Santa Baby

 Ho Ho Ho!

I hope this cute little face brightens your day. It did mine.

Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving

For the past few weeks, as we have sat around our dinner table, Brad, Lainy, and I have shared one thing we were thankful for during the day. Our comments have ranged from simple things (like toys, or Christmas music) to really big things (like our wonderful families and news of a scholarship a certain med student received). It has been nice to end our day that way. I think it's something we will continue to do.

This Thanksgiving season, I have been grateful for so many things. It has been good for me to dwell more often on the many blessings I have been given. I have been more happy, more patient, and more compassionate this month. I like being those things.

I've thought a lot about President Monson's talk in the last General Conference. Particularly this quote:

"My brothers and sisters, to express gratitude is gracious and honorable, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live with gratitude ever in our hearts is to touch heaven."

I think I've touched a little bit of heaven this month. I'm going to try to keep it closer.

I could leave you with a big, long list of things I'm thankful for, but I'll simply mention the three blessings that seem to anchor all the rest - my husband, my three year old, and my almost 11 month old. They are so precious to me.

Leah, Brad, Lainy (and our snowman(woman?), Suzy Snowflake)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Look Who's Walking

It's true. Leah is walking.

She took her first three steps on November 2, when she was still 9 months old. Since then, she's been tottering between furniture.

Now she really has it down. She's spent every one of her waking hours walking around our house for the past two days. She's so proud of herself! And so cute! But I have to admit, it's a little funny to see a baby this small walking around. It doesn't seem like her legs are long enough! She's been fun to watch.

See for yourself!

Goodbye Casper, Hello Pocatello

Friday was Brad's last day of his surgery rotation in Casper. He had such a great experience there. We all did. Dr. Beckstead (Brad's "teacher" for the rotation) was really awesome. Brad was able to see, do, and learn a lot. Dr. Beckstead said surgery is Brad's calling. We'll see...

Here's Brad, Bryn (the nurse practitioner), and Dr. Beckstead.

Also on Friday, my dad drove over to Casper to help us move. It was sure good to see him. And we needed the help. I don't know what happened, but somehow all of our things that fit in our car to get to Casper somehow multiplied (a lot) so there was no way we were cramming it all in our car for the drive to Pocatello. We were so grateful to my dad for making the trip! (Don't ask me how we're getting it back to Seattle!)

Lainy got to ride in Grandpa's truck the whole way. She loved it. I hope she wasn't too much of a hassle for my dad while he drove!

We had a gorgeous drive, especially through the Tetons. Look at these amazing pictures...

Can you see Table Rock? Look to the right of the Grand Teton

 Teton Mountain Range

 The peaks of the range from left to right: South Teton, Middle Teton, Grand Teton, Mt. Owens, Teewinot

 

Brad and I climbed the Grand Teton the summer after we were married. Looking at it now, I can't believe I've stood on the summit.

Now we are happily settled in Pocatello. Brad's rotation is in Family Medicine. This time we've got a pretty nice setup in a roomy townhouse. Brad is thrilled with the garage. I'm thrilled with the big kitchen and dishwasher. The girls are thrilled with their new playroom in the closet under the stairs.

Our first day here it snowed all day! The girls and I sat by the windows and watched. It was beautiful.

So there's our update!

Happy Halloween!

Our house was full of bugs this weekend. This beautiful bumble bee:

And this tolerant ladybug:

Brad and I turned into bug catchers as we chased them around town to different parties, trunk-or-treats, and carnivals. Luckily we caught them before they ate too much candy.

Cute little buggers.

Earlier in the week we carved pumpkins. Leah thought the gooey insides were yummy.

Lainy did a great job finding all the seeds inside her pumpkin and choosing a fun face to carve.

Brad worked hard on carving us a Wyoming inspired pumpkin. It turned out pretty awesome, right?

Hope you had a Happy Halloween!

Mullet

Lainy cut her own hair the other day...into a mullet.

I was feeding Leah breakfast in the kitchen. Lainy was quiet in the bedroom. That should have tipped me off that something was up.

She came walking out with a pair of scissors in her hand.

Honestly, I didn't notice the mullet right away. I hadn't done her hair yet so she had bed-head hair.

"Did you cut your hair?" I asked her.

"Yes," she said guiltily.

I ran over to her to inspect the damage, and that's when I noticed it. She'd cut her hair close to the scalp above both ears... she'd created a mullet. Business in the front, party in the back. One side shorter than the other.

I started laughing (because sometimes it's better to laugh when you really feel like crying). A mullet. My daughter has a mullet.

I saw the expression on Lainy's face - she was on the verge of tears so I knew I needed to choose my words carefully.

"It's okay," I said, "It's no big deal. Your hair will grow back."

("But it took three years to get it this long!" I thought to myself.)

Then we went straight to the bathroom to figure out how to disguise it. Luckily, a headband does a pretty good job.

I texted my family to see if they thought it would be a good idea if we all get mullets for my sister's wedding in December. Maybe then Lainy won't look so ridiculous in the pictures?

We'll see.

It's okay. It's no big deal. Her hair will grow back... Hopefully fast!

Martin's Cove

Our first Sunday in the ward here in Casper, we noticed a few missionary couples whose name badges said Martin's Cove. We asked around and found out that Martin's Cove is only about an hour away from Casper. So when Brad had the day off last Friday, we decided to go.

There is a nice little visitors center a couple of miles from the cove where the missionary couples are stationed. We spent some time there and learned the story of the Martin Handcart Company. It's an incredible story. We were very touched by what we learned. If you want to learn about it, there is a good account here.

We were especially touched by the story of the rescuers of the company.One of Brad's great grandfathers, Elias Gardner, was one of the rescuers. We just thought it was incredible that these men, comfortable in their homes in Salt Lake, were willing to risk their own lives and leave in the middle of winter to do whatever it took to get those suffering pioneers to safety.

One quote I read said: "The miracle of the Martin Handcart Company is that anyone survived."

Another read: "Perhaps their suffering seems less dramatic because the handcart pioneers bore it meekly, praising God, instead of fighting for life with the ferocity of animals...But if courage and endurance make a story, if human kindness and helpfulness and brotherly love in the midst of raw horror are worth recording, this half-forgotten episode of the Mormon migration is one of the great tales of the West and of America" (Wallace Stegner).

Before going up to the cove, we read this from Gordon B. Hinckley: "We hope that a spirit of peace and reverence and sacred remembrance will hover over this whole area as a beneficent cloud on a hot summer day, and that those who here perished will not have died in vain. I make a plea, go in a spirit of reverence and respect, and know that you are walking on hallowed ground."

We definitely felt like we were on hallowed ground as we crossed the Sweetwater River and went up into Martin's Cove. It was so quiet. So peaceful. Like a temple. It was a special experience we won't forget.

Here are some pictures.

Brad and the Girls with Devil's Gate in the background

Me and the girls in front of a cabin

Lainy pulling a handcart

Devil's Gate (a landmark along the Mormon Trail)

Brad pulling the girls in a handcart

Enjoying the ride

Me pulling the handcart (it's heavy!)

In the visitor's center

The Mormon Trail is still visible - look to the left of the paved road and you'll see it

The Sweetwater River - the spot where they believe the company forded the river

Sculptures along the Sweetwater River erected as a tribute to the four men who carried the company across the freezing river

In our "rover" with our missionary guide

Martin's Cove

 

 "I have pulled my handcart when I was so weak and weary from illness and lack of food that I could hardly put one foot ahead of the other. I have looked ahead and seen a patch of sand or a hill slope and I have said, I can only go that far and there I must give up for I cannot pull the load through it. I have gone to that sand, and when I reached it the cart began pushing me! I have looked back many times to see who was pushing my cart, but my eyes saw no one. I knew then that the angels of God were there. 

Was I sorry that I chose to come by handcart? No! Neither then nor any moment of my life since. The price we paid to become acquainted with God was a privilege to pay and I am thankful that I was privileged to come to Zion in the Martin Handcart Company." - Francis Webster

Nicknames

 Do you ever find yourself giving your children ridiculous nicknames?

I sure have lately. I never thought I'd be that mom.

I wasn't too bad with Lainy. Mostly she was Lainy Girl, or Lainy Loo, or Doodle (okay, so Doodle is kinda weird).

But my little Leah just brings out the most ridiculous nicknames! Most of the time they pop out of my mouth when I go to get her out of bed. She just looks so darling smiling at me with her big brown rainbow eyes and chubby cheeks! I can't help myself.

She's been Leah Looski, Loo Loo, Looster, and my most recent favorite, Booski Boo.

Yes, you read Booski Boo.

I have no idea where it came from. It just popped out of my mouth the other day, and for some reason it has stuck.

What has gotten into me? Even Lainy has picked up on it. She's been calling her Leah Booski.

Ha ha! Poor Leah! I hope she knows it's a term of endearment.

(I promise I won't call her Booski Boo in public and embarrass us both.)

What nicknames do you find yourself giving your kids or pets? Or am I the only crazy one?

And did you know that Leah is 9 and a half months old now? She has two top teeth, she says "Dada" when she's happy, she stands up all by herself (which means she'll walk soon - watch out!), and she has the most spunky little personality that I've ever seen in a baby. We love our brown eyed baby girl!

Garden Creek Falls

I made a new friend. It's true. I am excited and so is Lainy because she happens to have a cute little girl just Lainy's age. (We have been missing our friends in Seattle.)

My new friend took us to a pretty awesome place in Casper. It's called Garden Creek Falls, and it's only about ten minutes away from our house. We went on a little hike to the waterfall and enjoyed the beautiful autumn scenery. There were aspen trees all around us whose leaves had turned yellow-gold. We felt like we were walking through a curtain of gold. Gorgeous!

Lainy was happy to discover that her new friend likes rocks, sticks, and dirt as much as she does. I was happy to discover that my new friend and I have a lot in common too (including a husband in his third year of medical school). It was fun.

We liked the Falls so much that we went back the next night to show Brad. We brought tin foil dinners and banana boats. Yum! The weather here has been perfect - not too hot and not too cold - so we have been spending as much time as possible outside.

Enjoy the pics!

Legendary Natural Bridge

Yesterday Brad had the afternoon off. After a long weekend of him on call, and a busy schedule this week, we were desperate for some time with him.

Brad's Attending Dr. told him about a natural bridge about a half hour away from Casper. Apparently, it is one of only three natural bridges in the United States with water still running under it.

This is what we found:

Isn't it awesome?

It was such a peaceful, beautiful place. The weather was gorgeous. Temps were in the 70's, but with a crisp Autumn breeze. The scenery was beautiful. The cliffs surrounding the river were mostly bright red. Stunning. We even found the name of someone carved into the cliff dated 1923. Crazy!

We spent a few lazy hours there, enjoying ourselves. Brad and Lainy waded in the water and climbed trees. Leah splashed in the river and discovered the taste of rocks and dirt. We had a perfect afternoon.

 

We found out some interesting history behind the bridge. For the Indians who first lived here, the bridge was an evil place. An Indian brave was struck by lightning and killed while standing on top of the bridge. Because of that, the Indians believed an evil spirit dwelt below the bridge so they would not go near it. Later, when white settlers came to the area and had conflicts with the Indians, they learned of the legend of the bridge. When the Indians attacked, the white settlers would escape to the bridge where they knew they would be safe.

We found no evidence of an evil spirit below the bridge. Or did we?

While attempting to take a family picture on top of the bridge, a huge gust of wind came up and knocked our camera down a small cliff. It still takes pictures, but it won't focus. Was it the doings of the Indian's legendary spirit?

Maybe. Either way, we needed a new camera anyway. Ours is WAY outdated (only 5 mega pixels). Anyone have any recommendations? We can't afford a SLR. We just want a good, sturdy point and shoot camera that takes great pictures. So if you love your camera, let me know... Looks like my birthday/Christmas is coming early this year.