We do exist!

So, although we did take a small hiatus from the blogging sphere, we are back. With some great news! First we are expecting number two in October and, yep, it's a little BOY! We are totally excited and scared about two little ones running around, but we shall survive, I hope!
We have also been having fun doing some great family activities including:
1- Having family come out and visit over Easter with our very own Easter hunt.
And Yes, Kaitlynn was SCARED TO DEATH of the Easter bunny!
2- Going to the Zoo and the Aquarium together on Thursdays as a family date.
3- Flying home to go to my little sister's wedding.
4- Creating our own red neck yacht club in our front yard with blow up pools
and sprinklers!
5- Doing Yard work and playing in the rain.
6- Picking strawberries and making strawberry jam, YUM!
Kaitlynn is now almost 20 months old and running our household. She is talking up a storm and LOVES to copy EVERYTHING we do and say. She thinks she is hilarious and cracks herself up ALL the time. She is a ball full of energy and keeps us busy, busy, busy!
We also had to say goodbye to one of our family members, the Ford Explorer. It is the first car we bought together as a married couple. It gave us a great 7 1/2 years, but it was time to let it go, out on it's own and live it's life to the fullest. Alright, so we sold it to a family in our ward and it is a little creepy to see it parked at church each Sunday, but none the less, it looks happy! =)
Hope you enjoy the pics and have a GREAT day!

Fun Memories!

We have had such a great time the past few weeks! We took Kaitlynn to her first circus the other night. She did GREAT! Although, I still have not decided who the circus was for, us or her. She tolerated everything, sat quietly and listened as TJ and I enjoyed all the cheesy entertainment that brought us back to our childhood years! Kaitlynn is such a trooper, she goes with the flow and whatever other crazy idea her parents may have.
Speaking of crazy ideas, we also headed to Florida last week for SPRING TRAINING! Can you say, giddy school boy? TJ did not know what to do with himself, he was SOOO excited! We headed down for some up close and personal action with some of the best Yankee players there are. We had a great time at the games, the sun was warm, weather was FABULOUS, got sun burnt, a few autographs, made some great memories and enjoyed the beach! Life could not get much better then that! Kaitlynn was a total star of the show as well. She made it on the mega tron every day we were there. My favorite part, is her sunglasses. She had to have them on anytime TJ and I had ours on! She is just so super cute!
Kaitlynn is now 17 months old going on 2 1/2 I think. She is talking ALL the time, but you can only understand about half of what she says. She is climbing on EVERYTHING, reading books like crazy, hugging and laughing ALL the time and LOVES stacking cups, blocks, etc. She is our little firecracker and we love her to death!

Some great times........

Messy Yogurt Face! I LOVE YOGURT!

Dad did my hair! Can you say Mo-Hawk!

What was he thinking?

Our Ice storm

Total Ice, EVERYWHERE!

Wow, what a wonderful few weeks! We have had a great time! So much has happened, people have grown up, love has bloomed, and snow has fallen! All in a good month! In North Carolina, we don't get much winter weather, so when we had our first ice storm, and our first snow storm in consecutive weeks, we were pretty excited! We were stuck at home, because EVERYTHING was canceled, including church AND stake conference. We had a great time though!
When it wasn't snowing, we were celebrating some Valentine's day, which I have to say, WAS GREAT! TJ went all out, including home made coconut shrimp, pina colada's, chocolate dipped strawberries, rose pedals, and a warm bath! GREAT! Kaitlynn even got a little kiss! =)
Besides V-day we have been going for walks, decorating our house, playing with Kaitlynn, doing some spring cleaning, and watching the Olympics! Life is good! =)
Kaitlynn is the highlight of our life right now and we can't get enough of her. She is SOOOO fun. She is saying SO many words now and her personality is so fun. She is very smart, a little too smart sometimes, and so fun and loving! She loves to stack ANYTHING and play with her balls! She loves to run and play at the park. We just can't get enough of her! =)
We hope you are all doing well, and we hope you enjoy the pics!

Quick Update (Warning... LOTS OF PICS)

All banged up, I met the front porch steps up close and personal.

All of us at the Salt lake City Aquarium

Great Grandma, Grandma and Kaitlynn

Us at the zoo lights in Salt Lake

Grandma and Kaitlynn Christmas morning

Sledding with cousins

Kaitlynn with Grandpa

Kaitlynn with Grandma

Kaitlynn with Mom on Christmas morning

Kaitlynn eating snow for the first time

So, we have not fallen off the earth, but we have been VERY busy lately! We had a WONDERFUL Christmas and we HAVE to tell our families THANK YOU for everything you did for us while we were home! We had a wonderful, but not quite long enough, trip home to visit for Christmas. Since then, we have been trying to adjust back to normalcy (if there is such a thing) and this last week we had a WONDERFUL surprise visit from my brother and his wife!
Some of the fun memories we have had over the past few weeks include:
Kaitlynn went sledding for the first time, LOVED eating snow, her face got cold, then she HATED eating snow! =)
We saw the Christmas lights at the Zoo in Salt Lake City.
Spent WONDERFUL time with family.
We got a NEW camera, YEAH!
Kaitlynn turned 15 months old and is OFF the charts for height!
Kaitlynn got a new Wagon for Christmas and LOVES it!
We went the Ranch with Trey and Kaitlynn to feed the animals.
Kaitlynn took her first "REAL" fall, resulting in bruising and scratches.
Enjoyed the warm weather outside by going for walks, with the wagon of course.
I am now the first counselor in the Primary Presidency.
TJ and I took a weekend and visited Charleston, NC
We went on a train ride to look at Christmas lights
Took a bus ride to look at Christmas lights
Kaitlynn met Santa Clause and CRIED, and CRIED and CRIED!

We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and that 2010 is going well for you. We have enjoyed it thus far, although we have all been somewhat sick with either the stomach flu, colds, ear infections or pharyngitis. What can ya do, I hope this is not a sign of what is to come throughout the next year! I will work on updating a little more frequently of the next few months!

What a fun few weeks!

I can't believe November is already over! We were so busy have fun during November that we are sad to see it go! Since the last post we have been very busy travelers. We went down to Atlanta to visit some great family friends, the Weber family, for a few days. We had a wonderful time involving hiking, basketball watching (Go Brianna), movie watching, napping, and eating REALLY good food. We also fit in some cards, which was WAY fun.
After that we headed to Durham to celebrate TJ's birthday by shopping and relaxing, but he was not feeling so hot, so instead we visited the urgent care, he took a nap while Kaitlynn and I went swimming, and then we headed home. It was not a total wasted trip, as we did stop in at his FAVORITE place, the cheesecake factory, for some yummy food before we left. The next day was his birthday, although he had to work, I think it turned out okay. Kaitlynn tried to help him open all of his presents, of course. He is such an old goober, but I love him anyway! =)
This past weekend we celebrated Thanksgiving as a family with the missionaries. I was quite proud of my first Thanksgiving meal, it included: Turkey, rolls, mashed potatoes, Sweet potatoes, green salad, corn, stuffing and gravy. We also had pumpkin and apple pie, of course. We had a wonderful time, the food and company were great, and Kaitlynn slept through it. =) The rest of the weekend was full of hanging Christmas lights and putting up the Christmas tree. What a wonderful time of year, I LOVE IT!
As far as TJ, he is doing MUCH better FINALLY! After losing 10 lbs during his illness, he is starting to get some energy back and a little appetite back. Yesterday was his first three meal day for over two weeks. It is so nice to have him back. Thanks for all of your calls and prayers on his behalf, he was a sick little boy! =)
Hope you all have a wonderful week, sorry about the long post. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Enjoy the pics!

Girls weekend!

This past weekend I headed to Boston to hang out with some of my MOST favorite people! All of the sisters got together at Carol's house for a few days. My Mom also had to come, I mean, there were grandchildren there! =) We had a wonderful time, ate some GREAT food (Carol is a FABULOUS cook), saw some sights, got wet with rain, enjoyed their view off their balcony, talked, laughed, and made some very happy memories! What a great weekend! Thanks to EVERYONE who helped make it happen, Kaitlynn and I LOVED it!
While we were gone, TJ actually got REALLY sick and was stuck at home all by himself. He has had fevers every night despite being on antibiotics and he has had to do breathing treatments every four hours.
Kaitlynn is funnier then ever and cracking us up constantly. She eats ANYTHING and EVERYTHING and he loves backing into walls, posts, etc and then sitting down. She also LOVES jumping and ALL of her cousins. Enjoy the pics!

Busy, Busy, Busy........

Do you want my hand to eat too?

TJ and Kaitlynn, Damon and Evan visiting the Ostrich.

Hello Mr. Bison, How are you today?

Dad and his Tag along Kaitlynn

Feeding the deer, petting the dear, grabbing the deer....

What a wonderful time of year, as the holiday season approaches. I love changing decorations, sipping warm cider, and putting on my slippers. It's time for holiday fairs, festival of trees and GREAT FOOD! I suppose that this is the ONLY time of year that I might even think about missing the college life as I soon realize TJ will not be granted 2-3 weeks off around Christmas. But have no fear, this thought comes and goes quickly as I will give up the weeks off for the nights off from studying, test taking, etc. For all of you who are still in school, hang in there, it is definitely worth it when it is done!
This week was packed full of good times as a family and great memories were made. The week was pretty low key as we continue to do little fix up projects around the house and keep up the usual stuff. We had some friends over for dinner throughout the week and TJ went to a local Mexican restaurant with a co-worker. This was AUTHENTIC as there was nothing in English and there wasn't any American influence. The food was slightly spicy (ok, really spicy) but TJ could not be out done by his co-worker, so on he ate, held back the tears and ate some more. I'm not so sure when or if he will go back, but he feels more like a man and he saved face in front of his co-worker.
This weekend I headed to the Holly-Day fair which was a delight. Lot's of crafts, GREAT food, and great ideas. That evening TJ and I left Kaitlynn with a babysitter and headed to the Temple. It was great to be back inside the temple as it has been a few months since we have gone. Saturday we headed to the ranch so Kaitlynn could feed the animals once more before it got too chilly. That afternoon we headed to a ward picnic/volleyball game/concert event while TJ went golfing. All in all, a busy yet fun weekend!
We hope you guys are all doing great! We love to keep up on your blogs and to read your comments and e-mails. We hope you all enjoy your upcoming week!