Valentine's Weekend

Valentine's day hasn't even gotten here yet, but it's been an enchanting weekend! It has been, overall, a great way to end the last week!

FRIDAY:
Julie came up to Rexburg to hang out, and so we went to WalMart to finish buying the stuff for our Dorm party on Saturday, then we went out to eat at good ol' Micky-dees...been a little while and the greasy fries are my favorite! :)
Last Wednesday I started getting the cold that Hyrum had picked up from who-knows, but Friday I woke up with it in full-swing. However...thanks to Afrin, I was surviving the day. Then...Andrew comes home with THE MOST GORGEOUS arrangement of flowers!



Then, Hyrum took an extra nap to help me out. Is there anything more precious than a sleeping baby? Me thinks not!


Then, one of my girls came over to curl my hair for the BIG dance that night..the Valentine's Formal--a night in Paris.
We decided to go to the formal with another couple that is in our ward...and they are a blast! We had dinner at their house a few weeks ago, so it we had them to our house for a dinner before the dance. The Butterfields brought a very delicious salad, and then we had corn chowder and breadsticks...from scratch (remember...Betty Crocker). HAHA! Okay, so yes, the food was from scratch, but I was running around like a chicken with it's head cut off, and it wouldn't have made it if it weren't for Andrew...

We were smokin' that night!


SATURDAY: So I have a goal to run a 5K (3.1 miles) by July 4th...go from fat and waddling around to running a 5K in 1 year! :) But anyways, there was a Valentine's "Fun Run" that was a 5k! Andrew and I, plus Jena & Joey Hagen (some other head residents and my walking buddy) decided to do it. It was kinda crazy (especially when you consider that Andrew and I were both sick by this point) but totally fun! Andrew's goal was to finish in under 36 minutes. He finished in 35:26--barely there, but definitely there! My goal was to run at least a mile, and to finish in 45 minutes. I finished in exactly 42 minutes, and ran just over a mile! It was a wonderful feeling to finish something that I started! Next 5K I want to finish in 37 minutes...and for the 4th of July 5k, I want to finish in 30 minutes or less. We took Hyrum, and pushed him around the track. I really really really wish that we had thought to take our camera...but alas, we did not. Most people that were there (including the Hagen's and Andrew) had a "lap counter," someone who stood on the side of the track and would count your laps, so that you didn't have to keep track. But...I slipped through the cracks (yeah, I'm just that skinny! haha) and so I didn't have one. When you passed them, they would cheer you on and tell you how many laps you had done or how many you had left. I kept hearing "Yay! Go Jena" and "Andrew, you're my man!" etc...but what happened when I ran past them? "Go team stroller!" I guess that's what happens when you become a mom...you're defined by just that. You can imagine how exposed I felt (and nameless) when Andrew took Hyrum and let me run on my own...I then got a "yay!" from the sidelines. Oh well...I still finished, and it was still a great experience! Here's to more 5ks!!!

I woke up today with no voice, and some intense intestinal issues. Gross, I know. So we have now finished off the weekend by staying home from church and having an extremely relaxing day. But it was exactly what the doctor ordered because I'm feeling much better now--ready to start a new week, and to see what Valentine's day has to offer us tomorrow! One more picture...just for good measure--geez he's a good looking kid!!!

Hyrum's New Tricks

Hyrum first started crawling about two or three weeks ago, and since then he's been a little mobile fiend! However, since then he's learned a few more things. 1) crawling really fast to get to something that he knows he can't have (shoes and paper are the current favorites) 2) standing--started out as just in his crib, but now it is anything that he can grab a hold of & 3) he now says "mama" which is, of course, one of my favorites!

It has been so amazing, yet sad to see my little baby growing into a little boy! I bet it will only be a couple more months before he's running around, getting into everything! But, alas, I will just be extremely grateful that I get to stay at home with him and cherish every moment! Okay, so maybe that is a little harder than it sounds, since time FLIES by...but I will try!

Everyday Betty Crocker

So, do you remember when you were little and you found out that Betty Crocker wasn't a real person? So, maybe I was just a little on the strange side...I also remember grieving for days when I was told that Karen Carpenter was not alive anymore (I was 7). But I digressed, I am writing this post to let everyone know that she is ALIVE and well...in me that is. That may sound a little proud (it is), but just wait until you know why. I baked a pie. Yes, a yummy yummy pie from scratch. Well, the filling was canned, but it was filling that Julie and I made from scratch and then canned...so it still counts.

Just behold the beauty:

'Nuff said.

January Recap

This has been an awesome month. Heidi and I have reworked our budget and
we are trying to run a cash budget this whole year. We had a good month last month
and we are so grateful that tax season has arrived. We are hoping to put most of our
return towards Heidi’s student loans and a few other amenities for our home.
The first week of the month Andrew helped run the sound system in the
Drama theatre for a touring group doing a show called “Forever Plaid” He got to
hear a lot of great barbershop music with piano and bass. He also learned bunches
about programming sound on a digital soundboard. He will also be helping out
backstage with two children’s shows later this semester.

Heidi has been attending her cake decorating class and although she was
anxious about it at first. She has already had 2 projects where she learned shells,
shell borders, writing tips, stars, twisting stars, trees, and use of piping gel. Both of
her cakes looked and tasted great! She has another project due this next week and is
excited to learn some more. Roses are her latest challenge.

We had a really great family dinner here at our house a few weeks ago. Ben
and Bob both came over with their families and after dinner we took a little tour
around campus in the newly dedicated buildings. We just loved watching Hyrum
and Caleb play together they were both quite content to sit on the floor and play
together for almost an hour with very little supervision. On that note Hyrum is
crawling around really well now. He crawls in short sections and stops to play or
observe, he isn’t quite up to full-fledged fleeing.

This last weekend while Jenn was at her gaming conference Andrew went
and played in a Magic: The Gathering Prerelease tournament he placed 4th out of
about 36 and was rewarded 6 pack additional to the ones he opened for the
tournament.

Heidi is really busy with work this month. We have had two difficult girls in
particular that have needed some personal attention. We have also met with the
Bishop and the dean of students to decide what needs to be done. Although both
situations seem to be improving – if they don’t improve faster we may be sending
one of the girls home. Overall that has been a challenging yet growing experience for
Heidi.

We started inviting over couples in our ward for FHE to get to know them better and to help us hold FHE. We have done really well this month and it has made a difference to how we interact in the ward. One of our ward friends invited Heidi to come walking during the week in the new BYUI Center and so three times a week she is walking with her friend Tara who has a little boy 2 days younger than Hyrum. She is very excited to have some time out of the house and is preparing to run in a 5K on the Fourth of July: One year from giving birth to Hyrum. Andrew will be running with her although he won’t be training much until school gets out in April.

Hyrum is getting so big! He is eating solid foods really well, crawling, starting to pull himself up to standing, and saying "baba" and "mama" and we're working on getting him to say dada. Below is a video of one of the first times he crawled...so that was his beginning stages--he's much quicker now!