Tribute to a teacher

Yesterday someone very dear to my heart passed away. Mrs. (Judy) Morgan, my high school English teacher and Speech and Debate coach passed on. She will be greatly missed! I often did not feel like I was a super important person when I was in high school and Mrs. Morgan always made me feel better about myself. She was not only a teacher, but my friend. I will never forget the many speech meet trips with her and Gwennie. We had a lot of good times and I appreciate all she taught me. Her smile and laughs always made me happy. I remember that one year she got me a huge stuffed rabbit at a speech meet. It made me feel so important. She was amazing and no one will ever take her place. She made this world a better place, and I hope that I can emulate her happy spirit. Mrs. Morgan you are so loved! You will be greatly missed! Love you and sweet dreams 'til we meet again.

A month of Thanksgiving

This week has been trying but at the same time amazingly wonderful. We are closing in on the big move (7 weeks from last Friday) and things are beginning to fall into place. I am so thankful for the many blessings which my Heavenly Father has seen fit to bless me with. Things get stressful when you move, but things have gone fairly smooth at the same time.

Earlier this week I was giving Joshua a bath and he laid his head down in the water and gave me the biggest smile ever. It filled my heart with joy. He is learning so much and growing up too fast. He has picked up shaking his head no and yelling 'Dad'. He is also standing up on his own very well. He is such a wonderful blessing in our home. He fills our lives with joy and it is so hard to imagine that he has only been with us 11 months.


Ethan is beginning to talk... a lot. :) It is so awesome to see him learn things and begin to put things together. He knows a lot of shapes and is starting to get the colors more and more. He has a very funny, silly personality and makes us laugh a lot. He is growing up too fast.


Travis only has 1 week 2 days and finals (as he tells me :D ) 'til graduation. He has been working hard on school and hunting. He also works at Handel and we are VERY excited to go to his Christmas party.

As for me, I have been busy blogging and crafting. I am also working on a couple of piano pieces and teaching myself the guitar. It has definitely been an experience. The guitar has been harder to learn than the piano.


Well, that about sums it up. This week we are having Thanksgiving here and we are very excited to be cooking our own dinner. Hopefully it turns out well. We are truly blessed and have so much to be thankful for.

P.S. Pic of Trav to come. We have no good recent ones of him alone.

Halloween: Tricks and Treats!

This past Friday and Saturday we celebrated Halloween. It was a weekend jam packed with a ton of fun. This year we got two costumes: Buzz and Woody. Ethan of course wanted to be both so Friday he was Woody, Saturday he was Buzz. Joshua didn't care because he hated both costumes.


Friday, we started our Trick or treating out by going to the Union Trick or Treat. There were a TON of people there and Ethan was a little overwhelmed. He really got the hang of saying Trick or Treat though. He got to do a pumpkin toss, pumpkin bowling, and got to walk through a little haunted house where he was scared. The people running it dropped the candy on his Woody hat and he ran out crying. It was an interesting experience for him.


Next, we went to the Children's Clinic Trick or Treat where the boys were gushed over. Everyone thought they were so cute. They got a lot of good loot there including some glow sticks which Ethan was bound and determined to try and open.

Saturday Travis had the FE Exam so the boys and I were on our own. We trekked downtown to Trick or Treat. I wasn't quite sure how to do this so I loaded both boys in the John Deere wagon. They did amazing. Woody (which was Joshua on Saturday) passed out early on and enjoyed a snooze almost the whole time. Buzz was busy charming everyone and smiling extra candy out of them. It was a beautiful morning and we had a nice time.

From there we went to the Scrapbook store and took Halloween pictures. I will post one when I get it back.

Saturday evening we went to the Trunk or Treat at the Stake Center. It was a little chilly so Ethan and I walked around while Travis and Joshua handed out our candy. Ethan got a little tired and started to shout Trick or Treat so we didn't stay out too long. He still said thank you but rather interestingly.

It was a very nice weekend and next year will be a new adventure since we will be Trick or Treating in California.

Oops! Pictures

I forgot to insert the pics in my last blog so here are a couple.

Travis and the 'box car' children

The Beet Digger and Semi

My Mom at her 50th Celebration

Time flies!

I was thinking this morning that it had been a while since I had posted so I decided I had better catch up! This past week, especially, has been quite eventful. We have had lots of comings and goings already this month and we are just a little over half way through October. Anyway, here it goes.

First off I wanted to mention that Travis shot his first antelope! I have not yet seen a picture, but I have 30 pounds of antelope meet in my freezer to prove it. :)

Last week the boys and I went home for my mother's 50th Birthday on Ocotber 11th. She is such a wonderful blessing in all of our lives! We stayed from Sunday - Friday. Ethan got to take a lot of tractor/combine rides and he loved it! Best of all I got to smell beet harvest. Yes, I said smell. That is the best smell in the whole world. I love going out to the beet field and smelling the crisp fall air. That would be the best Scentsy smell in the whole world. :)

The following weekend Trav's family came down for Tina's birthday which was the 17th. We went to a homecoming parade, football game, had a b-day party with the family, and went out for breakfast. It was fun to hang out.

What a busy, fun-filled month we have had so far. Not to mention my brother, Michael, and Trav's sister Kimber are getting married December 18th. We have a full fall season this year! I would say I want things to slow down, but I don't. It is nice to be on the move and to have things to do. :)

9 months!

Joshua Bruce is 9 months old today! I can not believe how time has flown! He is getting so big and is trying to do everything his older brother does. I took some quick photos of him and Ethan today and these are the best ones. Happy 9 month birthday to my baby!


Don't you just love the happy face in the one of both of them? Priceless!

Memorable Moments

Today there was a special moment that made me fall in love with being a mom all over again!

After a wonderful morning session of MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) we came home to eat lunch. I got pizza for Ethan and Jamie and baby food for Joshua. I had to run to the little girls room and could hear Jamie and Ethan eating. Josh began to cry because he was hungry so I hollered that I would be out in a minute. When I came out of the bathroom everything was quiet and I got a little nervous. I rushed to the kitchen to find Ethan standing on my chair feeding Josh. He was telling him, "shh, Josh k!" (which in Ethan language means shh Josh its ok). He was actually feeding him quite well. It made my heart happy. He knew Josh just wanted to eat and was trying to help his brother. It was a moment that made me feel like I was doing something right. It totally made my day!

Michael McLean and Batdorf

This last Friday I had an amazing opportunity to go to Billings, MT and see my favorite pianist of all time: Michael McLean. For those of you who don't know who I am talking about, first shame on you, haha and second, he does the Forgotten Carols and many other amazing works.

I got an email saying that he would be performing in Billings and immediately began to form a plan. I facebooked my friends to see if anyone wanted to join me and one of my best friends, Raegan wanted to go. We made a plan to meet up in Billings and have a girls weekend!

It was amazing! The whole weekend was perfect for my needs! I was even able to stop off at Big Horn and watch my little sister Saren play a volleyball game. It was a great weekend.

When I got to Billings Raegan and I enjoyed dinner at Red Lobster to start the evening off. Then, we headed to the concert where McLean and Batdorf performed Mission 2 B :) . It was uplifting and so fun! Afterwards, since our hotel pool was closed, they sent us across the way to another hotel where we hot tubbed for about an hour. Then we talked late into the night and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.


In the morning we enjoyed a delicious hot breakfast at our hotel and then began to map out our shopping. When we checked out Raegan informed the hotel people we weren't super happy about the pool situation so we got our room for like $50 bucks which means we had more to spend shopping. Yay!

We went to Hobby Lobby first and spent over an hour pouring over projects we wanted to create. It was very therapeutic. Then we went to the mall and shopped some more for sweet deals and totally enjoyed ourselves. Lastly, we ate lunch at Noodle Express and then I headed for home.

It was a long drive... I think close to 14 hours in the car for both days but it was so so so worth it. Not to mention it was 14 hours of peace and quiet to myself. I enjoyed the quiet time and the scenery was beautiful as well! Thanks Raegan for an awesome weekend and thanks Trav for letting me go!

Bear Lake

I know this is a little out of order, but I thought I had already blogged this. Silly me! Anyway, for Labor Day we took our annual trek to Bear Lake and as usual it was wonderful! We were able to spend time with Trav's family and to get away from Laramie for a couple of days. We played lots in the water, ate lots of good food and visited a lot.


This year we got jet skis and it was soo fun! Ethan absolutely loved them and did not want to get off! I actually enjoyed them too this year since I was not prego! :)

We (the girls) were also able to make some awesome bead watches. Tina brought beads and we had lots of fun.


It was a great weekend with family!

Life's Simple Pleasures

Last Thursday was one of the best days I have had recently. What made it so special? I had an awesome date with my husband Travis. It was a last minute idea since I was heading out of town Friday and Saturday. We decided to go out to eat and then go bowling. We ate at Luciano's and had a blast just talking to eachother. We ate good food, laughed, and had a great time. After that we headed out to the bowling alley. It was league night so we were unable to bowl so we decided to go to Walmart (so original I know). It was so fun though! It was just Trav and I so we took our time and flirted shamelessly. :) It was almost as if we were on our first date again. It made me realize what a lucky woman I am. I am still so in love with the man I married over 3 years ago and I only continue to love him more each day! Life is so good! I love that my husband is still in love with me after 3 years and 2 kids. He truly is the man of my dreams!

Back to School

After this past week I have a new appreciation of my mother! I don't know how she did all she did with 2 little kids and no hubby. Granted mine is at work and school but still, holy cow. I guess I got a little spoiled over the summer.

Trav started school last week and Ethan decided to break through 2 of his 2 year old molars. It was fun, ha! He ran a fever pretty much from Wednesday thru Saturday. It was crazy! I hate seeing him so miserable.

This semester I am watching my friends little girl Jamie. She is the same age as Ethan and it is good for Ethan to have someone to play with. They do pretty well together and it is nice to only have to entertain one child. :)

I have taken up a lot of hobbies lately and have been enjoying myself immensely. I have redesigned a cowboy shirt, made several photo projects, 3 fleece blankets, hair ties for my sister, flannel boards, working on a skirt and also a carseat cover. It has been so busy but fun. I have also really taken to indexing names on a geneology website. These little projects as well as trying new foods have become my obsession. I will post pictures of my projects soon!

I am ready to fall asleep at the computer so I must retire. Yay to Trav's last semester at school!

SILHOUETTE MACHINE GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

SILHOUETTE MACHINE GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

I am sooo excited about this! If you are interested in this type of stuff it is soo worth it! :)

Finally home for real!

It has been a very busy couple of past weeks! I went home, again, but am finally back home in Laramie. I have never missed home so much or been so glad to sleep in my own bed! I missed my stuff and I even missed cleaning, to an extent. It feels so good to be the boss of my own house. Haha! :) It was nice to see family and have adventures but it is nice to be home also!

The first day I was home my Uncle Gary and his entire family came down. It was wonderful to see them! It had been 5 years since I had seen any of them and it was nice to catch up. Kimberly came down Sunday to drive us back on Monday so she got to meet some of the family too. I bet she felt so lucky.


Wednesday that week Dad, Mom, Saren, Matthew and the kids and I took a trip to Yellowstone/Jackson. It was so beautiful. While we were there the boys got to experience their second earthquake. It was crazy! It was a lot bigger than the one we felt in California and it was surprising to me that it happened in Wyoming. We got to see my cousin Ronda who lives in Jackson Hole and she said that they have tremors quite frequently. Overall we had a very enjoyable time and I took lots of wonderful pictures.


Throughout the week we were able to ride 4wheelers, tractors, and combines. Ethan was spoiled rotten with being outdoors so much that I think he would have rather stayed. He loved it. Even Joshua enjoyed being outside and chasing the dog.

On Friday Travis came up and Saturday we went to go spend time in Cody with his family. His grandparents arrived on Sunday and got to meet Joshua for the first time. I love his grandparents!

Monday we went up to Shell Falls and had a wonderful day. Ethan practically lived in the creek the entire time we were there. It was beautiful and again a wonderful opportunity to take photos. It was a perfectly wonderful day!


Wednesday we were finally able to come home and we have been busy unpacking and cleaning ever since. By the time it we get all settled in and comfortable school will start. At least I can not complain of boredom. Life is good!

Home again! Home again!

Wow! What a couple of busy weeks it has been. After we got back from California we melted in our apartment in Laramie until Friday when we packed up and went home to Burlington. I had a friend get married Saturday and attended two receptions that night.

It was wonderful to be in Burlington with a lawn and lots of extra babysitters! :) Monday was my birthday and we had a nice dinner with both families. I got spoiled and had a nice day. Tuesday we went to Billings with Gramma Waters and helped Uncle Dan find a motorcycle jacket. Wednesday was pretty relaxing and we played in a splash pool I got in Billings. Ethan loved it and Josh just chilled in it. Thursday was my Dad's birthday so we went to Cody to hunt down gifts for him and then had a nice dinner. Friday Travis came up to Burlington and we had another nice relaxing day. Saturday was the Pioneer Celebration and we were able to see Saren perform in a program and ride in the parade. It was a nice day. Sunday we packed up and came back.


Now I am beginning to play catch up with all the house work. My wonderful husband put in AC while we were gone so we are now not melting in our apartment so it is back to work.

We have been so tremendously blessed this summer and it is wonderful to have such good family and friends. We love our families and are thankful for the wonderful people they are. It doesn't seem like we realize how lucky we truly are until we grow up and move away. It has also been such a blessing to have the church in our lives. We have made so many new friends this summer and have been so well taken care of. The church is true wherever we go. It is truly a blessing to be a part of it!

My Boys

So this is more of just a sentimental post of things I want to remember later, but I wanted it to be in our blog so I could print it out later.

I AM SO BLESSED!

I have the most wonderful family in the whole world! I have a wonderful husband who supports me in everything I do and I am so in love with him. I also have two amazing children.

Ethan Paul is 2 years old and is growing and learning so fast. Today, while we were at the Play Place at the mall he started actually playing with other kids. There was one other little boy in particular that he was playing with. It was so sweet. The compassion my little boy showed to the other children today overwhelmed me. Don't get me wrong he is definitely your average rambunctious 2 year old, but today his sweet demeanor almost brought his momma to tears. It feels so good to see them do something right. It makes me feel like I am not doing everything wrong. I love Ethan so much!

Joshua Bruce is the sweetest baby ever! He is only 6 months and is already on the move. His new favorite place is under Ethan's table. He finds all sorts of food treasures there. He loves to suck on his lip and it gives him this funny toothless look and it just makes me laugh. Josh and Ethan sometimes make each other laugh and it is so cute! Joshua is so patient and happy and he is such a blessing! I love Joshua so much!

I am so blessed and I just hope that I can always remember little good things like these every day! I love my family and thank God every day that he has brought these amazing people into my life!

Last week in Cali= Bitter Sweet

So, this is our last week in California, sigh! We have had so much fun here and it will be sad to leave, yet we are very excited to sleep in our own bed! We have made lots of great friends and we can't wait to come back to the awesomest ward in Palmdale (Ana Verde =) ). Trav mentioned that it is too bad we couldn't have just graduated and then we would be here for good. We really do love it out here and enjoy having so many things to do.

Last week was the 4th of July week, but unfortunately I got an ear infection so I was sick pretty much most of the weekend. Thursday we were able to go to the Bash on the Base out at Edwards AFB. It was really fun. They had free carnival rides and water slides and Ethan loved them! We also discovered another thing he enjoys: cotton candy. It was so funny! He absolutely loved it and scarfed it down as quick as he could. The only thing exciting we did on the 4th was eat In'n'Out Burgers. Trav's glasses got broken by Ethan that day so we didn't watch fireworks either. I guess we were kinda party poopers but we all enjoyed each other's company. I love our family!


Monday we finally broke down and went to Dry Town, the water park in Palmdale. It was wonderful! They have a little miners' camp and Ethan absolutely loved it. Josh and I walked the Lazy River most of the time we were there. It was a very relaxing enjoyable afternoon. Next year we will definitely get season passes!


This week we have tried to do one of Ethan's favorite things each day so on Tuesday we went to Apollo Park to feed the ducks and play. I don't know if Ethan got more of the bread or the ducks. He would eat a piece, throw a piece. It was so fun to watch him! Unfortunately the playground was closed because they were seeding grass but we took him to Hull park and then got ice cream after we played. For the most part it was an enjoyable evening. :)


Yesterday, Wednesday, we felt our first earthquake! It was really weird! In Borrego Springs it was a 5.9. We luckily only felt a tremor. I was actually talking to my mother on the phone and all of a sudden just felt everything go up and down. At first I thought I had just had a really bad moment because of my earache, but after calling a friend, found out we had indeed felt a tremor. Ethan just looked over at me with a really perplexed look. I am so glad it wasn't anything bigger!

We move home Saturday and are not looking forward to the drive. California adventures and friends we will miss you but we WILL be back! Wyoming here we come! :)

3rd Anniversary

This past week has flown by! I can't believe that we are down to the last 2 weeks in California. The time has gone so fast. We have made a lot of friends here and we'll be sad to leave them. Good thing we will be coming back in January! :) I am very excited especially since it will be so cold in Wyoming then.

This past weekend we pretty much just hung out, watched soccer, and swam at the pools. It was very relaxing and low-key. Ethan loves the water and is quite good at kicking his feet while we swim around with him. Josh loves to just chill in his floatie device and splash. They are very wonderful boys and we love them so much!

Monday, when we went to take out the trash, Ethan insisted on pushing the umbrella stroller all the way around the building with Josh in it. He did a very good job and is becoming quite the big brother and helper.


Yesterday was Travis and I's 3rd year anniversary. I can't believe I have been married to my best friend that long. I am looking forward to forever! We went out on a date and saw the movie Robin Hood and ate at El Torito. It was a very nice evening. We even got dressed up for the occasion. :) Too bad we had to come back in and change because the wind was so bad my dress was not behaving. Ha ha! Travis got me a beautiful bouquet of roses for our Anniversary. He is so sweet.

We are so truly blessed and love each other so much! We love our life!

Joshua is on the move!

This past week has been a bit quieter since Gramma left, but we have still had some great things happen! Joshua is now on the move (see the video)! He is army crawling everywhere and is quite good at it. One day I was making lunch and set him in the living room, the next thing I know I heard him squawking and he had scooted his way to our bedroom. He is becoming such a big boy! He turned 6 months old today and we are so glad he is part of our family.

On Saturday the whole family went to Toy Story 3. It was very good. We also went cherry picking in the morning. There are tons of cherry farms around and so we decided to venture out. I even got bit.... by Ethan. He absolutely loves cherries and did not want to wait for mom to take the pit out so he began to eat them whole. I tried to stop him and got bit. After that he ended up eating a lot of cherries whole. He was not much help filling the bucket, but he enjoyed his cherries. :)

Sunday was Father's Day and we had a very relaxing day. Well, almost. We had to talk in church, but other than that it was relaxing. We had Trav's favorite breakfast of biscuits and gravy. For lunch we had hot dogs and various chip dips. Dinner was chicken enchiladas and cheesecake. We sure do love Daddy (Travis)!

More Adventures with Gramma

On Sunday we drove to Long Beach to see Travis' Uncle. It was beautiful!!!! They have a condo that overlooks the Queen Mary. It was so gorgeous. We got a little lost getting there so we crossed over the bridges and could see the pier. It was quite an amazing sight to a farm girl! :) We walked around the beach and went to Famous Dave's for dinner. It was very good. Ethan ate almost every bite of his dinner and then a lot of the onion rings and corn on the cob. I don't think we had ever seen him eat so much. It was a very wonderful day.

Monday we decided to go check out a town called Tehachapi. It is north of the base and we heard it would be a good place to raise a family. It is a lot less hot and actually has 4 seasons. There are beautiful apple orchards out there. It is pretty but very rural. It does not even have a Walmart. Okay, so I totally grew up without ond but I totally have been spoiled since I have been an adult and had to shop. There is an Albertsons and a K-Mart but thats just not the same. Also, there seems to be a LOT more to do in Palmdale than Tehachapi but I guess it is an option.

Monday night we had an adventure trying to find Apollo Park. Once we got there it was very enjoyable and peaceful. On our way we found the musical highway Strip. When you drive over it going the speed limit it plays a song. It was pretty cool. Since we got lost we actually got to go over it twice. Apollo Park has duck ponds and several play areas. It was a gorgeous evening and Eth got to play lots. It was a very peaceful ending to a wonderful day.

This morning we had to bid farewell to Gramma and take her to the Shuttle stop. We absolutely enjoyed having her here and can't wait 'til we get to see her again. It was a very fun week. Now back to the grind. Hopefully we don't get too bored without her around! ;)

Below is a pic of the famous person... If you recognize her let us know who it is! :)

Adventures in Cali

This past week we were very fortunate to have Trav's mom visit. We had a blast and were very sad to see her go. Since we had such a filled week with her I am going to make 2 posts. This week and last week. :)

The first day we played with Grandma we took Ethan to Story Time in Lancaster. We got to play a lot and read a story about the ocean. Ethan got to make a starfish and had tons of fun playing. That same night I was able to go to a Relief Society activity while the rest of the family hung out. It was a great night out and was one of the best Relief Society activities I have ever been to. We learned about water color painting and book writing. It was very fun.

On Thursday we hit the beach at Santa Monica. Gramma took Ethan on his first carnival ride and all four of us (Tina, Eth, Josh, and me) rode on the Carousel. We shared an absolutely amazing fruit cup and played in the sand. We also went to the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium. It was great and they even had touch tanks so Ethan got to touch some star fish and sea cucumbers. We got a lot of sun and had a lot of fun!

Friday we met Travis on base for lunch and then went to the airplane museum. There were some really cool planes. We also went to a baseball game and In'n'Out Burger. It was a very nice evening out. The burgers were fabulous as well as the shakes and the game was good too. Ethan played on the bouncy toys for the first hour and by 9 was very worn out. Both of the kids fell asleep during the fireworks and stayed asleep 'til we put them in the car. We were amazed they slept through the noise.

Saturday was a day for adventure. We saw the Hollywood sign and ventured down Hollywood Boulevard. We even saw someone famous. We were not sure who it was but everyone was taking pictures. We have decieed to go back but without the kids. They were a little restless. We stopped at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory to validate our parking pass and got a Snickers Caramel Apple. It was delicious. We then meandered down to Santa Monica Beach again (you'd think we liked it there, ;) ). We played on the beach and ate a picnic lunch then headed back towards Palmdale. On our way we stopped off at the LA temple and took some pictures. It was right off Santa Monica Boulevard so it wasn't too hard to find. That night Tina let Trav and I go out for a date and we went and played arcade games and saw The Last Song. It was a wonderful day.

A little funny side note to end the week: When we told Ethan that Gramma was coming he got excited and said "Michael". Poor Gramma got called "Michael" the entire time she was here. For some reason "Michael" = Gramma. We tried all week but failed. "Michael" is probly the word he knows best in his vocabulary. :)

SNAKE!!!!

So I was thinking to myself yesterday that I should post something on the blog but then I got to thinking I should wait 'til something exciting happens. Well, it happened! Today I went to Target and when I got back I looked out the window and my upstairs neighbor was taking pics of something by my door. She then took off and I was trying to figure out if I dropped something or if something was going on so I decided to open the door. I opened it to a HUGE snake. The maintenance guys said it was about 3 feet and it was a Gopher Snake. It looks a lot like a Rattler Snake just doesn't have the poisonous venom. Anyway, it was way creepy! I was a little freaked out and was very glad I was not the one to discover it. I think I would have had a heart attack. I am sooo glad Ethan didn't see it either and decide to poke it. Below is a picture.

Also, Trav and I got our pottery back and he sent me a pic of his which I have included. It was a very fun date. This past weekend we went to Prince of Persia and Olive Garden. Good movie, Good food, Great company!

Hopefully nothing else like the snake happens that I need to write about. Tina comes this week though so we will post pics of our adventures next week. :)

Memorial Day Weekend

This past weekend was quite eventful for us! It started out with car trip to the Vineland Drive-in Theater. We got started a little bit late but were very excited to get out of the house! On our way there, we were hit by a golf ball (not super sure) and it totally did our windshield in as you can tell from the picture on the left. We continued on and watched Iron Man 2 at the Drive-in since we were a little late.

Saturday we were up fairly early and got the windshield fixed. Somewhere between the mall and getting the windshield fixed I lost my phone. We looked everywhere and finally gave in and replaced it. Thank goodness for insurance!

Saturday was also good for us though! Trav and I got to go on our first date in like 3 weeks. We usually go every week so this was a much desired outing. We didn't really know what we were gonna do becaues there are a lot of options here so we began to wander. We went to the mall where there is a store called Paint A Dream. At this place you paint a pottery project. Trav painted me a froggy piggy bank and I painted him a jet. It was very fun and it was nice to do something other than a movie. Pics are to come of the art projects when we get them back.

Sunday we went to church and then headed out to see my Uncle Joe and Aunt Fina in Corona. We got to meet Tracy and her kids (James and Michael) and we also got to see Norma and Rosie. It was a very pleasant visit and we will definitely be visiting them again. We even made plans with Norma to go to Disneyland. We are very excited. The picture to the left is Joshua and his Great Great Uncle Joe. He was amazing with Josh!

Monday we decided to explore and have some more fun so we went to the Devil's Punch Bowl. Supposedly a short little one mile hike. The way down was great and the scenery was beautiful. Ethan even hiked most of the way down. Once we got to the bottom we played in the water and then decided to go back up. Haha! So Eth was very tired at this point so I took Joshua in the carrier and Trav helped/carried Ethan. Everyone passing us was asking us weird questions like "Are you guys trying out for the Olympics?" and one lady told her kids, "Quit complaining, they are carrying babies and you don't hear them complain." If only she had heard the thoughts in my head. I kept thinking I was gonna pass out or something. It was pretty rough. When we got to the top we heard some people talking and another lady also told us that we were brave to take the hard way with kids. Hard way!?!?!?!!!!!! Apparently there is an easy way back up but we, not knowing the area, had taken the hard way back carrying the kiddos. I just laughed and drug myself to the car. It was a beautiful hike, but if we ever do it again carrying kids we are going the other way! :)

All in all, it was a great weekend. We are looking forward to Mama (thats how Eth says Gramma) Waters visiting for a week on June 8th and will post more later.

California

The Wednesday after Trav finished classes we began a long road trip across the Western States to California. Travis has an internship with Edwards Air Force Base so we are residing in Palmdale, California for 2 months.

So far we have loved it. We got lucky with our location and are very close to everything. We have a shopping center and several other stores close which makes me happy. :)

Our complex has 2 swimming pools and we have also visited the beach. Ethan loved chasing the waves and we are looking forward to a fun Memorial Day Weekend.

We have an awesome ward and are already making friends. I must admit that I miss my Laramie friends too, but I much prefer the weather here. I am very excited to be moving back here in the winter! It will be wonderful to move to warmer weather.

The picture is of the Salt Lake Temple. One of the 4 temples we saw on the trip here. We were lucky enough to see Draper, Provo, and St. George also. We have our first ward temple trip to the L.A. temple (40 minutes away) next weekend.

So far, LOVING Cali!

Watch for new pics of Memorial Day Weekend!

Love,

The Waters

Welcome Spring 2010

So a lot has happened since I last posted, lol! The biggest thing being that we have added a new addition to our family. His name is Joshua Bruce and he arrived on December 21st, 2009 just in time for Christmas. Ethan was not so enthused about this Christmas present, but he is adjusting. Ethan loves his little brother now and calls him, "Gosh". We love our boys very much and can not believe how fast they are growing!

Travis: Travis received the SMART Scholarship last year and will be interning this summer at Edwards Air Force Base. He is a WONDERFUL cub scout leader and a very hard worker. Both the boys love their Daddy soo much. Ethan eagerly awaits his return home every day and his Dad is his best bud!

Ethan: Wow! Ethan is almost 2 years old now and is learning to talk. He says car, go, Dad, Mom, ball, Gosh, bye, Walmart and other words. He absolutely loves Cars and the Toy Story movies. His birthday cake is going to be Cars theme (pics to come :) ). He is very smart and is becoming quite the helper.

Joshua: There is not a smilier child than Josh. His grin lights up the room and he is so precious. He is getting so big and can hold up his head very well. We are working on the rolling. :) He makes all of us smile and we love cuddling with him.

Me: First and foremost I am a wife and mother. I love being home with my boys and watching them grow. I am also experimenting with cooking all sorts of food for my family, and I love it. I am currently a Star Team Builder in my Mary Kay business and I am working hard to earn my first car and become a director. I absolutely love my business and the opportunities it provides for other women. I teach Sunday School to the 16 and 17 year olds in my ward and they are amazing. I love my life!

Well thats about it for now. My goal is to post every month, so we will see you all again in May! :)