MERRY CHRISTMAS

Here is our lovely Christmas photo that Paul's sister has been asking for. We took it in front of our Christmas tree after church meetings. I am actually quite happy with how it turned out. This year we will be traveling to Boise to spend Christmas with my family. I am so excited. It has been over three or four years that we have been together as a family on Christmas.

My Men

The Holidays

Sorry it has been so long since I have added a new post. I have been busy with my family and Christmas stuff. Thanksgiving was lots of fun. This year we spent it with Paul's family in Utah. We were only there for the day since both of us had to work the next day. It was lots of fun and we had a good time.
Right now Maddox is keeping me very busy. He is 10 months and 16 days old and is getting into everything. There is nothing that he can't get into. Man do they grow up so fast!! Maddox is starting to walk. He is doing well, though some times he gets going so fast that he face plants it. Maddox's hair is also getting longer and curlier, I love it. I love this stage. He is happy and smiling all the time. He is just all around a great child.

Boise

This past weekend Paul, Maddox , and I made our way to Boise for one of Paul's racquetball tournaments. We went up Friday evening and Paul's first game was Saturday morning. It was a smaller tournament and I forgot to take pictures of him playing, but I got some of him on the court with Maddox. Paul got first place in doubles and second place in singles. He did a great job for having a cold. Jess, Lyns, Aisley, and Jaxx, who are living in Boise now, were also able to come watch. It is always great to see the family again. We had tons of fun and Aisley got to use our camera and take some pictures of the babies playing in the bathroom.
I don't know what it is, but it seems every time we go to Boise to play in the racquetball tournament something happens to Rachael. That Friday Rachael went in for a doctor appointment for her neck. She was having shooting pain and her arm kept going numb. They found out that one of her neck vertebrae was actually broken and that she needed surgery. They scheduled her for surgery the next day. They took a piece of her collar bone and fused it with the vertebrae. Now she has some titanium in her arm and in her neck. She stayed in the hospital over night and was released in the evening the next day. She is doing well and feeling better.

Happy Halloween

This Halloween we went to Utah and spent the weekend with Paul's family. It was tons of fun. All the kids got dressed in their costumes and we took them out trick or treating. Maddox was a monkey, Carter was Albert Einstein, Christian was a scary joker, Alyah was a butterfly, and Aly was a go go dancer. Paul also dressed up as a cell phone and pushed Maddox around in his stroller while I took pictures. Paul kept getting attacked by random little kids. It was sooo funny. Maddox was adorable in his costume. I was so excited for him to wear it, it had been sitting in the closet for several months. After trick or treating we went back to Paul sister's home to eat a warm homemade chili dinner and watch some children's Halloween movies.
The next day we went to the Hill A.F. Museum. It was quite interesting and we enjoyed it a lot. Later we played games and cooked some ribs on the barbecue.It was a nice relaxing weekend and was nice to see the family again. You'll notice in the pictures Paul is growing out his hair and has quite the beard. I hope it is just a phase.

The Weekend

Friday evening Paul, Maddox, and I drove to Boise for Paul's racquetball tournament. When we arrived at the tournament, Saturday morning, we received a phone call from Rachael's boyfriend, Freddy. Rachael and Freddy were on the freeway, driving to Boise to play in a Rugby game. Freddy had said that Rachael's car was run off the road by a pick up truck and that she was being transported by ambulance to the Burley Hospital. My mom and I dropped off Paul at his tournament, then immediately left for Burley. When we arrived Jess and Lyndsay were already there. Rachael was laying on a bed in the ER. They knew for sure that she had shattered her left wrist and that she had a hole in her lung. She had a lot of back, neck, and head pain and they were limited on their resources so she was going to be transported to St. Als in Boise to see a neurologist. Before she was transported to Boise, Enoch and a nurse's brother gave her a blessing.
We arrived at St. Als and had to sit in the waiting room for what felt like forever. They said that she was getting evaluated. We found out that she had two fractured vertebrae in her neck, a hole in her lung and partial collapse, blood on the brain, and a shattered left wrist. Rachael was taken to the ICU that night, where she could be closely watched. The next day she was moved to a regular room because her lungs and brain didn't get worse. The doctors said that they would have to heal on their own. On Tuesday Rachael had surgery on her wrist and today (Wednesday) she was released from the hospital. She will have to wear a neck brace for several months and a cast on her left arm.
I guess while driving on the freeway they were run off the road. Rachael was driving, Freddy in the passenger seat, and the puppy in the back seat. Rachael was honking at the vehicle but he kept coming over. She hit the brakes and swerved to get out of the way and the car hit the dirt and rolled several times landing upside down. Freddy and the puppy were ejected from the vehicle. The car almost landed on him after he was ejected and he had to hurry and get out of the way. The puppy they found later, unharmed, hiding behind a bush. Freddy sustained several scratches, bruises, and soreness...he wouldn't get check out by the paramedics or a doctor. Nine vehicles stopped to help and they all described a dark blue pick up truck causing the accident, but they couldn't give a license plate number. The truck never stopped and they were not able to catch the person.
On the happy side of things, Sunday I got to watch Paul's last singles open game and a few doubles games. It was a very nice tournament and Maddox had a great time playing with everyone and watching his dad. The weekend ended on a great note with Paul winning the tournament, Rachael is going to make a full recovery, and everyone survived the accident.
We arrived home Sunday night and the next day we had the wonderful opportunity to go to lunch with my good friend Kristal and her husband Mike. She is expecting her first child in March and we are very excited for them! Yeah!

Sunday Dinner

On Sunday Oct. 12th my parents came down to visit. So, Paul and I decided it would be nice to invite my family over for a taco and fajita dinner. We had a great dinner and got to catch up on each others lives. After dinner we had cake and watched Ironman on blue ray. My parents had brought down tons of pumpkins from their garden for all of us and on Tuesday Paul, Maddox, and I carved the ones we picked out. It was tons of fun. Maddox didn't really get to carve, but got to play with the pumpkins and mess with the insides. He thought that was great.

Our year so far...

January
This month held the first big event to start out the year, the baby shower. My sister and my mom did a great job on planning the event. We played several games, caught up on every one's lives, and enjoyed great food. The diaper cake that Paul's sister, DC, made was beautiful. It was a great chance to see family and friends again. I was very excited and grateful that so many friends traveled so far to come.
February
On Super Bowl Sunday, our son Maddox was born. He was 9.5 lbs and 22 1/2 in long. I was in labor for four days and it was absolutely horrible! I was stuck at 4 ce and my doctor didn't want to admit me until I reached at least 5 ce. They tried scraping my cervix twice to get me to progress, it didn't work. We tried Castor oil, it also didn't work and made me sick- I don't recommend ever doing it. We also went to the fitness gym and walked several times around the track, it also didn't work. Well, after the fourth day of labor I had had it! I went to the emergency room and the doctor broke my water. The nurses tried several times to get an i.v. in and failed and ended up blowing my veins in both of my hands. So they had to call down the helicopter medic to finally put one in my arm. Things finally started to progress, labor pains got way worse and after four days of already going through them I got an epidural. It was wonderful!! I fell asleep for a little while, having gone four days without sleep, before the doctor woke me up to start pushing. Pushing took a while and it was quite scary. His heart rate kept falling and when he finally came out he was blue and wasn't breathing. So the doctor didn't lay him on my stomach and Paul did not get to cut the cord. Instead they rushed him over to the nurses where they started working on him and finally he started screaming. The reason why this all happened is because my doctor was extremely wrong on estimating the weight of my son and they should have induced me early or around the time he was actually due. I will never go to Portneuf again. Anyway, after all that was said and done, the greatest experience was finally getting to hold my son!! He was beautiful and it was one of the happiest moments of our lives.
March
This month my brother Enoch returned from his mission in Mississippi. We are so proud of him!! It was a wonderful day!! Our whole family was there along with my Aunt Chalae, Uncle Rick, and Cousin Elora. We made a sign and had my niece Aisley hold it up for when he came through the gate. It was so exciting and scary at the same time, not being able to see him for two years. He looked great and of course all of us cried, even my dad.
April
In the beginning of April, Enoch gave his talk in church and it was wonderful and very moving. He had a lot of spiritual experiences and they were wonderful to hear about!
The following second Sunday we had Maddox's baby blessing and a barbecue right after for family and friends. I was extremely nervous for Paul, being that he is a convert and has never done anything like that before, but he did a great job and I couldn't have asked for anything better.
We also traded in Paul's Land Rover(gas guzzler) for a new Honda Accord, way better on gas.
May
On May 3rd Paul and I celebrated our 1st Wedding Anniversary!! We were married on the 5th, but celebrated on the 3rd because the 5th was a Monday and we both had to work. We were married in the Salt Lake City Temple, so we traveled back down to Salt Lake to celebrate and visit Paul's family. Paul's parents came with us to watch Maddox at Paul's sister's home and to give us an evening to ourselves. Thank goodness for great family! For the evening, Paul and I got dressed up and went too dinner at the Melting Pot. It was very good and a lot of fun. It is kind of pricey, but I would definitely recommend it. After dinner Paul and I went to the same hotel that we spent the night of our honeymoon, The Anniversary Inn. We stayed in the Phantom of the Opera suite. We tried to stay in the same room that we stayed for our honeymoon, but it was already taken. It was nice and a great chance for us to relax. I was not very good at the relaxing part because it was the first night away from our son and I had Paul call his parents a lot to check on him. It was a great Anniversary ,though, and I am very blessed to get to spend my life with such a great husband!
The following day Paul and I meet up with his family to spend a fun day at the Hogle Zoo. It was Maddox's first time going to a zoo. I doubt he will remember it being that he was only 3 months old, but it was exciting for us. The zoo was great. It started out being a hot day, but then towards the end started to get cloudy and sprinkle a little.
Later in May, my parents, Enoch, Maddox, and I made a trip to Arizona to visit family and go to some graduations. We stayed with my grandma Brimhall in Mesa and visited family in Tuscon and Scottsdale. It was a lot of fun and though the drive was quite long, it was well worth it.
June
In June I celebrated my birthday. I would rather not celebrate my birthdays anymore, but my husband refuses to let me do so. He definitely made it a nice day. We went out to eat and saw a movie and just spent time together as a family.
July
The fourth of July was a fun family day!! My brother Enoch came down from Boise with his girlfriend to spend the day with everyone. My Mom and Dad unfortunately couldn't come. My Mom was in Arizona to take care of my grandma, who just had surgery, and my Dad had to work. We started out the day going to Fort Hall to buy fireworks. We then went over to my brother Jess's home to have a barbecue with him and his family, Rachael, and Enoch and his girlfriend. When it started to get dark we then lit off the fireworks that we bought and then after that we went to the Highland Golf Course to lay out on blankets and watch the big fireworks being fired off at the fairgrounds.
Two days later we made an abrupt trip to Arizona to see my grandma. My grandmother went in for surgery to remove a blockage in her stomach, which was supposed to be a really easy surgery that she should have recovered from. Well, the hospital released her too soon, so that they could open a room up, and the same day she was released the staples in her stomach opened and leaked bile into her body causing a huge infection. My mom was there, along with my uncle, for when she was released to help take care of her and found her in her room unresponsive, going into shock. They pushed the button on the emergency box in her room and nothing happened- it wasn't working right. 911 was called and they rushed her to the hospital and she was put on life support. We left Sunday for Arizona and arrived Monday morning. We got to tell her we love her, give her kisses, and say our goodbyes. Which was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do! Later that evening she was taken off of life support. The next morning she was transported to hospice and she passed away that afternoon with her sister and my mother by her bedside. I know she is in a better place with family, friends, and the love of her life.We will miss her so much and we loved her more than anything. She was a great grandmother and we have a lot of fun memories of her that we will cherish.
The next day, Wednesday, we left for home. My aunts and uncles decided not to have the funeral till the next weekend, so that family could arrive from Georgia, Washington, etc.. The following Wednesday we made the last trip to Arizona for the funeral, driving all night and arriving Thursday morning. That evening was the viewing at the funeral home. The next day was the funeral at the Stake Center. It was good to hear all the stories about my grandma and all that she had accomplished. Towards the end, all of us grand kids had to get up and sing a primary song. It was nice, but I don't thing we sounded very good. After the funeral and the luncheon, we all made the 3 1/2 hour drive from Mesa to Snowflake/Taylor to bury my grandmother.
The next day we made the trip back home, this time taking it slow and seeing the sites. It was Paul, Rachael, Enoch, Maddox and I in our car. Jess, Lyndsay, Jaxx, and Aisley in the other and my dad in the truck hauling stuff from my grandma's home. We had an enjoyable time stopping at this huge cave in a mountain side, going to the Coral Sand Dunes, and rocking out in the car to Queen. Jess and his family spent most of their time at the north rim of the Grand Canyon.
We arrived back home on Paul's birthday, Monday. We had plans to go to Lagoon the weekend before to celebrate, but obviously the plans had to be changed. Instead we relaxed most of the day and then went to a movie and out to eat with his parents. He is such a good man.
August
This month Paul and I went on our yearly camping trip to Stone Reservoir with Paul's family. We camped for 4 days and 3 nights. It was great fun and Maddox's first time camping. We went tubing, fishing, swimming, played volleyball, and just had a great time. I can't wait till next year when we do it again.
September
This month we went to the Eastern Idaho State Fair in Blackfoot. My parents and brother came down from Boise to go with. The whole family: Mom, Dad, Jess, Lyndsay, Aisley, Jaxx, Rachael, Enoch, Paul, Maddox, and I first went to Perkins for brunch and then everyone met at the fair grounds afterwards. It was a rainy and cold day, but was still quite enjoyable. We went around and saw all the exhibits, ate lots of fair food, and the guys went on a few rides.

Well I guess that is the just of our year so far. It has been happy, tough, sad, and wonderful all at the same time. I can't wait to see what the rest of the year will bring. Here are a lot of photos of some of the year's events...

Our Family

My husband Paul is the only boy out of three children in his family. He is currently working full-time for Alltel and going to school for his Bachelors degree in Business-online at the University of Phoenix. Paul also plays racquetball and is sponsored by HEAD. He loves playing and we travel a lot from one tournament to the next during the fall. He is very good and we love watching him play. Paul is a great husband and father. He loves being a dad and if he could have it his way he would like to have 15 children. Yeah right!! Ha-Ha...



Maddox is 7 months old and is in that crawling stage. I didn't think it would be that bad, but oh how he gets into everything. I swear it was just a few weeks ago he was scooting everywhere, now he is crawling and moving all over the place. Man they grow up way too fast! I miss the little baby, but don't get me wrong, I really enjoy him now. We are so blessed he is such a happy baby, always smiling and giggling. And oh how he loves his grandparents and all the attention they give him. We started him on regular food about a month ago and he is on this sour kick right now. He loves eating pickles and lemons. I am so excited about all the different things that we get to experience with him. I can't wait for his first Halloween. We got him a very cute costume, but you will have to wait to see it...



As for myself, I am the second oldest child out of four. I am currently not attending school, but hopefully that will change very soon. I would like to get a degree online in Accounting. I am currently working part time as a Deputy Sheriff at the Sheriffs Department. When I am not working I am a full time mom. I love being a wife and mother, and hope to have more children in the future. I am kept very busy by my son and husband, but I enjoy every minute. As a family we love to do as many activities as we possible can and can't wait for what comes next.