New Years Eve

Happy 2010!

New Year's Eve was so fun. I took a nap to make sure I'd be rested for the evening of events.

Mike and I went over to Dale and Sonnet's house. The boys were able to play digital death until 9:00 since Sonnet was working at the library. I was the only girl for a few so I was the fourth player. At first, the game was very confusing to me. Then I amazed myself and I think everyone else. The last round I got 5 kills. Way, better than 0.

When Sonnet finally arrived home she had an array of fondue. We had chocolate, cheese, and meat fondue. I've never had meat fondue and everyone seemed to love it! I pigged out mainly on chips and cheese! MmMmMm!

Mike and I made a trivia game that entailed New Years, 2009, and Christmas. For the most part I felt it was a success. A few of the questions were too hard to be answered but...oh well!

We played Catch Phrase and then expectantly....midnight struck. We popped out the sparkling cider and then debated what to do for the rest of the time. Tyler, Sonnet, and I went downstairs and played rock band until about 2:00 A.M. Everyone else just visited or found something else to do with their time.

By the time we were home nothing else was on our mind beside sleep.

Ben and Lindsay
Tyler and Caryn
Dale and Sonnet
Mike and Angie

Happy Anniversary!

We didn't do much since we were so tired from the holiday and doing family stuff all week....and I wasn't feeling the best. Mike's mom didn't leave until early afternoon so our festivities started that evening.

We started out by taking a much needed nap. Then, neither of us felt like cooking so we went out for Chinese.

Afterward, we decided to go and rent a movie. (We rented The Carriers which was kind of lame and disappointing.) We copied our friends Caryn and Ty in that we also made a fort to watch our movie in. Since it didn't leave a good feeling afterward, we decided to watch clips from the movie Up.

Later, Mike was so nice and decided to give me a massage. Then, I think we got tired and went to bed....

Happy Birthday Mike!

Today is Mike's birthday and of course he had to work. I wanted him to know that I was thinking of him and to know that he was loved so....

I decorated his car while he was at work!!!

So high school right?

His Grandma and Grandpa took us out to dinner at O'Brady's. Most of us ordered the chicken fried steak...

Then, Greg and Kristen including Gene and Karen came over for cake and icecream. Mike opened his presents getting Zelda: Four Feathers, a snuggie, and a steamer to help with ironing.

So this game Zelda: Four Feathers...well, it's a game cube game (compatible with the Wii.) Well, we didn't realize in order to play the game it needed a different game controller. So, we borrowed one from a friend. Then, we learned that in order to not start over from the beginning each time it's played it needs to be saved. Now, we need to get one of those game cube memory cards. So, it was kind of disappointing to try to play since there were all of these unknown factors. Now, that we have it figured out, I hope he will enjoy it.

Anyways, Happy Birthday Mike!

Christmas

Christmas morning...

This is all they asked for...a picture of us. So we gave them one from Dec. 2008 and Oct. 2009.

Mike's new shirt. He loves it!

Mike went over to a friend's house and he saw he was using a giant root beer mug. He talked about how cool that mug was forever. So, I had to get him these.


My new comfy and soft bathrobe. Now I won't have to use Mike's anymore. :)

At 12:00, we enjoyed a wonderful meal at Greg's and Kristen's. I think they were happy with the fact that they were able to host Christmas dinner. They recently moved back from Boise in August. They were renting out their house and unfortunately their renters didn't leave their house in very good condition. They had to fix it up; repaint and get new carpet. Now, their house looks like new and is nice and comfortable.

Later that evening we played settlers with his Mom and Dad. His Dad really enjoys that game and have already played it quite a few times since they've been here. He's right...it is a good game and don't mind playing.

...Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

Mike's parents, Gene and Karen, arrived last night to spend the Christmas holiday with us. It will be fun to have them around and to have a change of pace.

Christmas Eve, Mike and I, and his family went over to his Grandma and Grandpa's house for dinner.

After dinner Joy gave Mike and Greg their Christmas present (if you can call it that.) It was packaged...

OCTOPUS

Joy, Greg, and Karen were willing to give it a try. The rest of us were trying as hard as we could to not vomit everywhere. Mike was funny about the whole. Joy stated that Mike had to eat some since she did. He continued to try but when he would get it close to his mouth he'd back out. One time he actually put it in his mouth and then spit it right back out. Karen suggested for him to try to cut off a piece instead of eating the whole thing. He did so and managed a small chew and quickly swallowed it as fast as he could. Let's say I didn't kiss that gross mouth for quite some time.

We then played the candy bar game. I love this game...particularly because it involves candy!!! I was pretty lucky because I ended up winning a king size Hershey Bar with Almonds. MmMmM!!!!

All in all it was a good evening! Lots of good food, good company, good games, good entertainment, etc.

Our Baby Story

So this pregnancy wasn't exactly planned but we're still very excited about it. I had some suspicions that I was pregnant because my body was just changing....and of course the most obvious sign had happened. I didn't want to say anything to Mike about it since, just in case I wasn't, didn't want him to worry unnecessarily. I got sick of waiting so I tested the next morning. The pee stick confirmed everything.

I didn't know what Mike would think and was super nervous to tell him. Mike wasn't yet up so I woke him up by shoving the pee stick in his face. He was groggy and didn't show much emotion so I was kind of confused. He did manage to tell me congrats and assured me that he was happy for our situation.

Now, he is really cute about the whole thing. The hardest part was me forbiding him not to tell anyone. He was good about it and did what I asked.

Currently, I am 4 months along and am due June 10, 2010. I find out what we're having on Jan. 12.

Adoption Celebration

I want to thank my family for remembering my 12 year anniversary to the day I was adopted. That is one day that I'll always remember and cherish. I can't thank you enough for all the things you have done for me over the years. I treasure the relationships that I have made and that will be there forever.

We celebrated by going out to Primos for all you can eat pizza. My Dad was funny because he thanked us all for coming to celebrate his 40 years of having his pilot's license.

My mom gave me the cutest little clock. I thought I'd take a picture of it...

It reads: Time spent with family and friends is time well spent.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was a fun time for us. Mike had been anticipating this day for about 2 months. This was the day that he could tell our big news! Yup, I'm pregnant! I made sure he didn't say anything to anyone because I wanted to be at least 12 weeks along before anyone knew. Mike was so used to keeping his mouth shut that when Thanksgiving morning came he didn't seem anxious to call his family. Once he started making the calls he had a blast telling everyone.

We made a special trip over to his grandparents to tell them the news. They were getting ready to leave so when we arrived I blurted our news, gave them a hug, and left.

Mike and I arrived at my parents around 1:00 and dinner wasn't until 3:30. I was kind of feeling nervous the longer I had to wait. The funny thing is that Uncle Ron came to me and asked when we were planning on starting my family. That was a hard question to avoid and it took everything I had to keep a straight face. I got away by claiming that I had to go to the bathroom.

I decided a while ago that I was going to tell my family around the Thanksgiving table when my Dad had us go around the table and say what we were thankful for. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. I was anxious and was having a hard time find the "right" moment since Mike and Uncle Ron continued talking. When there an ounce of a second lull in the conversation, I raised my hand and said, "Um, I have an annoncement. I'm pregnant" There was an audible gasp followed by complete silence. After I confirmed I was serious then came congratulations and questions.

So...I'm due June 10, 2010.

Christmas came early?

Mike asked me two years ago if he could buy a new t.v. I told him yes (after much prodding and begging) but under this condition. He had to earn the money outside of our regular paychecks. He kept up his end of the bargain so I had to do the same. On Black Friday I bought us a blu ray player (although we currently don't own any blu rays.)

We had a hard time deciding where to put our furniture. We played with it for several days. We had some friends come over and they helped us put it on top of the fireplace. So far, this new set-up is my favorite. Our living room seems more open and feels more comfortable.

Since Christmas came early we agreed to only spend $20 on each other on actual Christmas Day. That's ok; we've been enjoying a wonderful new t.v.

HaLloWeEn

Mike and I had the wonderful opportunity of going to Dale and Sonnet's for Halloween. We were quite impressed with the festivities that she had planned. Downstairs she entertained a lot of little kids and upstairs she had activities for the adults to do too. Before the kids went to bed, we did one together. We had to wrap someone in toilet paper (to represent a mummy) as fast as we could, have them run to the other room, pass the paper roll on, and then wrap another member on our team. Let's just say our team ruled on that one! We chose some cool magnets for our prize.

The most impressive activity was the Jeopardy Game that Sonnet and Dale had prepared. I definitely learned a lot about Halloween I didn't know before.

On actual Halloween night, we went to Mike's grandparent's house and had dinner with them. We played a round of cards while we waited for family to show. Grandpa had a good time showing off his guns and hunting pictures. Of course, we tried playing a prank on Grandpa but I would say it was a complete failure. He wasn't all that impressed.

Pictures taken at Freeman Park

RAFTING

Mike and I went rafting down the Hoe Back in Wyoming with Caryn and Ty and some of their friends from their ward. I was kind of nervous to go over the level 3 rapids but it ended up being better than ok. It was TONS of fun. The first chance Mike got he shoved me into the water. Luckily, in his attempts he fell in too. We were both shocked about the temperature of the water but since it was so HOT it felt good.

While going over the rapids, Mike was the only one to fall into the water. I didn't see it happen but those that did say it looked like he did it on purpose. He claims it was from being so greasy from the sunscreen. (My White and Pasty Boy!!!)

This is where we stopped for a break. A break was desperately needed since most of our butts and legs were sore. Most of the boys took advantage of jumping off the rocks.

Mike jumping in

Shortly after we got out. There was a debate whether or not to go over the rapids again. Most didn't have a preference but since one spoke up saying he wanted to go again we all agreed to go. All we had was a truck and instead of deflating our raft just to inflate it again we put it on top of the truck. This was some tricky business. The raft was huge and was bigger than the truck. We managed to find a way to put it on top. Then, we squeezed 8 people into the truck. We carefully started our journey to our drop in point. Mike sat in the middle up front and his job was to hold the rope so that the raft wouldn't fly off the top. We passed a lot of cars and we got a lot of reactions. We had several people point and laugh. I admit it was hysterical. Stay posted for pictures (they're on my friend's camera and she hasn't emailed them yet.)

We got dropped off and then the boys went to go get the vehicles so we would have something when we got out. We didn't realize it would take them so long. While they were gone there was a discussion of how late it was getting. The mom's were getting paranoid about going again because of their babysitters. They started to deflate the raft and cleaning up. Let's say when Ben came back he was somewhat disappointed but handled it well. Good thing we left because it was after 9:00 when we arrived home.

The ride home was fun. We decided the van was the girl vehicle and the truck was the boy vehicle. That was a good way to get to know each other better. We stopped in Swan Valley for a square icecream cone. We were all so exhausted that we didn't stay long. Only one thing was on our mind; Home!

Going to Utah

I love being married and love not having kids. This is why...Mike and I, on the spur of the moment, decided we wanted to go down to Utah to visit his parents. Mike mentioned it to me Saturday night and then an hour later we were prepared to leave. Mike called his parents letting them know of our plans and then his dad immediately called and reserved us a hotel. We left Sunday afternoon and were there when they got out of church. We had dinner with them and talked for a while. We then had to play Settler of Catan. By the time the game was over we were all so exhausted and then headed off to bed.

The next morning Mike and I made a trip to Provo and saw my old roommate DeAnna. I was super excited to see her since I hadn't seen in her in about 2 years. We had a lovely visit and then we headed off toward Seven Peaks. Of course, it was an arm and a leg to get in. What we didn't realize was that it was a tube park more than a water park. After paying a fortune to get in you then had to pay extra if you wanted to rent a tube to go on some of the slides. Mike and I entertained ourselves well enough that we didn't think it was worth it to rent a tube. Oh, and to just rent a locker it was $6.00. The car worked better and was a lot less expensive. On our way to the apartment we made our first appearance inside of IKEA. It was more than we had ever hoped for.

Mike in Ikea

After Seven Peaks we went out to dinner with his parents to Pei Wei. We tried several Asain dishes and for the most part was impressed. We then went on a drive and looked at President Hinckley's grave. We saw a lot of other apostles, church members, and family members that were also buried in that cemetary. We looked and looked for the angel that was in the book The Christmas Box by Paul Richard Evans but didn't have any luck. We went back to the apartment and then played the train game.

The next day (Tues. morning) Mike and I stayed at the hotel until it was time to check out. We went for an early morning swim since we didn't have time any other day to get in. We then parked at his parents' apartment and walked to the Church Office Builidng. His mom pre-registered us to go on the 12th floor to see where they work and what they do. Unfortunately, Mike and I both forgot our drivers license. Mike about had a heart attack when he realized it was missing from his wallet. Instead of going back to the car to look for our misplaced item we went and had lunch. The cafeteria was super busy and fast paced. If you didn't know what you wanted or just stood still for a moment while deciding, you got ran over. We met a lot of his parents' friends and/or work companions.

Beautiful flowers on Temple Square

Karen was able to work her magic and got us past the security systems regardless that we forgot our drivers license. We saw their cubicles and got the tour of their mission. We then went up to the 26th floor and saw an amazing view the surrounding area. We walked around Temple Square, visited the Beehive House (Brigham Young's house), looked at the hole (construction of the new mall near Temple Square), and went inside a few of the buildings. We went back with his mom to and chilled while his dad finished up some work at the Church Office Building. Afterward, we went out to eat at Wendy's and then started our journey home. We had to stop and get a 7/11 slurpee and then stopped in Pocatello to say hi to my sister Karalee and her family.

The Beehive House

Stick Pull

I don't know how many of you have tried stick pull before but I have found it an extremely fun game, especially to watch. This game was Joseph Smith's favorite game and he was really good at it. As you can see in the picture you have a stick where you each put your hands on. One person hands are on the outside and the other person hands are on the inside. Well, you just then pull until someone gives.

We were at Nate and Nashina's when we played this game. I won my first game but the next two I lost. What can I say? The person in the picture is a lot stronger than I am.

Comparison Pictures

As most of you know our house was a disaster when we first bought it. It took a month to clean it up and to also update it. We finished most everything inside of the house last year but this year our big concentration was our yard. We fixed our front last year because we didn't want to be embarrassed. I took some pictures in April and then again in August to see our progress. This is our latest upgrade.

Before

After

Our Garden

BeforeAfter

You notice in the "After" picture our garden is twice the size than in the "Before" picture. My mom gave me some strawberries and not knowing where to put them I had to extend it. I had already planted on the other side. Unfortunately, I had to replant since it had snowed and most of my plants died. There are a few that survived and are growing in the wrong place. For example, two squash plants survived and are growing in my rows of beans. Oh well, they're both alive, healthy, and producing.

I know our garden is small but we're still proud of it. This is our first year having one and we love it. It's so nice to be able to go out in the garden and eat fresh produce and to have vegetables on hand for dinner or other things.

The Chukars Game

Mike and I had the opportunity to go to the Chukars Game two times this week. We went on Tues. because it was BYU-Idaho Alumni night. I invited a co-worker and his wife and then we met up with Tim and Amelia and their group.

Nothing too exciting happened that night. I'll share something most of us found funny. (It might be one of those things you had to be there for.) There was a group down below us having a company party and Tim kept wanting some soda. He's trying to scheme a way to get some. This went on for most of the game. Tim all of a sudden realizes that Mike's sister Joy is down there and he was like, "Mike! Your sister has been down there the whole time! Tell her to get me some soda." Unfortunately, we didn't see Joy for the rest of the game. Tim was very distraught and had to go get his own beverage from the concessions.

Co-worker Les and his wife Laura

The next time we went was on Thursday. We were able to take advantage of Artic Circle giving away free tickets. This time our group consisted of Nate and Nashina, Caryn and Tyler, Erin and Val, and of course us. We saw a lot of other friends. We had a lot of fun and was glad for all that was able to join us.

Happy Birthday Grandma and Grandpa Rockwood

I went to the biggest birthday party ever. Mike's grandparent's celebrated their 80th birthday. Dale's birthday was June 1 and Sharon's actually isn't until July 3.

I just want to say Happy Birthday and thank you for all the wonderful things you do for us. We love you!!!