da baby room

We have most of the baby room put together and here is the finished project. I love my rocking chair and can't wait to put it to good use!

My wonderful mother in law made this amazing quilt. It is just too nicely done I am afraid to really use it.

We had a family baby shower last week and my sister Aly made this diaper cake. I think it is so cute and I don't know if I can't break it apart to really use the diapers. I am sure when we are going through diapers so quickly I will change my mind...

Doug is practicing changing diapers and strapping our child down.

The bedding is simple, but I love it.

2 Year Anniversary

On January 2nd Doug and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary. Because of the fact that our time alone is quickly coming to a close...only one more month until this little boy is due...we took a little trip. Doug was in charge this year and he planned the perfect weekend getaway.

We stayed at the Zermatt in Midway, UT. It was only 30-40 minutes away but I had never been there. The hotel was really nice. They had nice robes which we enjoyed wearing down the pool and feeling fancy. Their pool was half inside and half outside. Doug kept wanting to go swim outside and it was freezing! I only ventured outside twice and quickly made my way back to warmth inside.

On Friday night we went the Zermatt's New Year's party and it was a lot of fun. Neither of us had ever been to a nice New Year's party and so we definitely enjoyed ourselves. There was delicious food, a 2011 ice sculpture (the true sign of a nice party), a big brass band and lots of dancing. There were all ages there, which made it lots of fun.

We watched the ball drop in NYC and they had a big balloon drop as well.

I sadly only made it until 1100 pm and just wasn't feeling very good. Doug was very kind and understanding and so we made our way back to the room. I promised I wouldn't fall asleep until 12:00, but that didn't happen. I was woken up at 11:58 by Doug holding sparkling cider to welcome in the new year.

The next morning we went snow shoeing by the Provo River up in Midway and it was beautiful. Doug informed me that he LOVES doing these kind of activities while I am pregnant because he can always out-last me. I kept having to stop and catch my breath and he was just full of energy!

After snowshoeing we went swimming/snorkeling at the homestead crater. Neither of us had ever been there. I had a good time, but it wasn't my favorite activity. Because the water was so warm and it was so cold outside, inside the crater was full of steam/fog. You could barely see in front of you. I didn't like not knowing my surroundings. Doug loved it and I think we were both jealous that we couldn't go scuba diving instead.

That evening we drove to Park City and did some shopping at the outlets and then made our way to SLC. We ate at Bucca de Beppo and it was delicious! If you have never been there, we both would highly recommend it. We were going to go see the lights at Temple Square, but it was so cold outside that we just did a slow loop around in our car and called it good.

This is not the best quality photo....but we wanted to show off our new track suits. We got them in Park City and enjoyed matching on our last day. Doug's brother Shane and his wife Becca love track suits and this has worn off on Doug. He was very happy to find a good one at the addidas store just before it closed. We had such a great weekend and I think I am pretty lucky to have such a kind and loving husband. It has been a good 2 years of marriage!

A Very Merry Christmas

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Years. Doug and I both got the wonderful opportunity to work on Christmas day from 12-6 pm, so we filled our morning with lots of family gatherings and gift opening. After we woke up and opened our gifts to each other we made our way over to Doug's parents house. There was delicious food and lots of gifts to open...we were very spoiled. We then made our way over to my family and had a good brunch and visiting. Sadly we both had to work, but it was a great morning and evening with family.

Doug got some hair thickening shampoo and conditioner because he is very worried about his thinning hair. This is a before picture so we can compare after using it for a while.

I was very excited to find this large box, all completely wrapped by Doug. He used up a lot of wrapping paper and it was fun to open. He got me a rocking chair for our baby room and it is so comfortable. I will have to post some photos of the room and the chair. It looks great!

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.