The Holidays!

Finally Carston is gone for the day and I get some real time on the computer. I definatly feel I need my own laptop someday! And since I havn't updated for so long, I'm just going to do pictures and keep this short. We had a great Thanksgiving and Christmas, soooo much fun with Isabelle this year, and I am sure we will have a great New Year!!!! Isabelle is growing up so fast. She is quite the character. My favorite recent story is when we took her to the aquarium and Carston and I were touching some sting rays and when I looked over at Izz she had her jacket in the water, swishing it back and forth. It was drenched!!!! She makes us laugh everyday, what a turkey! Definalty a Busy Izzy Bee!

The latest.

We have been busy to say the least lately. Last weekend I ran a 5K, that seemed to be harder then the other longer races I have ran, with some friends. And our main water line into our house was totally leaking, soaking our carpet in the basement. After we had quotes to get it fixed for $350 to $490, Carston decided to fix a leaking valve himself. I am so glad I married a handyman. It only took him an hour(other then digging the hole, 4 feet by 5 feet deep!!!) and saved us tons of tons of money.

But the big news in our family is the passing of my Grandpa Simmons. He passed away on the morning of Election Day and although he has been in poor health for a few years now, it was kind of a sudden thing. We visisted him in the hospital on Sunday and he looked actually really healthy, we had a great visit, which is now a cherished memeory. Carston told him of his dive trip and the fish he caught and that got my grandpa remembering all the good times he had fishing on the ocean. I really don't want to go into details but I was very suprized to see how my grandpa looked in only one days time. And I couldn't get over the fact that his time on earth, his test, was over. We had his funeral yesturday, Novemeber 11th, Veterans Day, and it was very emotional to watch as my brother, in the military and cousins whom have served in the military, did the military honors with the flag over the gravesite. It was a pretty day and a wonderful service and I have some very specail moments that I will never forget. Thank' you grandpa for being such a character. For always making me feel so loved, for loving Carston and telling me you thought my daughter was the smartest, most beautiful little girl and always marveling over her. Thank'you for having your prized garden, for your love of food, for your love of the temple, for your testimony and stories of knowing, President Kimball our prophet. Thank' you for having me sit on your lap, well beyond the point of me being your little granddaughter. Thank'you for Pinza, freezer burnt ice cream, and letting me in on your hiden stashes of treats. Ice Cream buckets and planter baskets on your head, stories of all the girls you dated, and making sure we knew you picked the best girl! You were and are loved so much. I will miss your laughter, but I will not forget your love and your legacy! Till we meet again....I love you!

Our Little Bumble Bee!

Trick-or-Treating with Isabelle was so much fun this year. She was so cute waddling down the street in her little costume. At the second house she picked out a sucker, and of course,how can you say no on Halloween, right! The rest of the night she was a sticky, but very happy Bumble Bee.

The cake was for our Twlight Book Club. Six layers of Cherry Chocolate with Cream Cheese Frosting. Yummy!

It's Autumn Time! It's Autumn Time!

So we just sang It's Autumn Time in Primary last week and that song is totally stuck in my head. But it's true and I thought I would post some fun Picture of a hike we did on Saturday. It was the Crecet Lake Trail up by Alta Ski Resort, but Carston says it is called Secret Lake. Anyhow it was really a fun time. And since, true to how we are, we didn't have my camera for our post anniversary date picture or the fun hay ride we went on on this weekend, we tried to make up for it by taking a huge photo shoot on the hike! I hope everyone is having a great Autumn Time with all the pretty leaves falling down!



Isabelle's newest words, Hot and Ball!
And the cutest thing. I love when we say prayers and she folds her arms for all of two seconds, but then as soon as she hears the word, amen, she totally, very quickly, folds her arms again!!!!

Carston had a great Man's Trip, diving in Catalina. And I have to admit if my husband is going to be a hunter, I am a lot happier to have him bring home lobster, halibet, and Bonita rather then an elk or a deer. Too bad he couldn't bring home the octopus as well! Thanks my mighter hunter for the yummy food!

So much to do and so little time!

This past month has been so fun. Karl had a fabulous wedding. My parents moved to Missouri. Exciting but very sad!!! Can't wait to visit. I can totally feel this wide open space between us with them being so far away. And I had a great time on a girls trip to New York with Melissa Sauter. I love the city and am so glad we went. I loved, loved, LOVED, Mary Poppins. Loved the shopping, A Tale of Two cities, and walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. And I loved going to Harrison to visit my Nanny family all in the Rain. Thanks Melissa for a great trip together! Carston is leaving today for his boys dive trip to Catalina today with Ben Sauter. We also went to St. George and saw Cam, Mandy and the kids, which I hopfully with get pics soon and Izz had her first hair cut!!!!! Oh yea and for the first time will be spending our first anniversary apart. This Thursday the 9th, it will be four years! And I am so happy to say I love my little family, now and forever! Cheesy, but true!

I love the word 'No, No, No"!!!

So Izz loves to walk around the house to all the things she is not suppose to get into, (ie, trash can, toilet, garbage cans, heater vent covers) and say the now famous, "no, no, no" while pointing her finger. But then she still proceeds to get into everything she is not suppose to. Too bad it's so dang cute. So the other day while I heard her walking down the hallway to her room I heard her say "mmmmmm"!! So I finished what I as doing and went to check on her, and this is how I found her.......


Needless to say, I hope she grows out of eating out of the trashcan sooner then later! And Yes I do feed her and Yes she does eat just about anything, even rinds!

Little Miss Hawaiian!

So this last weekend my granparents, Selma and Elmer Wiedmeier, had their 50th Wedding Anniversary. My grandpa was so cute and told me he hopes we all make it to 50 as well. I laughed and thought about how I only have a little more then 46 years to go!!! Anyhow it was a Louau and after a while everyone began shedding off their lays. I watched in amazement as Isabelle picked up at least 10 lays and put them all around her neck, one at a time, all by herself. Then spent the rest of the night jabbering and runnig around like they weren't even there!



We had a fun time at the McCullough family reunion in Bear Lake!




We hiked to Bloomington Lake and Izz loved the hike as long as I gave her wild flowers to hold!
























Izz's first Carousel ride at Lagoon!





















Isabelle's Many Faces!

Miss Izz is One Year Old!

It's crazy to look back on just one year ago and to see Isabelle so small. We totally thought we loved her so much and we did, but now as I look at her sweet little face I can honestly say that I swear I love her more everyday. She has had a great first year. It has been simply a wonderment to watch her grow. From her first smile, to her first laughs, to her learning to roll, crawl and walk and dance! I have never heard a child from nine months on say the word Hi sooo many times. From day one it's been the best to get Izz out of bed, she is always so happy and ready and waiting with a giant smile. Although lately I have noticed since she only gets her binks at nap times and bedtimes, she like to sit in her crib a bit longer in the mornings, becuase she knows I will take it away as soon as she gets up. I could go on and on about how much I love this gorgeous girl. She has been signing the word more for a while now and now does please and did milk really well just this morning. I swear she answers questions and says more words then we really catch on to. She gabbers all the time and waves Hi, bye and blows kisses, and if your lucky gives you real kisses! She loves to be chased and loves to hand Chewy his toys! She is constatly doing things that are so darling and cute we hope we never forget them. We had a great family party complete with food, presents, cake and ice cream, rain and rainbows and missed the few that couldn't come! But truely we find ourselves sincerely blessed to have Isabelle Marie apart of our lives. She truely and honestly makes each day happier and brighter. We can not imagine our lives without her!

Fun in the Lake Powell Sun!

We had a great time at Lake Powell this year! Marion brought fun dress up things for the girls, and a pinata that was so much fun! It is definatly fun to see the kids play and have so much. And it makes me realize how much fun they will have together, especailly as they get older. The kids all slept great, we played fun games, swam and boated with great weather and free fireworks everynight!!! So thank'you McCullough Family we love you!(The pictures are kind of pixalated sorry)

No Pictures....sad!

So we really are having a great summer. But unfortunatly we never seem to have our camera with us. Poor Izz looked so darling on the 4th and we didn't have a picture to prove it. For sure I'll start snapping soon!!!!

Wasatch Back and Pony Rides!

So the other day we took Isabelle to the Thanksgiving Point farm and it was so much fun. The animals all came up to us and Isabelle thought it was the best. She laughed so loud when she petted a horses nose, it was cute. The best part though was the pony ride! One word, Darling!





As for the Wasatch Back, I had a great time. I ran the race with my sister Anna, Carly a family friend, Anna's friend Tara and two other younger girls that I hadn't met before, Megan and Shana. Becuase of my negligence in training I got really nervous when the first three runners seemed to be putting us ahead of our scheduled times. But I'll have to pat myself on the back becuase I somehow maintained our times! I was runner 4 and my first run was through Paradise and Avon and it was by far the worst. If the heat was not bad enough I was fighting a stomach ache the whole time. But after crossing the exchange point and after getting over the feeling of throwing up I was glad I was done. Anna had a crazy run up the Avon Pass and she ran it like it was nothing. She is my running Hero for sure! The first run broke my spirit a little, becuase a five mile run was not suppose to be as hard as it was, but my second run gave my some hope, I ran the three miles around the Morgan area in 25 minutes and it felt pretty good. By the time I was almost ready to run my last leg on 15 minutes of sleep or less I had made myself sick with worry again. It was rated hard and I was not hot this time, but cold. But the sun was almost up and it was about 5:30am. I ran up and down and up and down and up along Jordanelle and somehow it felt great. It was by far my favorite leg, although rated my hardest. Besides my pumping problems(not enough batteries) and one flat tire, I am so glad that my sister asked me to run. It was hard to leave Isabelle for the first time, but I often pictured her while running, playing with her daddy and it definatly gave me some edge!!!! Overall, I think I will give myself a pat on the back! As it will be fun to drive along those roads someday and remember that I ran it with my own two legs.

Tagged!!!! And Hogle Zoo Pic!

5 Things on my list to do today:
1. Blog this Tag, since it's been a few weeks now!!!
2. Wash my feet, because I don't like gross feet from wearing sandles!
3. Kiss Carston Good Night!
4. Say prayers, Read Scriptures and go to sleep! It's getting late!
5. Have good dreams and sleep to drive to Logan tomorrow!

5 Snacks I enjoy:
1. Ice Cream
2. Baby Dill Pickles
3. String Cheese and Wheat Thins
4. Chocolate covered almonds, peanuts.....
5. Chips and Fresh Salsa

5 Things I would do if I was a sudden Billionare:
1. Buy Land
2. Buy into the Oil Market
3. Move to Kauai, better get a side of a plane with that!
4. Spend money on all my family members
5. Serious stuff, like help families in need around the globe.( I just read Kite Runner and a Thousand Splendid Suns, and those stories break my heart)

5 Bad Habits:
1. Finishing my Husbands stories to speed him up
2. Biting my Nails
3. Obsessing about a clean house
4. Jumping into water with my watch on
5. Not spending time on my Hair anymore

5 Places I have lived:
1. Kalispell, MT
2. Providence, UT
3. Cuenca, Ecuador
4. Harrison, NY
5. Salt Lake City, UT

5 Jobs I have had:
1. Bagger/Checker at Lee's Grocrey
2. Checker at Fred Meyer
3. Home Health for Bob Clark
4. Nanny
5. CNA

5 Things people don't know about me:
1. I have to make my bed because I'm afraid of dust getting on it!!! Ridiculous!
2. I like to have the volume on the TV on even numbers, and 15, since that is the day I was born!
3. I like to shovel snow and mow the lawn.
4. I really don't like dirty dishes and don't mind washing them where ever I am!
5. Ironing is my worst job, I remember crying, seriously, when my mom would ask me to do it! Sad!!!!




We also went to Hogle Zoo this past week with Marion, Mandy, Tag and Maddie while they were up!!! So fun. Izz loves animals for sure!!!!

Little Miss Walking, Yea!!!!

Kauai We Love and Miss You! And Miss 10 Months!

We had an awesome trip to visit the Darrohn Family in Kauai. They were the best we really really didn't want to leave...ever! We had so much fun and will never forget our first family vacation!
I had a lot of fun with Harmony, even though she had to work and we missed her a lot. We went on a hike along the Napali coast to a waterfall. The jungle and huge rocks and bright pink flower petals dusting the trail made us feel like we were kids in a story book! It was gorgeous and I will never forget swimming under the falls and looking out from behind the water. We also went paddle boarding the last day we were there, across Hanalei Bay. And I have to say it was so peaceful and so nice just seeing the green, lush mountains and hanging out on the water talking. This alone is making me want to become a resident.
We went to Kipou Falls with Stever and it was fun jumping in and also jumping off a huge rope swing. We hung out on the beach and snorkeled a lot this trip and it was the best. We saw turtles and eel's and Carston had fun using his new spear gun. I saw the Hawaiian State Fish everywhere and it was cool to actually know what I was looking for and at!
Scuba Diving was fun. We went to a place called Tunnels where,"Bethany", a few years back had her arm taken off by a Tiger Shark, if you remember. So I was a little jinxxing myself that we were going to see one. Especally since we saw her, Bethany, a few times (She has been on some bill boards around here). But we made it out safe. Phew!!! The coolest part of the dive was seeing a really cool red fish with huge eyes, a huge molusk, and watching a turtle get cleaned by a bunch of fish at a cleaning station! Where I guess they go to get cleaned whenever they need it!
Carst and Steve golfed at the Prince Golf Course. And I wish I could put in every last detail of the trip, but we had so much fun and now dream of moving there. Even if to just beat Steve and Harms at their favorite game of Pig...let's see...I think it was 6 to 1!!!! We missed seeing Peirce Brosnan (spelling) by one day!!!! Dang!



As for little miss she did amazingly well on the plane and she was so cute waving and saying,"Hi", to EVERYONE!!!! She has really been taking off these last few days and is now walking around the house. She walks from the office to the kitchen, for example, without help. She is still a little unsteady, but I don't think that will last long. She loves to pull off her socks, dance, and clap. And was trying to sign milk and I swear was signing more as well!!! Babies are definatly smarter then we think! She also got a runny nose the day before we left and we soon realized it was from her cutting all four top teeth all at the same time. She also loves to climb the stairs. I am also starting to realize she is growing up so fast. We love her and I can't imgine having to start over with another baby someday!!!!

Time Flys...Miss Nine Months Old!

We went to the Dr. last week and Isabelle wieghs 20 lbs (75%) and 29 3/4 inches long (97%)! So her weight has come down on the charts, but her height is staying up there. My brother Karl graduated from Fire Fighting School last week and we are going to Logan becuaes my Mom is graduating with her RN tomorrow night!! So lots of exciting stuff going on! Cutest moment today: I went to get Isabelle up from her nap and she was saying dada, dadada. So I said, "Can you say mommy?" And not kidding two seconds later Isabelle says, "Mama!" It was clear as day and that is all she said. Some may say coincedence. I say, she knows!

Isabelle's TRICKS!

Izz loves the Ducks at the Duck Pond. And the Ducks love Bread!

Just thought I better update Miss Izz! She is quite the little Turkey lately! She loves to garggle, wave, clap and smack her lips together!!! She gets into everything and today spilled Carston's whole cup of soda all over my lap, while we were out to eat!!!! It's pretty funny that my husband left his cup sitting right within her little reach!!! Not to mention that the guy next to us just stared at us, like he had never seen a spilled drink before. "Don't cry over spilled soda!" Isabelle met our neighbors pet parot, Kah Kah, yesturday and she was talking and reaching for it, it was pretty cute!!!! She says a lot of d's, b'd and my favorite, mama's. Sometimes I swear she is really saying it to me. Or maybe it's the mind of a parent, thinking your child is brillant. And a LOT of screetching sounds too. Till next time...which will be after Isabelle goes to the Dr. next week!!! Good Job Lee, for running the Salt Lake Marathon!!!!

Happy Easter and 8 months old. Wow!!!!

We had a fun Easter in the beautiful Cache Valley. My parents have put their house up for sale and are searching for a ranch to buy in Missouri. I have very mixed emotions. But I guess they can go set up shop before the rest of us get the memo! Izz had her first Easter Egg hunt and I'm trying to add the video, but it's proving to be harder then I thought. So keep checking and if your lucky you'll get to see it! She prefered the grass, leaves and bark to the eggs. I guess after the first egg it's like,"You've scene one egg you've scene them all!"


Anyhow Isabelle is doing so great, growing and changing by leaps and bounds. She wants to walk everywhere and pulls her self up and walks along the furniture. I love it, but at the same time I don't enjoy her falls. She does an army crawl, but is starting to stay on her knees just recently. The cutest thing, I'll never forget is when I put her in her crib and I walked back in and she was standing up with the biggest smile I have ever scene on her face. Now for every nap and bed time I have to lay her back down over and over again. All the time, trying to not laugh at how excited she is to see me until she realizes I'm only there to lay her down again! I went to check on her today and she was asleep sitting up with her head slumpped into the bumper pad for support. I can see how excited and proud of herself she is. She likes to wave and it is the cutest thing I have ever scene. It melts my heart and I could tell a million stories of her darliness from just today. Like spilling my giant glass of water all over her while at a restruant! Good times!
Other then our life centering around Isabelle, especailly mine, we are just excited for summer. I can't wait to plant flowers and a garden and just be outside.
I can't believe how blessed we are. I look at Isabelle and can't help but to wonder who this little one is. One thing is for sure she is our Angel. But I swear this blog is full of sap. What can I say, she has made me into a sap. Anyhow here is the update for now!
We are so excited to Steve, Harmony and Devyn in Hawaii!!!!! I need to start a countdown ring!!! Yea!!!!

Isabelle also loves my parent's piano, as you can see from the picture!!!!!