I think I spoke too soon...

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post of how lovely the weather was here and how the flowers were blooming. Well, I take it back. ITS SNOWING TODAY HERE IN SEATTLE!! I already packed away our camera cord, so I couldn't post a picture of the snow, but it is snowing and it is sticking! As I have watched it fall outside I think that this is happening to prepare us for going back to Rexburg. It has been so nice here, and it would have been totally unfair to go from this to the freezing temperatures of Rexburg with out any kind of transition, so here it is!

Along with this wonderful news, we are coming home today!! We are all packed up, and I am just waiting for Greg to get off work so we can leave. Once again our car is packed to the limit, and it will be quite the ride home. I think it was a blessing in disguise when Greg got in that car accident right before I came up to Seattle because there is NOOO way that we would have been able to get back in the other car. We have a Durango now, but even with that it is a squeeze. I do not handle the stress very well with moving, so I am sure that Greg is just as excited as I am to get out of here. We are going to try and drive as far as we can tonight, so more than likely we will be back in the good old Rexburg TOMORROW!!! Until then....

Life Lesson 101: Always take time for some fun!

As we are cleaning and packing, we always make sure to have a little fun to keep things interesting. Deagan is as cute as ever and he always makes things fun as well!

I had been busy all day with cleaning and packing, and he was really starting to beg for some attention. This is his reaction when I asked "Do you want to play now Deagan?" He of course was happy as ever for a little one on one time.

I know that some people might disagree with this, but we decided to give Deagan an oreo to see what he would think. Greg was eating one, and Deagan would not stop reaching for it. As expected, he loved it. He was covered, but he sure loved it!

I promise that this is not his usual diet!

This makes me laugh because we kept trying to get him to take the oreo out of his mouth so we could take a picture. When I took this one, I asked him if he would smile for the camera, and right on cue he did! Too cute!

Vancouver and Whistler

There were a ton of these little cars in Canada. I thought that they were so cute!

We took a sea bus to North Vancouver, and this is the view of downtown Vancouver. Very beautiful!
Our cute little boy!

This is Whistler Village. It was so pretty!

Another view of Whistler Village.

There was a Nelson Street in Vancouver. It was our favorite place!

Greg and Deagan relaxing as we were waiting to take a sea bus to North Vancouver.

The whole family. Deagan loves to stare at his dad!

Our vacation is over and we are back in Seattle for our final days here. The weekend went by way too fast, but I have been looking forward to this week since we left Rexburg.
We had a great time in Canada. As I mentioned before, it is a very different place then I am use to. We got into Vancouver late Wednesday night after a huge wait at the border. Who would have though that so many people are trying to cross the border on a Wednesday night? The area that we stayed in Vancouver was an interesting area to say the least. It was a happening place with clubs dotting the blocks around us. There were also at least 5 adult shops with in the block. That kind of gives you an idea of the area where we were. Our room was also TINY. It was about the size of our living room in Rexburg, so not the coziest place ever, but it was a place to sleep and get away from the craziness of Vancouver. Vancouver is where they are holding the 2010 Winter Olympics, so there is a TON of construction going on. Right now it looks kind of run down, but I am sure by the time the Olympics are here it will be a very beautiful city.
We left for Whistler Friday afternoon and got there late that afternoon. Whistler is such a cool place. It reminds me a lot of Park City, but the town is at the base of the mountain. It was a fun little town with lots of cute shops. It was nice to get away to get a way from life here and to have time as a family. We got back to Seattle last night, and now we are getting everything ready to leave Friday for Rexburg. Our plan is to drive all night on Friday to get back in time to get settled a little bit before we leave to Park City the next week. Life will be crazy for the next couple of weeks, but we are just so excited to come back to Rexburg!

Where Am I?

We are in Canada now, but I really feel like we are much farther away. Everything is SOOO different here. I remember going to Canada when I was younger, but I don't remember it being like this. First of all, everything is in meters, and liters, and grams, and I have no idea what that converts to. Maybe I should have paid more attention in 7th grade science!! The people here are SO diverse. In my opinion, much more than the people in Seattle. Greg went to the US Embassy this morning for work, and Deagan and I stayed at the hotel. I found myself thinking this morning while he was gone, "I can't wait to we are back in Seattle!" I surprised myself that I thought that because I never thought I would feel that way. Seattle really has felt like home for the past 2 months. Like I have said before, it takes going away sometimes before you really realize how good you had it. Being here really makes me grateful to be from the United States. We live in a great place!
We did a lot of exploring today, and we had a lot of fun despite all the differences. Deagan did so great as well. He sat in his stroller and just observed everything around him. I do think that even he was a little overwelmed by it all though. I am so grateful for Greg and for Deagan. It is so fun to have this time with our family. Tomorrow we are heading up to Whistler for the next part of our adventure! I have to say that I am excited to leave Vancouver!

The Flowers Are Blooming!

It is crazy that today is the last day of winter. I was ready for this the first time it snowed in Rexburg. It has been surprisingly cold in Seattle since we got here. It hasn't rained as much as I thought it would, but it sure has been chilly!! Despite the colder temperatures, the tree that I can see from our balcony at apartment is blooming the most beautiful red blossom that I have ever seen in my life. There are also flowers blooming in the park. It seems so early to have flowers, but I love it!

We are leaving to go to Vancouver, Canada tonight. For work, Greg is going to get a tour of the American Consulate tomorrow morning, and then this weekend we are going to go to Whistler for a mini-vacation. Some of Greg's friends and his brother and his wife are coming as well, so it should be fun to get away and have fun!

Next week is our last week here in Seattle. I think it will be a crazy week with trying to get packed and trying to clean our apartment. I have been looking forward to this week for quite some time. It kind of seems surreal.


It has been cold like I said, so Deagan wears this when I go running or walking at the park. It is a little too big for him, but it is cute and very warm!
I know this is a really weird looking picture, but I thought it was so funny. We have a Mac, so we have a program that allows you to take pictures like this. It was so funny because Deagan was even laughing at it. I am not sure if it was for the same reason that I was laughing, but it was still cute to me. Like I said, I know that this looks really weird, so sorry!

A more serious one of Deagan and I.

Greg's parents gave this outfit to Deagan for Easter. I think it is so cute. It is still a little big, but by the time the next Easter comes around he will be too big for it.

A Time to Catch Up!

Greg is at a concert tonight with a friend, so I have the evening to myself. I was kind of nervous about being here alone, but it has actually been a pretty nice evening. I don't particularly like to be by myself that often, but it has given me a chance to get a lot of things done that I have wanted to. Deagan is in bed, I am watching "Sleepless is Seattle," and I have the luxury of spending some "me time:" Very much needed I might add.
It is hard to believe that our time in Seattle is coming to an end. It is a weird feeling because it feels like we just got here, and at the same time it feels like we have been here forever. Someone once told me, and I can't remember who, that once you have children the days seem long but the weeks seem too fast. I have now realized just how true that is. This week has pretty a pretty hard week for someone for me emotionally. The weather hasn't been all that great and I have just had some "blah" days. It is hard being here all day with not a whole lot to do. I have said this before, but I am so glad that I have Deagan with me because I am not sure how I would be able to handle this time here. I know that I am at my limit when not being able to find a place to get my hair cut almost brings me to tears. Pretty pathetic I know. Greg gave me a blessing, and things have been much better since then. It is so easy to lose perspective and to get caught up on the small things. For me, I seem to do this a little too often. How grateful I am for the priesthood that helps brings that perspective back into my life. We also had the chance to go to the temple last night, and that also helped a ton. I am reminded of a talk by Elder Bednar about "Tender Mercie" because I feel like I have had a lot of these lately. I talked to my sister tonight, who is by far the best sister that I could have been blessed with, and she helped remind me of these "tender mercies." She is such an example to me. Things are going up now, and I am becoming more and more anxious to set foot in our apartment in Rexburg and to see family and friends that I have missed so much.

So if you have made it this far in what probably seems like an entry from my journal, we have some new pictures of our little guy. He is such a blessing to us!

His expressions are just so cute to me. They change constantly. If only I could capture every one of them to cherish for memories.
He is very flexible, and his favorite thing to do lately is to play with his toes. Sometimes they even make great pacifiers. This isn't a very good picture of it, but he was sucking on his toes, and smiling.

I was changing his clothes, and we were having kind of a battle with putting some new clothes on. I decided to let him play for a little bit with just his diaper, and he loved it! He is rolling and moving like crazy lately, so diaper changes have been very frustrating for both of us.

I don't know what to say about this picture other than that I love this little guy so much! His smile just makes me smile!

Happy 6 Months Sweet Boy!

Today Deagan turned 6 months old. Maybe not a big deal to most people, but for us it was! Maybe it was all in my head, but today he just seemed older to me. He is talking so much more and is trying so hard to crawl, or to at least become more mobile than he is now. Tonight he managed to turn himself in a complete circle on his stomach. I was sick today, so we didn't do a whole lot to celebrate, but we did a few cute pictures to remember it.

He posed for the camera at the last minute. His smile melts my heart!
He loves to watch the TV. Maybe a little too much.

It was really nice here today, so we decided to get some fresh air. We walked around the University of Washington campus. Deagan really loved the walk.

We loved it too!!

Mr bright eyes!

Deagan is becoming a lot more verbal lately. Whenever I talk to my mom on the phone, he seems to not really show off how well he is doing, so I wanted to post this so my mom can hear him in action. I hope you like it mom!

I love to see the temple...

Yesterday after Greg got off work, we went to Bellevue to have dinner with my aunt and uncle and some of my cousins. We had some time to spare before dinner started, so we went the Seattle Temple and walked around. This temple is so beautiful, and it kind of reminds me of the Rexburg Temple a little bit. It made me a little home sick. Since Deagan was born, we haven't had as much time as we would like to go to the temple, so it it was nice to even being on the grounds of a temple.

Deagan looks annoyed in this picture. He gets his picture taken so much that he is beginning to show his feelings about getting his picture taken.

We thought this would make a cute picture. Right after we took the picture, a guy who was leaving the temple came over to us and started talking to us. You could tell that he was thinking that he was about to have a missionary opportunity. He seemed a little let down when we told him that we were members.

He was nice enough though to take our picture.

Overalls and Drums

It is hard to believe that we only have 3 weeks left in Seattle. Time really has flown by. I am finally beginning to feel comfortable here and with the big city life, for the most part. I met Greg downtown for lunch today, and for once I found my way back to the interstate with out getting completely lost downtown. That is one thing that I will not miss about this place is how crazy confusing downtown is. There are a lot of fun things to do here, that I am now beginning to discover. Every Thursday morning in Bellevue, a movie theater at Lincoln Square plays special movie times just for moms and their babies. I went with another lady from our ward here, and it was so fun. It was crazy because there were so many babies there! It was fun to be with so many other moms who are home all day with their little ones. We saw "The Other Boelyn Girl" which was a pretty crazy movie. I am not sure if I like it or not yet.
We have a fun weekend ahead of us, and I am so excited to be busy! We are going to my aunt's house in Bellevue to have dinner with her family. Tomorrow Greg is taking the Foreign Service Office Test in the morning, and then that afternoon Greg's parents are coming into town to have lunch with us. We are so excited to see family because we are missing them like crazy, at least I am!
Deagan turns 6 months on Sunday. I can town testify that time really does seem to go faster after you have your baby. The first 6 months of my pregnancy creeped along, and the 6 months after Deagan's birth have flown. Before we know it we will be celebrating Deagan's 1st birthday! Oh man! He is such a blessing in our lives!

Deagan in his new overalls. I think that overalls are the cutest things on babies!

We went to Tacoma last night to have dinner with Greg's sister who was in town for State Basketball. Deagan was so excited to see her that he decided to show off his drum skills with some straws.

He is pretty good!

Sonics Game!

Friday night we decided to go to the Sonics Game downtown. I was kind of nervous about going because it started at 7:30, and Deagan is usually asleep by 7. We came prepared though with lots of milk, and I was hoping that that would get us by. We got there right at tip off, and right when the Sonics made their first basket, Deagan broke down in tears because it was so loud in the arena. I spent the entire first half of the game walking around outside , so we left at half time. I feel bad because we spent $20 on parking and on our tickets combined, but I didn't want Deagan to have to endure another half of the game. We did get a couple of pictures though for memories. Maybe next time we go we will have to bring ear plugs.


We sat up in the nose bleed section because the tickets were so cheap up there.

At first Deagan seemed pretty interested in what was going on on the court. This was taken right before the Sonics made their first basket.

Oatmeal Cookies!

My new found passion is cooking and baking.  After watching the Food Network channel for a while now, I have learned a few tricks that have really inspired me to cook more, and now I love it!  Poor Greg because he gets to be the guinea pig as I try out recipe after recipe.  Being the sweet husband that he is, he eats the food that I make, but I find out a few days later that he actually didn't like it at all when I try to make it again.  Funny guy.  I am always looks for new recipes, so anyone who has any good recipes that they would like to share, post them! 

 I found this recipe for oatmeal cookies yesterday, and they are actually healthy for you! Try them for yourselves and see what you think.  They are definitely different from your traditional oatmeal cookies, but still pretty tasty!

Recipe:

Egg-Free Low-Fat Oatmeal Cookies.

Ingredients:

1/4 c packed brown sugar

1/4 c white sugar

3/4 cup applesauce

1 c all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 c rolled oats

1/2 c raisins

1-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2-Stir together brown sugar, white sugar, and applesauce.  In separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.  Stir in the applesauce mixture.  Add rolled oats and raising.

3-Bake for 10 minutes or until browned.

Enjoy!

I actually made these with chocolate chips today because I didn't have any raisins, so they aren't as healthy as they could be, but I was pleasantly surprised!