More new puppy

The new puppy

Okay, so she's not really ours. Michael's parents bought a new silky terrier puppy, and they stopped on the way home from the airport to let us say hello. She is adorable and "tiny enough for your hand" according to Kaitlin. I think Kaitlin and Scylla practically frightened the poor thing to death, but she was a trooper. It's almost enough to make me want another puppy - almost.

First snowfall

We were still in Utah for the first true snow, and Kaitlin was ecstatic this morning when we had a fresh new coat. I managed to put her off until 9:00 am, but we did finally bundle up and head outside. She is such a brave little girl. We were playing on the drainage hill (which apparently doubles as a snow hill) in the winter. She kept saying things like "it's okay mommy, don't be scared, you can do it mommy, the hill's not as big as it looks." It just made me chuckle - I think those are supposed to be my lines. Granted I'm very pregnant and my balance is somewhat questionable, but still, she leaves me in the dust when it comes to snow.

Riding the 4 wheelers at Thanksgiving

What can I say - if it's a trip with my parents some sort of recreational vehicle will be involved. We visited my grandmas in Utah this year, and this was the first time we've ever been away from the Fort Collins/Loveland area since we've been married. It was fun to see some relatives, hang out with some old college friends, and of course, visit all of the Utah stores for black Friday. Kaitlin fell in love with the little rocker at RC Willey, and after 2 hours of waiting in that horrendous line it came home with us. I think that puts us on some sort of "cool parent" list.

The granddaughters

So, my cousin Holly sent this picture. I love seeing old photos that you only vaguely remember being taken and that you've never seen. My entire extended family came out to Colorado for my and Ryan's mission farewells back in 2001, and we got a cool picture with all of the granddaughters in my old back yard. Yeah for "looking back" pictures that bring back really fun memories.

I'M IT!

I make fun of these tag things but I get a kick out of reading them and doing them anyway. Besides, if you get tagged it means you are popular and special, right?

Tag Rules: Go to the 3rd folder of your pictures and select the 3rd picture in. BLOG! So, here we go!

This picture was taken on our honeymoon in California. I'm looking at this picture and my first thoughts are: 1) wow, Michael looked skinny. 2) I wish my hair would still straighten like that, and 3) How in the heck has it been five years already?

Maybe it's just me, but I would imagine that anyone who's gotten married in their early 20s (or younger) feels at least somewhat similar to this - we kind of "grew up" together. From getting our first real jobs, to letting go of grandparents, to watching our bedtime go from past midnight to just after 9:00 because we get so tired, to becoming Mommy and Daddy...we were mostly kids when we met and now, although I would say we still have a lot of growing up to do (and thankfuly so!) we've become grown ups together. I can't think of anyone I'd rather have been with on that ride. So, in the spirit of that, I wanted to list a few things that I've noticed and really appreciated about Michael over the past five years.

1. He chases Kaitlin through the playplace at Chick-fil-e and genuinely seems like he's having as much fun as she is. Going back to the big kid thing:)

2. He's spent more time and money in school than just about anyone I know, but he still is humble enough to ask people good questions and actually listen to their answers. He doesn't pretend that he knows everything (or anything as he would claim:).

3. He'll play connect 4 with me at 3:00 am when I can't sleep.

4. He patiently explains the rules to football to me, even when I ask what a safety is for the 39th time this season.

5. Contractions hurt less when he's holding my hand. Apparently mommies AND husbands have special "no hurt" powers.

6. Old women just love him. Whether it's the file clerk at his work, random women at the dog park, my grandmothers, waitresses, you name it - they always pull me aside and let me know how lucky I am to have him.

7. He's really organized. He can find the perfect shelf for any tiny room that is dirty and cluttered and make the room actually look well thought out and tidy. I so wish I had that ability!

8. He likes to hug. I remember that movie "My best friend's wedding," and there's a whole dialog about who lets go of the hug first. I love the fact that he'll hug me until I decide I'm done - even if we're in public.

9. He's the most health conscience person I know, but he indulges me when I want a disasterously unhealthy icecream sundae without making any mean comments. He even joins in sometimes.

10. He calls me every day on the way home from work, just to talk. I find myself really looking forward to "our half hour" every day.

So, that's Michael. I highly doubt he'll read this or even know I posted it, but nonetheless, thanks for 5 really fun years!

Tag: Kathy, Christa, Marissa, Margie, and Kylie. Have fun!

Trip to Utah

We went to Utah over conference weekend to visit the great grandmas and of course hang out with my brother Kyle and his cute fiance. My aunt Jill has a little boy (so yeah, my first cousin...strange mormon familes:) who is slightly younger than Kaitlin and as much of a hellion as she is. He's INCREDIBLY ADORABLE, and incredibly busy, and devious, and prone to disaster and likes to hit...

They warned us before we even put them together and of course we thought, "we'd love to see anyone put Kaitlin in her place." She totally kept him in line! Everyone was just in awe that he was behaving so well because he knew otherwise Kaitlin would wamp him. It was really funny to watch. I think they had a really good time together. If we could have brought him home as the best playmate ever, we totally would have!