Getting Ready

So....I'm trying to go through the things we have gotten or been given for the baby and make a list of things we still need. I think we've got the big things under control...still need to buy the stroller/carseat and crib mattress. However.....I'm trying to think of the small things that maybe I've forgotten.

So....if you read my blog and have had a baby leave me a comment if there's something you wish you would have had and didn't think about before the baby came!

Jack's Favorite Thing

Jack's favorite part of our house was the stairs. He just loved to go up them constantly! You'll have to turn your head sideways though, because I couldn't figure out if I could rotate the video.

A Very Welcome Visit

This last week Caleb, Holly, and Jack drove down to visit us before BYU starts classes next Monday! I was surprised when Caleb called to ask if they could come, but I said yes, yes, yes! We didn't do too much exciting, mostly just hung out. We went to the Irvine Spectrum (an outdoor mall) and saw the movie Bandslam which was actually really good. One day Rick and Shelley came down from Pasadena to spend the day and we all went and ate lunch with Russell at work! Everyone really enjoyed that we could meet up with him. And...we visited Stride Rite and got Jack some shoes. But mostly, we enjoyed visiting and playing with Jack. Here's some pictures:

Piled in the pillows.


These blinds were fascinating. But...he could never get them to all stay still, which is what he wanted.

And this glass door would never let him outside!
Playing us a song. He likes the LOW notes.

Playing with uncle Russell....who is SOOOO silly.

Brushing his teeth.

Wrestling with pancake.

A happy boy in jail.

Jack's favorite place in the house....the corner half way up the stairs.

Helping aunt Shyla make dinner.

Crazy hair and face after a nap!

SOOOOO tall on top of Uncle Russell!

A Little Color

So one thing I don't like about the house is that all the walls are completely white! I'm hoping that once we get some of our pictures hung up it will not look so white. But....while we were unpacking Russell let me get these beautiful flowers from Albertson's to add a little color!



I just threw them away today....so they lasted a good week and a half! It was fun to get them.

Our New Home

Here's some pictures of our new home. Things are mostly put together now, but we still have a few things to figure out. We've had to go buy some storage solutions, a t.v. stand, etc. and it's taking a few weeks to have the money to get everything, but it's coming together nicely.

The living room - with a sliding door on the left out to a small patio.

The dining area. Not my favorite part of the house by far, but it's better than nothing.

The kitchen.

Master bedroom - I am washing the sheets!

The baby's room.

Another view of the baby's room....plus the ironing. UGH.

And finally.....the Loft! It's huge!

Most of the work still needs to be done in the loft, but for now it's livable.

Getting Settled

We are here in California and working on getting things settled. Luckily, Russell had Monday, Wednesday afternoon, Thursday and Friday off work so we have gotten a lot done. I think we are mostly to the point were it's knick-knacks, random things, and pictures to find places for so things are quite livable.

We went to our new ward today and it's awesome! Not like a lot of Utah wards. People actually talked to us! There are a ton, ton of kids so it will be a great ward for our little family I think.

Pictures of the house to come soon! Hopefully I will get things mostly put together tomorrow and then take pictures.

Archiver's BBQ and.....SURPRISE!

We had a BBQ at Keera's house for all the current and old Archiver's workers on the 26th of July. I guess it was really a goodbye party for me, but that's kind of weird to think about. Anyway, it was really fun to get everyone together and enjoy some good food and memories. Here's some pictures from the event (courtesy of Russell):

Clare or "Clur" waiting for food to be ready! She'll probably kill me for posting this.

Clare, Melissa, and Corinne chatting it up.

The young crowd - April, Morgan, and Abby.

B-Jo and Michele!

The kids table....and Russell. But....really we all know he's just a big kid!

Darlene and her daughter Rachael.

Eric - Keera's husband and the master chef! I'll miss talking to him when he calls Keera at work!

Clarice, who through some miracle managed to get away from all her kids!

Russell's favorite picture of me. I didn't know he was taking it!

Holly and Diana catching up.

The Archiver's crowd.

Keera and me....after telling her something like I wasn't going to talk to her ever again if she didn't take a picture with me!

And then.....surprise! The event turned into a baby shower! It was awesome to be able to have one before I left.....however small and surprising it might be.

The cute cake that B-Jo made for the shower....which coordinates with the announcements I'm making!

There were plenty of cute things I got! Like this cute outfit from baby gap Michele found!

And this WAY CUTE diaper bag from Keera. Full of tons and tons of wipees, plus other things.

And a couple random pictures of cute kids at the event:

Jaxson and Carter.

And, of course, Jack! He wasn't sure what to think of the grass.

Thanks everyone for coming and making the day special!

Packing and Loading

So the last week we were in Spanish Fork was quite hectic. The weekend was spent with us trying to pack what we could in order to save money. We actually got quite a bit done, but I left the kitchen and knick-knacks for the movers! They came on Tuesday to finish packing what we hadn't, and then Thursday the big truck came and they loaded. Packing only took about 3 hours, but they loaded from 9:30-5:30! I didn't think it would take that long, but I guess it does!

Some of the boxes we packed.

After the movers packed the kitchen.

All our stuff on the street while they figure out how best to fit it in the truck!

And....Jack! I tried to get them to pack him, but they wouldn't. However, Holly and Jack were very generous and came down to the house both Tuesday and Thursday to keep me company while everything was going on. Thanks so much!

Bath Time Sample

On my last day of work I got there and Keera said that we were in charge of Mania samples for the district in August. Well....that meant they needed to be done that day. I had my camera luckily, and went about making this sample of Jack....10 times! It turned out really cute, but by the time you make the same page 10 times it gets quite tedious!

Last Babysitting Adventure

I stole Jack one last time before we moved and we had a great time! Caleb and Holly went to see Harry Potter and Jack, Russell, and I hung out.

The best part was he has his BYU outfit on that I bought for him! It has a Y on the butt!!! Oh, and those are my keys that he just LOVES to play with.

When we got to the house, there were some boxes from Britni and Jack was sooo excited to play with them! I love how babies like cheap entertainment.

Then he got really fussy because he is teething and tired so we had a bath and then FINALLY fell asleep. After that I didn't want to move for fear of waking him up!

Missing In Action

Sorry I've been missing for a while. We've been little busy....you know packing, loading, cleaning, driving, unloading, unpacking......and all the while not having internet! DUMB.

However....today Cox got us all hooked up and we are good to go. Updates soon!