Tis the Season...

Christmas was so fun this year. I know Avery is still too little to realize what was going on, but it was fun to get excited with her. She learned how to roll on Christmas Eve (which I am sad, I want her to stay little!!) and it was so funny cause Jake and I got all excited and were clapping and apparently we scared her because her bottom lip turned upside down and she started to cry! We were just so excited!!
Christmas Eve we spent at my mom's house. We kind of got off to a late start, but once everyone got off of work we sat down for a delicious meal! It was so yummy! I think we all ate way too much! We then opened gifts. After the mess of wrapping paper we went down to watch the Reflections of Christ...amazing if you haven't seen it. The music and pictures are beautiful! and of course the nativity! Our Nativity is always interesting...we never miss having the essentials, Mary, Joseph, and Jesus, but there are always some extras that we aren't really sure what they are!! It is fun though and we all have a good time. Thanks for all the nice gifts and the partay!!

Christmas morning was fun too! Jake's parents had come down from Idaho and were staying with Josh. Every year their family comes over for breakfast so they came over around 7. I was not quite ready to get up but was excited for Avery!! We opened presents and it was so fun to watch Avery! I didn't think she would get into it as much as she did! She wasn't that thrilled about the clothes we got her, but she was so excited for all the toys! She loved it!! It was so fun to watch her! In all Christmas was a success and I am secretly thankful it's over! It was fun, but it seems like it is always crazy!!

Christmas!!

Avery with Santa!!

Olsen annual gingerbread houses!! Thanks mom!!

So, I'm not really sure why this year has felt more stressful than other years. Maybe because there has been more going on all at the same time...who knows! The parties have been fun and Jake has actually gotten more into them this year which has made it more fun for me too!
Jaymie threw an ugly sweater party which turned out so nice! We did fondue and had a smoked turkey which was amazing!! As we were leaving Jake was laughing and telling me that my sisters are so funny. I asked him what he meant (which I could only imagine! You let Beckee lose and she cracks herself up, which is sooo funny!) He said that Beckee asked Jaymie to ask her what she was doing, and her reply was (as she is eating fondue) "I am fonduing what are you doing?" and then cracks up!! I can totally see her doing that! She is hysterical! (just ask her!!) Just kidding, I love that she can let her hair down and just be her! It was so fun to be with them. Here is a picture of my family's beautiful sweaters! Thanks Aubrey for letting Jake wear yours!!


This past Sunday we had our annual cousin Christmas party. It ended up at our house this year and I was surprised to see that all 50 of us could fit in our basement!! I look forward to the craziness every year and I think the rest of the cousins do too!! (I'm not sure what all those circles are!! They look like dust!?! gross!!)

Rules are: Anything you have done has to be in bold. How much have you done?

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (Middle school orchestra!)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland :)
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a Praying Mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Been to the Statue of Liberty-(does flying over it count?)
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (only once and I was totally liying and I am almost certain they knew I was!!)
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (two incomes were great!)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt (who hasn't?!)
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie (Do mormon ads count?!!)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (Far too many!)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar (NO! and I am totally ok with that!)
72. Tied a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle (I try to forget that date!!)
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book (does a digital scrapbook count?)
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (I didn't actually kill it, but I was the one that spotted it and then it got shot. The first and last time ever going hunting!!!)
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Visited Italy

47's not bad!! I would love to do many more of them!!! Italy is next!! i tag whoever feels like they want to do it!

ELVES!!!!! Who knew?!!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Festival of Trees

This year we went to the Festival of Trees. I haven't been in a really long time and it was fun to go with Beckee and her kids, and Jaymie. I love spending time with them. It is interesting to me the different feelings I had when I left. I left a little somber this year. Working up at Primary Children's has definitely given me a different perspective on life. And to fully understand that a huge event like Festival of Trees is so needed for a non profit organization. Primary's hasn't turned one child away from care since they opened. That is incredible to me. Not that they haven't turned anyone away, but the fact that there are so many donations. People are very generous and it doesn't go without notice. These little families need the care for their child so despirately and some just don't have the funds to pay for it. I have seen those dollars hard at work. It is pretty incredible.
We were reading some of the stories on the back of the plaques to read more about why the tree was done and some of them were patients up at Primary's. It is pretty amazing that people can go through such a rough time in life and still think twice about giving back. I don't know why this year was so different for me. I have been a million other times. Maybe it's because I have a daughter of my own and hope that I never have to use those funds, I don't know, but I have gained a better appreciation about the act of giving. What a great way to help those in need. I am truely blessed.
I love the Christmas season. It is so fun to have Avery even though she has no idea. The holidays are so fun with her.

Christmas Trees!!

The tree was actually quite large and the bald spot actually got cut off and it turned out to be one of my favorite trees!!! I will have to post a picture when we get it decorated!

*don't mind my purple hair!! It was learning experiment...but not for me!!!

So, as a new family tradition and for the past couple of years Jake and I have gone up to Idaho to cut down our Christmas tree. I hadn't gone up the mountain to actually cut down the tree, but this year I decided I needed to be in on the fun. Our neighbors, Josh's best friends also came up with us. It was so fun! I loved it! Bruce had gone up this little caynon the day before and had scoped it out for us. It was so fun to be up in mountains. Jake taught me how to pick out the perfect tree....there is definitely an art to the whole thing! But in the end we did find the perfect one and I LOVE it! It is so cute and we couldn't have found a cuter one anywhere else! It was so fun to be with Jake. We went off by ourselves as he was teaching me what to look for, one that stands by itself. We had left Avery home with grandma, and it was so nice to just have that time with eachother. It was a little chilly but it was just me and him on the mountain. (everyone else was somewhere else). It is times like that that you have to step back and enjoy. We haven't really had a relaxing couple of hours away from everything, to just enjoy eachother. It was so fun to walk around the mountain with him. I loved it. It will definitely be a fun tradition to carry out for years to come.

12-0 what more can you say!!!

Go UTES!!

The last two years Jake and I have bought season tickets to the Ute football games, but this year having a baby changed those plans! Jake and the guys (his second family) left all the wives home and went and partied! I am glad they won so I can at least have a happy husband when he comes home!!! Ü Jake loves to go and looks forward to spending time with his best friends. He loves the Carlsons and I think they all have a good time! (Why is he not wearing a hat! It's cold!!!) Ü

Some more of Avery...

So I need to post some more pictures of my cute little girl. I can't believe how fast time goes. She is almost four months and is trying to roll. I HATE IT!! I want her to stay little!! She has the cutest personality. She tries to talk, although it is more of a yell than anything!! She doesn't talk quietly, she seriously has to yell!! Jake and I just laugh because she is so loud! She is so fun and I love her to pieces!!

October 31, 2008

She was a pink Leopard for Halloween!

My Little Pumpkin!

So, Halloween came and went! I don't love Halloween, infact most my childhood I dressed up as a kid (or myself) and went trick or treating, I know, lame, but I haven't really gotten into the whole idea of the gore and blood and whatever. I hate scary movies and being scared!! It total gives me anxiety and why punish myself?! But, what I do love about this holiday is that we always get together and carve pumpkins. I seriously love it! It's a total mess and it's so fun to see what they all look like in the end. We always take a "cute" picture, and then an "ugly" picture. I love getting together with my family, they are the greatest people in the world! Here are some pics of this years Halloween event.

Also, Avery and I went downtown to visit Jake at work. It was fun to be with him. They had a little Halloween party for all the little kids! It was fun to show her off!!

She was a little worn out by the end of the day!

We also stopped by Jaymie's office to say hi, since it was on the same block!

Quotes...

I need some good short quotes..... anyone?!

Fall....

Me, my mom and Avery.

Everyone smile and say cheese!!!

Avery's shades!!...she didn't mind them one bit, it was sooo funny!!
Sweet Hadley....
John showing of his moves on the rock!
Avery's two cute cousins...

So fall is here and maybe on it's way out. I am really sad that the fall and spring season don't seem to last long. They are my favorite!! Anyway, Beckee and her kids called and wanted to go up to the Temple Quary to have a picnic! It is so beautiful! We even saw some mountain goats on the cliffs! It made me want to go camping so bad. I didn't go on any vacations or do any camping this year because I was so pregnant but now I am feeling it and seemed to have taken every other year that I could go for granted. I serioysly love to be in the mountains! I love to be outside and camp!! I guess I shouldn't complain too much, I have this beautiful little baby to keep me busy!! I am just NOT ready for snow!!!

Avery's Blessing

So, we blessed Avery on Sunday and without any hitches, it turned out a success. I didn't realize how much effort goes into such an event!!! It was fun to have all my family and friends out to support us. Thank you for all that came and showed us your support. I know that it gets to be a lot, but I am so thankful for my huge family and for everyone making the effort.

Jake said that this day was more for the mom...maybe! I loved dressing her up and getting her all cutzie! Thanks mom for making such a beautiful dress!! She loved it!! (she told me!!) I went and had her pictures taken at Sears yesterday...she is so stinking cute!

Avery is 2 months!!

I can't believe that my little Avery is already 8 weeks old! Where does the time go!! She is so fun and so cute. She is starting to notice things around her and it amazes me how quickly things change and how she is developing every day. I am so grateful that I can stay home and watch her grow up. I can't imagine having to leave her to a babysitter to watch her every change. She is beginning to smile more and when you talk to her she acts like she responds. She is starting coo (just a little) and it is soo stinking cute. She is so fun! I went to the Women's Conference on Saturday and was only gone for a few hours, but it seemed like forever. It felt like I was missing something. We have been glued to eachother for the last two months and I LOVE it!! I LOVE holding her. I love when she lays on her stomach on your chest....oh my little piece of heaven!! I don't know why I got so lucky, but Heavenly Father sure did bless me with such a sweet little girl.

The dreaded day finally came

We knew this day would come and we were hoping it would have been easier than it was. It was actually horrible. We decided it was time for Dakota to go to a better place yesterday. It was so aweful. I am so attached to her and cannot get it together! We had a couple of bad nights again with her this weekend and on Saturday night, Jake let her out to go potty (with a lot of coaxing) and she went straight to her doghouse and wouldn't come out. If you know Dakota, she is not one to be by herself, especially when it comes to Jake. She liked her doghouse alright, but would much rather be in our house on your lap. She also hadn't drank or eaten anything for at least 3 days. I guess when you have chronic renal failure, you get really thirsty and can get dehydrated really easily. You then pee out all the nutrients and have a hard time digesting protein. Dakota drank water like we were running out of it and she peed sooo much. Anyway, she had been a picky eater in the beginning and we knew she liked wet food instead of dry so we tried feeding her wet food and she ate that for a while. After that she started to not eat again, so we tried giving her eggs. She ate eggs for about a week and then gave those up. We then tried tuna fish (sick, my house stunk with it sitting in her bowel!!), she ate that for about a day. Jake also tried getting her to eat lunch meat. Six months ago, we couldn't keep her away from the dinner table begging for food. She was starving to death literally, and was so hungry. It was horrible to watch her everyday go look at her food bowel and walk away. I knew she was hungry but she was so nauseated that she couldn't keep anything down. She would throw up at least 5 or 6 six times a day. I have to admit that cleaning up throw up was getting a little old.

It was seriously aweful to watch her deterioate. On Friday night, she would throw up (I'm not really sure what she threw up since there wasn't anything in her) and then her body would still heave after she was done. It was seriously so sad. I think that was the turning point for Jake. He needed to be the one to make the decision and it was then I think he got himself ready. I told him that I can't watch her everyday look at me with sad eyes and see her bones stick out further and further. Saturday he called the vet and made the decision to take her in. They couldn't take her until Monday but he made the appointment anyway. Well, Saturday night was even worse so we decided to take her yesterday.

I have never gone through anything like putting a dog to sleep and it's not really like they go to sleep. They can tell you that all they want!! We found a place that was open and took her to he Pet Center on 4900 S. at the old 49th Street Galleria. She didn't really have a lot of strength left but she walked into to the place until we reached the door to go into the treatment center. I think she knew something was up. She stopped and Jake had to pick her up and carry her in. I lost it at that point (although, I had been a wreck ever since she was diagnosed!!). The guy asked why we were there and Jake answered "to put her down". I think the guy felt bad he had even asked, although it was his job.

They took us to an exam room and we waited for about an hour. While we waited Dakota stayed on Jake's lap. I couldn't stop crying. I hate the anticiaption, I think of the worst things and I just don't do well!! I asked Jake if he would have rather Josh, his brother had come instead of me and he laughed and said "it would have been much easier!" Dakota at this point was getting a little antsy and I know she could feel that I was sad. She turned around on Jake's lap and laid her head on mine with her two front paws. When she was first diagnosed a few months ago, the vet came in to tell me the news and I started to bawl (no surprise!!) and Dakota immediately was trying to get on my lap and was curious to what was going on. The vet said "she is pretty intune with you, isn't she?" I hope that she knew that we loved her. I know this seems so silly. If it were me reading this before Dakota, I probably would have had to laugh a little. We had animals all growing up, infact all my siblings had animals except me. I wasn't an animal lover, so all these emotions that I have for Dakota are foreign to me.

The vet finally came in and explained to us what was going to happen. She asked if we wanted to have some time after to say goodbye. I'm not attached to her body, I am attached to her little soul and I don't do real well with dead bodies. We told her we didn't really need time after, that we had already said our goodbyes. She explained the three shots she would give her, the last being the overdose. She said that a lot of people are surprised at how quickly they go, and not be alarmed. She definitely went in less than 10 seconds. I knew exactly when she was gone. I could see it in her eyes. She was lifeless. I kissed her goodbye and told her I loved her and we went on our way.

It seems unfair and rotten. It was not a fun thing to do but it was time. I don't think we will get another dog anytime soon. Jake wants to finish school first so he can spend time with it. He has had a rough time as well and it breaks my heart even more to watch him cry. He loved her so much and misses her already. I was making dinner last night and missed my cooking partner, stepping over her and telling her to go lie down. Jake said he was thinking the same thing. We went to bed last night and Jake was so sad. I think he had a hard time falling asleep. He took really good care of her and misses her. I miss her but I know that she is soo much happier. It was a sad day.

She just looks so sad. She is so bony... She was a good dog.

Pictures off cell phones

Hey has anyone ever printed a picture off their cell phone?....dumb question I know, but do they turn out?!! or are they too small to print a 4 x 6?

My little peanut!!

I love this face, "really mom?! what are we doing?!"


So, over Labor Day weekend, Jake, Avery, and I (oh and Dakota!!) went up to Idaho for Jake's annual family reunion. It was nice to get away and be up in the mountains. I love camping and haven't done any of that this year. This was Avery's first camping trip, although Jake was laughing at me because we ended up sleeping at his parents house for the night. He didn't really call that camping!



Of course there was a cold front coming and it was supposed to rain (which it did) and I was worried that my poor kid would freeze! I bundled her up and I don't think she could breathe! I was laughing because she looked like the kid on the Christmas Story that couldn't move his arms!! She didn't seem to mind and she stayed warm! She is so cute, I just can't get enough of her! Needless to say, the rain held off until we were almost done with dinner and then it poored. That kind of put a damper on things and everyone left. In all it was nice to get outside and was fun to be with Jake's family.



**update on Dakota

The Friday night before Labor Day, we thought for sure we were going to have to put Dakota down. It was probably the worst night ever. Between her and Avery I don't think either one of us got much sleep. During that day, Dakota didn't eat or drink anything and wouldn't stand up to throw up. She would just lay there and heave (nothing to puke but bile). It seriously is the saddest thing. I hate watching her. Anyway, we go to bed at 1 am because Avery was fussy and finally hit the pillow. All of the sudden I hear Dakota start heaving again...(she doesn't usually sleep on our bed, in fact this was the first time. I hate the hair and I think my bed should be mine and no the dogs. Jake uses the excuse that she in on her death bed and she will sleep better....so I gave in. Gross!!) So I shove her off the bed, and Jake darts trying to find her blanket to have her throw up on that instead of the carpet. I just started to laugh. It was so ridiculous. Not only does she throw up once, she throws up twice without fail. So we finally get that all situated, lay back down and I'm not even kidding you, she starts to heave again!! This time we had gotten the paper towels and all I see is Jake flying off the bed trying to catch whatever comes out. Luckily we have a carpet cleaner or could you imagine how discusting our carpet would be!! sick!!! So we go for round two. I was cracking up because now Avery would be waking up in a few to eat. I was ready for that night to be over!!! I wished that it could have been videotaped because despite the fact that Dakota is so sick, the flying of arms and bodies trying to catch puke at 3 in the morning was hilarious! I don't think Jake thought it was very funny, but I couldn't help but laugh.



Saturday morning roles around (finally) and we both thought for sure that today would be the day we would put her down. But that day she acted better and has since. She looks terrible and feels terrible but she still gets excited and the vet says that when there are more bad days than good then it's time. How do you know?! It totally sucks. Her teeth are starting to go bad from all the acid coming up and she has horrible breath. She just looks terrible. So are we horrible for keeping her still alive? It is hard, she is totally part of this family. We just know it will be sooner than later. Poor thing.