Todd * Jenny Lei * Savannah * Nate

2011-09-17T17:04:00.003-06:00

We Got A New Puppy!

This is Lucy and Savannah. Savannah's first day of pre-school and Lucy's first day here. Life is pretty crazy!

This is Lucy! And this is Nate with his cast (broken arm at age 2, he is starting early!).

2011-04-30T20:39:00.009-06:00

New Baby Tre

That is what Savannah has been calling him, with emphasis on the "new"! His name is Treson Alan Welch and he was born by forcing him to come via inducing! He arrived on Monday, April 25 at exactly 2:00 pm. It is actually the time Todd guessed!

He weighed in at 8 lbs 2 ozs and 20 1/2 inches long. Almost exactly what his older brother, Nate, was!

He is well received by his siblings and especially his older sister, Savannah, who loves him and loves to keep track of him!

Our contribution to the Welch family men!

This picture, taken the night before he was born, makes me realize why everyone I saw was so concerned about when I was going to have my baby!

2010-12-11T13:42:00.003-07:00

Christmas Christmas

This year Todd finally agreed to go and cut down a Christmas tree so I finally decided to throw out our fake one! So here it is... keep in mind Todd is 6'9"!

I know it's not the fancy, beautiful theme trees that some of you come up with, but really, we were never good at that kind of stuff anyway! Homegrown, homemade Christmas is a little more our style, even if we think the fancy trees are so so so pretty!

2010-11-20T21:02:00.002-07:00

The Most Requested Recipe We Have!

The great part about this recipe is the fact that it makes so much and can last in your fridge for up to 6 weeks. It makes in excess of 75 muffins! We LOVE this recipe.

Refrigerator Bran Muffins

6 c. 100% bran (Todd ONLY buys Kellogg's All Bran Original, don't try anything else!)
2 c boiling water
1 c oil
2 c sugar
4 eggs
4 c milk
5 c flour
5 t baking soda
1 t salt

Pour boiling water over bran, cover and let sit to soften. Meanwhile cream sugar and oil in VERY large bowl. Add 4 beaten eggs, milk, and softened bran. Stir it up really good. In separate bowl combine flour, soda, salt and add all at once to wet ingredients. Fill oiled muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees for around 20 mins. Serve with honey on top. YUM! First batch might take a little less time. After that, since batter has been in fridge it usually takes a little longer to cook. After first batch, refridgerate covered and you don't need to stir it ever again if you don't want.

Modifications -

Todd has been subsituting whole wheat flour in. He has gone up to 3 c whole wheat, 2 c white and he feels like the muffins were a little too dry. The rest of us didn't mind! 2 c whole wheat, 3 c white was non-noticable.

2010-11-18T20:46:00.007-07:00

Just Because the World Should Also be Able to Enjoy!
(The Fruits of Todd's Genius that is!)

So we had these waffles this morning and I really felt guilty that I had yet to share this recipe with my friends and family that are so dear to my heart! Todd initially found this recipe online but of course has made some major modifications to it and this morning at the breakfast table there was no talking, no whining, no crying... only Savannah and Nate and Jenny stuffing their mouths as fast as they could and sputtering, "More Please" every time we saw another waffle come out of the waffler maker! Todd didn't even get to try the first 5 waffles from this batch! They were soooo delicious! So here you all go, enjoy.

Whole Wheat Waffles

1.5 c whole wheat flour (Todd has tried and tested and is set on Gold Medal Whole Wheat Flour)
1.5 t baking powder
.25 t salt
.25 t cinnamon
.25 t ginger
.25 t nutmeg
.25 t all spice
.5 c oil (Todd uses Canola in all his cooking now)
2 c milk
2 eggs - separated

Combine dry ingredients. Combine milk, oil, egg yolks - stir. Add all at once to dry ingredients. Stir thoroughly until no lumps. Batter will seem quite thin. (This has proven necessary to Todd for Whole Wheat Waffles for the desired lightness.) Beat egg whites until soft peaks. Do not over beat. Fold into batter. Cook as waffle maker instructs. Best served with homemade syrup, as are all waffles! Enjoy!

Homemade Syrup

1 part white sugar

1 part brown sugar

1 part water

some Mapleline - Maple flavoring from Walmart will NOT due!

Boil.

OH - and an Update!

P.S. Nate is finally walking. At 16.5 months he finally is walking from room to room. Although the doctor kept telling us this was within the normal range, Jenny was getting quite worried about him attending Nursery and getting ran over! As is, since Jenny was called as a nursery leader Nate is going already and is one of the biggest kids in there! Of course...

2010-08-23T18:13:00.000-06:00

Breakfast Burritos - Oh Yum just thinking about them!

This is a delicious breakfast. Todd has put the brakes on it lately as he doesn't fill like it gives him enough carbs but I convinced him he wasn't going to be doing anything too physical this weekend so he made it. It was sooo good I think he might be open to making it again in the more near future! I guess I could suggest he have a couple pieces of toast the mornings we have it?!

Saute diced, salted bell peppers. While those are sauteing mix raw eggs, canned chopped green chilies, salt & pepper and add to sauted peppers. Cook until desired consistency and serve over warm tortilla. This picture doesn't show it but we usually add a sprinkle of fresh chopped cilantro on top. Don't add too much. You can also top with sour cream and salsa, but plain is definately worth a try! Definately one of the best parts of this dish is the tortilla. An extra special thanks to Whitney, we now know of the raw, uncooked tortillas you can purchase at the store and cook at home. These are so so so delicious we will most likely never go back to premade/precooked tortillas again. (Plus they are less calories than some tortillas and only like 20 calories more than others! Just an extra bonus!)

And Savannah loves them too!

2010-08-22T18:05:00.003-06:00

Al-Pesto Pasta with Grilled Bell Peppers

This is a great, quick pasta dinner. We make up a "Pesto" packet from Knorr and an "Alfredo" packet from McCormick separately. Then we mix them together and serve the sauce over our favorite whole wheat pasta and top with grilled bell peppers. We just do the normal to grill the peppers: put olive oil in a pan and salt and saute until desired tenderness. It's so fast and really yummy! We love this dish.

2010-08-20T15:08:00.008-06:00

Just Before School Starts...

We got 1 last run in before school started and took my brother's family skiing. It was a beautifully calm day and the best water we've had in a long time. His 2 oldest boys, Colton and Shaun, got up on kneeboards together and it was so much fun to see them out there. It kind of makes you realize how old everyone is getting!

Savannah loves the water and is getting less and less nervous of everything all the time. She usually gets in while we are changing skiers, etc.

Justin, their youngest boy, also got up on a kneeboard. He got up last year too, but he loved it all over again. It was pretty funny watching him plane before the boat was even going!

Nate loves the water and is very curious about everything. We had to chase him down from up the shore a few times trying to convince him to hang around where we were.

We eat lunch on the beach and usually the kids play around while we're there. This time was especially fun because they had just purchased fishing nets and there were a ton of baby fish swimming around. I love this picture as Shaun is intensely trying to catch the fish, Justin is really hoping he does, and Ashley is eating her sandwich with her heel popped knowing that if Shaun does catch a fish, he'll show her first! The fish along with the seagulls kept everyone entertained for a long while!

Savannah and her cousin, Ashley, play pretty good together, even when Savannah throws sand when she's not supposed to!

And of course everyone was wore out afterward!

2010-08-18T17:16:00.004-06:00

Kodiak Cakes...
Mmmmm, Kodiak Cakes. 100% Whole Wheat with Oat Flour, mmmmm. They are our favorite pancakes. Try some today! You can even get them on Amazon.

2010-08-16T15:24:00.003-06:00

Oh Crap!

And it begins...

2010-08-15T15:14:00.004-06:00

My Carb Corner!

This is a corner of the kitchen. We put all our bread, etc there. The other day I got a kick out of how it turned into the 'half way down the counter' corner! There is burger buns, sandwich thins, homemade bread, store bought bread, fancy bread, some veggies from the garden, avocados, red potatoes, and sweet potatoes!

2010-08-11T09:08:00.002-06:00

Oh Yum!

So what we had for dinner last night is not for the faint of heart. It is a rich, high flavor, high fat dish. Just up Todd's alley! Sorry I forgot to take a picture, I really should have with this dish. We never have side dishes with this dish as we usually eat until we're sick anyway! Usually this dish calls for chicken, but for the first time we just left the chicken out and still loved it.

Pepper Primavera (we replaced the "Chicken" with "Pepper") recipe:

Saute 4 cut red, orange, yellow bell peppers, 5-6 sliced mushrooms, 3-6 chopped green onions, 1/4 c butter, 3 mashed garlic cloves until desired tenderness. Add 3 c heavy whipping cream, 1/2-3/4 t salt and layer the surface area with dried basil. Cook over medium heat until reaches desired thickness, stirring occasionally. Serve over noodles.

So we usually eat this over Angel Hair pasta, but last night we did it over our spaghetti whole wheat noodles. Better over Angel Hair but still good over whole wheat. Enjoy!

2010-08-09T22:09:00.001-06:00

What we ate today!

Sorry no pictures. So for dinner Sunday night we had...

Meatless Spagetti with whole wheat noodles and sauted crookneck from our garden on top.
Recipe for meatless spagetti sauce:
2 T melted butter in sauce pan. Add in 1/4 c grated onion and 1/4 tsp salt. Cook over med/high heat until onions are golden brown and liquid is gone. Add 2 mashed garlic cloves and cook around 30 seconds or until fragerant. Add 1 big can of crushed tomatoes and 2 cans of stewed tomatoes undrained and 1 small can of tomate sauce and 1 T sugar. Add in 1/2 tsp or so of dried basil. Heat to low boil and reduce heat and simmer until the rest of dinner is ready?! Right before serving add in 2 T olive oil.

We also had new potatoes and peas, fresh fruit, whole wheat 9 grain bread, and Jackie's sauted squash casserole.
Receipe for sauted squash casserole:
slice up some crockneck, zucchini, onions, and mushrooms and saute until tender with seasoning salt of choice. Remove from heat and add fresh diced tomatoes and some shredded parmessan/mozzerella and replace lid until chesse is melted? That's kind of what we did!

That was our Sunday night dinner for those who care!

2010-08-08T16:47:00.001-06:00

So What Are You Guys Eating?

This is the most common question we get now so I thought I'd post a little bit about it for all you inquiring minds. I have also received a few requests for recipes or ideas on different meatless options so I thought this would be as good of a place as any to let you all know! And I will post the recipes as we consume them!

So I'll start with Saturday's menu so far: Breakfast was delicious with Honey & Wheat pancakes with pecans on the bottom and sliced bananas on top (cooked in). So what we do for this is spread out a few chopped pecans on the griddle and pour out a pancake of batter on top of them. Then place sliced bananas on top of that. Then spray the griddle with Cooking Spray where you are going to flip it as the bananas tend to stick a little. Then flip the pancake over with the bananas now cooking on the griddle. Then cook as normal. These are also very good with fresh blueberries!

Lunch was the best we'd had yet with grilled Black Bean patty burgers (Morning Star). On a grilled whole wheat bun with avocado, fresh chopped salsa (tomatoes, garlic, green onion, cilantro, lime juice, salt) grilled red pepper, grilled green onion, and a spoon full of flax seed. They were so good we didn't even add ketchup, mustard or anything else!

2010-08-07T16:32:00.009-06:00

What We Have Been Taking Pictures of!

This post isn't necessarily an update as a lot more has happened than this, but here is what we have been taking pictures of! Yes, Nater turned 1 the end of June. We did celebrate, but of course I forgot my camera! He had a little family party with his cousin that is a day younger than him and really enjoyed himself I'm sure! He is standing now and Savannah is helping in every way she can think of, including just plain encouragement!

And he is still tired from all the growing.

We went to the diesel races in Redding, CA a while ago also. My sister in law, Jana, watched the kids for us for the weekend and just the 2 of us went. It was so much fun. It took around 15 hours to get there pulling Rocky on a trailer and around 13 to get back. Redding was so so so hot. I don't think I've ever been to a place that was so hot all day long and be outside the whole time. Todd raced Rocky and it was good. He did well until Rocky wouldn't go back into 4WD, which equates to not being able to get traction off the line and having no shot at winning the race. At that point he was out. But it was a great road trip nonetheless.

Nate is also learning to walk with everyone being very much a part of the equation! Savannah and Nate are very good friends and they pretty much just follow each other around doing whatever the other one is doing. It has been so much fun to have them so close. We don't regret it a bit, in fact we wish our situation would allow to have the next 2 so close as well, but 2 years apart is where we are at from now on!

And we finally went boating for the first time this year. With the cold spring we had and then Todd trying to be an active member of the National Hot Rod Diesel Association, we just hadn't got time to go yet.

We took my sister's family and everyone had so much fun. It was easy going with some time on kneeboards, the tube, and the beach. We love Sand Hollow and are so lucky it is so close. Well 45 minutes close! Kate and Carter both got up on the kneeboards and loved it!

And the latest and greatest thing we did but only got pictures of on the way home was...The Annual Welch Family Vacation. Yeah, we just got this picture of a Dirt Devil on the way home! But it was a lot of fun in Bear Lake and Twin Falls catching up with Todd's family and doing a variety of fun activities!

2010-06-25T12:46:00.011-06:00

Strawberries or Actuallies

Yes, that's what Savannah is calling strawberries, "actuallies" is exactly what it sounds like! She is very familiar with them too as we have a good producing patch in our backyard now!

We have a good sized patch growing and Savannah is no stranger to picking them!

I made 2 batches of jam with them the other day too and it was so fun. It's the best tasting jam ever!

A few other things we've been up to:

Savannah is potting training, but we are NO good at it. Anyone have any book suggestions as we obviously can't figure this out on our own! She's fine to sit there all day, but definitely wants down when she has to go!

Nate is growing faster than Savannah. They have been in the same size diapers for most of Nater's life, but now they are in the same clothes. Even so much as the other night when Savannah puked on her PJ's she wore Nate's!

Father's Day was just the other day and we did Savannah's hair up cute w/ an adorable hat and matching dress and colored a card for her Dad. Todd is really a great Dad and it was so cute to see her give it to him and look at it together. She's a pretty lucky girl!

See what I mean about Lucky Girl! Yes, this is whipped topping that Savannah is licking from the beaters provided to her by her Dad. And in case you are wondering how she got so good at it... it's not her first time!

And finally we have a real live garden. It's so much fun. Stuff is sprouting and growing and we are looking forward to harvest! We planted corn, tomatoes, crookneck, zucchini, butternut, and potatoes! Yum Yum!

2010-06-08T21:32:00.005-06:00

This isn't the Todd I Married!

or the Todd you once knew! What is the 1 thing in this world that you would think Todd would never give up? Well there might be a few, but if you know him well, you'd know he'd never give up his burgers! Well as long as never means June 1, 2010! Yep that's right, Todd went burgerless last week. And now for the rest of the story...

It all started with CrossFit, our new workout gym. You can google it if you need more info. We started doing it, which means we started an intense workout program. With this new gym they recommended what's called the Zone diet. You can google that too if you want. They said it was the perfect diet for the workouts we were doing. So Todd got curious and my dad ordered the books for everyone to read. (My dad often does this in hopes everyone will read them and then tell him what he should do!) Todd read the first 5 pages and thought it couldn't be the truth; it couldn't be a good way to live. The problem being it accused grains as being the great evil. That we should only eat meat, vegetables, and fruit. The diet incorporates grains but feels they should be limited. This didn't sit well with Todd since he was familiar with D&C 89 which says that grains are ordained for the use of men, and didn't like idea of diet plan that thought they were so bad.

This led to much contemplation as to what he should be eating, etc. As he kept going back to the Word of Wisdom he kept thinking that there should be a Word of Wisdom diet. He joked with my mother that he should write a book on the Word of Wisdom diet plan, or at least someone should! My mom, having every type of book for every type of righteous situation, said, "Oh, I have that book! I'll let you borrow it." So Todd left with "The Word of Wisdom Food Plan. A Medical Review of Mormon Doctrine". You can google that too!

Well he read it and it highlighted out some good verses in Section 89 such as something like Grains are not only ordained for the use of Man but the Staff of Life. Indicating to Todd that not only should they be consumed but should be the main source of food. And it made him revisit all the verses that talk about when we should eat meat. It pointed out in verses 12, 13, & 15 when we actually should eat meat. Todd originally thought it just said "sparingly" which he hadn't really ever thought about. But in reading it he realized just how much it talked about it and how it didn't really mean 2-3 times a day and sometimes for snacks! The book also points out how much more often meat is mentioned in the Word of Wisdom than everything else that we know to be sinful.

The medical science presented in the book showed statistics that were very sobering to Todd. Talking about how we have cured age old diseases such as polio, measles, and small pox and now those diseases are just getting replaced by new diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. All of which are preventable through diet. The book also quoted prophets and apostles specifically speaking about abstaining from meat.

So there you have it, we are off meat, and are anxiously awaiting winter and Todd is praying for a famine! Just kidding. He is actually doing great and feeling great and eating grilled vegetables like never before and whole grains and complex carbs like previously consumed burgers and fries! He is really hoping the blessings predicated upon adherence to these principles will be realized in his life!

Savannah and I are hoping it doesn't go any further than this as this morning was the third morning in a row we have had oatmeal, and Savannah cried when she saw breakfast this morning!

2010-05-30T21:52:00.013-06:00

Wow, 1 Month Already!

I am trying to get back into this blogging thing but already 1 month has passed. I can't even believe it. One interesting point is as I was looking at everyone else's blog it seems as though I might not be the only one with this problem!

But I thought I would update on my recent trip to Alaska. A last minute an opening came to go Black Bear hunting with my dad, my brother, Jason, and a co-worker, Chris. I jumped on it and am so glad I did. We had so much fun and it was such an incomparable experience. Alaska has so much wildlife and scenery, it's really like no other place I've ever been. Although I have been to Alaska a few times before, I have never experienced it quite like this.

We went on a 50' boat and cruised the Prince William Sound looking for bears. We stayed on the boat all week unless we saw a bear and wanted to hunt it or if we were going to just go look for bears on our own.

I did get a bear. I was actually the first one. I really prefer to shoot animals that I spot as I feel like it's much more my own and I was so glad that I spotted this bear first. I really wanted to get a bear and didn't have too much of a preference on how big it was, so long as it wasn't a baby! Their hides are absolutely amazing this time of year as they are just coming out of their dens from winter. It was so thick and beautiful, I don't know if I'll even need to go bear hunting again!

We caught shrimp the whole time and had fresh shrimp everyday. They were huge and so yummy, but you'd never think you could get sick of eating shrimp, but we did!

There was so much wildlife. We saw a little bit of everything! These are Mountain goats on the hillside if you can see them! One is laying down toward the top and one is eating toward the bottom.

We rode around in a little raft when we got off the big boat. I wore a life vest every time we got in it! I was the only one, but the ocean is big and cold and I didn't want to utilize my swimming skills with all my hunting apparel on!

Some of the things we saw were more like what you'd see in a picture! I missed the family quite a bit and was very glad to get home. It was a whole week away and by the end I was starting to say things like, "I am NEVER leaving home for a full week again" and "I'm starting to wonder if this hunting thing is overrated!" Now that I've been home a while I'm back to normal though!

Jason and Chris both got bears as well. It was so fun to see and hunt so many bears. We ended up seeing almost 40 Black bears! I felt like I was in the middle of a bear factory with a few of the best hunters I know! It was a pretty jam packed trip to say the least!

We saw a lot of icebergs. It was definitely a new experience. One time we were just navigating through an iceberg field. It was spooky and a little too Titanic like! The water temperature kept dropping and is was the time I was most glad to have a captain driving the boat instead of me!

2010-05-02T15:10:00.018-06:00

What We Are Up to Now!

Yes, yes, it's been a while. As you might have guessed...we've been busy! So to avoid a potential 3 hour blog post I have decided to briefly update you in highlights of the last 8 months. Wow, I can't believe it's been that long. No wonder I forgot my blogger's account password! But all else aside, my busy season is winding down and it's May 3rd and snowing!

So starting from where we left off - we crashed the newest member of our family. We were on our way to Michigan to see Todd's brother's family. Long story short - icy roads, jack-knifed semi-truck, some skilled driving from Todd, and we're all okay. We only made it to Wyoming. We learned a lot and everyone was okay. Po took one for the team and did his job protecting the family. Grateful we have such a high-powered vehicle to tow it home with though, whew!

We went to Boise and raced.

Dane and his dad, Lonald, went too.

Savannah and I were both there and Nate was there somewhere too, but it was cold and he was little! And yes, I do think I'm getting a little wrinkly too. It was after this trip I took my own trip to the Skin Dr! Starting an SPF regimen now.

This was back when we had a manual transmission in Rocky and he had a hard time getting off the line. Luckily we don't have that problem anymore!

The truck broke on this trip (it breaks on almost every trip!), but luckily Po was able to return the favor and tow Rocky home. Soooo grateful we have 2 high powered vehicles!

Then we had Christmas. It was so much more fun than Christmases past. Savannah actually got into it. These are photos we had taken of the kids. They turned out pretty cute.

We took these at the same time, just not all in Christmas outfits!

Then another race in Phoenix. We were so proud to upgrade to a stack, automatic transmission, and nitrous for this trip. Although not everything functioned perfectly, it was another great day at the drags.

The Jensen family was there again along with the Cedar City crew- pretty much everyone we know in Cedar! The kids and I didn't make it on this trip. I had to go to Reno for a convention and sending the kids alone with Todd...well let's just say he's really not a multi-tasker!

And of course we were able to Dyno on this trip as well. Always a real crowd-pleaser!

Some fun updates on the kids. They are still so cute. Savannah is 2 and Nater is 10 mos. This is Savannah in her Easter dress with her cousins in Cedar.

Nater is huge, huge, huge, and so so so cute! He is so happy! Todd loves that his face is wider than mine. We are starting to guess when I'll be the shortest member of our family! (Yes, still working on my wrinkles!)

Nate loves Savannah, even so much he's willing to share everything with her.

Savannah loves playing with Nate too! He doesn't fit in this stroller anymore, but it sure was cute when he did!

Todd and Savannah don't always see eye to eye, but then again, not many people do with Todd. We had a couple nice days, we even thought summer might be on it's way!

And to officially catch you up. We recently went to a dyno event and have come to the conclusion that the truck is officially still a work in progess. Really we are so lucky that Todd has a hobby, or what else would we post about?!

2009-09-06T22:45:00.007-06:00

We got a new member of our family...

and we named it Po, after the panda in Kung Fu Panda. It is a Dragon Warrior in training and it's pretty big so we thought it was perfect!

We just got it about a week or so ago and we love it. We had never really driven an Excursion before so it's actually pretty lucky that we like it so much. But since we are now a diesel family and this is the only diesel SUV ever made, we pretty much didn't have a choice!

It's got nice interior and has been well taken care of. It's a 2004 and we got it from Phoenix.

It has captain chairs in back and then a full bench. It has a DVD system too and it's so roomy. Todd can sit in any chair in the whole thing pretty comfortably. So yeah, needless to say, we love it! - Oh yeah, if you are wondering why it's a Dragon Warrior in training, you can just ask Todd!

2009-08-26T16:57:00.007-06:00

Sleeping - It's a big, big deal!

Savannah just got into her very own toddler bed and is doing great! This is her first night in and when we were feeding Nate in the middle of the night Todd went in and checked on her and couldn't help but take a picture. We decided that she was probably trying to get out but got too tired and gave up!

Nate is getting pretty chunky and growing like crazy. He is so adorable with his super soft, chubby cheeks.

Savannah is learning how to pose for the camera and is getting that cheesy grin. She found one of my shirts and made Todd put it on her. He thought she looked pretty funny.

And of course, a little pink and a little blue!

2009-08-17T11:27:00.003-06:00

Oh So Sweet!

Earlier I couldn't get this picture to post, but I finally got it working! I, of course, think this picture is pretty cute! Nate is 7 weeks old now and such a chunkers. We are already starting to get concerned about our future grocery bills!

2009-08-06T16:28:00.017-06:00

A Little Update!

We had some family come down for the baby blessing and some friends show up too. It was a beautiful day of celebrating!

We feel like we have a for real family now, we have 2 kids! Beyond this could get pretty hairy!

It's hard to get over how sweet they are when they sleep, but all in white, you don't hardly have a chance!

His little tux was so fun, Thanks Grandma Carter! And the blanket was made by Jodie, my co-worker's wife. It is absolutely beautiful, I felt so lucky!

And really, could you have forgotten the star of the show?! And yes she is sporting BOTH of her parents cell phones! That girl can talk.

We have all been able to spend some 1x1 time w/ Nate now that he has been here a while.

Although this picture doesn't show it well the room is pretty much all dark. He's been more of a mamma's boy than Savannah was a mamma's girl. It's been actually kind of nice to have a soothable baby for me though!

Well 1x1 time for Savannah is very closely monitored, but she loves him and loves to point out his eyes and nose!

My sister had a baby 14 mins after midnight the day after Nate was born, so the boys are a day apart. Anyway, she bought both of them this cute Monkey onesie for our little Monkeys!

This is Nate's favorite sleeping position, even though he really doesn't get to sport it very often! (We believe in the wrap!) This as he is about to get wrapped up. We tease that he is telling Dad a new position he would like to try instead of the wrap!

And the first bath! Always a must do photo opportunity!

2009-07-14T16:05:00.004-06:00

Helping?

As Todd was picking some weeds out of our Strawberry Patch Savannah was certain that she could be of some assistance. So Todd finally scooted over and let her kneel on the pad beside him. I could not believe how cute it turned out that I just had to grab a picture. She, just like her Dad, hates kneeling on the rocks, so I think she thought the pad idea was as good as Todd does! And yes, this is July and our July jacket weather this year. It finally decided to warm up this past week and we are all grateful!

2009-07-01T20:37:00.005-06:00

Baby Nate Is Here!

It took him 3 1/2 hours and 3 pushes, but he finally made it! We scheduled for me to get induced on Monday, June 29th as my doctor's wife was scheduled for the 30th and I didn't want to have to compete with her for his time! So we went in at 4 AM got all hooked up and started at 5 and by 8:31 he was here! It was intense for a while, but it all went well. I feel great, so much better than with Savannah, and I thought I felt good with her! Things are good and he's a great eater. So much different than Savannah on that one too!

He's totally boy and we're going to make sure everyone knows that! He's got a baseball shirt a sports hat and Air Jordan socks on! We dress him similar to this everyday so far! He weighed 8 lbs 3 ozs and was 20.5 inches long. A whole pound heavier and an inch and 1/2 longer than Savannah. Guess that's a boy for you!

One thing that is so different about getting induced is that you really know when your last day of pregnancy is! So for all of you who didn't get to see me closing in on those last days, here you go. This is Sunday night about midnight! The absolute last day I was pregnant! I couldn't even believe how funny I looked. No wonder everyone was stopping me in Walmart asking when I was due!

2009-06-24T14:48:00.013-06:00

Todd Turned 30!

And we had a party! It was really fun. We had planned to have a small party with just 1 couple friend and my parents, but then I invited everyone we knew!

Since I didn't tell Todd who all I invited he was totally surprised and a really good sport about the whole thing! There was a good turnout and a ton of food.

My extremely talented artsy brother-in-law made Todd his birthday cake of a racetrack w/ cars, etc. That was pretty fun! And there were 30 sparkler candles on it! Todd asked for 30 candles specifically.

I asked a select few people that make his favorite dishes to bring them, this doesn't even show the half of it! I made a couple pies for him and the Fresh Apple lattice top turned out adorable!

We also grilled Falls Brand hot dogs (made in Twin Falls, Idaho, where Todd is from and they taste good) and had other BBQ foods that are all his favorites. My dad and his friend, Kyle, both took charge and grilled dogs for everyone. There were probably about 50 people there altogether.

I had 2 Transformer pinatas, one for the kids and one pinata for the blindfolded adults! It was fun to watch and everyone participated.

We ended up with a couple of Themes for the party. The racetrack/cars were on the cake and the flagging as decoration. The Transformer pinatas and drink cups. The presents were all mainly bakery/kitchen items. All the food was BBQ and/or his favorites even including Red KoolAid! Pretty much every detail was accounted for and at the end of the night, I was exhausted! But it was worth the next 3 days being filled with contractions! It's not every year you feel up to throwing a big surprise party and haveit all pull off! Happy 30th Todd!

A couple side notes: Todd got pretty much the whole yard done and we even have a swing hanging from one of our tree branches. It looked great. Also even though no one got a picture of Savannah and I wasn't in charge of the camera, she was there and looked about adorable as can be! Here is a glimpse of how her curls are coming along!

2009-06-04T15:11:00.010-06:00

Let the Skiing Begin!

We went waterskiing with my brother and his family the other week. It was the most perfect day at the lake ever! With 4 adults and 5 kids it was the kind of summer activity you dream about! Everyone got to do everything they wanted to and we stayed all day long!

This is Justin who is only 3 years old and his mom, Jana, and below him is Savannah. He kneeboarded and did fantastic! It is a whole new generation of skiers and flag holders!

This is Savannah and Ashley. They get along so well and it is so fun to watch them play. Savannah loves the water and Sand Hollow has a beach that is shallow for about 20-30 feet out so it is perfect!

Jason slalomed, Jana and Colton kneeboarded, Todd did other stuff and everyone had a great time!

Ashley fell asleep!

We love our boat and we love summertime and most of all we love being able to enjoy both of them at the same time!

2009-05-29T13:39:00.006-06:00

My Future's So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades!

Summer is full of shades, sprinklers, and Savannah!

2009-05-20T13:43:00.005-06:00

Summer is Here!

And we are celebrating by fishing instead of wishing!

We went fishing over to my Uncle's ranch. It was Todd's first time and he caught a great fish. It was Savannah's first time in the kid pack and loved it. We fished down the creek and it was the perfect temperature and so much fun.

My mom and dad went too. My mom just stayed inside and visited and of course my dad caught the majority of the fish. It makes sense as he has been fishing there since he was 5!

2009-05-18T20:01:00.005-06:00

We Went Turkey Hunting!

In the infamous Kaibab Forest in Arizona. We do this pretty much every year and this year was no exception. It wasn't Savannah's first time, but unfortunately we didn't take pictures of her with a turkey last year! It was a great experience. We rented a camptrailer so we could have a place to nap Savannah and we wouldn't have to sleep outside in a tent when it got below freezing! It worked out perfectly and wasn't too expensive at all. We are all up for camping this summer now!

My brother and his family, my sister and her family, and my parents all went. It was pretty fun with so many kids and so much dirt!

The only 2 granddaughters that went are the 2 wearing the adorable stocking hats! We thought it only fitting for them. They are 10 months apart and really starting to like each other!

Everyone enjoyed riding around on the Ranger with Grandma and Grandpa multiple times a day! Since it has seatbelts we strapped Savannah's carseat in and she loved it. It was her first real experience where she had a definite opinion about how much she wanted to be outside!

I did get a turkey, and although you might not be able to tell, he is huge! These are his spurs, which is one way of telling how old a turkey is.

We didn't want Nater to miss out on any pics so he got to pose with Mom and her turkey too! He'll be here next month and we are getting pretty excited to meet him!

2009-05-18T19:52:00.003-06:00

Valentine's Day in May?

No, no, no, but I did get Todd a Valentine's Day gift in February- I just forgot to post it! So here it is. They are personalized M&Ms that said things like, "T+J 4vr" and "Lv U til the End" which is from that cute, cute song on that just okay movie! And "Miss U Evryday" and "Hello my Lover" which is a quote from Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves! So there you go, a little bit of personal on a public blog! What is fun is that I told my brother-in-law, who is the only guy I knew that would appreciate such a fun gift and he gave it to his wife (my sister)! So that gave me the validation that I did a good job!

2009-04-26T13:56:00.010-06:00

Oh Sweet Pea!

So yeah, I grew Sweet Peas in my kitchen window. I bought these seeds years ago when a girlfriend I had helped me pick out some really cute flowers for a front flowerbed I had. I kept them, having never planted them, and decided last fall to plant a few "Sweet Peas" to see what the flower would look like. Well after what seemed like forever we finally got a purple, adorable flower. It was very exciting and very cute. Then after a little while longer - who knew - they turned into peas! I never put 2 and 2 together. I always figured there was just an adorable flower out there named "Sweet Pea!" But pretty fun to have some veggies in my kitchen window!

We haven't tried one yet, but this next group we certainly will!

And it just wouldn't be a post from the Welch's without the most aborable member of the family being spotlighted?

Baby really likes Kitty, and Kitty really likes baby! Well "really" might be a stretch on Kitty's part! But she does let Savannah pet her and lay her head on her, which is shockingly sweet! (And yes for all you super, duper housekeepers out there, this is our bed! We NEVER make it! In life, some things just have to be let go.)

2009-04-19T12:08:00.018-06:00

Whew! A Month Already?!

Well it's been a whole month since our last post, but it doesn't feel like that long! We've been pretty busy, as this is pretty much the busiest month of the year at Jenny's work. So although some has gone on, not a ton! But here are a few pics to keep everyone updated! Oh - I am still due June 30th, so here pretty quick we'll be down to just 2 months left! (I was told as a pregnant lady I could always round up!)

This is actually a while ago, I just haven't put it up. It's fun to watch her try!

We celebrated Easter and Todd's sister's baby blessing on the same day in Twin/Burley. Savannah had such an adorable dress that Jenny's mom bought her. It was a nice weekend.

Savannah collected eggs that were just laying on the ground! She shook some, put some in the basket, and didn't even see some!

Logan is always trying to figure out what he should do to make her laugh! It's pretty funny to see some of the stuff he comes up with.

Todd recently got some exceptional recipes from his mom. This one, Orange Rolls, is so good and beautiful he just couldn't help but take a photo! I guess it's some kind of family tradition! But they really are delicious!

And this is what Savannah does with her newest friend. Todd took a big mirror off the wall and put it down for her to play with. And she plays with it every day!

And this is what Todd does for the business. He runs credit cards. He's got quite the setup. He listens to music and kicks back and does it for a couple hours while Savannah is sleeping. It's pretty much the only way we get paid from our clients and we do it multiple times a year, so without going into a ton of detail, he saves me hours and hours of work! And as it turns out he's pretty darn good at it. Making sure we get money in the account is huge and Todd has a real interest in making that happen!

2009-03-21T12:07:00.013-06:00

We Went to Phoenix!

And it was all about Todd! (In case you wanted to know, we went a while ago, but better late than never I suppose.)

We drove down. (In case you were unaware, Savannah likes to lick/suck on her blanket.)

We stayed in a hotel. (In case you were wondering, it was Savannah's first time.)

Todd dynoed his truck, Rocky. (In case you aren't up on power terms, that means he measured how much horsepower and torque.)

Rocky had a little more HP than even Todd had expected! (In case you didn't realize that is excellent news.)

We drove home. (In case you don't have a map, it's up through Arizona and around some of the most incredible country in America.)

It took 8 hours. (In case you hadn't done the math, I am 6 months pregnant.)

We got 20+ miles/gallon. (In case you haven't been a part of the tracking of miles/gallon, that's excellent.)

And now we're home and back at work! (In case you aren't familiar with my office, this is it at about 10:30 pm. Savannah falls asleep here about 3-4 times/week.)

I filmed the actual dynoing for those of you who haven't ever seen one before, here you go.

And here is the back/side view for those who would like to just see the black smoke!

And for those techy guys out there here is the graph, for more information please contact Todd.

2009-03-01T18:42:00.009-07:00

Happy Birthday Savannah!

Savannah had a birthday the other day. She turned 1 and we can hardly believe it. It seems like that year went by pretty stinking fast! She has been so much more fun than we would have ever imagined!
We had a small party on Sunday with her cousins and grandparents that live here in Cedar City. All the kids were excited about cupcakes and presents no matter whose birthday it was! She looks pretty tired because she is. Like I said it was on Sunday and Sundays aren't ever really good schedule days!

We totally let her devour her cupcake and it was the sweetest thing she has had up to this point in her life!

Her Grandma and Grandpa Welch also sent her some adorable gifts that she loved and a card that she held onto all night!

2009-02-14T09:00:00.001-07:00

It's a Boy!

Yes, Todd and I just got our ultrasound done and it's pretty positive that it's a boy! We got some great pics and one adorable video of Nater sticking his hand in his mouth and taking it out! We got some good shots of his fingers and toes and he's got 5 of each! His heart has 4 chambers and watching it pump was pretty amazing. Everything else was pretty cool too, but finding out it was a Nater was awesome!

So we are so excited to have a boy, who knows, maybe next time we'll let it be a surprise!! Hmmm, seems pretty unlikely but maybe.

Here's a cute profile pic!

Here's one of him flexing for his dad! (It's actually a top view of him putting his hand to his mouth, but we know what he is really doing!)

And here is the video of him putting his hand in his mouth. Oh we think he is so cute already!

2009-01-18T20:34:00.004-07:00

The Shocking Results

Wow it is January 18th and the cookie jar is still mostly full. Todd hasn't really kept to his diet but has resisted the urge to eat the entire jar! Then I asked him if the cookies were any good and he let me know that he'd had better!

And of course what would a post from us be without a little sugar?!

2009-01-10T10:44:00.012-07:00

Wow- It's been a while!

Well Christmas, Mexico, Twin Falls, the New Year, and the start of the busy season have all happened since we posted last. So here is a little bit about what we have been doing.

We got a few Baby Einstein movies for Savannah and while Todd had to do a few things he laid her down to watch some. We couldn't stand how funny it all looked! Her just chillin there watching TV.

Christmas morning we spent at our house opening a few gifts. Savannah wasn't nearly as into it as we thought she might be, she really just wanted to point to the wrapping paper! Then we went to Twin Falls and had a little Christmas celebration with the Welch Family. And then we left Savannah with her Grandma and went with the Carter Family to Mexico!

We had a few "dress up" nights for dinner and Todd went all out with his levis and Polo shirt and a borrowed belt! The entire rest of the trip was spent in our swimming suits!

Todd got a little bored with the activities and started making up his own. Like a splash contest with all the boys in my family. It was pretty entertaining and everyone around the pool thoroughly enjoyed the entertainment.

Then we went snorkeling and that was way fun but we were too busy to take pics but then there was a "spinaker" off the end of the boat and since there was enough wind they got it out and Todd got up on it. It was a pretty cool sight!

We did a lot of laying around in the pool and as you can see a lot of people enjoyed the swim up bar and got sun burned!

It was a great trip and we are so grateful to have been able to go, but we sure missed Savannah and were definately ready to come home!

Now it's back to work, work, work. Todd brought Savannah to the office the other night and we put her to bed there so we could work late. We aren't excited about this time of year but glad we have such a good baby that we can figure it out! We'll see how it goes from here!

2008-12-15T18:15:00.003-07:00

Todd: 0 Cookies: 1

Yeah, Todd is on a diet! And he got Danish Butter Cream cookies from my work party. 300 Danish Butter Cream cookies to be exact! So yeah, since they ALL made it into the cookie jar located ever so conveniently on the kitchen counter I am counting it as Todd zero, cookies one so far! So - 300 cookies on 12/15/08 - should we take bets on how long they last? These are some of Todd's favorite cookies that consist of - from the label in order: flour, butter, sugar, and eggs! Lucky for him I don't even like these cookies, as I think is consistent with most of the population, so he doesn't have to worry about my swaying the total calorie intake! I'll keep you updated on how long they last - but as for now let's hear what you think!

2008-12-15T18:02:00.004-07:00

Merry Christmas!

Just thought we'd post a little Christmas cheer! We, of course, thought she looked absoluetly adorable. But then again what else is new?

2008-11-29T20:34:00.004-07:00

And Soon There Will Be 4!

Wow, that seems a little crazy to say out loud. A family of 4 is like a real live family! So yes, we are totally going to have 4, and we are so excited. We have been more excited about this baby than we ever were about Savannah!

ETA - which I posted this last time and still tons of you asked when I was due, so FYI - ETA means Estimated Time of Arrival.

ETA is June 30, 2009. Common questions that arise after this is known:

They will be 16 months apart.
We are hoping for a boy. (Having 2 girls 16 mos apart seems like a lot of drama!)
We will totally be excited about a girl too.
Nathan or Emily.
I am 9 weeks along.
It was TOTALLY planned.
I feel great.
Todd is so excited and has been ready for months now!
It's perfect timing for my job.

Well that's about it. No pic this time. The second time around definitely feels different than the first. I opened up "What To Expect When You're Expecting" just because I felt guilty I hadn't yet. But hardly read a word. It's actually kind of nice. Went to the Dr. Didn't have really any questions. And now we are just counting down the days. Which by the way seems like it might last forever this time! Did any of you have any of these same problems? With the second or third or fourth?

2008-11-15T15:02:00.003-07:00

Camping in the Kiabab

Recently we went on Jenny's deer hunt to Arizona in the Kiabab forest. We were in a camp trailer but it still got pretty cold at night. Since we are the kind of parents who are going to have our kids sweating instead of shivering this is how we dressed Savannah to brave the cold! We thought it looked so cute when we were done we couldn't help but take a picture. And yes, of course, these are the only pictures we took the entire time! But really, isn't she so cute! She slept soundly through the entire night everytime! We felt pretty lucky!

2008-11-12T13:24:00.004-07:00

I'm Totally Serious

Okay does anyone have any ideas for a fat-free, sugar-free, calorie-free, carb-free snack? And I don't want anymore water and I don't like the Miracle Noodles. I would appreciate any and all help in this matter. I am really counting on you guys to come through for me. Yours Truly, Jen.

2008-11-09T08:31:00.009-07:00

Long Time No Post

We have been kind of busy this past month, but haven't neglected to take some pictures. But funny thing, as we were looking through which pictures to post - we only have some of Savannah! But she is the cutest member of our family so rightfully so!

We did take some pictures of the snow we got. Early October we got a snow storm and although it wasn't like Burley's it was pretty tragic! Most all our flowers were still in full bloom and most got frozen. We ran outside and saved these few red roses. It hasn't snowed since but it was a rude awakening for winter.

You might remember that we posted a picture of our kitty and Savannah when she was much younger - like months younger! Well here is an update. They are still good friends and Kitty is doing pretty good letting Savannah pat her!

Then of course there was Halloween. Lucky for us Todd's brother, Robb, and his wife, Amanda, were nice enough to send Savannah a cute costume to wear. The backup we had was a horse and Todd was not into his little princess being a horse! So we went to our friend's "Trunk or Treat" and took some pics of Savannah.

We then went back to our friend's house and took some more pics. Their little girl was Snow White and their little boy was a puppy. It was perfect as he is crawling like crazy and looked so cute running around!

She is also getting pretty good at clapping. Who knew having a baby could be so fun?!

Savannah also got her first Halloween card from her Grandma Welch. She loved looking at it and eating it!

2008-10-02T20:53:00.009-06:00

We finally went Watersking again!

We went with a girlfriend from high school and her family. It was the best day of sking we have had in years. It was warm but not hot and not windy and there was only 1 fishing boat and 1 other boat that randomly skied. We did the normal kneeboarding, slaloming, and tubing but we also wakeboarded on a our new wakeboard Jenny got at a yard sale for $5 and it's awesome.

I couldn't help but take this pic of Savannah sucking her thumb. She actually just started a couple weeks ago. I don't think I will think it is as cute when she is doing it at 2 yrs old, but for now it is adorable!

Savannah has her own spot that she loves. She sleeps there everytime and it works out perfectly!

This time she got so tired she started falling asleep between my feet as I was sitting on the back of the drivers chair driving and not realizing how tired she was!

We couldn't help but post this pic as she looks like she really means business!

She loved the sand! And this is why we love SandHollow. The beach is really unbeatable for Utah!

Just in case you forgot what Todd looks like and what a hunk I married, here you go!

We really have to Thank Amanda for taking so many great photos. We never take this many but always want to! And for Judd and Amanda for taking their family with us. We know it isn't always easy but it was so much fun!

2008-10-02T20:38:00.004-06:00

Updates of Savannah -

As she is so cute! She is currently 7 months old and so much stinking fun. She has started teething but we didn't know it until we saw 2 cute little front bottom teeth. They are so surprisingly cute. She looks adorable with them! This (just in case you didn't get it) is Todd playing the guitar to her. She absolutely loves it. She used to just watch, but now she participates! She is getting quite good, very comparable to Jenny actually! She sometimes stares at the guitars when Todd is holding her until realizes it and grabs one and starts playing for her.

2008-10-02T19:51:00.005-06:00

We Went to Michigan...

and we didn't take any pictures while we were there! We drove and that was fun. We put the camper shell on the back of our truck and Todd made a platform to put our guest queen bed on and we stored all of our stuff underneath it and we slept on it at night and Todd slept back there while I drove sometimes too. We both took our shotguns and slept with them right next to us. (Last year in Cedar there was an incident in our Walmart parking lot and the shotgun won so we figured it was a good idea!) The whole thing was really quite the experience. Savannah did so well and we stopped at rest areas and ate the food we brought in our cooler, played on blankets and visited and it was such a great trip.

A few fun facts: Top speed was 121 mph, Low speed 30 mph on the freeway! Best Tank was 19.82 mpg. Most expensive gas was $4.29/gal and we paid that 4 times! Cheapest gas was $3.90/gal and that was in our own hometown of Cedar City, Utah. (We liked that actually!) Total miles traveled 3768 taking 3 days to get there and 2 days to get home. Our total trip was 9 days and including food was cheaper than it would have been had we flown! (Remember we didn't get a hotel room!) We think there is a good chance we will drive out there for years to come. It was very fun! Our favorite state out of Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Indiana, and Michigan was Iowa with western Colorado and eastern Utah close seconds only because we are more familiar with them.

They are actually pretty fantastic!

We experienced a real live mid-western hail storm with 1/4" hailstones. It was so loud slamming against our truck going 35 mph we thought it would be dented for sure and Savannah slept through the whole thing, well we think she did as we couldn't hear her! The best part about that stretch of road was it was one of the few times I was driving and we were both pretty scared about that! Out of all the vehicles on the road we were the only ones stupid enough not to pull off! We were the only ones coming or going for miles. It all turned out fine though!

We saw 2 vipers and neither one wanted to race! (sissys) We experienced our first Toll road and Todd completely missed it. Meaning he went through the I-Pass lane because the other lanes were all stopping and he didn't want to stop! I had to explain what happened to him and why we should have stopped and had to go online and pay our toll!

Todd only let Savannah drive once, but she really loved it! She thinks she is going to be a natural! I couldn't believe how it seriously looked like she posed for this pic!

Michigan was too stinking fun to take pictures! We went to a ball game, made homemade jam, ripped down a fence and built a new fence, played on the lake, had excellent food(as always) and Robb and Todd dominated "Fantastic Contraption" (for more info google fantastic contraption. Warning: be prepared to loose track of half your day!) It was excellent to visit Todd's brother, Robb and his wife Amanda and their little family. They just had a new baby and it was so fun for Savannah to get to see her cousins. They are pretty close in age and Amanda got some really cute pics of them holding hands! We love our annual Michigan and the chance to see and visit them.

2008-09-04T22:28:00.007-06:00

The Littlest WaterSkiers!

Recently we took my brother's family (without him) waterskiing and it was, of course, a blast! But the funnest part of the whole thing was that my 7 year old and my 6 year old nephews both got up on kneeboards! They loved it and it was so fun to watch them. It added a whole new element to the day! Above is the 6 year old, Shawn, and me.

This is Colton the 7 year old and his mom Jana. They had a blast spraying eachother!

This is Ashley, although she didn't get to ski she loved the trip as well!

And of course Todd, who always loves a trip to the lake! Megan, my coworker, also came as she wanted to come with us to the lake but didn't want to be forced to have fun, so coming with Jason's family was perfect for her!

And this was awesome as I had just started recording and then Jana decided to do a 360!

2008-08-21T14:51:00.006-06:00

Pics

Todd recently repremanded me for using our blog as a funny read instead of a journal of our lives. So here is a little bit of what I am "supposed to be doing!"

If you blow this pic up you can see the new "duck face" that Savannah has started sporting! It is so funny to see.

Savannah is 6 months old now, and as such is getting quite the opinion on what she wants to be doing. Reading to her is getting to be quite interesting as she wants to look at what SHEwants to look at!

2008-08-20T17:06:00.006-06:00

Satire

Satire is often strictly defined as a literary genre or form; although, in practice, it is also found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, human or individual vices, follies, abuses, or shortcomings are held up to censure by means of ridicule, derision, burlesque, irony, or other methods, ideally with the intent to bring about improvement. Although satire is usually meant to be funny, the purpose of satire is not primarily humor in itself so much as an attack on something of which the author strongly disapproves, using the weapon of wit.

Wit is a form of intellectual humour. A wit (person) is someone skilled in making witty remarks.

http://www.seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com/

It took me a while to decide whether or not I liked this blog. At first I must say I couldn't decide if someone was being too rude or too harsh and meant to hurt feelings or was just being funny. Well I have decided - I think it's pretty stinking funny. After taking way too much time over the past week I have read every post and every comment and have laughed at some of the very familiar words, expressions, etc. So I have decided to share it with the 3 total people that read my blog!

http://www.seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com/

And here is a little background so you can be blessed from my efforts of reading the entire thing to try to understand some of the things she was talking about:

TAMN is the girl who's blog it is - stands for Tiffany/Amber/Megan/Nicole

JJWT is her perfect husband - stands for Jordan/Jason/Wes/Taylor

DTD is her OB - stands for Down There Doc http://seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com/2008/07/down-there-doc.html

Fro-Yos - stands for Frozen Yogurt http://seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com/2008/07/yummy-in-my-tummy.html

Yvette is her still single friend - very sad http://seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com/2008/06/gno.html and how to help her - http://seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com/2008/08/to-my-searching-sisterz.html

Nice Degree! is a joke meaning that no guy is going to want a wife with a degree - have you ever heard a guy shout "Nice Degree" - also found at http://seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com/2008/08/to-my-searching-sisterz.html

GNO - Although you might already know - Girl's Night Out http://seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com/2008/06/gno.html

Her Wedding was really quite funny, but the comments where the best on this one! http://seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com/2008/07/happy-anniversary-to-me-well-us-but.html

And Just in case you want to get to know about all the blogs she making fun of - http://seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com/2008/06/love.html

So now I hope that you can enjoy yourself a little and laugh at this "a little too close to home" blog! As now I am addicted - Have a great day!

2008-07-22T14:52:00.000-06:00

Heck Yes I Am!

You Are Belle!

Intelligent and kind. Your beauty goes much further than your apperance. Also, you make judgements of people based on their personality and not their looks. Attaining all the knowledge that you can is one of your major goals in life, but you are also a person who can make things happen.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

2008-07-22T14:39:00.003-06:00

A Few Words...

I'd like to say a few words about our lives. Our yard looks great, our kid is cute, and our summer is slipping by without enough waterskiing. Thanks for coming, drive safe.

2008-07-11T13:11:00.010-06:00

A Few Quick Updates!

Todd finished up the backyard and we did hydroseed as we have had really good luck with it in years past. This is our new lawn a week and a half old! It now looks even better at 3 weeks old. I'll post pics of that soon hopefully.

We recently went waterskiing with the Smith's. It was really fun as their little girl had just finished swim lessons and loved the lake! Jackie and I kneeboarded together and the guys had kneeboarding wars!

We also took Savannah on her first road trip to Twin Falls over the 4th of July. She did great and was so smiley the whole time! It was sure fun.

Todd is also teaching Savannah to play the guitar and she is doing just great! She's such a fast learner!!

2008-06-24T18:16:00.011-06:00

Oh the Fun!

Todd's sister's family, the Malmstroms, came to visit a couple weekends ago and we did 2 of the best things each family does! Of course, boating and tree trimming. Friday was at the lake and Saturday was outside in the yard! Candace and Jenny took Maren and Sam yard saleing while the "older boys" stayed and cut down a tree and trimmed 3. Although Jenny was skeptical it would ALL get done in a day, they had the first tree down and 1 more trimmed by lunch and everything done by dinner, it was amazing!

Everyone took turns loving Savannah. Maren was excellent and making sure she was well taken care of the whole morning while Candace and Jenny fervently shopped!

It was really fun watching all the kids interact with Savannah. Maren couldn't get enough! Even in this picture you can see her looking down at Savannah while she knows she should be smiling at the camera!

We ate lunch on the beach.

And the kids played in the sand.

And Savannah got her first feel of lake water with her little jellies!

The water was shallow for a long ways and the kids loved going out into the lake so far.

Todd was such a good sport and didn't do his normal water activities because of how busy of a day it was with all the other boats and waves, etc.(meaning he didn't make me drive the boat, it scares me with so much stuff going on) So he finally jumped in while we were taking a break and played. The water was so nice!

The lake was beautiful. Not such great water, but the kids all loved the sand and the tube! Everyone got in the lake a time or two and drying out was quick and painless! The pictures of our trees aren't as handy at this moment, but I will post a few before and afters. We are so lucky to have someone in the family as knowledgable and proficent at trees as Mark and so willing to come down and help. Thanks guys!

2008-06-12T17:08:00.003-06:00

The Cutest Baby Ever- First Place Winner!

I finally got some pictures taken of Savannah. (Professional pics that is!) And they are absolutely adorable! To see them go to http://www.fireflypics.com/ and go to clients and our password is Welch and hit submit! Oh they are so so cute!

2008-06-03T19:21:00.012-06:00

WaterSki Season...

...is finally here! We recently went with my sister, Amy's family. It was a blast! Savannah did exceptionally well and we were able to remember why we love having a boat! I almost hate to post this picture. It isn't the best one Savannah has ever taken! She really is much cuter than this in normal everyday life!

Carter finally got to hold the flag, as he has been wanting to for years!

Jenny and Amy kneeboarded, as usual!

Tyler, Amy's youngest, rode the tube.

Carter, Amy's oldest, rode the tube.

But out of everyone, Kate, Amy's middle, loved the trip the best!

This is after Tyler accidentally got dunked! He didn't really appreciate it and wouldn't even look at his dad for awhile!

The trip tuckered Savannah out pretty good. We love this spot for her and she will probaly ride here most of the summer.

And I still hold that I can't believe how sweet she looks when she sleeps, even if it is with a life jacket wrapped around her entire body!

2008-05-23T15:08:00.009-06:00

A Few Pics

I just thought I would post again. And yes, they are more pics of our favorite little sweetheart!

When I am home and have a little time I love to let her lay on my chest and somtimes fall asleep.

This time I was a little tired myself!

Todd also loves this! Who doesn't really?!

One thing we have also loved is how much Savannah likes to be read to. It doesn't really matter the material, just so long as it has pages and pictures and you are talking!

This is even "First" my mom and I's and now Savannah's favorite magazine! Well she is 3 months old and doing great. She is smiling, gabbing up a storm, rolling over, standing up, and keeping us very entertained!

2008-05-09T16:41:00.007-06:00

Baby Blessing

We had Savannah's baby blessing this past weekend. And we are just now recovering from it! We were so fortunate to have family come down and get together.

This is our first family photo! Looks pretty nice if I don't say so myself!

The boys went for a bike ride on Friday while the girls shopped. Saturday the boys worked in the yard and helped put in flowers and rocks. Thanks guys!

Savannah looked pretty cute as she usually does! I know the dress kind of looks small - but it really wasn't - the fluff was just perfect! She was so good - Todd said she was just looking up at him the whole time! It was a great weekend full of family and fun!

2008-04-28T18:13:00.008-06:00

To Church!

So we finally made it back to church. And just after 2 months! We tried to go last week but I got deathly sick and we ended up trying to figure out whether or not I had mastitis. (frowney face) But we did make it this week and Savannah has the cutest dress ever. Then after church I had to snap a few shots and then she decided to be smiley so a few turned into 20 and I seriously can't decide which ones are cuter! So here are a few!

She was being so fun and smiley - it was so fun!

As you can see her Dad was next to her trying to get her to smile and she totally does for him!

So I can't stop staring at them. I think she is so cute! She is getting to that fun stage when she smiles all the time!

2008-04-17T20:08:00.007-06:00

And She's Off!

Savannah is getting much stronger everyday. Todd works with her pretty regularly and if any of you have ever seen Todd work with someone you know they are going to get results! So she holds her head all by herself and can now hold herself upright, but can't balance! We tell her every time how strong she is!

We got these slippers and Savannah loves them (well maybe her mom loves them) but they are so cute. So we started putting them on her at night and she looks so cute!

This is her just chilling after having a full belly!

I think they are cute enough for their own picture so I thought I'd share! I should have put something by them so you could see how small they are but here's about - if you are a girl they are probably as long as your index finger. If you are a guy they are probably about as long as your wife's index finger!

2008-04-09T18:11:00.005-06:00

So How Is Todd Doing With All the Pink - You Ask?

This is a question that has been coming up a lot lately, and I thought I might share a little - He can't get enough of her! He is hands on as I had to return to work rather quickly due to Savannah being born smack dab in the middle of my busy season. He is all over it and doing excellent. He often has to pick out her outfits and with a little bit of teaching about pink he has done a bang up job! He likes to rock her a little bit, but also takes a lot of pride in the fact that she can put herself to sleep no problem!

This is Savannah at Jenny's work. Every evening Todd drops her off to go workout and I feed her and we hang out. For weeks it was her "fussy time" and I never got any work done. Then one night when my mom was here I decided to try the swing thing. It was the best evening we had ever had and she goes there everyday! We love it! A special "Thanks" goes out to Todd's mom, Jackie, for the great gift!

Over Easter weekend we did our first "Outdoor Activity" with Savannah Jane! It was excellent as it was also the first outdoor activity I had been able to do either. We bundled up and went for a cruise. Savannah loved it and we can already tell she's going to be an outdoors woman! She slept the whole time! But we could tell!

2008-03-27T19:36:00.005-06:00

Happy Easter!

Savannah got an Easter basket from her Grandmother and she was so excited!

She also got an Easter dress and it was so stinking cute! She is 5 weeks old and doing great!

2008-03-15T01:19:00.007-06:00

Who Does She Look Like?

There have been 2 different opinions on the subject of who Savannah looks like. Some say Todd others say Jenny! Let us know what you think!

Oh and we just thought we'd let you all know that Kitty and Savannah are totally friends!

2008-03-06T18:23:00.005-07:00

They're So Sweet When They Sleep!

A comment most recently made by my brother-in-law. They can be crying and yelling and once they sleep, they got ya! So this is mostly how she sleeps! Two different days - same outfit - same sleeping position! She loves it! We think it's pretty cute!

So before I had a child I always wondered why parents only post pics of their kids. Why don't they post more pics of themselves? I've decided it's pretty much cause we aren't nearly as cute as them!

Her daddy loves bathing her and she loves getting a bath!

2008-03-01T20:55:00.003-07:00

Already a Genius!

She's only a week old and already pretty much a genius! Todd does a lot with her during her waketime and watching him read to her was pretty cute!

2008-02-27T17:49:00.008-07:00

She's Arrived!!

And we can hardly keep our hands off her! She is so cute! She is a girl and her name is Savannah Jane. She weighed 7 lbs 2 oz and was 20". As you can see she was excited to stretch and often does that kind of stuff with her arms and legs! (No wonder my ribs hurt so bad!) I had a great delivery with some serious pain in the beginning and not much pain at all at the end! (Thank you modern medicine!) Todd and I are completely in love with her and if any of you talked to us before she was born you may have gotten the impression we were worried about it - well we were. But rest assured we are so glad to have her and just can't get enough of her!

Todd loves to have skin-to-skin bonding time with her and she loves it too! It's pretty funny to see him so goo-goo over her, but totally perfect at the same time!

She pouts her lips a lot and does some pretty fun facial expressions and loves pink! We are pretty busy getting used to her but Jenny's mom helped at the hospital and stayed a few nights and Todd's mom came down to visit and help and is staying for a week. Man - we feel pretty lucky and blessed!

So everything is good - Baby, Mom, and Dad are all doing well!

2008-01-18T17:39:00.000-07:00

Long Time No See

So yes, it has been... well a long time since we have posted any pics or any news! Christmas was busy as I am sure it was for all of you too! We left to be with Todd's family on the 18th and went to Logan for a few days for his little sister's wedding. We then drove through a crazy snow/wind storm to Twin and stayed there until we got home at 9pm on the 26th. We got home and Jenny's work was in need a little so Jenny worked for a while and we left for Mexico at 2am on the 28th. We were there until we got back at 2am January 2nd and Jenny has been working 14 hour days ever since. So needless to say blogging took a back seat for a while, but life is looking up and we are starting to catch back up! Here are a few highlights from our madness-Hope you enjoy!

All the Welch girls had a short seminar on the Art of Womanhood and then went and got pedicures! It was pretty nice and everyone got great toes for the snowstorms!

The boys all got to do woodshop and made birdhouses or a stool for their garages! They loved it!

Now on to Mexico!

I just have to admit, they were by far the best looking boogieboards on the beach!

The boys spent a lot of time in the ocean boogieboarding. Todd loved it and my sister, Amy, even joined in in my behalf! She is usually the beach babe and I am usually out there the whole time, but the whole being on my belly thing isn't such an option anymore!

Todd and John also tried their luck on riding the waves on a kayak! It was pretty funny watching them, but they loved it too!

But while the boys played hard the girls held down the fort on the beach sipping Banana Mamas! We love those drinks! We were also visited quite often my the people selling stuff and we all took advantage of the "Mall" coming to us!

And while it is very, very hard for my to post this picture I thought I would share with all of you just how absolutely pregnant I am! Hope you enjoy!

We really had a fun time and the beach and weather was nothing short of fabulous! The hotel was great and this picture was on New Year's Eve night. They put on quite the performance and entertainment! Luckily for me Todd is usually as tired as I am and we didn't have to stay up for the countdown!

2007-12-06T20:15:00.000-07:00

The Finishing of the Garage!

We have finally finished the garage and the gravel driveway back to it! It is just in time and we absolutely love it! The inside is spectacular, but do to hidden Christmas presents we could not post that picture at this time! But it has a massive amount of shelving and tons of space! Todd also put a garage opener in our house so although it's a detached garage we can still open the door from in our house. An especially nice perk after having gone a few days without one!

While Todd had a bobcat he went ahead and fixed up the backyard a little to. He put gravel behind the garage and made up some berms in case we decide to finish the backyard this spring! Really for just dirt the place looks great!

We especially love the garage door wrapping. Although it was an accident on how it turned out, we think it really make things look cute!

I also have to apologize for not posting more on every one's site lately. Things have been pretty crazy getting everything ready for Christmas in Twin and work is really starting to get busy! Savannah is doing great and really growing quite a bit every day! It seems as though she is sleeping less to as I feel her pretty consistently!

2007-12-03T20:04:00.000-07:00

Thanksgiving at The Carter's

This year was Thanksgiving with the Carter's, and it is tradition that we put up my parents lights sometime that weekend! This year was no exception except that this time Todd's thinking cap was on and they used the truck instead of ladders! And instead of having to go up and down the ladders the truck just moved! When I saw this I couldn't help but laugh out loud and the wives of the genius husbands all went outside to laugh and clap at our creative men! (Driving the truck is my dad, because he is too old to be so high nowadays! And in the back is Adam, JoAnn's husband, and Todd!)

2007-11-29T16:39:00.000-07:00

Family Photo With a Pregnant Belly!

Does it get any better? For Thanksgiving this year we updated our family photo. We have now officially taken a family photo with each girl in our family taking a turn at being pregnant. Meaning the first year it was Jana, then it was JoAnn, then Amy and finally now me! Everyone has gotten the experience of going through it so it's completely fair! It's just perfect, let me tell you. So I thought I would post it, even though a lot of you might not know very many people in the picture at least it gives you an update of how absolutely large I am getting. I am officially in my 7th month of pregnancy and feel surprisingly great! I feel so lucky.

As you can tell the girls in our family are largely outweighed by the boys! So Savannah is a desperately needed addition!

So for those of you who are wondering I will go from Left to Right Top to Bottom:

Sharyl (mom), Jana (Jason's wife) holding daughter Ashley, JoAnn holding son David, Amy, Me

Garth (dad) holding Jason's son Colton and Tracker, Jason holding his son Justin, Adam (JoAnn's husband), John (Amy's husband) holding Tyler, Todd

Shaun (Jason's son), Nicholas (JoAnn's son), Jacob (JoAnn's son), Wesley (JoAnn's son), Carter (Amy's son), and Kate (Amy's daughter)

2007-11-25T17:22:00.000-07:00

I Got Tagged by Multiple People.

Everyone knows the rules, if not read our previous post. (This is Todd.)

1. A fact about me that most people probably don't know is that I am a horsepower nut. I am not your average, "Hey man, fast cars are fun" kind-of-guy. I am a "Fast cars are necessary for sustained life" kind-of-guy. And the only thing about vehicles I really care about is whats under the hood. I would prefer to ride around in an ugly piece of crap 1000 horsepower Dodge diesel truck, than in a new viper, corvette, Ferrari, ect. any day.

2. I am truly satisfied with my current life situation, as I hope that everyone reading this is also. I love bein me! I mean dude I am like 6' 9" and a gold medalist in arm wrestling. Really an amazing physical specimen. I love my toys, and they are to most powerful toys made, in their respective categories. Of course I am constantly wanting to make every one of them much more powerful, please refer to # 1.

3. I love to work with my hands. I really enjoy fixing and creating things. As most of you know I have been building a garage at my house lately. It has been very fun. It is very rewarding to stand back and look at what I have made.

4. Food-Love it
I really enjoy food, and I am actually quite the baker. I am partial to breads, mostly sweet breads, muffins, waffles and such. I cook breakfast every morning as I wake up absolutely starving! It is usually quite big. I eat a lot. I grew up with the most awesome breakfasts that I now refuse to settle for cold cereal!

5. I am avid waterskier. I love to get out on the lake. It's only November and I can hardly wait for next ski season. I am fairly good at slaloming, wake boarding, knee boarding and driving Lil Miss! I am hoping to get an air chair and a better wake board in the near future!

6. I have yet to list a habit which, if you refer to the rules, is part of this whole spiel. So a habit I have that drives Jenny crazy is making noises with my mouth when explaining things. This is especially true when I am explaining how I am going to put something together and then how it is going to work. It is often a click with my tongue or make another noise very similiar to that. i.e. "See it will fit in like this (click) and then work every time I do such and such (other noise)."

2007-11-14T15:31:00.000-07:00

Being Tagged

The rules of the game should be posted at the beginning of the post. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

1. I hate being pregnant and what it has done to my belly! Now... I know that Savannah will probably be worth it and all, but I still hold my stance that if Todd could take a turn I would totally let him!

2. I balance my checkbook daily. Everyday I go online to my bank's site and look at what has come through, etc. I know exactly how much money should be left in the account every month and track every expenditure. I talk with Todd about every expense that comes through each month including the utilities! We discuss beforehand each and every purchase both of us are thinking about making. And it makes me so happy! We have never fought about money, not a single aspect of it.

3. I often speed! I even got a ticket the other day, but I'm not upset. Todd and I decided that getting a ticket every once and awhile is just part of the price of driving for us, just like changing our oil. I rarely get caught so when I do I feel like I'm probably due and I gladly pay the fine! Todd got a $500 speeding ticket once on his bullet bike, but I wasn't upset. It could have just as easily been me! On the bright side of things it has also never effected our insurance premiums.

4. I am an avid Turkey hunter. For the past 17 years I have hunted 3-5 states with my dad. I've been successful a lot and unsuccessful a lot, but wouldn't trade a single day of any of it. I've taken Todd a few times and he hates every second of it. He hates getting up early, he hates hiking around in the woods, he hates sitting still, and he hates not seeing anything! When he goes he now chooses to sleep in in the morning and make breakfast in the trailer with my mom!

5. Todd and I never feel like going out to fast food at the same place, ever. Sometimes we can't agree and so we comprise and then we're both just plain sad! Sometimes we go to different places and get it to go and then eat together. He always feels like a burger and/or Denny's and I never feel like a burger or Denny's!

6. During the winter I try my hardest to fill up my gas tank when Todd is in the car. I don't even tell him that's why, I just make it look like I really need some and this is the best time to get some. If he is with me he'll get out and pump my gas for me! I hate pumping my gas in the winter when it's cold outside!

I tagged Cherstie, Cherise, Carrie and Josh, John, and Wendy but am anxiously awaiting Halee and Whitney's posts. Can't wait guys!

2007-11-12T16:42:00.000-07:00

More Info On...The Garage

Since the new garage is the most interesting part of our life right now, I will continue on with yet another post concerning the progress of it!

While Todd's dad was down here visiting and helping he gave Todd his 2 cents worth. He said "Light It Up!" and being the obedient son that Todd is, he did! There is like 128' of floresent lighting going through the place!

We also recently got the rest of our cement poured. A 25' driveway to park cars on, play b-ball, wash vehicles, and enough room for our kitty to roll around on!

Todd is also done roofing. Which is very exciting. Due to it not snowing yet and all. He is currently working on installing the garage doors and one last window, which should be done by Tuesday, and then we will start moving everything over from our storage shed! He will still have to finish the siding, but getting moved in will be so exciting! Then after siding he'll build shelves inside for all our stuff! Man we are loving this whole idea!

Oh just in case any of you have forgotten how much room our kitty needs to roll around we thought we would post a picture of how absolutely large she has gotten in her old age!

2007-11-01T17:47:00.000-06:00

The Last Trip of the Year

We went waterskiing the other day for the last trip of the year. Todd wanted to put fuel treatment in the gas and get it ran through the carborators and of course if you are going to the lake you might as well make a trip out of it! Luckily we had a warm spell where Sand Hollow was looking like it would hit 85 degrees so we grabbed a kid who we had been wanting to take all summer and ran down there for the day. It was probaly the best day of waterskiing Todd has had for a long time! There was absolutely no one else there (surprise, surprise the last week in October!) and so the water was glass!

Although the air temperature was in the 80s the water felt more like ice cubes on your toes! So pretty much he got in all the sking he wanted plus some! He got to slalom until he was worn out, wakeboard, kneeboard and drive the boat until he was pooped! It was a good trip for that. We always love to go to the lake but sometimes it's nice when Todd gets to do a little of everything! Include getting in his fair share of crashing!

The kid we took, Chris, got up on a kneeboard for the first time and the slalom ski. It was pretty fun as he was certain he wasn't going to get it and he ended up getting it pretty fast!

I also decided to get in a few runs for the last trip. I kneeboarded with the girl Chris brought and wakeboarded just a little bit. Jumping the wake on a kneeboard puts a little bit more pressure than you realize when you're not pregnant and after a few times of doing it I just decided to play it safe! It was so fun and now the boat is all winterized and ready for the cold. I explained to Todd that last year was a learning experience and this year I would not react the same way to a cracked engine! He understood and agreed and we are hoping next year we get in a full year of trips to the lake with a brand new member of the family!

2007-10-26T16:42:00.000-06:00

Another Big Hole!

In our marriage I have known Todd to dig a lot of holes and really big holes at that! I have seen him dig holes much taller than himself and holes big enough for 2-3 people to hang out in! But this hole - this was the mother of holes! Lucky for Todd he rented a mini-excavator to dig this 4' deep 50' long hole! He was burying electical wire that he ran out to our new garage. The book he has says it only needed to be 18" deep, but Todd decided 4' was better!

Here is an update on what the garage looks like. It was nighttime when I took the picture so it isn't perfect, but there will be more to come!

2007-10-23T13:27:00.001-06:00

Our Garden

We have been harvesting our garden over the past couple of weeks and have had some interesting finds! Our favorite was this ironic twist with a huge red potato and a little cute butternut squash! We had a great year with our garden this go around and it produced like crazy. We made plenty of fresh salsa, 3-4 batches of jalapeno jelly, 3 batches of relish (which the cucumbers that got lost could have easily been, and often were, mistaken for squash), had excellent fresh corn, and the kids picked all the peas they could find! Although all of this was excellent nothing really compared to the 30+ quarts of grape juice we were able to steam. Homemade grape juice like the stuff we have tastes better than liquid candy. We got both concord and white grape juice and have been spoiled rotten with it. So it has been quite fun as we have definitely had our years of scarcity!

2007-10-18T17:51:00.000-06:00

Our New Garage!

We decided that because of the slow market here we are probably going to be in this house through the winter and so we then decided we wanted a garage! So Todd is putting one in! It's pretty big, like 1150 sq ft. Dimensions are 32x36. It is going to be pretty sweet. I am getting so excited! We currently have a storage shed we rent for all of Todd's tools and bikes, etc. So having them close to home will be nice. Plus we didn't want to stack up our house full of our stuff(for showing potential buyers) so there is a lot of stuff I have been missing too! So that will be nice. We are also getting our food storage in order and having it all on shelves easy to count, organize, etc will also be so helpful!

Todd's dad came down this week and helped too. They put trusses on and sheeted the roof. Todd said it was so nice to have someone to help with that part and having Randy visit was a treat too! They got so much done and had a good time doing it too!

We also had a carport put in for our boat. We hate having a few feet of snow stack up over the winter and stretch out the boatcover. So we decided to just get a carport for it. We are really glad about it as now we don't have to worry about it weathering so much.

We also put in a front yard (well Todd did!). It really makes the place look cute. Surprisingly so we both decided. It's just a little grass and a little sprinkling system, but spruced the place right up! So yes we (Todd) has been keeping himself plenty busy trying to get it all done before winter. And fixing it up nice like this has made us second guess moving! Of course we wouldn't move until it sells, but who knows, we might decide to stay a while!

2007-10-11T15:38:00.000-06:00

Think Pink!

Well for all of you who have been thinking Pink, it worked! We are having a Savannah! It actually took a second to sink in as we were pretty certain it would be a Nater! Everyone in both our families has had a boy first and the girls are definetly out numbered, so guess it's a good thing!

I have some pretty obvious pictures that I won't show on this Family Friendly site, but it's pretty certain! This profile picture we thought was pretty sweet and we are now getting pretty excited to meet her!

The bubble above her nose on this picture is the cord.

She waved to us quite a few times and was also trying to hit with her fist. Guess that's something we'll have to work on when she gets here!

She has been extremely good at kicking lately and it was just perfect that during the ultrasound she decided to let everyone see. I am actually pretty surprised at how much she is moving. Right now it is more just a little bubbly feeling in my belly, but I am certain it will become more and more painful! In this you can see her heart, which they verified has 4 chambers! You can also see her stomach which is the black circle, and her spine! Pretty perfect if you ask us!

2007-09-20T16:52:00.000-06:00

September Already? And It's Almost Over!

Well this September has been fairly chaotic and therefore seems as though it has flown by! It all started on Labor Day Weekend when we went to Todd's sister, Candace's house for her son, Logan's baptism. We hadn't seen them in awhile and her husband, Mark was trying to finish up his shed. So we decided to stay the whole weekend with Jenny visiting with Candace and Todd helping Mark finish up their shed. It was a nice visit and nice to be back in Cache Valley during one of its most beautiful months! We also were able to visit our friends, Josh and Carrie, while we were up there. It was so nice to see them and catch up, as we used to see them a few times each weekend!! But no pics!

Following Labor Day Weekend we flew to Washington for Jenny's Grandmother's funeral. It was a nice visit and we couldn't have asked for nicer weather. The men from our family looked so good in their suits as pallbearers we decided we could probably hire them out! Todd definitely looked studly! This picture is of Jenny's entire adult family (with 2 nursing children that couldn't be left at home yet) and her mother's aunt and uncle.

We also went and saw Jenny's father's mother, Barbara in Seattle. It was Todd's first time meeting her and it was a nice visit. Her art gallery is about a block from the Public Market and in the heart of downtown Seattle.

Flying in from Washington and driving back from SLC after we arrived put us home at about midnight. Only for Jenny to get up and leave for Montana at 4 AM the next morning for a week. It was pretty tiring but a fun trip nonetheless. In Montana Jenny had tags for deer, elk, and antelope but was hunting all of them with her bow. Which in turn was an unsuccessful trip. She went with her brother, Jason, her brother-in-law, John, and a co-worker, Adam. They all had a pretty good time, but getting within bow range was pretty tricky and with 10 tags only turned up 2 animals! The country was breathtaking and Montana is definitely a place all its own! There was a few shots at a few animals like this antelope, but they were holding out for a little bigger!

Just a view from a lookout point they spotted an elk from one evening.

There is a deer in this picture feeding in this creek bed if you can find it!

While Jenny went to Montana Todd went up to Twin to visit the folks. He got to work hard and get a little spoiled as an only child! He helped his dad fix some sprinklers (which he is really good at!) and hang out with his parents. He always loves his mom's cooking and visiting with his dad, lucky for Jenny he doesn't mind coming back home!

After Montana Jenny begged Todd not to do anything the next weekend. But when Jenny's sister, Amy's family could go watersking we just couldn't say no! So on Wednesday we went to Sand Hollow with the Petersen's for some excellent water activities!

The kids loved the sand. Which is most excellent at Sand Hollow!

And begged to go again and again on the tube!

We really lucked out on this trip. The wind was bad enough that EVERYONE had gone home by the time we got there, but since all we really wanted to do was tube it was perfect.

The boat ride after the sun went down was a little more chilly, but didn't put a damper on how much fun everyone had!

We stayed until the sun went down and we couldn't have asked for a nicer trip to the lake. (Well unless your Todd, who really would have liked to get in a good slalom run!)

This is Amy's youngest, Tyler, who often gets Jenny and his mother, Amy, confused! But we took advantage of it and he smiled big for the camera! And for those of you dying to see Jenny's 17 week belly - there it is. Being a very prodominant part of Jenny's life! The next time you see her you won't be able to miss it!! Both Todd and Jenny are at record weights - very exciting!

Oh and PS our duplex did Sell and Todd is currently putting in a front lawn for us. This is kind of how he feels about it!!

For now we are recuperating and trying to catch up. Jenny is getting a cold (which is common with a month like this!) and Todd is taking care of her like usual! The last weekend in September we will go up to SLC for Jenny's sister, JoAnn's baby blessing and then October will be here! Ultrasound scheduled for Oct 10th! We'll let you know!

2007-09-06T15:27:00.000-06:00

Done With the Duplex

The duplex we bought in March in finally finished and under contract. It looks like it should close on Monday or Tuesday (10th or 11th). This is really good and we feel really blessed! The market here has been pretty slow, but we priced it low to move it fast. Here are a few pics of the finished product. The pics above are all of the upstairs apartment. We posted what it looked like a little after Todd got started. You can view those by clicking on this link http://toddandjennylei.blogspot.com/2007_04_01_archive.html. Make sure you scroll all the way down there are more pics of the roof and stuff. We are still trying to decide what to do over the next few months. Todd is doing a few projects around our current house like a front yard and stuff. It should be interesting! We are thinking about getting something to fix and rent, since the market isn't really conducive to flipping right now! We'll keep you posted.

This is the bsmt kitchen. It really turned out cute. It is already rented and it was surprisingly easy. The buyers did all the work to get it rented and everything. It was pretty nice.

This is the bsmt bathroom. It is pretty stinking cute compared to when we bought it! Totally usable and not so nasty with the beadboard and everything! You have to walk through the shower to get to the toilet, but nothing cheap rent can't fix!

This was by far the most interesting part of the house. An old coal furnace that everything is still ran through! It just don't see these everyday! The duplex has gas and is getting central air, but they just still use the old ducts, etc.

2007-08-27T19:26:00.000-06:00

Waterskiing with our Mechanic

This is our diesel mechanic and well yes, Todd has become quite good friends with him. So much so that we have gone waterskiing with them twice. Turns out he has waterskied a time or two and was pretty fun to watch on the wakeboard. He did a switch-a-roo and it was pretty cool!

The fun part about this is that his wife, Jackie, and I get along well too and she has the exact same due date as me! It has made for some pretty fun conversations! The water was pretty rough but luckily her and I got some of the best of the day! We kneeboarded together since I convinced her that the doctor would approve!

Unfortunately the water was so bad for most all of the day that we ended up floating around a lagoon/cove thing that we found. It was pretty fun though and it turned out one of the places was just a mudbog! It was a little startling, sinking down to your thighs in mud! Of course the guys were pretty macho about it and it was hilarious!

We also paddled around on the kneeboards and their daughter, Sydney, thought that was pretty fun!

When we finally decided to try some waterskiing again the water was much, much too choppy so we got out the tube and Ryan and Jackie rode around for awhile.

Unfortunately they got thrown off!

Sydney also got to ride but I never was sure whether or not she was happy about that!

Since Ryan had grown up around boats we let him drive for awhile and Todd and I tubed. It was pretty stinking fun, I was pretty certain I was going to get thrown any second! Thanks Ryan.

Signing off!

2007-08-10T10:19:00.000-06:00

Perma-Belly

Well we don't really have any pictures to post as of recently. Todd has been working pretty diligently on the duplex trying to get it done before college starts around here. So no fun coming from our part of the world, but changes are rapidly happening nonetheless.

Jenny (we'll refer to her as me from now on in this post!) has been extremely tired and can't believe how much stuff I have let go by the wayside. Laundry piles up until we give in and put it away, dishes stay in the sink for days, and the bed didn't get made for 2 weeks!! Wow - this pregnancy stuff is for the birds I tell ya! I am thinking that Todd should take a turn next time!!!

But back to the reason for the post. I have a belly. It's definitely a belly. Now before these last couple of days I have joked about bellies. Like ya know, I have had one before in my life! But these bellies I've had, they were temporary. Like sometimes I'd wake up and first thing in the morning my belly would be completely flat. I always liked those times! But now (for the past few days) my belly is there every morning. In fact, since it showed up, it hasn't ever left. I finally expressed my concern to Todd and he ever so lovingly told me he didn't think it was going to get any better for a while! I was so sad at this realization.

Now some of you might be flabbergasted at my sadness - for carrying a baby is such a beautiful thing I'm sure. But this is reality, and I take my stand that if I could carry a baby with no belly I would definitely pick that option!! LOL - Hope you have a good day and enjoy the belly you currently have!

PS The picture above is NOT my belly

2007-08-02T11:56:00.000-06:00

Waterskiing With the Welch's!

We went up to Twin Falls last week to tell the family about the good news, go waterskiing, get Jackie's old dining room table, and do some visiting. Luckily we were able to accomplish all of that!

Todd and Whit kneeboarded together.

And Jenny and Whit kneeboarded together.

Mark and Halee tubed together and it was pretty fun listening to Halee scream. Mark was able to get a little practice in "pushing his weight around" in order to keep to tube upright!

Jenny and Halee tried to kneeboard together, and trust us, we gave it as many different tries as we could figure but, alas, it was not meant to be!

Todd, of course, can't do anything unless he's doing it extreme! So tubing with Whit we had to perform some tricks! They had a good time and didn't get thrown off too much!

Mark finally got up on skis for the first time. It was pretty fun watching him, and as you can tell he is pretty proud of himself!

The other really funny part was Todd and Mark tubing together. Most of the time they were just trying to keep both of them on the tube. They quite enjoyed it and so did everyone laughing at them in the boat!

This is the first time we have been able to ski together. We haven't ever really let anyone else drive the boat and we haven't really had enough power before. But rest assured, Power can be Bought! Just ask us we'll tell you all about it!

2007-07-30T13:15:00.000-06:00

Guess What?!

ETA: February 27, 2008

And just a little FYI, Baby's First Boat Ride at 7 Weeks- Doing Great!! Although realize by now I am almost 10 weeks along!

2007-07-20T09:41:00.000-06:00

Michigan in July

We went to Michigan the other week. It was really fun to visit Robb and Amanda and Cole. We went to a baseball game. That was so fun as it was a beautiful day and the food was so good! It was a great time sitting outside watching the game and enjoying the day.

We also went on the lake fishing and watersking. Robb got up immediately and decided he had been missing out for a while now! Cole is pretty fun out on the lake as he was cheering everyone on!

Todd, of course, gets really excited when we start sking and just can't contain himself! All in all it was such a fun trip to visit and hang out with Robb and Amanda.

2007-07-11T14:00:00.000-06:00

The Fourth of July

Well it might be a little late to post July 4th pics, but here there are anyway. I went to the parade with a few of the grandkids and Mom and Jana. Then we went back to Mom's with everyone and had lunch and played in the water.

It wasn't until we put the water on the tramp that Todd couldn't take it anymore and decided to play in the water for the rest of the afternoon. It was a real blast and as always the kids really enjoyed an adult playing with them! Todd is quickly taking status as the favorite uncle, and they often compare things they see like this: "As tall as Todd, or maybe even taller!"

Todd also decided that babies just ruin the fun and we quickly diverted that one for him!

You can tell from Kate's stance that she is trying to plead her case and get Todd to stop the jumping so she can get on. She does have that way about her that makes Todd give in pretty quick!

The the fun moved to a game involving Todd catching the kids and dunking them with his eyes closed. Again Todd becoming the favorite uncle!

Kate was so unbelievably cute I couldn't help but take a picture! No worries that the goggles were just for running through the water!

2007-07-05T16:43:00.000-06:00

Washington for a Week

For those of you who might not know I went to Washington for about a week. Both of my grandmas live there and my mom and I went to do some cleaning out, yard saleing (setting up that is), and a birthday party.

Then Dad joined us and we also went to the Space Needle in Seattle and the Farmers Market. It was fun to see Seattle again, but really it just put a little bit of reality in me and just made me want to come home!

The Market was full of fun stuff though. All kinds of things like: fresh fish, fresh donuts, fresh flowers, and just about everything else you can think of!

There were some big bolts at the bottom of the Space Needle. We all decided that they were only decorations to make people feel better about going up! After seeing the picture and explaining what they looked like Todd decided that he thinks they are real, but we just aren't sure!

This is my Aunt Winnie and my Uncle Lee at the Yard Sale. They are about 84, have been married about 56 years and are 2 of the healthiest people I have ever met. It was nice to visit with them as my mother is very close to them and has been her whole life!

This is my Grandma Barbara. It was her Birthday that we went to and I was able to spend the night at her house before I flew home. It was nice to visit one on one and get to know her a little better.

2007-06-22T12:10:00.000-06:00

The Manti Pageant

Todd and I had the opportunity to go to Manti the other day for the Miracle Pageant. I have an old college roommate who lives there now and we have been wanting to go for years! It was really a nice pageant, there really probably isn't anything much like it anywhere else. It starts at 9:30 PM so it was nice to have a place to sleep instead of driving the 2 1/2 hours home after it was over!

The characters are all running around before it starts and Zarahemla was nice enough to pose for a snapshot for me!

It was also really nice to visit with my roommate, Wendy, and see their new house they are building. They were really great to hang out with and visit with and let us stay with them. Thanks guys!

If you haven't ever seen the pageant you should really try to go someday. Like I said, there really isn't anything much like it anywhere else.

2007-06-18T16:23:00.000-06:00

My Husband Won the Gold Medal in Arm Wrestling!

And the Bronze! Todd won the Gold medal in his weight division. He competed in 2 events: the Novice division which wasn't separated into weight divisions and the Open division which was separated into weight divisions. He won a Bronze medal in the Novice division. Everyone had a really good time and Todd did exceptionally well, especially for his first time!

Todd and Colton are scoping out the competition! And yes, just in case you were thinking it, Todd does look quite huge!

This was for the Gold!

This guy was really strong and Todd was really excited about beating him.

2007-05-31T18:08:00.000-06:00

USU Girls

The fourth weekend in May Jenny went up to see her USU girlfriends. It was a blast to get together for a girls weekend. Todd's parents came the same weekend for a Gold Wing Rally Cedar was having, but unfortunately it turned out to be a big disappointment, so no pictures! But everyone had a good time!

We have a customize timer setting on our camera and so the girls took 10 pictures in a row! This one is the first one! Pretty lovely, don't you think!

Then of course there had to be a kissy face one! It just wouldn't be an 8 girl get-together without a kissy face one!

Then there was the random cry to strangle your neighbor! I think that was Kat's idea!

And yes, believe it or not, this is the "Try to Look Sexy" one. Yes, yes it is. And while we are much older and more mature than we were in college, we still don't what it means to look sexy! Some of us look confused while others look just plain scared - as we never really did figure out what sexy is supposed to look like!

We went to dinner at a really yummy pizza/pasta place, California Kate's Pizza - or something. There was so much to look at for me, being in the BIG city and all I wasn't able to pay attention to everything!

And then after it was all over Erin and Jenny really tried hard to tally the money and figure out the check - I mean Jenny is an Accounting college grad and Erin graduated top in her class, they should be able to figure it out - right?!

These are most all of the girls who really made my college experience so much fun. I look back on college with fond memories, mostly of them - Thanks guys!

2007-05-29T19:02:00.000-06:00

Camping in the Kaibab

We went to the Kaibab forest the second weekend in May. For those of you who don't know the Kaibab is right next to the Grand Canyon North Rim. Jenny's family goes there every year for the Annual Carter Family Campout in the Kaibab - pretty creative name eh!

Todd had fun making breakfast with Kate while Jenny was out providing meat for the family!

We also got to use our favorite tent that Todd's siblings gave us for our wedding!

And when Jenny finally did get a turkey her nephew, Carter was able to sneak up on it and shoot it with his bow!

Todd also took his bike along for the trip and had a blast riding it up and down the hills!

2007-05-29T18:34:00.000-06:00

Off To The Races

So we went to Vegas the first weekend in May for the first annual Diesel Hot Rod Assoc Championships! It was really fun and then turned out to be pretty expensive. Todd did the sledpull with his truck and, although he went pretty far compared to other trucks, it did end up costing us our brand new clutch with just over the allotted warranty miles on it! But nonetheless it was pretty cool to see so much fast diesel power!

There was also a burnout contest, which was so cool. There was some serious rubber smell in the air during that! There were also some pretty cool trucks on the runway!

We were invited by Todd's mechanic, who actually paid for our room in Mesquite, which only really made Jenny wonder just how much time Todd spends down there at the mechanic shop! The mechanic had a truck racing(the red and gray one) so it was also fun to have someone specific to cheer for! All and all it was fun to be in Vegas sniffing all that wasted fuel all day!

2007-05-02T13:49:00.000-06:00

I Saw A Bear

Do you remember the campfire song - I saw a bear, oh way up there... Well yes, the title is fitting for one of the pictures above! Jenny went with her Dad to New Mexico and Colorado the other week and the funnest part was seeing a bear with 2 cubs. Thought we'd share that with all of you! And the duplex is coming right along. It is looking so cute! We have already had a few people interested in it and we are excited about it getting done! It also has a cute little fenced backyard! The outside should be finished this week and Todd will probably start painting the inside next week. Then trim, flooring, kitchen, and some clean up with the basement and done!! Yeah right - we all know how that goes!!

2007-04-09T20:18:00.000-06:00

Some Demolition Easter

We went out to the cabin once again and had a great Easter. We didn't get a lot of photos, but we did have a fun time. Todd's duplex is coming right along with some beautiful siding, it's going to look great.

2007-04-02T17:31:00.000-06:00

Spring Activities

We've been keeping really busy this time of year. If you haven't noticed our posts have gone to almost nonexistent. But these past couple weekends have produced some fun times. We went Out West to Jenny's parents cabin and Todd got to play trucks. He probably had the most fun of anyone! Jenny went turkey hunting this past weekend and got a great bird, while Todd went to Twin to visit his folks.
Todd has also been working on a duplex we bought. He has completely redone the roof and is working on all the windows and getting ready for new siding. We are keeping pretty busy, but find ourselves daydreaming about this summer and boating!! Everyone should put a week on their calendar and come down to go camping and boating. For boating - trust us, we are available the day you are!

2007-03-02T21:49:00.000-07:00

Fuchsia!

Hey we got a new flower and it really is very exciting. Although we do have about a foot of snow, the flowers are blooming like crazy!

2007-02-23T18:03:00.000-07:00

Spring Has Sprung

I lost a plant this past move and although it was hard I picked myself up and planted a few seeds I had been carrying around for years. As it turns out they love our south facing window and have a beautiful blossom. I would like to invite anyone who wants to, to come on over and see. Now I know for some of you it will be quite a drive, but I promise it is more magnificent in person! There are already 7 buds on it ready to bloom. I love that plant, it helps put a little spring in my heart, if you know what I mean!

2007-01-26T14:18:00.000-07:00

Relaxation

Rest assured at this point in time Chinko is the ONLY one relaxing!! You can see the peebles on his shell and on his feet that the goldfish have sucked up and dropped on him because he has been there so long!

2007-01-10T19:59:00.000-07:00

Mexico!

We just got back from Mexico and are currently running around franctically trying to catch up! It was a lot of fun in the sun! Jenny took a day and went to Chichen Itza and they got a Mormon guide who told them a lot about the Lamanite history. It was facinating. Todd tried all the extreme sports - as usual!! He kind of got Wind Surfing, but it really tuckered him out!! Hobie Cats, on the other hand, were a breeze and everyone enjoyed them! Sailing in the open seas - not more than 100 yards off shore!

2007-01-10T19:57:00.000-07:00

Christmas Anyone?

Here are just a few pics of when Santa came to visit. Todd was volunteered to help Santa sing Rudolph! We also thought we'd show you all the snow we got in about 5 hours!!