Our Happenings...

My sister Shannon gave me a fun idea to paint our baby crib a bright color as an accent in the room. So we sanded down the crib we got and painted it a bright green. It was very cold outside as we painted, but we got it all done and I think it looks great. Now I am just waiting for the crib bedding to come so it will all come together.

Our FHE activity was putting the crib together and luckily it wasn't too complicated.

And here is the finished product!

This is how indecisive I am when it comes to colors. I couldn't decide what color the crib should be and Doug thought it was so funny how long I toiled over the decision.

Here are my cute nieces and nephews at the Parkers annual gingerbread making workshop. Every year on the day after Thanksgiving my sister Lana's in-laws host a huge party, filling the church gym. There are long tables lining the entire length of the gym filled with different candy. It's a kids dream.

Doug had to work so in memory of him I made my gingerbread house into Ridley's and dropped it by the store on my way home. He loved it.

Doug did a chance to make his own gingerbread house at the parents this last Sunday. He had such fine detailed work that he had to use his mom's tweezers to finish it off.

Over Thanksgiving my sister Shannon and her family were in town. My niece Riley and I went to visit Doug one evening and Riley really wanted to help him work around the store. So Doug put here work stocking the freezer section, bagging groceries, and other fun things. She LOVED it. Doug wanted to show Riley his skills at the claw machine and won her two stuffed animals. That was also a big highlight of her night. He is a great uncle!

McD's Thanksgiving

My Aunt Barbara was in charge of Thanksgiving this year for my dad's side of the family. When she is in charge, it means that we have Thanksgiving dinner at McDonalds. Yes, I wrote it correctly, at McDonalds. Lucky for me, it doesn't mean having to eat McDonald's food. It means that everyone still brings all the delicious traditional Thanksgiving foods like turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, salads, rolls and much more. But in addition to that good food there is unlimited fountain drinks, ice cream cones and mcflurries.

There is also a great play place for the younger kids to play. This was Doug's first experience with a McDonald's Thanksgiving and he was very excited about all the free ice cream he wanted. He became the expert at the mcflurry machine and helped many with their creations. All the nieces and nephews were also locked in the -10 degree freezer by Doug. He even helped them put on the drive thru headsets, until my Uncle Clark came and informed them that each headset was $1,000 and they were not toys. It was a wonderful Thanksgiving full of good food, fun, and visiting with family.

My mom is always in charge of pies because her pies are the best. So the night before all my sisters gathered at my parents house and we made over 15 pies... they were delicious.

Happy Halloween to All

We made another quick trip down to the new cabin in Duck Creek this weekend. My brother David and his wife Candice and their two adorable kids Addie and Cole came up from AZ. All the UT family went down as well. On our way up the canyon we stopped for a scenic picture...this was the best of many taken with the camera timer. Soon our family of 3 will be 4...only 3 more months. That is if you count Bow.
Bow had to wear these funny booties if he was allowed in the house. They are made for a much bigger dog than him and he had quite a hard time walking in them.

My sister Lana and her husband Steve relaxing by the fire. My parents got these rockers from an Amish town in the east and I love them. I think they look cool and they are really comfortable.

Cute Cole and Bow. Best of buddies.

Friday we had a little Halloween party and Doug tried to scare everyone with his gorilla costume. He first appeared outside the big windows and we tried to scare the kids by telling them it was a bear. Sadly, no one but Addison got scared, but it was worth a try.

Bow got dressed up for the party...I have no idea what he was, possibly an alien. It was on clearance at Petsmart, so that's what he got. I think he looks like he really hates me for dressing him up in this picture.

Addie was a pretty witch and this was her "scary face". Pretty cute if you ask me. Cole was such a cute little chicken.

Little ghost cups of deliciousness and excellent carmel apples with great toppings.

The witch pinata was the best part of the night. It was so funny to see this little witch on a broom hitting all the older boys in the head. It was very entertaining.

Doug and I took a nap in the back of the car on the way home while Bow drove us safely back to Provo. He is such a well trained dog.

Beck Haven

My parents just finished building a cabin in Duck Creek, Utah. Its' up the canyon from Cedar City and very beautiful. 6 of the siblings gathered there this past weekend to help move in and enjoy eachothers company.

Doug worked very hard on removing a large rock from a path we were making up to the water turn off. My dad joked that we might find the golden plates hiden beneath it, but we were not so lucky. What a man Doug!

I loved seeing all my nieces and nephews. This is my adorable niece Callie that loved Bow. She wanted to ride him like a horse, so she did.


Sunday was my dad's birthday, so we celebrated with the family that was there.

The fall colors were amazing, even though I didn't get any pictures of them. It was such a fun and relaxing weekend. I can't wait to go back for years to come and enjoy the time in Duck Creek.

Escuela de nursing

Doug started school a couple weeks ago and it is going great so far.

This was his first day of school, a must needed photo moment. He was very embarrased because our neighbors were outside and he felt a little child-ish. That's his awesome new scooter.

He wears green scrubs to his labs and clinicals and looks great in this outfit. Doug is getting really good at taking blood pressures, so if you are concerned with your BP or just curious, then stop on by for a free reading!

FYI, next week is bed baths in his lab, so if he asks you to come and be a practice person for him...I would think twice.

A New Basement

Our dear cousins and friends Kira, Jeff, and their cute baby Luke moved away to Arizona and our basement was left vacant...for an entire week. During that week Doug and I kept very busy doing a lot of improvements (sorry that we waited until you moved out Kira...didn't want to bother you too much!)

We got the door replaced and it actually opens and closes very easily now. Plus it looks much nicer.

We replaced the kitchen floor with the help of Doug's dad. It took Doug, his dad, and myself a Saturday morning/afternoon to complete it and it made a big difference.

We painted the bedroom and bathroom and repaired a big hole in the wall. A funny side note about picking paint colors. I am not the best at making decisions and paint is not an exception. I pick up a million sample colors, then compare, then buy a few different sample cans to try on the wall. It is a big ordeal. Well I was working and Doug informed me that he was going to be 100% in charge of the bedroom paint color. I really didn't care because I don't have to live down there, so even if he chose a horrible color, I never had to see it. Well he went to Lowe's and this was the first color he saw, he liked it, he bought it and he came home and painted it. I really like the color and think he did an excellent job. He is much better at paint picking than myself.


Doug cleaned the carpets with my parents carpet cleaner. It is very handy to have a free carpet cleaner on hand whenever needed. I tried a few lines and felt that Doug enjoyed the job much more than I did, so he took it over for the rest of the time.

When we replaced our floor upstairs we found some funny things hidden between layers of flooring (and old dried cucumber and a bandaid). Well downstairs was no exception. I took a vent off to clean it and I found a very old record hidden away. It was "The Night Before Christmas" and very dusty. We cleaned it off really good and then decided to put it back where we found it, for someone else to enjoy finding.

The Many Faces of Doug

After our river trip Doug decided to continue to grow out his beard until school started. This gave him a good three weeks worth of growth. When it was time for the beard to go, Doug had an idea...try a few different looks before going back to a clean-shaven man.

The fu manchu. Doug got a scooter from his brother in law Ben and that's why the helmet and glasses. We drove his scooter around to show a few people his new look and everybody seemed to get a good laugh.

My least favorite. I call this "the rapist" if you are familiar with SNL celebrity jeopardy. Or if you are not, then I call it just plain creepy.

And my good clean shaven man is back! Just the way I like him.

Coming in Feb 2011...

Doug the dad.and

Tricia the mom.

..........

if you can believe it.

it has taken me 10 weeks to fully believe it myself.

and then to actually announce it, because then it's really real.

..........

A couple months ago a huge surprise happened. I wasn't feeling great and you will never guess what the cause was? I was pregnant. Definitely not planned. Doug was woken up very abruptly at 4:00 am to a very distraught wife.

...........

But we are so happy and feel blessed to be so lucky. I was reading in a maternity/obstetrics book at work tonight and I came upon this quote talking about finding out that you are pregnant: "No other life experience can evoke such absolute joy or else such pains of profound despair." Sadly I have to admit that each of those emotions were felt when we found out. The first was felt by Doug. He is such a happy, optimistic, and smart boy. He knew this would be a wonderful thing and he was excited and immediately happy.

............

The second by me. I was so sad at first. It wasn't the right timing, it wasn't what we had planned for, and on and on. Slowly I have come to see that this will be great and I am excited now and very happy. I feel so lucky in my life right now. I have a great husband who is doing good in school. I have a good job, a wonderful family, and we are going to really be starting our family now. Life is good.

Happy Birthday Nate

I am working tonight so I am taking this time to update all that I have been slacking on...hence the large amount of blogging after such a drought. Today my nephew Nate had a birthday party for his 16th birthday...if you can believe that I have nephews that old. It is crazy for me to think of Nate dating and driving, but the ladies in Salem, UT sure are lucky to have a handsome boy like him around. Anyway, for his party they had a giant slip and slide and it was so fun. Here are a few pictures from the afternoon.

Doug and I decided that Bow needed a little more excitement in his life, so Doug gave him some fun. We don't know if he enjoyed it or hated it. The boy gave us no reaction.

Doug, RN

Great news! Doug got accepted into UVU's nursing program, starting this fall! He has worked so hard to get good grades because their program is pretty competitive and I so proud that he got in. Doug will make the 3rd nurse in my family (me, my sister Aly, then Doug). I know he will be a great nurse for the time that he does nursing. After he works a year or two as a registered nurse, then we will head off to school for nurse anesthetist or CRNA for short. A CRNA does basically the same thing that an anesthesiologist does. It's like a PA compared to a MD.

So watch out all you female nurses, the male nurse is coming!

Salmon River 2010

Doug and I had the most wonderful vacation ever last week. We went on a whitewater rafting trip for 5 days on the Salmon River, in the great state of Idaho. My friend Alison and her husband Vance worked a few trips this summer as guides, so we decided to join them for the fun and good company. I have been down the river two times before, but this was Doug's first time and he had a great time. We spent each day floating down the river and at night we camped on beaches along the river. Ali and Vance have some serious skills. They knew all the rapids and were legit river guides. It was fun to see them in action. Ali must have some serious arm muscles from rowing each day down the river. We traveled around 80-90 miles total and went through some pretty fun rapids.

These wonderfully dressed men washed all the guests hair. They spoke in great Russian accents and were pretty funny to listen to. After a few days on the river it really feels nice to get your hair washed.

There is a great activity called body womping that we tried out...well Doug tried it out. You run from the beach and jump on the upside down raft into the water. As you jump on the raft, the people on the side pull it up so you are launched into the river. I attempted my very first video on the blog, so if it works you can view one of Doug's runs.

The last night we all dressed up for dinner and then had a variety show. Doug surprisingly enough picked this outfit out all by himself and proudly wore it all night long. Below is our tent that Vance so kindly wrote our name in cursive on...making us feel oh so special.

The group that went was pretty fun. There were only 8 official guests and the rest included friends like Doug and I, other guides, guides in training and so on. A good group for sure.

The last day on the river was a shorter day, so I thought it would be fun to go on the 2 person inflatable kayak with Doug. We got going down the river and I soon realized that we had 3 big rapids to get through. Doug was thrilled and I was too, but a little nervous as well. So we got through #1 perfectly, but #2 and #3 were another story. On rapid #2, "chittum" we went over the rapid and Doug fell out of the kayak. I had no idea he had fallen out and no idea he was below the kayak getting recirculated by the rapid. Once I realized that I was the lone person in the kayak and started paddling out of the rapids trying to see him and then he popped right up! That was a big relief. I thought of a good shirt idea to sell after the rapid "chittum". It would say " I shit 'em in chittum" Doug thinks he did actually do that.

Then rapid #3 came along and we went a little too far right and hit a good set of rapid that knocked us both out the kayak. Doug kept coming up right under me and then he would try and push me out of the way to he could get some air. This was all while we are going through a bunch of other smaller whitewater. It was pretty exciting, cold, and enough for me for the day!