THE RAMSEYS

What a trooper

2011-03-31T20:45:00.000-06:00

Joshua loved trying to Ski. He really did a great job and never complained. They only time he complained is when we took him inside. He could have skied all day.

LOOK WHOS TWO

2011-03-31T20:33:00.000-06:00

We had a great time celebrating Joshua and Abrams birthdays. These two were born only a day apart. We started the day off by letting Joshua open his birthday gift a marble set then we let them play at McDonalds on the toys and then we all went bowling. Bowling was a hit. It was the favorite event of the day.

Roxy At 2 months

2011-03-31T20:07:00.000-06:00

This girl loves to smile, she'll give you a great big smile the minute she gets eye contact with you

Look at all that hair, she does have a nice little bald spot in the back

Joshua Moments

2011-03-31T19:57:00.000-06:00

Joshua loves stuff animals he really does sleep with all these animals which include, a big bear, little bear, a lamb, and frog.

He's ready to go!!

The other day Mike and I were getting ready to go teach dance for a church activity we were both so involved in getting ready that in the mean time Joshua reach his little hand into my make-up drawer and got himself ready with my lipstick.

Roxy's Blessing

2011-03-31T19:46:00.000-06:00

Roxy was an angel. She sat there so quietly while Mike gave her

blessing. She is truly a delightful baby.

A lovely month of February

2010-02-28T20:07:00.001-07:00

I did it!! I finally cut Joshua's hair. I hated cutting off his cute little curl in back. Mike said he was starting to look like a girl. I decided it was time. He really doesn't have to much hair so it only took a second.

He actually sat still, which he never does

He is so photogenic! His eyes are now the color of his dad's

Hudson, Ashley, and Joshua hanging out. Joshua loves it when we have visitors. He cries anytime anyone leaves. Even if he has never met them before.

Joshua loves his great grandmas. He is a lucky boy to have two great-grandmas who love and adore him. He loves to snuggle!

Update from December

2010-02-03T20:06:00.000-07:00

Christmas Decorations!! We had so much fun this Christmas decorating our home. It made our house not seem so bare. My sister's family cut down our christmas tree for us. It was tall and beautiful.

Mike made these stockings for us our first year of marriage. We didn't quite get around to making one for Joshua.

My little Peruvian nativity. Oh how I miss that place.

Joshua took his first steps and got his first tooth in the second week of December at ten and a half months. I'm sure he was excited to finally get a tooth so he didn't have to gum his food as much.

Joshua entertaining us by playing his favorite Christmas carols

Christmas morning we were up way before Joshua just waiting for him to wake up. He dug right into his presents as if he knew exactly what to do. He tore off the wrapping paper from every single present. Grandmas sure knew just the right toys to get him. He loves them all!

I LOVE THESE BOYS!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSHUA

2010-01-31T20:54:00.000-07:00

JOSHUA'S NEWBORN SHOTS

"one year ago"

JOSHUA'S 6 MONTH SHOTS

I can't believe our little boy is ONE! He is such a delight. He brightens our day with his big cheesy grin, his fascination for life, and his cute baby talk. We have thoroughly enjoyed being his parents and we are happy he is a part of our family. Since his cousin Abram is only a day younger we threw a joint birthday party for them. There were around 13 kids running around in blue with blue streamers, blue balloons, and stick horses. It was utter ciaos but really fun!! I made a blue clues dog cake not because he likes or has ever seen blue clues but, because he loves dogs and the color blue.

THE BIRTHDAY CAKE

My friend Tiffany Jack came over and helped me make the cake. We had so much and it turned out so cute!

Grandma Handy with the Birthday Boys

Starting off with a small bit

Finishing off with a Bang, He dug right in and loved it!

Veva had on the cutest blue outfit that her mom made her.

Joseph and the amazing technicolor Dreamcoat

2010-01-24T21:05:00.003-07:00

Mike and I have been practicing since October to be a part of the play Joseph and the technicolor dreamcoat. Mike is a brother and I am a wife. It has been a lot of work but way fun. We have 4 more shows to go. Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday of this week. Wahoo!!

Mike and I do a little dance solo for the song Caanan Days.

How do you like the black hair? We have had amazing directors, costume designers, and make up ladies, and choreographers.

Go Go Joe!! Last night my go-go costume came untied hence thats why the outfit is so long on me. It was pretty funny.

Nov Updates

2010-01-10T20:59:00.001-07:00

THE FATHERS

Mike, Chad Henkel, Kam Redder

THE MOTHERS

Crystal Henkel, Me, Hailey Redder

THE CHILDREN

Jackson, Benny, Ella, Joshua, Jake

It seems crazy that not too long ago we were all still in college and now we are all in our separate places raising children and working. How life changes in such a short amount of time. It was sure a lot of fun to have them all over.

Thanksgiving Day

If you look closely on the computer screen our my grandparents who are on a mission in Lubbuck Texas. Thank goodness for Skype, it made it feel like they were there!

I went to wake up Joshua one day and I couldn't help but take a picture he looks so comfortable.

Precious!!!

October Update

2009-11-15T21:58:00.002-07:00

Joshua was a dragon for Halloween. He loved watching the trick- or treaters come to the door.

He watched through the window the whole time.

Mike was Swine Flu for halloween and I dressed up as the sick one.

The other day I heard a lot of noise coming from the kitchen and I found Joshua in our oven drawer banging the fry pans together. This last month he has discovered how to open and close things. He also got really discouraged while trying to keep a book open. It kept closing on him and he could not figure out why.

Joshua is teaching Tyler how to bang on the window. If he gets on his tippy toes he can reach the window.

Tiffany came over the other day with Veva who is three months old now.

Here is what Joshua did:

First: He asked permission from the mom

Then he slowly made his move in to get closer

At last he softly landed a big kiss on Veva.

The funny thing was he did this over and over. He showered Veva with kisses.

Now they are inseparable

Double trouble already!!

They spilled a jar of oats and then they thought it was their job to spread it all over the floor.

Well we have been in our house for almost five months and just last weekend we finally put in pantry shelves. I love them. I was getting so tired of stacking everything on the floor. But now we have wonderful shelves and I've never been so excited about shelves before in my life.

Are these boys related or what!!

Joshua went everywhere with this flower it was his favorite toy for the month of October.

Look at those beautiful eyelashes

Just turned 8 months

2009-10-04T13:30:00.002-06:00

During his 7th month of age Joshua learned how to:

Climb the stairs
Speed crawl
Pull himself up and stand on his own
Said his first word "DADA" which made dad really happy
Pull things out of drawers, needless to say his is a tornado where ever he is
Suck his thumb, he never liked his thumb or binkis but now that he has found his thumb he won't stop sucking it.
Learned he doesn't like peas
Take bike rides with mom in his bike trailor

The other day Joshua woke up from his nap and his cousins were down stairs playing in a fort they had made. He was so excited he crawled right into the fort and played around with his cousins.

Bath time is Joshua's favorite activities, he could splash around for hours if I would let him.

MARRIED FOR 2 YEARS! WAHOO

2009-09-15T22:44:00.008-06:00

Mike and I had our second anniversary last weekend. I can't believe how time has flown. I am married to the most wonderful person and couldn't be happier. So much has happened in just a short two years.

Our highlights of our two years of marriage are:

-Honeymoon to Guatemala
-Moved to Rexburg
-Mike and I graduating with our bachelors degrees from BYU Idaho
-Moving to Minnesota for a summer to sell pest control together
-A trip to New York
-Starting a business
-Moving back to Burley
-Building a home
-Having an adorable son join our family

Life is exciting, this year for our anniversary Mike surprised me by taking me to Las Vegas we had such a fun time. We wondered through all the huge hotels, went swimming, and enjoyed evening entertainment of Le Reve " an awesome aquatic circus show", Phantom of the Opera, and Tournament of the Kings. It was good to get away and have a fun time. The best part was going to listen to a time share pitch and getting free tickets to Phantom of the Opera!! That was my favorite. You can not beat the music and theater for that show. It was absolutely amazing.

Joshua was completely entertained as we walk around Vegas as long as he was sucking his thumb or sucking his toes It is starting to be quite the adventure taking Joshua out to eat, he is so quick in a blink of an eye he can have our plates thrown to the ground and our waters tipped over Cool dues chillin in the sun!

Having a great time swimming, Joshua could swim for hours

SEVEN MONTHS OLD YEA!!

2009-08-30T21:14:00.000-06:00

Our little man is Seven Months. Wow time has flown by. Joshua has been such a delight and wonderful addition.

He's a vacuum

2009-08-30T20:57:00.000-06:00

Joshua has mastered crawling this week along with sitting up one his own. Now that he can move around so well he has become our vacuum cleaner. As he moves across the floor anything and everything goes into his mouth. Well twice this week when Joshua was vacuuming our floor he could not quite swallow what he found and chocked on a small piece of glass and something else from our kitchen floor. I was sooo scary. Now we are going to clean the floor everyday.We can't have that happen again.

This morning Mike and I were waiting for Joshua to wake up so we could go to church at nine o'clock. We waited and waited and heard nothing and it was 8:50a.m. therefore I sent Mike upstairs to check on him and this is what he found. Joshua was stuck with his legs hanging out of the cribs. It was hilarious and Joshua was perfectly content.

LITTLE BEAR

2009-08-23T20:01:00.015-06:00

Joshua with Grandma Handy at Lava Hot Springs. Two weekends ago we decided to camp out at Lava with the Handys and it so happened to be a rainy weekend. Everything was soaking wet and it was cold. But the swimming pool was still open on saturday morning and the best thing was there were no lines for the slides or diving boards. We had the pool to ourselves. It was really fun besides the fact we nearly froze anytime we got out of the water. After we were done going on the slides and diving boards we drove over to the hot pools to warm up. Then we finished our adventure with a wonderful Thai Restaurant. YUMMY.

Grandma Craney and Grandma Ramsey took a trip to Yellowstone and they brought back an adorable bear hat and some fun outfits. They love shopping for him. I don't blame them thats why I try to stay away from the baby sections in stores. I don't know what kind of face he is pulling here but we got a good laugh from it.

1st Video:

Mike playing the guitar for Joshua. He absolutely loves it. He gives Mike 100% attention.

2nd Video:

Joshua has discovered that kitchen knobs are pretty tasty! When I'm cooking Joshua is in the corner sucking on the knob.

JULY activites

2009-07-30T13:31:00.000-06:00

4th of JULY

For the 4th of July, Grandma Handy bought all the grandchildren 4th of July outfits! One day I strapped Joshua to me and played the guitar he was in heaven. Joshua has fingured out how to semi- crawl.

The Johnny Jumper is a new favorite of Joshuas!

Idaho Folk Festival:

Mike and I had a blast during the folk festival. We hosted the director of the Taiwan and 2 twelve year old girls. We were also team guides so we spent a lot of time with the Taiwan team. They all absolutely adored Joshua. Everywhere I took him he was surrounded. He always showered them with his charming smile. The week was full of fun activities such as going to city of rocks, Shoshone Falls, Boating, Picnics, Late night games, and lot of yummy treats

JUNE Update 5 months and growing

2009-06-12T20:54:00.002-06:00

June has been a crazy month, we have finally moved into our house, before we got completely moved in we had Tiffany's baby shower in our new house. It was loads of fun. We also had a family sleep over and we all slept on the floor in the family room. Joshua has figured out how to pop up on his knees and then he'll belly flop onto his stomach. Nothing is stopping this kid. He wants to move!! He'll be crawling in no time. He has also discovered his vocal cords and has become a screamer. He loves screaming, especially in church.

Also in this month we had the Cranney family reunion. I forgot to take pictures until we were headed out. I think we wore out Joshua. We camped in a tent for three nights, tie dyed shirts, swam in lava hot springs, and floated down the river in a tube. Mike had a rough time staying on the tube which resulted in losing a shoe, watch and lots of battle wounds. We had a blast. The Cranney family is so much fun.

The Handy family reunion was the week before at the albion college. I love being able to hang out with all my cousins. They are amazing. Joshua had a rough time sleeping so he was kind of cranky. We took our bikes this year and biked down from Pomerelle it was a gorgeous morning and about half way through it started to rain, so by the time we got back to the college we were soaked!!

Joshua is learning the ins and outs of internet marketing from dad.

He's a great help pushing buttons on the keyboard.

She made it!! Great Grandma Dorthy's 100th birthday party!! She is just the cutest little old lady. Just two months prior to her birthday she was baptized into the LDS church and one month after her baptism she received special permission to go through the temple. What an amazing lady she is. It has been a spiritually growing experience for all our family.

These two will be double trouble in no time

The other day I was cutting Mike's hair and I didn't want Joshua rolling around in the hair on the ground so we put him in our drawer while I cut Mike's hair.

I think little boys look adorable in overalls, this was the best picture I could get of them both. They are developing quite the personalities. Joshua does not like to stay put so this month he as learned to roll across the room to get to what he wants. The little stinker still wakes up a lot in the night. Hopefully we can get him into some better sleeping habits when we get moved into our home.

From all the rain we have received burley looks like a different place. Everyones yard is luscious green. My parents yard especially. They have created their own little bit of heaven in their back yard. It is beautiful!!

One more month and were in!

2009-05-25T20:45:00.000-06:00

Looks like we will be in our house in June. Our trim work is almost done and we are just finishing up our tile work. We are pushing to finish the inside so we can move in and then we will focus on the outside. It has been crazy stressful but I know it will be worth it in the end. We could not of done it without the help of family and friends. Thanks a million everyone!

Joshua being entertained by uncle Lucas while we tile.

Family room

I caught a smile!! How adorable

Joshua is 4 months!!!

2009-05-18T20:28:00.000-06:00

Joshua's first experience boating wore him out. Mike insisted that

Joshua ware his cool board shorts, they are Mike's favorite.

I'm not to sure he really enjoyed his first boating experience. Better luck next time.

The river was so cold. It still does not feel like summer because of all the

rain we are getting. It has been the wettest spring that I can remember.

This month Joshua has really started to become a little more social.

He is smiling more often but obviously not on demand you have to

really get it out of him.

He's got some growing to do. I think he has my toes.

They are still really long.

He loves to play in grandma and grandpa's waterfall. I had to really hold

on tight so he wouldn't sit down in the water.

GRANDMA TIME

2009-05-10T20:10:00.000-06:00

Joshua loves his grandma's and they love him.

Grandma Cranney can do a really awesome bird whistle that absolutely

fascinates Joshua. Grandma Ramsey gets right down on the floor and could play with

Joshua for hours. He is a very lucky boy to have such great grandmas!!

Joshua at 3 months

2009-05-03T15:18:00.002-06:00

Here is the lastest picture of our house. It is looking more like a house everyday. The other day I was grouting our tile and a little mouse poped out of our cabinet. We already have a mouse problem. Good thing Mike was a pest control guy. I'm sure he'll get ride of the problem.

Josha is already 3 Months. I can't believe it. He has grown so much. This month he has learned to kick off his blankets. The little sticker. The other night I went to check on him and he had kicked off all the blankets and his PJ's had rolled up to his waist exposing his bare legs. He just look up at me and smiled. He has also become way more vocal. Funny story, Joshua and I were cooing back and forth, I also said hi to Joshua. Well Joshua copied the sound I made when I said hi and Mike had been leaning over my shoulder and he said, Joshua just said HI. Well last I checked 3 month old babies don't say hi But there was no convincing Mike otherwise. It was really funny.

Mike is a fabulous father. He amazes me. We haven't seen much of him due to the play we was directing for the high school drama kids and the play he is currently in, and his subsititue teaching for Mr. Call but. I am glad he has been able to share so many of his talents. I love him so much.

He's talking

2009-05-03T14:29:00.004-06:00

Beautiful sleeping boy! This is the only time he holds still. Every moment he is awake he is constantly moving.

The other day Joshua was pulling so many funny faces so I had to pull out the camera and take a few pictures.

Here is a little taste of Joshua's attempt to communitate. I love the way he moves his tongue in and out the whole time. It is so cute.

Easter funness

2009-04-28T16:06:00.002-06:00

Swimming at Miracle Hot Springs

2009-04-14T20:26:00.004-06:00

We finally found a free saturday evening to take Joshua swimming. Most saturdays are filled with doing house projects. Mike and Bryce worked all day tileing the house while I stained our front door. Then we all rewarded ourself by going swimming at our family's favorite place, Miracle Hot Springs.

My sisters family is growing. Allora is going to be 5 in 2 months. She is my oldest neice. Ezra will be 3 in May. They are so cute. I love being close to my sister. Sisters make the best friends ever. I can't wait to be neighbors.

Abram and Joshua at 10 weeks anxiously waiting to go swimming!

Abram and Joshua getting ready to go swimming. Joshua loves water. When he's in the shower he'll arch his back so the water will run over his head. He's a little fish already.

Lasting moments

2009-03-29T19:40:00.005-06:00

Aren't they so dang cute. Joshua and Mike have the same smile.

Joshua loves spending time with his grandparents. He holds up his head so well mainly because he has a little head.

I can't tell who is enjoying grandpa's story time more Joshua or Allora?

One morning I had to run an errand and I left Mike in charge of dressing Joshua. When I came home Mike had dressed Joshua in cool boardshorts and a t-shirt. I would say it is a pretty styling outfit.

Joshua's blessing

2009-03-29T14:59:00.001-06:00

What a wonderful day. Joshua was blessed today. Mike gave a beautiful blessing and bore his testimony in sacrament meeting. He explained how we choose our son's name. When I was on my mission and felt inspired to name my first son Joshua, Mike asked why that name. I just knew it needed to be his name. Mike then decided to read in the old testiment and read all about Joshua. He had to know more about the person if that was the name we were going to give our son. When he was done reading the old testiment he knew Joshua was a good name after a very righteous person. We gave our son the middle name of Robert after Mike's grandpa, who had influenced his life and was the father figure for him. Robert was a man of service and devotion. He loved to help in the community and treasured his family. We are so happy to have Joshua as a part of our family. His sweet spirit fills our lives with happiness. He is a joy. I am grateful for the gospel in our life. I could never raise a family without it. I'm know I can recieve relation to help me know how to raise our sweet little boy. The gospel is true! Families are forever.

Sunday Walks

2009-03-23T19:51:00.000-06:00

Today was such a beautiful day. After sunday dinner we all went on a walk. Bryce and Mike bundled Abram and Joshua up in their coats. They looked halarious. Melissa and I decided that we carry the 6-7 pound babies and our husbands can carry the 11-12 pound babies.

JOSHUA IS ONE MONTH!!

2009-03-01T18:40:00.003-07:00

Joshua has been so much fun. We love him to death. This month has flown by. Mike said his favorite time with Joshua is when he is sleeping. I believe that is because when a baby sleeps well it makes for fun times when he's awake. If he doesn't sleep well then that makes a very fussy baby and a tired wife. We can't imagine life without him.

House Updates

2009-03-01T18:14:00.002-07:00

Our house is finally to the finish work. We are getting really excited. Mike has spent hours cleaning and painting the house. While I am busy being mom. We had no idea what colors to paint the house so the same day we painted we picked our colors. It turned out pretty good for not putting much thought into it.

Janet, Mike and Bryce just painting away

Happy Valentines Day Hillary

2009-02-14T18:13:00.001-07:00

I love you Hill

2009-02-09T20:56:00.000-07:00

Grandpa Ramsey was excited to see Joshua. He just couldn't figure out why we would name him Joshua and not just Josh. When we first found out we were having a boy Mike really wanted to have Robert be his middle name after Grandpa Ramsey. We decided to use it on our first boy just in case grandpa wasn't around for our next boy. Everytime we visited the Ramsey's grandpa would say, " I sure am glad you're having a boy to carry the Ramsey name." When we came home from the hospital Grandpa was anxious to see Joshua and came by our house to see him just two days before he passed away. We sure do miss him. He was a great man.

2009-02-09T16:15:00.003-07:00

This is a video of Grandpa Ramsey and what he wanted to pass on to the family. Grandpa died around 1:30 on Feb 9th. He was a great man, and I will always remember his warm smile and love that he showed to me and everyone else that crossed his path. His funeral will be at 2:00pm on Feb 14th (Saturday) at the Burley Stake Center. All our welcome.

Cousin Fotos

2009-02-01T18:57:00.002-07:00

The day after Joshua was born. My sister went into labor. Mike and I hurried things along to get discharded from the hosptial to make it home for my sisters delivery. We arrived at the hospital in burley at 6:30 p.m. and at 8:30p.m. Abram Clay Morgan was born, just one day after Joshua. They are going to be best friends.

Abram and Joshua!! Just a few days old.

Our Little Boy

2009-01-30T18:14:00.001-07:00

Joshua Robert Ramsey was born on Jan. 29, 2009 at 5:15 am. He weighed 6'11 and was 21 inches long!!!

Here are the proud parents of Joshua , just enjoying every moment with their new child.

Joshua's first bath! I don't think this was his favorite part of his hospital stay.

He is so long and lengthy including long toes and huge hands

He really looks just like his dad, extremely handsome and adorable!

Waitin for him...

2009-01-29T00:00:00.002-07:00

Hey everyone, this is Mike and I am currently sitting in a very comfortable chair in Mountain View Hospital. Hillary is dilated to a 6 and has just had an epidural. I just wanted to write so I could remember what this time was like. Hill has been in labor since about 2 am yesterday and didn't really get to the 5-1-1 until around 8:30 tonight. We walked through the I.F. walmart, we walked the mall about 4 times and here we are. I can't really explain what I am thinking right now. It's a lot like when I left on my mission. I realized something very big was happening, but I really didn't grasp the full meaning of the thing until I was boarding the plane and saying goodbye. It is also much like the day before I married Hill. It just seemed to good to be true. Both were great expiriences and looking back they lead to a great time of learning and growth. I'm thinking this is going to be the same. So, without further adieu.....world and family Hill and I are about to be parents. And that's about the most Godlike expireance you can have in this life.

2009-01-27T19:54:00.001-07:00

NIFTY MARKETING

2009-01-23T13:20:00.002-07:00

It has been a very interesting time since graduation. Hill and I have been preparing for an addition to the family, we moved to Burley, and I started a business. The company is called Nifty Marketing and I basically build web pages for companies in towns around Idaho and Utah and then advertise there company online for them in the area that they do business. It is going really well with help of a few friends. My first client was SYS Storage in Layton, Utah. Clayton Handy manages the place and refered me to their owner. Then, Chad Henkel got me in touch with Yellowstone Bear World to run their blog and marketing. So far, so good, and there is a lot more in the works. I built a web page for my company and though it needs work...I just needed to get it up and running before I get to busy. You can check it out at www.theniftyway.com I want to thank my friends who have helped me out thus far and I will return the favor!

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T20:31:00.002-07:00

Merry Christmas! I just wanted to take a chance to tell everybody that I am so happy to be in Burley today. Hillary was supposed to work on Christmas Eve (7pm-7am) but she was put on call. What a blessing. We wouldn't have had a place to stay in Idaho Falls, the roads were horrible, and we would have been apart for most of the time. So, the best gift was to be with her and our family. Every Christmas I look back on life to see what I have learned over the past year and I have to say that I learned that the only thing that doesn't change in life is the family you have. Work may change, where you live may change, your weight will definitly change, but family is there forever. So, I am grateful for Hillary and our future baby, followed by our extended family from that point. They have been for me there and I hope to return the favor.

BYU-Idaho Graduation

2008-12-14T16:34:00.004-07:00

Mike graduated from BYU-Idaho December 14, 2008 with honors in business management and with an emphasis in marketing.

Mike with Grandma and Grandpa Ramsey

Mike with his mom

I am so proud of Mike and his achievements. He worked so hard in school and got strait A's . He loves business and this last semester of school he took a couple of business internet classes which he absolutely loved. He has decided to start his own online marketing business.

These boys were inseperable during school every thursday night was game night. Each of them have gone off to persue different paths. they are all hard workers and will be successful.

Giger bread houses

2008-12-06T18:21:00.000-07:00

Thanksgiving Day!!

2008-11-27T19:59:00.002-07:00

Our top picture is our family these days. Melissa and Bryce have 2 kids with one on the way, Clayton and Jenna have two kids. The family just keeps getting bigger. On the bottom picture we also had my Uncle Gordy and Brent with their families. Mike Faulman brought two chinese girls with him, and Ansalmo brought a girl from Brazil. I love having get togethers with family. There is never a dull moment together.

This Thanksgiving had a different twist, our usual thanksgiving day family tradition is to go skiing at Pomerelle, but since there is no snow we we decided to do a family project. The project was roofing Mike and I's house, a very tedious task. So the man did manly work while the women were in the kitchen cooking all day.

My beautiful mother holding my nephew Roman

Branson showing off that he's not scared of the steep roof lines.

2008-11-27T19:55:00.000-07:00

2008-11-27T17:15:00.000-07:00

My sister and I are due 4 days apart. It has been wonderful to have someone to talk to who is in the same stage as I am.

6 Month Prego Shot

2008-11-09T16:50:00.008-07:00

I know I am late getting these up but better late than never. I am now moving into my third trimester. I have really enjoyed my second trimester of pregnancy. I wasn't sick, I had energy, and we found out we were having a little boy, and I started feeling his movements. Pregnancy really is a miracle. It's amazing to think I have a baby inside of me. We are getting excited for this next big step in life. We have truly been blessed.

The start of week 29!!

Cooking girls

2008-11-09T16:36:00.003-07:00

Here is a portion of the singing babes together again but this time not to sing but to cook some frozen meals. We all grew up together, we are only missing Charlene Blauer who is on a mission in New York.

We each made 3 tins of Lasagna that we could freeze. Rachel shared her moms famous Lasagna recipe. Yummy!

Mike's attempt at a post

2008-11-05T19:13:00.003-07:00

Well, This is a first for me, I am actually writing on the blog by myself without Hillary's permission. Crazy I know...I do have a reason though. I have started an e-commerse site for a class I am in and I need to send the link around so people will visit the site. It is called HugeIdahoPotato.com and I am basically selling the "Big" spuds to people all around America. Feel free to check it out and let me know what you think. -Mikus

A wonderful life

2008-10-12T16:53:00.004-06:00

We had a wonderful and relaxing weekend. It was mothers week and the weekend was full of different activities. Mike tried out for battle of the dance and made it. On friday he performed the Indian Hoop dance for the battle of the dances. He was amazing. Then on Saturday we went to a comic fenzy show and Natalie Macmaster. It was a lot of fun. I am going to miss being in a college town. There are always so many different events and activities going on.

Last weekend we went to Utah to go to general conference and Mike's mission reunion. While we were in Utah we stayed with my brother Clayton and his wife Jenna. Jenna and I took their two kids to Petco and Roman pushed his little sister in a small shopping cart all around the store to see the animals. It was way too cute, I had to put a picture up.

5 Months Pregnant

2008-09-28T20:46:00.003-06:00

My first pregnant shot. 5 months along and only 4 to go!!!!

I decided since I wasn't showing that much that I would really arch my back to make me look really pregnant.

MESA FALLS

2008-09-13T17:21:00.001-06:00

I had never been to Mesa Falls so we decided to go there with some friends of ours to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

I love fall with it's rich, vibrant colors and perfect weather.

ONE FABULOUS YEAR TOGETHER!!!

2008-09-07T19:34:00.006-06:00

I can't believe a whole year has passed by that Mike and I have been married. Married life has been so good to us. We have had the most splendid year with many memories, blessings, and learning experiences. I have enjoyed every moment with Mike, he is such a wonderful husband so kind, loving and caring. I am grateful that we have eternity to be together and to look forward to.

Handy Family Reunion

2008-09-01T17:41:00.001-06:00

At the end of the reunion it seemed as though my dad and brothers were worn out and I will tell you why.

We had a exciting family reunion at the old Albion college. This is the dorm where all the families stayed. It was fixed up nicely, with lots of rooms and a huge eating area. Albion college is actually where my grandparents went to school and met. While we were there we were given a tour of all the old buildings. As we walked throughout the campus grandma and grandpa filled us with their stories and memories of dating and going to school. It was such a treat.

There were about 12 of these bikes that were constantly being used by kids and adults. They are kind of tricky bikes because you have to steer them with your hips.

We also had a big air water slide set up. Melissa to little Ezra down it and half way through she lost Ezra and he went soaring down the slide by himself. I don't know if he thought that was too fun, but we got a good laugh out of Melissa screaming all the way down.

All the boys 14 and older spent around 6 hours playing capture the flag air soft in one of the old run down buildings. Bryce got his tooth chipped. A few boys got hit in the face, but luckily no eyes were lost.

My dear great grandma Dorthy in between the aunt Lynn and my dad. She is 98 years old and is still going strong. It is amazing. I'm sure she never imagined that just from one child would come over 50 grandchildren and great grand children. The reunion was exhaustively fun. I love spending time and receiving counsel from Aunts, Uncles and cousins. We are such a close knit family. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by a very supportive and righteous family.

OUR NEW HOME

2008-08-30T18:19:00.000-06:00

Here we are in the first stages of building a house. Lots more work will soon be coming but we are excited.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

2008-08-07T15:33:00.005-06:00

Mike and I finally took a break from pest control and headed to New York for 5 days. We met up with my good friend Rochelle and her husband and had connections to stay at a friends house on Long Island. Below are some highlights from our trip.

We really had no idea what to expect of New York and boy were we ever shocked. We have never been to a city with miles and miles of skyscrapers. It made the Twin Cities in Minnesota appear so small. We will never be able to look at big cities the same. Nothing beats the big city of New York.

This statue of Alice in wonderland was found in central park. After miles of skyscrapers you finally get to central park which, stretches for several miles. It was gorgeous and peaceful. While we were there we found a Swedish cottage that performed puppet shows of Jack in the bean stalk. We were about the only adults with around 90 children in the cottage watching Jack and the bean stalk.

This is ground zero from above. We went up to the 55th floor of the Hilton which was right next to the twin towers. The man who took us up to the top of the hotel said he was working at the time when the towers got hit. There is not too much going on at the site but eventually they will build 7 buildings in that space. It has taken them years to clean up. All the buildings surrounding the towers had to be be remodeled. Any fire stations that lost men had memorials outside their stations.

This picture was taken at Time Square. The street was loaded with people all night long. The huge light advertisements lite up the whole place. It was so cool.

Another picture taken in central park.

Of course you cannot go to New York without hitting at least one Broadway play. Our first night we went to Wicked and several nights later we went to the Little Mermaid. Both of them were absolutely amazing. They are so creative and talented on Broadway.

Random story while we were wondering the streets of China town with thousands of people Mike runs into someone he sold with two summers ago. Now really who runs into people they know in New York City. To top it off he also ran into a member from England that he served in their ward. So he ran into not only one but two people he knew in China town. China town was huge and just around the corner from china town we found Little Italy. Of course we could not resist buying gelato, italian ice cream. It was so yummy.

We spent one afternoon touring the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. They are not letting anyone up to the top of the Statue so we got some good pictures instead.

He we are at Ellis Island with Rochelle and her husband Whitney. We decided to do the audio tour through the museum. It was an amazing experience. It helped us understand the huge process the immigrants went through just to be let in to the united states. It was also cool to imagine our past heritage migrating through Ellis Island.

In the picture above of Mike and I by the Monkey/Human statues was taken the the museum of natural history. That particular section was all about the evolution theory. It was quite entertaining.

4th of July

2008-07-14T13:56:00.005-06:00

Mike and I went with Mike and Brittany Hoggan to watch the fireworks in St. Paul and Minneapolis. We found a good hill that over looked both of the Twin Cities' fireworks. It was beautiful. I have not been in the United States for the last four 4th of July's. I feel so privileged to be an American. We are so blessed in this country.

Brittany and I decided to do Kabobs for our 4th of July BBQ. We had the meat marinating all day. They were very tasty. We also made a yummy fruit pizza to go along with the Kabobs.

The Mikes hard at work putting together their grills.

The Girls: Brittany Hoggan, Me, Sarah Ritchie, Liz Hoffman, Keri Greer and Jessica.

The Boys: Zack Hoffman, Noel White, Mike Hoggan, Brandon Ritchie, Lucas Handy, Rob Greer, Mark, Ben, and Mike.

THE BEST SURPRISE EVER!!

2008-07-14T13:36:00.003-06:00

June 30th was Mike's birthday and there was only one thing he wanted and that was a Wii, he sure did get it, but it was tough work. Since May he had been looking into buying a Wii and was pushing really hard for me to say it was okay. I put down my foot and told him I didn't think we should buy a Wii because I secretly wanted to buy one for his birthday. I finally got him convinced that I didn't want us to have a Wii. He was so sad, but little did he know there was a Wii hiding at the bottom of the closet. Finally his birthday arrived and I arranged the Wii set on our table. He walked into the kitchen to eat breakfast and there he saw the Wii. I wish I would have recorded his face expression. It was a classic. That was a way fun surprise. I love him to death. He is such a wonderful husband. Later that day everyone from the Pest Control office came over and ate dinner with us. It was a lot of fun.

Jack Johnson Concert

2008-07-06T18:31:00.009-06:00

A couple of weeks ago Mike and I got to go to a Jack Johnson concert in Wisconsin. The concert was held at the outdoor amphitheater. There were over 40,000 screaming fans and we happened to be in the center pit with only three rows of people in front of us. We were so close to him that in the middle of his concert Mike punched a beach ball that was being passed around and it hit Jack Johnson right in the face. Jack looked right at Mike and said, "You got me" the rest of what he said is on the video we posted below.

2008-06-15T21:30:00.004-06:00

This week we went to downtown Minneapolis for a Blues Concert in the park. It was a lot of fun.

Our car got a little dinged up because Mike and I were in a small accident on the freeway. Luckily no one was hurt.

End of May Update

2008-06-02T11:17:00.007-06:00

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and all we wanted to do was play outside so Dax Greener introduced us all to a new game called Bocce. We all met in the park that is in the middle of our apartments and played Bocce, bad mitten, volleyball and soccer. It was a blast. All the little neighborhood kids swarmed to us and wanted to play with us as well so if you see some unfamiliar faces in the pictures it is the neighbor kids. Lucas decided to come sell with us. It is so much fun to have him around. He is preparing to go to graduate school in the fall at BYU.

The object of Bocce is to throw your ball closest to the small yellow ball.

Pictured below is Lucas, Steve Ritchie, Brandon and Sarah Ritchie, Mike and Brittany Hoggan, Ben Downer, Mike and I, and Dax Greener.

On memorial day we all went to the Minnesota Zoo. Unfortunately this is the only picture we took because our camera ran out of batteries. The highlights from the zoo included, a dolphin show with 4 dolphins, it was not quite sea world but pretty good for Minnesota, we also went to a bird show and then spent a good chuck of time watching wolverines battle. I have never been to a zoo in the spring time but I think from now on I will only go in the spring time because the animals are way more active and entertaining. Plus there are a lot of baby animals.

Lovin' Life

2008-05-25T18:28:00.009-06:00

The other day I was writing e-mails and Mike was reading scriptures on the couch about ten minutes later he was sound asleep. I loved that he feel asleep with his scriptures standing upright. He is so adorable.

Everything is extremely green in Minnesota. I love the climate here. In every neighborhood there is a nice lovely pond or lake. Now I know why Minnesota is the state of 10,000 lakes. Lakes are everywhere.

The other weekend we went to a Minnesota Twins baseball game vs. the Boston Red Sox. Considering I do not understand a thing about baseball it wasn't to bad. We had a great time.

Our apartments are built between two ponds. There are geese everywhere with goslings so we decided to chase the goslings and momma and papa goose kept hissing at us. We decided to finally leave them alone but they are so cute.

Brandon and Sarah Ritchie found a turtle and brought it over for Mike. We named him Nerdle the turtle. He lived in our bath tub for a day then we moved his to a cardboard box. After a few days of staving Nerdle we felt bad and let him go in our pond.

2008-05-25T18:00:00.002-06:00

Mike is standing next to our company truck that is parked next to our rival Plunkett's Pest Control.

A new look

2008-05-04T19:29:00.003-06:00

I decided to get a fun summer hair cut thinking that it would be really warm here in Minnesota but little did I know that it was still winter here. Our first week of selling was quite an adventure. Our first day was bright and sunny, followed by a day of light rain, then the next day was a heavy rain storm and then the last day of the week when you think it couldn't get any worse it started to snow. Fun times! A funny story of the week was when Mike tried to walk through our sliding door thinking it was open. He ended up hitting his forehead really hard of the sliding glass door and the rest of us in the room ended on the floor laughing so hard. Those darn doors they just look invisible when they are clean.

Road Trip out to Minnesota

2008-04-27T18:04:00.014-06:00

Brittany Hoggan and I riding the rocking Dino's at the dinosaur museum.

We traveled with our good friends Brandon and Sarah Ritchie and Mike and Brittany Hoggan whom are all selling with us this summer. Our first stop was Thermopolis, Wyoming. There we found the worlds largest hot springs and a dinosaur fossil museum.

This horse statute was right in the middle of the city of Thermopolis and we couldn't help but climb on top of it and take a picture.

Next stop was Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota. There was an awesome museum and fun paths to explore. We enjoyed learning all about the process of constructing Mt. Rushmore.

Then we went through the bad lands National Park in South Dakota. There we grew a new fascination for prairie dogs and a great appreciation for the amazing lime stone mounds that were multi-colored.

On our way out of the Bad Lands we were able to stop at a prairie dog feeding farm.

This was the last stop on our road trip which was in Mitchell, South Dakota where we found the corn palace. All the pictures on the outside of the building are designed out of corn stalks. There are 11 different colors. It was so random but really cool to see.

2008-04-27T17:20:00.003-06:00

Finally I am done with finals, done with papers, and done with nursing clinical's. Graduation was April 11 and Elder Ballard gave a wonderful talk about using technology as a tool for missionary work. I will be working again as a nurse in the fall, but for now Mike and I are selling pest control here in Minnesota.

2008-04-27T15:44:00.004-06:00

A typical guys night out including Mike, Tim, Nate, and Kam along with hours of analyzing games and no talking. Just one game of Carcassonne or Settlers of Catan lasted up to four hours. They loved it! For us girls we had a better idea of what fun is. For us our night out included carrot face masks, watching the movie enchanted, and painting our toe nails.

2008-02-23T14:45:00.003-07:00

Fun Times in Guatemala

2008-02-23T14:06:00.009-07:00

A beautiful sunset on Rio Dulce!

Mike and I kayaking out to a castle in Guatemala.

On top of an ancient Mayan Ruin.