Announcing...

Vader

A month ago my cousin Leslie put an ad up on her facebook page of an adorable English Bulldog puppy for sale. Chris and I dreamed of one day owning a bulldog, and looked all the time online and in ads for them. When I saw that my cousin was trying to sell one I immediately jumped on it. After a little bit of convincing Chris agreed to let this adorable baby boy live with us. Chris' sister Marissa met Leslie to pick up the dog and took care of him for the weekend. Early on Sunday morning Marissa drove him to the airport and gave our baby boy to a complete stranger to fly with the dog from SLC to Washington D.C. The guy was flying standby and was able to carryon the dog for free. After many many problems, including running out of food, missing flights, etc. "Vader" arrived, and we fell in love...






It took us a while to come up with the perfect name for him, and we really wanted to keep it in the Star Wars family. I wanted to name him Yoda, or General Grievous, but once we agreed on Vader, it fit. Vader has changed our lives 100%. We never thought a puppy would be so hard, and that potty training would be so tedious. He has had a slew or health problems already, and is finally on the mend. His biggest issue being a massive hernia on his belly. His doctor wants to neuter him in a few weeks but we are very reluctant to have him fixed so early. The reason behind such an early fixin' is to fix the hernia at the same time. The hernia doesn't seem to be bothering him, so we decided to keep a close eye on it for now.

Arista and Vader have a love/hate relationship. When he is content she will bite him, and when she is content he will bite her. Chewy doesn't seem to mind him very much, and I swear sits and laughs at him all day long from a distance. Vader is a huge babe magnet and gets attention everywhere he goes. He is a big love bug to everyone, but can get a wild mean hair. Kindof like the real Darth Vader. We love little Vader, and are grateful for the crazy adventures he has brought and will bring to our family.

"Oh Bother"

Me and Pooh bear have a love/hate relationship. I love Winnie The Pooh and always have. I was Winnie The Pooh for Halloween when I was little, my nickname growing up was "Quinnie The Pooh", one of my favorite movies to watch growing up featured "that silly old bear", and I still to this day know every little jingle that Pooh sings.

So, where does the hate come into play? Everytime I see the honey loving bear I am reminded of the hole in my heart, my daughter who was taken too soon. And yet, I am happy to be reminded of the 9 joyous months spent with her in my womb. Finding Winnie The Pooh decor, stuffed animals, blankets, pictures, quotes, etc.

How can such a spunky lovable bear leave such a huge impact on someones life? Not only does seeing a Pooh bear remind me of my sweet angel, his words of wisdom leave tears to my eyes every time. Yesterday I was shopping and found a beautifully framed quote from Pooh...

“Promise me you'll never forget me
because if I thought you would
I'd never leave"

It is the first time I have seen that quote, and I felt like Preslie was saying it to me. I am grateful that Chris and I decided to associate my favorite bear with my favorite angel. Although Preslie is not here with us, the smiling bear never ceases to make me forget the impact such a small baby can have on one's life.

McDonald McCall Trip 2011

Last weekend our family had it's first family vacation. My parents planned a wonderful trip up to McCall for a few days. Our first stop was a flee market, and then we headed to Route 55 Diner for lunch. It wasn't bad.







The cabin was massive! 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and lots of room. My parents had their own separate apartment that was over the garage. The beach was only a 5 minute walk away. We decided to check that out first.







That night Kyle made a huge fire and we roasted smores while my Dad told a wonderful story about making your life a heaven. We bought those giant marshmallows and they were so big they wouldn't cook all the way through. We all decided that next time we will stick with regular ones.









The next day we rented a boat. Half of us woke up early and took the boat for a spin, while the rest of us slept in and got ready.





Arista was unsure of the boat ride, and let us know it. She was adorable! All she wanted was for me to snuggle her, since it was so windy.







A few brave souls decided they would tube. Unfortunatly Mikelle and Merrick didn't last long on the tube, and were hit hard by the water. They scared the rest of us!

Mikelle before


Mikelle after




My Dad, Kyle, and Kipley were the champions and did awesome without falling into the ice water. My Dad even went twice. We were so nervous to watch him, in fear that he would fall in the water and go into shock. Luckily that wasn't the case, and he rocked that tube!





Kelsey was in charge of raising the flag, while Craig drove the boat.





Arista eventually warmed up to the boat, and had a blast.



I decided to take a stab at driving the boat. It lasted about 1 minute, it scared me way too much to go fast. I am a slow boat driver.





After a few hours boating they dropped Arista and I off, while they continued on the lake. We spent the next few hours visiting and laughing. Later that night a few of us went to Zim's Hot Springs. There were 2 pools, one was 105 degrees and the other was 98 degrees. They were so hot, after 5 minutes we were ready to go. We stayed until they closed, and then headed back to the cabin. The water felt really nice, and we are glad that we went. Especially after freezing all day on the boat.








The next day Dad, Kyle, Mikelle, Craig, and Chris went shooting while Kipley napped, and Mom, Kelsey and I chatted. The shooters found a great spot to shoot up a hill, but soon was told they couldn't shoot there. They then found another spot. I can't believe my husband shot a gun!





After everyone got back home Dad, Chris, Kipley, Merrick and I went on a hike in Ponderosa State Park. I wanted the hardest hike in the park, and it wasn't too bad. Not 5 minutes into the hike did I see a snake in the bushes. I wanted everyone to see it, so I picked up a rock and threw it into the bush. Right by the rock was another snake! Chris' worst fear is snakes, so needless to say we hiked fast.















It was a beautiful hike, and just what I wanted. After the hike Chris, Merrick, Kiple and I went to play tennis at the local high school. After a few sets my Dad played. While he was running for a ball he tripped and fell. It was the scariest thing, and we are so glad that he wasn't seriously hurt. It knocked the wind out of him good, but luckily that was all. When we arrived home there was a roaring fire, and we roasted smores for the final time, while my Mom told us a story about honesty. Perfect ending to a perfect trip. Later that night my parenst went and watched "The Great Outdoors" while we partied it up karaoke style. Unfortunatly Mikelle and Kyle had to leave that day to drive back to Meridian, since Mikelle had class the next morning. We also played Mario Party and I WON!!!











The next morning we woke up, packed and left. We took a detour drive up to Tamarack, and then stopped at Route 55 Diner for lunch. It tasted so yummy this time around. After lunch we stopped in Horseshoe Bend to fish for a while. It was very windy and freezing, so we didn't stay long enough to catch a fish. Maybe next time.









We arrived home safely after a terrific trip. We all had such a great time, and can't wait to do another family vacation someday soon! Thanks Mom and Dad!!