Eli & Candace

BUNGEE JUMPING

2011-08-07T16:40:00.001-07:00

For our 5 year anniversary Eli surprised me with bungee jumping! It's something I've always wanted to do, but when I actually got the chance, became super super scarred. We went off a bridge in Twin Falls, Idaho, and it was 175 ft jump. We've been skydiving, so I thought I'd be ok, but this was seriously the single scariest thing I have ever done. You just plain fall. And then the cord catches, recoils, and you fall again. Over and over. We each did two jumps, and the guy running it makes you do them both in a row. I almost didn't do the second jump, but when I got back to the top he just set me back on the beam and started counting down. SO glad I did it, but probably won't be doing it again!

OREGON

2011-08-07T16:16:00.001-07:00

In June we took the long drive up to Hammond, Oregon to see Eli's brother Jason and his family. And I mean LONG drive. Twelve hours one way with two little girls is not so much fun. Sophie watched Oliver and Company NINE times. We got so sick of listening to it that we stopped and bought headphones for her. Also very annoying was the fact that she has to pee every five seconds. Once we finally got there tho, it was awesome : ) Jason is a park ranger and so we got to do all sorts of cool things in the forest and on the coast. We spent a lot of time at the beach, bike riding, and just spending time together. Sophie loved the aquarium, and having a sleepover with cousin Kenyon every night. Definitely a trip I would love to take again, but not until after I petition the state of Oregon to raise the speed limit to anything other than 65!

The Switch

2011-05-21T16:12:00.000-07:00

I have now done the one thing that I swore I would NEVER do when it came to babies - cloth diapers. And as incredibly ludicrous as it may sound, they're not that bad! I have always had such a negative opinion of cloth diapers, probably because when I thought of them I envisioned those old school ones fastened on with a ginormous safety pin, leaking everywhere and everything else gross that goes along with diapers. I have a sister in law whose been trying to talk me into "going cloth" since before Sophie was born, but that wasn't happening. Lately, with Eli back in school and working less, we've been doing everything we can think of to save a little cash, cloth diapers were brought into the discussion as a mere joke. Shortly thereafter, I was in Colorado visiting family and friends, and found out that both my sister in law (a different one) and a good friend of mine were also doing cloth. So, after hearing about how much money they save and how great they are for the environment, I did a little research. Turns out cloth diapers have come a long way. So, we've traded in our Huggies, helped the environment (not something I'm super worried about, but it sounds good), and "gone cloth." They're actually no where near the work I thought they'd be, super soft on her little butt, about the same size as a disposable, and come in patterns so cute I'm considering buying t-shirts to match and calling it an outfit.

Easter

2011-04-26T18:42:00.000-07:00

Elin Danielle 6 Months

2011-04-19T14:19:00.000-07:00

Just like Sophie, Elin is at the top of the charts : ) At her 6 month checkup she was 27.5" long, and weighed 19.5 lbs, both in the 97th percentile. She would already rather eat baby food than drink a bottle, and loves gram crackers and raspberry jam.

2011-02-16T12:53:00.000-08:00

We found out on Monday that Eli was accepted into the Masters Nursing program at BYU! I've cheered for a number of colleges, played for a few, and wished I could have gone to some others, but never once dreamed that I'd do any such thing for BYU. It's actually a very highly rated program, and Eli was very lucky to get in only having graduated from nursing school 2 years ago (only 15 people were accepted into the program). His stellar GRE score and awesome letters of recommendation helped. So, I guess for the next 2 years I'll have to suck it up and cheer on the Cougars. Good job babe, you're a male Cougar. But, we already knew that : )

Elin Danielle @ 4 Months

2011-02-10T15:18:00.001-08:00

I can't believe it, but Elin is already 4 months old. She's just getting big SO fast. . . . . a little too fast for me. At her 4 month check up she was 25.5 " long, and weighed 15 lbs 11 oz. She's about the same length Sophie was, but weighs about 1/2 lb more. She's in the 95th percentile across the board, big girls at our house!

Maybe the greatest day ever!

2011-02-10T15:03:00.000-08:00

I never thought that someone using the toilet would bring me such joy, but alas, it has!!!! I tried a few months ago to potty train her, but got so frustrated that I just gave up. After buying diapers for two for the past four months, I decided that it might be cheaper to just buy new panties over and over again. Anyway, for lack of a better idea, we did potty training cold turkey. When Sophie woke up on Monday morning, I took her diaper off and replaced it with a pair of Dora the Explorer panties. Day 1 had 12 accidents. Day 2, 9 accidents. Day 3, ZERO!!!! I seriously thought she wasn't getting it, and after mopping the floor a dozen times was about ready to give up again. But, something clicked inside that little head of hers, and now I can officially say that Sophie Melissa is officially potty trained!

2011-02-06T10:27:00.000-08:00

I know that my blogging could be described as somewhat sporadic, and inconsistent at best, but it has now come to a near halt altogether. Our lap top decided to blow up, which has caused some serious frustrations. Eli is all up in arms that he won't have one for school now, and all the important things he does like paying our bills and basically managing our lives, but I'm concerned about the REALLY important stuff, like facebook and blog stalking. I guess it didn't actually blow up, but it did make a really obnoxious noise and have a flashing black and white screen for about 2o minutes, and now it won't even turn on. So, we had do did our old desk top out of storage and plug 'er in. Apparently computers don't do well just sitting uncovered in a storage room for 2 years, because it has become very temperamental. The most annoying part for me is that it will no longer upload photos from an SD card or a USB. So, no pictures for you!

Christmas . . . a little after the fact

2011-01-16T14:22:00.000-08:00

Christmas seemed to come in such a rush this year, even now that it's over I feel behinde. We did Christmas at our house this year, and Sophie got such a haul that I'm glad it didn't have to be transportted anywhere. Eli totally surprised me by somehow getting my college basketball jersey and having it framed for me, and also got me a camera, which is really really nice, capable of so many cool things, and I have no clue how to use it properly! It did come with quite a bit of reading material, so I should probably get around to it. . . .

Elin, looking happy with her presents, even tho she has no clue what's going on.

Sophie was not as impressed with some of her presents as we thought she'd be.

Future X Games Star

2010-12-21T18:27:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure if I'm upset about it, or super proud, but Sophie went skiing before she was potty trained. Maybe when she's a pro and making tons of cash we'll tell stories of her skiing in diapers. Anyway, we took Sophie skiing for her first time, and tho she didn't know what to think of it at first, by the end of the day she thought she was pretty cool. She even insisted on wearing her "goggs" on her head while we were in the lodge like the rest of the super cool people.

2010-12-21T18:20:00.000-08:00

This year at the Callister family Christmas party Eli got the honor of playing Santa. And he was THRILLED about it. Especially when my sisters boyfriend got to take a turn on his lap! We all thought it was pretty funny, but got an even bigger laugh when we found out that Mark didn't know it was Eli.

2 Months Old

2010-12-12T17:07:00.000-08:00

Apparently Eli and I create above average little girls. At Elin's 2 month check up she was 23 1/2 inches long and weighed 13 lbs 1 oz, 95th percentile across the board. Except for her head, that was only in the 90th.

Elin's Blessing

2010-11-21T09:33:00.000-08:00

My mom made Elin's dress for her, which is why it was so beautiful : )

Four Generations

Grandma Melissa

Grandma Sylvia

Halloween

2010-11-11T10:25:00.000-08:00

I was super excited for Halloween this year because I just knew Sophie would love it, and despite the look she has in every picture we took, she did love it. She wasn't too sure what to think of pumpkin carving, but thought it was way cool when we put the candles in. She loved her tiger costume (if you ask her, she was a kitty), and has already worn it to Walmart and out running errands twice. And more than anything she loved running around the neighborhood and getting candy from everyone. There were a few houses with "cary" (scary) decorations, so she made daddy carry her to the door so she could get more candy.

"Mmmm, rain."

2010-10-16T17:34:00.000-07:00

As I was standing on the porch talking to a friend, Sophie decided to go out and play in the rain. It wasn't raining that hard, so I didn't mind. I got caught up in the conversation and didn't pay attention to what she was doing until I heard her saying "Mmmm, rain." over and over again. She had found a cup and was drinking the "rain" from the gutter. She thought it was delicious and starting bawling when I took her cup away and told her it was yucky rain.

2010-10-16T17:30:00.000-07:00

Elin Danielle Thornton

2010-10-03T11:40:00.000-07:00

Elin Danielle Thornton was born on 9/29, just under 2 weeks early, and I'm SUPER happy about it! She weighed 9 lbs 2 oz, so I can't even imagine how big she'd be if she cooked any longer : ) One of my friends from high school went into labor early that morning, and since she was due 3 weeks AFTER me, I wasn't very happy about it. I spent the whole morning doing laundry, washing the floors, taking walks, and chasing Sophie, and still nothing happened. Later that night when Eli got home I started not feeling well, so went for another walk, ate some Arby's, did some squats, and went to the hospital hoping they'd just start me. Turns out, I was in labor, and she was born 2 hours later. *to clear up any confusion, not that anyone reads this, but just in case, her name is pronounced EE - Lin, not Ellen. and yes, we are aware that it's Tiger Woods ex-wifes name

Sophie Turns 2

2010-09-27T18:39:00.000-07:00

"Helping" make her birthday cake.

Her new kitty and stroller, she does laps around the kitchen every morning when she wakes up.

NERMAL

2010-09-15T14:11:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Eli noticed that our lawn was being over taken by voles. A vole is a bigger, uglier version of a mouse, by the way. They were tunneling through our lawn, into the flower beds, and up near the foundation of the house. Eli immediately saw this as an opportunity to go to the hardware store. After countless hours spent trying to trap, poison, and get rid of these nasty little creatures, it seemed they were only multiplying. I suggested a cat, but Eli HATES cats. So we bought more poison. Which also didn't work. So after weeks of this dilemma, and seeing the home and garden center on our Wells Fargo statement way too many times, I decided to take matters into my own hands. While Eli was sleeping one day after a long nights work, I got on ksl.com and found a cat. An old woman was trying to get rid of the cat because she kept leaving dead mice and birds on the porch - just what I was looking for. So, I called her up and went and got the cat. I didn't know if an adult cat would change homes easily, so I also found a free kitten online and picked him up too. The adult cats name was Sophie, so that needed to be changed. The box I brought her home in said "Hot Tamales" on the side, so 'Tamale' is her new name. Nermal just seemed to fit the kitten, so that's what he got. When Eli woke up and went out to the garage for something, he saw Tamale and Nermal - NOT HAPPY. The next morning when there was a big fat vole on our front porch he started to come around. The morning after that when there were two on the front porch and one on the back, he suggested I go buy her some treats and a collar so no one could steal her. Vole problem solved.

Labor Day Camp

2010-09-08T17:58:00.000-07:00

Every year for the past, well. . . at least 30 years, the Buttars family has gone on a Labor Day camp trip. And when I say the Buttars family, I mean EVERYONE - aunts, uncles, cousins, cousins kids, grandparents, and even some of the grandparents siblings and their kids, and also their kids. So, there's a lot of us. The location varies, but this year it was at Emigration campground, near Bear Lake. Since leaving for college I haven't been, so this year we decided to at least make an apperance. For the most part it was a lot of fun and the food was, as always, AMAZING. (our relatives are the dutch oven cook off champions of the midwest) But, being nearly 9 months pregnant and sleeping in a tent kind of put a damper on things, so we didn't stay long.

2010-08-28T07:16:00.000-07:00

Trouble. There are no other words. . . . and she's not even quite 2.

My Nesting Project

2010-08-17T14:01:00.001-07:00

I am finally nearing the end of pregnancy #2, and have gone into what Eli refers to as my "nesting" phase, where I feel the urge to buy, make, and create all sorts of things for the baby. My most recent nesting project was making a quilt. Not a hard task, but for someone about as far from Martha as you can get, it was trying enough for me. Along with my nesting phase comes my forgetfullness phase. Somewhere between the car and the entrance to Hobby Lobby, the amount of fabric I needed for said project doubled in my mind. But, you can't return fabric, so I just made the baby quilt. And then made one for my new neice. And then also made one for Sophie's baby doll.

2010-08-16T08:31:00.000-07:00

Time is at a complete stand still. 71/2 weeks left, and it seems like an eternity. Why does growing a human take so freakin long?

LAKE POWELL

2010-07-27T19:38:00.000-07:00

We were lucky enough to get to spend an entire week at Lake Powell with our friends Bryson and Danielle and their family . . . and it was AWESOME! We stayed on their family's house boat, did tons of wake boarding, jet skiing, cliff jumping, and relaxing. I mostly just did the relaxing and picture taking. Sophie did even better than we expected, and was a little too fearless for my comfort.

2010-06-24T17:04:00.000-07:00

My mom and dad bought us a swing set as a house warming gift, and we were pretty psyched about it, especially Sophie. The manual said it would take 10 to 12 hours of building time, which we thought was a load of crap. It was not. Even with the help of my two brothers it took us nearly 7 1/2 painful hours. Most of the pain came from Sophie trying to help and losing the bolts and screws, or insisting on being right next to whatever we were working on. We were shocked by what a huge swing set came in such a small box, slide and all. We finally got it all put together, and now Sophie and I spend literally hours everyday going up and down the slide, over and over and over and over. . . .

2010-06-20T07:28:00.000-07:00

We had a minor disagreement with our sprinkling system and ended up blowing a pipe in the front yard. To his credit, and my surprise, Eli dug the thing up and fixed all by himself. What a handy man!

The Girls' Room

2010-06-18T15:22:00.000-07:00

We've been in our house for about 2 weeks now, and the only room that's done is the girls'. I had a lot of fun doing it, was really pleased with how it turned out, and Eli was really pleased when I finally finished and put all the paint, brushes, and plastic away. Sophie was actually pretty good about staying out of the way, she only stuck Oreo's to my canvas once, and smeared only half a flower.

BAHAMAS : )

2010-06-02T16:33:00.000-07:00

We had the terrible luck of having to attend a wedding at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas last week. Rough. One of the girls I played basketball with in college was the bride, and nearly the whole team showed up for the event. There were a lot of TALL girls running around the beach, and it didn't go unnoticed. The water was absolutely beautiful, literally as clear as the pools. The food was amazing, the sun was wonderful, the company great, and the experience unforgettable. The resort had everything you could possibly think of to do, from a club and restaurants to water slides, swimming with the dolphins, scuba diving, jet skis, and a "lazy" river complete with rapids and a tube slide. The whole week as awesome, EXPENSIVE, and totally worth it!

2010-05-18T17:08:00.000-07:00

IT'S A GIRL!!!! Eli is destined to be surrounded by women : )

OLD MAN

2010-05-15T07:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Eli's birthday, so as of today he is officially old : ) Only one more year in your twenty's babe! 29 really isn't that old, but it's half a decade older than me! happy birthday babe! old man or not i still love you!

Easy to clean my _ _ _!

2010-04-24T08:24:00.000-07:00

While vacuuming the car I noticed Sophie's car seat had a funk about it, so I decided it was probably time to clean it. I have done many hard things in my life, but never would I have guessed that cleaning a car seat would be added to that list. After removing the Goldfish, Smarties, and a wedged DumDum, I ran into trouble. The freakin' cover would NOT come off. After a few tries I decided there must be some simple trick I just don't know about, so I started searching online. Every review, blog, post, etc. simply said, "easy to clean!" After about 10 minutes I felt like I must be the only owner of the Alpha Omega Elite who just plain doesn't get it. Either that, or everyone else out there is lieing and has never actually cleaned theirs. Anyway, I attacked the thing with new found gusto. . . and may have broken it. I did however manage to get it apart and throw the pieces in the wash. We'll see if it goes back together once it's clean. That'll probably be about the time I find the "dry clean only" tag.

Helping

2010-04-22T07:31:00.000-07:00

Eli finally got a few days off work, so he decided to work around the house : ) While changing the oil in our cars, Sophie decided that it looked like he could use a little help. She would go and sit by him, crawl under the car, then get bored, take one of his tools, put it in the seat of her little bike, and take off. At one point she took his ratchet, and we didn't notice in time. We searched her, the drive way, and the garage and couldn't find the stupid thing. Eli finally got so frustrated he stuck his hand in the oil pan, sure she must have thrown it in there. No ratchet, but he did fish out 11 rocks. Deciding it was gone for good, he finished the job with a crescent wrench. Two days later while mowing the lawn we found the stupid thing.

this times 2????

2010-03-30T12:21:00.000-07:00

Well, if there's one thing I've learned in my life, it's that when I try to plan ahead, that plan never seems to go the way I planned it. Apparently, even when Eli is in on the plan, it's not enough. So screw planning! Here comes baby number 2 . . . . . . . . .

Bye Bye Bonnie!!!

2010-03-18T07:31:00.001-07:00

After what has seemed near a lifetime I finally get to retire the green Bonnie! Eli saved all his pennies and bought me a car! Yay for me! I will not miss Bonnie in the slightest. Despite that, I do however feel that I must give Pontiac props. That rotten green Bonneville is a 1996, has literally 273,159 miles, and is still getting 34 mpg. Here's to you Pontiac. Too bad you went under. And here's to Eli, cuz he gets to commute to work and back in that thing : )

Sick of Huggies

2010-03-18T07:22:00.001-07:00

I've had it with diapers!!! Sick of them!! No more I say! Unfortunately, Sophie does not share my same feelings. About a week ago we made a special little trip to go buy her a pink potty and some potty books, but she's not showing too much gratitude if you ask me. About a million times a day I have her sit on her potty, hoping and praying that by some miracle she'll actually pee in the stupid thing, but it never happens. Maybe if her vocabulary including more than "ruff ruff" and "num num" it would be easier to get through to her. Or, maybe 18 months is still too young.

Slacker

2010-03-01T15:13:00.000-08:00

So, as I was blog stocking today I realized what a slacker I have become with my own. Not that I believe anyone actually reads this, or cares what we're up to in the desolate land that is southern Idaho, but I've discovered that sometimes it feels good to get on here and pretend that I have an audience : ) There are many things I could blame my lack of blogging effort on, but the excuse I choose is that my camera is broken. Who knew that a $200 camera couldn't survive a 1 year old throwing it across a tile floor?

Ski The Beav

2010-01-03T07:39:00.001-08:00

Our friends Jeremey and Lizzie came out to Utah to experience "Skin' the Beav," unfortunatey the snow was lacking, but we're glad they came out anyway!

Livin' it up at Grandma's

2009-11-30T12:25:00.000-08:00

You could say that Sophie has adjusted well to living at grandma's house. Or, you could say, she's livin' it up at grandmas house. Sophie roams the house, which is much bigger than anywhere else we've ever lived, like she owns the place. You'd think it'd be hard to find her, but all you have to do is follow the disasters. She's like a mini tornado, nothing is safe.

IDAHO

2009-11-18T14:52:00.000-08:00

It has been a whirl wind of a month! In mid October Eli brought Sophie and I to Idaho where I was going to coach high school basketball for 3 months. Eli didn't have a job out here, so he was going to come back and forth whenever he could, meanwhile job hunting. It seemed like a great plan, until we actually had to put it in action. Two days after he had left, I was seriously re-considering my decision. By luck, chance, or maybe because it was meant to be, that same day Eli got a call from the Cache Valley Specialty Hospital to come in for an interview. So, he drove all the way back. About an hour after his interview they called to offer him the position! He seems to get every job he interviews for. . . I'm beginning to wonder what goes on during these interviews. . . . : ) Kidding. anyway, he took the position, but had to turn around and drive back to Colorado immediatelyack because he was scheduled to work in Greeley. After 3 days of work, he quit his job in Greeley, packed up a few of his things, and drove back to Idaho, again. So, now we live in Idaho. Eli is working as a nurse in the ER, and I am coaching high school girls basketball, and Sophie is tearing apart my mother's house.

Who's Kid Is This?

2009-10-09T07:33:00.000-07:00

According to our pediatrician, friends with kids, and other random people, babies and little kids are supposed to get 10 to 12 hours of sleep a night. Sophie didn't get that memo. For some reason our little princess doesn't think bedtime is until around 10:30 or 11. We've also been told she should be sleeping through the night by now, not happening. You'd think since she stays up late, she's sleep in. Also, not happening. Sophie is up and raring' to go by 7 every morning. To top it all off, she's decided she no longer needs a nap during the day. I'm lucky if I can get her to sleep for 45 min in the afternoon. Why doesn't our kid require sleep???

Since she doesn't ever sleep, but is constantly energized, my days are filled with keeping her entertained. She finds running around the house naked thrilling, perhaps if I were a little more confident I'd try it myself. Ironically enough, since the weather turned cold she's begun wearing her hat and socks during streaking hours.

Sophie is usually fueled by peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, since she won't eat much else. Hopefully that, mac & cheese, and a sippy cup of milk are at least a tiny bit nutritional, cuz that's about all she'll eat.

Sometimes, we do get lucky, and she falls asleep in weird places.

Sophie's 1st Birthday

2009-10-04T17:10:00.000-07:00

We had a birthday party bbq for Sophie, and invited all our friends to come celebrate with us. Thanks to everyone that came, and for all the gifts! Sophie has more toys than she knows what to do with, and a bunch of new clothes that she doesn't care about. . . but I think they're super cute!

2009-08-09T17:34:00.000-07:00

We took a hike to the top of Grey Rock with our friends Bryson and Danielle, in search of the "lake at the top."

We passed a couple of hikers that we thought were on their way down, and they told us we were really close to the lake.

After reaching the top, and then heading down the other side, and still no lake, we got sick of hiking and headed back. On the way back we once again ran into the hikers who told us we were close. Turns out they were on their way up and hadn't actually seen the lake.

We decided we could see a lake some other time and just kept going back. Everyone was so hot from the hike that we took a little dip in the Poudre river at the trail head, even Sophie got her toes wet.

2009-07-14T09:13:00.000-07:00

Eli takin' all the good water!

Grandma & Grandpa's House

2009-07-13T07:52:00.000-07:00

sophie loved playing with the dishwasher and barstools, but they only played nice for so long, a dishwasher/barstool combo bruise on both the front and back of her head made for one sad sophie

sophie loved hanging out with uncle josh, especially when she got to 'help' him feed his eight baby cows

she got in a solid 8 seconds on josh's most fearsome bovine brownie, what a beast!

Celebrating the 4th

2009-07-04T08:45:00.000-07:00

We decided to celebrate the 4th a day early so as to avoid the crowds at the lake, and it ended up being a most excellent idea : ) We took our boat, had some friends bring their jet skis, had a bbq, and spent from sun-up til sun-down at Boyd Lake.

No matter what stunt I tried to pull, Eli had to go and out do me . . . and then some! We had knee boards, wake boards, and tubes, all of which got plenty of use!

We were a little nervous about taking Sophie for the entire day, but she ended up loving the boat, and all the attention she got, so it worked out beautifully for all!

Even though she loved her make shift play pen, after multiple chair tip overs Eli made a Walmart run and got a legit play pen.

3 Year Anniversary

2009-06-17T15:46:00.000-07:00

For our 3 year anniversary we went camping/mountain biking at Hewlett Gulch up the Poudre Canyon. This was my first time on an actual mountain trail since having Sophie, so I was a bit rusty. But Eli fell a couple times too so I felt better. Despite the cuts, bruises, and falling in the river time after time, it was a beautiful ride. Here's to 3 years and counting!

2009-05-28T09:18:00.000-07:00

Finally done with High School! Woo woo Caleb!!!

I used to be the tallest of the 4 Buttars kids, but now even Josh is creeping up on me - and I'm wearing heels! So much for my "little" brothers and sister.

Sophie loves to play with her aunt Kirstin - and Kirstin loves to play with Sophie, as long as she's not crying, hungry, dirty, stinky.....

Caleb's State Track & H.S. Graduation

2009-05-28T08:58:00.000-07:00

This was my little brother Caleb's senior year of track, so Sophie and I went home to Idaho for the Idaho State H.S. Championships. Caleb ran great, and his team did so well that they took 2nd overall. Congrats Caleb!!! Being at BSU and the Smurf Turf that the track goes around really made me miss the good ol days of high school track. . . . for a minute. Then I remembered I was a distance runner, and as I watched the 1600m runners drag themselves across the finish line, I decided I was content to be in the stands eating my 2nd funnel cake. Man those things are good!

Let's Play!

2009-05-12T13:01:00.000-07:00

Sophie loves to be outside, and when she can't be, she sits by the door and wishes she was : )

Hiking to Grey Rock

2009-05-06T14:49:00.000-07:00

Today we took Sophie for her first hike near the Poudre River just outside Ft. Collins. Aside from being covered in sunscreen, she loved every minute of it. Her out of shape parents needed the workout.

Easter at Great Grandma/Grandpa Rincones House

2009-04-16T11:52:00.000-07:00

Sophie is as cute as possible when we're visiting other people, I'm convinced she does this so that no one believes what kind of monster she is capable of being.

I'm pretty sure she has grandpa Jack on a short leash. Actually, she usually steers him by his mustache, so I guess a leash isn't necessary.
Sophie and Eli's cousins baby Ashlynn had fun rolling and drooling with each other all day. Ashlynn's 1 1/2 months younger than Sophie, but as got a head of hair that puts my poor bald daughter to shame : (

Sophie's 6 Month Pictures

2009-04-03T15:59:00.000-07:00

Let's Ride!

2009-04-03T07:10:00.000-07:00

After running on pavement every day trying in vain to get back in shape, my knees and feet are starting to hate me. So, I decided biking would be mine and Sophie's new outside activity. I falsely believed that finding a child carrier for a bike would be a simple task. Two Targets and three Walmarts later I finally found one. Of course it would have been easier to just call them all first, but that would require the cooperation of the employees of those stores, employees that I'm convinced don't exist, and if they do, I sure couldn't find one. Walmart employees are like unicorns, no one believes they exist, and if you actually do see one, no one will ever believe you. One I had the stupid seat, it was time to find a helmet. In such a bike friendly town as Ft. Collins, it was shockingly hard to track down an infant helmet. Only to be informed by the bike specialist that my particular infants head was too big for the infant helmet, and would need a toddler size helmet. Which I could have got at Walmart. Once I got our new gear home I was determined to go for a ride that day, how long could it take to mount a child carrier to a bike? Two hours later I was still determined to go for a ride, so I bundled Sophie up, convinced she'd love it! About two seconds into the ride I felt her little toddler size helmet hitting me in the butt. She loved it so much she fell asleep. So I enjoyed the ride myself.

Mandy's Wedding

2009-03-31T11:23:00.000-07:00

On Saturday Eli's cousin was married in the Denver Temple, it was an all day event, so we packed up the diaper bag and prayed Sophie would behave. The day began with lunch at Maggiano's Italian Restaurant, the ceremony at the Denver LDS Temple, and then a Reception and dancing at a church nearby. Surprisingly, Sophie was quite pleasant the entire day, and even wore her sunglasses while we were out in the sun. The day, the wedding, and especially the bride were beautiful! Congratulations Mandy and Jeremy!

Scentsy

2009-03-20T12:03:00.000-07:00

I am now a 'Scentsy Consultant,' so if anyone out there would like to host a party, give me a call! 719-661-7270 If you host the party, you get awesome discounts : ) For anyone that may not know what Scentsy is, they're these awesome wick less candles that are crazy powerful, and totally safe because they "burn" the wax cubes by light bulb. They're seriously cool.

p(OW)der day

2009-03-16T11:05:00.000-07:00

While in Idaho I decided to be the cool big sister that I am and keep my little brother out of school and take him snowboarding. The snow was amazing, as Utah snow usually is. The day was going great until I got the brainer idea to try to impress a 13 yr. old. I have now learned that terrain park rails are not friendly. After falling ever so gracefully off the rail, I lay in the snow and wanted to puke it hurt so bad. Josh suggested we take a lunch break and I buy him a cheeseburger. During our break I discovered a cut on my shin, much deeper than I would have guessed. Later, my nurse husband laughed at my pain and said perhaps it could have used a couple stitches. Such sympathy. I don't know that the picture does it justice, but I now have a lovely cut/scab accompanied by mass bruising from ankle to knee. All for trying to be cool.

Cookies at Grandmas

2009-03-05T08:43:00.000-08:00

Sophie wasn't quite sure what to think about the whole cookie project, she was especially confused by the Kitchen Aid, but she loved the results : )

2009-02-14T17:33:00.000-08:00

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!! Eli bought me these gorgeous roses and is making dinner, what a sweet husband! Love you babe!

2009-01-30T14:34:00.001-08:00

2009-01-27T20:24:00.000-08:00

So, my family has this thing that we quote movies. Sometimes they fit into the flow of conversation, sometimes they start one, and sometimes they come out of no where. For instance, tonight as I was leaving the gym, desperatly trying to get back to my pre-pregnancy self, I recieved a text message from my sister - "There's something I've been wanting to tell you. You're just not that pretty." So that got me thinking of some of my favorite movie quotes. . . .
of course, "There's something I've been meaning to tell you. You're just not that pretty."
- Cinderella Story
"Where's that paper that was in my hand yesterday?"
- The Devil Wears Prada
"Can I get a poke?"
- Lonesome Dove
"You're so drunk you're probably seeing two of me." "Then it's a good thing I have two guns."
- Tombstone
"Everytime we run the microwave I pee my pants and can't remember who I am for an hour." - Vegas Vacation
"Dust is the devils snow."
- ? can't remember
"The kid's a square Benny!"
- Sandlot
"Did you fall down and smack your little head on the pavement?"
- The Devil Wears Prada
"I'm on this new diet... I don't eat anything, and then when I feel like I'm going to faint I eat a block of cheese."

I'm sure there's plenty more that I just can't think of at the moment, but now if you ever hear me say something that seems a little out of place or odd, you know why

2009-01-21T11:38:00.000-08:00

SOPHIE'S 4 MONTH CHECK UP

height 25 1/4 inches 60th %tile

weight 15 lbs 4.5 oz 70th %tile

head 16 inches 80th %tile

yeah, our kid has a big head. hopefully it's filled with brains like her dads. when i informed the doctor how much formula sophie goes through each day, she about passed out. i know the feeling, i buy the formula. the doctor suggested starting her on rice cereal, after 45 minutes we got about 2 tsp down her

2009-01-21T11:21:00.000-08:00

A beautiful su. . . err. . . winter day? Apparently Mother Nature is on something, cuz it's not too often that temperatures hit 70 in January, especially in Colorado. None the less, we decided to take advantage of it and went to the park. Sophie loves her stroller, so she's easily pleased, and our hyperactive little dog loves to mingle with the real dogs at the dog park. Maybe one of these days a pit bull or something equally large and mean will get sick of him being a literal pain in the butt (if you get my drift), and Grizz will meet his demise, but until then we are the owners of a little dog that defies 'little dog syndrome'.

2009-01-17T15:17:00.000-08:00

Sophie's 1st Nuggets Game - Eli's parents took everyone (kids/kids in law) to a Nuggets game where we all over loaded on nachos, hot dogs, and expensive pop, it was a great night for all !

2008-12-18T08:12:00.000-08:00

Who Knew? I know so many people, including myself, who search for the perfect babysitter - who knew it could be found in a 13 year old boy? Sophie loves her uncle Josh : )

2008-12-11T12:38:00.001-08:00

2008-12-08T08:51:00.000-08:00

Go Bonnie Go! On our drive home from Idaho my '96 Pontiac Bonneville surpased 250,000 miles! She still gets 34 mpg and is one tough old woman! Which is good, cuz we're gonna drive her til she's toast

2008-12-08T08:47:00.000-08:00

While in Idaho for Thanksgiving we had Sophie's baby blessing - she was blessed by Eli and wore the same dress that my mom made for me and I wore on my blessing day almost 23 years ago. I'm old : ( (not as old as Eli tho)

2008-11-13T11:56:00.000-08:00

When he doen't have school or work Eli helps around the house. The other day I woke up from a nap to find him doing laundry and taking care of Sophie at the same time.

I don't know if you can see it very well in this picture, but when Eli puts his head close to Sophie's her eyes get HUGE and she sticks her tongue out. I used to do the same thing, but I got over it, so hopefully she will too. : ) kidding babe!

Sophie is getting really good and holding her head up, and she actually rolled over the other day! Although, I think it had more to do with her head being heavy than her actually doing it herself.

2008-11-13T11:48:00.000-08:00

For some reason when we go home to Idaho to visit my family Eli likes to pretend that is a dirt bike pro with my little brothers. He doesn't have the motorcycles like they do. . . or the helmet, boots, gloves, or any riding gear for that matter. So he scrapes together what he can and pretends he is being safe. Eli's idea of safe includes basketball shorts (it's November in Idaho mind you), my dads work shoes with no socks, and a borrowed helmet that is too small. I know, he looks incredibly sexy in this picture.

2008-10-18T13:58:00.001-07:00

2008-10-15T09:44:00.000-07:00

Sophie's "I'm hungry" face & Sophie's kissing face. She does this a lot,
so we just kiss her a lot.

Over the past 3 weeks my definition of busy has done a 180. I thought that juggling school, work and basketball was a major feat. That seems easy now. Being "busy" with yourself is one thing, but when another person comes into the picture, it's totally different. Especially when that other person's name is Sophie. Something as simple as taking a shower and getting ready for the day has taken on a whole new meaning. I consider it a major accomplishment if I can get both shampoo and conditioner in and out of my hair without having to jump out of the shower and stop the screaming. Some have suggested just letting her scream. That may seem like a good idea, except the neighbors downstairs like to come knock on the door when they hear anything out of the ordinary, too loud, too quiet, if my car isn't here but I am, if they smell something. . . actually, I think they just like to come knock every now and then.

2008-10-11T11:24:00.001-07:00

2008-10-03T18:40:00.000-07:00

Sophie likes to sleep ALL DAY LONG so that she has enough energy to party all night long. Since Eli sleeps like a rock, it's usually just a mother/daughter party.

sophie melissa

2008-09-26T13:27:00.001-07:00

2008-08-21T16:50:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged by Jessica. . .

7 Things I would NEVER say:

1. No, I don't want any ice cream.
2. I'm a good singer.
3. McDonalds is disgusting.
4. Cheerleading is a sport.
5. I could survive without cable.
6. No Eli, I don't need my feet rubbed.
7. I have plenty of shoes.

7 Things Eli would NEVER say:

1. Yes, Candace can beat me at basketball.
2. Mountain Dew and Funyuns are a bad combo.
3. I can't sleep in very late.
4. I don't know how to get there.
5. No, you don't need to rub my back in church.
6. There is a possibility I may go bald.
7. Golf is boring to watch on TV.

Europe

2008-08-12T21:22:00.001-07:00

Project Baby

2008-06-03T12:07:00.001-07:00

About 1 month in, still playin basketball
Two months, startin to lose the abs,
but can still snowboard.
3 months, apparently the baby is the size of a
rice grain, but I'm not convinced. A rice grain
would let me button up my jeans.

4 months, yeah, I finally broke down and
bought maternity clothes. A random woman
at work guessed I was due in August. I wish.
Try mid October.

5 Months. Huge.

6 months, the belly buttons startin to poke out : (

7 months

8 months. There are no words.

Winter X-Games

2008-06-03T12:00:00.001-07:00

The Winter X-Games in Aspen CO
We heard there would be lots of cool free stuff. I don't know if Taco Bell hats qualify as cool.
The skiers/snowboarders actually jumped this gap, I'm not sure how far it is, but that's me in the pink to give you some perspective of how far and high it was.

The Bajarito

2008-06-03T11:50:00.000-07:00

Wow, we look pretty gangster.

This is our boat, The Bajarito, that Eli bought with two of his buds and fixed up a couple summers ago. As you can see, it is capable of staying afloat with 3 hotties in it, and even pulling 2 dorks on a tube.

The Incline

2008-06-03T11:43:00.001-07:00

"The Incline" is in Colorado Springs near Pikes Peak, it's 2,820 railroad tie stairs to the top. Underestimating the challenge of it, we relied on our extreme athleticism and didn't take water. About 1,000 stairs up we seriously considered jumping the old man that kept passing us and taking his water.