Jason Katie and Ethan

Washington DC Trip

2011-11-30T10:07:00.000-08:00

So my wonderful old roommate and dear friend Natalie who lives in DC just renewed her lease for a year and as a gift for doing so she got a couple of free nights in their guest suite that she graciously donated to Jason and I. We of course had to take advantage of her offer, and since we only live 6 hours from DC we decided to head up there a couple of weekends ago for a fun family road trip before Jason has to deploy. Natalie and I first met my freshman year of college but didn't realize how cool we were until we spent the summer as interns in DC together. I have been dying to go back ever since that summer of 2005, but haven't had the chance until now. A lot has definitely changed since then, I am married with a two year old and pregnant with my second. Natalie is now a hot shot lawyer with an awesome apartment in the city all to herself. Traveling the city with a child and a stroller is a little less glamorous then how we used to roll back in the day, but it was still a blast. I did realize I am not as young as I used to be. My pregnant feet were not very happy with me over the weekend, but it was well worth it. Thank you Natalie for inviting us up and arranging a free place for us to stay!! It was a fun weekend and I can't wait to attempt it again, next time with a double stroller just for you :)!

Panda bear at the zoo

Its pretty sad that I look bigger than the gorilla in this picture

No snakes for me please

Where it all began at the Barlow center, so many great memories there

Marine Corps Birthday Ball

2011-11-30T09:35:00.000-08:00

So Jason and I had to attend the Marine Corps Birthday Ball, and while the thought of getting dressed up fancy for a night out would normally appeal to a girl like me, doing it when I am 7 months pregnant was not exactly ideal. I remember how difficult it was finding a dress in high school for dances that were modest was a difficult task, but now adding that to finding a dress that would fit my pregnant belly to the mix was an even crazier task. Not to mention that our budget for a dress I would wear once was virtually nothing. So who would have known that the dress my mom picked out for me to wear to my junior year homecoming dance ten years ago would actually fit my now large pregnant self. My sister even had a matching jacket that worked perfect with it. The evening was still pretty horrifying. It felt like prom all over again, except I was huge a pregnant with a 2 year old at home. I definitely felt like a spectacle with all the other tiny girls that still looked like they were in high school wearing gowns that covered the bear minimum were all around. Not that I can be the only one to complain, Jason's dress blues looked far from comfortable, he could barely move his neck poor guy. The dinner at the ball was pretty awful so afterwards we went with another couple to the Golden Corral for some fancy buffet dining. If I didn't feel like a spectacle at the ball I definitely did at the restaurant with everyone staring at the crazy people who were wearing formal gowns and dress blues to the Golden Corral. We are praying that next year we don't have to do that again!!

Pumpkin Carving Contest

2011-11-30T09:22:00.000-08:00

Well our annual pumpkin carving contest came and went. We had it later this year since Jason was in California for his pre-deployment training over Halloween. We took votes and Jason's mater won. His was a little more difficult I admit, but I am still proud of my Elmo. Ethan liked both, but of course Mater was a shoe in for him. Oh well, what matters is that we had fun, and that i am going to beat Jason next year :).

Trick or Treat!

2011-11-01T09:29:00.000-07:00

Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T09:28:00.000-07:00

Ethan had a little too much fun Trick or Treating this year. I am pretty sure that I ran a couple of miles chasing after him, since he would not walk or hold my hand. He ran from door to door, yelled out "trick or treat" and most the time didn't even wait for the candy before running to the next house. I went with my sister and her family and luckily Ethan's uncle took over for a while so I could catch my breath. Being 7 months pregnant and chasing a mini pirate around the neighborhood got quite a few giggles from other parents. Oh well, Ethan had a blast so that's all that matters. Can I just say that Halloween is so much more fun with kids!! Stay tuned for next weeks delayed annual Pumpkin carving contest. Jason comes home from training and we delayed our pumpkin carving until he gets home. I know everyone will be anxiously awaiting! In the meantime, enjoy the pics...

Cheese!

2011-10-03T22:09:00.000-07:00

I don't know why, but for some reason Ethan does not like letting us take pictures of us with our own camera, but for some reason its the coolest thing in the world to do with someone else's camera. I had borrowed my sisters cool camera to do my assignment from the last post and while I was working on editing the photos Ethan kept coming in and saying cheese and giving me huge grins. How could I refuse. So here are a few cute Ethan smiling pics, I am enjoying them now because they are so few and far between these days :).

Where we live

2011-10-03T21:09:00.000-07:00

I had to do an assignment for my Photoshop class and create a travel brochure for the town I lived in. I thought it would be fun to post some of the pictures I took and edited to give everyone a feel for where we live. It is gorgeous here, and I am finally starting to enjoy it since the weather has cooled down and I am not sweating profusely every time I go outside. Obviously I am not a photographer but it was fun to take my own pictures and edit them with my very beginning photoshop skills. So now that you all have seen how pretty it is here, you should come visit :)!

Once a slacker...

2011-09-13T09:44:00.000-07:00

My husband threatened that if I didn't update the blog soon he was going to take it over, and as much as I would like to see how that would turn out, I figured it was about time to get back on the ball again. So we moved to North Carolina!! Jason was stationed here and we have been in our own place since August, it has been wonderful to have our own place and space and our family back together again. For those who don't know we are expecting a baby boy due January 16th!! He is a wonderful surprise addition to our family. Sadly though, Jason will be deployed in just a few short months and will miss his birth. We are devastated about that, but know that everything happens for a reason. It should be an interesting time for me and Ethan. Ethan has LOVED having his Dad home, they are best buds and it is going to break my heart to explain that Daddy won't be home for a while again. We are trying to keep a positive attitude and are praying that the time will go by quickly. I am scrambling to try and finish my online line web design certificate program before the baby is born, so that will keep me busy for a little while anyway. It has been so nice being a stay at home mom these last few months, it is so much fun to hang out with Ethan all day!! I go a little stir crazy some days since we are a one car family, but overall it is such a huge blessing. Here are a few pictures of our time here in North Carolina so far, we are loving being so close to the beach! Plus it helps that my sister Heidi and her family are only 5 minutes away!

Apparently I can't even have a foot soak by myself :)

So we had a hurricane here just a few short weeks after moving in, we were very fortunate though and didn't even experience a power outage!

The only person Ethan will let cut his hair without throwing a huge fit, Daddy has the magic touch!

Looking back, looking forward....

2011-03-30T15:21:00.000-07:00

He's two, really, already????

2011-03-30T14:23:00.000-07:00

So it still baffles me how fast time has gone. I seriously cannot believe that Ethan turned two, it really feels like just yesterday when I went through this to bring our little guy into the world. For his birthday I took him to Scandia to ride the little kid rides, and he had WAY too much fun. His favorite was the giant slide and the airplanes. I can't wait to take him to Disneyland now, but Scandia was a nice cheap alternative. My sisters and I also went on the roller coaster and their new ride they have there, and now I feel very OLD because I almost peed my pants on those rides! Then we came home, unsuccessfully took naps, and had pizza and cars cupcakes. We also got to have Grandma Pam and Great Grandmother Smithson Skye with us while Ethan opened his gifts, how awesome is Skye?? Very sad that Jason had to be in Missouri, but we will just have to celebrate when we go visit him in a few weeks.

Overall we had a wonderful day celebrating Ethan. I am so grateful for my little man in my life. He definitely makes life interesting, but I wouldn't have it any other way. He makes me laugh daily, and brings purpose to my otherwise dull life. I thank Heavenly Father daily for my healthy, happy, energetic little boy!

10 Day Leave

2011-01-26T21:44:00.000-08:00

So for Jason's 10 day leave after boot camp we decided to stay a day in San Diego, then head up to Vegas to meet more of Jason's family. It was a wonderful vacation and such a needed time away. While I did gain back most of the weight I had lost while Jason was in boot camp in these two weeks, it was still oh so worth it haha. You would think one would get sick of In-N-Out after a while, no not Jason. I had to ask him to please not make us eat there for a while, and that's one thing I never thought I would say. I think that maybe its time to not be on vacation anymore and make my New Year's resolutions start on February 1. Sounds good to me!

One night at dinner Ethan was obsessed with having his picture taken. He was sitting at the table with this same grin on his face saying "cheese" "cheese." His grandma probably has about 50 pictures of him with this same cute face because he couldn't get enough of being in front of the camera. Too bad he isn't that way with me, anytime I get the camera out he runs.

Jason's Graduation

2011-01-26T21:30:00.000-08:00

So I am not sure why Jason thought it was a good idea to join the Marines, he isn't so sure of that either. The first letter I got from him from boot camp he said "I don't know what the heck I was thinking coming here, but the quickest way out is to graduate." While those three months were very rough, we both learned so much and grew closer to the Lord. It put a lot of things into perspective and made us appreciate our family that much more. Here are some pictures of our reunited family at MCRD San Diego for Jason's graduation. These are some pictures that I know our posterity will love, not only for sentimental reasons, but mostly because of Jason's BCG's (birth control glasses) that they made him wear. I LOVE those things hehe! Ethan was so happy to see Jason, once he got his turn he wouldn't let go of him, it was so sweet. Who knew I would be the wife of a Marine? Never in a million years did I think I would be, but now that I am I couldn't be prouder.

(Graduation was actually a two day event, one day was family day and the next was the actual graduation, which is why I am wearing two different outfits, in case anyone even noticed)

Ethan's 18 Month Pictures

2011-01-26T21:16:00.000-08:00

Yeah I know, you all wish you had Addie as your sister in law. I mean Ethan is pretty dang cute on his own but Addie is able to capture his personality on camera, and the pictures she takes of him are priceless to me. Thank you Addie so much!

Halloween

2011-01-26T13:44:00.000-08:00

For those of you who know me, which hopefully is everyone reading this blog, you know I am not one of those mom's who can salvage scraps from a costume worn for a seventh grade play to make my son's Halloween costume. Soooo not my thing. It impresses me to no end to see women who can do that, but if you are looking for fun crafty ideas, this is not the blog to go to :). I picked up Ethan's cute little costume on clearnace at Sears for $5.99. Now clearance shopping, that's my thing. In fact any kind of shopping, clearance or not, is my thing. I know shocker right? Anyway, I think Ethan was pretty much the cutest little puppy dog ever, and while our evening was pretty uneventful and he wouldn't keep his little doggie ears on, it was a fun night that I will cherish as he gets older and wants to only be Spiderman or the Hulk or some nasty looking hobo that has come back from the dead. And he shared his candy with me. I wonder how many more years he will do that? Anyway, here's my cute little puppy doggie baby boy.

Summertime Fun

2011-01-26T13:28:00.000-08:00

So I hope my future posterity will forgive me for my lack of journaling and scrap booking and baby book keeping skills. My blog is about the best they will get, and well you can all see how well that has been going :). I know there are tons of pictures out there that I could post to update my blog about Ethan's growth, cuteness, and everything that has been missed this last year. But the fact is I don't have the time to track down the pictures and post them all on here. So here are just a few fun ones from the summer. Arizona is a hot place in the summer so we had lots of fun times in the pool Ethan's grandma got for him. We would walk down to the park every now and again but I could only stand to be there for a few minutes before we would start to boil. That's why the pool was so great, you could stick your feet in, eat a popsicle, and life was great!

Ethan Turned One....almost a year ago

2011-01-25T22:15:00.000-08:00

So I still can't believe how fast my baby boy is growing! I don't know why as moms we think that our babies will be little forever. I think of my first day of college, how that seemed like just yesterday and yet it was back in 2002, 8 years ago. I know when Ethan turns 8 I am going to be like where the heck did time go, and I want it to pause just for a while so I can enjoy my little boy being little for just a while longer. I look back on these pictures and I feel like he turned from being a baby to a little boy overnight. I love watching him learn and grow and to see his fun personality come out stronger everyday, but oh how I miss him laying on my chest and rocking him to sleep. This must be why people have more than one kid. Yeah, I must not miss him being little that much yet! Enjoy the belated pictures!

Ethan's Birthday activities included a day at the LA Zoo, two days to celebrate, two cakes, lots of mess all over mama's clothes, and an Easter egg hunt with his cousings.

I know I've missed me too...

2011-01-25T21:30:00.000-08:00

So I know everyone has missed me this past year, and I am sure you have all checked my blog everyday to see if I had updated anything. Well I am back! First of all I will now be blogging as just me, giving updates on my family and the happenings of my life. Lets be honest, we all know I am the one doing the blogging and not Jason, so instead of always trying to unsuccessfully write as a "we" I will be writing as an "I." That might also confuse me and I will probably have horrible grammer and writing skills, but lets face it, I graduated college in 2006, and I think nursing permantely killed some of my brain cells and I am doing the best with the ones I have left! Don't get me wrong, I am no illiterate these days, I just don't really care all that much if my writing skills are poor on my blog, so I make no apology for mispelled words or misphrased sentences. Now for those of you who really have been reminding me that I haven't updated my blog since Ethan just learned how to walk, I will do my best to give you some updates from the past year. My life this past year has been turned upside down several times. I thank my Heavenly Father everyday for placing wonderful family and friends in my life to be there for me and help me put one foot in front of the other when I didn't know how to do that on my own. While my life is still in transition, I do feel that I am finally gaining some ground. Ethan and I moved home to California with my parents while Jason attended USMC basic training. He is now on to the next few phases of his training and will hopefully be completed by this summer. Then we will find out where we go from there, either East Coast, West Coast, or overseas (not really my top choice right now). I am working part time at a local community college, and spending every possible minute with Ethan as I can. We both miss Jason very much and are looking forward to finally getting to make a fresh start in an unknown location. So hoepfully we will get put back on everyone's Google Reader's or whatever it is you use to keep up with everything, because I am back in the blogging world!

We have a walker!

2010-03-21T20:28:00.000-07:00

Less than one week before Ethan turns one, he starts walking! We already can't keep up with him as it is! Our baby boy is getting big!

New Ethan Pictures Addie White Photography

2010-03-14T21:21:00.001-07:00

Going Private

2010-02-25T19:09:00.001-08:00

Well the time has come, we are going private. Send me a comment with your email address if you would like an invite!

You know when you haven't updated your blog in a while when...

2010-01-29T12:34:00.000-08:00

You still have Turkeys as your background and it is now almost February. Oh that makes me laugh...sorry! Ethan is obsessed with playing with the laptop anytime it is around so I have to resort to computer time when he is sleeping, and by then I am ready to sleep too, so here are some updates over the last few months!

*We flew to California for Christmas; it was Ethan's first plane ride. I'm glad it was only about an hour flight because that's about the time that the novelty of looking out the window and jumping on Mommy and Daddy’s lap lasted. It was so nice to be home for Christmas, it was Jason's first Christmas in California and I haven't been there for Christmas since we've been married. Ethan got to meet new cousins, I got to meet a new niece and nephew, and Jason got to experience all of our Danish traditions on Christmas Eve. Ethan loved opening presents, he was so cute when he opened them, I think he was more interested in the paper then his actual presents thoug

*Ethan turned 10 months on January 26th and we still haven't taken him to his 9 month check up, every time we make an appointment it seems that there is a huge snowstorm so we can't get to Flag to get to the doc, but we have another appointment for next week, hopefully we won't be snowed in. I can't believe in just two short months he will be one year old!

*Ethan loves the camera, he is such a ham! He will be crying and if you put a camera in front of his face he will just strike a pose and smile. He has so much personality and energy at times he exhausts us, but his smiles and giggles make it all worth it!

*Baby food is no longer good enough for Ethan. He is such a beggar now, anytime Jason and I sit down to eat and aren't sitting at the table he crawls up on our lap and stands on us and reaches for our food, and whines if every bite is not for him. It makes us have to watch what we eat just that much more because we know that whatever is on our plate Ethan will want to claim dibs on.

*My new years resolution was to get Ethan to sleep through the night. I know that sounds like something that might be out of my control, but I was determined to do whatever I could to get this little guy to sleep. It's probably the only new year’s resolution I've made that I've actually kept!! I took different strategies from several different books and kind of made my own plan that worked for both Ethan and me. He is now sleeping through most nights, and if he wakes up all I have to do is give him his pacifier and he goes right back to sleep. This is a HUGE difference from before, Jason and I have our bed back, no more nursing 4-5 times in the night, its wonderful!

*Speaking of nursing, Ethan is now only on formula. We made it to ten months with me working, not getting any sleep, taking prescriptions to increase milk supply, and then he started biting and became uninterested in nursing during the day. I tried everything I could to stop the biting and get him to eat during the day and not just at night, but nothing was working. While I was sad to not make it to the full year, I think at this point both Ethan and me are better off for it. It’s like I am a new woman!

*Since I am no longer nursing I started the South Beach Diet, wish me luck! I am almost done with phase 1 and am feeling pretty good. When people tell you that gaining weight when you are nursing is pretty difficult....they lie haha. Now that I am getting more sleep I might actually have the energy to get in better workouts!

*Jason is trying to join the Air Force...long story, lots of reasons, we want out of this town and Jason wants his degree, anyway, if he does get in he has to be in before he turns 28, which means he could possibly be gone within the month. If he does I will be moving home with my parents in California while he is in training, and I'll finally get to stay home with Ethan. I will try to be better about blogging, I know I'm a slacker!

Here are more pics of our cute EZ, most of which were taken my his grandparents during bath time!

Crawling and Teeth

2009-12-06T18:00:00.000-08:00

Ethan started crawling about two weeks ago, and then on Thanksgiving he got his first two teeth. He is growing up so fast! He has become Mr. Independant almost overnight, it becomes a whole new world once he has started crawling. He is also Mr. Photogenic, if you put a camera in front of his face he just smiles like crazy, its funny! Enjoy the pics and the video!

He loves his daddy!

Funny Videos

2009-11-03T16:39:00.000-08:00

Here are some funny videos, for those sugar concious moms out there...don't judge me, its not an everday thing. Oh and don't mind my extra couple of chins I have going on.

Turtle Turtle

2009-11-03T12:33:00.000-08:00

Ethan's first Halloween! He was such a cute turtle!!!

The back

I would like some more of that sucker Grandpa

Mmmm that's good.

Pumpkins

2009-11-03T12:24:00.000-08:00

So our annual pumpkin carving contest came and went and sadly mine was pretty crappy. But Jason's was pretty amazing. So essentially there will be no online vote since its pretty much like putting a preschool painting next to Michelangelo and asking which one is better. And everyone who has seen mine can't really figure out what it is anyway so just to clarify, it is a witch hackling. The lighting of my pumpkin wasn't very good, so you can't really tell. But we will just say Jason's won, sound good? We carved some with Kevin and Halee and their crew too and Halee did a great job with their's as well, but our picture is too far away to really tell with theirs, next year we will have to get better pictures...and better carving skills for myself.

My Pumpkin

And the winner is .....ok its pretty obvious!

Las Vegas

2009-11-03T12:07:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago Jason had a rare weekend off so we headed to Las Vegas and met my parents there and visited my old roommate Natalie who has a huge important job there and makes me feel special to know her :) It was so much fun to get to see her and Katie who was also there for the weekend! I miss those girls and it made me miss our over indulgence in food, shopping, and 24! Oh and don't forget Cafe Rio! Oh how I missed Cafe Rio! I wish I had taken a picture of the girls and cafe rio and my parents, but we have some other good ones.

Jason and I at the fountains at the Bilagio

Touching the sting ray at the Manadalay Bay Shark Reef

The car Jason wishes he had

At the M&M Factory

6 Months

2009-09-23T21:52:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that Ethan is already 6 months old!! Just looking at pictures of him when he was first born he was so tiny and I miss how little he was, but it is so fun watching him grow and see his personality and watch all the things he can do now! We had his 6 month check up last week and he is 15.1 lbs, so just above the 10th percentile. We started him on solid foods and it is so fun watching him try and figure out what is going on in his mouth! He can sort of sit up, we are still working on that one, but I think within the next couple of weeks he will have it down. He can roll over when he is on his stomach, and we know he is capable of rolling over to his stomach to his back but refuses to because he doesn't like tummy time. He squeals, growls, babbles, giggles, and brings so much joy into our lives! I can't wait to see what 6 more months will bring! Hopefully a little more sleep!

Better Late than Never!

2009-09-23T19:08:00.000-07:00

For my birthday we took a trip to California to spend the week with my family. It was so nice, I wish I was still there. We had tons of fun, went fishing in Newport, went to an Angels game, went to the beach, saw Harry Potter in the Imax theatre, and ate at lots of yummy restaurants. Ethan had a blast and had tons of fun getting to know the White side of the family. We also stopped at Christian and Addie's on the way home to visit with them, its always good to see them.

Ethan's first swim in the pool
At the beach
I'm not so sure about this mom
He just makes us smile!
Jason and Ethan in the shade
My parents at the Angels game
Mike, Amy and Nathan

At the game

The boat we went out on
Making himself at home!
Ethan loved the boat
The bat ray Jason caught
Jason catching the bat ray
Jason, Nathan and me
The bat ray Mike caught
He loved going fast!

Ethan's First Camping Trip

2009-08-04T14:55:00.001-07:00

We went to Jason's family reunion this weekend and Ethan experienced his first camping trip. Sleeping in a tent with two dogs and a 4 month old isn't as easy as it sounds, but it was worth it. Ethan LOVES to be outside so he did really good during the day, he just didn't want to sleep at night. It was so nice to get away from the stresses of work and daily life and enjoy the peace and serenity of the mountains, even if it was short lived and sleepless :). Here are some pictures from the weekend!

Waking up in his happy mood

Jason Kevin and Dillan

Too cool for school

The boys getting ready to play paintball

Rachel and her fire

Geared up for paintball

Visiting around the campfire

Zanye fell asleep on the 4 wheeler with Grandpa and Grandmother

Always smiling

The boys and their fort

My sweet boy

I love camping!

Smiles for Dad

All the Searls brothers

Ethan's Giggles :)

2009-07-17T09:46:00.000-07:00

Our little guy makes us laugh! He is such a happy little boy!

Albuquerque

2009-07-14T18:51:00.001-07:00

On Saturday we went to Albuquerque to celebrate some good news with some friends, we had a blast! We went to Tucanos then went on the Trolley that takes you up the mountain like a fancy ski lift, it was a really cool. The food at Tucanos was amazing, as usual, and the view and scenery from the Trolley were amazing and peaceful. Than kyou Catherine and AK for such a wonderful trip, we are so glad that we are able to know such wonderful people!

Ethan and I at Tucanos

Poor little guy had a long day, and finally took a 10 minute nap, he was an angel most of the day!

Views heading up the side of the mountain

My happy baby boy!

He didn't seem to mind that we were 1000 ft up in the air looking straight down

I love this sign, we need one in Holbrook but I doubt it would do any good :)

Pam Ethan and I at Tucanos

We got to watch a hanglider take off, it was so amazing!

Ethan Video

2009-07-14T18:36:00.000-07:00

Jason likes to get Ethan's attention in all sorts of unconventional ways for a 3 month old. In this video he was clapping in his face, and while it may look like he was scaring him, Ethan was having a blast. He loves his Dad's playfulness and has quickly adjusted to his energy level. His smile and laughs are what keep us going and keep us smiling!

I know its about time!

2009-06-22T19:11:00.000-07:00

So things in the Searls household have been a little crazy lately. I went back to work full time on June 1st and have been struggling trying to balance the limited time I have with Ethan and trying to keep a semi clean house and not eat mac n cheese everynight for dinner. Ethan is doing great adjusting to our crazy schedule and we are so blessed that we have such a good little boy. Before I went back to work Ethan was struggling with eating without getting fussy if the conditions werent exactly as he wanted them, but ever since I went back to work he has been such a great eater. I am still nursing him and pumping while I am at work, I have a 30 minute lunch and have to run and get Ethan from Aunt Halee, feed him then take him to Jason who is waking up from the few hours of sleep he gets after working night shift, then try and grab a somewhat decent lunch so I can keep up my milk supply, then run back to work and try not to have my boss yell at me for being a couple minutes late. Its an exhausting routine, but as long as Ethan is still happy it is worth all the sacrifice it takes. So needless to say I have struggled to find time to blog, so here is about a month's worth of pictures in one post. I will try to do better next month!

He is our smiley boy, and hes getting so chubby!

He can make the funniest faces

This is how daddy sits with his son..he is very creative

He gives the most angelic looks sometimes

Ethan loves his Bedste
(my mom)

When he sleeps he sleeps through anything. So far he has slept a total of two nights for 8 hours, most other nights its an average of about 5 to 6 hours.

My family came up for Ethan's blessing, I think they get a little bit of culture shock everytime they come to Holbrook.

The whole crowd all there to support us and to be there for Ethans blessing, it was a beautiful day, we had a big BBQ with everyone after church, it was so nice to have everyone there.

I dont know why I love this picture, it just makes me laugh!

Jason and his little boy on his blessing day

You can tell it was a stressful day for me, my hair tells it all. Not only did we have everyone in town for Ethans big day, we also had to speak in church!

Such a proud dad!

Ethan has been such a talker lately, he will sit and talk and oooh and aaaw forever, I love it. He is especially sweet in the mornings when he wakes up, so I brought him into bed with me and took a video of our sweet little man. Ive even been able to get him to laugh a few times, but have yet to get it caught on camera!

He's growing so fast

2009-05-01T12:54:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a while...adjusting to motherhood is keeping me a lot more busy than I had ever expected, but it is all so worth it. Ethan is doing really well. He is loving all of his new experiences so far from having his first bath to our daily walks in the stroller and to all his love and ateention he gets from friends and family. He is sleeping pretty good now at night he will sleep for about 4 hours before waking to eat so that has been nice. We are so in love with our little man and I am dreading the day I have to go back to work. But in the meantime I am trying to enjoy him as much as I can! Hope you enjoy these few pictures!

Totally zonked out

Our happy boy

He will take any fingers he can find

My first bath

He loves his daddy

Mustangs Across America

2009-04-26T15:55:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago there were about 200 Mustangs in Holbrook stopping by and driving on Route 66 for the Mustangs Across America tour. Hundreds of Mustangs travel across the United States and the come from all over the world to participate. Jason was working that morning and stopped by to see all the mustangs and became quite popular. Everyone wanted to take pictures of him by their car, Jason didn't know he could have such a successful career as a cop model! There are probably more pictures on their website but here are a few he took.

Our Little Easter Bunny

2009-04-13T13:50:00.001-07:00

Isnt he so cute in this? Jason said I was emasculating him but I dont think so...he didnt seem to mind too much!

We love our little man!

2009-04-09T09:10:00.000-07:00

On Saturday my sister in law Addie came up to take pictures of Ethan and did such an amazing job! We love having such a talented photographer in our family to capture such precious moments, plus Addie is pretty cool too ;) Thank you Addie so much for all that you do! I stole these pictures from her blog...check her out she is amazing, her blog website is http://addiewhitephotography.blogspot.com/

He's finally here!

2009-03-31T15:24:00.000-07:00

Ethan Zander Searls arrived at 2:47 pm on March 26th...weighing 6 lbs 4 oz and 18 1/2 inches long. For those of you who don't want to hear the full story, you can skip this part and go for the pictures! We went in to the doctor on Tuesday and we decided to finally enduce since I was a week overdue and my blood pressure was getting to high. I went in to the hospital at 5:30 am but was having contractions all night long. I was still dilated to a 2 when we went in that morning, we went through 3 rounds of gels and 2 doses of some oral medication thats supposed to regulate contractions. By about midnight I had been having regular contractions for about 15 hours but still was only dilated to a 5 so they decided to break my water around 2 am. Within an hour I was dilated to a 6 with harder lasting all night. At 6 am I was exhausted and funally decided it was time to start the petosin (something I had wanted to avoid the whole time.) I also decided that after 24 hours of labor I needed to get some sleep if I was ever going to push out our baby so I gave in and had an epidural. Around 10 am that morning I had gotten a few hours of sleep but I still hadn't dilated any more, the doctor said the baby was coming out diagonal so that's why I wasnt dilating and said we were most likely going to have to do a c section. At that point I broke down and started to cry, the whole experience wass just emotionally exhausting and getting a c-section was the last thing I wanted. Jason called his uncle whoe lives in Flag and he came and they gave me a blessing. After that I decided that even though I had an epidural and couldn't feel anything I needed to do something to get our baby in position to I asked the nurses if I could try some yoga poses and they said it was fine as long as I could handle it. My mom and Jason helped lift me up and turn me on my hands and knees and I did some Yoga moves for about 45 minutes until I couldn't take it anymore. When the doctor came in an hour later she was ready to tell me they were going to take me in for a c section but checked to see if I had any progress at all, and was completely shocked that I was dilated to a ten and ready to start pushing. I pushed for about 30 minutes but the babys heart beat was dropping so we had to to and rest for about 20 minutes and try again or we were going to have to use the vacuum or go in for an emergency c section. After trying again and the babys heart beat still dropping too low she decided that we had to use the vacuum to get him out. About two pushed later we had Ethan and a hospital room filled with not a dry eye in the house. It was quite the ordeal to bring our little man into this world, but worth ever second of it. We are so grateful for our son, he is a precious gift from our Heavenly Father and it was such an honor to bring him into our arms and lives. We are all doing very well, trying to adjust to the demands of a new baby but still loving every minute of it! I am so overwhelmed with the love I have for my precious little boy and for my husband who was so sweet and amazing during the whole process, I would not have been able to go through any of it without him.

Baby Update

2009-03-11T19:09:00.000-07:00

Well I'm getting closer to my due date, and it couldn't come soon enough! My last doctors visit was Monday, I'm 80% effaced and not quite dilated to a 1. So basically I could have this baby any day...or in two weeks, who knows. Here is a pic of the belly at 9 months....hopefully the last picture you get before the baby comes! Wish us luck!!!

Im not exactly in the mood to be taking pictures of myself at this stage...sorry

My Wonderful Husband

2009-03-11T18:56:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would say a late Happy Bday to my husband, he turned 27 on Friday! He has been so sweet lately with me being so pregnant and large and cranky...he puts up with me well and finds time to do thoughtful things for me still. I never got to post about our Valentines Day but Jason made an amazing lasagna and set up a sweet romantic evening to mimick our first date. For those of you who know Jason, it was a BIG deal that he made lasagna that night...making dinner is too much "process" for him normally but he made a special effor that night and it was very sweet of him. He also has been so sweet and paints my toenails for me since I can no longer reach...he probably won't be happy with me that I announce that on this blog but I thought it deserved recognition. He is going to be such a great dad and I can't wait to see him and our son together!

Blowing out all 27 candles....and yes that is the nastiness next to him called pregnancy
Thankfully the mustache is gone now!!! He loves his dogs!

Making dinner

Our beautiful dinner set up (dont worry just apple cider)

Holbrook Shower

2009-02-24T20:55:00.000-08:00

Thank you to everyone who helped make this shower so great! Pam, Nancy and Halee threw me a great shower in the barn where we could fit everyone and it turned out great. Pam had great ideas for decorations and games, and my favorite part was the diaper raffle...we got lots and lots of diapers which will help us out a ton! We got a lot of great things for our baby and only need a few more things before he gets here. Thanks again to everyone for their generosity...here are some pics from the event.

Free Golf

2009-01-16T17:46:00.000-08:00

Jason and I found out we get free golf at the city golf course since Jason is a city employee. Jason has gone 3 times this week and we are going again tomorrow...so we are going to be golfing pros in no time. Here are some pics...I felt like an old fat man who drank too many beers with my big old belly...but I figured if they can golf, why can't I? It was lots of fun, I am just VERY rusty on my golfing skills, its nice to have a free activity to do here now!

This is how we do golf in Holbrook

California Trip

2009-01-05T19:01:00.001-08:00

Jason and I were able to go to California to visit my family for New Years, and they threw me a baby shower while I was there. It was really nice to see everyone and to see Heidi and her kids since they were home for Christmas from Spain. Jason hasn't had too many opportunities to spend time with a lot time with my family so it was great to get to be with my family at least for a little while. I have more pictures I need to get from other cameras to post on here from the trip, but here are a few from the shower that I can put up for now.

All of us sisters were able to be together...that RARELY happens, plus my mom and Morgan, Kelly's daughter.

Christmas Eve

2009-01-05T18:49:00.000-08:00

We had Jason's family over for Christmas Eve. We did a chocolate fountain and goodies and some other yummy finger foods. The boys loved the chocolate fountain, I didn't think they would ever get their fill. Then we played games on the Wii and just visited with eachother. It was a nice evening to relax and spend time together.

The before picture...wasn't it pretty?

The boys enjoying the chocolate!

Zayne with chocolate all down his shirt

The fam

The adults taking their turn with the fountain

Christmas Festivities

2009-01-05T18:33:00.000-08:00

We went to Jason's Uncle Steven's for a Christmas party a few days before Christmas and watched all the kids do their nativity set and ate Mexican food, it was hectic with all the kids but a ton of fun too. You can't have Christmas without lots of kids there to make it exciting. Here are some pictures of the night.

Jason and me and my pregnant chubby face

This was the hurry and take the picture already look

Courtney as Mary

Logan as the angel

Bryce wishing he could go tackle someone instead of just sitting there

Taft....isn't he so cute? We love little T-Bone

The whole group

Jason's grandpa reading the Christmas story

Updated Belly Picture

2009-01-05T18:29:00.000-08:00

So I haven't really done a very good job at taking pictures of the progression of my belly. I took one when I was still small, and now I've got a big belly, but I guess I still have a ways to go since I have gained 8 pounds so far and am 7 months along. I can't wait! This picture was taken at about 27 weeks. And of course Shady had to be in the picture.

And I'm back

2009-01-05T18:11:00.000-08:00

I know I have not updated my blog in a really long time, I apologize. The last several months have been a little bit hectic, we moved in with Jason's parents so that we could look for a better place to live. We were unsatisfied with our last house because the rent was too high and we had no way to contain our dog who jumps six foot walls. We found a new place to live that is much nicer than our last place, cheaper rent, and has a kennel to keep our dogs in and a nice big back yard for them to run around in. We love the new house and are excited to be in a place of our own again. We moved in right before Christmas and have been busy ever since. So that is why I have not updated our blog. We still don't have internet at our house but I will do my best to keep our blog updated now that life has calmed down a bit. Here are a few pics of our dogs, they sure keep us entertained while we are waiting for this baby of ours to come!

Our Poor Charlie, his life was so much better when Shady wasn't around

Charlie's Eeyore look "thanks for noticing me"

Look at how she is sitting, isn't she such a funny weird dog?

This is where Shady would hide at Jason's parent's house when she knew she was in trouble.

Vote for the best Pumpkin!

2008-10-29T20:54:00.000-07:00

Jason and I hadn't carved pumpkins since we were really young so we decided it would be fun to do this year. Anyway so we turned it into a sort of competition...so vote which one you think is better. Mine is the Scooby Doo (which really looks like Tigger) pumpkin, and Jason's is the scary face one. Regardless of who wins...we had fun :)!!

Attempting to take a family picture with the dogs....I doubt kids will be much more cooperative!

Sedona and Slide Rock

2008-10-29T20:42:00.000-07:00

Jason and Ihad a little getaway this last weekend and stayed in Flagstaff after our Doctor's appt. We went down to Sedona and Slide Rock and did a little sight seeing. It was absolutely gorgeous! It was so nice to get to just be in nature and relax! On Thursday we went to the Petrified Forest right by Holbrook becaues I had never been there, so you can see Holbrook has its own beauty to it, but you can definitely tell the difference between Holbrook and Sedona haha! Here are some pictures from the weekend!

St Patty's Day Baby

2008-10-27T10:44:00.000-07:00

We're having a baby boy!!! Jason is convinced that its all the talking he did to my tummy that we are having a boy. He would say " Baby I know you are probably a girl but try really really hard to be a boy." It was really cute. We are both very excited, he will have lots of little boy cousins to wrestle with! The unltrasound experience was really exciting, once I was able to relieve my bladder though! We got there around 10:15 and weren't seen until 11:00 and that was only after Jason worked his magic and got us in there. About half way through the ultrasound the tech asked if I could be still and I said I'm so sorry I am trying my best I just really have to go to the bathroom, and she said well go then, I'm sorry! She ran the monitor over to my bladder and said, oh you need to go now! Haha, and then said she didn't know why they told me I had to drink so much water and hold it, that it wasn't necessary for how far along I was. Argh! All that stress for nothin! Oh well, but after that I was able to enjoy the experience a lot more. It still amazes me that I have a little baby growing in my stomach, what a miracle! They said that I measured about 3 days earlier than my previous due date, so I am due on March 17th, St. Patty's Day! We are hoping for a little red headed baby leprauchan!

Delay

2008-10-18T08:04:00.000-07:00

For those of you who have been wondering what we are having....we had to reschedule our appointment to next Friday because Jason couldnt get work off yesterday, and its one of those things that I didn't want him to miss since it will probably be our only unltrasound. Anyway, stay tuned until next week to see if we will have a little mini baby Jason or a little mini baby Katie :)!!!

Family

2008-10-08T19:55:00.000-07:00

Sorry Addie, I stole these pictures from your blog! I wanted to show them off too :)! I went dowon to Casa Grande this last weekend to visit Christian and Addie and their cute kids and my parents were in for the weekend too so it was nice to get to spend the weekend with all of them and to relax and watch conference with them. Here are some fun pics...Julia is the cutest little girl ever and I wish I could take her home with me!! Enjoy!

For the old Roomies

2008-10-08T19:50:00.000-07:00

The rest of you can ignore this post, it won't make any sense to you.

Natalie, Kiersten, and Katie this is my most recent sexy hair picture...thought you would enjoy :) haha! Its at the painted desert.

The 16 Almost 17 Week Belly

2008-10-08T19:39:00.000-07:00

So Im really not showing all that much, I feel chubby more than anything, but Natalie wanted pictures so here you go just for you! We went to the doctor on Monday and everything was looking good and normal. I got to see the Midwife this time so that was good since hopefully she will be in there helping me along. She said I had perfect urine for those of you who wanted to know that, I told her my mom would be so proud haha! She even let Jason find the heartbeat which was very exciting for him. The night before he got out his stethescope from his medical kit and was trying to find the heartbeat with that, but I didn't think he would be able to this soon. He was very dissapointed that he couldn't so I was excited for him that they let him find the heartbeat at our appointment. More good news, we thought we would have to wait until 20 weeks to do the ultrasound to find out what we are having, but they want us to come in and do it at 18 weeks so our appointment is next Friday the 17th!! I can't believe it is so soon! I am stressing about having to drink 32 oz of water right before and having to hold it until they are done with me! For those of you who know me, you know how much of a challenge that would be if I wasn't pregnant, let alone with a pregnant bladder, so everyone pray that I won't have an accident on the hopsital floor while they are trying to do the untrasound!

Snorkeling Pictures

2008-10-08T19:23:00.000-07:00

We finally got our snorkeling pictures developed from when we went to the Bahamas. That was probably the funnest part about the Bahamas, but unfortunately you couldn't tell how amazing it was in the pictures. I guess when you use a disposable camera it doesn't look quite like you are swimming in "Finding Nemo" which is how I felt when we were there. Anyway here are a few pics from our trip....we had fun at least :)!

Baby's Heartbeat

2008-09-09T07:46:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update, Jason and I went to the doctor yesterday and got to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time, it was so exciting, it finally made knowing that I have a little baby growing in me much more real. The heart rate was around 166 so we have everyone assuming that we are having a girl because of the faster heart beat, but according to the doctor that's just a myth. I am finally starting to feel a little better, certain smells still make me sick and I still feel like I want to sleep all the time, but the nausea (which I had at night) has eased up quite a bit. I will put up a picture of me and my belly when I start to show.

We're having a Baby!

2008-09-08T08:55:00.000-07:00

New Haircut

2008-08-05T12:19:00.001-07:00

This is for my mom, sorry it took so long to put up pictures. Here is the new haircut, shorter than planned but its way easy to do and I like it. Thanks to Jason's brother's wife (also named Katie Searls) who did a great job on the cut!

The Handsome Cop

2008-08-01T13:24:00.000-07:00

Jason's Grandmother took this picture months ago, but I just got a hold of it and love it so I thought I would share. This is my handsome Jason in his uniform in front of his patrol car (which by the way he is getting a new one yay!) and in front of our very red and green house (which we will only live in for 30 more days : ( ) Anyway...aren't I a lucky gal?

Up in the Mountains

2008-07-12T09:03:00.001-07:00

Jason and I went up to the mountains for a day and a half to go visit his brother Trevor and his wife rachel and their boys Dylan, Jacob and brand new baby Nathan. We had a blast up there, it is so beautiful and so peaceful, I was sad it was only for a day, but it was still nice to get away. Here are some pictures:

Riding on our Four Wheeler

On Turkey Hill...I love it up there

There was this really cool tree with windows and doors Dylan loved it
Me in the tree
Its hard to see us all in there but we fit

The gorgeous views

One year cake tradition

2008-06-23T22:14:00.001-07:00

So I don't know how many of you saved the top of your cake and actually ate it for your first year anniversary. Well we saved ours and were in Florida for our anniversary so we ate it tonight. We weren't expecting it to actually be edible, but surprisingly it was really really good. I was amazed! We even thought we should celebrate with Charlie and Shady since they put up with us too! Its kind of funny we have yet to actually eat on our nice China, so we decided this would be the perfect occasion to try out our nice china, and Jason actually thought I should let the dogs eat their peice off of the China too...men, I guess they just don't appreciate Crate and Barrel China as much as us women do! So don't worry the dogs got their own tacky plate to eat their cake from!

Honeymoon Finally!

2008-06-23T21:41:00.000-07:00

Jason and I never got to go on a real honeymoon after we got married because of his police academy. We finally planned one for our first year anniversary and it was wonderful. We spent 3 nights in Ft. Lauderdale Florida in a hotel right on the beach, we took a two night cruise to the Bahamas, and then came back and spend two nights in Orlando. We had such a nice relaxing and enjoyable time together. Our favorite part was snorkeling in the Bahamas, we will have to put those pictures up later because we haven't developed our underwater camera yet. It was like swimming in Finding Nemo, it was amazing! It was just so nice to get to spend time together and to relax and fall in love all over again. It helped us to appreciate eachother more and we're so grateful for our relationship and that we will always be best friends. Here are a few pictures of our trip...and I'll post our underwater adventures once we get those pictures developed!

In the bahamas!

My handsome husband!

Private beach in the bahamas at the resort we went to.

On the cruise ship

On our way to snorkle

Big ship little ship, which one is ours?

View from our hotel room in Ft Lauderdale.

Jason likes to take pictures of dead things washed up on shore!

Grateful

2008-05-30T23:07:00.001-07:00

Since I haven't really posted anything in a while (since nothing too new is really going on) I thought I would post a gratitiude post. I apologize in advance if this blog is a little indulgent. I was in a car accident this last weekend on my way down to Casa Grande to visit Christian and Addie who had just moved to AZ. My parents were coming in so I was very excited to see my family! Jason unfortunately had to work so I went down by myself. Just outside of Payson there was a rollover accident that happened right in front of me, I was able to stop in enough time to avoid not hitting the already damaged scene, but the car behind me didn't stop in enough time to avoid me. Luckily he was able to miss the back of my car but he ran into the side of my car and blew out the tire. It really could have been a lot worse than it really was, we both could have gone rolling down the mountain along with 10 other cars that were trying to get around that corner as well. While it was very frustrating and stressful to be in an accident, I am very grateful to my Heavenly Father for being there always in my life. He never leaves me alone. There were several things that He blessed me with that day to remind me of His love and existence in my life. First, i have no idea how to change a tire, I never have before! The man who ran into me offered to change my tire no questions asked just asked me where the spare was and changed it for me. The officer on scene noticed that I didn't have current tags (we were a few weeks past due since its like $300 to renew our registrations!) and decided not to give me a ticket. I would not have been able to drive all the way down to the valley on a spare tire and it was a Friday evening with no luck of a tire shop open or with the necessary rims that could fix the car that we could afford. So Jason called into work on a very busy and crazy night to come rescue me, his parents drove him and left as soon as they heard the news. My mom knew something was up (Mom's always have that feeling) and called about 5 minutes after the accident had happened when I needed a little supporting voice to know it was going to be ok. Jason drove me all the way down to Mesa and then all the way back up to Holbrook so that he could be at work that night by midnight and his parents drove our car home just so that I wouldn't miss spending time with my family. Then my parents drove hours out of their way to take me back up to Flagstaff where Jason's parents came and picked me up on Monday. Jason's grandpa even offered to drive all the way out there to tow the truck home if necessary. I really am so blessed to have a family that is so willing to be there for me, without question or complaint, to have a husband who knows how much I miss my family so drives me all the way to Mesa on very little sleep. I know the Lord was watching out for me, and continues to watch out for me. It is just a reminder to me that just when you think you might be alone and start to be pessimistic, we never really are alone. I am so grateful for His daily guidance and protection in my life. (My lifesavers, Dad you're included in there too I just couldnt find a picture :) )

Heidi and Travis - Contemporary (Calling You)

2008-05-30T23:00:00.001-07:00

Can I just say how excited I am that So you think you Can Dance is back!! When I think of summer I think of BBQ's, the beach, watermelon, and most importantly So You Think You Can Dance!! This is just in remembrance of my favorite dance ever on there...Heidi and Travis did this amazing routine choreographed by Mia Michaels in season 2 and it has always been my favorite...oh if only I could dance like that!

Little Debbie

2008-04-26T22:32:00.001-07:00

I have been warned so many times about the scorpians here in Arizona, and I guess I just figured it wouldn't happen to me it was just a myth or something. Well I was wrong, Jason found a scorpian in our HOUSE climbing up the wall. I was terrified and had nightmares of scorpians all night. He put it in a little tupperware and its sitting in our kitchen for Jason to show off. He named it Little Debbie. He said he has only seen three in his lifetime in a house and one of them was in our house, and he thinks that is supposed to make me feel better. Obviously he was not as traumatized as I was. Here is a website for the Arizona Bark Scorpian :http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/insects/az1223/#ARIZONABARKSCORPION

Happy reading...lucky us :)! Christian and Addie, don't let that scare you from coming to AZ, I hear they are just as bad down in the Valley, but don't say I didn't warn you!

Here are pictures of Little Debbie

Paintball

2008-04-26T22:13:00.000-07:00

Jason and his Dad are really into paintball, and have both tried to get me into it forever. I've never really been interested because when they come back they both have these massive bruises where they got shot. Well I decided to be brave on Friday and give it a shot. I figured it would be a way to spend more time with Jason and it could be fun who knows. Jason figured it would be good if i got shot first to see if I really wanted to play after that. The first time he shot me in the leg (its ok because I shot him in the rear end after that) and it hurt so bad I was ready to give up, but then he shot me in the back and because I had more padded clothing on I couldn't even feel it at all. So I decided to give it a try and just pad up really well. We met up with a group of about 13 guys (I'm the only girl) and played in the middle of the desert for two and a half hours. I had SO much fun playing. Now I know why they got so into paintball, its such an adrenaline rush! I did get shot a couple times but it was well worth it. I got a few kills, including one of my teamates who wasn't too happy with me but he'll get over it. I tagged him back in then killed the last guy on the other team. Anyway, it was lots of fun so I think I found a new hobby. I wish we had taken pictures of our outfits, we were in Jason's Dad's old airforce camo uniforms. So instead I'll post some of my battle wounds. Sorry if its too up close and personal, but I have to have something to show for it!

My Visit to Utah

2008-04-17T22:10:00.001-07:00

My brother Christian and his wife Addie just had another adorable little baby girl named Julia Alyse White and this past weekend I went up to Utah for the baby blessing. Sadly Jason couldn't get the time off work so I made the trip alone. I didn't realize how much I had missed Utah and all of my family and friends until I was there. I went to lunch with my old roommates at Costa Vida (girls I had so much fun!). We sat there and talked for almost 3 hours, it was so much fun! How I missed our conversations and our dinner chats! I miss our feminist talks haha!! I definitely had my fill of Cafe Rio/ Costa Vida, twice in one day should last me a while I hope! The good but sad thing is that Christian and Addie are moving to Arizona now so I probably won't be making too many more trips to Utah any time soon, but the good thing is that I will finally have family in Arizona, yay!! Here are some pictures from my fun trip, I'm sad it was so short! I miss all you guys it was so nice to see everyone!

Amy surprised us and flew up on Saturday so we got to spend time with both her and Nathan. He is getting more and more handsome everyday, just reminds me that the Whites sure know how to make cute babies :)! I think we probably had more fun than Eliana at Nathan at the park since we just followed them around with our cameras! Thanks to Addie for the great pictures as always!

This is the one thing I love about road trips, the beautiful scenery and the wide open spaces, this was just a gorgeos view I had to take a picture!

I actually took this picture (with Addies camera) but isn't Julia just beautiful. This is a pic of Addie getting her ready for her blessing, look at those eyes of hers!
Cute little Nathan being sweet as can be sneaking a quick peak out of the tunnel at the park!
The fam and friends who were there at the blessing!

Snoop Dog a Mormon?

2008-04-05T16:13:00.000-07:00

So when I read this article it was pretty funny because earlier that day I had gone to a training at work about gangs and recognizing members of gangs and that sort of thing. Well it was talking about Snoop Dog being a Crip from Long Beach which I guess is fairly well known. Well then I read this article and didn't even think about it being April Fools day. The article is now expired but it was on CNN entertainment and it had a picture of Snoop Dog reading the Book of Mormon. All in all, I would say that is probably one of the funniest news April Fools jokes I had seen. I posted the article below, have fun its pretty funny :)!!

By Aaron NicholsCNN
DIAMOND BAR, California (AP) -- In what some may consider an unexpected move, rap artist "Snoop Dogg" has reportedly converted to Mormonism after nearly a year of study with the fast-growing, Utah-based faith.
(PHOTO CAPTION: Snoop Dogg says he "can't get enough of the Book of Mormon."}
In a statement, a spokeswoman for Snoop Dogg -- whose real name is Calvin Broadus -- said he considers himself extremely fortunate to have discovered such a deep sense of spiritual fulfillment at this stage in his life.

“Mr. Broadus is also very pleased to find that his family is as enthusiastic about attending church services as he is,” the spokeswoman said.
However, Snoop Dogg has not been enthusiastic about publicly sharing his experience and declined to be interviewed by CNN for this article. In fact, he reportedly informed producers of his E! reality show "Snoop Dogg's Father Hood" that this particular aspect of his family's life was off-limits to the cameras. Still, he left open the possibility of addressing the subject in future episodes.
According to the Associated Press, Snoop Dogg was first introduced to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as the Mormon Church is officially known, after attending a Gladys Knight concert in an LDS meeting house in Los Angeles.
Knight, who very publicly discusses her conversion to Mormonism several years ago, invited Snoop Dogg to what is known to the Mormon faithful as “Family Home Evening,” a church program that encourages families to set aside Monday evenings for gospel-centered lessons and family togetherness.
Though Snoop Dogg has been hesitant to publicly discuss his recent spiritual journey, he commented on the experience of attending his first “Family Home Evening” in a recent interview with People Magazine.
“I was hooked from the start,” Snoop Dogg said. “We talked about the purpose of life, played Mousetrap, and ate brownies. The kids thought it was off the hook, for real.”
In what Snoop Dogg now thinks was anything but a coincidence, Mormon missionaries had knocked on his door just one week before the Knight concert. He said he had initially turned them away because of what he knew about the strict Mormon health code, which prohibits members from smoking, drinking alcohol, and using drugs.
“Y’all know me,” he said grinning broadly. “There were just certain things the old me -- the "natural man" -- needed to do. And these young guys are telling me that God’s not down with disrespecting ourselves. But it’s cool now.”
Snoop Dogg said his conversion marks the end of his old life, one that included frequent run-ins with the law. Snoop Dogg was convicted in 1990 of cocaine possession and charged with gun possession after a 1993 traffic stop. In 1997, he pleaded guilty in exchange for a lighter sentence.
In 1996, Snoop Dogg was acquitted of murder after a purported gangbanger was killed by gunfire from the vehicle in which Snoop Dogg was traveling.
Snoop Dogg dismisses critics who claim his conversion is intended to placate a Salt Lake County judge, before whom he is appealing an alleged probation violation.
“Listen, the haters will say what they will,” Snoop Dogg said. “I can only do what I feel is right.”

Shady

2008-03-29T15:34:00.000-07:00

We got a new puppy about a month ago. Jason's Uncle Kevin got these two puppies from one of his friends in Flagstaff who breeds hound dogs and trains them to be mountain lion hunting dogs. He convinced Jason and I to take one of the puppies from the same litter. She is part red bone hound and part walker treeing hound. She can be so cute and sweet but mostly she is a little "shady" which is why I named her that. She gives Charlie (our other dog) so much grief and thinks she is the empress. She is slowly starting to learn her place but its taking a while. Jason's mom has 3 labs at her house and Shady thinks that she can take them on too, but she learned her lesson when she tried to take food from one of the dogs and got bit. She was pretty traumatized and lost a good amount of blood but she is ok, she just has a small battle scar on her mouth. We are hoping that will get her to learn her lesson...but she surpises us every day.

Camping!

2008-03-29T15:26:00.001-07:00

We went on our first camping trip together and had a blast. Since I have never built a fire or put up a tent before Jason thought it would be fun to have me do it all. He threatened that if I didn't build the fire (with no matches or lighters) then we wouldn't have one. So I got myself a little fire starter kit from his dad and got some tips on how to start a fire and I got one going, (Jason helped a little but not much). I was so proud of myself. I started to chop our own wood too (Jason thought it would be fun to watch me try) well I didn't get very far and he did it for me but it was fun to try!

Jason's graduation

2008-03-29T15:18:00.000-07:00

The day after we got married, Jason had to go into the Police Academy. When we found out this news it was such a shock because he wasn't supposed to go in until at least September. But just our luck one of the Acedemys in Casa Grande AZ was going to do a summer session, something they had never done before because of the insane heat during that time of year. So about a month before our wedding we found out this news, had to cancel our honeymoon and everything. It was too late to change our wedding date since invitations had already been printed and plane tickets bought. So we stuck with it and it was a very difficult first 4 and a half months of our marriage. We did get to see each other on the weekends so that was nice at least and we snuck in a couple of weekends away to the Valley and to California. It was such a happy day when Jason graduated and I got my husband back full time! Thinking back on everything it was a blessing in disguise to start the academy so soon after we got married, we were able to get it over with and slowly get adjusted to marriage. Jason is now a full fledged officer, he is done with all of his training and is out on the streets of Holbrook....even threatening to pull me over!

The Holbrook Reception

2008-03-29T14:47:00.000-07:00

So for the open house in Holbrook, I let Jason plan everything since I planned everything at the reception in California. So we had a camoflage reception. Everything including the cake was in camo, we had a big bbq with is family and we rode in on our 4 wheeler (which is also camoflage). My parents came for the event and they caught a glimpse of the new red neck lifestyle i've got myself into...but I am loving it so far!

Our Wedding!!

2008-03-29T14:07:00.000-07:00

What I thought was going to be a very stressful day turned out to be one the the best days of our lives. We were married in the San Diego temple at 9 am and it was such an amazing experience. Neither of us will forget the feeling we had when we entered the temple and saw so many family and friends there to support us and be there for us. We want to thank all of you who sacrificed so much so you could be there to support us. You all have been our spiritual strength throughout our lives and it meant so much to have everyone there in the temple with us. Here are some pictures of our wonderful day!

Welcome!!!

2008-03-29T13:47:00.000-07:00

Well we are both bad about keeping up with everyone so we thought it would be fun to start a blog. We will start out from February 7, 2007 when Jason proposed to me at the Salt Lake Temple. Jason was living in Arizona and I was living in Utah. My sister in law Addie had convinced me to go with her to temple square so that she could take some cute pictures of Eliana, my neice. So I went and little did I know that Jason was waiting there for me, and I thought he was in Arizona. It was like a fairy tale, I kept looking at this handsome man across the pond wearing a suit with a gorgoeous boquet of red roses. I kept think it looked a whole lot like Jason, but what would he be doing in Utah and at Temple Square? Well it turns out my romantic imagination wasn't getting the best of me and it was really him, too bad he had to wait there for me in the freezing cold for 2 and a half hours!!! He got down on one knee and he proposed, and 4 months later we were married in the San Diego Temple on June 9, 2007.

Jason showing off the rings (one he bought to trick me it was a walmart ring, the other was my dream ring!)

This is when he got there
still waiting, those roses look so sad waiting alone!
Almost 3 hours later, I'm finally there!