I Love December!

I have been having so much fun, I haven't had time to post. Here are some of the things that we have been up to.


Logan loves December too. He is getting so big. He is three months old and he can roll over and grab toys now.

One Sunday afternoon Brenda Heaton, one of my oldest friends stopped by for a visit. We have known eachother since first grade. Brenda lives in Boston where she is completing her PHD in epidemiology so we don't get to see eachother often. We had a good time reminiscing and catching up.

Brenda gives great haircuts so we roped her into giving Mike one. His hair was getting so long and he hasn't had time to get to the salon.

This is his "after" picture. Doesn't he look hansome? Brenda you did a great job, thank you.

The next day, Rockwood (the tiny town we live on the boarder of) was having a Christmas parade. It was super cold but we couldn't miss it.

Here is Logan's reaction to the funny little floats. The parade mostly consisted of church groups, schools, and local businesses that walked or drove down mainstreet in their decorated trucks. There was even a short bus from a nursing home full of old people. Everyone was throwing candy and the kids around us collected bags full. It was better than Halloween.

This isn't the best picture but here is one of our favorite floats. That is Jesus on top if you can't tell. The Side read, "Are You Ready?" Don't you love the hour glass?

Then Logan got a little bit sad because he was cold so we left. We probably stayed for twenty minutes or so. It was a doosie but we had a great time.

I Am So Behind!

We have been busy having fun with family and friends this month. Between a trip to Utah, a visit from the Fords, a visit from the Spencers (and Steve) and a quick trip to Columbuis Ohio, there just hasn't been much time for posting. The worst part is I haven't taken many pictures. I just never remember or the battery is dead. I definately need to work on that.

We had a blast when Mike's sister Mandy, her husband Brady, their two kids, and Mike's brother Steve drove down from Illinois. We bought a shot gun at a pawn shop and some clay pigeons from Walmart so that we could go shooting. We just drove down the street to our landlord's father's property. I guess that is one of the perks of living in Tennessee, you can just go shooting "out back". It was a lot of fun. Afterwards the boys went to the University of Tennessee football game while Mandy and I did a little shopping. We also played games, ate junk food, and watched Elf. I love that movie. We had a great time playing with Alec and Ella. They are both getting so big. We just wish that the weekend could have lasted longer. Thanks for making long drive down here. We loved having you guys.

A few days later we drove up to Columbus, Ohio to join my Sister Stephanie, her husband Larry, and baby Creed for Thanksgiving. On the way up we stopped in Louisville, Kentucky to visit our brother-in-law Mark. It was pretty late when we got there and Mark let us stay the night at his apartment. He has a great place right now on the eighteenth floor of an apartment building that is downtown. Needless to say it has a great view of the city. Mark is Bob Cratchet (spelling?) in A Christmas Carol right now. Before he had to dash off to rehearsals in the morning he showed us where to buy delicious pies. The caramel apple pie was amazing Mark. Then we headed up to Columbus and the holiday traffic turned a 3 1/2 hour drive into a 7 hour drive. It was delightful let me tell you. Luckily, Logan was really good for most of the drive. The next day was Thanksgiving and we were fed a yummy dinner. Stephanie already posted the details on her blog so I invite you to go there if you haven't already.

I love the Holiday season. I love how Christmas has it's own movies, music, decorations, and food that one never gets sick of.
Don't forget to watch all of the classics:
White Christmas
Scrooged
A Christmas Story
It's a Wonderful Life
Elf
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
The Santa Claus
There are so many more. What are some of your favorites?

The Lost Sea Adventure


My sister Stephanie, her husband Larry, and their baby Creed came to visit this weekend. We had a blast going on the lost sea tour. This is the tunnel that descends down into the cave. They said that it was painted yellow to help your eyes adjust to the light when you come back out.

This is a picture of our tour guide's finger and us in the cave. None of my other pictures really turned out because caves are dark.


Here we are in the gift shop afterwards. Don't you think we need these helmets?

We are being serious but I couldn't hold the serious face for long.

We're Back.



Logan was a little reluctant to leave Utah...

He was sad to leave family and friends...
But he is glad to be home again. He missed his dad.
And he was excited to meet the Fords.
Stephanie, Larry, and Creed came to visit from Ohio the day after we got back. On Saturday we went to see the Lost Sea. On The Lost Sea adventure you get to go on a tour of the caves and go on a little boat ride on the underground lake. It was pretty neat.

Pictures of Utah



This is Halloween. Logan was an astronaut.

Logan has gotten the chance to meet lots of family and friends while we are here in Utah. This is his cousin Cole.

This is Logan with his cousin Ava. She is six days older than Logan.

This is Logan after his baby blessing at the church.

Here he is dressed in white for his special blessing.

Here is Logan all bundled up.

We miss you daddy. I hope the rest of you don't get sick of all the Logan pictures. He runs the show now so all of our pictures of him. Isn't he cute?

Utah Here We Come!

We are coming to Utah next week. I am so excited for everyone to meet Logan. I get to stay for two weeks but Mike only gets to stay for a few days unfortunately. Mike is going to turn 29 while we are there and we are going to bless Logan on the 28th so it should be a pretty eventful trip. You are all invited to the blessing. It will be at my parents' ward which is near the Provo temple at 9:00am. I will give exact directions if you are interested. We would love to have everyone there.

So who knows of all the fun things to do in Utah? My sister Stephanie says that there are fun things to do everywhere you go that other people may not know about. For example, you can ride the Sundance ski lift in the summer during the full moon. What else people?

My Latest Project

I just finished my latest project. The walls in Logan's room seemed bare so I created these new wall hangings. I started with a couple of blank canvases that I found at JoAnn's but you can find them at any craft store. Next I searched for old picture books at thrift stores. After finding the pictures I wanted I mod podged them onto the canvases. Then I printed out the letters of Logan's name on the computer in a font that I like. I cut the letters out, traced them, and then painted them in with black paint.



Here is one up close.

Cowboy Logan

Mike was so excited when we found this little cowboy outfit at gymboree. When he saw it he just had to have it for Logan. Here are some pictures that he took.

Gatliburg, TN

This weekend we headed over to Gatlinburg for something to do. Unfortunately the traffic was terrible. We knew the small town would be crowded with tourists but we hoped it wouldn't be too bad due to the big UT game.



This is Logan looking around as we walked down the main street. He is the most alert baby. The following is a picture of Logan and I in front of a fall display. They were all over town. It was very festive. As you can see Logan had plenty to look at.
If you look closely at the back ground you can see the chair lift that we road on.



This is a view of Gatliburg from the chairlift. It was beautiful.

Here is our family riding the chairlift.

Here we are at the top looking at the great view.

In this picture you can see the smokies in the back ground. It was nice to see some real mountains again.

The chairlift workers said Logan was the yougest rider they ever had. It was a fun day. On our way home we stopped by the outlet stores. There were so many stores it was awesome. I was in heaven and lets just say Mike wasn't. He totally shuts down when we go shopping. He follows me around like a zombie but he is a good sport. It didn't last long though because Logan was tired and hungry. Everyone found something to take home before we had to go though, hooray!
Next I will post Logan in the new outfit that we found.

Packages are the Best!

Yesterday I got a package in the mail from my mom. It was a great suprise that made my day. Along with some yummy treats I found this cute Halloween apron that my mom made inside. Isn't it so cute? My mom is so creative and talented.




Speaking of my mother's talent reminded me of these Halloween pillows we made out of felt last year. We saw some like it at a boutique and decided we would make our own version. I love coming up with new projects to make with my mom. She always knows just how to do it.

Logan's Swing

We were getting ready to go somewhere on Saturday and Mike started swinging Logan in his car seat. To our delight it calmed a fussy Logan down. That's when we knew we needed a swing. We bought and set up the swing Monday night. He seems to really enjoy it and so do I. It is nice to have one more thing to keep the little guy occupied for a couple of minutes to free my hands up. I would also like to dedicate my love to pacifiers. Hooray for modern day conveniences! How did the pioneers do it?

I Heart . . .

1. Logan! He is five weeks old today. Can you believe it? I have been sick which is pretty stressful when you are trying to take care of a newborn but it is all worth it for this little guy. He is so cute and so much fun.




2. FAll. I love everything about it: the decorations, the holidays (halloween, who doesn't love candy and costumes?), the crisp air, the changing leaves, fall wardrobe (layering,sweaters, and pretty colors), and season premieres on television. I have to admit that I love tv.
Here is a picture of some fall decorations that I bought when my mom was here visiting.

3. Costco. Don't laugh. They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder. I miss costco so much. It has the best food and even cute clothes sometimes. You can find anything there and it is quality stuff, seriously.

4. Blogs. I love checking out what everyone is up to and being able to see their pictures. It helps me stay connected to people even though I feel so far away.

5. Mail. Isn't getting mail so much fun. It is starting to seem so old fashioned but it is way more fun than getting an email don't you think?

Well, I just thought that I would start posting about things that I "heart" every once in awhile. It always lifts my spirits to think about things that I love.

The Tennessee Valley Fair

Mike had to work all day Saturday. By the time he got home I was dying to get out of the house so we headed over to Knoxville for the valley fair. I think everyone in Tennessee was there, sheesh. We showed Logan the goats, cows, and tractors, and then we ate lots of fair food. Don't you just love funnel cakes and cotton candy? After Mike won Logan a stuffed tiger by throwing darts we had done just about all we could do with a baby. Sadly we couldn't go on any of the rides or see any bands play with the little guy. We watched the fireworks from the car and then headed home. It was exhausting but really nice to get out. Here are some pictures we took that night.





This last one was taken after we got home. Logan is growing lots. He weighed in at 8 whole lbs. on Monday.

Its a Music Miracle!

Weeks of sleepless nights have ended! We haven't been able to get Logan to sleep in his own bed for more than a couple of minutes. We tried everything we could think of but nothing seemed to work until last night. Mike turned on some music and discovered that it calmed Logan down when he was crying. He decided to play music in his bed at night to see if it made any difference. I can't tell you the joy I feel in reporting that between nursing sessions he slept soundly in his own bed. Sometimes he would stir between songs but the music lulled him into deep sleep. The funny part is he seems to like 80's hits the best.

I never knew that a newborn could have so much personality. He smiles a lot. He loves to make noise. His groans and moans are his way of talking all the time. It cracks me up. He hates having his arms wrapped up in his blankets. One of his favorite activities is flapping his arms around. He makes very expressive faces. When dad kisses him he wrinkles his nose and squints his eyes (whiskers are scratchy). I swear I could go on forever. It is so much fun being a mom.

Does He Look Like Mom or Dad?



This is my newborn picture. I took a picture of the picture so it is blurry, sorry.


This is Mike's newborn picture. He got a little beat up on his way into the world, poor guy.


Here is Logan in his car seat.

Here is more Logan. . .

This is Logan's first walk around the neighborhood. It was alittle bright outside.

Grandma Elsie came to help out. We are so glad that she is here.