The Smith Fam

Oso Special and Jesus...

2012-01-26T18:37:00.001-08:00

This was one of those night where Jamon is gone at school until around ten. I have the boys and the house is quiet. I am reading books with Brax and Keegan is finishing his dinner (which actually never got finished). Anyways, Keegan was sitting at the table and all of the sudden said the word agency. I asked him if he knew what it was and he went off on what must have been his latest sunbeam lesson. He was saying that agency is when you touch fire and it burns you. I tried to clarify that it means we can choose to touch the fire or not and if we touch it a bad thing might happen. He agreed with my explanation and continued to talk about it. He was saying that it "starts when we are baptized.... in the water.... Jesus was baptized.... and he was born... Jesus gave us agency.... Jesus was agents (mispronounced).... Jesus was an agent.... Oh So Special is an agent!!!" His face lit up like he had just connected ALL the dots.

Christmas Post 2011

2012-01-20T13:49:00.000-08:00

It is well into January but I hope everyone had a great Christmas! My family did for sure. Speaking of January, one of my goals this year is to better document our lives (especially Braxton's). I have all sorts of pictures of Keegan and now I am absolutely terrible at documenting the things Braxton is doing. Christmas is a perfect example of this. I have barely any pictures of all the stuff we did this Christmas. All I have is Christmas morning at my parents and some time with my grandparents on Christmas Eve. Whoops!

Santa opened Keegan's mega box of LEGO's and built hime a garage for his new trucks (see below). It was taken apart pretty quickly:)Poor Josh had to do Christmas on the computer again. Thank goodness for Skype!

Keegan is pretty obsessed with treasure and maps right now. His awesome Aunt Tracee made him his own treasure chest with gold dab loons and maps and other treasures. He LOVES it!Big Braxton's first Christmas! He was soooo cute Christmas morning Feeding the reindeer the night before. He loves having this job:)Braxton helped by looking cute and cheering his brother on We also left some treats for Santa. Keegan picked one of every kind of treat!
The night before Grandma and Ernie stopped by for dinner and gave the boys their awesome gifts. Keegan got these trucks that light up and carry around matching race cars and Brax got all sorts of fun books. Jamon and I also got a special treat. Grandma bought us a beautiful new comforter and other bed accessories. Jamon was really excited about it!
Braxton loves his Grandma!

Pre-Christmas Post

2012-01-11T21:19:00.001-08:00

Once again, these are all in reverse order of when they were taken. I will be better on the next post:)

This year, Punkin (my momma) took my family on the Polar Express. Dad was supposed to come but Tracee ended up taking his ticket. We missed him but they boys love their Aunt Tracee too! We loved this adventure and it was soooo awesome to feel the magic the kids were feeling. Thanks Mom!!!

This is after Santa came by and gave the boys their bells. Keegan was in shock that the real Santa was standing in front of him. It was so fun to watch!

The next two pics are Keegan seeing Santa's sleigh for the first time. The Josh Groban song was playing and I have to admit the "magic" made me shed a few tears:)
Jamon got to open his present early. He had worked his way into getting a free snowboard from a company he has been working with. So his present was to pick out some brand new bindings. Here's a schocker... He got the same ones as Josh and Rees. Three Musketeers.Is he not the cutest!!!!
Is he not the funniest??

New Pics

2011-12-04T20:46:00.000-08:00

We just took a trip to Phoenix to see Josh and for Thanksgiving. One of the main events was the Avalanche Ski Sale. We go every year to wait in line. The first thirty get free Snowbowl passes. So worth waiting in line for three hours. We were so excited to see Josh and everyone else. My boys adore Tracee and Rees. Can you believe how big my baby is already!!

We were numero uno on Saturday morning.We found a board that was perfect for Keegan. Too bad it was so expensive. He walked around with it forever thinking he was the coolest guy ever. We pretty much broke his heart when we told him he wouldn't be bringing it home.So we are back home now. I have been dying to get ready for Christmas. Jamon helped me get some of our Christmas stuff out of storage. This is a pic of our tree and family last year.

This year's tree... We have grown by one human and many baby toys:) Also, I couldn't find my white lights so we bought rainbow ones. OMG pink! It's the only color I see.

Seriously, could they get any sweeter??World's ugliest ornaments!!! Bought them last year after Christmas for 9 cents each.

Big storm came through. Wasn't as big as they thought it would be (thank goodness) but we enjoyed it.

Keegan put on his thermals to go play in the snow. He left them on and wanted to sleep in them too!

Here is an update on the boys...

Braxton is 6 months now. He is a drool factory! We have been waiting to see some teeth but no such luck yet. He is able to get on all fours now and rock back and forth but luckily no crawling yet!!! He thinks his brother is hilarious and loves watching him jump on the couch. He has stopped nursing (maybe I taste funny). It was hard for me to give it up but it has turned out better for both of us. He is sleeping better at night but still not as good as he should. We are working on it.

Keegan is funny as ever. He starts primary in January and we are so excited for him. Today he went to singing time and I had so many people coming up to me saying how good he was. However I also heard lots of stories about him raising his hand or saying excuse me to answer questions but then he would just go off on one of his forever long stories. He has become quite the talker. He is obsessed with maps and treasure.

Wanting to remember...

2011-12-02T15:20:00.000-08:00

This is just a couple random things that have happened lately and the majority of them, I really want to remember.

1. The first, not really wanting to remember, but it was pretty funny. So on Tuesday, I had a pretty busy day. Trying to catch up from our trip to Phoenix, kids, helping family, more kids, dinner. Finally, 6:30 came and I got to go to enrichment and relax and talk to adults and feel the spirit... Ha ha ha ha ha. I got there with the boys and went to get Brax out of his car seat. Diarrhea all up his back. Oh, and no extra onesie in the diaper bag (took it out recently to wash). I had already dropped Keegan off at the nursery. Had to go get him out of the nursery. Started to head home. All the ladies stopped me and my only-wearing-a-diaper baby and told me to stay. Keegan back to nursery. In a weight loss competition so I couldn't eat all the freaking yummy treats. Enjoyed the lesson and started mingling during the activity. In walks Keegan with the nursery leader. He has to poop. twenty minutes later the poop comes out. I spent almost my entire evening for myself dealing with my children's bowel movements. Why do I even try.

2. Keegan was in his room with me talking. All of the sudden he boldly said, "Oh my God." Now, he has learned some not appropriate words from me but this isn't one of them. So we had the discussion about why we can't say that. I thought he understood enough to end the conversation. He then looked at me so innocently and asked, "Mom, can I say Oh my gum?" Yes, of course you can:)

3. Last night me and Braxton were kissing Keegan goodnight. Braxton gave him a really wet kiss and Keegan thought it was funny and gross. So, when I went to get my kiss, Keegan of course tried to give me a really wet kiss. Didn't want one. He was very aware of that fact because he then looked at me and said, "Mom, if you give me a kiss I'll give you a dollar." First of all, he doesn't know what a dollar is. He thinks they are called tickets. Second, where did he learn to bribe (Tracee and Rees)?

Now for a quick update... It is snowing outside and there are icesicles hanging from the roof outside. I am listening to Christmas music and burning an Evergreen candle from Bath and Body Works. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas:) Jamon is now the NAU's business school's liaison for the national fraternity Delta Sigma Pi. He is doing well in school but is ready for winter break. Braxton is doing so much better at night. He only wakes up once but it is for about an hour. I will take that any day over 6-8 a night!!!! Keegan is funny and skinny as usual. He is starting to gag when he sees spit up or hears me sucking braxton's boogers out. He is very excited for Christmas! Speaking of Keegan, anyone have tips on getting a kid to gain weight??

Here is a funny old video of Keegan to hold you over until I get new pics posted.

Another Update

2011-11-13T15:12:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe how fast Halloween came and went!!! It is one of my favorite holidays and I just didn't have the opportunity to soak it up. We did get some fun costumes together for the boys though. Keegan was a pirate (he told everyone he was a captain hook-jake but no one knew what he was talking about). Braxton was the world's cutest gnome!!! That little hat and beard was quite the challenge. And yes, this is the only pic I took. There are more on Jamon's Facebook from his sister. I was just a little preoccupied and I didn't think about it. Next year:) So for Halloween, we went to our trunk or treat the Saturday before. Halloween day, we went to Jamon's work for a party and trick or treating to all the desks. That night we came back to the apartments for chili and corn bread at a friend's place and more trick or treating. We were all worn out after that:) Oh... and Jamon is dressed up like an eagle scout (and yes he can fit in his old uniform- disgusting I know).This is my Brax playing with his favorite things:)This is him during the day- such a happy baby!

Ewwwwww! Too bad it's so pretty

Dying for some attention! This little boy has become so funny. He LOVES making people laugh, especially other kids. It makes him feel so good when people think he is funny. Ashley came up to visit a few weekends ago and would laugh at anything he said. Needless to say he was very sad to see her go! Right now he is going through that stage where sometimes he tries too hard to be funny and you have to force a laugh:) But usually he is actually , genuinely funny. This is Braxton's new beanie. We were down in Phoenix this last weekend while it was snowing here at home. It made me realize how unprepared we are for this weather, especially where Brax is concerned. All of Keegan's clothes for this age are t-shirts and shorts. We had to stock up while we were gone:)

Anyways, we are finally getting back to normal. Braxton is getting a little better a with sleeping. Therefore I am getting a little better with staying sane. I went to Time Out for Women and it was awesome. SOOO needed! We are headed back to Phoenix this week to see Josh. We are so excited!!!! Me and the boys will be there until after Thanksgiving. If you are in Phoenix and want to hang out, call us!!

Disneyland 2011

2011-10-21T09:33:00.000-07:00

Ok Tracee, I finally did it. Here are the Disneyland pics. We all decided to go for Steve's 60th birthday. It was actually the first trip we have been on as a whole family besides the Homestead. The trip was exhausting but it was a total blast. Thanks Karen Berthelson for the awesome hotel hook-up!

We started our trip with John and Mariah. We stopped at some weird train McDonald's filled with tourists from other countries who pissed off Jamon:)

So, putting this many pics up was such a pain. They are organized by day but the days are out of order. Takes too long to fix it...

Day 3...
We LOVE the Acedos!!!The girls wanted a pic in the teacups just like one from when they were kids. Jamon had to join in.The Allen family:)Funny story. Keegan did NOT want to go on Thunder Mountain Railroad. The Matterhorn scarred him and he thought there would be an ice monster on this ride too.The girl at the front of the line was so nice to him though. She talked him in to going to see the ride and when they got to the loading platform, she gave him a "citizen of Disneyland" pin and got on the loudspeaker. She told everyone that this was his first time on the ride and they need to help him out. Everyone on the ride and all the workers started clapping for him. He got really brave and totally dominated!These two are good buddies

Cuckoo!!!!! These people brought dolls instead of children. They were taking them all around and photographing them.

Keegan's first Splash Mountain ride:)

Thanks Josh for the GoPro!!Day 2... (Spent the whole day at California Adventures but barely took any pictures)

Phineas and Ferb Dance Party!!
We were all certified Wilderness Explorers!Day 1...

This is what happens at the end of Day 1:)
I am so going to rub this in his face when he gets older... Keegan loved It's a Small World:)This picture doesn't show them very well but I bought Brax this awesome beanie with Mickey ears on it:)Waiting for the big parade

One of Keegan and Braxton's favorite rides was the new submarine with Nemo. It was awesome!!Thanks Tim for the sweet shirts!!On the way home we went to the beach. We started out telling the kids they wouldn't be getting in the water. This is how they ended up...That is not pee by the way!

Jamon Turns 29!!

2011-10-19T23:00:00.000-07:00

I have seen this on a lot of blogs and stuff lately and I really like the idea. So, I will be writing 29 things that I love about the love of my life...

1. He gave me my boys

2. He gave me his love

3. He is the hardest worker I know

4. His blue puppy dog eyes

5. The smell of his skin

6. He makes me laugh

7. He helps me laugh at myself

8. He loves the gospel

9. He loves to try new things

10. He loves my family

11. He let me be a part of his family

12. His arms

13. His drive and determination

14. Did I mention he is a hard worker

15. His willingness to serve

16. The way he laughs

17. The way he dances

18. His funny and sometimes sweet video montages

19. His love for a great pair of Vans

20. He is smart

21. He is a great dad

22. He uses hankies instead of tissues (actually, I hate this, but it is soooo Jamon. I couldn't leave it out)

23. He loves girly movies, including musicals!!

24. He is confident

25. He is tan all year long

26. He pushes me to be a better mom, wife, and women

27. He is my best friend

28. He is my partner in everything

29. He kisses really well:)

Jamon, I adore you and I love you to pieces. I know you are exhausted with our life right now and all it includes but I am so proud of you. You have been going non-stop and I just want you to know that all your hard work isn't going unnoticed. You will be so successful because of all your hard work. Happy Anniversary also. 6 years!!!!

-Kristen

I Forgot Something...

2011-09-18T19:39:00.000-07:00

So before my surgery, I asked Jamon to give me a blessing. Just for comfort and to not be nervous (which I wasn't). My mom and Court were there and Keegan was eating breakfast. Jamon said to Keegan, "We are going to give Mommy a blessing" so he would know to fold his arms. Instead, Keegan jumped out of his chair and said, "Let's do this" and put his hands on my head. It was the sweetest thing. Jamon had to explain it all to him and he was fine with just sitting next to me but I thought it was the best. What a great example Jamon is to my boys!

Smith Family Update

2011-09-18T12:14:00.000-07:00

So it's been a rough patch for us. We have been to the doctor's WAY too often lately. We all got sick with that nasty cold that was going around up here. Nursing has been an absolute pain. It was so easy with Keegan. This time around I have had clogged ducts, mastitis, I recently had a huge split and then got thrush which took forever to heal. Braxton was our little purple monster for a while because he was taking Gentian Violet to treat it. We tried some other prescriptions too and finally we got it taken care of. But then I had to get a HIDA scan which made me a little radioactive so I had to pump and dump anyways.

In the middle of all this, We spent some time with a dermatologist for Braxton. He has had some lumps on his arm since he was born. However they are getting bigger and increasing in number. The doctor was totally stumped by them so we had to do a biopsy. It sucked. Keegan was with me and was so protective of him. I felt so bad for my little guy but he did great with the stitches and everything. Turned out to be juvenile xanthogranulomas. Basically a collection of inflammatory cells that are pretty much harmless. Because of the size, it it probably best to leave them instead of remove them. But, since the biopsy, they have grown so we have to go back in. Yay for me.

The HIDA scan results showed that my gallbladder is not working right. As I was waiting for the surgeon to call and schedule the surgery, I had another major attack so he was able to squeeze me in on Monday. I had no idea how much it would knock me out. Luckily Courtney and my Mom came up to help. Courtney watched the boys during the surgery and the next day as well. My Mom stayed until Friday. She is the best Mom and I love her to pieces!!! Thanks Mommy:) But I am recovering. I had to pump and dump some more because of the drugs but me and Braxton are slowly getting back to normal. It's been really uncomfortable but this surgery has been really good for. I have been able to rest and I have realized what great friends I have that call and check on me and helped me with Keegan. Plus, I have a great hubby who slept on the floor all week so I could have the bed to myself:)

Anyways, tomorrow starts a new week and hopefully things will get back to normal. Here are some pics of what we have been doing this summer.

So Brax rolled all the way over the other day. Got his arms out and everything. I started taking pictures and then jealous nelly came over to show me that he can roll over too (see two pictures down).Braxton loves watching his brother play. He fell asleep watching him this last time.This is my bambino's lumps and stitchesWe are going to Disneyland in October with Jamon's family. To make some extra spending money, we got his Dad's snow cone machine and have been selling snow cones to the kids at the dorm:) By the way, Jamon got a job!!! A friend in our ward works for a really cool, new company. They were looking for an accounting assistant and Jamon got the job. He is so excited and loves it. It's exactly what he wants to do and they ear wanting him to stay on permanently. As in after graduation, we might be staying up here because he will already have a good accounting job:)I have said it before, Jamon starts them young with the videos. This one happens to be surfing

Labor Day Weekend at the Ranch

2011-09-18T11:57:00.000-07:00

We spent a nice four days up at the Ranch. This time Courtney's boyfriend Trent came along and Tracee and Rees brought their good friend Howard. It was a ton of fun but at the same time it was really rough. I got a really bad split and thrush so nursing was the worst thing in the world. Also, the baby wouldn't sleep at night and there was a stupid cow in the meadow at night making stupid noises and Tracee was stupid sick the whole time. Long story short, we ran really low on sleep and Tracee and I took a lot of naps!

I LOVE this picture!!

These two are best buds. Keegan loves his uncles!Walking up the road to the lookout tower. When we got to the top we could see this storm coming. We had to go back down the road much faster to beat the rain.The best part of the day was when babies were in bed and we sat around the campfire while Rees, and Howard, and Jamon made us laugh.
This is Courtney imitating one of our cousins (a boy)This guy loves kids! Plus, he's single if you know anyone:)

Neagle Reunion 2011

2011-09-18T11:42:00.001-07:00

So here are pics from the Naegle reunion. We had such a fun time with all our cousins. It's so different now that we are getting older and have our own families. This is Braxton and his Papa on family night. One of our younger cousins won these beanies in the family raffle and he gave one to Braxton. We have used it so many times since.Card games with cousinsFamily pic in front of the homestead
Keegan's latest trick. He calls it his wing:) I promise I feed him!!!!
Sisters?
First time shooting a gun.

Brown Reunion 2011

2011-09-18T11:27:00.000-07:00

This year, we had the Naegle reunion at my family's ranch. The following weekend was the Brown reunion so I stayed at the Smith cabin with Jamon's sisters until then. We had such a good time getting dirty and hanging out with our family.

This was Keegan's buddy, Preston, up in the mountains. Preston doesn't like to smile so I told Keegan not to either. This is what I got:)Keegan LOVES his Grandma karen! He also LOVES her i pad!Jamon and the boys running in the Brown race with miss. NikkiKeegan ran down Green's Peak for the first time. He did great and totally kept up with everyone!Grandpas are the best:)

Baby Braxton

2011-08-11T10:19:00.000-07:00

How cute is this kid!!? Everyone told me that when the second child comes along, I will document, write down, and photograph half the amount that I did with the first. It is so true and I feel so bad. I just have to say that I love this kid. He is such a happy baby and his smile is gorgeous! Here are just a few updates on this sweet boy...

Laughed for the first time up at the homestead! It was awesome.
Constantly blows bubbles.
Adores his big brother!
2 mo. check up- 12 lbs 4 oz, 23 in., head 41.3 cm. (all 75th percentile)
Is called monkey baby braxton by his brother.
Holds his head up
Stands up on a lap if someone is holding his hands

Happy 24th!

2011-07-25T22:39:00.000-07:00

Our stake put on a big pioneer day. It was fun to go with the Elliotts and Mariah. We had the best church breakfast ever (they actually asked us how much of everything we wanted and then they gave it to us. Pancakes, sausage, etc.) There was a petting zoo, a kid's pioneer parade, and then a couple service projects.Keegan, Mia, and Hollis chasing a bunny...

Keegan loved this donkey... Then it bit him later.

My little pioneer boy. Could he be any cuter?

Playing Catch-up

2011-07-25T09:44:00.001-07:00

You guys should know how this works by now. I let it all go at once because I can't seem to get this updated regularly:) Just a quick update on everyone...

Jamo- taking summer classes and doing AWESOME! Just rebuilt a porch for someone in our ward. He really enjoyed doing that kind of work again.

Kristen- loving my three boys like crazy. Eats everything in her path but is trying to change that. Working out by doing Zumba and I love it. Enjoying the Flagstaff rains, not enjoying the postpartum depression (working out and Braxton's smiles are helping for sure)

Keegan- funny as helk. Still doing movie quotes. Is obsessed with dinosaurs, tractors, and monster trucks. Loves going to the library and running any kind of errand with his Dad. Learned how to pump on the swings. Jumps at any oppertunity to pee on a tree:)

Braxton- ADORABLE. So smiley and we are very close to getting him to laugh. Cradle cap- gross. Spits up- gross. The smell of his skin- awesome. Loves when Keegan sings to him.

Some fun pics of what we have been up to....

Funny faces...

Our first trail walk of the summer. We had to give the baby a little extra paddingWe went down to Phoenix for Courtney's graduation. While we were down there, we went ahead and did Braxton's blessing at my Father in-laws new house. We had family over for the blessing and then had dinner together.

This is the best we could get of all the kids. Levi was a little impatient:)

We make some dang cute kids!!
Keegan loves to take pictures but he thinks it is the funniest thing in the world when we tell him to smile and he refuses to look at the camera. He will say cheese but look away, the little stinker
This pic really isn't important but I laugh every time I see my Mom in it.
Taryn's birthday was the same week so we celebrated it at the blessing. This is the only candle we had.

The newlyweds- both in the same ward too.
So I know the blessing outfit is funny but it is the actual one Jamon was blessed in. Steve found it around Christmas time and gave it to us. I was so excited to bless the baby in it. He liked it too:)My boys are in love with their Aunt Tracee. I like her a lot too!
Keegan found Uncle Josh's favorite hat and wore it for the day
Courtney's graduation (Dad, next time you take a pic with me in it, please check my hair first and let me know if I look like I have a comb-over)

Keegan loved this fishing trip. Daddy gave him his own pole this time and let him reel it in over and over. The boy was so proud!
First tubby in the real bath tub with brother

I love this picture. I asked Jamon to read some library books with Keegan. I looked over and found them reading seperate books by themselves (including Jamon). He was reading Cool Construction Vehicles.
Tracee and Rees came and stayed with us for the fourth of July weekend. It was so fun having them here. We love those two to pieces!

Do I look like I fit in? Flagstaff moms will nurse anywhere, even in the middle of a park during a packed art walk.

We found the best spot. These guys hang out right by the road and only about five miles out of town.

The Adjustment Bureau

2011-06-29T15:18:00.000-07:00

We went to the "Picking in the Pines" thing last Saturday. It was hot and a little boring but the music was cool and a new thing to do. There was a performer in one of the galleries and Keegan loved the neon art.
Tracee let Keegan take one of her shirts that she took from Rees. He wears it all the time to bed. This is him eating breakfast in it... like a weirdo.
My old man baby (Keegan looked like one too) with freakishly long legs:)
Brothers hanging out
Poolside with Punkin...

Boogers from swimming and shivering. Gross!
Practicing kicking in a tube.
He is such a good little swimmer now. He wasn't crazy about it at first but Julianne kept throwing him in and now he loves it. He even makes swimming pools out of blankets at home because he misses it so much. One thing I really love about my big boy is his manners (most of the time). For example, instead of just screaming "I want Mom" he would say "Excuse me, excuse me." Then Julianne would ask him what he wanted he wanted and then he would say "I want mom." We all got a kick out of it.

This has been quite a change!!! We are all adjusting the best we can. Braxton was one month old yesterday. It went by fast with Keegan but this is going by even faster. My recovery was crappy painful but it was over fast. I couldn't stay down very long this time though because of a certain three year old. I am trying to stay busy so I can stay sane. The mother guilt has kicked in times 10. I feel bad for not playing with Keegan, then I feel bad for not paying attention to Braxton, then I feel bad for not getting Keegan outside sometimes, then I feel bad for forcing Jamon to take him outside for me (not that he has to be forced... he is the most wonderful thing and I love him to pieces). I'm sure most of you can relate to all the fun guilty feelings we moms experience:) I think it means that I just want to be a good Mom. Jamon is keeping me grounded, as usual, so I haven't shed too many post labor tears.

I am very glad to have some really good friends up here. One has introduced me to the library program up here. We went a lot in Phoenix to the story times but up here they do movies and craft days and invite singers/performers and all sorts of stuff. It's been really nice to take Keegan somewhere to play with kids and still get some air conditioning. Yes, I am craving it. My dorm is so FREAKING hot. I am sweaty the second I get out of the shower. Only public places have air conditioning up here and no one was really ready for the heat.

Keegan is a wonderful big brother. It's funny to hear him say things that I do to try and console him like, "I'm coming" or "It's ok, it's ok" or "there we go". He is even trying to give me some pointers. Today the baby was crying and Keegan came over to tell me that he wants me to sing to him. I started to and then he cut in and said, " No! He wants I Am a Child of God." It was pretty sweet. This not working, being at home thing is different and challengin for me but I would not change it. Right now Jamon and Keegan are napping together, Braxton just fell asleep in my arms so now I am typing with one hand and I can hear pine trees blowing around outside my open window:) I love my job.

He is Finally Here!!

2011-06-04T16:26:00.001-07:00

Nine days past my due date, Braxton Conrad finally decided to join us. Unfortunately, I was induced again but it was much shorter than last time and he was perfectly healthy and perfectly adorable. He weighed 7 lbs 15 oz, just like Keegan and was 21 inches long, half an inch shorter than Keegan. We went in the morning on the 28th and he was here at 9:42 that night.

At one point the nurse came in and said they had found out that I did have Strep B. I had a strep throat test the same week I had my strep B test and the results got kind of lost or mixed up or something. Anyways, they started me on my antibiotics and towards the end of my second dose, my nurse Goerge (who was AWESOME) said he would check to see if I was far enough along to break my bag of waters. I got into position for him to check and as he walked by, he got a little surprise because my bag of waters was hanging out along with about two inches of the baby's head. He went and got the doctor and they said the next contraction I would need to try pushing. I sat up to push and the action of me sitting up allowed him to slip out. The doctor was yelling at me to stop and I told I wasn't doing anything. The crying baby gave my family in the waiting room a little shock. He was so perfect and was sooooo ready to start nursing. He was a total expert. Because of all the commotion and trying to make sure Keegan was being payed attention to, Jamon and I missed a bunch of pics- Tracee and Rees, my Mom, skyping Josh from the delivery room, etc.

We were all so happy he was here and I was so impressed with Keegan. He was so attentive and sweet and Having this baby has made me love Keegan even more. I have the two sweetest boys! This is me and my buddy waiting for Braxton to come. He came to visit just before he was born.
Did you notice the awesome painting Keegan sent with Tracee to bring to me for my room:)Keegan got a gift set of Car's cars and wanted to share them with his brother:)Going home to start sleepless nights and no nurse to bring me strong pain killers. But we are finally feeling better and we are so happy to be home.

Since He Has Been Home...

2011-06-04T16:14:00.001-07:00

Here are just a few pics since the new guy has been home. I still can't get over how much he looks like Keegan. The pic below is him sleeping just like Keegan used to:)
First bath at home...
Too cute to not post...
Watching snowboard videos (we start them young)...
Big boy naps...
Keegan's latest weird sleeping pic. Every night he wants his blankets in a circle around him...
Grandma and Grandpa were out of town when Braxton was born so they came up the following Friday. We were so happy to see them:)

Almost There... I Hope

2011-05-21T11:20:00.000-07:00

Two days past the due date! I seriously had myself convinced it would be before. Oh well. I finished work on Tuesday and have spent the BEST few days with my two boys and friends around the dorms. It has been refreshing and so fun to just enjoy our life up here (even the snow in the middle of May). We have gotten the house totally ready, Keegan is SOOO excited for his brother to be here! Now he just has to come. So please hurry baby!!!

Mother's Day and All that Jazz

2011-05-09T18:55:00.000-07:00

So no pics. Too lazy. Just wanted to jot down a few things I have been thinking in case I ever get around to making all these posts into a book thing.

First of all, I am sitting here feeling this kid kick the crap out of me right now. As soon as he gets here, he might be getting his first spanking:) But I know as soon as he is here, I am going to miss having him inside me. That is the most comforting feeling. Knowing he is in me and that nothing from the outside world can get to him. However, I can't wait to see his face and rub his fuzzy head and pat his perfect little bottom as I hold him over my shoulder. I am also excited to try a gadget that my sister-in-law got me. One of the worst things about changing diapers is the smell and feeling left on your fingers after using butt cream. Mariah found a brand that uses a new kind of dispenser. It's in a deodorant shaped tube with little holes at the top. So you just turn and click until enough comes out, then rub it on, like deodorant. Awesome right!!
And I can't wait to see his big brother in action. I was thinking about Keegan last night, as I lay in bed not sleeping, and what a special boy he is. I know every mom thinks their child is special but he is just so dang sweet and calm and wonderful (mostly). Anyways, thinking about him, I remembered when he was born, how I just knew that he had a really special relationship with his grandma Pam. I think that is why he is so like Jamon. Everyone says Jamon is so like his mother and they had a really strong relationship too. I don't know what goes on before these babies get here, but I am always going to believe that keegan spent his time hanging out with his Daddy's Mom. I wonder if I am going to feel that way about our new little guy as well. Honestly though, I have the feeling that these two boys are going to be very different!
Anyways, I think (or maybe it's just wishful thinking) that maybe this boy is coming sooner than we thought. I can't imagine having to wait and feel this uncomfortable until next thursday! Cross you fingers for us:)
So I have to mention Mother's Day. I have been so blessed to be surrounded by great mothers (mine especially). They have taught me to be more selfless, giving, honest, loving, etc. There are still so many things for me to learn about being a mom, and hopefully me not working next year will give me the chance to work on some of those things. Oh yeah, did I mention I didn't renew my teaching contract. I am officially a stay-at-home mom when this kid get's here. Wish me luck:) Anyways, It was just a really special Sunday where I got to think about some wonderful women and feel the spirit. My awesome jamon made me feel so special too. I woke up to breakfast in bed from my two boys. We got ready for church together, had great meetings, came home, took some naps, and then I did a little nesting (that happens almost every day). I got the most gorgeous roses and a foot spa too.
Now that I finally had the chance to blog, I went on and on. And now I am falling asleep and it's only 7:30. Pathetic. Better go pay attention to the boy before bed:)

Easter 2011

2011-04-29T09:17:00.000-07:00

Here are a bunch of pics from Easter this year. We woke up early at my parents house. The Easter bunny had visited the night before so Keegan found all his dyed eggs right when he woke up. We got ready for church and then headed for Karen and Steve's new ward. Let's just say that with all the grandkids and only two side pews, and a husband and wife speaking about her losing her fingers, it was quite the sacrament meeting! We headed to Steve and Karen's new home after that and spent the day eating WAY too much, having an Easter egg hunt, and playing with the kids. It was a great day and we are so grateful to have such a fantastic family!Check out this curl. She is the funniest little girl:)Hunting for eggs with the cousins.I had to take this one. I don't know how many more of these I will be able to get. He is growing up so fast.These two adore each other. They even try to match:)We tried....And failed...
This pic is actually from the weekend before at Grandpa Smith's funeral. But it was too cute to pass up

Update

2011-04-29T08:56:00.000-07:00

OK. I say this every time but here is my most recent purge. It's time for an update on the Smith's. We have been crazy busy with work, school, the boy, callings, holidays, baby prep, etc.

Here is a pooped Keegan. This picture makes him look soooo big.

I was really sick two weekends ago. LIke, not getting off the couch for three days sick. It sucked!!! But my doctor came to visit. Dr. Keegan was very thorough and professional. He made sure both the baby and I were getting everything we need and then he put medicinal stickers on my tummy. It made me feel so much better:)
And Jessie, here is the bump. I know I have been really bad about posting bump pics. This is the most recent. However it is much bigger now. Along with the rest of me, but not as big as last time!As of today, I am a little over 37 weeks. It is crunch time and we are struggling to balance our schedules and find time to get ready for our new boy. We are totally sucking at picking names and have not heard anything we are crazy about. We are also not looking very hard though. Any suggestions? Remember, our last name is kind of plain:) Keegan is getting excited. I am so proud of the boy he is. Yesterday, I woke up to him running around the house. I layed in bed listening for a while and finally decided to get up. I was a little nervous about what I would find. But my boy woke up and instead of playing or wanting to watch TV, he was cleaning his room. Toys and book in all the right spots and everything. I just squeezed the kid. He is going to be such an awesome great big brother.

So far everything with our new little guy is picture perfect. I think he is going to be huge though (length wise). I remember Keegan being active and pushing me around a lot, but this kid is a whole other story. Last night, I was showing Jamon a baby body part that was pushing out past the side seam on my shirt. Yes, like almost to my back. It is SO gross. And then he pushes so hard against my stomach during the day, I wake up sore the next morning. Like the skin has been bruised. I want him to be healthy but I really wouldn't mind if he came a little early!

Anyways, that's us for now. We will try to be better when the new baby comes!

The Boys

2011-04-29T08:49:00.000-07:00

Just some pics of when Josh came to visit over our Spring Break. My boy adores his uncles!

Keegan is 3!!

2011-03-13T15:14:00.001-07:00

Keegan turned 3 last month so this is a little late. It was quite the weeked though. TJ has his birthday really close to Keegan's so they came up and we shared a party at Peter Piper Pizza. The boys got to make their own pizza and play games to their little heart's content. We had lots of family and friends there and we had a really good time. Still can't get over how loved my little boy is. Thanks to everyone who came and gave him some lovin:)

This was one of his favorite gifts. His Papa found this rock in his backyard and painted a face on it. I forget how easy kids are to please.

Isn't he lovely.
They do get along sometimes:)
His good buddy and cousin Mia
Birthday boys.
I swear they get along sometimes.

This is how our kids play:) Bunch of cheaters...

That afternoon, we all went to the soccer field. The weather was awesome and we all flew Keegan's new kite, played soccer, and whiffle ball.
This is how Rees and Keegan spend most of their time together.

That night, we had friends from the ward come to the dorm's little community center thing. It's pretty nasty in there but there is way more room than in our place. We had a cupcake and ice-cream bar and the kids ran around. It was more of an excuse to have our friends get together and eat crap.

Trent brought over his driving set-up and they played Dirt on the X-Box. Keegan loves that game. He now drifts and makes shifting noises for all his cars.
Mom kinda sucked at it:)
weirdos...
I love you Keegan. Happy Birthday last month. You are the best boy ever!!!

Random Fun

2011-03-13T14:28:00.000-07:00

A few Saturdays ago, Jerrilyn had to put together a funeral luncheon thing for over 300 people for her calling. I went along to help her out so the boys had the kids all day. They took them to Williams and they went to the train yard. The kids absolutley loved it! Her are a few pics from their fun day...

Keegan's version of a parking lot...
These two are so alike! We get comments all the time about how similar they are. Not just physically, but their mannerisms, how they walk, facial expressions. It's a little freaky. Hopefully I will have rubbed off a little bit on baby #2.

Here are some pics of the recent storm we had. I thought winter was over but this is the most snow we had all winter. It was nice though because it came, dumped, went, and melted. The way it should!

One thing I love about Flag is how many things there are for kids to do and for next to nothing. There is a sweet gym that offers a kind of open house thing for five bucks. Parents are free. Kids get free range of everything and it's in the mornings so no big kids. Keegan loves it and it wears him out so good:)

Sorry for lack of posts recently. We are very busy with school and work and Keegan. And it doesn't help that I am SOOOO tired all the time. I get home from work, make dinner, and that's about it. Putting Keegan to bed uses up my last bit of energy so I don't get to the computer a lot to do things like blog.

Jamon is doing really well in school still. Loving the program. Keegan is wonderful. Usually a super laid-back, happy boy. Still loving cars, trains, and dirt. I was just telling Jamon last night about how nervous I am for #2 to come. I am so afraid of feeling resentment towards him for disrupting our easy schedule and routine and the relationship I have with my Keegan. He is of course my son who I love to pieces but he is my little buddy too. We have such a good time together and I am so nervous that #2 will change that. Is this making sense?? It sounds so terrible. Anyone else feel this way?? Any tips??

On to #2... He has been a much different pregnancy. I am way more tired than I was with Keegan. Also, this one NEVER stops moving! I was telling Courtney the other day that I felt like Bella and Renesme was trying to chew her way out. I could have grabbed whatever body part was trying to rip it's way out of my uterus, he was going at it so hard. He is going to be so strong:) I have 8.5 weeks left. Lots to do but we are all healthy and happy.

Oh, and I smelled my first skunk of the spring last week. Can't believe how much I enjoyed it:) Welcome warm weather and outdoor fun!

Blog Post Purge

2011-01-23T20:27:00.000-08:00

This is becoming a bad habit. Here is another purge of posts. It's a new year, so I wanted to revamp the blog and make it pretty and updated again. There are a few new things...

Jamon is in the Elder's Quorum presidency, I am in young women's as a Beehive advisor, and Keegan is still loving nursery.
Jamon has started his second semester of school and is really liking it.
Kristen is on the downhill part of the school year and it is getting a little easier. She is learning to multi-task a little better:)
Keegan is totally potty trained. What a big boy! He is still making us laugh like crazy and still loves Hot Wheels and is now into legos and building things. He loves Dispicable Me and Toy Story 3. He is also crazy about the Kinect (especially Dance Central).
We found out that baby #2 is another boy! We are so excited. Keegan is really into babies right now and refers to the ultrasound pic as his brother. I think he is getting it.
What else.... I am learning to cook a little better up here. I have had a few good meals:) Pregnancy is going great. Jamon is working out and beefing up. Keegan is learning how to count to twenty and learning which fingers are which (thumbs, pointer, etc).
Oh, my favorite thing about our boy right now is that he loves to shake hands with strangers and say nice to meet you. The mail man, men in suits at church, etc. I think he is pretending to be a missionary. He loves those guys. My favorite part is the people's reaction. They never know what to do!

This is the new guy. Check out his cute little leg and foot!
Papa has this cold pack thing and so they got Keegan one too. He really likes to sleep with it. This is how we found him the other night.
Sunset out our dorm window. Love it!

Sledding with Tracee and Rees. Keegan tried this sled alone once already. You can tell he wasn't a big fan.

Snowboarding with Rees, Dad, Courtney, and Trent. This is the trip when Court dislocated her shoulder.
OOOWWWWW!
Jamon said this was the coldest snowboarding day ever. All the trees looked like this.
Biggest snow day we had this winter. I think we are done though (which I am ok with).

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. 2011 is going to bring great things!

Christmas with the Smith's

2011-01-23T16:16:00.001-08:00

Dad and Karen had just moved in to their shiny new house so we stayed with my parents this year. Plus he was potty training and I thought he would be more comfy in Punkin's bathroom since he still calls it home. But, we did get to see the Smith side a lot and enjoyed every minute. Christmas Day was at Dad's. Once again, it included lots of Kinect, tee-ball, and stir-fry. We exchanged gifts between kids, then grown-ups, and for some reason, the girls have made a tradition of exchanging home-ade gifts or something else between them. The husbands don't like it:)

Kids opening gifts together.

Dad's going to kill me but here he is playing Dance Central.

And now it's Karen's turn:)
Everyone was pretty envious. Last year Jamon had Dad and this year he got Karen. She got him some new blazers for his school meetings and church. He is so handsome in them.
Fav cousins!
Keegan's not that nice. I think he is apologizing for being mean to Levi.

Christmas with the Terry's

2011-01-23T16:01:00.000-08:00

Christmas was wonderful this year. Jamon and I both had a big break between semesters and we spent almost all of it in Phoenix. The Friday I got out of work, we took Keegan to Wal-Mart to pick out his own underwear. We didn't leave the house for the next day and a half to make sure he had easy access to a toilet. He is such a big boy. I can't say enough how proud I am of him. He took to potty training so well. Still doing great! Hasn't had an accident in almost three weeks!!!! Anyways. Monday we left for Phoenix and enjoyed all our time there. Here are some pics from Christmas Eve and a couple from Christmas morning. The art easel was from his Aunt Tracee and Uncle Rees.Luckily, Courtney drew my name for our exchange. And luckily she works at Buckle. I got a lot of new jewelry that I LOVE!
Keegan with his cookies for Santa.
Putting our Reindeer food. He was so excited the next morning when he went to check if they ate it and it was all gone.

Riding Punkins giant chicken.
Me and Jamon bought ourselves a Kinect this year. We took it everywhere and it's pretty much what we did every night.

Keegan loved my Grandma Gillespie's Christmas scene. He spent hours rearranging it.

Merry Christmas! Love, The Smith's

2010-12-17T21:18:00.000-08:00

Personalize a newsletter design

Winter and Christmas are finally here!!!

2010-12-06T21:05:00.001-08:00

So I got up all my Christmas decorations. They were kinda weak. I got rid of a ton before we moved to save room in storage. This little thing though is something I kept. It's not that great but you have to understand that I have been working on it for almost three years. I started it when we moved to the Earll house. Picked the perfect pine cones from my own front yard, painted and glittered them. Hand- painted all the ornaments and hand-painted the snowman and Santa. However, the whole thing has not been put together until now:) Picture doesn't do it justice. It's much brighter and sparklier in person.I got this ornament from my Secret Santa this year. I said I like ugle and funky ornamnets. She got me this weird piece of chocolate cake with a fork. I LOVE IT!We also got the tree up tonight. I didn't really want to get one since we won't be here for Christmas, but Jamon talked me into it. I'm so glad he did. The house is way more Cristmasy.Anyone who knows Keegan, knows he has the world's best grumpy eye brows. It's almost permanent he does them so often.Uhhh. Love him!First tree Keegan got to help with. He kept telling us to stand back and then he would say... "perfect" over and over again.This picture either makes me look like a giant or our living room look really small.The biggest storm we have had so far...

Thanksgiving 2010... Part 2- Smith's

2010-12-06T20:41:00.000-08:00

I am working backward's. We had Thanksgiving with Jamon's family on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. But, I don't have the pics with my family on the computer I am using. So I will post this one first and that one later:)

It was so nice to have the Smith's come up to Flagstaff. Mariah was really excited to host it at her new house and everyone was looking forward to the fun winter weather. Mariah used her gorgeous china and set-up the prettiest table. The pics son't do it justice. Taryn and Devin brought up their Kinect to play the whole weekend. We all had a blast playing games and doing Dance Central. Can you say humiliating!!! Keegan and Jamon loved it the most I think. Keegan was really into Poker Face and Jamon is still practicing Soldier Boy. (He will kill me for saying that.) This is Keegan and TJ trying to take Grandpa's cane.

This pic sums up the grandkid picture. Dad making his super cheesy smile waiting for a good picture to happen and the kids absolutely not caring!

Tim and I had a dance off. He kicked my trash. I was very humbled:) I crashed at one point and everyone took pictures. And then the boy put stickers on me. His fav thing to do.This pic would be so much nicer if Jamon's Mt Dew wasn't in it.Taryn and I learned how to fold napkins:)

The best thing that happened over the weekend was that right before our early dinner, we put the kids down for a rest.... They ALL CRASHED!!! We ate dinner, just us adults. It was amazing. A new tradition maybe?

Some Random Fun

2010-11-22T21:30:00.001-08:00

Didn't add this to the last one. Old news but a cute pic.
Josh really wanted to watch the ASU game but of course he can't really get that in Korea. He called up his best buddy. Jamon found a way to help him out.We had a new family in our ward come over for dinner. Brian is very musical and found out Jamon had a guitar. He played some great songs and the kids adored him.
Lately, Keegan has had some very interesting sleeping positions. He is so quiet when he sneaks out of bed and we don't find him until he is completely out in some random place. I have hit him in the head so many times from him sleeping behind the door.Keegan has been obsessed lately with a little stuffed horse he calls Bullseye. He is constantly putting him to bed. That horse sleeps all day. But his favorite thing to do is make beds for his toys. You can't see it but he tipped his hamper over and the horse is sleeping in there. Then he lays out all his washcloths, burp cloths, etc that we used when he was a baby. He hates when they get wrinkled or moved. We need to work on the OCD tendencies:)Jamon was very excited about winter because winter=sweats. I hate sweats. Don't look at our room by the way. It's small and always messy. Dorm life.These two have the funniest love/hate relationship. When they are together they fight and then are best friends two minutes later. This is them watching a movie together one morning.Sorry. I know it was all random but we have been doing lots of random things lately. Hope everyone is happy and healthy! Have a great Thanksgiving!!

BRRRRRR!!!

2010-11-22T21:05:00.001-08:00

So everyone has been asking about how we are liking the cold. Yesterday it began. Our first snow. As we got ready for church, we took Keegan outside to watch it snow. He loved it and kept talking about Christmas and Santa. Anyways, I called the fam and let them know we had our first snow, blah blah blah..... This was nothing. It snowed all day and all night. I know this really isn't that much but for me, it is. We had a great day though playing in the snow and drinking hot chocolate.Our astro-turf and snow cookies and cream snowman:)

Save the boat!!!

2010-11-08T23:06:00.000-08:00

the video below was put together by me(jamon) of a wakeboarding trip we took to new mexico. for a better video click on the video and it will take you to youtube for a larger video. check it out. its long and cool.

Save the boat!!!

2010-11-08T22:59:00.000-08:00

Halloween and Fall Fun

2010-11-03T21:00:00.000-07:00

October started with birthdays and anniversaries. Jamon turned 28 and we had our 5th wedding anniversary. May parents celebrated their 30th!!!! We went them to a bed and breakfast near Flagstaff and they came to visit afterwards. They took the boy to the pumpkin patch and these are the ones he picked out. By the way, as much as that dog drives me nuts, I think he is the cutest thing.

The other fun thing we got to do was tell the fam about our new bambino. I am 12 weeks now!!! Finally! I was not sick at all with the boy so this was really different. No barfing, just sick. Thanks everyone for the advice. And thank goodness for gatorade! Anyways, we have already had one ultrasound and everything looks great. My due date is May 19th, so right before school gets out. We are way excited!!! The baby is coming at a great time and the boy loves babies right now. I hope he keeps it up.

These next couple of pics are actually out of order but I am too lazy to change them around. Keegan cried for like an hour while I tried to get him in his costume, including these white tights. I worked hard on this and he was going to wear it. By the time he started getting candy, he forgot about it....then he liked it. He wouldn't take the tights off except to take a tubby. Then they went back on. This is him the next morning. If you are having a bad day, come back to this post and it will change!!!My kid is soooo weird sometimes:)This was Halloween night. I let his Papa and Daddy and Aunt and Uncle take him down the street. One night of this costume was not enough! And yes he was one of those kids with four adults to one child.Trick or treating with Uncle Rees.As I said before, the costume fitting for the trunk or treat was no fun! This is me trying to paint his face. As you can see, he hated it big time.I even let him paint mine to see that it's not scary. It didn't work so then I just looked like a moron.Now we are at the trunk or treat. It was so fun to see my buddies and hang out with them and Jessie's hilarious daughter.Tracee was Keegan's trick-or-treat mentor. He had it down so good by the end of the night.SAM-I-AM---So cute!!! Thanks Jerrilyn for the sewing machine.Pumpkin carving at Mariah and Johns. Shiloh was in town with the kids so we all got together, ate tons of food and did our pumpkins.Michaelshad a little craft day so I met Mia and Mariah over there. Then we moved all their display stuff and made a little photo shoot area. Don't worry, I am a former Michael's employee. I am allowed to do that. He he.

Update on the Boys

2010-11-03T20:15:00.000-07:00

Jamon is doing amazing in school. Just last week he scored the one of the top 3 test grades in his class for American Politics. He is working so hard in his classes and doing some odd jobs on the side, including painting someone's exterior of their home. Keegan is hilarious and keeps getting funnier. He learned how to back talk... joy and has been very independent lately. Drives me and Jamon CRAZY! He is loving counting and finding super letters. He also really likes skyping people. When anyone in the family skypes us, he finds a book to read them (it's usually Green Eggs and Ham). He spends two days a week at Jerrilyn's playing with Mackenns and the other days he is playing with his cousing Mia at his Aunt Mariah's house. Here are the big boys fishing at Mormon Lake. This is Jamon's first Pike. He was soooo excited.I thought these new p.j.'s would be such a fight but he was actually laughing when I was putting them on him. He thinks he is so funny and cool when he wears them.It's so funny when a kid has so many toys and he only plays with two... his hot wheels and his blocks. Sometimes he gets out other things like his mini skateboard ramp or other toys, but he uses them for his hot wheels and blocks. I think it's because those things can be organized. He He!This boy loves the Natural Cheetos that his Dad always has to have in stock. This is the boy watching Harry Potter. Those are his new favorite movies, besides Tarzan and Green Eggs and Ham. Still the cutest kid in the world!Found him asleep like this the other night:)

Living at NAU

2010-11-03T20:03:00.000-07:00

We are really enjoying our time up here. The weather has been fun (I don't know if I will be saying that in a couple months) and we love finding new things to do. One thing you have to do when you live up here is go the the football games. Keegan LOVES them. I think Jamon loves them a little more though. Here are some recent pics we took up here.

I Promise... He really does love them.Beautiful, but yuck!

Nothing to do always mean something fun...

2010-11-03T19:53:00.000-07:00

One night we had nothin to do so we got us a little KFC and some blankets and chairs and had ourselves a campfire picnic with the Elliotts. We had a great time playing hide and go seek and the kids are always happier when they are outside.These two took turns giving shoulder rubs:)

County Fair

2010-09-29T21:43:00.000-07:00

We had a blst at the fair. Soooo different from the ones in Phoenix. There was a ton to do and I didn't post all the pics but these are some that I like... I think this is the best picture Keegan has ever taken. He was trying to look like the llama.Keegan Hated this roller coaster. He was the only one on it and cried almost the entire time.The ride with a gun was a whole different story. He was very serious about all the rides where it was as if he was driving. He would stay in the same position the entire time and not smile until it was over.Don't know why but I love this pic. (above)That's the weird "frog" Jamon won for the boy.Us. Happy.Them. Happy.I think Keegan liked the bus ride more than anything. There was a free shuttle on the city bus leaving from one of NAU's parking lots.

Keegan Update

2010-09-29T21:25:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to throw in some misc. pics of Keegan. That's all anybody is interested in anyways:) He is adjusting really well up here. He spends a lot of time at Jerrilyn's with Mackenna. He is being a real trooper. I think sometimes he wonders why her mommy is at home and his isn't but we are trying to be patient with each other. I know it won't be like this forever... but sometimes it feels like it. Anyways...

Keegan called us into the guest room at my parent's house as if he had found a dead body. We ran in there to see what he needed and found this. He had found and pulled out every single type of board imaginable out of my brother's former closet. He was standing just like this with one foot up, like he had just built the most glorious mound of goodness ever made and he was the king of it.Don't judge me. I honestly couldn't see this. A friend of mine who happens to do hair was playing with Keegan and noticed this. Just so you know, he has a very deep under-the-skull, top-of-the-neck thing. This nasty rat's tail had been hiding and growing there. I chopped it that night. Before I did, I caught a couple pics.Me and the boy in bed. I had no idea I slept like such a weirdo... but isn't he sweet. And he doesn't do this often. Just when he wakes up too early:)

Found this chair at Sam's Club with my parents. It's supposed to fit three people. Awesome!
I think I have pushed organization in my home a little too much!

Family Pics

2010-09-28T21:50:00.000-07:00

Hi there. It's been too long. Things have been psycho crazy with work, school, wedding, two year old, and sickness. Things have been fun too though. For example, never lived in a place with four seasons. I am totally into it. However, being poor and living in a dorm does not equal amazing fall decoration oppertunities. So right now, I am only admiring the gorgeous pumkins and flowers outside Safeway and Michaels:) One thing we enjoyed was the wild flowers at the end of summer. We have a new friend:) who offered to take us out and do family pics with us. We had a blast. Minus the fact that Jamon had an allergic reaction to the flowers- face swelled up, hives, the whole nine yards. Thankfully we got some great pics in before.

Fort Huachuka (I have no idea how to spell it)

2010-08-23T19:58:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, I started teaching the same day Josh graduated his AIT training but Jamon and Keegan were able to go. They had a really good time. I am not sure about everything they did so I will just put up some pics. By the way Josh, when you read this, just want you to know I am so proud of you!!!! I have seen you successful at lots of things, but never at this degree. I miss having you around but this just seems like such a good fit for you. Anyways, proud of you, love you, I'll kill you if you don't skype us often!!! Good luck in KoreaJosh was top of his class. So impressed!!!Numero UNO!!! Keegan hating the camera, again.Weird things happening in the hotel room.

Flagstaff Storms

2010-08-23T19:50:00.000-07:00

All this water was from a storm that lasted maybe an hour. Crazy, huh?

The next couple of pics are from an urban trail that we like to go joggin on. I had been on parts of it but last week, Jamon went really far and found out about this gorgeous canyon it winds through. We went on the day it rained so there was this river running through it. It was awesome. Humid, but awesome.

New Camera!!!!!!!!!

2010-08-23T17:53:00.000-07:00

We finally got a new camera. We are so excited (and my mom is so excited). We get to do so many things up here in flag and didn't have anything to document them with. So... I broke down and let Jamon pick one out. These are just a couple pics from the first week with it.First, fishing at Lake Mary. These two are so happy to be hanging out again!The Elliott's.The boys took the kids out for Dustin's target practice one night. Mackenna was very interested in Keegan's belly button:)This was the first day we had it. Keegan wasn't too thrilled with it.He eventually warmed up to it and now we can't get him to do normal poses.

Whiting Reunion 2010!!! (Part 1)

2010-08-09T15:39:00.000-07:00

Baby Carter... the cutest, most plump baby ever!He thought he was too cool to hang on with both hands.Hanging with Preston.Watching the zip-line. I got kid duty a lot:) This year we were able to attend the big Whiting reunion at the Whiting Homestead. We had the best time and we are so greatful for the great family we come from. This reunion was very similar to last years but it we enjoyed it so much more. I think it was because Keegan was at an age that made him able to do almost all the activities and we loved taking him around to see everything. He loved playing with his cousins... and so did we;) It was great to be around family who care for you and who share their testimonies with you. I feel so fortunate to be a part of this family. I thought it was special to have my family's ranch/ homestead to go to each summer. Now I feel undeservingly lucky to have two to spend time at. The Whiting family is an amazing family unit rooted in the gospel I love. Every year I learn more about my adopted family heritage and the family members I have now that I love so much. I have been given more sisters, brothers, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc that I know love my little family. Anyways, there are a ton of pics of all the fun things we did. Hope you enjoy!

What the helk is a tweet??

2010-08-01T23:04:00.000-07:00

Just joking but I have never been a fan of Twitter. In fact, I think it's kind of ridiculous. Anyways, it is handy for some things, especially when you don't have a camera, you don't live near family, and you do have a very funny kid. So I did something I am very excited about and worked really hard on. I added a twitter widget (on your right) that updates tweets as we put them on. I found out how to customize it and everything. All of our tweets are pics or videos from Jamon's phone. Some of them are so dang funny. Check them out! Let me know if it's working. The most recent one is Keegan reuniting with his GF/BFF after a couple months. The Elliott's moved to Flag too and Keegan is so stoked!!! The beginning of the video is a little slow but there is a really funny part towards the middle.

Humble Pie

2010-07-27T18:55:00.000-07:00

It's my least favorite dessert.

Today, I got to eat some.

As I watched my kid play on a huge playground outside my door, I had a pity party about the things that others have and that I haven't had the chance to have. Then I got mad at my already humble husband for not understanding how I feel because he's so much better than me (nice thing to be mad at, I know).

I decided to go on a walk to get my frustrations out. I walked down to a awesome astro-turf soccer field with Keegan. We saw two rainbows. Keegan loves rainbows. We played soccer and did some yoga. Keegan learned how at a fun yoga "class" downtown in Heritage Square last week. He thinks he is doing boco tricks. Then it started to rain. We played soccer in the rain and then sat under a tree for a minute and watched it rain some more. We ran home and Keegan was squealing the whole time.

Now I am soaked, Keegan is in the tubby, and we are having pancakes for dinner.

I have it good.

Sorry honey;)

Oh, to be a Mother

2010-07-13T19:12:00.000-07:00

Right now Keegan is sitting at the dinner table. We are all done and he has barely eaten anything. I came in here to vent and to get away so I don't freak out. I know kids his age don't eat sometimes but lately he will either "gag" or spit everything out very slowly. Tonight the vegies were green beans and I knew he wouldn't eat them so I made him some left over corn, which he will usually eat. So I am continuously asking him to take a bite. He doesn't of course so I tell him I will help him (not very nicely mind you). I pick up the spoon, put a good size bite on it. Put it half way in his mouth and he already starts spitting it out in slow motion. THAT'S IT! I threw the rest of the corn in his face. Stormed to the bedroom and slammed the door.
I.... am .... pathetic.

One more quick "I suck at being a mom" story... We had just sat down to dinner tonight and a baby starts crying out the dorm window. He starts shaking his head and says, "You're fine. You're fine." And then I went out there just a second ago to check on the situation and he looks at me and says, "Mom, you're fine." Oh my gosh. I need to have a little more sympathy when he is upset.

By the way, no Flagstaff pics. Camera is broken. Sorry.

Posts Galore, There are Four

2010-06-07T15:11:00.001-07:00

Just a couple more pics. These are from Courtney's graduation and some pics from before church. These three are like best buds!
Could Jamon and Keegan be any cooler??!

Keegan Boy

2010-06-07T15:01:00.000-07:00

I really don't want to be one of those mom's that oodles over the adorable, smoochy faces my baby makes. Instead, these are pics of the weird faces Keegan makes. They make me laugh so hard. Hope they atleast make you smile.

This kid is awesome! He always makes me laugh. The other night He wouldn't stay in bed. He opened his door and I went to see what he wanted. He stamped his foot and said, "Shoot! The water. I get it." And then he started walking down the hall like he was on official business. What a sneaker. I thought the whole, excuses to get out of bed thing wasn't until later. Oh well, I guess i will just have extra oppertunities to giggle with my boy.

A Tiny, Little, Getaway

2010-06-07T14:06:00.001-07:00

Jamon and I had a huge yard sale to get rid of some of the crap we have for the big move. Me made quite a bit so we decided to treat ourselves and found a nice restraunt in Scottsdale. It was this older one from the seventies that had been re-done and they did a pretty good job. Me and Jamon wanted to take the bed with us. We haven't gotten that good of sleep since we have been married! The next day, Josh, Tracee, and Keegan joined us and we spent the afternoon swimming. It Was such a fun Memorial Day.Soggy diaper butt. Gross!

Last One Today... I Promise- Family Update

2010-06-07T13:46:00.001-07:00

Things have been crazy. Just wanted to inform everyone with what's going on in our silly lives. Jamon is currently taking a summer class and is still working at Costco. We finally got benefits so we both went to the dentist. Yuck!!!! Jamon is getting his wisdom teeth out on the twenty-fourth. He-he. I will videotape and share it with you all. Jamon on drugs should be pretty funny;) I just finished a bunch of cakes and getting to spend a little more time with the Keegan boy. He is silly as can be. Talking all the time now and loves nursery. He misses his friend Mackenna and his other BFF Uncle Josh. He is really into Lightning McQueen right now and BuzzWoody (a.k.a. Toy Story). He plays with his hotwheels more than anything else and loves to count and look for "super letters" around the house and telling everyone what letters he sees.

The biggest news is that we are moving to Flagstaff at the end of June/beginning of July. Jamon's first class at NAU starts July 5th and we will be living in the student dorms. Jamon will be attending the university and working part time and I will be teaching Kindergarten at a charter school up there. It has worked out so nicely. My friend Jerrilyn saw the job posting on craigslist, I called, I interviewed, I subbed, I got the job. The nice thing is that the morning teacher teaches special ed in the afternoon so I go in at 11:45 until 3:00. Then I will tutor for an hour and head home to see the boy. Half the time I will be gone will be during his nap so I don't think he will miss me too much. Plus it will be the same thing everyday so it will become routine for him. I am super excited for all this. My boss is LDS and a super cool lady and the school is very small and personal. I will have some friends and family up there so we won't be too alone, and Keegan's best friend Mackenna is going to be living up there as well so they get to spend lots of time together. Jamon will have less distractions so we can get this whole education thing done. And oh, did you know their "hot days" are like 85 degrees?! It will be a whole new life for us, but Heavenly Father has been answering our prayers and has pointed us in this direction.

As far as the rest of the family, Dad started Chemo, Mom is still working hard, tracee's boy toy comes home in 18 days, Josh is still doing ARMY stuff and loving it, Trayn is married, Shiloh and Tim happy as usual, Mariah and John will be our neighbors, Dad and Karen married almost three years!! This is the little school I will be teaching at, The Peak SchoolA restraunt we might eat at every once in a while, just because we like the name.

A karate chopping, sword fighting navajo down the street from my schools. He was demonstrating at a karate place called the octagon;)

Summer is Here!!

2010-06-02T08:04:00.001-07:00

The lovely Elliotts came down from New Mexico a weekend ago to help Duff and Jerz move and Josh brought his boat down too. We of course had to take a trip to Bartlett Lake;) Here are just a couple pics of the fun time we had. It was awesome to see all of them. We miss them a ton!

These are of the boys in the morning (too early for the girls) doing their thing.

Coe

JamonDustinJosher

Best buddies Keegan and MackennaTracee, Courtney, and Becca (believe it or not she is due in October, YAY!)..... and Josh:)They look so cheesy in this picture!

Keegan wanted to nap almost the whole time. He just stayed in my arms and closed his eyes. I don't think he fell alseep though.This is Jerrilyn's dad, Marlin and my buddy Hollis.Thanks Josh for the great day!OK. I haven't been tubing since high school. I hate it. Falling is inevitable. Why do people think that is fun? Jerrilyn talked me into it though. I was not happy.First few seconds, before we even started moving, We leaned to far forward and it started sinking. I fell in right after they took this pic!After the lake;)

That's My Boy!

2010-05-15T08:05:00.000-07:00

Last night I tried to kill two birds with one stone. Instead of a tubby and then stories in his room, I thought I would read stories to him in the "tubby". We just borrowed this paticular book from the library. I am going to read it to you now;)

A cow says MOO.
A sheep say BAA.
Three singing pigs say LA LA LA!
"No, no!" you say, "that isn't right"
The pigs say OINK all day and night."
Rhinoceroses SNORT and SNUFF
and little dogs go RUFF RUFF RUFF!
Some other dogs go BOW WOW WOW!
and cats and kittens say MEOW!
QUACK says the duck.
A horse says NEIGH.
(It's quiet now. What do you say?)

We (Tracee was in there too) ask Keegan... What do you say?
He then, right on cue, blows bubbles..... WITH HIS BUTT... and starts laughing.
That's my boy.

I am not very good at riding bikes;)

2010-05-10T22:28:00.000-07:00

Tonight I went on a bike ride with Ashley. Tonight I realized I hadn't been on a bike ride in, like, seven years. Tonight I learned that Jamon is taller than me and that the seat needs to be lowered... a lot. Tonight I fell off my bike and almost got ran over by my friend Ashley. You may laugh now. That really did happen tonight but that isn't why I wanted to write. I felt like venting. Tonight I am frustrated with my country. Not the politics or the laws but the people. Especially the women. More, I am disappointed. I don't ever think I have voiced an opinion about politics or anything like that on my family's blog but I just felt like it tonight. Maybe falling off my bike made me a little crazy;)

Anyways... Yesterday was a great mother's day like any other. I went to church with the fam (and heard a great lesson from Jenny C.), I felt guilty for not being a good enough mother, and then we ate until we felt like not beautiful enough women. But really, I realized how powerful mothers and women in general are..... How much influence we have in the lives of everyone around us. We can use it on good ways. We raise the future generations of the world. We can teach them to be good, intelligent, and unselfish human beings. We can use it for bad. The pornography business is a perfect example. The beautiful bodies Heavenly Father gave to us, can be used to poison the minds of strong men and make them weak.

Women today have all the freedoms, rights, and abilities that men do. I think the most important freedom is to educate ourselves. The women I look up to and the women I want my daughters and sisters to look up to are the ones who had enough self esteem to educate themselves in some way. That doesn't mean a college degree necessarily, but a solid and continuing education. Without an education, we are not able to teach our children, feel confident in our votes, provide for our families, or most of all, feel good about ourselves.

This is what made me so upset tonight. The women in our society are failing our daughters, younger sisters, nieces, etc. The Miss USA pageant posted the pictures for the 2010 contestants. I'm sure most have you have heard about this. I just wanted to put in my two cents. I understand, in comparison to Miss America, this is not a scholarship pageant. It is a beauty pageant. But COME ON!!! The theme is waking up in Las Vegas. The pics are of the girls in hotel rooms wearing almost nothing with their hair a mess like they just got crunk, slept with some guy, and woke up in his hotel room.

I understand this is 2010, I understand this is not Little House on the Prarie, and I understand it's a beauty pageant. But these girls are 18 to 25 years old and are posing like they are in Maxim magazine. It is gross. Weren't racy photos what the last Miss USA got thrown out for?? I was reading a news post about it and all the comments. SO many people were all for it. Defending it. And I know for a fact that the ratings will be the best they ever had this year. Like I said before. I am disappointed. I have a very strong opinion and testimony about the free agency we have been blessed with. But instead of these gorgeous girls being proud of their intelligence or their beauty as women, not sluts, they have chosen to show themselves as this. This idea of women being something to look at and not say anything is what we have been fighting for the past hundred years. More in the last fifty than ever. Scary.

Sorry. I'm done. I am new at this whole voicing my opinion thing. Kind of a hypocrite I guess. I hope you all had a wonderful mother's day. There are so many of you that I look up to for so many different reasons. I am surrounded by beautiful teachers. Thanks.

Rhino Poop

2010-05-05T19:36:00.000-07:00

Everyone I went to the zoo with has already posted their zoo pics somewhere, whether it was their blog or on facebook. I am a little late but I thought they were fun. I had a blast with all my old friends. I felt bad because I wasn't able to visit as much as they were. Keegan is a little more active and interested in the stuff all around him so I had to keep him occupied. But it was still fun. I don't know how I didn't get any pics of Navy but there are some of everyone else I think. My friends have some dang cute kids!I had been talking up feeding the giraffes since Karla invited us to go to the zoo. We finally reached the stair thing, it was netted off and the feeding place was somewhere else. So we went over there and got in line. We were the last ones to be able to go in. Awesome for us. We got to the front and the lady asked us for the money... WHAT????!!!!! Yeah, it costs money. None of us had any idea. When I had to tell Keegan we couldn't feed the giraffes, he flipped. Tears ran for almost ten minutes. It was pretty sad and a little embarrassing. All the other kids just walked away, totally fine with it. Unfortunately, when Keegan gets something in his head, doesn't let it go easily.The baby zebra was a little unproportioned but what four day olds aren't??The Rhino was the highlight of the day for Keegan. We were watching him for a long time and then he strated to walk over to us. If I had known what he was about to do, I would have moved the kids away. However, not a rhino psychic. The big grass eating machine came over to us, turned around, and UNLOADED. Keegan and Ethan stood there with their mouths gaping open. Ever since, Keegan wants to read Everyone Poops for his bedtime story. Boys!!!

My Kid "ROCKS"

2010-05-05T19:25:00.000-07:00

Keegan loves rocks. We went on a walk tonight and he strated stuffing rocks in his pocket, as usual. Today was a little overboard though. It got so heavy that he was constantly pulling up his pants like a large, old man. So funny!

The Next Famous Photographer!

2010-05-02T16:08:00.000-07:00

These are not the most attractive pics of my little boy but it shows what happens when a two year old finds his Papa's new camera. Keegan turns everything into a camera so when he found the real deal, he couldn't help himself. Jamon turned around and Keegan told him to say cheese. Jamon then flipped through the pics and found a bunch of these. I got a kick out of it;)
P.S. Please ignore the crusty food all over his face. I am not a neglegent mom, it's just that he is a boy, he is two, he snacks a lot, oh and did I mention he is a boy!

New "boco" Pics

2010-04-29T19:42:00.001-07:00

Most of you have probably seen these on facebook but I wanted them up anyways. I LOVE these pictures of my boy. My Aunt Tamara never ceases to amaze me!! This was his actual first ride. We put him on and gave him a push. He was so excited that he actually did it.... which is his new favorite phrase. He put his hand on his hip and the other shoots in the air when he shouts, "I did dit!"

Family Update

2010-04-14T16:44:00.000-07:00

The background is only temporary. I did it for my funny hubby. Had a little break there. But I'm back. Way too many things going on. Lots of cakes. I am still working as a recptionist in a CPA's office and loving it. Also still at Michaels with my Mom. It was supposed to be a holiday job but I really like the discount. Jamon is at COSTCO and isn't too crazy about it but it let's him go to school. Also he just received...drumroll please.... BENEFITS!!!!! I couldn't be more happy!! Keegan is still growing (tall, not wide...at all). He is very boy and loves anything messy like dirt, flour, the dog park, Rufus, and play-dough. He adores his Aunts and Uncles who spoil him almost as much as his Grandma Punkin.

We are kind of in transition mode right now. We are still deciding on schools and where we want to be in the next few years. It's all a waiting game right now so it is a little frustrating. But we have a great family who has let us save up some money and take some time to re-evaluate and make new plans. We are a little nervous but excited to start a new chapter in our life.

These are just a couple pics to show what we have been up to.

For some reason, the hambone wouldn't smile for the camera Easter morning. Way too preoccupied with his first easter egg hunt;)

This is my Mom getting attacked by Keegan and Rufus. I love the foot in her face. He He

Punkin and Aunt Tracee gave Keegan a pile of flour to play with the other day. Weird! but he loved it.

Keegan loves to help with laundry. He sees me or Punkin take it out of the baskets and fold it all. He abviously can't fold so he just takes it out of the baskets. He loves it! He gets so excited when he gets to help with anything.

Lots of New Posts!!

2010-03-08T16:42:00.000-08:00

Been a while I know. I put up a ton of posts here and on Baked Bliss. Scroll down so you don't miss any;) These were just some funny pictures from the other day. Sometimes I will let him play outside with the dog and just leave the back door open. I went out to check on him and found him wet up to the knees in dog water. He then went to play in the dirt so it turned into dog mud. Gross. So I changed him and stupid me let him go back outside to play. I went to check on him again and found him covered in gray dust. Can you say BOY! He found my dad's cement, dangerous I know, and thought it was fun to rub all over himself. I couldn't help laughing.. or taking a picture.

A Day at the Park

2010-03-08T16:13:00.000-08:00

Just a little while ago, Jerrilyn and I wanted a day outside so we called Gmom Terry and asked her to meet us at a park by her house for a picnic. We ate lunch, played at the park, and then went to feed the ducks. The kids had a blast, even though they were a little warey of the ducks;) Here are just a couple cute pics from the afternoon.

Keegan Turned 2!!

2010-03-08T16:02:00.001-08:00

Keegan turned two on the 13th. We didn't want to do a big party so we just had our immediate family over for treats. It was fun tp see everyone and it's so comforting to know that I will never have to buy my son anything!! Just joking. But we are very grateful to everyone who loves him. He will never lack when it comes to people who are willing to take care of him.

Keegan has a hard time holding up just two fingers:)Keegan and his BF Mackenna.Keegan's other BF, Elmo (red velvet cake pops...yummy!)Keegan had lots of help opening presents. Thanks TJ and Pammy. We love you two!

February/ March Update

2010-03-08T12:19:00.000-08:00

Not much has changed for us lately. We have so so busy but at the same time, there is nothing new for me to blog about. Jamon has the tough job of deciding where he wants to go for graduate school. We haven't made any decisions about where we are going to live because we are waiting on that. So in the mean time, we are still at the parent's house. It is going good. We are all getting along:) Keegan is growing up fast. He is starting to talk so much. He loves to talk to Josh on the phone! These are just a couple of fun pics of him. He is sleeping in his big boy bed now and one day we came in to check on him and found him like this. I'm tellin you he loves that "boco"...and the Book of Mormon:)

Where the Helk Did My Baby Go????!!!!????

2010-01-23T12:10:00.000-08:00

Okay. So everyone knows that Keegan's Daddy and his Uncle Josh LOVE to skate and snowboard (speaking of which... can you believe the snow up north!?). And you all know that Keegan is the spitting image of his Father and does everything him and his uncle do. So you will not be surprised when I tell you that Keegan loves skating and snowboarding too. That is cute and all when little boys try to copy their dad's or whatever but I naver imagined Keegan taking it this far. For example, Keegan will watch only a few movies...1. Barney (typical) 2. Spirit (I love it too) and 3. Any snowboarding or skating movie, especially Shawn White's movie: the White Collection. For all of you who don't know what that last one is, it is a documentary film about Shawn White and how he started snowboarding when he was a flippin toddler. He has memorized it! He knows the songs, when he is going to fall, etc. So now Keegan thinks he can start young too. He walks around in goggles and carries a skateboard with no wheels on it (Keegan's snowboco as he calls it). He goes down the hall fist pounding everything as if there are other snowbaorders standing there telling him "sweet ride bro." He also does tricks on Jamon's skateboard. It scares me to death. We are getting a huge kick out of it. I have a felling I will be dealing with a lot of broken bones someday! Anyways, the pics will explain everything....And in case you were wondering about all the dog toys, my parents got a new one. His name is Rufus. Totally adorable but totally a pain. He is just a puppy but he is HUGE. It's been a little crazy:)

Fun with my boys!!!

2010-01-01T17:00:00.000-08:00

Happy New Years!!! Today we got to go to the park, just Keegan, Jamon, and I. It was a little frustrating though. He could care less about the slides and swings. He just wanted to watch the kids ride their skateboards and bikes. REDICULOUS!!! He is too young to love that stuff! I have to admit that I secretly love it. We have a blast watching him jump on the trampoline and play on the skateboards. We worked so hard to get him some cute (cheap) presents that he would adore. None of the presents mattered after he opened a present from my Uncle Danny. It was a set of 8 tech deck skateboards and a huge ramp. He climbed on top of the box trying to open it. We were dying!! He is so happy to have his Uncle Josh home. Those two have been inseperable. They are sleeping in the same room and they are both loving it. Too funny:) Anyways, we had a great Christmas with family and we hope you did too. Here are some fun pics from our first day in 2010. This is him not wanting to do anything but observe. Weirdo!
Watching skateboard videos. Yuck!
THE Christmas present.

Catching Up...

2009-12-14T13:29:00.000-08:00

Haven't written in a while and just want to catch everyone up with our crazy lives. Most of you know that we have been living in a super cute home in downtown Phoenix. We worked our butts off trying to clean it up with new paint inside and out, yardwork, a new door, new ac unit, etc. People would stop their cars if we were outside and tell us what a great job we were doing. It was so much fun and we loved working on it. It was the kind of home we had always wanted and we were in a great ward. Our goal was to stay there and eventually buy it from the owner.

Unfortunately life never goes as you plan it. The owner had some financial difficulty and lost the house to foreclosure. It was sent to auction and an invester bought it for, get ready.... 53,000 DOLLARS!!! We hadn't known any of this was happening so we weren't able to step in and buy it ourselves. We were pretty freakin' bummed.

Anyways, we moved out two weeks later. heavenly Father has always kept an eye out for us though. Just as this was all happening, Josh left for the ARMY. This opened up a room in my parent's house. They were more than willing to allow us to some stay with them for a while. We cleaned out their office and that allowed Keegan to have his own room and a place for his toys. Staying here will not be easy, but it will allow me to go back to work full time without having to worry about Keegan, it will help us save money for a new home, and it will give Jamon a chance to take on a full load at school again. The decision to move back in with the parents was NOT easy. But Heavenly Father opened a door for us and we took it. Jamon is so positive and keeps me thinking that even though it's not the ideal situation, we asked for help and Heavenly Father gave it to us. I just wanted to let you know that we have a testimony of prayer and that our Heavenly Father is there, waiting for us to come to him. I am so grateful for all our friends and family who have helped us through this. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!!!

Halloween

2009-11-14T14:32:00.000-08:00

I know this is really late. woops! Anyways, these are pics from Halloween. It was way more fun with Keegan being a little bit older. We spent the beginning of the evening at our ward trunk or treat and then we headed to my parents for real trick or treating. We had a blast. I love this little boy!!!

This was my silly attempt at making my first costume. I thought it turned out pretty good. I can't believe he let me put it on him. He gets a little claustrophobic. The first time I put it on him to try it out, he panicked when he realized the arms were attached to him. It was way funny. Halloween night he let me put it right on him and he was totally fine (thank goodness). I was also shocked when he sat still for me to paint on his tarantula eyes. What a kid!Trick or treating with Papa. This is what happens to tarantula arms when the tarantula gets sleepy.And with his best buddy MackennaPassing out candy in the front yard. Love this tradition.The kids were done trick or treating pretty fast. The rest of the night they played tag, like always. The picture above makes them look like demons. Below is Keegan hiding. One of his favorite past times. The whole fam-damily.Hope everyone else had a great Halloween. Looking forward to Thanksgiving!!! Happy Holidays everyone.

Some Rockin Family Pics

2009-11-09T20:33:00.000-08:00

This is our fam. My Aunt Tamara did a bunch of pics for us during G-mom's wedding. She does an amzing job! I can't believe how big Keegan looks!

We don't go anywhere without a tech deck (boco). It's so rediculous!!!!

Fall Craft Time

2009-10-26T21:14:00.000-07:00

Oh to be poor and crafty. Bad combo. This year for my crafts, I am having to try something new- craft makeovers. This one is a decoration my mom bought forever ago. It was one of those wood crafts from the nineties when people painted faces on EVERYTHING along with squiggly, fine lines to make it look, well, crafty. And they couldn't have left out the rafia!!! Anyways, I look it apart, repainted and glittered everything, mod-podged some fun paper on, and put it back together. Hope you like:)

BEFORE.....AFTER.....

Bob Marley

2009-10-26T10:37:00.000-07:00

Jet Skis with the Evans

2009-10-23T22:39:00.000-07:00

Thanks so much Bob, Gwen, and Keifer. A couple weeks ago jamon and Keegan went golfing with Keifer and when they got back to the house, the Evans invited us to the lake with them. We had so much fun with them. Keegan absolutely adored Keifer and Bob. He just hung out with Bob on the couch and watched football with him when we got back. Thanks a ton Evans for letting us hog the skis and hauling us around. We had a super great time! Thanks also to the lovely Gwen for being so great and posting her pics for me to copy:)

2009-10-20T23:54:00.000-07:00

Happy 4 Year Anniversary!!!!!!!!!!

Wow I can't believe it has been four years!! Thanks Kristen for being a great wife and mother! You are my best friend and I appreciate all you do for us. I can picture us now in like 70 years, I will be wearing my brown polyester pants with either my vans or my flip flops, and you will be wearing some cute skirt and shirt with a funky scarf. Im sure we will be walking a lot slower then and still be getting into our little debates with each other:) Making out will probably be alittle different but we will figure something out:) I am excited to grow old with you and see what life has to offer us. I love you, and ill be seeing you tonight after work if you know what i mean! rarrrrrrr

Happy Birthday Jamon!

2009-10-19T08:15:00.000-07:00

Today is my awesome hubby's birthday. 27!!! It's eight in the morning and I just finished my run over to Pheonix College. Keegan is still sleeping....and so is Jamon. Before they get up and Keegan starts driving me nuts, I just wanted to let all our freinds and family know how incredibly wonderful Jamon is.

First of all, and I think everyone knows this, but Jamon is a very hard worker. No matter what the job, he puts everything into it. Whether its working at a place he doesn't like or sweeping the kitchen floor (yes, he does it better than me).
Jamon makes me laugh everyday, especially when he dances:) The best is one he gets laughing and he does that silent laugh and he starts crying. Funny movies and Josh are usually the only ones that bring that on.
One thing I love about Jamon is how he loves learning about new things. Music, history, the gospel, anything. Since we've been married he has picked up on so many hobbies and has gotten even better at the ones he already knows. I love how ambitious he is when it comes to trying new things. That something I hope he passes on to our kids.
Jamon is also super thoughtful. Don't get me wrong, he has his guy moments but there are little things he does that make me feel so special. On day when he knows I have been busy, he cleans the house for me. He also loves buying books for me. When I was reading the twilight books, he would see that I finished one and by the next day he would surprise me with the next one. Same with the Davinci Code series. He knows we don't have the money for it but he does it anyways. I don't think he knows how much that means to me.
He is always willing to do his church callings. He just got put in as the sunday school teacher for the 12-13 year olds. I can't tell you how excited he is.
Jamon is the best dad!! Jamon coming home from work is the highlight of Keegan's day. He takes Keegan skateboarding (that's what we are actually doing today), lets him help wash the car, they watch football together, they run errands together when I have to work and Jamon loves taking him to get lunch (when I'm not aroung to tell him we can't afford it).

I know I am kind of rambling on but this is kind of my birthday goft to him. He bought himself a gift and he doesnt really eat breakfast so I can't make him anything. Instead, I just wanted to make sure everyone knows how much I love him and how great he is. He is my whole life and I don't know what I would do with out him. He encourages me to do better and be better and I am so grateful to have him with me.

Jamon, I love you so much. I am so proud of you! I hope you have a great birthday!

Everyone is Invited!

2009-10-13T12:57:00.000-07:00

This upcoming Saturday, I am having a fall-inspired tasting at the Inspiration Lounge at Inspirador. I am really excited about it. I will have some new, gorgeous cakes there with lots of free, yummy treats. If you know someone who is getting married soon, bring them along!
When: Saturday, October 17th 12:00-2:00 pm

Hope to see you there!

Last Homestead Trip

2009-09-21T08:26:00.000-07:00

So sad. We just had our last homestead trip of the summer. I know these pics look the same as the last ones but I swear it is a different trip. It was such a blast. Just Jamon, Keegan and I went and it was really good for us to get away and hang out, just the three of us. I love these two boys. We did nothing but play outside and watch movies in the evening. One day we went for a golf cart ride and got stranded. We had to hike back to the cabin in a hail/rain storm. We laughed the whole way. Keegan loved it. So glad they are there to keep me positive. Anyways, here are a few pics.

This is our "fortress" in the trees when the cart first broke down. It kept us dry... for about a minute.Keegan was really bothered when he found out he got mud all over his precious belly button when he slid off the golf cart. He kept checking on it:)Has anyone read The Snowsuit by Robert Munsch????Matching Carharts. Love it!!!! Thanks Aunt Mariah.

Baked Bliss

2009-09-13T21:12:00.001-07:00

New stuff up on Baked Bliss. Check it out!!
mybakedbliss.blogspot.com

Inspirador

2009-08-27T21:29:00.000-07:00

So I had my first open house at Inspirador. I had a great time. My family is the best. They are so willing to help me. Thanks to Courtney for watching the boy! Go check out all the cool pics at mybakedbliss.blogspot.com

Update

2009-08-20T20:55:00.001-07:00

Just to get caught up with everything.... work started back up for me. I would love to do my cakes full time but right now it's not happeneing. A lot of my cakes are coming from non-LDS brides so they are planning their weddings 6-12 months in advance. So I don't have much going on right now. I do have some demo cakes and some smaller cakes coming though this weekend and next. I will put them up on mybakedbliss.blogspot.com soon.

Keegan started nursery!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's all I have to say about that:)

On a sadder note, my Mom's sister Tracee finally passed away. She has been sick for a long time: diabetes since she was five, heart attacks, two kidney transplants, years of dialysis, etc. These past three years have been absolutely horrible for her. I am so glad to know she is relieved of all her pain now. It strengthens my testimony so much to know that she was sent here by our Heavenly Father and despite the not-so-great body she was given, she faced her trials and completed her mission here. I know there is a plan for me and my family and I hope to be half as faithful a spirit as she was. What an example of strength she will always be for me. I loved her so much but we are all grateful the Heavenly Father finally let her have some peace and be with her parents again. Please pray for my Mom and her husband Danny. They both lost their best friends.

Now that I have slightly depressed everyone, here are some more fun pics of the homestead this summer that I stole from Mariah's camera.

Matching Carhart jackets:)

These two crack me up. This is my neice Pamela. We laid out some old nasty carpet and found the two of them pretending to take naps on it. Gross!

Eating yummy cherries!

Off to crawdad fishing.

I love this girl and her gorgeous ears. This is my other niece Mia. Keegan thinks all babies are named Miamiamia because of her.

Finally!!!!!!!!

2009-08-09T21:03:00.000-07:00

Keegan got his first haircut, thanks to Grandpa Terry. Jamon also buzzed his head. He looks so awesome!!! Here are some before and afters...somebody help me!!!We cut everything but the front. Going for the emo look

Naegle Reunion 2009

2009-08-08T09:27:00.000-07:00

Last week, I got to go up to the Whiting homestead with Courtney for the week. Keegan and I stayed with Jamon's sisters and their kids and we had a blast. I will put those pics up soon. I have to get them from Mariah. At the end of the little vaca, my parents and Jamon and Tracee came up tp meet us for our family reunion at our ranch. We had a blast with cousins and watching Keegan get REALLY dirty. Here are a couple of pictures. Enjoy!

One more...

2009-08-07T15:48:00.000-07:00

So Jamon and Uncle Josh taught Keegan how to do tricks off their skateboards. While we were up in the mountains, Keegan happened across this piece of wood and, well, just watch...

Random Stuff

2009-08-07T15:39:00.001-07:00

Quick update. I am officially a part of the Inspiration Lounge at Inspirador in downtown Chandler. I am so excited to work with them. Basically, there are three businesses in each category (photography, cakes, florists, etc). Brides who are getting married at Inspirador or ones who come in just to get "inspired" will be able to choose the ones that they want to work with. We are really positive about it and I hope that it wil bring in a lot of business for our family and my little, but growing, company. If you want a fun date night, the area is really cool. Go check it out at inspirador.com

Anyways, now for funnier things. Hope this gives you a good laugh. Keegan loves his cowboy boots...and dancing... and his dog pajamas...and combining all three.

New Pics

2009-07-16T22:15:00.000-07:00

Heads up... I just put some more cakes on mybakedbliss.blogspot.com

Anyways, I just wanted to put up some more funny pics of my hilarious Keegan. He makes me laugh all the time.

Me and Jamon are running out of room in our house. We always put his 12-packs in the office (I usually don't get this many but they were on sale for really cheap). He is always wanting to play the keyboard but can only reach it if he sits in our lap. Not anymore! That boy is too smart. He just pulled out a 12-pack like it was there just for that purpose.

Hide and Seek is our favorite game. Sometimes I hide and whistle until he finds me or he will hide in really funny places...behind doors or curtains. Very creative;) This is him hiding in our room and then pouting when I took away his stupid binky for a picture.

Baked Bliss

2009-07-16T09:19:00.001-07:00

A couple of new posts. Check them out!

Waiting for Daddy

2009-07-02T10:23:00.001-07:00

I can't get enough of this kid. I found him with a chair up against the wall looking out the window with his toy car. It was the most sweet, perfect, all-American boy thing I have ever seen. He loves watching the birds and waving to Dad as he comes home or leaves for work. This kid makes me smile all the time. I am so lucky!!!

Ladybugs

2009-07-02T10:19:00.001-07:00

Don't ask me how, but I was getting a can of tomatoes out of my food storage when a ladybug flew out at me. Weird. Don't know where it came from. Anyways, we called Keegan in to look at it. I wish I could hear what he was thinking. You should have seen the look on his face when we put it on his arm. After a while, he just backed away shaking his head. I guess he had enough. It was so adorable. Soon after, he tried to kill it but it was a sweet moment for a while.