High Five for Friday!

It was a busy and fast week around here.  We didn’t get back to Bozeman until Monday night from our trip to Utah, so the week seemed extremely short.  It’s hard to believe that the end of October is here and Halloween is next week already.  Time is flying.  Here’s a little recap of the highlights of my week:

1.    We got back from our Utah trip on Monday night.  We had such a good time.  It was fun to travel and explore with Doug like we used to in the old days. I’ll be sharing some more pictures from the weekend on Monday, so stayed tuned. 
 

2.    Our anniversary was on Tuesday, October 22, so we celebrated old married couple style.  We went for a family walk and then made a delicious pizza.  We also shared a bottle of wine that we bought on our trip to Napa Valley last year.  We’d been saving it for a special occasion (and a time when I wasn’t pregnant!), and it didn’t disappoint.  It was a pretty great anniversary!

 

3.    Spending time with Drew was definitely a highlight of the week.  I missed him so much while we were away.  He was in good hands with grandma and grandpa, and I'm pretty sure he had more fun with them than he has with me most days, but it was fun to come home to him and spend some quality time with him all week.  He’s the best!

 

4.    I decorated the house for Halloween this week.  It’s looking good and now I’m ready for some trick-or-treaters!  I hope we get at least a few kiddos. J

 

5.    Today we are going to get pumpkins and carve them up for the front porch.  I’m super excited.  Here’s Hal, my pumpkin from last year.  Isn’t he cute?!

It’s been a great week, and I’m excited for the weekend.  There’s a Bobcat football game that will keep us busy tomorrow, and then on Sunday we’re supposed to get a winter storm.  It's been extremely warm lately for this time of year, so it will be nice to cool it down a little and get back to more Fall-like temperatures.  All in all, it’s shaping up to be a pretty good weekend!

Spooky!

Well, I’m spending today getting our house decorated for Halloween! Don’t get too excited, my arsenal of decorations is pretty small.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, I was never much of a Halloween kind of gal until recently.  And unfortunately, my husband put me on a $2 per year budget for decorations (he had to be kidding, right?!).  Anyway, I’ve stuck pretty closely to that budget, and probably have spent only around $15 in the last two years.  So needless to say, my decorations are a little pathetic. 

I decided that the most important place to decorate is the entryway and outside since that’s where the trick-or-treaters (hopefully!) will be.  I used some outdoor lights, a Halloween welcome mat, some witches hats, and a Fall wreath to spruce up the outside of our house.  We’ll be adding a carved pumpkin or two this weekend.  We’ve been so busy we haven’t had a chance to carve pumpkins yet!  

 

 

I’d like to take a moment here and share a few pictures of Hal, our pumpkin from last year.  I really fell in love with him and was so sad when we had to let him go.  I think I scared Doug with my unreasonable attachment to a pumpkin (in my defense I was pregnant!), but what can I say, he’s just so cute!

Anyway, back to this year, in the entryway, I decorated our small welcome table.  I used some spider webs, a pumpkin that matches the outdoor witches’ hats, my mummy family (see my DIY post on how to make them), a Spooky! sign, and some pumpkin table scatter.  As you can see, I have my bowl full of candy as well, ready for the hundreds of trick-or-treaters we’re bound to have (not really, last year we only had 23, yes I counted them). 

 

 

Honestly, that’s about the extent of my decorations.  I have some Fall decorations scattered around the house, but nothing too fancy.  I guess I need to get my husband to raise my Halloween budget! ;)

Wednesday Wisdom

I’ve always been a big believer in the power of the mind.  I truly think that if there’s something that you want badly enough and you put your mind to it, you will succeed. 

When I was in 6^th grade, I went to parent/teacher conferences with my parents.  We met with my Technology teacher at the time, and I remember exactly how he motivated me to be successful in school.  I got an A in the class, as well as all of my other classes at the time, and I remember him saying, well, it’s only a matter of time before you get a B.  It will happen before you graduate high school, so just be ready for it.  It’s okay to get a B.  At the time, I remember thinking, but I don’t want to get a B.  So that day, I decided that I was going to do everything in my power to only receive A’s throughout all of my schooling.  I know I was only 11 years old, but I took his comment as a challenge.  I knew that it didn’t HAVE to happen, as he suggested, and I didn’t want it to.  So that day, I set forth a goal that I truly believed I could accomplish, and I worked hard for it every day and every year as I progressed through school.  And you know what, I did it.  I never received a grade lower than an A in all of my schooling, including graduate school.  It was a personal challenge that I took on, and because I believed I could do it, I did.

Having the confidence and belief in yourself is so important.  It’s true, if you really put your mind to it, you can accomplish whatever you aim for.  I learned that lesson at a young age.  But that doesn’t mean that if you just think you can do something, you will be able to, you have to put in the work and the time to accomplish whatever it is that you desire.  I wanted to get A’s, so I spent as much time as I needed to studying and doing schoolwork to ensure that I would receive an A.  As I progressed through school, and especially in my advanced accounting classes, it was not easy.  My classes were difficult and I remember multiple times getting lower grades on my first tests of the semester and having to really buckle down and work hard to bring my grade up.  Having the confidence and the belief in myself is what got me through.

As I get older, my goals aren’t about getting the best grade or passing the next test, but I still have goals and things that I want to accomplish.  And I think this saying is just as true outside of the classroom.  Having the belief in yourself and your capabilities will help you succeed.  The mind is a powerful thing.  If you believe you can, you probably will!

Today

Well, we made it back from Utah.  It was a great trip and I really enjoyed spending some quality time with my husband.  We're both excited to be back with Drew too.  We have a pretty great family!

Today is our actual anniversary, so ................. Happy Anniversary Doug!  I love you so much and I'm so proud of the little family we have become.  It's true, every year just keeps getting better.  Here's to many, many more with my love!

Anniversary Weekend!

Well, it’s just about here.  Tomorrow, Doug and I leave for Utah for an anniversary weekend getaway.  I’m pretty excited about it, but I have to admit, now that it’s closer, I’m a little anxious about leaving Drew.  It will be the first time since he was born that I’ll be away from him for a night, and I’m not sure how it’s going to go.  I’m excited to spend some quality time with my husband, but I’ll definitely miss Drew like crazy!

We leave early tomorrow morning for Salt Lake City.  I think we’re going to spend the afternoon exploring Salt Lake and taking in the beautiful scenery. I’m excited to eat at a restaurant called Sweet Tomatoes tomorrow night.  I went to Salt Lake, probably seven years ago now, and I have really fond memories of Sweet Tomatoes.  It’s a little weird because I think it’s a salad buffet, which wouldn’t normally be my style, but for some reason, I remember loving it.  I’m excited to check it out again and see if it lives up to my memories.  Saturday morning we’re going to spend some time in Salt Lake, and then head to Ogden in the early afternoon for the MSU vs. Weber State football game.  Of course my husband worked in a Cats game for our anniversary trip!!  After the game we’re going to drive to Park City where we’ll stay Saturday and Sunday night.

 

 

We have heard that the Olympic aerial team will be practicing Sunday morning at the Olympic Park in Park City, so I think we will check that out Sunday morning.  Last time I visited Park City, I saw a few of the aerialists practice and it was pretty awesome.  They jump into a pool, which is kind of different, but really neat. 

After we take in the aerialists, we’ll probably spend some time checking out Park City’s downtown.  I remember thinking that Main Street Park City was the idyllic ski town, and I can’t wait to see how it’s changed since I was there last.  We’ll probably also try to work in some hiking Sunday afternoon, maybe at one of the ski resorts in the area. 

I can’t wait to visit the area again, especially Park City.  Last time, I absolutely loved it.  If it had been easier to have a career there and had been a little less expensive cost of living, I probably would have moved to Park City rather than Bozeman after college.  It was one of my favorite places to visit, so I’m sure this weekend will be wonderful.

Well, as you’ve probably gathered, I will be gone from tomorrow to next Tuesday, so I won’t have another post probably until next Tuesday.  Hope you all enjoy the weekend!  I’m sure I will!

 

 

Wednesday Wisdom - LOVE

In honor of my upcoming anniversary, I chose this verse about love for today’s Wednesday Wisdom.  This is one of my favorite Bible verses, and we actually had it read at our wedding two years ago.  I love the message of the verse and I think it’s something that we all need to remember.  All of the things that this verse says “love is” are things that I hope to embody every day, especially in my relationship with my husband. 

With the addition of Drew to our family, it’s become even harder to remember to show my love and affection to my husband as well.  Drew requires so much attention and work, that I can get caught up in him, and forget that my husband needs that love and attention too.  It’s a balancing act, as is life in general. I think one of the keys to happiness, especially when your family continues to grow, is balance.  A little bit of everything will take you a long way. 

You hear so often of couples that have children, and in the process of giving everything they have to their children, they lose sight of and love for each other.  I want to be married forever, including long after my children have grown and moved away, which means that nurturing the relationship with my husband is extremely important.  I don’t want to have a family together, and once the children leave, realize that we don’t know each other any longer and don’t have anything in common. I want to always remember what I love about my husband and what a great man he is to me and to our children.

So today, I want my husband to know that I love him immensely and I’m so glad that we were married two years ago. I couldn’t imagine my life without him.  He’s a great father, husband, and partner, and I’m so lucky to have him in my life.  I love you honey! Here’s to the forever kind!

 

 

 

Rapid City!!

Drew and I had a really fun trip back home to Rapid last week/weekend.  We ended up not being able to leave until Wednesday because my parents’ house still didn’t have electricity or water from the prior weekend’s terrible snow storm.  It was lucky that they were out of town for the weekend because their house didn’t have electricity or water from Friday afternoon to the following Tuesday afternoon.  What a crazy storm!  I’m just glad it didn’t prevent Drew and I from making the trip home. 

Wednesday morning, Drew and I woke up early and hit the road.  I was a little anxious about traveling by myself with Drew.  He is a really good traveler, but we’ve always had both of us there, so if he started to get fussy, one of us could crawl in the back and comfort him.  I decided leaving early was my best bet because I thought Drew might sleep a good majority of the morning (he’s kind of a sleepy baby!).  Anyway, he did great!  We stopped in Sheridan to get him some food and fill up the tank.  We had to make a quick stop in Beulah, WY because he was starting to cry a little, but I needed to use the restroom too, so it all worked out.  We made it to Rapid City by 2:30, which was way better than I expected.

We had a great week.  It seems like the last few times we’ve gone home it’s been for some sort of event or activity, and we have had an agenda for the entire weekend.  This time, we didn’t have anything planned, which was nice.  Sometimes it’s nice to just relax and not have an agenda.  Here’s a list of highlights from the week/weekend:

1.    Wednesday when my dad got home from work, he had a little present for Drew.  It was an FPD (Forest Products Distributors – his company) football.  It was really cute, and Drew just loved sucking on it!  Go figure!

 

 

2.    Drew and I got to do some major shopping with my mom.  It was fun to go to some of the stores that Bozeman doesn’t have.  We found some clothes for both me and Drew.  It was a success!

3.    Friday night, my sister Bri and her husband Erick had us over for dinner.  Erick made a killer beer cheese soup, and we cheered on the Cats volleyball team.  Erick’s sister is the one who plays on the team, so it was fun to watch with him!

 

 

4.    Saturday night, my sister Jenna and her husband Konstantin had us over for dinner.  Konstantin’s family was in town too.  They are Russian, so Jenna and Kon had a Russian/American meal for us.  It was fun to get to spend some time with Konstantin’s family. Meal time is very important in their Russian culture, so it was fun to see what a typical Russian dinner is like.  They had fun stories of when the kids were little and all of the interesting traditions/superstitions that they have.  It’s definitely a different culture, and it was fun learning more about all of them.  It was the first time I got to spend any significant time with Konstantin’s family, and it was a lot of fun!!

5.    Grandma bought the coolest jumper around for Drew to play in!  We have a jumper at home, but it’s not nearly as bouncy as the one my mom bought this weekend, and Drew loved it!  He went crazy in that thing!  It was so funny to watch, and his huge smile just made my day!

 

 

6.    The town of Rapid is a mess.  The storm that they had really caused some devastation.  My parents and sisters had warned me about the fallen trees, but it was so much worse than I imagined.  There were trees down everywhere and the roads were full of trucks hauling loads of branches away.  My dad spent a good deal of time while we were home cleaning up the debris at his office, his house, and his parents’ house.  I’ve never seen anything quite like it, and I think the whole area is going to be spending months to come trying to get things back to normal.

7.    Doug called me one morning while I was holding Drew.  I put the phone up to Drew’s ear so Doug could talk to him.  As soon as Drew heard Doug’s voice, he got a HUGE smile on his face.  It melted my heart.  Doug was worried that Drew would forget him in the time we were gone, but I think it’s safe to say, Drew knows who his daddy is and missed him too!  It was pretty darn cute!

 

 

8.    On Saturday, Drew got to visit his great grandma and grandpa.  It’s pretty amazing that he has three great grandparents.  And he’s actually got to see all of them quite a bit in the five short months of his life so far.  I’m grateful that he has them and gets to spend time with them.  I hope that he can continue to visit his great grandparents for years and years to come!

Overall, we had a great trip back to Rapid.  It was fun getting to spend time with my family, and I miss them already.  I can’t wait for the next trip home!