Family Picture time!!

My friend Beth took our Family pictures this year and did a great job...needless to say she'll be taking our pics from now on. It was so cold but I think they turned out cute.

My need to clean is wearing off on Teigen....

I've been cleaning/doing chores since I was very young which I think is a great thing. I LOVED cleaning when I was little. It seems like most of my childhood pictures I was cleaning the house, getting grubby in the yard-always in mud or dirt, acting like I was helping my dad fix the car when I was around 6, etc. My mom would tell you that I was pretty detailed in my cleaning for a young child. Then in High School as every kid does, is rebel. I HATED cleaning! I still did my chores like clean my room, dust and mow the lawn, but I hated to do it.
Now that I have my own house and it's part of my daily schedule-I actually.......I'm gonna say it......love cleaning! I know, right! I don't like things out of place. I don't care if all the toys come out of Teigen's room as long as there's nothing out when he goes to bed. I like having a clean sink when I go to bed too. Those are the 2 major things.
In all of this, I have taught Teigen to clean. He's my helper. Since he turned 1, his main job was to put the clean silverware in the drawer and then I would go back and put them in the right silverware slots. As long as he put them in the drawer, then he did his job. He liked it and now he's wanting to put everything else away too. I love it. He's almost 21 months and he puts his dirty clothes in the hamper(when he sees clothes on the floor in our room-he automatically puts it in our hamper-no matter if it's clean or dirty) It's awesome. He also picks up his toys when it's bed time and puts them back in his room. Now I figured I'd let him help me with cleaning the bathroom. His job is cleaning the toilets...I know I'm mean, but HE wanted to! So after he cleans the toilet a little, I take the brush and go back to brush a little harder to finish.
Ummmmm......news flash mom........I don't want to be done cleaning the toilet and please give me my brush back!!! NOW!!
No one has taken the toilet brush from me to finish my job, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't cry. Maybe rejoice.
Teigen has taught me something though......When Teigen ain't happy ain't nobody happy!!

My boy loves to clean.....I can't get mad at him. It's in his genes.

Quack Quack...

(WARNING....SOME EYES MAY NOT BE SUITABLE LOOKING AT THE PICTURES THAT FOLLOW)


So, Justin has started duck hunting this year with Sophie (our 2 year old black lab). It's both of their first time going and they both LOVE it of course. So far they've gone three times. Opening day, last week and then again on tuesday. They leave at around 4:00am and get back early afternoon. Justin and a couple buddies of his usually kill around 5 and Sophie retrieves them either in water or ground. She did okay the first day but improved a ton the next time. She's such a good girl and she loves it. They're both exhausted when they get home from getting up early and from hiking all day to get where they wanted. This last time they walked through a lot of water and Sophie probabley swam nearly a mile. She's such a trooper. We're so happy to have her in our family.


Justin brought a couple ducks home and he had to gut them for the first time. I taught myself how to cook them for the first time. And eat them for the first time! I was a little nervous but willing. I made an Orange-Tarragon glaze for the duck breasts, Asparagus and almond rice, and mandarin orange spring salad with red onion. We invited friends over to try with us. They liked it and so did we. Phew! Only thing..it was a little tough not too bad)
Overall...Justin likes hunting duck....we like eating duck. I just need to think of a new way to cook it next time. I have some duck breasts i've already cleaned and are waiting for me in the freezer.

BEFORE......

AFTER......

Halloween 2009!

So, last year might have been Teigen's First Halloween, but this year sure felt more like it although it would have been better if daddy didn't have to work but we're grateful he has a job!!!
It was so fun. On friday we went to our Church's "Trunk or Treat" and Carnival. Teigen had a blast. So many fun games to play; fishing for candy, cake-walk, face painting, halloween bingo, bean bag toss, art tables, and bowling. He loved the fact that he got candy after EVERYTHING he did! So guess what we did??? EVERYTHING! haha. The only problem was that he wanted to open the candy right then and eat it. That was not so fun. lol. But I gave in because I'm an awesome mom. ;)
On Saturday night, HALLOWEEN.....we went with 2 of my friend Kristins' kids around their neighborhood. Teigen loved it. We went to about 30 homes and scored big time, getting full size candy bars, goody bags already made and soda! These houses also went all out on decorating and dressing up themselves. Teigen's bag was dragging by the end but WOULD NOT let me carry it for him. haha. (Guess he gets that from me....actually maybe Justin. We're both stubborn at times) Teigen was the cute little vampire that was talked about around the neighborhood. Overall, we had a great Halloween! Hope Justin can come with us next year!

On our way to the Church party...very excited.

Excuse me but there's candy in my bucket.

And I need to eat it NOW! I don't know what later means.

The Vampires unite!

Not sure what he was pointing at.

Teigen had to find a pittbull to befriend.

Look how little he looks.haha.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Memories of our California Trip!

And I'm back in the game.....i think.

So, if some of you didn't know....I had Mono-Mononucleosis is a viral infection causing fever, sore throat, and swollen lymph glands, especially in the neck. This might sound like no big deal, but it's the worst. (Those of you who have had it, understand). These symptoms were my best friend for 3 WEEKS!
Drowsiness
Fever
General discomfort, uneasiness, or ill feeling
Loss of appetite
Muscle aches or stiffness
Rash
Sore throat
Swollen lymph nodes, especially in the neck and armpit
Swollen spleen
Vomiting

So....that was fun. But then I got to visit my mom,dad and mother/father-in-law in CALIFORNIA. And many friends. I had a wonderful time. I was there for almost 3 weeks and WOW that was a long time from my hubby!! But I enjoyed every minute. I just got home on Monday the 5th. Of course I kiss my hubby so much when I see him. BUT the next day he had to work...good but sad. I was going through some of my discharge papers from the emergency room on Tuesday....ummmm.....so.....apparently you have "mono" in your body up to 6 months and although you don't have the symptoms, you can still spread it so you should avoid kissing. Yeah that's hard!!! Remember though...I kissed my hubby already??? Last night he told me he felt "achey"and a 100` fever......and today the same with a really bad headache!!! GREAT! I feel terrible. I didn't know that I could still spread it. I really hope it's not mono and just a little bug.

Also, I'm trying to get back in the groove of things back at home and I thought I was there until I suddenly thought that I should call Susan(my mother/law) and ask how the baby shower went that she hosted "yesterday". And after I asked her....she reminded me that it's not until tomorrow-saturday, which I knew that! I have no idea why I thought today was Sunday-I didn't go to church or anything. I just thought that I forgot to call her and ask about it for some reason. DOES THIS MEAN I'M LOSING IT?????
(And I don't have the excuse that I'm pregnant this time)
So, if someone has my mind...please return it......possible I left it in California!!!!

Or maybe It's been gone for longer than I've realized! lol :)

Summer 2009

We have internet/computer again!!!

You may or may not have known, but we've been without a computer for a month. I know that I hardly get on and am bad at checking my email......but it has been really hard not having a computer!!!!!! Ahhhh!!! We were wondering why our computer/internet was sooooo slow and found out that our hard drive failed (according to Geek Squad from best buy). Instead of getting it fixed which would have been a few hundred dollars, we got a new computer...actually a Dell studio laptop! We're thrilled!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It just came in the mail today and it's so fun! We're loving it.
Sooooooo, with that in mind I really need to update our blog...holy smokes! Justin goes to work tomorrow, so I'll work on downloading pics and updating our blog within the next couple of days.
Happy Tuesday!

The backyard has officially begun!!!

On Saturday, we had concrete poured in our backyard. We had so many willing hands to help us. We were soooooo excited that we would finally be able to hang out in the backyard for a change (After being in our house more than a year). It looks awesome and this will help us on our way of landscaping the rest of the backyard. We already have a design which we're very excited about. I have a baby pool that Teigen and I will be hanging out in this week and we'll be able to bbq back there and eventually Teigen can ride his bike back there. So much fun!! Thanks to Val and Susan for helping make this happen.

Final touches-before the pour (Nick,Jeremy,CJ,Justin)

The walkway goes behind the house

Almost ready to pour

Behind our Master bedroom

The truck is here!! The fun begins...

CJ pushing a load to the backyard

Justin on his way to the backyard

Jeremy and Nick getting to work...they were fast

Looks like fun...I really wanted to jump in it.

My hubby's sexy booty :) (Making stepping stones with the xtra concrete)

Making it Puuurty

Just about done! Yeah!

3 of Justin's buddies from the fire academy came to help(Lee,George and Chris)

Me and my friend Crystal(Lee's fiance) made breakfast(pancakes, sausage, and cinnamon rolls)
Me and Teigen (after Teigen made his prints)

This was such a fun day and we're thrilled with the result!

Can you fit inside a nurtri-grain box?

So, I was doing the dishes the other night and I had set the nutri-grain box on top of the garbage to put it in our recycling bin......and look over to see Teigen having another purpose for it. What a great idea! I've always wondered if I could fit inside of a nutri-grain box! Teigen beat me to the punch. And.......

WAA-LAA!

Chuck E. Cheese's AND a baseball game!!

Since we've been very frugal lately, we thought it would be fun to spend 5 bucks and take Teigen to Chuck E. Cheese's...hey...it's "where a kid can be a kid." I swear Teigen had a great time even though the pictures don't capture him smiling. His favorite was the basketball game of course. He loves balls...he's a boy all right. Justin even got to play a couple rounds of the "adult" basketball game and I of course got to play a little skee-ball. We had a good time together...best 5 bucks I've ever spent.
After Chuck E. Cheese's, the fun didn't stop there. We drove straight to our minor league baseball team's game- the Isotopes. One of Justin's friends he met in the fireman academy hooked us up with box seat tickets. Free tickets and food...now that's what I'm talkin about! It was awesome! Teigen loved how they played music in between each hitter so he got to dance a lot. That boy LOVES dancing. It's hilarious. Teigen watched his first grand slam and we all had so much fun. The Isotopes won. What a great day!