Merry Christmas

This year for Christmas we went to Amber's house and had a small little celebration with just our 2 families. I wish that my Mom, Dad, Michelle and Tom could have been there too, but it was still fun with just us. Since we would be in Utah for Christmas we went to Greg's parents in Burley the weekend before so we could do a small Christmas with them too. Eva loved opening all her presents with Grandma Sheri.

Eva got this cute camera from Uncle Blair and Aunt Bethany. Thanks you guys now maybe she won't be stealing mine all the time and taking random pictures of the floor and extreme close ups of her face:)

Greg's Aunt Suzanne made me this cute diaper wreath. It's kinda hard to tell in the picture but it has lots of baby stuff wrapped up in it. There's socks, lotion, shampoo, wipes etc. It is such a cute idea.

When we got back from Burley we had tones of snow to deal with. Poor Greg just keeps shoveling our drive way and the snow just keeps falling.

Even with all the snow we were able to make it to Amber's safely. Eva and Nathan were so happy to see each other. They love to run all over the house. One of their favorite things to do is slide down the stairs on their tummies. It looks painful to me but they seem to love it.


Christmas morning was nice. We opened all of our presents and the kids didn't waste anytime playing with their new toys. This cute little castle was a gift to Eva from Grandma and Grandpa Mora. Thanks mom and dad.


Amber really had her hands full with a new baby and trying to prepare the Christmas dinner so Greg and I tried to help out where we could. Here is Greg putting the pineapple on the ham.

I made the cheesy potatoes and helped clean up the Kitchen after all the food was done. I know I only have one child right now but taking care of her and being this pregnant, I found myself getting pretty worn out by the end of the day.

I'm glad we got to spend time with family for the holidays. It makes it such a nice, fun time. Christmas is becoming so much fun now that we have beautiful children to celebrate it with. I love my little family so much. And I'm glad that Eva and Nathan got to see each other again. What sweet little cousins.

Thanks Grandma Shelli

I just wanted to say thank you to my Mom for Eva's Birthday present. Since she couldn't be here for the party she had the snow suit shipped to our house. It arrived right on the 16th (Eva's actual birthday) which was nice cause then Eva had one present to open on her birthday. I really wanted to get Eva a snow suit for the winter and this one is darling. I love the pink and brown. So thank you so much Mom. You're such a good Grandma. Love you.

Happy Birthday Eva!

Well Eva's birthday is actually on the 16th but I thought it would be best to celebrate it on a Saturday so family and friends could come. We just had a small little get together and let her open presents and have cake. She had a lot of fun and got some really fun toys. I had to start opening her presents but after she saw me do a few she got the hang of it and wanted to open them herself.

The funnest gift Eva got was from her great Aunt Ruthie (sorry Ruthie I know that makes you sound so old and we all know your not) Anyways.....let me explain that for the past month or so Eva's all time favorite thing to eat is soup. She request it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. So when we started asking her what she wanted for her birthday naturally she replied, "soup" everyone thought that was pretty funny so guess what her silly Aunt Ruthie got her? Soup! We all got a good laugh when Eva pulled the cans of soup out of the bag. Thanks Ruthie I'm sure she will be eating it tomorrow.

One fun toy Eva got was from her daddy. It's a tunnel. Eva is constantly asking us to build her forts and tunnels to play in. So now it is nice that we don't have to break out the blankets and chairs for her on a daily bases.

Eva also found out that you can do more than just climb through this tunnel. This is her and Blaise playing peek a boo.


Blaise has been one of Greg's best friends since kindergarten and is a close friend of the family. His wife Devri had to work but Blaise still came to the party and brought Eva a play makeup kit. It's one of Eva's favorite gifts.


Here is Eva putting the pretend lip stick on him. Eva really likes Blaise and didn't want him to leave. So watch out Devri I think Eva has developed a little crush.


After all the presents were opened we sung Happy Birthday and had yummy cake.

Eva tried really hard to blow out the candles on her own but in the end Daddy had to help.

Here is a picture of Eva and her Aunt Annie who left work just so she could be here for the party. Thanks Ann you are such a sweetie.

After cake Eva was very interested in all her new toys. I wanted to get a picture with her but she was so busy she wouldn't stop to look up at the camera. Finally her Uncle Blair yelled out that her cousin Nathan was here and that made Eva look up for a second. Once she realized he wasn't really here she went back to playing.

So it was a nice little party for Eva. Thanks to everyone who came and for all the nice gifts.

I just can't believe that Eva is TWO! I can still remember when she was just a little baby. It's kinda sad how fast they grow but it is also so much fun to see them mature. I took this picture yesterday while Eva was wearing one of Greg's beanies. She really does look more like a little girl than a baby. I just love her so much and I'm so proud of what a cute, sweet, funny little girl she is turning into.

She is getting so big!

About a month ago I transitioned Eva from her crib to her new room and a twin bed. I was really dreading it but I wanted to have the nursery free for the baby and Eva used to sleeping in a regular bed. I have heard so many horror stories from people about their kids crying for nights, not staying in their beds, coming out of their rooms at all hours of the night etc. So I was really nerves. But to my surprise Eva did GREAT! I had been working on getting the room ready for a few days so Eva was in there with me a lot which I think helped her get used to the room. On day I said it was time for nap and she ran into her new room saying "night, night" so I let her sleep in the twin bed and that was it. She has not wanted to sleep in her crib since. I was completely amazed. She never gets up or out of her room in the middle of the night. And she goes to sleep no problem. I just can't believer how easy that was. So anyways here are some pictures of her new room. I did put a safety rail up just so I know she isn't going to fall out at night.

These pictures are a little fuzzy and I couldn't figure out why, then Greg pointed out to me that there was one of Eva's finger prints right on the lens. It didn't surprise me.

I tried not to spend too much money on her room so I found this dresser at D.I. and painted it myself. Well Greg painted it black and I did the pink parts. I think the pink and black look really cute together.

This is just a picture of Eva from the other day. She was playing in the laundry basket before dinner and decided she didn't want to get out, so we just let her eat in there. I just can't believe how big she is getting. Time is flying by.

Happy Thanksgiving

This year for Thanksgiving Amber, Cameron and Nathan came with us to Greg's parent's house. It was so much fun. Eva and Nathan played so well together and there was lots of fun things for them to do while they were there. We went outside a few times to let the kids see the cows.


Amber and I went out quickly to get a picture of our hubbies with the kids. Has you can see we were dressed in our nice Thanksgiving outfits and just threw on coats and shoes to go outside. We really don't fit in with the farm background do we?


The next day the guys had planned to take Eva and Nathan on a horse ride. It was really cold and windy and Nathan decided to stay in with mom but Eva was ready to go no matter how cold she was.

After Eva was out for a while Greg dropped her off at the house so he and Cameron could go out for a little longer. Eva has not stopped talking about the horse ride since. She tells me everyday how she road on Pebbles and how Pebbles jumped and was a good girl.

Eva and Nathan are so cute together they loved running around the house chasing all the kitties and had fun playing little duets together on the piano.

I'm so glad that Amber and Cameron came with us this year. It was so much fun and I was so glad to see my sister. So here we are, Amber is I think about 37 weeks here. (having her c-section THIS FRIDAY) and I'm 31 weeks. I think we are both ready to be done!

On Saturday it was Greg's Birthday. He is now 26. We went to lunch with the family, then came back and let him open presents and had cake. I think he had a pretty good day and it was a good way to end our stay in Burley. I love you honey. HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

Another Tag.

8 TV shows I like to watch:
1. The Office
2. Lost
3. The Soup
4. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
5. Testees
6. Seinfeld
7. King of Queens
8. My Name is Earl

8 Things that happened yesterday
1. Sat Eva on the potty
2. took a shower
3. Skipped church (Greg had a migraine)
4. Got Taco bell for lunch (I know, I know we are going to hell)
5. took a nap
6. cleaned up Eva's accident
7. Watched T.V.
8. Gave Eva a bath

8 Favorite Places to Eat
1. Outback Stake house
2. Wingers
3. Red Lobster
4. Olive Garden
5. Texas Roadhouse
6. Subway
7. Taco Bell
8. Chilli's

8 Things I look forward to:
1. Thanksgiving
2. Eva being potty trained
3. Seeing Family for the holidays
4. Christmas
5. Having Layla
6. Not being pregnant
7. Getting skinny again
8. Buying our first house

8 things on my wishlist:
1. An Ihome
2. A healthy baby
3. More money (you can never get enough)
4. A potty trained Eva
5. A nice long massage
6. The war to be over
7. A shopping spree
8. A big piece of cake

8 people I tag:
1. Amber
2. Dad
3. Michelle
4. Shelli
5. Natalie
6. Audrey
7. Devri
8. Anyone who wants to do it!!

I think I broke it!

The other day I pulled one of the heavy kitchen drawers out on my big toe! It hurt sooooo bad. I immediately fell to the floor and starting rocking back and forth, making that sucking hiss sound you make when something really, really hurts. Right away my toe started to swell and the nail turned black and blue. It throbbed the whole rest of the day and night and of course being pregnant all I could take was Tylenol which did nothing for the pain. For the past 2 days I just have some dull pain but I still can't wear shoes. Luckily it's been pretty warm here so I don't feel too weird walking around in sandals in November. I'm pretty sure it's broken but I guess there is nothing that the doctors would do for it so I didn't go and get it looked at. I'm just mad cause I know the nail is going to fall off and that will be so gross! So here is a picture of my poor toe.


And this is the stupid drawer.

7 Months

I'm 29 weeks pregnant and having already scheduled my c-section for January 20th, I have exactly 10 weeks left. I was looking at my growing belly in the mirror the other day and was just thinking to myself, "how did I get like this?" I mean how did my stomach go from this.....

To THIS!

And then I thought, oh I know, probably from eating stuff like this....

and maybe a little of this....

A couple bowls of this...

maybe a few of these before bed.

and wash it all down with a carton of this...

anyone else hungry?

Happy Halloween!

Eva and I started the festivities off with decorating her pumpkin. Some of you may think I'm I bad mom but I really didn't want to have to clean up the big mess that I new Eva would make if I carved the pumpkin with her so we just colored it. We made it into a cat and she had lots of fun drawing all over it


Once Greg got home we got Eva dressed up in her fairy costume and headed to our ward's trunk or treat and carnival. And yes that is the same costume she wore last Halloween. She was so fat last year I had to buy her a 2T. This year it still fits, it's just a little shorter. I guess another reason I may be considered a bad mom. Well maybe not a bad mom but just lazy. In my defense I am pregnant and very tired. Anyways Eva can be something new next year.


Greg and I walked around with Eva so she could get some candy. It was really cute watching her say "trick or treat" and "thank you" to everyone. She also had to wear her sun glasses because Daddy was wearing his.



This is Eva and her little friend Rachel. Don't they look so cute together? I was a little bummed because Eva is starting her terrible twos a couple months early and had a few tantrums before we even left the house so her hair isn't as cute as I wanted it to be. At least she was happy for this picture. Probably because she got to start in on her candy.

After the trunk or treat we went inside to the carnival. Eva was a little young for all the games so we didn't stay too long.


Before we left the sugar started to kick in and Eva was having fun dancing. She got a little shy when she noticed some people watching her and ran or danced her way over to the comfort of Daddy.



Halloween is so much fun again now that we have a child to celebrate it with. I just can't wait until next year. I'm sure it's just going to get better and better.

The Hunt

I know that I have been home for a month now, sorry this is late. So this is Alaska. We weren't up in the mountains too far and those were the closest trees. Firewood was a lot of work to gather. The best way to describe the terrain in the tundra is by imagining a field scattered with basketballs no more than a foot apart. Now cover those basketballs with wet, slimy grass, moss and blue berries. If you weren't in the trees or on the mountains you were in this "musk egg" and it was very difficult walking.

Wow Dad, that is a big moose you got a hold of there! Sorry, Pop did not shoot this. Some other hunters got it and we ran into them on the tarmack waiting to leave Kotzebue.

This is my caribou. I swear it was bigger when I shot it. Everyone else had shot theirs on the first day. So I was hunting by myself on the second day and shot this little guy. I needed someone there to tell me to wait for a bigger one. I thought he was huge. I watched his group come in from a mile or so away. The whole time I was watching him and I was sure he was bigger than anyone elses in camp. It turned out that it was not the case. But I am happy with him, it was a very fun and rewarding hunt.

This is Blair's trophy. A bunch of camp robbers were looting us of our bounty so mighty Blair protected the camp from the unruly intruders. At least he was able to shoot something with his bow. Blair also shot a ptarmigan with my rifle on the way back to camp one night. He is quite the hunter. He is also quite the taxidermist. Blair was the only one in camp who knew how to cape the hides for mounting. We would have made royal messes if he wouldn't have been there.

Brent, Bryant, Dad, Me, Blair. Now mine looks even smaller. Everyone else shot very nice caribou. They were the biggest that we had seen come out. The dehydrated food that we packed in was not nearly as good as the caribou we ate every night. One night we had caribou, ptarmigan, mashed potatoes, and gravy for dinner.

Since we had killed our caribou within the first two days we resorted to other recreational activities. Blair and I went out fishing on our fourth day and caught a bunch of greyling. This was the biggest one we caught. We thought we were going to be nice and we brought a bunch back to camp to eat for dinner. They tasted like crap, so Blair used them as bait for the camp robbers. The next day Pop was sad that he had not caught a fish, so we took him to a couple of good holes and he caught a couple of greyling. Later I hooked a big char and broke our pole, that meant it was time to go back to camp and catch our plane back to Kotzebue. I had a great time. I am so lucky to have gone to Alaska with my dad and brother. Next time Reagan will have to go so all the boys can get together. I also am very lucky to such a nice wife that is always home alone but still was happy for me to go. Thanks baby, I love you!