived there each had a ton of kids and the town wondered way in the world they would live next to each other since it would be so crazy and noisy with the children.

We were waiting for a wagon ride

One of my favorite buildings. It was the Seventies Hall. This is thought of as the first MTC.

Those who were called on missions would meet inside and get trained. I thought it was an awesome building.

A statue of Joseph and Hyrum in front of Carthage Jail

This is the room that Joseph and Hyrum were attacked in.

Joseph fell out the window on the left.

50th Wedding Anniversary

2009-06-29T12:24:00.003-06:00

I am finally catching up on all the activties that have gone on this summer. In May we went to Arizona for my Grandma and Papa Hansen's 50th Wedding Anniversary. It was a great trip and Hunter was amazing! We drove in the car atleast 22 hours the whole trip and I think he only cried about 15-20 minutes the whole time. I am blessed to have such a happy and content baby!

Here is Chuck and Hunter getting ready to go swimming at my Uncle Myron's house near Pheonix.
Hunter fell asleep in the pool. He actually tried to eat the plastic toy on the floaty while he was asleep too. It was so funny!

My Grandma and Papa Hansen. Happy Anniversary!

Here is the Hansen Family minus Hunter who was taking a nap.

Hunter and Lincoln watching Baby Einstein. Hunter LOVES Baby Einstein!

Hunter with his Great Grandparents

In Flagstaff we took Hunter to see his Great Grandpa and Grandma McGuire. It was also Memorial Day so we needed to go. They haven't finished my Grandma McGuire's info on the headstone though.

The Mesa Temple

Our little family at the temple. It was a great trip!

My Boys

2009-06-11T22:46:00.002-06:00

I know I need to catch up on the trips we have been on the last two weeks, but I wanted to post my favorite picture from our trip to Nauvoo. This was taken at Adam-ondi-Ohmen in Missouri. I am so thankful that I was able to capture this moment on camera. I just love my boys!

Congratulations Brad!

2009-05-21T23:19:00.001-06:00

Chuck's brother Brad received his mission call today! He is going to the California Roseville Mission and reports August 26th! Congrats Brad!

We're back!

2009-05-19T22:22:00.004-06:00

I know, I know. I am SO far behind in blogging. Thank you to the many people who have reminded me of this. So much has happened in the last 2 to 3 months. It has been crazy! Here is a little list of what we have been up to:

We decided to build a house

We moved in with my parents while the house was being built

In order to save extra money for our down payment we participated in little to no acitivities that involved money, which meant I practically stayed home with Hunter all day for 2 and a half months. That is enough to drive any person crazy! (Staying in one place that is, I love being with Hunter)

Troy, Steph, and Eli came to visit
The house was built!
We moved into the new house
We participated in a huge service project for Women's Conference. It was amazing!
We went to Wicked
We painted the house
My little brother Sean went in the MTC
We went to Logan for our friends wedding
I leant my mom my computer and she had it for several weeks
We did not have internet in our new house until recently.
Hunter rolls around like crazy, sits up, is in love with Baby Einstein DVD's, and loves eating his baby food. He has to be the happiest baby ever!

Here is a picture to hold you over. It was taken at the Logan temple when our friends were getting married a couple of weeks ago.

Here is Sean and Hunter when Sean went into the MTC

This weekend we are going to Arizona for my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary. The weekend after that we are going on vacation with Chuck's family to visit the Church History Sites. Hopefully I will have lots of pictures to post about. I also promise to post pictures of our house. We love it!

Hunter "The Tank" Voorhees

2009-02-25T21:30:00.003-07:00

Hunter turned 4 months old on Feb. 18th! I can't believe how fast he is growing.

Here are his stats:

Weight 19.45 lbs

Height: 26.5 inches

What a big kid!

A Little Late...

2009-02-18T17:59:00.001-07:00

This is Hunter's Valentine's Day picture.

Elder McGuire

2009-02-11T17:11:00.002-07:00

My brother got his mission call today! He will be serving in the Japan Kobe mission and reports to the MTC on May 6, 2009. Congratulations Sean! :)

My Favorite Cookies!

2009-01-20T11:22:00.005-07:00

I've made these cookies a couple times in the last few months for various celebrations or gatherings. They are absolutely delicious! I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Compliments of Mr. Food Cooks Like Mama!

The Dreaded Swing

2009-01-16T16:28:00.002-07:00

Ever since birth, Hunter has been scared of his swing. Each week I would put him in there to "test it out," just in case he would magically like it. Well, today, at week 13, Hunter is asleep in his swing and it is actually moving! No tears, no cringes, no clentching of the fists- just peaceful slumber. Might I also mention that he was practically asleep when I put him in there. He did wake up, check out his surroundings, and decide that he didn't mind sleeping in the swing as it rocked him softly back and forth. As a matter of fact, he has been asleep for about 2 hours by now. I really need to make some cookies for a dinner tonight, but he is sleeping so peacefully that I don't want to wake him up.

Good Read

2009-01-15T12:29:00.003-07:00

When my Grandma McGuire passed away, I was able to take a stack of her books home with me. I read this book last night while Hunter was sleeping. It was pretty good- definitely a new look at how people you know and strangers can change your life forever. (It's only 196 pages.)

Body Worlds 3

2009-01-06T21:32:00.003-07:00

During the Christmas Holiday, we went to the Body Worlds 3 exhibit at The Leonardo in Salt Lake with my family. It was amazing! I never took an anatomy class at BYU so this was my first in depth look at the human body. I learned so much and they had some AMAZING body representations like the picture shown above. Chuck was very skeptical with the thought of seeing dead bodies, but he actually liked the exhibit as well. He was also skeptical about the price of the tickets ($22 each), but he did tell me it was definitely worth the price. It closes January 11th so you still have time to go and see the exhibit. Please go here to learn more.

Book Reccomendation

2009-01-05T23:45:00.003-07:00

I got this book for my birthday (Dec. 11th) from my in-laws. I read it over a week or two at night when Hunter was asleep. It is about a boy named Almon who is found by Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. Almon (a 9 year old) is required to watch over Jesus (who is 3). The book is about Almon watching over Christ as he grows up and following him during his ministry. It is a great book and I loved reading it during the Christmas Season. It was a neat look into the life of the Savior and what his personality could have possibly been like. I reccomend it to any and all that are interested.

Week 11

2009-01-05T23:34:00.004-07:00

Hunter is so much fun! Today he giggled for the first time. I just love how happy this little guy is. As you can tell, he is a complete chub. He weighed 15 lbs. at his 2 months check up. He is in the 99th percentile for his weight! He is also in the 87th percentile for his height. He just started to wear his 3 to 6 month clothes and they fit him well.

Hunter also loves to stick out his tongue and then suck on his hands. He is such a fun boy to be around! He is sleeping through the night pretty good. He goes to sleep around 8 or 9 and then will sleep until about 4 or 5 to be fed in the morning. It is so nice to be able to get some sleep and not have to wake up every 3 hours to feed him. I just can't believe how fast he grows! I see new born babies and I can't beleive that Hunter was once that small. Hunter is also VERY talkative. I love listening to him make sounds. I'm trying to convince him that "momma" needs to be his first word.

December

2009-01-05T23:31:00.002-07:00

Hunter learned how to do spit bubbles

and he found his tongue.

We had a fantastic Christmas and hope you did too!

Peanut Butter Pancakes

2008-12-18T11:58:00.004-07:00

I thought I'd post this recipe for those who were willing to try something new. My mom came upon it the other day and shared it with me. They are delicious!

1 cup flour
1 tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tbs. sugar
1 egg
1 cup + 2 tbs. milk (plus extra if needed to thin)
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tbs. oil

Whisk dry ingredients. Slowly mix in other ingredients. Let sit for 5 minutes. Then make your pancakes! :)

Hunter's Baby Blessing

2008-12-08T14:59:00.005-07:00

It was a perfect day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-12-01T20:58:00.004-07:00

This year we celebrated Thanksgiving with the Voorhees family. It was a fun day filled with good food, card games, volleyball, and basketball. It was a blast! Hunter had a great day sleeping, having diaper explosions and spitting up everywhere. On Saturday, we had what I call "Fake Thanksgiving" with the McGuire family. My aunt and uncle came with their young kids and so did Holly and Steve. Once again, great company, good food, card games, diaper explosions, spit up, etc.

What a wonderful weekend!

Here is Hunter in his Thanksgiving outfit.

My sweet cousins Becca and Caleb spendind time with Hunter.

Holly and Hunter. So cute!

A little family picture :)

We hope you all had a great Thanksgiving as well!

I love my boy and argyle!

2008-11-25T17:18:00.001-07:00

Here is Hunter dressed for church!

All Smiles

2008-11-25T16:52:00.003-07:00

Hunter has been smiling on his own so much more the past few days. It is just so cute! He especially loves smiling for his daddy in the morning before he leaves for work.

More pics by Angie

2008-11-25T16:32:00.005-07:00

Pictures of Hunter

2008-11-22T23:05:00.001-07:00

A friend of mine from church named Angie asked if she could take Hunter's pictures.

Please go here to see them. I think they are adorable!

The Latest

2008-11-22T22:57:00.004-07:00

Hunter met his great-grandparents on Thursday. They came down to visit from Idaho.

Here is Hunter all ready for the BYU game. Please check out his "Buddah Belly."

Here is our little family. We were hopeful that BYU would pull of a win, but were sadly dissapointed in the end. Overall, it was still a good day.

A Visitor

2008-11-19T08:51:00.001-07:00

One of my students from last year came with her mom and little sister to visit Hunter. It was so fun to have her family over and to see them again! I miss teaching and seeing these sweet kids!

Date Night

2008-11-19T08:37:00.002-07:00

Chuck and I were able to go on our first date with out Hunter last weekend. I talked Chuck into going to Disney on Ice with me. It was so fun and it was nice to spend time with my hubby. Chuck's family watched Hunter and had a blast. I'm grateful to have people who don't mind baby sitting that live so close. Hunter is going to get his 2nd baby sitting experience tonight so that Chuck and I can go to the temple. Back to Disney on Ice... we saw many of our Disney friends from Aladin, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid, Pocahontas, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Lion King, Toy Story, and Pinocchio. The whole row in front of us was taken by High Schoolers who were going to their Sadie Hawkins Dance. Each couple had decorated t-shirts of Disney couples (Aladin & Jasmine, Belle & Beast, etc.) They were really creative and fun to watch. However, the most enjoyable thing to see was the smiles and excitement on all the little children's faces. Next time Disney on Ice is in town, I urge all of you to see it!

Week 4

2008-11-15T16:57:00.003-07:00

Here is my handsome little guy. He has turned into quite the pudge.

I can't believe it has been 4 weeks already! He is growing up sooooo fast!

Week 2 & 3

2008-11-11T12:03:00.005-07:00

Arizona

2008-11-11T11:30:00.006-07:00

We were able to make it to Arizona for my Grandma McGuire's funeral. It was a beautiful service and a definite celebration of life. It was so nice to spend a week in Arizona with family and friends. My brother Troy, his wife Stephanie, and their baby Eli were able to fly from Georgia. It was so nice to have the family all together again!

Steph & me

My Grandma painted her own casket

Dad, Troy, Eli, and Papa Hansen

Eli was the cutest caterpillar for Halloween!

Eli (almost 3 mos.) and Hunter (2 weeks)

Cousins!

Troy & Eli

This face cracks me up!

Last minute thrown together family picture

Grandma McGuire

2008-10-27T00:35:00.004-06:00

This past Friday I found out that my Grandma McGuire passed away. I had so many emotions running inside of me that the only way I could deal with them was by sobbing. Having just had a baby and still full of hormones, I felt overwhelmed with emotion. Yet, having someone you care so much about pass away would grant many tears no matter what.
She had a goal that before she passed away she wanted to see my baby and try to be at his blessing if she could. The weekend I had Hunter we could not get a hold of grandma. Finally, she was able to receive an email with pictures of him. She wrote to me on Wednesday, "Stacie and Chuck, I am so jealous that I can't be there and hold that baby, you will just have to give him and extra hug for me. He is so precious Stacie. Anyway give him a big hug and a kiss for me. Love Grandma"
I knew she wasn't doing well and all I could think about was finding a way to get Hunter to Arizona so that she could see him in person. With Hunter's jaundice, I knew it would not be a possibility until he was done with his light therapy. Then I found out she passed away. I struggled with the concept that I was not able to have her see him in person, yet I knew with her having passed on, she could see him as often as wanted. I felt so blessed to have gone through the whole delivery ordeal which meant that Hunter arrived early. Because of this, grandma was able to see pictures of him and I was able to have some last words from her. What a blessing that was.
My Aunt Kelly asked that we write down a memory to share about Grandma. This is not my most favorite memory (that is a memory I don't share), but one of my favorites: "Being a grandchild that lived farther away, one of my favorite memories with grandma is when she was on her mission and we emailed back and forth. I wrote her diligently every week and she always responded with a personalized email just for me. We grew very close during that year and a half and I learned a lot about her. She made sure to share her testimony with me in each email. I have no doubt that she believed the gospel to be true. I have no doubt that she believed in a loving Heavenly Father. I know she had a close relationship with our Savior. After her mission, she and I stayed in touch by emailing or by having heart felt visits when we were together. I will always treasure the conversations we had and the time she took to tell me about her love for me and the gospel."
I will miss my grandma incredibly, but I know she is in a better place free of all pain and cancer free. Her funeral is Wednesday and I pray that Hunter's jaundice levels will be down so he can get off his light therapy and we can make it to Arizona for her funeral. I just want to say how grateful I am to have a knowledge about the Plan of Salvation. It is a blessing to have such great examples live on this earth and then leave a legacy for their posterity to follow. I hope to be like my grandma and I hope that my children will know what a wonderful woman she was. Sometimes when I see Hunter smile in his sleep, I can't help but think the veil is so thin that he is spending time with her. If so, I hope he visits her in dream land often.

Bath Time

2008-10-25T17:59:00.004-06:00

Hunter had his first bath today. He didn't like it too much. He cried the whole time, but in the end, he can't deny that it feels so good to be nice and clean!

Hunter loves to sleep with his hands in his face. I gave him this little giraffe/blanket thing to hold on to. He snuggled with it the whole time! Check out his hair after it dried from his bath. =)

So Handsome!

2008-10-24T22:45:00.000-06:00

Labor & Delivery

2008-10-21T19:46:00.003-06:00

For those of you who want the details... here they are!

Wednesday, Oct. 15th: I had high blood pressure at my dr.'s apt and a little protein in my urine. Since this was the first time during pregnancy that I had issues, my dr. said he would check me again on Friday.

Thursday, Oct. 16th: Was in the hospital from midnight to 6am getting more testing done on my high blood pressure. Was put on bed rest for the rest of the day.

Friday, Oct. 17th: Went to the dr. @ 8:30 am. My blood pressure was higher and I had more protein in my urine. With other testing it was determined that I had Pre-eclampsia. When the mother has pre-eclampsia, it could lead to HELLP sydrome or even having a grand mal seizure. The cure for pre-eclampsia is to deliver the baby. It was decided that Hunter's labor would be induced and I was headed for the hospital.

Friday at the hospital: I was given pitocin around noon then started on a medcine called magnesium sulfate to prevent seizures. The pitocin is supposed to start labor but the magnesium stops it. Progress was incredibly slow because these two medicines contradict each other. My water was broke a little after 12 and I spent the evening playing cards, watching movies, and spending time with family. Other side effects from the medicine wwere dry mouth, nausea, and a severe headache. I had all of these. Friday evening I asked for an epidural, which only slowed down my labor even more, and the epidural only worked for about 30 minutes. (My body never reacts to medicine the way it should) The anesthesiologist would have to give me doses manually, but they only lasted for about 30 minutes. I had about 4 of these.

Saturday, Oct. 18th: The doctor decided to lower my dosage of magnesium and up my dosage of pitocin. Since my epidural wasn't working it was easy to progress! I was finally dialted and ready to push around 11:40 am. Because of the medicine I was only having contractions every 5 minutes, so I would push and then wait 5 minutes, push and then wait. At 1:10 pm Hunter was born! There were respitory therapists in the room to check Hunter's breathing because of the magnesium I was on. While he was being checked, I had a post-partum hemmorage. I was almost a candidate for a blood transfusion, but did not end up needing one in the end.

It was a long process, but it was not hard or too painful. Hunter was well worth the journey!

We are home!

2008-10-21T19:37:00.002-06:00

We were able to leave the hospital yesterday. I was checked out around 1:00 pm, but Hunter had to stay and finish getting so light therapy for his jaundice. They did a blood test to check his biliruben levels and he was able to go home with us around 5:00 pm!

Here he is in his little car seat

Tody we had to take him back to the hospital to get his biliruben checked again. He levels were higher than yesterday, so they ordered "bili lights" for us to use on him at home.

We don't get to spend our time holding him any more. He has to be in this box as much as possible. We take him back to the hospital for more jaundice testing tomorrow morning.

Baby Hunter is Finally Here!

2008-10-19T22:14:00.003-06:00

We are still at the hospital and my laptop battery is about to die, but here are some pictures of baby Hunter's arrival.

Charles Hunter Voorhees

Born Saturday, Oct. 18th, 2008

1:10 pm 8 lbs. 8 oz. 20" long

Hunter with Dr. Tipton

Daddy and Hunter

All bundled up!

Mom and Hunter

Family photo @ the hospital

Sleeping

Spending time with Grandma

Mom and Hunter again.

Hopefully, we will be leaving the hospital tomorrow afternoon. I'll post more pictures and an update soon.

I Love Fall!

2008-10-12T00:18:00.005-06:00

Chuck and I went for a ride up Payson Canyon and then down Santaquin Canyon. It was soooo beautiful! It started to snow towards the end of the ride and it was freezing outside! I'm not sure how much longer fall will last, but I wish it would stay longer. Here are some pictures from our drive.

I'm ready to move!

2008-10-10T01:38:00.002-06:00

It is 1:38 am and I just killed a spider in my kitchen. Good grief! How many visitors can I get around this place?!

Gotcha!

2008-10-10T01:35:00.003-06:00

It is 1:35 am and my friend the cricket (who I have been searching for all day) came out to play. Too bad for him. I hope this doesn't become a nightly routine.

Eeeewwwww!

2008-10-09T23:01:00.003-06:00

The last few months Chuck and I have had a lot of visitors. By "visitors" I mean crickets, spiders, and potato bugs. Yesterday when Chuck and I got home from helping our neighbors get ready to move, Chuck thought he saw a cricket on the stairs. We couldn't find it anywhere! Chuck ended up going to bed and I stayed up to watch a movie. It was about 2:15 am and I felt this tickle on my head. I felt the top of my head and my hair, but I couldn't feel anything. I continued to watch the movie and then I felt a tickle again. I touched the top of my head and I see this black thing fall onto my pillow. The cricket found its way onto my head! I had to knock it off my pillow to kill it. It was sooo gross! I ended up waking Chuck up to tell him all about the cricket that found a home in my hair. Sick!! This morning I saw another cricket by the couch and when I went to kill it, it jumped under my couch and I couldn't get it. When Chuck got home from work I made him move all the couches in the living room to see if we could find it. No luck. I have a cricket living somewhere in my house now. I am sick of these "visitors." They are no longer welcome!

Thanks, Bekah!

2008-10-07T19:46:00.003-06:00

8 things I am passionate about:
1. My husband and family
2. Learning new things
3. Reading
4. Teaching
5. Baking/cooking
6. Chocolate Peanut Butter icecream
7. Volleyball
8. Service

8 words or phrases I say often:
1. I love you
2. What time is it?
3. Where is my mask?
4. I need to go to the grocery store
5. Please stop kicking me!
6. My gall bladder hurts
7. (To Hunter) Really... you can come anytime!
8. I know you want some icecream

8 things I want to accomplish in the coming year:
1. Find more recipes
2. Learn how to be a good mom
3. Take more online classes
4. Move into a house
5. Take more pictures
6. Make a photobook of those pictures
7. Practice my sewing skills
8. Visit my grandma more often

8 places I would love to go or visit:
1. Historic Church Sites
2. Paris
3. Ireland
4. Italy
5. Mexico
6. Georgia
7. Carribean Cruise
8. Canada

8 things I need or want:
1. New shoes
2. A house
3. Bedroom furniture
4. Long Jeans
5. (like Bekah) a Kitchen-Aid mixer
6. More kitchen space
7. A library in my house
8. A new book to read

I tag Amber Johnson, Ashley Rowbury, and Hannah Ashmore. :)

Still Awake...

2008-10-03T01:10:00.004-06:00

I can't sleep... again. :) This is becoming a nightly ritual for me. Sleep is becoming increasingly uncomfortable as this pregnancy progresses. I also didn't sleep well before pregnancy, so this is nothing new to me. I try to stay up until I am completely exhausted. Most nights I make it to 2am. I find that I don't wake up as much during the night if I'm BEYOND TIRED when I go to bed. To keep myself occupied I read, watch a movie, play with Photoshop, look at baby clothes online, etc. I read 5 books in one week and am now waiting for the 6th book to come out in the series. Once I finally go to bed, it is amazing how many times I have to get up to go to the bathroom or find my tums to take care of my heartburn. Then, you wake up again when your hips go numb and you have to rotate from side to side. By the time 8am rolls around I am SOOOO exhausted. I stay in bed and sleep while Chuck gets up and gets ready for work. He kisses me goodbye and I sleep some more. Also, our bedroom has this huge window that faces our neighbors houses. 2 of our neighbors love to sleep with their porch lights on all night long. This drives me crazy! It makes my room so bright! What is the point of leaving your house light on all night? They have no kids and I know they aren't waiting up for anyone.

As for Hunter... his head has dropped and he is in position. I find this quite uncomfortable because he is still such an active baby that he hits into my pelvic bone and my back- leaving me with this constant pain down low. 19 more days, right? We are all registered at the hospital and are visiting the doctor each week. I love how my Dr. says, "If your water breaks, you start bleeding, or experiencing a lot of pain go to the hospital. If not, I'll see you next week." I can't help but wish that he will come early, which I know is unlikely- especially with your first baby.

We finished our pre-natal classes tonight. They were really informative and Chuck really liked them, which was good. I enjoyed the fact that Chuck got to learn about all the things I've spent so much time reading about these last 9 months. It is funny that you can say all these interesting facts to him about pregnancy and he won't remember them at all, but when he learns them in a class and from a nurse they sink in so much better. :)

Another random note- I've watched Ironman at least 4 times this week with different people each time, and I've also watched the Emma Smith movie, Nancy Drew, and Baby Mama. Such a random week.

I think I'm done ranting now. I hope you all have pleasant dreams.

Weekend Away

2008-09-19T15:58:00.025-06:00

Last weekend I headed up to Logan with my mom and mother-in-law. For Mother's Day I bought all of us tickets to attend Time Out for Women, a conference that is hosted by Deseret Book. There were many amazing speakers and performers: James L. Ferrell, Jenny Oaks Baker, Kenneth Cope, Mary Ellen Edmunds, Merrilee Boyack, Sharon G. Larson, Camille Fronk Olson, and Amanda Dickson. The whole conference was based upon the theme: "A Joyful Life: great delight or happiness caused by a life that is exceptionally good or satisfying." It was an awesome conference and a fun weekend!

The highlight for me, however, was being able to meet my favorite LDS author of all time- Mary Ellen Edmunds. Here is a picture of her!

She was so sweet, caring, and insanely funny. She was greeting all the women and came up to my little group. She even gave me a hug! Her talk was incredible. It was about being a peacemaker and finding joy instead of being bogged down with guilt and contention. I reccomend reading anything she has written. Her personality spills onto the page. It was so great to actually meet her in person!

I definitely want to attend Time Out for Women again. They are hosting another conference in Ogden in the Spring and then in St. George in the Fall. It was a great experience!

Tagged... months ago.

2008-09-19T15:58:00.022-06:00

It was June when Katie Brown tagged me. I told myself that it would be fun to post it when I got a camera. The day has finally come... Here is how the tag works- take pictures of the following things without straightening them up or prepping them in order to capture real life around your household. The point is to see how these things/items/people exist in real life.

1. The Fridge/Freezer

There isn't too much stuff in here and the food/milk that is in the fridge is pretty much "fat free." That is what happens when you get a "non functioning" gall bladder during pregnancy. I look forward to the days of eating real food again.

Here is the freezer. Is it really necessary to have 3 loaves of bread in there? No. It is not. Every time I go to the store I forget that I have PLENTY of bread. Oh well.

2. The Kitchen Sink

Chuck and I always do the dishes after we eat dinner, which makes my job during the day really easy. I empty the dishwasher and do the dishes out of boredom in the morning if there is any. That is what happens when you don't have a job and and your little guy hasn't shown up yet.

3. Your Laundry Pile

I am really good about doing the laundry, but not so good about folding it. This where you will see it most days. =)

4. The Toilet

Um, nothing special. Here it is!

5. A Closet

This is the "Harry Potter" Closet. It starts out as a coat closet and wraps around under the stairs and ends up opening as a little cupboard. It reminds me of Harry Potter and the little cupboard under the stairs he lived in at his aunt's house. In order for there to be a place for baby Hunter, we had to clean out the 2nd bedroom we had and move everything into this closet. Also, all of my teaching bins and supplies are in this closet. I am AMAZED that it all fits in there!

6. Favorite Room

This is the little corner in Hunter's room that is called "The Office." It is where my husband can work from home. I like to spend time here during the day working on my Photoshop class and spending time on the computer. I think it makes me feel like a teacher/student again.

7. Favorite Pair of Shoes

Personally, I don't like shoes. I hate shopping for them and I would prefer to be barefoot. I feel strongly about this because it is hard to find a cute pair of shoes that you like when your feet are as large as skis! (size 11-12) However, since I have to pick a pair it would be these lovely Chacco sandals that I have had since I was in high school. They rock and the still fit my feet which are beginning to swell.

8. Self-Portrait

I am going to cheat. This picture was actually taken yesterday when I was at my mom's house looking at her garden. I think you see a mutual theme here: "growth."

9. What your kids are doing

Hunter specialized in Karate. He practices many hours a day, especially when I am trying to sleep. If you don't believe me, you can watch my lovely belly from the outside and see for yourself. He will show off his talents for anyone who is willing to watch.

10. Vacation Spot

Ever since I took an Art History class one spring semester at BYU, I decided I wanted to go to France to see La Sainte Chapelle. I think the stained glass would be breathtaking.

I now tag Bethany Broderick, Lindsay Moore, Katie Lewis, and anyone else who would like to do this!

Hunter's Room

2008-09-19T15:58:00.012-06:00

Poor Hunter. He has to share his room with Dad's office. At least he has some pretty cool things!

Here is his crib. There are little storage boxes underneath.

This is his crib blanket and bumper.

This is his little clothes hamper.

This is my chair I got on sale at RC Willey. It is soooooo soft!

Here is his dresser. It has to go in the closet becasue there is no room for it anywhere else.

Here is the changing table and other storage bins.

Those who know me know of my love for argyle... especially argyle socks. Here is my favorite outfit for when Hunter is 3-6 mos. old.

What?! A new post?!

2008-09-19T15:58:00.005-06:00

Yes, my friends... I am back from my blogging hiatus. Why, you ask? I finally have a camera! It came in the mail yesterday and I am quite pleased with this new little item. For those of you interested, I bought a Canon Rebel XSI, which is a digital SLR camera. I love it!

I have kept pretty busy the last few weeks. I am taking an online Photoshop class through UVU and am really enjoying it! I am in the process of finishing a baby blanket with the help of my friend Katie Lewis. Here is the blanket so far. I just need a blue border around the edges and I will be finished!

I have also been reading a new book series called The Great and the Terrible by Chris Stewart. I am currently on the 3rd book and I am totally sucked in! I recommend these books to anyone who is interested in the battle of Satan vs. God's Children. The first book takes place in the pre-existence and the others on earth.

I also go to lots of doctors appointments, buy things for my baby boy, try to cook new recipes, hang out with my mom, go to a pre-natal class with my husband, sleep, and gain weight. That pretty much sums up my last few weeks. :)

Yummy recipe

2008-08-12T13:35:00.002-06:00

I was searching around recipe websites on other people's blog and I found this delicious recipe. I cooked it for dinner last night at loved it. It is kind of like a sweet and sour chicken.

CHICKEN
6 to 8 parts chicken (or 3 breasts) cut into pieces
1 cup cornstarch
3 large eggs

Beat eggs until firm and fluffy. Roll chicken pieces into cornstarch and then into egg. Covering all sides thoroughly. Drop chicken into (medium) heated vegetable oil and deep fry until golden brown. Remove from oil, drain and place into 9x13 baking dish.

SAUCE
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 cube (or 2 tsp) chicken bouillon
1/2 cup water
4 T ketchup
1 T soy sauce
1 tsp garlic salt

Bring all ingredients to a boil and pour over chicken. Top with foil and bake for 1 hour at 350° F. Serve over rice. Sauce recipe may be doubled if using rice. Pork chops can be used in place of chicken.

Click here to go to the website where I found this recipe.

Enjoy!

Girl's Camp

2008-08-11T14:42:00.008-06:00

Last week I was at Girl's Camp with the Young Women in my ward. We go to Camp Koholowo in Payson Canyon. I don't have any pictures (because I still don't have a camera that works), but hopefully I'll be able to get some from the girls or other leaders. We had an absolute blast at camp though! Our theme for camp was Be Yourself University (BYU), focusing on the importance of finding out who you are and realizing your individual worth. Tuesday the girls went on a hike, we decorated the cabin, did certification, ate delicious meals, watched some skits, had a fabulous guest speaker, had a homecoming queen contest and then a homecoming dance. Wednesday we did a craft and service project, a ropes course, singing in the trees, and had a dutch oven contest, which I am happy to say we took 1st place! We got a lovely ribbon, a trophy, and a huge bag of goodies for our victory. We made a gorgeous home-made apple pie that was delicious!

Thursday we had more skits, a faith walk, a talk from the Stake President, and Bishopric dinner followed by testimony meeting. It was a really spiritually uplifting night that ended with a initiation with "Queen Oogabooga." :) It was hilarious! Friday we packed up and headed home. Every leader who noticed I was 7 months pregnant thought I was crazy for going to camp, but I had a blast and I was so glad I got to plan and be apart of it. I had so much fun with the Young Women! The Stake gave us the "Most Creative" award because our decorations, skit, cheers, dutch oven entry, etc. were all amazing.

I didn't get much sleep from camp and I was so tired and exhausted by the time I got home that I actually ended up getting sick. We went to Salem Saturday night to watch the fireworks for Salem Days and it poured down rain! I got so sick from that I spent the rest of the weekend sleeping, laying on the couch, blowing my nose a thousand times, and reading Breaking Dawn.

I liked this book the best out of the series. I thought it was interesting and I liked how it ended. I don't like over analyzing it and being too critical of everything that happened in it. I think for a series about vampires, it is pretty good. I'm still sick and now that I've finished the book I'm pretty bored. I don't like not having anything to do. I'm getting more anxious for my little boy to come!

I'm an auntie!!! :)

2008-08-10T22:49:00.001-06:00

Introducing my first nephew...

Eli Jordan McGuire

Congrats Troy & Stephanie! :)

http://steph-troy.blogspot.com/

Happy Anniversary... a little early!

2008-07-26T18:04:00.005-06:00

Yes, our anniversary is August 3rd, but that is a Sunday and I go to Girl's Camp the 5th-8th. We had a free weekend and Chuck has been working super hard, so we decided to celebrate early! Friday we took off to Salt Lake and enjoyed a fabulous dinner at The Roof located in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. It was a delicious meal with a beautiful (sunny) view of the temple. Next, we decided we wanted to take pictures. No, I have not bought a camera yet. We borrowed on from Chuck's parents. :) Hence the fact I am actually making a post on this blog because I have pictures to go with it! Anyway, we had the camera set with the timer and Chuck was trying to set it on a ledge with flowers so it would take our picture. A security guard came over and asked Chuck not to "mess with the flowers." It was pretty funny. We explained what we were trying to do and the security guard took our picture for us.

Can you believe this is my first real "pregnancy" picture! I'm less than a week away from my 3rd trimester!

This is Chuck wishing he looked as good pregnant as I do. :)

Then we spent the evening in the Treasure Island room at the Anniversary Inn. It was a blast! I think everyone should get to experience a night in the Anniversary Inn during their lifetime.

Saturday (today) we checked out of our room and went to the Salt Lake Temple to do a session. It was a great get a way. We are also going to celebrate our anniversary with Brian Reagan tickets on August 13th at Thanksgiving Point. It is so nice to celebrate special occasions! :)

I love you, Chuck! Happy Anniversary!

Update

2008-07-01T20:33:00.002-06:00

With out a camera that works to take pictures of our life happenings, I feel this blog is getting boring. Then again, I try to think of the activities we have done the last little while, which makes us seem even more boring. Chuck has had a big project to work on the last little while so he works all day and then comes home and works some more. Seeing as I only work from 8-1 on Mondays and Wednesdays, I have lots of free time. What do I do during this free time you ask?

The dishes, laundry, and added grocery store attendance- I try to make a nice dinner now and again.
Take naps- being pregnant and a school teacher, I found little time to take a nap during "math time." Now that school is out for the summer, I can take a nap whenever I want.
Play cards- I get bored and venture over to my parents house and make them play cards with me. When Chuck gets home from work, I make him play games with me too. If any of you want a game night just let me know!
House shopping- I get emails of house listings from our realator and then we look at houses. We haven't found once that catches our fancy yet. I am sure hoping we find a house before little Hunter arrives.
Tuesday night baseball games- Chuck and his friends play baseball on Tuesdays. Tonight is their last game. I sadly had a nerve spasm today from my toe to my back and couldn't move that lasted for about 4 minutes. It hurt pretty bad and left my body sore and exhuasted. I'm resting on the couch at the moment.
Girls Camp Preparations- With girls camp only a month away, I've been spending time getting ready for that. My most recent adventure was putting together a First Aid Certification Booklet.
Camping- Chuck and I have been camping with our friends and to a family reunion in Idaho for the weekend.
Summer School- I teach the kindergarteners and first graders reading and math. It can be fun and challenging at times.
Baby Stuff- I go to doctors appointments, look on-line for baby things, but I have yet to purchase anything for our little boy. Maybe if we get into a bigger place, I'll start purchasing things.
Reading- this is my personal favorite. I enjoy reading, especially when it is for fun. On our honeymoon I read Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. I wasn't really a fan of the story, but I found it interesting. My aunt Lisa is a HUGE fan of the Twilight series and actually has a really huge fan based website that has caused her to be on TV, meet the author, and visit the movie set. With her passion for the stories, I decided to go ahead and read New Moon, I found this story to be better than the first, but still not the best writing I have every encountered. Yet, how many stories are there about vampires and werewolves? (I'm sure there are MORE out there than I'd like to know.) I then decided to read Eclipse, which I finished in a jiffy. Here is the book cover for the sake of posting a picture on this blog post:
I have by far enjoyed Eclipse the best out of the series, but I still think the story drags on. I am excited to read the last book in the series Breaking Dawn when it comes out. I would love to see if Bella turns into a vampire in the end. I'd feel like my reading would be a waste if she didn't. We shall see.
Chuck's Birthday- He is a 4th of July baby. We celebrated early with our dinner group friends. I had them over for lasagna, garlic bread, salad, and cake. It was fun, especially since card playing was invovled. I'm not sure how we'll spend the actual birthday, but we will figure it out soon enough.

That is pretty much what is going on in my daily life. Such an exciting update, I know. :)

It's A Boy!

2008-06-03T15:31:00.003-06:00

I had my first ultrasound today. I am 5 months (20 weeks) along. I am half way done! It looks like the Voorhees name is going to live on! Here are the ultrasound pictures of our BABY BOY! They look a little funny because he is doing a hand stand and his chin is pressed against his chest. He is pretty squished in there.

Here is a picture of his squished up face. You can see his eyes, nose, and his little arms.

Here is a profile shot of his face.

I decided I wasn't going to post the picture that displays his "manhood." But there is no doubt we are having a little boy. He is measuring bigger than we thought. They predicted my due date to be October 16th instead of the 22nd. The doctor said he wasn't going to change my due date because our baby will just come on his own time anyway. Right now, we are planning on naming him Charles Hunter Voorhees. He will be named Charles after his dad, grandpas, uncle, etc. Due to the fact that there are so many "Charles" in our family, we'll call him Hunter. We just have too many Charles' to keep track of. :) Chuck and I are super excited and can't wait to have little Hunter with us!

Welcome Home Elder Voorhees!

2008-05-20T20:32:00.002-06:00

Chuck's brother Russell came home from his mission today. He served in the Guatemala City Central mission. He is the one brother I have yet to meet or spend time with. It is exciting to have him home!

Here we are at the airport :)

The family outside the house

The Voorhees kids. Me and my boys!

Mother's Day

2008-05-14T20:33:00.003-06:00

I forgot I still had these pictures on my computer! For Mother's Day my students made signs for their moms and then I took their pictures and made a DVD to show during our program. Each sign was sooo cute! I put the song "You Are So Beautiful" by Ray Charles on the DVD to play with the pictures. It was a super cute slideshow for the moms to watch. Here are just two pictures out of the whole group. I think they are adorable!

Don't I have the cutest students ever?!

Catch-Up

2008-05-14T17:08:00.003-06:00

Nothing too exciting is happening in our lives at the moment. We are just busy as usual. I decided to make a little list of the things that are going on in our lives:

There is only 10 more days of school left! Yay!! I love teaching, but I am ready for summer break! I'm teaching summer school so there really is no break, but teaching a group of 3 is better than whole class at the moment.
My students put on a Mother's Day Program for their moms/grandma's. They were adorable and did a great job!
I felt our baby move for the first time on Saturday. I also got the flu on Saturday and was in the bathroom throwing up every five minutes for 6 hours.
I keep losing weight. I think I've lost 8-10 lbs. this pregnancy (due to my fight with food). I am starting to get a belly though, so I guess I'm gaining weight with in the losing weight.
I got a 3rd church calling. I am now Camp Director and will be going to camp when I'm about 7 months pregnant. I love Girl's Camp! :)
My favorite pair of shoes broke.
Chuck is playing on a softball team with a bunch of his friends. They have never played softball before, but they are fun to watch.
We are looking around at digital cameras and I'm excited to purchase one.
I entered my student's class book into a writing contest and we won $50. We are going to have an Author's Party!!!
I made Chuck go and see Made with Honor (a movie) with me. I don't recommend it.
I like to sleep. I'm always tired. Sleep is good!

That is about it! We love the spring/summer weather that shows up on random days. We would love to have a bbq or go to the park and play if any of you are interested. :)

Holly & Steve

2008-04-30T20:03:00.002-06:00

Congratulations Holly & Steve!

Graduation

2008-04-29T19:30:00.002-06:00

We are so excited to be done with school!

114 Reunited!

2008-04-22T22:51:00.003-06:00

After a year and a half, the girls of apartment 114 were reunited to celebrate Holly's bridal shower. It was a blast to finally have all the girls together and we were all especially excited to have an addition to "the girls," with cute little Sadie joining the picture. It will be exciting to see how this group changes over time and to see all of the additions that are to come!

The girls at Holly's bridal shower

The traditional goofy shot

Super cute Holly and Sadie

Sadie sleeping on Mom's shoulder :)

It was so great to see all of the girls together and I know we are all looking forward to Holly's wedding on Saturday!

Georgia!

2008-04-21T21:10:00.009-06:00

Chuck and I headed off to Georgia for spring break to visit my brother Troy and his wife Stephanie. My family lived in Georgia when I was in high school, so it was a lot of fun to take Chuck back to a place that I used to call "home." It was soooo beautiful there! It made me want to move back in a heart beat. We also saw a lot of close friends. Here are some pictures from the trip:

This is from the Chickamauga Battlefield. It is just a cool Civil War statue.

This was a huge tower. I remember getting my prom pictures taken here.

This is what you see at the top of the tower.

Chuck and I at the top.

My parents.

Here we are outside the aquarium.

Cute turtles at the aquarium in Chattanooga.

My previous bishop took us flying in his plane. My brother Sean and Chuck are in the plane. We all got a turn. It was sooo much fun!

Here I am with the crabs!

There was a room you could walk in with a whole bunch of butterflies. Sean kept getting butterflies to land on him.

Here are some random pictures taken at Coolidge Park in Chattanooga, TN.

Back to the aquarium. These pictures are out of order. Sorry...

Jellyfish!

Family portrait on Sunday.

Troy and Steph comparing their bellies. Stephanie is due to have her baby in August. I will soon follow her in October!

This is Stone Mountain where we watched a cool lazer show once it got dark.

Another family picture at the Joseph Standing Monument. Cool story if you have time...

The famous Rock City barn. You can see 7 states from Rock City. However, we did not venture there on this trip.

So, there you have it. Just a few pictures from the glorious week off that we had. It was so nice to be someplace warm and beautiful surrounded by family. I also got to visit one of my high school teachers named Mrs. Bowden, who is like a second mom to me. It was wonderful to see her! Overall, we had a great relaxing trip and are now looking forward to graduation! :)

Cedar City

2008-04-08T23:33:00.000-06:00

I'm procrastinating big time right now. I should be typing my lesson plan for my LAST BYU observation tomorrow morning, but I would much rather write about my weekend and reminisce about the past. Conference weekend Chuck and I drove down to Cedar Cedar to spend time with Marissa and her family. We got there super early, so Chuck and I decided to go bowling. I won the first game and then Chuck kicked my trash the 2nd game (157 to like 50 something I believe.) My bowling was so pathetic that round. I blame it on the fact that my mom was sending texts and praising Chuck for his wonderful bowling. I was getting angrier with each text she sent, which shows my ability to keep focused. After bowling, Marissa and her family rolled in to town and we stayed up SUPER late talking and catching up on life. Saturday we made breakfast, watched Conference, went out to eat, and while the boys were at Priesthood session, I helped Marissa clean out her room and go through old boxes. It was a lot of fun to see things from her childhood that she had kept around. We also talked about her mission, which was really neat to hear about. Then we stayed up super late watching a movie, which I kept sleeping on and off through. I slept on and off a lot though. On Sunday, I made french toast for everyone, we watched Conference, ate lunch, and then Chuck and I headed home. It was a great visit and I was so excited to spend some one-on-one time with Marissa. I'm happy she is home. She and I tried to tell Chuck about our previous rendezvous in Cedar City, which brought back a lot of memories. Since I didn't take any pictures of the last weekend, I thought I'd post some from when we hung out in Cedar City the summer after freshman year.

Here is Marissa and I at the St. George temple. I believe we hung out at the Visitor Center and watched a movie they had. We also ate lunch at Cafe Rio and hit some of the outlet stores where we found....

what we refer to as "pickle pants." I'm not sure I still have those floating around. I may have given them to D.I., but I thought they were great! Some days I felt like a Ninja Turtle. :) I also picked up a green fuzzy pillow on the trip that I still sleep with. It is probably time for a change.

ABC's

2008-04-02T15:47:00.001-06:00

Here are some pictures from the class photo shoot I did today. We are making an ABC book and needed something for the cover. I thought they were cute, but I'm partial because I love my class. Also in exciting news, Chuck and I are going to spend Conference Weekend in Cedar City with Marissa. I'm super excited!

This is my class!

This is Melanie.

and Kelton

And Laren

And of course, what good is a camera without a goofy shot?!

Field Trip!

2008-04-01T15:51:00.001-06:00

My class went on a field trip today to Harward Farms in Springville. It was their Farm Field day. It was actually a really fun field trip considering the wind and snow on the ground. We visited several stations and talked about farm animals (cows, pigs, goats, horses, sheep, chickens), we saw a sheep get her wool sheered off, the kids made seed necklaces, we learned about the food pyramid, how germs are transferred, how honey is made, farm saftey, etc. My favorite part though, was when I learned something completely new about Utah. We were asked to figure out what Utah's main crop was. My students said apples, corn, peaches, apricots, hay, wheat, etc. None of these were the correct answers. I guessed cherries and I was RIGHT! Amazing! I have lived in Utah almost my whole life (17 out of 22 years) and I didn't even know that. Aparently, Utah is in the top two in the nation for growing cherries. All these years I've just loved and cared about the corn. I've rarely tried the cherries. I guess I have something new to look forward to this summer. :) The field trip was a lot of fun, my kids loved it, and when we got back to school I got to send them to Computers and PE. It was a fun day!

Blog... Isn't it about time?

2008-03-29T16:18:00.001-06:00

So, I created this blog a couple of months ago. I guess it is about time I get this thing up and running. I hope that Chuck and I will actually start using our camera so I can put some pictures on here. I figure this is a great way for us to start documenting our life together. There isn't much going on for the two of us except a busy few weeks that are soon to come. Chuck and I are going to Georgia for a week to visit my brother Troy and his wife Stephanie in mid April. When we get back it will be time for graduation, weddings, and family fun. A few weeks after that Chuck's brother Russell returns from his mission, both of our brothers graduate from high school, and then the school year ends! I am so looking forward to summer vacation! I love teaching, but I am ready for a break. I am dying to read a book for enjoyment in place of research based books on Professional Learning Communities and Small Group Literature. I love reading everybody's blogs and keeping up to date. Hopefully this will help us keep in touch with our family and friends.