Monida Pass

A week and a half ago I woke up and talked Kasey into driving up to Northern Idaho to visit my grandparents. We left a little later than we had wanted and we hadn't gotten as far as we wanted when the sun went down. The roads had been real good and we were a little ways past Dubois Idaho when we hit some black ice near the Continental Divide at Monida Pass. I tried to keep the car on the road but was unable to do so and we ended up going into the median that divides the freeway. We went in sideways, Kasey had time to yell "Oh Crap!" and soon left the comfort and safety of our four tires. We ended up on our side, in complete darkness with a very cold wind coming in my now windowless door. Adyson was quite confused to say the least, having never been on a roller coaster she had never experienced being strapped in while being jostled and turned about. Although she did start calling out to us right away, when I asked her if she was okay she responded quickly that she was okay. A gentlemen came upon us after a few moments and helped me get Ady and Kasey out of the vehicle. We had a couple of boxes of books that got broken open and then the books ended up in the snow(we had snow in the vehicle from the broken windows and the roll), several diapers ruined and my cup of change for parking meters and whatnot is somewhere in the median, but no bruises, scrapes, broken bones, cuts, whiplash, premature labor, or anything wrong with any of us. When I had finally found Ady's shoes and socks(she refuses to leave them on her feet when she is in the car) and climbed out of the vehicle myself, I was amazed at what I saw. We had clothing and junk outside the car, glass was everywhere looking at the slide marks in the snow I saw a 6 foot wide section where there were no tracks, indicating that we had been air borne at that point. I went over to the car of the gentleman who had come upon us and called 911 and checked on Ady and Kasey who were sitting inside trying to stay warm. I asked them if again if they were okay and once again both responded affirmatively. As soon as I asked Ady if she was okay she immediately asked me if I was okay. I smiled and told her that I was also okay. Then she said very matter of factly-"Dad we okay." Her simple statement struck me quite poignantly, I was worried about all sorts of things and feeling quite stupid for wrecking my vehicle,but her words caused me to really realize how blessed we were. We were all okay. After the officer had filled out his paperwork, the wrecker had come to tow our vehicle back to a wrecker's yard, we were sitting there in a small motel room in the middle of no-where and once again found ourselves looking for any sign of the wreck and once again failed at even finding a bruise from the seat belts. Even though we had only purchased our car less than a month ago and really liked it, and were totally unsure of what to do next we were profoundly grateful for our physical safety. We know that we were watched over that evening, and no matter what else, Ady was right, "we okay". The next day after I hitchhiked back to Idaho Falls and had obtained a rental car we continued on our journey to visit my grandparents. We had a wonderful time and we have some pictures to share.

Here is Ady when she saw a playground across this field. She didn't even hesitate just took off running.

We walked down to the river by my grandparents house. Ady really liked the river, she thought it was the same as the ocean and immediately stuck her hand in the water. No worries she soon figured out the water was a bit chilly.

Here's a picture of beautiful Coeur d'Alene Lake. We had a nice time visiting with grandma and grandpa and enjoyed the beauty of the scenery up North.

The Last Month

Well it has been about a month since our last post. Although no one may have noticed that we haven't posted anything recently, I thought I'd update you on what we've been doing. I graduated on the 18th of December, and we left our warm and beautiful Hawaii two days later. When we arrived in Salt Lake City we were not only extremely tired from Ady being a bit of a pain on the flights and not allowing us to sleep, but the sweatshirts that we had bought just before leaving Hawaii proved to be grossly inadequate at keeping us warm. After spending a day car shopping we selected a vehicle, which gave us some measure of freedom and independence and began bouncing around, visiting friends and family which we hadn't seen in a couple years. Both of our families had some illnesses so we timed where we visiting, according to who was sicker. Christmas was fun, we enjoyed the casual unorganized activities with my family and the extremely organized chaos of Kasey's family Christmas activities. Ady had so much fun. She loved running around and having cousins to play with. Ady has shown us once again that she is a thrill seeker. I took her on a 4 story tubular water slide at the Legacy center in Lehi. When I asked her if she was ready, she nervously looked down into the total blackness and her voice shook as she said that she was ready. I pushed us off and I don't know who was holding who, on the way down. In the blackness we couldn't tell which way the next bend would be and Ady was making a shrill somewhat terrified "weee" most of the way down. When we came out and became completely submerged under water I grabbed her and stood up, she quickly wiped the water from her eyes, gasped and said "again? I go again Dad?" Not sure if she was asking if she got to go again or had to go again, I asked her if it was fun, and she said that it was fun and that she wanted to go again. Seeing that my experiment was a success and having proof that Ady had survived, we headed over to inform Kasey of what Ady had just done. Of course Ady wanted to show Kasey, and so back up the steps we went. Several runs later I had to tell Ady that it was time to go, and she immediately threw a fit, because she wanted to "lide one more time". A weel or so later we took her sledding and once again had to pry her away from the sleds when it was time to go. Take a look at this picture. Ady has been horse back riding half a dozen times. Always bareback, and by herself. No fear for this kid.

Ady loves looking at Christmas lights, so of course we took her to Temple Square. It was very cold and Ady refused to walk, so I hoisted her on to my shoulders and away we went. I think I only made it about 2 minutes before I was tired of having her grab my ears, rotate my head and say "look dad, more lights". I don't know exactly how many lights are at temple square, but I'd venture that Ady pointed out just about every single light.

In addition to the Christmas activities, family fun and showing Ady new things like water slides, horses, and sledding, we have spent 5 days hanging out with/tending 5 of Kasey's cousins(ages 4-15) while their parents went to California. Ady really enjoyed playing with Eli, who is four. Eli varied between enjoying Ady's company and tolerating Ady. One day while driving around, Ady saw some cows, whose existence still surprise her, and shouted from her seat in the back, "Dad, look at dat". Before I or Kasey could say anything, Eli said in a very serious, bored, strait up voice, "yeah, they're just cows". Completely unfazed by Eli's lack of excitement over finding these "rare" creatures, a minute later we hear once again "Dad look at dat". I looked out to see some geese in a corn field. Once again Eli was faster at responding, and in that same "you've got to be kidding me to be even remotely interested in that" voice said "yeah that's just a corn field and they are everywhere".
We finally got our car in Hawaii sold, thanks to lots of help from our good friends Steve and Lauren. Ady has adjusted to having a new car and likes to sit in the drivers seat and act like she is driving it. Looking at this picture with her and her cousin Carissa maybe she has a future in racing. The best part with Ady is that you don't have to put in a quarter for her to enjoy the arcade.

I am still working at finding work. And we haven't made a decision about grad school. Right now we are just staying with family and will hopefully have a more permanent address, and answers to our future plans. Until then any questions you have about where are we, what are we doing, or what our plans are can easily be answered with, depends on the day, don't know or ask us tomorrow. All answers are interchangeable and arent particularly associated with any specific question.

Trivia-Which is better Summa Cum Laude or Magna Cum Laude?

Last night was Adam's School of Business Graduation Banquet. They had a very nice dinner and Awards Ceremony. We didn't know what was better, Magna Cum Laude or Summa Cum Laude. We thought that Magna was better than Summa. Adam looked pretty silly when he congratulated a friend for getting Magna "which is the highest honor" and then the friend had to explain to Adam that actually it is the Summa that is the highest. Pretty funny that a guy who is awarded Summa Cum Laude doesn't even know what it means.
And next--how is it pronounced? I think we heard about 5 different pronunciations given by college professors last night at the banquet. They had a very nice dinner and Awards Ceremony. Adam doesn't like me to brag, (or make fun of him being a smart nerd) but I think it is very commendable that during the past 2 years at BYUH Adam has done so well, so I had to write about it. Last night Adam was recognized for graduating Summa Cum Laude and was also awarded the most outstanding student in his major. He got a nice award plaque, a gift basket with lots of Hawaiian Macadamia nut goodies-my favorite part, and the nicest lei we have ever had-Ady's favorite part as you can see!

Here is a photo of Adam's plaque. Sorry about the flash. Congratulations Honey!

what happens when your blog gets left signed in....

This is Adam's little sister, Rachel. I have been living with Adam and Kasey this semester, watching Adyson and my own baby, Jett, as my husband has been gone for basic/AIT training stuff.
I've been waiting for the opportunity to post on their blog since I got pictures of Ady trying to breastfeed her baby doll....that's what happens when we all share Adams laptop and everything is left signed in!
At first when I got here, I was a little worried about Jett's survival being around Ady. As he was learning to crawl and pull himself up to a stand at the couch, she would go out of her way to knock him over. It's not uncommon for children to do such things when they fear competition for attention....but has still been extremely frustrating for me as it's my baby bonking his head on the hard wood floor every time.
Turns out....with a little effort....I may have convinced Ady that Jett can be her friend. They are now playing together and feed off each others giggles and she even lets him jump on her bed with her now!

Best part is that Ady now imitates EVERYTHING I do as a mother.....she is going to be a super sister!

She breastfeeds....(to be honest, I'm suprised it has taken this long before she started this)
She's teaching her baby to walk....
Feeds her baby cheerios....
Rocks her baby to sleep.....
Wakes baby up by poking her eyes out....(I didn't teach her this)....
Tickles her baby.....
plays with her baby....
More breastfeeding.....more discreetly....
Gives piggy back rides.....
And she also gives Anakin Skywalker pod racer rides.....

Happy Thanksgiving!

This is how much Ady loves the beach! I'm glad I finally got some video footage of her.




And by the way, it's a healthy boy! The ultrasound technician was very sure about it yesterday at our appointment. He now weighs 1 pound. We are very happy, actually I am very happy...and Adam is "just as happy as if it was a girl-it doesn't matter what it is, he would be the same." I just think it makes for a nice round even family. I am also half-way with the pregnancy...finally! I am feeling huge already-is that normal to just bulge out on the second one since you're already stretched? I'm very glad the 1st trimester is over, but the sickness lingers some still-along with all the other horrible pregnancy things like heartburn and lack of initiative to do much.
Even with all the lack of motivation, I was motivated enough to give my bosses a 3.5 week notice this week(I know- normally you give 2 weeks, but they already know Adam is graduating and they wanted as much notice as possible). I am on my way to my next job of being a full time mommy! I never thought I would be really excited to stay home, especially since we don't have a set plan, but I am. I am sure it won't be easy, especially if I am to become a great home wife/mom, but I am sure staying home as a mother will be the most valuable thing for my family.
Adam is considering going to grad school to get an MBA(no, he doesn't have a fever--and yes his study habits changed tremendously for the better these last 2 years). He is looking into returning to USU for their one year MBA program.
Well, just want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! We are so thankful for this life and the opportunities it gives us to enjoy, grow, become, and be blessed.

In the last month

So I have been informed that it has been over a month since our last post, and Kasey thinks it is my turn to update the blog. For Halloween Ady was once again a Lady Bug. She still kinda fit the costume and being as we are preparing to move in 6 weeks, we decided to save money and just reuse the one from last year. She loves picking flowers, even these yellow ones which are basically a weed.

We've also been to the beach many times in the last month, and Ady loves playing in the sand. She even likes to be buried.


Sometimes Ady likes to be buried all the way up to her neck.

This is Ady playing with her cousin Jett at the beach. Ady seems to really like Jett at times, and is nice to him, and other times she is kinda rough with him.

Kasey's cousin Heidi and Aunt Patrice are here visiting right now, Ady loves to hang out with them and loved going to Haleiwa to get shave ice. She couldn't quite reach the hole for the photo, but you can see the top of her head and tell that she really wanted to put her face in the hole for the photo like everyone else did.
As for the the rest of the news for the month... We've been really busy. School is almost done for me. Kasey is looking forward to Christmas vacation and seeing family. We have one way tickets to Utah purchased, but no job or final destination lined up for us. I have another interview in a couple days. I've been trying to negotiate a purchase of a resort we like in Minnesota but can't come up with the 250 thousand dollars needed as a down payment. As for the baby, they no longer think that the baby has down syndrome, they have decided that the baby probably isn't as far along as originally guessed. Being as they thought the baby had a spinal problem or neurological problem we had to go in last week for lots of tests and a special ultra-sound. They measured the baby's various parts and determined that it was probably a week or so off in the guess of the due date. So the new date is April 15th and everything looks healthy now. Other than a crazed two year-old terrorizing her cousin, stress from doctors and a pregnant lady that lives here, and the lack of an answer to everyone asking us what we are doing and where we are going next, things are going really well with our family. Until next time...

It's our 5 year anniversary!

5 Fabulous Years

4 Years College-almost done!

3 States-UT, FL, HI

2 Kids- (one on the way)

1 Great Relationship

0 Pets right now!

Yay!

Lego's Grand Opening in Honolulu

No surprise, Adam being the adult Lego fan that he is couldn't miss the chance to go to the Grand Opening of the Lego Store in the Ala Moana Mall. Luckily his friend Eric, whose son,William, happens to be Ady's friend, is also a fan, and we all went together and Adam had somebody to be excited with him. (since I'm not exactly the kind to be ecstatic over this stuff) Here they are at the life size surf board exhibit that was being built out of Lego's. They even got to help build a block to go in the exhibit. Ady enjoyed it and liked playing with the Legos too-especially when she found the pink ones. Looks like Dad has a new friend he can count on for years to come to play Legos with him.

Update

Well this is just an update to the last few rather vague posts. First just to let you all know that I smashed down the yellow M&M out of Ady's nose during Relief Society, thankfully before she could push it up any further to really get it stuck. However she did have odd color snot running out of her nose for the next hour or so.
Next, thanks for all those who have been concerned for us. We are doing as well as can be expected with a pregnant ornery lady in the house. I am due April 9. I think the sooner that gets here the better. However, on the positive side, this pregnancy and morning sickness is different than the last(if you know about that, your probly still surprised we are having another kid). I've only had a couple of days where I was vomiting and been really nauseous--unlike last time where I was soooo sick and vomiting about every 30 min for the whole first trimester. I am still not feeling well, but its way better than last time, so I can hardly complain. Maybe the difference is its a boy? I am also craving food this time, which is great to me, since last time I practically had to force myself to eat and nothing sounded good. But now, I feel better if I eat, and I feel like I need something in my stomach about every hour or I'll be sick, so I feel like all I do is sit at work or home and eat. I am also very exhausted, which i don't remember being before. So I pretty much eat and sleep. Well I make it to work usually too. Thats another nice thing is that BYUH and my bosses are very understanding and happy for us and I have some saved up sick leave. Its almost like it's expected for you to have a family and work here--unlike Key West.
I still have to thank Adam for pretty much doing everything from the grocery shopping to the laundry to putting Ady to bed every night. I just haven't felt good enough to do much, and Adam just fills in with what needs to be done even while attending school full-time. I know I'm not an easy pregnant lady to live with(sorry too, Rachel), but hopefully this 1st trimester will be over with soon and life will get easier.
On a cute note, we did go to the Dr. and have an ultrasound, Ady got to come with us when the time came they turned out the lights to see the screen better and she was sitting on Adam's lap while they took the measurements. It was all quiet. Then Adam asked her if they were looking at her little sibling and she turned around, put her finger to her mouth, and told him to "SHHHHH" It was so cute. And the baby is normal with a normal heartbeat, and we are very happy for that.

Family News

Well I thought I could make up for the small quantity of posts recently with a quality post. You know what they say, quality not quantity. Of course Ady was very interested in the news.

Growing up and becoming independant

Ady is probably better with a computer than I am. This morning when I got up, I heard a movie playing and went into Ady's room. There was Ady sitting in front of a laptop watching Care Bears. I assumed that Kasey must've gotten it set up before she left for work. So then I called Kasey to ask if she had fed Ady anything. But when I asked Kasey told me that Ady was still asleep when she left for work. That means that Ady got up, turned on the computer, went and got a DVD, put it in, started it, and hit enter when the menu came up. Pretty good for a two year old I'd say. Makes me worry that tomorrow I am gonna wake up and find out she walked to the store to buy some candy.

M & M

What do you do when your 2 yr old sticks a yellow mini M&M up her nose in the middle of Relief Society?

4th of July

Well we had tons of fun this last weekend.  Being as it was a holiday weekend, Kasey got work off on Friday and we decided to start celebrating that day.  First we went to Honolulu and took Ady to see the movie Up.  We had fun and Ady was very cute to watch.  She sat in her own seat and didn't even move for about 40 minutes.  I kept checking on her and her mouth was open, eyes wide in amazement, and pure ecstasy written all over her face.  Then about 40 minutes in, she was so enthralled that she wanted to share with us and everyone else in the theater.  I felt a little tap on my arm and thought I would just ignore it.  But no, another tap, this one a little firmer, and then I heard, "dad, dad, dad, dad" about 15 times.  I looked over and asked what.  She whispered, "bird, dad dere's a bird."  I kinda chuckled and looked over to see if Kasey had heard.  But no worries Ady wanted to make sure that her mom knew she saw the bird.  "HI BIRD, HI BIRD, BYE BIRD, DAD DERE'S A BIRD, BYE BIRD."  Sometimes I am amazed at how loud Ady can be, the rest of the time I am amazed that she isn't being really loud.  Don't worry Ady doesn't discriminate, she also made sure to say hi and bye to the dogs.  After the movie we went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner and got home late that night after a very fun family night out.  

On Saturday had a barbeque and I grilled Aloha burgers with some friends. Then later we went to the store and bought ice cream and waffle cones. We eat a lot of ice cream at our house but never in cones. Kasey wanted ice cream cones so we decided to mix things up a little bit and headed to the store. Ady loves ice cream and we decided to just give her her own cone. She thought it was so cool. She could walk around and eat at the same time. She seemed so happy. However we aren't sure if she ate much. She likes waving her arms around and dancing when she gets really excited. Twice she dumped her ice cream on the sidewalk. Don't worry though, she quickly bent down, picked up the spilled scoop and put it back on her cone. but between the sidewalk and what you can see all over her, we don't know if she actually ate any. What we do know is she loves chocolate ice cream with brownie bits.

We spent 3 dollars at Walmart last year on fireworks, but due to rain never lit them. So this year we decided to get them out and light 'em up. First we walked around the community and watched as people who spent more than 3 dollars light theirs. Ady was pretty nervous for the first 15 minutes. But after a while she really warmed up to the fireworks and by the time we made it to the park to light our sparklers and bloomin flowers she was saying, "more, more dad, more pire lights pease, again, do again dad." Hope all of you had a great 4th of July.

Fill in the blank: Popcorn-opc=__________

Adyson has decided that she really likes popcorn.  She is also learning to talk now.   So she has learned to tell us that she wants popcorn please.   However, she doesn't seem to think that the middle of a word is all that important, and struggles with the "L" in please, so "I want Popcorn please" comes out like "I want porn pease."  Ya, so she kind of forgets the middle part, and it makes it sound pretty bad.  Normally we just laugh because she is 2 and we just tell her "it's popcorn, Adyson."  But the other day we are walking down the isle of the grocery store and she sees the popcorn and starts yelling "Mommy, I want porn, I want porn.  More porn pease Mommy."  Although it was pretty funny we were a bit embarrassed and decided that we need to be  more progressive in teaching Ady how to speak correctly.  Of course, that is being difficult so for now we just don't go down the aisle with popcorn.