Evan's 2nd Bday Party - Princess time!!!

For Evan's 2nd birthday, Cynthia and Paula did a princess party. All of the moms (any myself) wore our old wedding dresses and the little girls were Disney Princesses. And Evan got almost all Disney Princess presents. It was dang cute, and fun. Paula was the evil witch from Sleeping Beauty and all the little girls were afraid of her. Always fun to wear the good old wedding dress. I can't believe it will be 5 years old this summer - crazy how time flies!!!

Moving

So we bought our new house (yikes - closing is about the scariest thing ever) and then suddenly realized we had to move and had not packed at all. So instead of frantically boxing things up, we just starting shoving things in our car and driving them over. We only moved about 8 houses down so I thought it wouldn't be too bad - I was so wrong. This has been the longest moving experience ever! I still have so much stuff to organize. Oh well, at least now we are done moving for a REALLY LONG TIME!!!
So per the request of a few, I posted some pics of our new house below. Still working on the decorating part, playing around with colors and ideas but it is coming along.

Entry

Family Room/Kitchen/Dining. It is one gigantic room but I like that.

View from the kitchen

Our sweet light that we got online...super cheap! Also stairs to the basement - it is finished but no stuff down there.

Master bedroom - where all the magic happens ;)

Master Bath - love the window above the sinks. We have the best views!

Views looking out the windows from the back - master bedroom and living room.
Looking South-East

Looking South-West

Also, here is Suka while we were moving. He was a lot of help :)

Sunday with Suka

I love Sundays. I think I had a post like this a while back. They are perfect days for just hanging out with your family. Suka and I had a great morning. My favorite part of the day with him is first thing when I get him out of the kennel. He is so excited that his whole body wags back and forth. It is like he has 3 separate parts - his head moves, his belly moves and his butt moves - all in opposite directions. He wriggles between my legs back and forth like a cat for a couple of minutes just too excited to calm down. It...is...awesome! Nothing like being loved. Then bathroom time - he was trained within the first 2 weeks. We haven't had an accident in over a month. And I don't even have to go outside. I just stand in the doorway and he comes right back. He is seriously perfect. Then, every day, he gets all of his toys one-by-one out of his kennel and puts them on the living room floor to play with at his leisure. We have made quite a collection I might add. We started with the usual dog toys and have added a golf ball, tennis ball, elbow cushion for sleeping, and the degradable stuff - paper towel rolls, box tops, post-it notes (yes the whole stack), milk cartons, catalogs...

And he is growing like a weed - inches every day it seems! This first picture was taken within the first week we had him.

Now he is twice the size moose is.



And I can't forget to mention Moose. This was the first toy we bought for him before he arrived. He adores it. And he loves to chew and thrash it. So good thing I work in surgery!!! I have had to sew Moose up 6 times! I have left over suture from work that I use - just like suturing a human (well, we don't have fake fur fortunately). Moose is only missing one ear - pretty miraculous considering how much he plays with it. He is like a child with their first blanket. Eventually it will become one of those things you can't wait to get rid of because you know how sick it is, but the kid won't let you because they are so attached. Well, guess I will just keep suturing him back together until he is totally demolished!

Puppy Kindergarten

Second week of puppy kindergarten. Suka is definitely the star of the show. The first week, each owner had to walk their dog around the room to practice. Of course each puppy is pulling on the leash, sitting down, totally distracted. Alex was excited - he had been working really hard with Suka on different tricks - and if you know Alex at all, he was totally bragging about how good our dog was - seriously to EVERYONE :) So when it was his turn, they trotted off and...it...was...perfect - a glow of light surrounding them, the clouds parting and sun shining down :) You could see it on Alex's face how proud he was - perfect dad and perfect dog. Of course we had to tease him a bit but I was impressed. And EVERYONE heard about it! Then it was my turn. Not so good unfortunately. But I have since been working on it and it is getting better.
In puppy kindergarten, there are about 6 other pups the same age. We practice sit, stay, come, down and then for the last 10 minutes, the dogs get off leash and run around the room chasing each other. Last week, there were toys in the center. One dog decided which toy was the coolest and they spent the rest of the time chasing after whomever had that toy. It was like they would get it, show it to the pack, say "ha ha I have the toy", and then take off running. Pretty funny.

First trip to the water

So we are hoping that Suka is a water dog since we plan to boat a ton this summer. We live across the street from a dog park that has a pond and river so we try to take him each day. But I hadn't taken him to the pond until today. He looked at the water for a while because it was a little windy and so there were waves. Then, slowly, he got into it more and more. Only problem that mom didn't think about - the mud. It was EVERYWHERE! So after playing in the pond, we went back to the river and got a quick bath. He does so great. I keep him on leash while we are close to the road but then we work on "off leash" time and he will only go ahead about 15 feet before waiting for me. Probably helps matters that I have chicken chunks in my pocket - but I like to think it is because he is soooo smart!

New house with a view!!!

So we are 98% sure we are moving into a new house. Our uncle is developing the area we currently live in (and rent from). He has a smaller home that is the last to be built and needed to sell it. And we want to buy it - perfect. So if it does not sell within the next 2 weeks, we will be purchasing it. Fortunately, we have been able to add our personality to the home. He had it finished up to the walls and kitchen cabinets then we have picked the rest. So sort of like building but not as stressful. It is my dream home - big windows, deck, walk out basement, clean and contemporary. Every day after work we are over there cleaning, working on the yard, etc. Fun though. We are hoping to move in the first 2 weeks of March! I can't wait! Wish us luck!

View of the mountains from the side...

St. George Parade of Homes

Each year we try to go down to St. George to see the Parade of Homes. There are usually some really spectacular multi-million dollar homes. This year, I think because of the economy, the houses were a bit more realistic in size and price. Except for the 3 million 15,000 square foot home with a basketball court in it's basement. Can't even imagine cleaning that thing! Yikes. The Stanleys, my parents, Cam and Mckenzie all came down. Even Suka got to go on his first road trip. He did great. Whined a bit in the car but NO ACCIDENTS! Not even in my dad's house! We were pretty nervous to take him and hoped he would be on his best behavior - whew. He only got into trouble because he kept eating all the moss out of the fake plant. But everyone enjoyed the good weather and no snow.

Suka's first road trip...


He spent a majority of the time sleeping :)



Snow did really well with Suka. She just loves him so much that she sometimes gets a little rough. But they had a fun time playing.

The boys (including dad) ran around the house shooting each other with airsoft guns. There was one gun that shot especially harder than the others. Supposedly it was off limits for people. Then Alex had the genius idea of shooting me in the side when I wasn't looking. Left a good bruise for a few days. So I shot him back. I think everyone was shot by the "off limits" gun before the trip was over.

Mogul Skiing

We forget how lucky we are to live in Utah. We are home to many of the winter Olympic pre-qualifying events. And if you have never gone, I suggest you do! We went to the World Finals Duel Mogul Ski event at Deer Valley. Basically it is a race between two people based on speed and aerials. And there are always some good crashes too. Way cool! The men were definitely better than the women :( They go so fast and then twice have to control some maneuver in the air without killing themselves. Crazy people...

From Double mogul skiing

Suka and Alex Snowday!

Suka has gas :(

Ok so I am officially in love but dang, he can clear a room with his farts! Ahhhhh!!!

Here are some more fun pics to enjoy! He is growing up so fast!

Suka

Ok so I never knew the gratification of owning my own dog. I thought this would be a fun adventure but didn't realize how much I would love him. Suka is the most fantastic thing ever. He obeys so well and loves us both so much. The first night we put him in his crate and he whined for about 20 minutes then slept for about 3 hours a piece. Each time we put him back in he whined less and less. Now, 4 days later, he willingly goes to sleep in his crate and only whines when he needs to get out and go potty (maybe once a night). No protesting when he goes in. And guess what, NO ACCIDENTS! He totally understands that outside is for potty and not inside. But for some reason he will only poop when I am with him outside, which means I get to clean it up :(. We gave him a bath the other day which was traumatic. Won't do that for a while. We take him everywhere too. And best of all, he gets to play with his sister (Paula's dog Lyra) and another golden puppy (Nick's dog Kota). It is so good for them to spend time together each day. And so freakin cute. He understands "come" "sit" and "down" already and we are working on "spot". So dang smart! Anyone is welcome to come and visit if you need some puppy lovin!

Our new family members

So...
Alex and I finally decided to grow up a little bit. Yes that is right, we are pregnant. Ha Ha Ha just kidding :) But we did get a new member (maybe two) to our family! Suka and Lyra are English Golden Retriever puppies that are arriving from Southern Utah on 1/14/09! We are so excited to have them as part of our life! Alex and I are so geeked out that we have already purchased their sleeping crates and put toys and blankets inside. I even bought a baby blanket for Suka :) We have been reading up on training and are already scheduled for puppy kindergarten. Holy cow, wish us luck! Our lives as "DINKS" (duel-income-no-kids) are over. No more sleeping in on the weekends. AHHHHH What have we done?!?

Here is Lyra, the girl:

And Suka, the boy:

Rockin Around the Christmas Tree ENCORE!

So last year was the initiation of our annual Rockin Around the Christmas Tree Rock Band party. It was so fun that we decided to do it again. This time was 80's theme. It was a small gathering but a great time. Everyone plan on next year!!!

Our invitation:


My entire family. I think this should be our Christmas card for next year :)

Happy Birthday to me!!!

So today is my 25th Birthday. Wow. I am one quarter century old and every day am getting closer to 30 - yikes!!! Time goes fast. I don't really feel 25. I still feel about 22 but have definitely noticed changes in my body - how rude! Why when you get older does your butt sag a little more, your skin looks more wrinkled, you can't eat whatever you want to and you feel it after a long night awake - this is all a bunch of crap!

Well, at least I had a great birthday. Alex and I woke up and went to various pet stores and bought a bunch of stuff for Suka. I am the worst - I want to buy everything!! It is all so cute. So I broke down and bought him a baby blanket he he :) I am totally going to be the pushover. Alex was giving me a hard time all day because I was just so excited and "look at this" "look at that". When we got home we set up his kennel and put all his stuff in. Then we headed over to my parents for the Utah vs Alabama game. And we won! What a great birthday present! Then we ate cake and I opened a few presents.

New Years Eve

New Years Eve has always been an over-rated holiday. But I have to say this year was great! And it all happened without planning. 10 of us went to Mikado's by my house for sushi. Then we headed back to our place for drinks and hanging out. We chatted, danced and played guitar hero. The neighbors even joined us! It was a great New Years! Thanks everyone!