Disgusting!!!

Those of you who know me, know what a big pet lover I am. For those of you who don't know, I am not the biggest pet fan....their licking, jumping and shedding less than thrill me.

Knowing all of this full well--I was ready for bed and waiting for Taylor, as we have not missed a night of going to bed without each other. But, Taylor had to let Cougar out. So as I was waiting and playing on the computer, Taylor goes to get Cougar out of the kennel, and when he came back inside he paused to give me a kiss. I thought, "ah, that was sweet," when all of a sudden, Taylor breaks out in a laugh. I was speechless--I had no idea what was so funny--luckily for me, Taylor didn't make me wait long as he said....

"Cougar just licked my lips!"

And proceeded to laugh all the way out as he said, "We got her, Cougar!"

8 Things

Alright, I know how long it has been since I have blogged....I'd like to say I was on "blogging vacation" but...the truth is, I haven't been taking many pictures of all the things we have been doing, so I figured the point in blogging would be boring.....

We have been very busy but I will save that for another post....so without further ado....here is the "8 Things" tag that I have been tagged for...


8 TV Shows I enjoy watching:

1. The Amazing Race
2. The Biggest Loser
3. Desperate Housewives
4. Brothers and Sisters
5. Kitchen Nightmares
6. Grey's Anatomy
7. Ugly Betty
8. ER (Speaking of ER...did anyone watch last weeks?? Talk about tear jerker!)

8 Things that happened yesterday:

1. Taylor's mom--Suzanne--came to visit us for the weekend!
2. Suzanne and I took Isaac on a walk
3. Suzanne made us waffles for breakfast
4. Suzanne took us (yes, US, meaning TAYLOR, Isaac and I) to Mamma Mia (I enjoyed it, Taylor said, and I quote, "Well that was an hour and 40 minutes I will never get back!" haha...)
5. Suzanne then proceeded to take us to Craigo's for dinner
6. After Isaac went to bed, we watched the movie, "Take the Lead"
7. I actually went a night without eating a bag of popcorn to myself!
8. Stayed up until who-knows-when talking to Suzanne

8 Things I am looking forward to:

1. Spending Thanksgiving in Utah
2. The big "red-carpet event" in Pocatello that I will be attending this Saturday (more info to come!)
3. The date night Taylor is taking me on this Friday
4. Dec. 12
5. Taylor finishing school next month
6. Isaac starting to talk
7. Black Friday shopping with my sister-in-laws
8. Dec. 19

8 Things on my wish list:

1. Couches
2. A new outfit (...that I am going to order in the next few days...)
3. Be a stay-at-home mom
4. Get more organized
5. More/New Recipes
6. A big family
7. Our laundry to miraculously get done on its own tomorrow...:)
8. And, most importantly, BYU to beat Utah this weekend so 1) I can rub it in my brother-in-law Cam's face, and 2) So Cam will stop talking about Utah. :)

I tag...Heather Harris, Jen Housley and Kim Housley (And Erin if she is blogging).

It's that time....October birthdays!!!

Besides Isaac's birthday, we had two other birthdays worth mentioning in the month of October: Morgan's and Erin's!!

First, Morgan turned SIX on October 10 and even spent it with us here in Idaho!! I can't believe she is six already....that means I have spent the last three birthday's with her! I just love Morgan. She is just the cutest, sweetest, and most enthusiastic little girl!

Yes I know this picture is old, but this picture of Morgan and I is one my favorites and was taken in February 2007. That was the semester we lived with Morgan and her family. We have many fond memories of that time, including how Morgan calls me "Val val" it's so funny.

Morgan is one the most imaginative and artistic little girls I know! She loves to draw and is really good at it! When we lived with them she was always acting out something or pretending she was something...one of the things she always said was, "Let's pretend...." over and over and over, it was adorable.

Morgan is so full of life and is always so happy! She loves her sisters and is truly becoming such a wonderful, obedient, and beautiful young lady! I can't wait to watch her continue growing. I truly love her and am so glad I am her aunt!! Happy Birthday again Morgan!!

Second, it was my sister-in-law Erin's birthday on Sunday, October 26. Her birthday is so close to Halloween that we celebrate her birthday at the annual Housley Halloween party...unfortunately, we weren't able to be there, so this is an extra loud shout out to Erin!!!

Erin is fun. She is always up for a game, a walk or hike, or anything else. She is a perfect fit for Jordan and is so compassionate to everyone. We have had some great times with the two of them and always want to hang out with them whenever we go down to Utah. (and we're still waiting for them to come visit us in Idaho, *cough, cough*). :)

Erin is the most recent addition to the family and we're so so so so glad to have her! There is so much depth to her and her sweetness and caring manner extends far beyond just our family.

It's hard to be around Erin and not have a good time! Her willingness to help and serve is contagious and her passion for the gospel radiates! We sure love you Erin and hope you had a great birthday!

Happy Birthday Morgan and Erin, we are so happy to call you family--we love you so much!!

Happy Halloween!

So, to be completely honest, our halloween was kind of lame. Let me explain. Isaac is about 13 months, he doesn't eat candy, can't even say "trick or treat", but he did have a pretty sweet costume (thanks Nana!). SO...needless to say...we "enjoyed" our last year of not making Halloween a big deal. OH, and Taylor has a 2-hour class on Friday night, so that added to the lame-ness.

Work for both Taylor and I was pretty slow for the day, so in that sense it was a low-key day. But, Taylor's office had their annual halloween party that they open to the public. So, just like we went last year, we went this year. Here's a comparison picture...this was Isaac last year at the party....

And this year....

He has gotten so big!!! Another reason why we didn't make Halloween a big deal...I feel bad for asking for candy when you know it's not for Isaac, and we all know that I don't really care for a lot of it either, so it was really all about showing Isaac's cute costume off. He got comments from everyone--even strangers in the parking lot--about how cute he was! The lion head was heavy and big, so sometimes he had a hard time seeing! haha...

Look at that head! So, while I will use every excuse in the book for why Halloween was not a big deal this year, I will tell you--next year--I will be Halloweened out! I plan to make every holiday a big deal once our children are at an age to appreciate it and understand what is going on. Parties, parties and parties!

So, that's all folks!

Week Recap

I have been delaying this post because I keep meaning to take a picture, but every time I think about taking a picture--it's too dark. So, I have just opted to post anyway.

Last Wednesday, we got grass! Wahoo!! :-) Random, I know. But anyone who has visited us or heard us talk about this issue knows how big of a deal this is! We have been fighting the HOA for more than a year and we finally got grass! In the end--we got the grass for free, but Taylor had to lay it, which wasn't a big deal because Taylor likes that kind of stuff, so yea!

Thursday we had a stake leadership training. AND, our very own Costco opened! YEA! I LOVE COSTCO!! (It's Tuesday, and in less than a week, I have already been three times!) Pocatello has finally been put on the map! Wahoo!!!

Friday we went to a halloween party at our friend's house. Those who know us, knows that we are not big on dressing up. (Ok, disclaimer--Taylor really does try, I don't). But we even dressed up (big deal!) and got Isaac all dressed up in his lion costume....even though he kept trying to take it off! Hahaha....


Look how cute that costume is! That would be me slaving away in the background on my cute Halloween dish that I took to the party....HOWEVER....I did not get a picture of it! I am so bummed because I spent several hours on it! And, I didn't get a picture of Taylor and my costumes...lame, I know. (I would tell you what we were, but I plan to use it next year too!) (Oh, and I will get better pictures of Isaac this Friday when we take him to Taylor's office party).

Saturday we lounged around--one of my favorite things to do since we are so busy during the week--and then I made Taylor watch a chick flick with me--Made of Honor. It was alright.

And then Sunday was church and good as usual. So, that was essentially our weekend. Oh, and I finished book three of Twilight...my favorite is still Twilight with Eclipse in second. Still don't like Jacob. And...the Twilight movie looks like a horror movie--am I the only one who thinks that??

Chillin

Isaac...just chillin and watching the Cowboy's game with dad. :-)

Waaaaay over due!!

This post is beyond overdue. But for journal and comparison purposes....here is Isaac's LAST monthly picture.

Recap of 11 months:
And, 12 months:

(The shoes are too big for him...)

Speaking of big...we thought Isaac would have high percentages for his weight and height, but he wasn't more than 40 percent in the height and weight percentiles!

Isaac is the happiest, cutest, most wonderful joy in our home!! We cannot believe it's been a year, he has grown SO much!

I'm hooked.

I told myself I wasn't going to jump on the bandwagon....and I did. I started reading the Twilight series and I am officially hooked. I read all of Twilight on Saturday and then started New Moon on Sunday and finished it last night. I can't believe how hooked I am!!! A "pro" about finally reading the series is that almost everyone else around me has read them, so whenever I ask a question or say something about them, they all know what I am talking about! However, a "con" about that is when I say "I don't like Jacob! He is getting in the way of everything!" ... I get the, "Ohhh....just wait!" And I don't like hearing that!!!

Taylor can't get over the "book worm" that has emerged in me. I started Eclipse last night, but for the past two nights I have had dreams that I was either in the story line or about the story and they have woken me up...several times...so I may take a teeny-tiny break from them to let my mind unwind a little!!!

Now when the movie comes out next month....anyone up for a girls night out?!

What a week!!!!!

Let me paint a picture for you. Last weekend we had a great time with Taylor's family. They left on Sunday, and Taylor and I both had Monday off of work for Columbus day--it was a great day. On Tuesday I felt a cold coming on, by Wednesday I knew I hadn't avoided it. I slept in on Thursday because I felt so sick. When I woke Isaac on Thursday, both his eyes were red. I thought it was from crying because he was having an unusually cranky morning. Well, when it came time to leave, they were still very, very red.

Needless to say, we took him to the doctor and he had pink eye in not one, but both eyes. Taylor and I juggled our schedules--he stayed home with Isaac until 2:00, and then I came home and Taylor went to work. Isaac was just as happy as could be, and I really didn't mind leaving work to be with him.

SO....after an hour or so of Taylor leaving, I decided to vacuum our rugs upstairs. I walked down the stairs to get the vacuum and right as I was getting to the bottom of the stairs an overpowering odor of what smelled like paint came over me. (I was surprised I could even smell it as strongly as I did because of my cold). I immediately called Taylor and asked him if he had painted or polished anything earlier. He said no and I explained what I had just experienced, he said he would come home (his work is just down the street from us, really, it's within walking distance) Once he got home he scoured through the closets and garage in hopes of pinpointing the smell. I continued with my vacuuming upstairs until I heard Taylor yelling something to me. I shut the vacuum off to hear Taylor say, "Honey, don't light anything, I think we have a gas leak!"

Yep. That was the other fun thing added to our already fun week. We had a guy come right away and he couldn't find a leak, he just tightened a few things and pretty much said, if the smell comes back, give me a call. During this time, we thought it best if Isaac and I got out of the house, so off we went to run errands. After half an hour or so I called Taylor to learn what was going on.....but he didn't answer his phone. So I called our house, no answer. Six tries later....still no answer. I had great plans of meandering through TJ Maxx and Shoe Carnival (really, that is our only choices here!) but the thought of our house up in flames or Taylor lying unconscious on the floor overwhelmed me and I hurried home. Yeah, he was fine. Just misplaced his phone. Once he found his phone he said to me, in a disbelief tone, "12 missed calls???" And I answered, "I was worried!" :-)

I was still not satisfied with the guy's solution to our problem. And the smell was still there. Friday morning I called the gas company. They said we had several small leaks and several things would need to be replaced. Another heating company came out and found no leaks, then the inspector came out and said there was a leak. Obviously you can see what kind of day this was for us!! They finally concluded there was a leak by our fireplace and that the valve on the furnace and the water heater would have to be replaced. Unfortunately the valve for the furnace wouldn't be here until Monday. So the final verdict was we could stay in our house and we would have hot water but no heat until the valve came on Monday.

We figured we'll stay home unless it gets too cold and then we'll either trek up to Blackfoot for the weekend or stay in a hotel. So far we have survived one full day and I have been unbelievably hot!! I feel very blessed that this happened now--had it happened last weekend, we would have had company here and it snowed....this weekend is actually the warmest it has been all week and in the upcoming week. So, we are surviving and enjoying the adventure. I told Taylor it was like camping in our own house. He just laughed at me. :) However, who ever knew that having a gas leak and calling in a heating company would be RIDICULOUSLY expensive!!! Yikes.

But on a better note, I am feeling much better and you never would have known Isaac had pink eye.

Here are some extremely adorable pictures we took of Isaac earlier this week in his cute cowboy outfit!


Posing like a little stud for the camera....
"Look mom! No hands!" (You can kind of see his cute cowboy BOOTS)
Love this next one...
And especially this one....
Thanks Nana for the adorable outfit!!

I sure love my little chatter-box boy! And I am so blessed to have an incredibly strong and wonderful husband. I love how safe I feel with him and how secure and protected I am when I am with him! I feel so blessed for the boys in my life!

Here's to another fun-filled week!