Happy Thanksgiving!

Ha! Just as I thought.. he loves cranberry sauce.

Good Morning Snow!

Last night I was up several times with Jack (like usual), and I kept watching the snow fall and the wind blow. Man did it get cold here ...fast! This morning we woke up to at least a foot of snow. I can't believe it... and it's still snowing! Tonight we are suppose to have record lows. Something like a low of 4 degrees with wind chill making it feel like -18 degrees!!! I am super worried about our poor little chickens, which by the way have been spared. We were planning on killing them, but it just seems like a lot of gruesome work, so I have found them a good home. I am much happier with this decision. The butcher at Albertsons as going to take them home. No, not to kill them, but to keep them. In exchange, he will give us 7 Albertson's chickens. Hardly free range, but at least our chickens get to live and lay those lovely eggs for someone else. With the new baby it's just too much work and money for me to keep those chickens warm all winter, but they were fun for a while. Man, if those ladies only knew how close they came to being dinner, they sure would be thanking me!

Today I got Sam all dressed in his new Volcome shirt and Hurley pants that Gee Gee got him. I tried to take a picture, but he wouldn't let me. He had his snow boots and mittens on and he was off to school with Daddy. Then I got  phone call from Brandon; school was closed today due to snow. Duh! I should have known. His little school closes if the local elementary schools have a closure and I forgot. Poor Brandon had to come all the way back to Hailey and return Sam. Even with Gee Gee's help, my surgery has been kind of difficult on all of us... I just can't pull my weight around here and it has meant more work for Brandon. I know it's good for him, but I can't wait until I'm back to normal. For example, I'm going to have to find a creative way to give Sammy a nap today since I can't lift him into his crib. I wonder if he will lay in bed with me? we'll see. Taa taa for now:)

Jack Is 2 Months Old

Jack is 2 months old now. I can't believe it has been that long, especially because I am still recovering. He's really growing and fattinging up, and he smiles all the time. I just keep thinking how fun it's going to be when these 2 boys get old enough to play together.

Sam In His Room

cool man!

So when Gee Gee was here, we decided to open the baby gate in the hallway and start letting Sam play in his own bedroom. I hadn't let him before because the changing table was in there and he couldn't keep his little mitts out of the Vaseline, etc. But we moved the changing table and now Sam is free to roam. I must admit... it was a fantastic idea. Since Sam has this new freedom, he has been so much more agreeable and happy:) Maybe that's all he needed... a little more freedom!

He's so cute... he will shove me out of his room, shut the door, and play. I love it!

THANK YOU GEE GEE!!!

Last week I had surgery on my stomach to fix hernias I had developed during my pregnancy with Jack. Jamie (AKA Gee Gee) came all the way from California just to help me and my family! It was awesome, she was so great to us. She cooked, and did laundry, but best of all, her and the boys really got to know each other:) Not to mention it was pretty fun to see her infectious enthusiasm for Dancing With The Stars. I must admit... I caught myself watching it last night- lol.

Gee Gee left last Thursday night, and we miss her already. Sammy keeps saying, "bye bye Gee Gee."

She took such good care of us- we REALLY couldn't have done it without her- I just can't thank her enough!

So, Jamie... thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!! We love you!

Me and Jack Right Before Surgery

Jack's Baby Portrait

Jack's Quilt From Grammy

Look at this AMAZING quilt Sharon made for Baby Jack! It is cowboy themed and SO COOL!!! Grammy is incredibly creative and talented. Actually, both Sharon and Shelly can make these amazing quilts that just shock the heck out of me! I really can't sew. Sharon taught me to make some pillow cases a couple of years ago, but I just am not a seamstress.. lol! I just LOVE this quilt and Jack will too:)

Grandpa Loveland

On November 1st, we went to Boise to attend Brandon's Grandpa Loveland's Funeral, and as far as I'm concerned, he was my Grandpa Loveland too:) Even though I didn't know him that long, he showed nothing but love and concern for my family and I love that about him. He was very important to Brandon and the rest of his family... it was hard to see everyone say goodbye, but also very beautiful. I was glad to be a part of it.

Halloween Hoopla

Every year Hailey has the Halloween Hoopla. It's this event where you can trick-or-treat all the merchants, and it's actually really fun- kinda bigger than the actual Halloween night. So we walked downtown to go check it out. Sam was Elmo (bright costume.. not my favorite, but he loves it). I think he had a ball:)

It was good we went trick-or treating on Friday anyways, because we needed to go to Boise for Grandpa Loveland's Funeral during the actual Halloween, so it worked out.

Mommy and Jack in the spooky haunted house!

Friday Was A Good Day:)

So Friday was a good day. We made Halloween cupcakes in the morning- a mix that Gigi got for us- and Sam got to lick the beater. He had never done that before. Then, me, Jack, and little Elmo got ready to go downtown for Hailey's annual Halloween Hoopla!

Jack is Almost 5 Weeks Old

Little Jack is changing so fast. He is so cute! Brandon has nick-named him "Spike" (for his spikey dark hair). I'm not so fond of Spike.. I've been calling him BooBoo:)

It has been really busy around here. Since I've had the baby, I STILL haven't slept laying down, or in bed for that matter. Just like Sam, the baby will ONLY sleep on my chest in the recliner... (that is WHEN he sleeps). Also, he loves to be wide awake from 1 AM to 3:30 AM. Yippee! It will get better, but I swear I'm running on fumes. I'm so lucky though... I have two beautiful, healthy boys. What more could I ever ask for! :)

Fall Colors

I just thought that I would take a few shots of the beautiful Fall colors here in The Wood River Valley today, however these pictures don't even begin to do it justice. I guess you just have to be here.

When I got home from taking these shots, and getting Sammy from school, I learned that Brandon's  Grandpa Loveland passed away. Although I haven't known him that long, it makes me very sad. He was a cool guy- he probably would have liked these pictures seeing how he truly loved the outdoors. It's really a shame that he didn't get to meet baby Jack. I know he is looking down on us and smiling though. Rest In Peace Grandpa Loveland.. you will be missed.

He's So Strong!

Peanut is so strong!! He can already hold his head up pretty well:)

Sammy's First Haircut

Before

After

Sammy got his first hair cut yesterday. It was about time... his hair looked like a helmet! The teachers at his preschool said that kids were always asking him if he was a boy or a girl, which was no surprise to me. That had been happening at the pool all summer. It was just so hard to cut those baby curls, but Sam is growing up, and I think his new cut looks great! He was so good- he didn't even cry!

Cookies For Sam's School

I made these cookies for Sam's "Storybook Day" at his school. They were a lot of work, but the kids loved them... they even made me a thank you note. This makes me smile:)

Jack Was in The Paper

Jack's birth was printed in last Wednesday's paper

(Idaho Mountain Express)

Swords Into Plowshares

This guy painted this mural about a block from my house. I stopped by to talk to him one day bacause he caught my attention. He had two rigs parked out there: one was a VW pick-up truck and he had set up scaffolding three teirs high in the bed of the truck. I guess he could just move his rig to get the scaffolding where he wanted it. The other truck was a Chevey Apache. It looked like Brandon's old 71 Suburban, but it turns out that it was even older. The Apache was made BEFORE Chevey made Suburbans.

Anyways, we got to talking and he was cool.. we both had attended Burning Man many years ago, but this guy was much older than me. I asked him who he was painting this mural for, and he told me that he was just doing it for fun.

I guess "Swords Into Plowshares" is something from the bible... I'll have to look into it.

At the park

Fall Leaves

We walked to the park yesterday evening. The girl that I asked to take a picture of us, clearly did not understand that I meant ALL of us. Poor Sam is hardly in the shot.