The Baker Family

The Marathon Part II

2010-10-05T13:23:00.009-05:00

Time for the marathon post! Friday afternoon, Adam and I picked up our running bibs and information from the convention center. I was pretty excited to see the "Welcome Athletes" sign, although Adam joked that they probably had a separate entrance for me.... : P

Here I am inside the convention center with all my goods:

Adam, his Dad, his brother Andrew, and me all ran the marathon as Team Baker. We woke up bright and early at 3:30a.m. Saturday morning in order to catch the buses that were to transport us to the starting line. The marathon was very organized and well put together. However, I was a little unnerved to hear before the race began that "Only 80% of the runners today will complete the marathon," which consisted of 26.2 miles. The race started at 6:45a.m. I don't have any pictures of me actually running, but the professionals took some pics that you can view HERE. Now, before I begin my long spiel on the race itself, I must state that this is only an account of my OWN PERSONAL experience, which was not pretty. I know that Adam, his Dad, and his brother would all give different (and probably more positive) accounts. With that said, here was my race:

I started off feeling pretty good and excited, although I was hoping to feel a little more adrenaline to get me going. My goal had been changed from "finishing" to "finishing in less than 5 hrs and 30 min." I found myself running between the pacers for 5:00 and 5:30, so I was feeling pretty confident at that point. About 4 miles later, I found myself needing to use a restroom, only to come across a line at all the port-a-johns, which I was NOT going to waste time waiting for. It was then that I realized why men are faster runners than women (on average) - the men were all running off the road behind a bush and coming back to run in no time! It was a pretty humorous sight. I guess I can't really use that as an excuse though, considering I could have pulled a Paula Radcliffe: CLICK HERE. Miles later, I was able to come across a readily available potty and wasted 3 minutes in there (TMI? Oh well...). At that point, I lost the 5:30 pacer, never to see her again.

As the time went by, the sun grew higher and warmer as it beat down on me and the hard pavement, reaching into the 80s by the end of the run. They later said it was the hottest St. George Marathon on record, or something like that. All I know is, I hated life as I ran sunglasses-less into the bright, torturous sun. In addition, I had the impression that since the course drops in elevation by 2600 feet at the finish, that I would be running downhill. Who knew you could lose elevation by running UPHILL for miles and miles? Amazing. Okay, so obviously there were some downhill slopes, but I'm telling you, everytime I saw ANOTHER hill in the distance, I became more and more pissed.

I hated everything. I hated the stupid signs by the road that made absolutely no sense. I hated the bajillion signs that cheered for some guy named "Taud." Who spells Todd like that??! Utahns. No offense guys, but you spell normal names really weird, and you make up names to be "creative." Kash. < another weird name on a sign. Don't ask me why these signs annoyed me so much. It was probably a result of the warm water and warm gatorade that were supposed to quench my thirst at the Aid stations that were too far apart. Or maybe it was the desert scenery that supposedly made this marathon one of the top 10 most scenic in the country.

At mile 12, my legs started hurting. Usually I don't start feeling any pain until mile 14, so I knew I was in trouble. By mile 18, my legs hurt so bad that I could barely run (with 8 miles left to go). I had run 20 miles a few weeks prior with very minimal pain, so I was pretty disappointed to be hurting so bad so early. I teared up a few times, deciding early on that I was NEVER doing this EVER again. It's hard to describe exactly how my legs felt: maybe like rusted car parts that weighed 50 pounds each and electrocuted me everytime I bent a knee. Thankfully, the Aid stations included people with tubes of Bengay, ready to rub your painful joints in hopes of providing some sense of relief. I think the Bengay did more for my mental state than my physical state though, because my knees still felt like they were full of nails.

I finally made it into St. George, where Adam, who had finished 2 hours earlier, ran onto the road and kissed me. I teared up, both from misery and relief that the finish line was in sight. As I crossed the finish line at 5 hrs and 46 mins, I walked under some water mist showers, where my salty sweat ran into my eyes. Of course - I had to be kicked while I was down. I blindly hobbled around until I felt my way to a potty and ripped off some TP in order to wipe my burning eyes. But I finished, which is more than I can say for 20% of the starters, and more than I can say for the man I saw lying on the side of the road around mile 16.

I share my misery with you not to discourage you from running your own marathon (LOL!), but to provide some comic relief for myself, as I try to recover from this painful experience. Adam and his family did extremely well, all meeting and exceeding their goals! Here are their times:

Andrew - 2:48 (approx. 6-1/2 min./mile - - 45th overall of 5,702 finishers - amazing!!!)

Adam - 3:46 (approx 8-1/2 min/mile)

Gary (Dad) - 4:57 (approx. 11 min/mile)

Mary - 5:46 (approx. 13 min/mile)

Here is Team Baker with our medals:

Husband and Wife: ATHLETES.

I'll still run. I think I'm definitely going to cap it off at 13 miles though. Even though I was miserable during the run, I worked really hard to get to that marathon, which is something I never thought I could do. I'm so proud of myself for finishing it. GO TEAM BAKER!

The Marathon Part I

2010-10-05T12:21:00.001-05:00

Last Saturday, Adam and I both ran all 26.2 miles of the St. George Marathon. Since we had to travel down there anyway, we decided to make a vacation out of it! So this Part I post will be about the vacation, and Part II will be about the marathon itself. We left Rapid City last Tuesday, Sept. 28 and headed for Colorado Springs. We stayed the night with our friends the Dunns and their adorable baby boy! We always have a good time with them, playing board games and eating yummy food :).

We left Colorado Springs Wednesday morning and headed for Great Sand Dunes National Park in southern Colorado.

The name of the park was very appropriate:

The sand was so hot. We decided we'll have to go back and visit when the creek isn't all dried up.

Thursday morning we made our way to Mesa Verde National Park. I'd have to say that it was my favorite of all the parks we visited this trip.

Here we are by the cliff dwellings created by the Ancestral Pueblo who made it their home from A.D. 600 to A.D. 1300.

We were able to hike down to the actual dwelling and look around. It was sooo cool.

Adam and I got to go down into one of the Kivas, rooms used for religious rituals.

I couldn't resist posting Adam's Gilligan picture - he decided to wear Luke's sunhat.

Thursday evening we made it to the Grand Canyon, where we met up with Adam's mom and dad.

We stayed in a really fun, little cabin right outside the North Rim of the canyon. Here is the view from our front porch and our cabin:

Family pictures!

Finally, we made our way on Friday through Zion National Park to reach St. George.

Luke and I played in the pool that evening. I couldn't resist using his new swim float that I picked up for 50 cents from a yard sale:

I'm glad we were able to relax and have some fun before our big race!

Captain!!!

2010-08-25T13:37:00.009-05:00

n Monday, Adam pinned on his new rank: Captain! He has also been working in a new squadron (MSG - Mission Support Group) since he got back from deployment. His new position is the Executive Officer, which is pretty exciting because he was hand-picked for the job. Here he is at the pin-on ceremony with his new commander, Colonel Edwards (left), and his former commander, Colonel Bellucci (right):

A lot of Adam's coworkers/friends showed up for the ceremony, despite their busy day getting ready for a base exercise. This is about half of the people that came:

Taking the oath:

Colonel Edwards, Luke, and I pinned on Adam's new rank:

Tradition has you "pound" on the new rank:

The happy Captain!

I made a slideshow presentation that showed what has happened in Adam's life in the past 2 years also. It was pretty sentimental...I teared up. (It doesn't take much to make me cry though...)

Celebrating with some ice cream cake from Coldstone!

Adam and his friend/softball teammate, Richie:

I guess the whole thing wore Luke out, because this is how he fell asleep in his crib! haha:

Adam works sooo hard for our family, and I am so proud to call him my husband. He does the work of 2 airmen every single day and still comes home wanting to play with Luke. I don't know anyone with a better work ethic, and I'm so thankful to be married to someone like him. Congrats, Adam! I love you!

A Weekend Visit with Friends!

2010-08-18T17:07:00.001-05:00

At the end of July, Adam and I had the opportunity to travel down to Colorado Springs and visit our old neighbors/friends the Dunns! They had a baby boy last September, so we were pretty excited to get our little guys together. Here they are at the Cheesecake Factory deciding what sounds the best...

This is Becca and Matt - our generous hosts and late night board game rivals!

Loving on my baseball baby:

No one can make him laugh like his Daddy can!

After the Cheesecake Factory, we went to the Denver Aquarium. Luke loved the fish and the water!

Our little family by the fish:

Baby Daniel was so sweet loving on his mommy!

Adam with his shark bait:

My two favorite sharks - don't let their cute looks deceive you, they're vicious!

Enjoying our evening at the Rockies vs. Cubs MLB game:

Our favorite Cubby fan!

I asked Adam to lay Luke down in the pack and play for a nap. This is what I found when I got out of the shower --- So cute!!! Luke reached his arm out to touch his Daddy :) Melt my heart!

We had a great time with the Dunns, and Luke was an awesome little traveler. Heidi came with us and enjoyed spending time with their pug, Sam. We love the Dunns and hope to see them again very soon!

A Weekend of Physical Challenges

2010-07-26T16:42:00.013-05:00

So before I get to the challenging part, I'll start off this entry with the cute part. I was taking a nap when Heidi jumped up on the bed with me and decided to burrow in the pillows. I couldn't help but laugh. She's so funny sometimes:
Here's a picture of my baby Luke at 7 months hanging out with his buddy Heidi:

His 7 month stats are:

Height: 25.5" - 5th percentile

Weight: 14lbs 2 oz - less than 5th percentile (it was off the charts)

My little baby is following his own growth curve, but the Doctor says he's not worried about it! I guess Luke's just a little guy! He can sit on his own now, his favorite foods are sweet peas and applesauce, and he rolls all over the place to get what he wants! He's very much into feeling different textures and is interested in everything around him. Instead of napping right now like he should be, I can hear him in his room clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth - his new favorite sound. haha.

Oh yes! And we had some excitement in church yesterday. We were sitting in Sacrament meeting when I noticed Luke had little bug bite looking spots on his legs. Then I saw one on his arm too. A few minutes later, I noticed a red spot near his ear. A few minutes later, the red spot was getting bigger and bigger. The spots on his legs were growing too! The redness on his face went from pea-size to a dime to a quarter within 10 minutes. I started moving his clothes around to look for more redness. As soon as I pulled his sleeve down, I realized 25% of his little baby arm was covered in a giant, red/white hive. I showed Adam, and we were both freaking out at how rapidly his hives were growing. We immediately left church and took him to the ER (I love military insurance!). They took us in right away. His hives reached their peak when they were first examining him. As we were waiting for the Doctor in our room, his hives completely vanished. Adam and I think that Luke might be allergic to a brand of dryer sheets that I just switched to (even though they're fragrance free...). I was pretty freaked out, but I'm glad he's okay now!

Okay, on to physical challenge number 1 (unless you count hives as a physical challenge. lol.) Last Friday, the base had a giant picnic, including an Ultimate Challenge event that Adam participated in with one of his buddies. This video was taken after the challenge was over, hence the lack of urgency, but this was one of the obstacles they had to do:

Adam and Richie:It was pretty entertaining to watch.

On to challenge number 2. For those of you who don't know, Adam and I signed up to run a full marathon (26.2 miles) with his Dad and brother. We will be running that race in St. George, UT on October 2nd. As luck would have it, I found a half-marathon in Spearfish, SD that landed on the same day as my scheduled training run of 13 miles! So last Saturday, Adam and I woke up at 4:45a.m. for the CASA Half Marathon. It was my first real race, so I was pretty excited. The great majority of the route was slightly downhill, and it twisted through beautiful Spearfish Canyon. I started feeling the heat around mile 8, but I was surprised at how good I felt while running! I pushed myself to only stop and walk for a minute at the water AID stations (there were 5 of them). This is my plan for the full marathon, and it seemed to work out well for me. Adam finished the race before me at 1 hour 37 minutes, so he drove back a few miles to take some pictures of me :).

My finishing time was 2 hours and 24 minutes. My goal time was 2 hours and 35 minutes, so I was pretty pleased. I've never liked running. In fact, I was absent on the day of the mile run in high school (on purpose). However, Adam has always been a runner and enjoyed it very much. I decided that it would be cool and fun for us to work together on a common short-term goal. Plus, it gave me something to do while he was deployed that would take my mind off things. Adam has been so awesome and encouraging. I know I never would have made it this far without his coaching. He always tells me how proud he is of me (and trust me - he KNEW how much I hated running before this...haha!)Me and my first medal:Adam doing some post-run stretches:
I've decided that I like running now. It's a sport where you're only competing against yourself (unless you're super fast and can possibly win). I think it's probably 40% physical and 60% mental - sometimes even more mental than that, depending on the circumstances. I'm looking forward to the full marathon now, and the more I run, the more I feel like I might actually finish it!

Adam's Home!!!

2010-07-11T19:05:00.012-05:00

Yippee!!! My husband has been home from Puerto Rico for about a month now. He was able to take 3 weeks off of work to spend time with us before going back last week. It has been really nice (and somewhat interesting) to watch him and Luke get to know each other better. It seems that a father's bond comes naturally though.

We were able to take a few days to make a trip up to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota while Adam was home. I know...who knew there was anything to see in ND? haha. Here's Luke, all ready to go! (jk, jk)

A group of many wild horses at the national park:

Beautiful scenery:

This picture reminds me of a Lisa Frank painting for some reason... haha:

A semi-family photo - Luke was sleeping in the car:

Posing by the Little Missouri River: (Theodore Roosevelt chased bandits down this river as a Deputy Sheriff)

The North Dakota scenery on our drive home:

We stopped in a little town (Hettinger, ND) for some R&R (and ice cream from a random place called Pepy's).

Adam enjoying his Pepy's while reminiscing about the good ole' days when playground equipment could KILL you:

Luke's first time in a swing!

We had a great time on our mini vacation to North Dakota. I'm so glad that Adam is home. I finally feel like our little family is complete again. I must admit, it's also nice to have help with the babe too. Adam is such a great Dad, and I love him so much!

Puerto Rico!

2010-04-30T14:49:00.025-05:00

So Adam has been in Puerto Rico for 3 months now, and Luke and I were fortunate enough to go visit him for 2 whole weeks in April! I must say, it was the BEST vacation I've ever had! Adam was so sweet. He had a welcome basket waiting for me and everything :). He was so surprised by how much Luke had grown.
Here is the view from his hotel room: The day after Luke and I arrived, Adam had a special mini-trip planned for us. As soon as he got home from work, we caught the ferry to a little island called Vieques. Adam had arranged for us to go see the bioluminescent bay that night. We snapped this cute little number while waiting for the ferry:Adam had arranged for a "tour guide" to pick us up from the ferry. I say "tour guide" because once we arrived in Vieques, we were greeted by a man named Din Din, who said he would take us to the BioBay in his van. Now, this van was obviously a work van that was unmarked and white, without normal seats in the back. There were two seats that had been taken out and set in the back sideways, and another "seat" that was a tire with a pad on top. We lifted Luke and his entire stroller up and into the half-empty van (as there was nowhere to buckle him in anyway). Mind you, it was about 11p.m., and our little family was in the back of a creepy van being driven to the middle of nowhere by two Puerto Rican men listening to loud Spanish music.

As Din Din turned onto a very narrow and incredibly bumpy dirt road, I turned to Adam and quietly expressed my feelings of fear. I honestly thought they were going to kill us...well, I thought they would kill Adam and Luke and sell me in some sort of human trafficking scheme. I mean...I'm too pretty to kill. lol : ) So we pulled up to a little watery area surrounded by trees, where a tiny fishing boat was floating in the water. One of the men waded into the pitch black water with his flashlight and retrieved the boat. I grabbed Luke in his carseat and waded through the water and onto the boat with Adam. At that time, I decided that we were all 3 going to die and be tossed overboard. (I'm not kidding...this really went through my mind). It wasn't until we started heading into the BioBay that I decided that Din Din really was going to give us a tour. What's so neat about the BioBay is that it is full of little organisms that light up neon blue when they're disturbed, kind of like fire flies. Although this picture isn't either of us, this is what we got to do! It was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. The water was so clear that you could see every single fish lighting up the microorganisms as they swam away. I'm talking hundreds of neon blue fish. Din Din took us out to his fishing net, where he piled it onto the boat, along with a dozen or more fish. When we made it back to the van, his companion tied the net up in a tarp and tossed it in the back...with us...right beside Adam. We couldn't help but laugh about the whole experience. Din Din was kind enough to take us to our little hotel room on Vieques that Adam had reserved. It was really fun and cute. The next day, we took a stroll down to the beach: Adam rented some snorkel gear and swam off to the little island in the distance, where he was told there were a lot of tropical fish:I, on the otherhand, did NOT swim to the island, as I would have been sure that a shark would eat me, and I would have drowned out of sheer, unnecessary panic. We headed back to the hotel and relaxed on the balcony while waiting for a taxi to take us into the city:
We toured around the town and headed back to the main island. While in Puerto Rico, we introduced Luke to the swimming pool!

He actually seemed to like being in the water with mom and dad!Here is a cute picture of Luke and Adam on one of our beach strolls:

One day we headed into Old San Juan to see the forts that were built in the 1600's. While crossing one of the bridges, I saw something come up for air in the water. Adam thought I was just being paranoid because of my fear of sharks, but a minute later, it surfaced again! It was a manatee!
After viewing the main fort, we headed to another one where hundreds of people go to fly kites. Adam decided to join them:It was so neat to see all of the different kites flying in the air. It reminded me of the book, The Kite Runner (read it!) Luke was more interested in the grass than the kite:When Adam had let the entire spool of kite string out and the kite was really high in the air, he handed it off to a random person as we were leaving. I think they were confused...but happy! haha. Here I am by one of the old fort lookouts, which are symbolic of San Juan:While Adam was at work, Luke and I relaxed on the beach. It was hard to try to keep him shaded in the hot Puerto Rican sun!:My sunblocked baby:One night we went to a VERY local BBQ joint called Bebo's, where no one spoke English. Here's Adam with our 1/2 chicken, plantains, and Spanish-English Dictionary:Honestly, it was the BEST chicken I have ever had! So good...mmm...

My favorite part of the trip was our catamaran trip to go snorkeling: I had never been snorkeling, and I was absolutely amazed by how many hundreds of fish we saw! The water was so beautiful and clear, and I even saw a stingray!On the catamaran back to the dock, we saw a humpback whale! (not an amazing picture, but you get the idea!)One of the last days in Puerto Rico, we visited the El Yunque Rainforest, where we hiked down to one of the main waterfalls.The rainforest was amazing, and I was very tempted (and prepared) to swim in the waterfall, but we had a pretty long hike back, which I knew wouldn't be fun wet:Luke was pretty worn out by the end of the hike!It was so wonderful to visit Puerto Rico, and I feel so fortunate that I was able to go see my husband while he was deployed. (The virgin Pina Coladas every night weren't so bad either!) He should be home June 10th, and I can't wait for our next adventure!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T13:04:00.017-05:00

Look what the Easter Bunny brought me!

And here I thought I was getting some silly jelly beans...

Uh...am I supposed to smile or something?

Bubbles? Is that what you want?

Okay fine. Here you go:

Another smile? Now you're getting pushy!

How about a fistful of grass in your face?

Just kidding mommy! You know I love you!And the Grand Finale ----Luke started laughing last week! The beginning is a little cut off, but he was sucking on the socks I put on his hands...you'll get the idea!

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

Meet the Weibles

2010-04-04T11:55:00.018-05:00

I was able to take a trip to West Virginia in March to introduce Luke to my family! It was the first time any of them had seen him in person. The trip came at a good time, since Adam will be staying in Puerto Rico, and I was in need of some family love! My mom and best friend Sara picked us up from the airport. Luke smiled as soon as he saw Grandma! My mom took us out to dinner, and then we headed over to my dad's house. I stayed the first week with them and the second week with my mom. Here's my dad with his wife Hilary and Luke:Luke with my brother Sam - he really did love Sam, but this picture cracks me up! :

My sister Abby and brother Hiram: Sara and I went on a picnic at the park. Her big toes were chilly so she borrowed Luke's socks:Luke touched grass for the first time! I think he liked it...Here is my sister Sarah, who's having a baby girl in June. I'm pretty excited that Luke will have a cousin his age on my side of the family!:This is my brother Adam and his fiancee Annie. We decided Luke kind of looks like Adam...I think it's the hair:

My mom drove Luke and I to see my grandparents in Elkins. I met my cousin Bella for the first time (the curly haired cutie). She was pretty jealous that Grandma was giving her attention to someone else!Luke and I went for a stroll for the first time without his carseat attachment. I think he prefered being able to look around at his surroundings rather than my face!

Luke sleeping with Grandpa:

Smiling for Auntie Sara:

Tired boy for Grandma:

Luke started trying to sit up while in WV:

Luke was being fussy, so Sam used his technological skills to soothe him:

I have a feeling my baby boy is going to be a computer guy:

My trip to WV was great. Luke did well on the planes, and I definitely enjoyed the extra freedom I had to take showers, eat, and take a few naps! I didn't realize how much you can get done when other people hold your baby for an hour! haha. Can't wait for our next trip! Love you guys!

2 Month Checkup

2010-03-03T16:41:00.007-06:00

My little Luke is already 2 months old! Here's an update:

Weight: 10lbs 10 oz - 25%-50%

Height: 22.5 inches - 25%-50%

Head: 39cm - 25%-50%

I guess my baby is perfectly proportioned! haha ; )

The sad part was the shots - I almost cried when his face turned bright red and tears filled his eyes... : (

Now for an Adam update ---- he's coming home THIS Saturday!!!! Hooray!!! He was in Puerto Rico tracking the planes that were dropping off supplies in Haiti. The teams he was tracking are going home, so he will too! The sad part is, he'll be coming home that evening, and I'm leaving to visit my family in West Virginia that morning, so we won't see each other for another 2 weeks. Booooo. I guess I can't really complain though - 2 weeks is a lot shorter than 3 months!

EDIT: Adam just called and said he was tagged to help with the relief in Chile (he'll still be in Puerto Rico). So he's not coming home this Saturday and we don't know when he'll be home. As sad as I am that he's gone, I'm glad that he's doing something that is really helping the people that need it.

Feelin' Crafty!

2010-02-23T14:30:00.006-06:00

So with Adam gone, I've been motivated to do little crafty art projects to keep my mind off things. Before Luke was born, I wanted to make his name in wooden letters above his crib, but we didn't completely decide on his name until after he was born. I figured now was the perfect opportunity!
I found the wooden letters (they were white) and the little wooden animals (pre-painted) at Michael's. They had a bunch of other cute wooden cutouts too.
Luke approves!

Next on my project list: pacifier clips and getting caught up on my scrapbooking! Woo hoo!

Baby Blessing

2010-02-18T21:46:00.007-06:00

Our little Luke was blessed in our brand new church building last Tuesday night, the 9th. Why Tuesday, you ask? We were planning on blessing him on Sunday the 14th, but Adam found out on Monday afternoon (the 8th) that he had to deploy to Puerto Rico Wednesday morning (the 10th) for 4 months. Adam had been warned the week before that he might be deployed soon, but we were expecting at least a few days notice! I was pleasantly surprised that despite our having to somewhat rush to bless Luke before Adam left, it was a very spiritual experience.
The Bishopric was at the new building moving in to their offices, so they and a few others joined Adam in the blessing, including our good friend Carl. I joined them up on the stage of the Chapel for our private little ceremony. Adam gave Luke a beautiful blessing, and the intimacy of the experience made it so wonderful and incredibly special.

Here are Adam and Luke at the airport right before Adam had to leave:
Adam's parents and sister Andrea had been planning a trip up to see us and the new baby. Unfortunately they missed Adam by about a day and a half. We still had a fun time though during the weekend they were here, and they were kind enough to watch Luke so I could get some naps. I must say I hadn't slept that much in awhile!
Here's the best family photo I could get for now - haha :

Here's a little video of my favorite baby:

And just so Heidi isn't left out, here's a video of her we took shortly before Adam left:

We are doing well. I'm pretty sure Heidi misses Adam as much as I do...which is a whole lot! We love you, Adam!!!

1 Month Old!

2010-01-29T22:05:00.003-06:00

My little baby is 1 month old! Well...1 month and 6 days! He had his checkup yesterday, and here are his stats:

Weight: 8 lbs 13 oz
Length: 21 inches
Head: 37 cm
He seems so big to me. I can't believe some babies are BORN this size!!! haha We're doing great though. He has started to smile back at me and is just starting to discover his voice. I love my little man!

My Baby Boy!

2010-01-05T17:04:00.015-06:00

Prepare for baby picture overload!!!

Holding my precious baby moments after he was born:

Getting all checked out:

Being a daddy!

Sweet little baby:

My poor little Luke had jaundice for a few days, so he was put on phototherapy at home. We decided he looked like the "force" was with him:

Chillin' in my crib:

Christmas Day:

Sleeping like a babe:

My favorite Christmas present under the tree:

And last but not least, a picture of my first baby Heidi, who is absolutely THRILLED to be sharing her time and attention with baby brother:

I'm still loving motherhood, although the initial adrenaline rush has worn off, exposing the underlying exhaustion. Feeding him has been getting easier by the day, which has made things much less stressful for me. Luke is generally happy and is such a good baby. I just love him!

Merry belated Christmas everyone!

Luke Adam Baker

2009-12-28T02:21:00.007-06:00

Sorry to keep everyone waiting, but I'm finally taking a second to post a picture of my precious, adorable, wonderful, handsome little boy! Luke Adam Baker was born on December 23rd at 12:02a.m. with a full head of BLOND hair!!! He weighed 6lbs 5.9 oz and was 18 inches long! I believe that means 15% of you were correct on my poll! Congrats! : )

I ended up being induced since I was past my due date and the baby still hadn't dropped all the way. The doctor was afraid my pelvis was too narrow for him to fit through, and if we waited too long, he would be too big for me to deliver him without a C-section. It turns out, he was right! I was really nervous to be induced, but after pushing for 3 1/2 hours, having a 2nd degree episiotomy and 2nd degree tearing (TMI?), and having to use a vacuum, I realized there was no way I could have delivered a baby any larger! Once the doctor started with the vacuum, he told me he was going to give it 4 tries or we were going to have to resort to a C-section. I absolutely did NOT want a C-section, and on the 4th contraction, my millions of mind prayers were answered as the baby finally made it through. The doctor kept telling me afterwards how he really didn't think the baby was going to come that way because he kept sliding backwards after every push. He was pretty shocked. I just told him the power of a determined woman shouldn't be underestimated. ; ) lol.

I thought that having a newborn was going to be the most stressful thing and that I would be hoping for the first month to fly by. But now that he's here, I just want time to stand still so I can enjoy how sweet and little my angel is. I'm already sad that he's going to grow up, and he's not even a week old! lol. Even though he keeps me up all night, one little tired smile from him makes my world feel like heaven. I'll be sure to post more pictures later!

Check out my Poll!

2009-12-14T17:46:00.008-06:00

Since the baby has decided he's waiting for warmer weather to make his appearance, I've decided to spice things up with a little poll to the right. Guess how much my baby will weigh at birth! To save some confusion, 0.5 = 1/2 lb (7.5 lbs = 7 lbs 8 ounces, not 7 lbs 5 ounces). Now VOTE!

Nursery!

2009-12-04T23:26:00.009-06:00

I finished the nursery a few weeks ago, but I'm just now getting around to posting pictures! Here is the room's cute little welcome/warning sign courtesy of Heather Shirley:

When you first walk in:

I love my crib : )

Don't panic folks - the stuffed animals are coming out before the baby goes in ; )

The most comfortable recliner we could find:

The dresser/changing table area:

My diaper stash:

And for your entertainment, my 38 week belly photos!

(These are Adam's manly hands by the way - not mine...lol) My flat belly button cracks me up!

Okay, baby! We're ready for ya!

Devil's Tower National Monument

2009-12-01T23:03:00.007-06:00

I had a baby Dr. appointment last Tuesday, where they told me I was still all sealed up, so we decided it would be okay to take a little trip. We've been wanting to go see Devil's Tower National Monument in Wyoming, which is about 2 hours away from Rapid City. Adam took last week off, so we made a day trip of it on Wednesday.

Of course, being the pregnant lady that I am, I had to pee halfway through the trip. Unfortunately, the only place to stop was a little town called Aladdin, Wyoming, with a population: 15 sign. The little town boasted a 110 year old convenience store that was open for business. The lady inside said the bathroom was behind the building, and lucky for me, she had just "freshened it up."

Adam got quite a kick out of the fact that I had to sit on the nasty wooden bench with a hole in it to do my business. The hole was too far back on the bench for any attempt at hovering. I thought about all of the men that had soaked the wood through the years. It's not like you can really sanitize porous wood, right? It was really cold and dark in there too. It made me feel bad for the pregnant ladies in the old days that had to get up 4 times a night to use the outhouse. I decided I would have kept a bucket by my bed...

We finally made it to Devil's Tower, where we were greeted by hundreds of prairie dogs.

You can kind of see Heidi in the picture below. She wasn't allowed on the 1.3 mile trail around the base of the monument though, so she had to wait in the car.

The little hike was quite enjoyable. There was about an inch of snow on the ground and the trail was paved, so it wasn't too bad. The lady at the visitor's center seemed really worried that I was going to fall and hurt myself, so I used Adam as my walking stick.

It was a nice little family day trip, and we were glad to have made it out there before they closed for the season.

Pie in the Face!

2009-12-01T22:45:00.005-06:00

Adam's work has a fundraiser every year for their squadron's Christmas party. The fundraiser seems to always include an auction to pie a fellow airman in the face. They first bid on who gets pied and then bid on who gets to throw the pie. I guess Adam has a few people out to get him...someone bid $40 to throw a pie at him. haha! They tried to get me to throw it, but I know better...

Here are some of the guys before the pie-ing:

Adam brought a change of clothes since he knew was going to be pied, which was smart, considering the garbage bags did very little to save the others from certain nastiness.

The pie in the face doesn't look so bad, until you realize that it's not whipped cream...it's cottage cheese...among other things. At least he didn't get the peanut butter pie...or the mustard one. That one was disgusting. The cottage cheese reeked though!

What a good sport!

Baby Shower #2!

2009-11-01T16:54:00.009-06:00

My sweet coworkers were wonderful enough to throw me a baby shower here in South Dakota a few weeks ago. We all had a great time, and although I'm really looking forward to being a stay-at-home mom, I'm going to miss them!

Eva, JoEllen, Rachel, me, Ginger, and Becky/Ethan:

Me and Cori:

Danielle, my dear, fellow military wife/former neighbor:

Me and my first child, who wanted to dress up for the shower too ; )

My wonderful friends from church made me some very cute/creative gifts. They were even kind enough to organize my loot for me afterwards!

Tanya, Juli, Heather, and Emily:

Thank you so much to everyone who was able to make it to my shower and for all of the great gifts. I had a really great time! Just for kicks, here I am as of today, at 33 weeks! He's almost done, and I can't wait to meet this crazy, little wiggler!

The Devil's Bathtub

2009-10-14T18:46:00.011-05:00

Adam and I decided a few weeks ago to take advantage of the nice weather before it withered away (which it did...a few days later). We headed up to Spearfish Canyon, about an hour from Rapid City, to do a hike that we had heard was really beautiful. Driving through Spearfish Canyon to see the fall leaves is gorgeous in itself, but I'm always up for a fun hike. The trail follows a creek that leads up to a pool of water known as the Devil's Bathtub.

We had to cross the creek numerous times to follow the trail. It was so fun to watch Heidi jump through the water and find her own paths to cross it.
I was impressed with myself for crossing the log. I was like "Look at me! I'm 27 weeks pregnant, and I can still balance! Woot woot!" We even came across a pregnant tree! Heidi obviously thought it was a danger to us all and refused to walk by it. She chose to bark at it from a distance instead.

Since the creek flowed downhill, the trail was full of gorgeous little waterfalls.

Adam took some time out to search for gold in them thar hills:

Here is a picture of the actual Devil's Bathtub. (I keep typing bathrub instead of bathtub...I think I'm in need of a bubble bath/massage...hmm).

Another family that was at the "tub" told us that kids used to slide down the little nature waterslide into the bathtub back in the day. The forest rangers had to place a large rock at the bottom of the slide to keep it from happening...which is too bad, because I was planning on going head first on my belly... :

It was a really fun hike that we would both recommend to anyone in the area. The creek crossings are probably too dangerous for young kids, but you're welcome to try it out! We ended the hike with a sopping wet and happy dog:

Goodbye beautiful fall weather! You were fun for the month that you lasted!

30 Weeks!

2009-10-14T18:37:00.004-05:00

I've finally reached the 30 week mark, so I thought I'd post another bump pic-cha!
Also, Adam and I spent Columbus Day - I MEAN Native American Day (as it's known in South Dakota) - setting up the baby's crib! Hooray!!! There's still quite of bit of work to do on the nursery, but it's exciting to see things coming together!

West Virginia Baby Shower!

2009-09-22T22:17:00.018-05:00

Adam, Heidi, and I had an awesome time on our trip from South Dakota to West Virginia for my baby shower! We stopped halfway in Illinois to stay with Adam's family over Labor Day. Here is a picture of Adam and his dad after playing tennis:

They both dribbled water down the fronts of their shirts at the same time when they went to drink. It was pretty funny! It was nice to get to visit with them on the way to WV and again on the way back.

After driving for 25 hours, we finally made it to WV (where I grew up and where my family lives)! The whole trip was so much fun. We stayed the first few nights at my mom's place and the last few nights at my dad's. I was able to spend a lot of time with my BFF Sara and family too. It was great to see my family for the first time in over a year and for the last time before the baby comes!

Sara, Adam, Heidi, and I spent a lot of time at a few of the beautiful WV parks. Here I am with my 2 pooches at Ritter Park in downtown Huntington:

Adam, Sara, my brother Adam, and I went frisbee golfing/hiking at another park later on:

We also had to take advantage of the local food places that I miss (i.e. Jolly Pirate Donuts mmm...) Sara couldn't believe that I had never been to Tudor's Biscuit World, so we stopped there for breakfast one morning. Can you believe they had a biscuit called the "Mary B.?" Of course, I had to order it... I must say, it was pretty delicious:

My baby shower was held on the day before I left. My wonderful mom organized the whole thing. My BFF Sara did a beautiful job with the jungle-themed decorations, and my sister Sarah came up with some fun baby shower games. Here is a picture of me, my mom, and sister Sarah:

A few of the beautiful decorations courtesy of Miss Sara Washington:

Adam even got in on the baby shower fun! haha.

Our good friends Matt and Brooke drove down from Maryland for my baby shower. Brooke is also having a boy and is due a week after me! Here we are sticking out our bumps:

Everyone was so generous with their gifts. Adam's mom put together a long clothesline full of clothes, blankets, and burp cloths. It was really cute:

It meant so much to me to have a lot of my closest friends at the shower. Three of them even drove in from out of state. The whole experience really made me feel loved, and it was just what I needed! Here is a picture of me with some of my best friends: Joelle, Sara, Jenna, and Brooke:

After the shower, Adam and Matt decided they could carry all of our presents out to the car in one trip. They were surprisingly successful, as the presents took up A LOT of space in our car!

We were gone for 1 week, but it was way too short for me! I was so sad to leave. I even cried in the car as we pulled away. I forget sometimes how much my family and friends mean to me, and I can't wait to bring the baby out to see them soon!

Mommy/Son Date Night!

2009-08-31T18:52:00.005-05:00

Last week the Central States Fair was going on, and the bank that I work for had two premier seating passes for anyone to use! I snatched those babies up for 3 nights of fair fun. Adam and I went to the Supercross and Demolition Derby on 2 separate nights before he left on TDY for San Antonio. The final night I had tickets for was the Blake Shelton concert (I LOVE country). The premier ticket seating was pretty nice/close, and Blake put on a great concert.

I used one ticket and decided that my son would use the other one since Adam was out of town. We both enjoyed a delicious funnel cake with powdered sugar.

The fair was all good fun until I went home after the concert only to have food poisoning for 4 hours that night. I guess that funnel cake wasn't so good after all....eew.

Anyway, here is my "official" 24 week bump picture. Enjoy!

Glacier National Park

2009-08-29T17:16:00.015-05:00

No matter where we live, we always try to tour the surrounding areas and visit the national parks. A few weeks ago, Adam and I decided to go camping at Glacier National Park (most likely our last time camping alone for at least the next 18 years!). Glacier NP is in far northwest Montana, about 13 hours away from us. Being the pregnant lady that I am, I brought a roll of TP for the car ride, knowing that driving through MT is like driving through the middle of nowhere for hours....because you are driving through the middle of nowhere for hours. Needless to say, there were a few times I had to create my own little stall between the car doors...lol.

We stayed at the Air Force Base in Great Falls, MT Friday on the way up to the park so we wouldn't be driving so much in one day. We made it to the park Saturday morning, and as we were approaching the main entrance, a black bear ran across the road! It was pretty cool. I was glad it wasn't a grizzly...those guys freak me out! We set up our little campsite, which I reserved online by finding the closest available site to the bathroom (as seen in the background :) ). The weather was pretty rainy off and on, but that didn't stop us!

After we set up camp, we went searching for firewood. Adam, the Eagle Scout that he is, found us some wild raspberries that were pretty delicious. (The baby thought they were pretty good too ; ) ).

That evening, we enjoyed some yummy foil dinners on the campfire along with roasted marshmallows. We slept pretty well that night on our air mattress. I brought about 10 blankets that we piled on top to keep us warm. I still ended up wearing 3 shirts, a sweatshirt/hoodie, two pairs of socks, and two pairs of pants to bed. I learned after our camping trip to Yellowstone a few years ago that it gets COLD at night - even in August! Heidi snuggled up in between us, and we all slept pretty well.

The next day we toured the park along the most popular road, called the "Going-to-the-Sun Road." I think Adam said the road took us up 3,000 feet. We were both kind of glad that we were so high up in the clouds that we couldn't really see just how high we were.

There were a lot of spots along the road to pull over and see various sights.

The picture of the gulch below was one of my favorite spots along the road. I thought it was so gorgeous! We also decided to capture an illustration of Heidi's rebellious behavior.

The picture of the glacier below is the one that is best seen from the road. The others can be reached by hiking up to them - unfortunately, we didn't have the time or the energy. Adam was making fun of me because I pictured a glacier in my head as looking more like an iceberg floating in the water. I thought we were going to get to touch one and slide down it or something...drrr.

Here is a picture of Lake McDonald. You can see how clear and beautiful the water was. In the picture at the very beginning of this post, you can see how blue the water was too. Adam read that the sediments from the glaciers give the water its blue-ish tint.

This picture was taken along the drive, and I love how it shows just how clear the water was there. Even the rocks in the lakes were red, yellow, and blue colored. Every time I saw the water I just wanted to roll around in it and slurp it up. (Of course, we all know that I think everything looks delicious these days).

Here is a picture of St. Mary Lake near the end of the road:

We headed home after driving the main road. We both couldn't believe how gorgeous everything was there. Our trip was short and full of driving, but it was all worth it!

It's a...

2009-08-11T21:31:00.012-05:00

BOY!!!

Adam and I are the soon-to-be proud parents of a finger-sucking, adorable baby boy!!! We are so happy and excited!

Here we are at the OBGYN waiting for my Dr. to come in and perform the ultrasound:

I was excited...

Adam was a little nervous...

(he said he couldn't handle a girl because the boys would be all over her... lol). Here are some ultrasound pictures. He was sucking on his fingers for a good part of the exam (not Adam, the baby...) It was SO cute! I have even more pictures, but I'll just post a few.

This picture is kind of blurry, but I had to take an after shot with Adam holding the ultrasound picture of the baby's wee wee. HA!

Congrats to the 64% of you that voted 'boy' on my little poll! You were right!

Weekend Getaway

2009-08-11T21:05:00.008-05:00

Last weekend Adam and I decided to take a trip down to Colorado Springs and Denver to visit with friends and see a Cubs game. Our friends Matt and Becca just got stationed in Colorado Springs, so we were able to bring their dog down to be with them, since they left him in Rapid City while they house hunted. Saturday we drove the 7 hours down to Colorado Springs, toured the town, ate at PF Chang's :), then headed up to Denver for the Cubs vs. Colorado Rockies game.

It was kind of freaky at first because we were sitting waaaay in the back of the stadium (about 6 rows from the very top). The cubbies won though, so it was worth it!

Sunday we ate some French toast w/ fried apples and whipped cream at Cracker Barrel. I forgot how delicious the food is there. Adam said his favorite parts of the trip were the Cubs game and French toast. My mouth is watering just thinking about it...although I must say that these days my mouth waters when I think about pretty much any food...or object that reminds me of food. Adam said he wanted to go to the Apple store, and I was thinking, "Ooo a store full of different kinds of apples..that sounds SO good." I didn't realize he was talking about the Apple computer store. Boring! Also, on the road we saw huge mounds of dirt covered with white plastic and black tires to hold the plastic down. I immediately thought of chocolate donuts in a field of powdered sugar. Hmm...I think I need a snack!

Here are some pictures of us at Cracker Barrel with Matt and Becca. Becca is due to have a boy in October, so we're pretty close together!

Before we headed back to Rapid City Sunday afternoon, we stopped by the Air Force Academy, where Adam went to school and wrestled during his first two years of college before he transferred to BYU. It was a very beautiful campus set up against the mountains. It was fun to be given the VIP tour by Adam.

We ended up arriving back home around 10p.m. Sunday night. It was a quick trip full of driving, but all-in-all a very enjoyable weekend!

Summer Happenin's

2009-08-03T22:15:00.013-05:00

Here is a quick summary of some of the things we've been up to this summer. I've been such a slacker when it comes to keeping up with my blog that I feel like I need to get it all in here, or it will never be seen! Back in June, my BFF Sara came to visit from West Virginia for a week. It was so awesome to hang out with my best buddy just like the old days! Some of our activities included canoeing with Heidi at Pactola Reservoir, hiking to the face of the Crazy Horse Memorial at the annual Volksmarch, hiking to the top of Harney Peak, touring Custer State Park, hanging out in Deadwood, and cheering Adam on during his first marathon!

I was so proud of my hubby for finishing a full marathon! He ran with his training/running partner Carl, and they met up with their squadron commander near the end of the race. I have pictures of Adam and Carl collapsed on the pavement afterwards, which was pretty humorous to me and Sara...We were pretty tired too though - trying to keep up in a car with two guys while they run 26.2 miles is exhausting! ; )

This last picture is of Heidi in her self-made fort under our bed. She enjoys ripping up the fabric from underneath the boxspring and climbing inside. It took me forever to find her one day because she was sleeping in there and wouldn't come when I called her. I thought it was so funny, I just had to take a picture (or 5)! I love that dog! haha.

I'm Halfway There!

2009-08-03T21:34:00.011-05:00

I figure since I haven't posted since MAY, I should probably give some kind of update on how we're doing! My pregnancy has been going really well. I found out I have a negative blood type (I know...I'm 24, and I just found that out), which means I get to have the peanut butter shot in my hiney here pretty soon...so that's exciting. I am now 20 weeks along, so I'm super excited to be halfway through! We'll find out if the baby is a boy or a girl on August 10th (this Monday!!!). Hmm...speaking of, I'll make a little poll to the right of this post, and you let me know what you think we're having! I'm pretty convinced that it's a girl, although I keep referring to the baby as a "he" without thinking. I've also been feeling the baby kicking and moving around every day, which is really cool and reassuring. Adam has felt the baby kick twice, but both times were pretty subtle. The following are my bump pictures at 15 weeks (green shirt), 18 weeks (red shirt), and 20 weeks (pink shirt).
Be sure to vote!!!

Big News

2009-05-29T16:40:00.009-05:00

Oh my goodness...I haven't written a post in forever! I apologize. A lot has happened since I wrote last, so I might as well break it down!

First of all, I turned 24 on March 30th (yes it's been that long since I've posted). The night before my birthday we had a huge blizzard, which was bad because everything was closed on my birthday, but good because Adam and I both got out of work! The first pic is of me and Heidi getting ready to play in the snow.

Here's Adam after making me my "blizzard birthday snowman." It was decorated with dog treats so Heidi could eat them when the snowman melted, but all she did was sit outside and bark at it. The treats didn't last til the end of the day.
Adam's family came into town in February, and we visited the Jewel Cave National Monument for the first time. It was a pretty neat cave full of geodes.
Other things have happened too, but I think the most exciting thing is that after 2 years of unsuccessful trying, Adam and I are having a baby! Here it is at almost 11 weeks (where I am now) waving "hello."We call it our miracle baby because we didn't think we were going to be able to get pregnant without medical assistance. However, this little one came as a big, wonderful surprise, and we're very happy!

Peer Pressure

2009-04-05T16:45:00.005-05:00

We finally gave in...although I still think I prefer our little TV (pictured in my previous blog posting). Adam's argument was, "I can't see the TV without my glasses. We need a new one." Pshh. LoL.

Our New House!

2009-04-01T18:22:00.021-05:00

Adam and I are finally all settled into our new home. To avoid a long story, I'll just say that closing on a home is NOT a fun process. However, everything is all said and done, so we're both really happy!

I forced Adam to smile while I took a picture of him signing our closing papers. You can tell he's really happy signing his name to a whole lot of debt!
Here are some pictures of our new bedroom set. The bedroom is really small, so it's a pretty tight squeeze. We won't be living in a tiny place forever though! Heidi decided to be our bed model at the last second.

The following pictures are of the living room, bathroom, 2nd bedroom/office, and kitchen:

Even Heidi is happy about the new place!

Adam and I installed the hand towel rack and the bath towel rack in the bathroom. We're pretty proud of ourselves. haha. More blogs and pictures to come, as I'm trying to get caught up on what's been going on here in blizzardville! Stay tuned...

I'm Alive!

2009-03-22T17:37:00.005-05:00

Sorry I haven't written an entry in SO long! I feel like I've been way too busy (and it takes me at least an hour to write a "good" blog entry). I thought I'd take a few minutes and let everyone know what I've been up to, in case you're interested.

Adam and I are now officially moved in to our new home! We closed on March 9th. We are really enjoying the new place, minus the fact that we don't have a yard, and we are always having to let Heidi out to do her business. How were we supposed to know she pees in the middle of the night?! Oh well. Other than that, we're really enjoying our cozy little place that is actually OURS. Hooray!

Adam has been busy training hard for the Mickelson Trail Marathon that he will be running in June. He ran 12 miles yesterday. I think I could run 2 miles (maybe) if someone was chasing me. Possibly 3 if I thought they were going to kill me. He won a 5k race that the base had last week. He's so competitive and athletic. I'm glad our kids will have influences from multiple angles - sports (Adam) and theater/music (me). Also, I'm participating in a Walk for MS (Multiple Sclerosis) event that is coming up on April 25th. If anyone is interested in participating, you can visit my personal site by clicking HERE. I'm pretty excited about it, considering I feel like I haven't been as involved in health education as I was in college. Heidi will be participating in the walk with me (she supports MS research too...lol).

Other than that, everything is going well! I'll be sure to post pictures of our new place once everything is completely set up. Which reminds me - we finally bought a bedroom set! Goodbye clear, plastic 3-drawer underwear/sock holder and cardboard box nightstands! WOO HOO!

Two Blogs In One

2009-02-04T22:37:00.020-06:00

My little puppy Heidi is now a DOG.

A STUMP FOR A TAIL
You can't buy loyalty, they say

I bought it though, the other day;

You can't buy friendship, tried and true,

Well just the same, I bought that too.

I made my bid, and on the spot

Bought love and faith and a whole job lot

Of happiness, so all in all

The purchase price was pretty small.

I bought a single trusting heart,

That gave devotion from the start.

If you think these things are not for sale,

Buy a brown-eyed puppy witha stump for a tail.
--- author unknown ---

Where did my little puppy go? Heidi turned 1 year old today, and I can't believe how much she has changed from when we first brought her home at 8 weeks old. I realize that I blog more about my dog than some people blog about their kids, but she's my baby!

To celebrate her big day, we visited the local pet stores and got Heidi some great birthday treats. And no, I didn't get her a birthday card - the card was from Petsmart, which came with a coupon for a free toy of Heidi's choice! Some of you may think I'm crazy for loving my dog as much as I do, but I know those of you with pets understand where I'm coming from!
Here is a picture that illustrates a bit of her personality. I found her napping on top of her crate, despite the fluffy bed and blanket inside. She's surprisingly rugged despite her somewhat prissy appearance, and she makes me laugh every day! Following is an older video of some of the tricks Heidi has learned over the course of her short life. Happy 1st Birthday, Heidi. You'll always be my puppy!

Rapid City Stock Show and Ranch Rodeo

The bank that I work for is one of the sponsors of the Rapid City Stock Show and Ranch Rodeo that's been going on now for a few days. Adam and I were given tickets to the rodeo finals which took place last night. All we had to do was throw Security First Bank frisbees into the crowd between two of the events. We had a really good time, and it was definitely different from what I was expecting. I guess a "ranch rodeo" is more horse riding than bull riding. One of my favorite events was the first one called "Mutton Bustin', " where kids aged 6-8 tried to hang on to a ewe for as long as possible. It was really cute:

My other favorite was the event where the teams had to saddle a wild horse and ride it around a barrel. I felt kind of bad for the horses, but it was cool to see the cowboys hanging on for dear life.

It's fun to work for a company that provides little perks.

I love free, fun times!

Growing Up

2009-02-01T21:24:00.012-06:00

I know I haven't posted in awhile, so I thought I'd update everyone on what we've been up to. Adam turned 27 on January 19th. I'm married to an old man!!! haha - Just kidding, just kidding. He's planning on running his first marathon in Deadwood this summer, so his birthday gifts consisted of running shoes and some nice running gear, including a nice sports watch. We pretty much spent his birthday relaxing all day, which he enjoyed, considering he's been really busy with work this year. He is now the new Flight Chief over Food, Fitness, and Lodging. He enjoys his job, but it definitely keeps him working. I love you Adam, and HAPPY (belated blog) BIRTHDAY!

On another note, WE BOUGHT OUR FIRST HOME!!!

In fact, the sellers of the townhouse agreed to our offer and signed the purchase agreement today! (We'll be signing it tomorrow.) We are both very excited, especially since this is our first time buying our own place. The townhouse has two bedrooms, 1 bathroom, and a 2 car garage. Here are some pictures of it (with the current owners' stuff inside - lol):

The townhouse is right down the street from where we currently live (base housing located off-base), so hopefully moving won't be too difficult. We should be closing on the house on March 6th, so I'll let everyone know when we're all moved in! I feel like we're starting to grow up! haha.

Our Christmas Story

2008-12-26T23:49:00.012-06:00

So I thought I'd post a short entry about our Christmas this year. Adam had to work for a few hours on Christmas Day, so we ended up sticking around here for the holidays. On Christmas Eve we both got off work around 1p.m., so we were able to enjoy some time together during daylight hours. That evening, we had a fun dinner and then went to see some Christmas lights (although I had to drag Adam into the car to come with me - he's not a fan of Christmas lights-observing like I am). I know he secretly enjoyed listening to me talk about what kinds of lights were my most/least favorites. Although, Heidi seemed more interested in the lights than he did. That evening, we decided to go ahead and open our gifts since Adam was going to have to work the next morning. Here's Adam with "the only thing I want for Christmas for the rest of my life:" I love the Willow Tree angels, and Adam's mom and my mom both got me one! I was very pleased indeed:One of my gifts from my dad certainly came in handy too:Christmas Day was very relaxing and enjoyable. We had some very delicious food together at the dining facility on base after Adam was done greeting the distinguished visitors that served lunch. It really was very good - I was impressed. It even made the front page of the Rapid City Journal and was covered by the news! That evening we had another yummy meal with some friends from church. All in all, we had a low-key, enjoyable holiday full of good food and good friends.

I'm so thankful that Heavenly Father sent his son to this earth so that we can return to live with Him again someday. The gifts and food are nice, but they are only reminders of how much Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have given us. I hope that we can keep the spirit of Christ in our hearts all year.

I have to end with a video of Heidi playing with one of her Christmas presents. She's so talented...

Merry Christmas!

4 Years and Counting!

2008-12-21T16:14:00.030-06:00

On December 18th, Adam and I celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary! It's hard to believe that it's been 4 years already. We did what we usually do for anniversaries, and instead of getting each other gifts, we went somewhere fun together. This year we went to Hot Springs, SD, which is about an hour south of Rapid City. Our neighbor Lani checked on Heidi for us for the two days we were gone. Thank you, Lani! We decided on Hot Springs because a few weeks ago, Adam won a $50 Shell gas card playing McDonald's Monopoly online. Come to find out, the closest Shell station was in Hot Springs! Well, my car doesn't use $50 in gas, so luckily for us, the gas card was good for anything in the convenience store too! You'd be surprised how much fun it was to go on a shopping spree at the Shell gas station. haha. That's where we ended up eating lunch once we arrived in Hot Springs last Thursday. Here is a picture of us with some of our goods: We took a little tour of the town (very little tour - considering it's a very little town) after relaxing at the hotel for a little bit. It was really cool to see the naturally warm water flowing through Hot Springs (although it was very cold outside!).

That evening we went to Evan's Plunge, an indoor waterpark made from a natural Hot Spring. The water is always 87 degrees, and the bottom of the pool is covered in smooth stones. It was a pretty cool place. They have an outdoor area too, but it was closed (for obvious reasons).

My favorite part of Evan's Plunge was the fast slide. It was really short, but fun. That evening we had a yummy dinner of chicken-fried steak at a local restaurant. I told the host/owner/server that it was our anniversary, to which he responded that it was he and his wife's anniversary too! He was so nice and gave us a complimentary slice of raspberry cheesecake for dessert : ) YUM! The next day we visited the Mammoth Site in town. The Mammoth Site is the world's largest mammoth research facility. It is also an active dig site for mammoth bones. Thousands of years ago, mammoths kept coming to drink from a hot spring and would fall in. Because the rock around the water was so slick, they wouldn't be able to get out of the hot spring and would die. As a result, the small area of land, which was once this hot spring, is full of mammoth remains, along with some other animal bones. I found it quite humorous that so far, all of the mammoths they have found have all been boys - mostly adolescent boys. That's all I'll say about that...

One of the advantages of being married in the winter is that it's the off-season for most touristy places, so we get to celebrate our anniversaries without the big crowds around. We even got our own private tour of the mammoth site! When we went downstairs to check out the laboratory through the glass windows, one of the workers came out and offered to show us around inside! I felt like I was behind the scenes on Reading Rainbow!

After the Mammoth Site Museum, we went to Wind Cave National Park, which was on our way home. It was pretty exciting to see a bunch of prairie dogs everywhere! I was most excited to see a wild coyote:

We toured part of the Wind Cave, which is the 4th largest mapped cave in the world. However, the tour guide told us that it is estimated that only 5% of the cave has been mapped! Here are some of my favorite pictures inside the cave, including calcite crystals, boxwork, and the temple room. And again, we got our own private tour of the cave. Woot woot!

The last picture is of the natural entrance to the cave. It's barely large enough to squeeze yourself through, so there's an elevator about 300 feet away to take you down into the cave. The cave was discovered by Native Americans who noticed that the hole had wind blowing out of it. It's interesting because the cave "breathes." Sometimes air is being sucked into the hole, and other times wind blows out of it (depending on air pressure).

We drove through the rest of the park and up through Custer State Park on our way home. In Custer State Park we came across some wild donkeys on the side of the road. There were about 8 of them! They got me in the Christmas spirit. haha.

We ended up having a very fun anniversary with some sweet, special moments shared. I love being married to my best friend!

Our Black Hills Tree

2008-11-29T23:03:00.018-06:00

One of the many perks of living in South Dakota (cough::sarcasm::cough) is that for a $10 permit, you can drive into the Black Hills National Forest and chop down your own Christmas tree! The majority of the trees are Ponderosa Pines with really long needles, but Adam and I were determined to find a Spruce tree (with short needles). The only Spruce trees we could find weren't very dense, but I guess it's all part of the experience. Adam made a psycho killer face while he was walking with the saw, so I had to capture the moment.

We also found Heidi a little tree just her size. She was a champ in her new, warm winter coat. You may think I'm silly for buying my dog a coat, but she was shivering - even with the coat! We finally decided on our tree when we realized we weren't going to find anything full and more traditional looking. I really like our forest tree though, and it's really tall! It was nice to throw it in the back of Adam's truck and not worry about it too, considering we passed quite a few people who had to tie their trees to their cars.

I was excited to decorate the tree and put up all of my other Christmas decorations today. The picture doesn't quite do my little tree justice though. It actually looks pretty nice. It smells so good too. Our Christmas tree in Florida ended up being a hybrid tree with strange needles that didn't fall off. It didn't smell good. It didn't smell at all, actually. But it's been fun to have different kinds of Christmas trees in the different places we've lived.

Later this evening, we went to the Festival of Lights parade downtown. It was okay, but I was disappointed in the lack of candy thrown from the floats. No candy whatsoever. What kind of parade doesn't involve candy-throwing? I know I'm almost 24, but I still enjoy a good piece of hard-earned parade candy. Florida parades were strange because no matter what the season or parade, you could always count on catching some Mardi Gras beads. Not just a few beads either - we're talking handfuls and handfuls of beads. I always thought it was weird, but I guess you appreciate things like that more when you leave a parade empty handed... Other than that, the parade was okay. Some of the floats were pretty nice, and we were sure to bundle up! All in all, a very Christmas-y, fun day!

My Christmas Present

2008-11-25T22:14:00.003-06:00

So my wonderful husband bought me a digital piano on Saturday as my Christmas present this year (which will probably count as my birthday present and next year's Christmas present also). I've played the piano since I was 7, but it's been hard for me to not have easy access to a piano for 5+ years. I love to play the piano (not that I always wanted to practice as a child). I'm so glad my mom told me that I could quit my lessons when I "didn't want to quit any more." Thanks for being a stickler, mom!

I must say that I've had some very spiritual experiences playing the piano, mostly when I've been playing alone. I'm so thankful for the gift of music in my life. I'm also thankful that Adam decided that it was time for me to finally have a piano when he saw me sitting in Sacrament Meeting with my sheet music, going through the notes in my head - for fun.

Adam insisted on video-taping my first notes played on my new piano, so though the song is generic and not so impressive, here it is - sideways and all:

Down the Drain

2008-11-18T22:35:00.008-06:00

So...remember when our toilet flooded? Well, they tried to fix the toilet that same night with no avail. Then when they came back to pick up the carpet fans, they tried to fix it again, with no luck. So they finally came to replace our toilet yesterday, and said they were going to break apart the old one to find out what was wrong with it. So Adam got a call today saying that we are going to have to pay $190 for our new toilet. Apparently, housing maintenance found something in the toilet that was causing all of the problems: a dog toy. Don't ask me how it got there, but Adam was able to verify that the purple, rubber horseshoe was indeed our dog's toy. I was wondering where that thing went...

Heidi's punishment was to model by the new toilet with her "I'm sorry, mommy" face. I think she's forgiven now.

Snow Day!

2008-11-06T17:40:00.007-06:00

We received word that a big snow storm was coming through starting around 5p.m. last night. Well, it snowed and snowed all night, and the wind is so bad in South Dakota, that it was quite noisy. We awoke to a couple of phone calls stating that Adam and I both had snow days today!!! Hooray! Unfortunately, we can't go anywhere because we're pretty much trapped by the snow drifts. It looks like we might be getting out soon though, thanks to our little dog and a little thing she likes to call "determination."

Heidi finally dug us free, with the help of Adam and some kind ward members (thanks Bro. Shirley and Bro. Rocknak!) The snow in front of our house is a combination of a giant bush, snow drifts, and shoveled snow. Heidi had a grand old time hopping around in it like a bunny. Oh, and Adam, I don't think we're in Florida anymore!

A Weekend of Excess

2008-10-30T09:49:00.008-05:00

So I thought I'd blog about my weekend last week, because it was just that horrible. It's overwith now, so I can semi-laugh about it. First of all, our toilet flooded the house for 4 hours on Friday while Adam and I were at work. Adam said he came home and it sounded like a thunderstorm downstairs in the unfinished part of the basement (our overflowing toilet was upstairs). The water flooded the hallway and surrounding parts of the bathroom, and leaked through the ceiling/vents into the basement below. The picture with the washer/dryer shows the part of the basement that got soaked about an hour after it happened. A lot of the water had already dried up by then. There was about an inch of water there before, and it splashed 2 feet high up onto the walls. Adam soaked up tons of water with towels, and our neighbor lent us their shopvac to suck up the rest.

Heidi was scared of the vacuum though, and we thought it was hilarious. I know...we're so mean.

Finally, housing maintenance showed up and started to dry out the floor. They had to rip up the carpet and put fans underneath in 4 different places.

They're actually putting the carpet back in place as I'm typing this, and hopefully he'll fix the toilet this time.

So...the very next day (Saturday), I went to work at the bank. After we closed the bank around noon (I love banker's hours), I got into my car to leave. However, my battery was dead. I had left my headlights on. I couldn't get a hold of Adam for 30 minutes. Thankfully, my neighbor came and gave me a ride home. Other small things happened too that made this weekend a bad one, but I guess I should focus on the good things... right?

Lover's Leap

2008-10-05T19:33:00.018-05:00

Yesterday, Adam and I decided to take a hike (literally). We have a 2008 pass to Custer State Park, so we grabbed Heidi and chose a trail once we reached the park. The lady at the entrance suggested a hike to a cliff called Lover's Leap. Legend states that two Native American lovers jumped off the cliff, lending its name. Creepy...

Heidi does this thing where she puts one paw up in the air. I assume she's in deep thought when she does it, so I thought I post a picture of it.

Not long after starting the 3 mile loop, we came across a buffalo! For those of you who are unaware, buffalo are very dangerous and unpredictable. They can run up to 30 mph too. They tend to charge at people when they feel threatened. I'm pretty sure my heart jumped out of my chest when Adam spotted it up ahead, because we were too close for comfort. It was heading in our direction down the trail we were on. I suggested that we slowly make our way up the hill off the trail so that the buffalo could come down the way it wanted to, and we could continue once the buffalo passed. Heidi decided to growl at it, which made us even more nervous. She thinks she's so tough. These pictures are of us up on the hill waiting for the buffalo to make its way down the trail. Apparently it prefers marked pathways too...

I was so nervous after our buffalo encounter that I couldn't help but jump at every sound in the woods. Plus, I read the brochure before we started, which said that mountain lions are native to the area. Trust me...I knew exactly what to do if one of THOSE things crossed my path. Adam carried some small rocks in his pocket just in case. It made ME feel better anyway...

After another buffalo encounter, we finally made it to Lover's Leap. It did not disappoint! It was REALLY high. My legs were actually shaking.

We felt like two crazy lovers up there all by ourselves. haha. Heidi felt like the queen of the mountain. Well...that was MY interpretation of her facial expressions. lol. We had to kind of rush through the rest of the loop because it was getting dark. Custer State Park is mostly made up of pine trees, but there were a few really pretty trees that had changed colors. It ended up being a very fun hike...considering we weren't trampled or mauled.

The Not-So-Badlands

2008-10-04T23:48:00.017-05:00

Last weekend, the national parks had free admission, so Adam and I decided to take advantage (because we're cheap...or as Adam would say, "frugal")! We drove an hour east to Badlands National Park. I don't think Heidi enjoyed the views quite as much as we did.

We mostly drove through the park and stopped at the pretty outlook viewpoints. There were a few short trails that were nice also.

We stayed until the sun was setting and were sure to share a romantic kiss before leaving : ).

It was very pretty, free or not!

Doggy Door

2008-09-30T20:12:00.005-05:00

I can't resist posting this video of Heidi. We bought her a doggy door from our neighbors, and it took her a little while to figure it out. She could go outside pretty well, but coming back in proved to be a challenge. She has it down to an art these days. Enjoy!

Birthdays and Spays

2008-08-26T23:43:00.007-05:00

My little darling puppy was spayed today. I feel SO bad. The vet called me before they started and said they saw 2 baby teeth that they needed to pull. Apparently small breed dogs have a hard time getting rid of their baby teeth, and if they aren't pulled, then their teeth end up being all screwed up. So I told them to go ahead and pull the teeth while she was still sedated. When I picked up the poor thing, the vet said they ended up pulling 6 baby teeth. My poor little dog! I feel worse about her teeth than I do her abdomen! She's been laying on me all day and drooling/bleeding on my shirts.

On a happier note, today is my BFF Sara's 23rd birthday!!! I wish I could be there to celebrate! In honor of our friendship, I've posted one of my favorite photos of us together:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARA!!!

1st Lieutenant!

2008-08-25T17:25:00.014-05:00

Today was Adam's official first day of work as a 1st Lieutenant. We have now been in the Air Force for 2 years! When he went to work, his coworkers had decorated his desk with 'congratulations' confetti and a balloon replica of his head as a 1 Lt. We also had a small ceremony for him at his squadron. I put together a little powerpoint presentation highlighting his Air Force career to this point, and then his commander, Maj. Bellucci, had him take the oath again. Maj. Bellucci and I then pinned on Adam's new rank! Hooray! We had homemade brownies and ice cream as refreshments. They were yummy! Special thanks to Meo for sharing her secret recipe with me!!! I'm so proud of my 1 Lt.!

Heidi Update

2008-08-23T19:35:00.010-05:00

I thought it would be fun to update everyone on how our little puppy Heidi is doing these days! She has grown so much in these last 5 months we've had her. She is now almost 7 months old, which I learned is considered the 'adolescent' stage for her breed. She is definitely a little teenager. You can see pictures/videos of her as a youngster in my April, June, and July posts. Her black fur is currently being replaced with grayish-whitish-silverish fur. She still has tan on her legs, ears, and face. The black on her face is slowly disappearing as well. We didn't think we'd like her with silver fur at first, but now I actually prefer it! She is so much bigger now than she was, even though she's still a tiny dog. She loves to stick her head out the window while we're driving and feel the wind in her face. I'm always afraid she's going to jump out the window, so Adam holds onto her harness.

She also loves to go to the frisbee golf park with us and chase after the frisbees. We're still training her to run to the frisbee without picking it up. She's pretty good most of the time. She's picking up some bad habits from other dogs though. She will bark at other dogs (as long as she's safe within a fence or vehicle). Adam said the other day he heard her outside barking, and it sounded kind of like the howl of our neighbor's beagle. She thinks she's tough until she's no longer in a safe position compared to the other dog.

She also jumps around to the window opening of the kitchen so she can see what I'm doing on the kitchen counter. I think it is adorable. We made her do it for the video, but she'll normally climb up on the couch and just sit there watching us.

She's still pretty hyper and crazy, but her biting and housebreaking have improved, and we love her to death!

Another Rapid City Tourist Attraction

2008-08-23T19:20:00.007-05:00

A few weeks ago, our neighborhood had a block party sponsored by a local church. We went for the free food and ended up winning 2 tickets to Reptile Gardens, a local tourist-y reptile zoo. The Handleys had a season pass, so we all went together. It was a lot nicer than I expected. A lot of the places around here look really cheesy, but they turn out being pretty fun.

It was an indoor/outdoor place with all sorts of reptiles and pretty flowers everywhere. We had a pretty good time, except for the part when I was put in the stocks for trying to free the alligators. Then we got really weirded out when we saw a wanted sign that looked freakishly similar to Adam...

Other than that, we saw the snake show and alligator show, where they actually wrestled a real alligator! I was pretty scared for the guy doing it. At the end, they brought out a baby alligator to touch. All in all, it was a good time, and it was free!

The Great Outdoors

2008-07-16T11:42:00.014-05:00

So we went rock climbing a few weeks ago with our new friends from church, the Handleys. They are so awesome and outdoorsy like us! They have a daughter named Chloe and a son named Sage. They also have LOTS of rock climbing equipment! (which is nice, because we have very little). Emily and Ian (Handley) knew of a cool place to climb in Spearfish Canyon, so we headed out there. Adam led the first climb, after which we all top-roped it up the rock. Emily is definitely the best and most experienced climber in our group. She is so fearless and awesome! (and she plays it safe when necessary, which puts my mind at ease). Here she is climbing to the top: Their daughter Chloe is a born climber as well. Her dad belayed her as she climbed as high as she could (which was pretty high for a 6 year old!):

I'd say the reward for "most daring climber" would have to go to Ian. Once he puts his mind to climbing a certain rock, he refuses to give up. I'm more of a "do what's reasonable" person myself, but it's cool that he actually accomplishes his rock climbing goals! Here he is reaching the first bolt of a climb (without a rope! yikes!), a route the rest of us had decided to avoid, until he actually got it started:

He was pretty proud of himself... Okay, okay, we were ALL proud of him. lol.

We went rock climbing again a few weeks later in Custer State Park, which was SO pretty. The views from the tops of the rocks were gorgeous. The tallest rock we climbed that day was 30 meters...being weary of heights, I came back down seconds after I reached the top, but it still felt good to make it all the way up.

For the 4th of July, we all went camping in Custer State Park and decided to hike Harney Peak on Independence Day. Harney Peak is the highest mountain in South Dakota (7,242 ft). It's also the highest point east of the Rocky Mountains on the continent of North America, so that was pretty cool.

It was about 3.5 miles both ways. Heidi walked almost the whole way all by herself! Who would have thought that our little Yorkie was a country girl?! (I knew it all along).

We even saw a mountain goat at the top of the peak! It was Crrrazy!!!!

By the time we reached the car, Sage was pretty exhausted...lol. What a cutie!

All in all, our adventures have been great thusfar. South Dakota has a lot of neat places to see and great things to do outdoors. We're so glad we have friends now too!!! (Do I sound desperate for friends or something?...cuz I was). YAY!

Family Reunion

2008-07-10T14:56:00.014-05:00

I must apologize for the lack of blog-ness this past month! Things have been keeping me pretty busy around here (church calling, vacations, camp, etc.). I feel like I have a bajillion pictures to post, but I'll narrow this blog entry down to our recent family reunion in Utah. Adam's family met at Fish Lake in southern Utah for their reunion at the end of June. His parents and little sister Andrea drove up from Chicago to pick us up. Then we drove up through North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming to tour Yellowstone. His sister Ashley (who goes to BYU-I), met us at Yellowstone for the night. We went to church that morning then toured the park (notice we were in the process of changing when this photo was taken). We then continued on to Utah, dropping Ashley off at BYU-I on the way. We stayed with Adam's brother Austin and his wife Shirley in Provo Sunday night. We arrived at Fish Lake on Monday.

Fish Lake was very pretty and peaceful. We stayed in a large cabin with Adam's extended family, and had fun fishing from the boat that Adam's parents rented. Adam and his family caught a few fish (mine got away when I reeled in the line too tight...oops). I've decided that Adam is a born fisherman. He is so kind too. He's allowing me to include a video of his secret fish-catching technique:

I'd have to say my absolute favorite part of the trip was when we went to Goblin Valley State Park. It is unlike any place I have ever seen in my life. You drive through the desert and run into this crazy piece of land with stacked, round rock formations everywhere! We had a jolly good time exploring the place. Adam reminds me of a goblin in this video:

There was a cool cave we climbed into as well.

Adam even captured a rare creature on video:

The family reunion included Adam's grandmother (Adam's mom's mom), all of her children, and their children, and children, and so on... blah blah blah. It was pretty cool to see everyone though. Surprisingly, I had met the great majority of them already. Here is a picture of us gathered around his grandmother:

I'm still waiting for a copy of the all-inclusive family picture. All in all, the trip was a fun time for all. We drove home via scenic Colorado. More blogs and stories to come!

My Mini Vacation

2008-06-02T15:49:00.017-05:00

So Adam has been home for a total of 9 days thusfar, after being in Ohio/Florida for 6 weeks. Therefore, not only am I the happiest woman in the world at this point, but I also have the digital camera back! Hooray! So I am now able to share some trip highlights with you. I decided a few days before Adam left for Ohio, that I would join him on the drive and visit my family in West Virginia for a little bit. We brought our little pup Heidi along as well, so she could meet her extended family and friends. lol. She was a great travel companion, and slept during most of the trip. Adam thought it was funny to make strange noises that confused her. I agree -it was amusing. Here is a video of one of the rare moments she was awake:

While in WV, I stayed at my dad's house and joined the cheering section of my siblings' baseball/softball games. Here is a video of my brother Hiram sliding into 3rd base:

My dad, sister Abby, and bff Sara sat in the stands for moral support.

So I know that it may seem that I'm obsessed with my little dog Heidi, but I must say that...I am. So here are two more videos of her being the amazing little pooch that she is:

It just so happened that my visit was over Abby's 12th birthday too, so I had the honor of making her birthday cake. I'm such a homemaker!!!

I had such a good time hanging out with my best friend Sara (8 years and counting). We went on many adventures together, as illustrated below.

Eating some good food at Max and Erma's as a couples' date.Our Frostop picnic:A sunset stroll in the park:I had the honor of being with Sara when she caught her first fish EVER! woot woot!

I also got to spend some time with my mom at her place. Heidi kept peeing/pooping on the carpet, so we locked her up in the kitchen.

As a final goodbye, my dad, stepmom Hilary, Hiram, and Abby took me to lunch at Bob Evans. YUM! I kept trying to take a picture of Hiram and my dad, and this is one of the better pictures I could get:

Okay, so I actually took a picture where both of their eyes were open, but I thought this was a funny picture...sorry guys.

All in all, it was a pretty fun trip. Heidi and I flew back home to South Dakota, and she was an angel to fly with. I must say though, I'm very happy to have my hubby home. I just love being together!

April Showers Bring May... SNOW.

2008-05-01T15:55:00.004-05:00

I was teased by nice weather two days ago, and now we're supposed to get 4-6 inches of snow tomorrow. Boo, South Dakota! Boo! Anyway, I was able to visit my family and friends in West Virginia these past 2 weeks while Adam is in Services training in Ohio. I've since returned to South Dakota, but Adam won't be home until the end of May. Therefore, my day today consisted of painting my toenails, random t.v. shows, applying to random jobs I probably won't get, talking to Adam via cell phone, entertaining my puppy, and babysitting a friend's sleeping child. I thought I would enjoy being completely open to do whatever I want, but I'm kind of going crazy. Trust me, you would too.

Sorry I dont' have any photos from my trip yet. When Adam returns with the camera, there will be a palooza of picture/video fun. To come: My 10 yr old brother Hiram sliding into 3rd base during his little league baseball game, Heidi's attempt to join me on a bed that is twice as tall as she is, and fun photos from our car ride down to WV (Heidi came with us). I know you just can't wait. Oh, and Adam, if you read this, I miss you.

Our New Addition

2008-04-06T00:16:00.010-05:00

Well, we finally did it. We got a puppy. HA! You thought I was pregnant, didn't you?! I fooled you all! mua ha ha. Anyway, her name is Heidi, and she's a 9 week old yorkshire terrier (terror). She may seem cute, but don't let her looks deceive you. Okay, she really is cute...except for when she pees, poops, and bites. We're working on all of that though. She's such a fun addition to our little family of two. Plus, she'll keep me company when Adam leaves for 1 and 1/2 months next Friday. : ( Adam got her as a birthday present of sorts for me. (I say "of sorts" so I'm not stuck cleaning up all the poo myself - It's not MY dog's poo...it's OUR dog's poo...). I just realized I've said poo or poop like 7-8 times in my entire blog. What is it with my life and poop! (8-9). So yes, I'm now 23, and we happened to get a puppy around that time. haha. It's fun to watch her explore new things every day, especially outside. She loves it outdoors until another dog barks in her direction. In that case, she's OUTTA THERE! Enjoy the pics and videos!

Welcome to South Dakota!

2008-03-27T15:18:00.015-05:00

Well, we're finally all moved in and settled here in Rapid City. I guess I should catch you up on how we made it here before I go into our adventures in SD. We left two weeks ago after many tears and goodbyes. We planned our trip so that we would spend our nights at Air Force bases along the way. Our first stop was Biloxi, MS, where we each lost $2 at the Hard Rock casino...we're not THAT naughty, are we? Next we drove up to Little Rock, AR. Surprisingly, Arkansas was probably my favorite state to drive through. It was so hilly and pretty. Next we drove up to Whiteman AFB in Missouri. That place was in the middle of nowhere!!! We found a good Chinese buffet there though. Yum. Next we drove up through Iowa and into Omaha, NE for some R & R. We stopped at the Winter Quarters Temple and did a session there. It was really pretty inside and out.

We finally crossed into South Dakota.

To my horror, it smelled like horse poop all over the east half of the state. I'm not exaggerating - As soon as we crossed into SD, it smelled.

Thankfully, it doesn't smell where we are. Maybe we just got used to it. Eww. Someone come visit me and tell me if it smells. For real...I'm lonely. haha. We finally made it to Rapid City though! The town's pretty cool. It's small, but cozy.

We live about 30 minutes from Mt. Rushmore too. We decided to drive out there to check it out. It is pretty awesome. I was impressed. I was afraid we'd get there and find out that Mt. Rushmore is actually 5 feet wide or something. I wasn't disappointed though! It's huge, just like I hoped. After we admired and defaced the presidents, we decided it was time to head out.

We finally decided on a place to live. We're living in base housing, but it's actually about 20 minutes from Ellsworth AFB. It's pretty exciting because we have an actual house. Goodbye apartment living! It's a 3 bedroom, 2 bath little house that we can hardly fill up. I guess we'll just have to have a baby or something to take up more space ; ). And no, that was not an announcement of any kind. Well, that's our last 2 weeks in about 5 minutes! Enjoy!

On the Road Again!

2008-03-05T21:40:00.002-06:00

Well, Adam and I are about to pack up our computer. The movers are coming to take everything away tomorrow morning, so I won't be on for awhile. (Even though we're not officially leaving until Saturday). I'll be sure to post pictures of our journey when everything is settled again! Wish us luck : ) So long, paradise!

A Monday Bike Ride

2008-03-03T21:04:00.012-06:00

Today Adam and I decided to go for a bike ride on a 7 mile trail that we found the other day at Tarkiln State Park. The trail led to Perdido Bay.

The day started out beautifully. There was a nice cool breeze blowing, and I was feeling great! And being the health guru that I am, I wore the appropriate head gear.

However, soon we came across an obstacle. Little did we know that the trail was seeping with similar trials...

I survived dragging my bike through the brush with minor damages.

Near the end of the halfway mark, I was feeling mighty tired and I knew I needed some carbs.

Thankfully, we had a picnic lunch to enjoy once we reached the bay!

We sat and enjoyed our sandwiches and decided we had better head back since it looked like it was going to rain.

However, we made time to share a special moment together first.

THE END

State Parks

2008-03-02T15:00:00.021-06:00

Adam and I decided that since we'd be leaving Pensacola soon, we wanted to take advantage of the beautiful sights and weather before we move to the land of ice. While Adam was at work the other day, I went to the beach and just stared at the Gulf of Mexico for awhile. I feel like we're leaving paradise! However, I know South Dakota will have some awesome places to visit too. Plus, neither of us have explored the plains area very much.

We spent most of yesterday exploring the state parks that are minutes away from where we live. It's kind of sad that we hadn't visited them until now, but it was a fun day anyway.

The first one was Big Lagoon State Park. It has an observation tower that looks over the ocean. There was an old couple at the top of the tower that took a picture of us together. I wanted to be cool and carve our names into the tower like many before us had done, but I'm not very good at carving letters into wood with car keys. Oh well.

Next we went to Tarkiln State Park, which is very close to Big Lagoon. We walked on the mile long trail and were surprised by how nice it was.

A lot of the trail was made up of wooden walkways that seemed fairly new. We kept finding lizards and crazy plants to take pictures of. Adam hopped off the wooden trail a few times to get some better pictures of the wildlife. He loves taking cool pictures.

The end of the trail led to Tarkiln Bayou, which was absolutely gorgeous. We were the only ones at the park, and the bayou was surrounded by tall pine trees. It was very peaceful/romantic.

That night we had a goodbye dinner with friends from church. Overall, the day was just relaxing and enjoyable. I love hanging out with my hubby.

My New Blog

2008-02-29T10:54:00.005-06:00

So considering I'm still working on writing in my journal as much as I should, don't get your hopes up too high on reading up-to-the-minute updates on what's new with us. I know you're bummed because you love us SO MUCH, so I'll do my best!