Living Large

Randomness...

2011-11-09T19:46:00.000-08:00

So here are just a few random pictures. I feel bad that I don't take more pictures of Ella like I did with Quinn, but I just forget...poor second child!

Finger painting with chocolate pudding...yummy! Brings back memories of kindergarten!

Finished product!

So peaceful....

Forgot this in the Halloween post...Quinn coloring his little pumpkin

Q thought this was hilarious...not too sure Ella thought the same thing!

So stinkin' cute!!!

Her tongue just kills me! It's always just hangin' out!

Of course Q needs to be involved in the photo shoot! I'm one lucky mama, though! I just love these two!!

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-09T19:33:00.000-08:00

We had such a fun Halloween weekend! We were lucky to have ALL of Jeff's family here to meet Ella, go to the football game, and celebrate Halloween...and for my birthday...ha ha! Quinn was in heaven having Macie to play with, and I was in heaven having so much help entertaining my kids!! It was wonderful! Thank you everyone for making the big trip out here. We absolutely loved having you! You're welcome back anytime!!! I was bad at having my cameral all the time, so here are just a few that I happened to have. The order is kind of messed up...

Our sweet little pumpkin

Our scary dinosaur!

He absolutely loved the tail! He had no problem playing the part of a T Rex!!

Birthday dinner at Bucca di Beppo sitting at the famous "Pope" table. Lots of fun and delicious food!!

Um can you say birthday Sundae??

Little E cheering on Michigan

The boys all geared up and ready for the game! What a good looking group!

Trunk or Treating at the ward party with Strawberry Shortcake...aka Macie :)

Getting ready to Trick or Treat downtown Ann Arbor. So cute!

Aunt Meg trying to tame the crazy dinosaur!!

All tuckered out after trick or treating

We did this before we had our company...but wanted to include it. Quinn had a good time carving our pumpkin. He wasn't too sure about the "guts" inside the pumpkin

Dad's helper--It was carved to Q's instructions though...diamond eyes, circle nose, a small mouth...so demanding sometimes :)

The finished product

Jeff's cousin Jamie makes these adorable hats. She is amazing!! Ella's is an owl

Macie with her cute cow hat and Q of course has a dinosaur one!

Adorable little William with his giraffe hat

That's a pretty scary skeleton crew! Thanks Grandma for the new jammies!

Ella's Photo Shoot

2011-10-24T07:25:00.000-07:00

Ella was not super cooperative, but we managed to get a few good shots of her at 2 1/2 weeks old. She has sure changed over the past couple of weeks. She is starting to fill out a bit. She is still eating like every three hours, day and night..., but we still love her. :) She just loves her tongue! It seems like she is always playing with it or sticking it out. It's so cute. Quinn continues to be a good big brother and tries to entertain her and share his toys. Oh boy... I can't believe she will be three weeks old tomorrow!

Fall Fun

2011-10-24T07:16:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed some beautiful fall weather. Little E was only 4 days old, but we had to get out and enjoy it by going to a cider mill in Dexter. Quinn had so much fun playing on the hay fort and in the big pumpkin patch. We had a hard time convincing him to leave! He loved the little petting zoo and even let the cows lick his hand. Wow he's getting brave...We just love the Michigan fall. It's absolutely beautiful!!

The weird hay man...

Little E just chillin'

Q playing with the cows

On top of the hay fort

Q thought this was the best game ever! He kept saying, "these are the biggest pumpkins I've ever seen!"

So fun with Grandma!

Feeding the horses

The best part...yummy pumpkin donuts!

Quinn finally got to experience the fun of jumping into the leaves. He had it pretty good with Grandma raking them together and him jumping in and making a mess. It was so fun to watch!

He also has a new love for baseball. It seems like he's always asking to go play ball :)

She's Here!

2011-10-15T18:21:00.000-07:00

I am kind of late, but wanted to officially announce the birth of our sweet girl...

Ella Jensen

October 4, 2011

6 lbs. 10 oz.

18 1/2 in.

We couldn't have asked for things to go better with her delivery, and we are getting adjusted to having a new born at home again. How quickly you forget! She seems so little, but is healthy as can be. She was already at 7 lbs. at her one week visit, so hopefully we can get some meat on her chicken legs! She has lots of dark hair and long fingers. She is pretty snuggly, and we just love her. We were lucky enough to have my mom here for just over two weeks, and then my dad joined us for the last few days. They were a great help and I just love them! Quinn loved all the attention...it will be interesting when it's just me here to entertain him. Q is adjusting pretty well. He gets hyper quite easily and gets crazy, but he loves being my helper and gives E lots of kisses (and occasionally other forms of loving touches...). Jeff has been a trooper and has been so helpful. My recovery has been a billion times better than with Q and I have been so grateful. Now that I have the "reader's digest" version done, lets move onto lots of pictures :)

I have more to catch up on, but a crying baby has me stopping here :) Hopefully there will be more coming soon...

Photo Shoot

2011-06-15T11:13:00.001-07:00

We decided that we better do some family pictures since it has been a year and a half since our last one, and while we were at it, we took some of Quinn for his two year old pictures. Ya, I know, only a couple months behind! Jeff did a good job taking them, but I don't think he is going to go into the portrait business...it's hard getting a two year old to cooperate! He will probably want to do different editing, but I was so happy with how they turned out, I had to show them off!

Now to choose which ones to print off...

Lots In One!

2011-06-09T16:42:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the mega catch up post. I was going to try and do them all separate, but then just kept uploading pictures, so you have in all in one! These are kind of in reverse order, but we have sure been enjoying the nice weather. It makes our days lots more exciting to be able to get out and at least go to the park if nothing else. We have been swimming some, too, but no pictures...I know lame mom forgot the camera... So, enjoy all the pictures!

FHE @ Gallup Park

Feeding the fish and geese
Cute baby Geese
Jeff's getting good, huh! I love this picture!
Q chasing/feeding the birds.
Finally daring to go across the bridge thing
Our little Man!

Memorial Day at Silver Lake

We went with our friends the Greenwoods and the Birds. It was like the first nice day of the year. It was awesome!
I was proud of Q for being so good about wearing his life jacket. Not that he is crazy about the water, but it gives me hope for Lake Powell!

Shipshewana Indiana---Amish/Mennonite Country

A beautiful Amish Farm we saw on our buggy ride
Our buggy! We went with our friends, the Labrums
We had a fun buggy ride. Q was obsessed with our horse, Bob. It was so funny! We enjoyed a DELICIOUS buffet thing, too, that had all kinds of homemade food. Seriously, it was awesome!

Touch A Truck

This was an awesome event that let the kids get in and "drive" all kinds of cool vehicles. Some of Q's favorites were the tractor and buses, but I was a bad picture taker, and none of them turned out :( He had so much fun!

Riding in the back of the fire truck

Driving the garbage truck
Being weird in the ambulance... He would not get out!
Our little fireman! When he got in he saw the fireman's hat and took off his hat wanting to put on the fireman's hat! It was adorable!
One of two different fire trucks he got to drive!

Holy Cow! This is so long...SORRY!

Surprise! It's A GIRL!

2011-05-28T06:29:00.000-07:00

Yep, we are having another baby and it's a girl! What in the heck am I going to do with a girl? I am excited, but oh so nervous! You have probably noticed in recent posts the larger than normal gut protruding...there is a reason! I am 21 weeks along (tomorrow I guess) and have been feeling fine. I had pretty much talked myself into it being another boy so I was totally shocked when they said it was a girl. Everything looked good on the ultrasound. She was moving like crazy, though, so I am going back in next week so they can hopefully get some better pictures. I always thought it would be so hard to control myself when I could buy for a girl, but now that I can, it's too overwhelming for me, and I think the boy things are way cuter. What??? I'm sure that will change, but for now, the thought of having to start over with clothes, accessories, and such is a little daunting. But, we are all happy to be adding to our little family. I think Jeff is the most excited to have a "Daddy's little girl"! He was kind of giddy when we first found out. It was so cute. Quinn likes to say he is going to be a big brother, but I don't think he understands what that means and how much his life is going to change. He still switches back and forth from saying baby brother and baby sister, so really, I don't think he really gets it yet. He also likes to say that he has a baby in his tummy, too. Oh boy... He is kind of obsessed with babies right now so hopefully that will last. At least he will provide some good entertainment for the baby when she comes! He's hilarious. I'm due October 9!

Grandma and Grandpa Visit

2011-05-19T11:26:00.000-07:00

My mom and dad came for a quick trip. It was soo nice having them here. We enjoyed a night in Greektown and the baseball game (the Yankee's were in town...of course Grandpa got us some great seats!!), then went to Kirtland for a couple of days. It went by way too fast!

Quinn got a baseball during batting practice!!It pretty much rained the whole time we were in Kirtland. Q and I spent most of our time out in it so he didn't destroy the inside of places...
It was fun to see the Black's---They are from good ole P-town and are serving in Kirtland. They did a great job showing my parents around!
The hotel had tons of turtles to feed--Q was loving it!!
The Kirtland Temple

Thanks for visiting us Mom and Dad! We love having company...hint hint :)

Myrtle Beach

2011-05-19T10:21:00.000-07:00

Jeff had a break between semesters, so we took a road trip to Myrtle Beach, SC. Q did better than I could have ever imagined in the car. It was fun to see country that we have never been to before. The great thing was that it was actually warm, spring like weather. LOVED it! We had a blast with just our little family and enjoyed being able to relax and just spend time together.

The view from our room!

Happy Easter!
Easter Egg hunt on the beach

Brookgreen Gardens--Beautiful!
Hmm...do you think he would be that calm if it were real??
Watching the cacoons in the butterfly house

Playing at the beach. Quinn is still not a huge fan of the ocean. He tried it out, but after that, he would freak out if Jeff or I even got close to the water.
Playing at the beach side swimming pool. He liked this MUCH better!

Walking the Pier

Playing one of the gazillion miniature golf courses. Of course we chose the dinosaur one :)

Lovin' the swings at the carnival type place
Ripley's Aquarium. It was awesome!

Tuckered out after some long, fun days. He didn't want to wake up so we could leave.
Some cool jelly fish Jeff saw washed up on the beach
Ripley's area again. Sorry, a little out of order...
On the way home we HAD to stop at the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, OH. Jeff was in heaven!!!

Now Jeff is back in school, but in the clinic, seeing actual patients. He has really enjoyed getting into the "hands on" stuff. We are so proud of him!

Playing Catch Up

2011-05-19T09:45:00.000-07:00

Wow! I am soo behind! Things have finally started to slow down a little, so I will try and catch up on what we've been up to.

Megan and Dallin's Wedding--Ya, this was clear back at the end of February...It was a great weekend and we are so happy for Meg and Dallin. They are perfect for each other. Their wedding was beautiful and we were so happy we could be there for their big day!

I know it's lame, but this is the only picture we have of the bride and groom...Meg looked fabulous! Quinn took it upon himself to make sure they had some snacks during the reception.
Candy heaven...

Quinn and I got to stay in Utah for an extra three weeks while Jeff came back to school and studied for boards.

Helping Grandma with Noah's baptism quilt. Why do grandma's have so much for patience than moms???
We went to Las Vegas for the Mnt. West Tournament and got to play with Luke's family. Q was loving Rush, their pet turtle. (I had to ask him what the turtle's name was and he spit it right out!)
Swinging with Annie
Hanging out at the arena
Of course Q had to go with Grandpa out to ride/feed the horses!

We have been enjoying Jeff's company now that he has boards over with! It's like he's a whole new man!! The best part is HE PASSED!!

Detroit Institute of Art
Detroit Science Center
Hanging out in the Big House!! Awesome!

Enjoying ONE nice day at the park...Wishing there were more to come...

That's kind of a "Reader's Digest" version of our happenings. More to come soon...

2 Years Old!

2011-03-25T10:50:00.000-07:00

This is WAY over due, but I have been such a blog slacker. We have been out of town, and I am having a hard time getting motivated to do much.

Our little man turned 2 on Valentine's Day. We had a fun Elmo party for him and he just loved being the center of attention!! It's hard to believe we have a two year old! He is growing so fast. He is talking up a storm and you can pretty much have a little conversation with him and understand what he's saying. He has such a funny personality and he is so much fun to have around. (most of the time...he's still a two year old little boy :)) We love you Quinny Boy!!

On cloud nine with his Elmo cake!

I love this picture with his lip sticking out! He was so mad we were singing Happy Birthday and I wouldn't let him blow out the candles yet :) He did eventually get too, and then we had to selectively cut the cake around the spit that came with blowing out the candles!
Enjoying his Elmo cupcake
Q and his little friend Lucas--So cute!
Maybe this can give you a little taste of the cause (sp??) of the day...it was CRAZY!

On his actual birthday, we went to a Valentine's party at a friend's house. They had a blow up toy in their basement...pretty awesome huh!
Playing with another Lucas friend
That night we babysat some friends, so it was like having another little birthday party...mini pizza left overs and all!
I will try to take time to update on our big Utah trip for Megan's wedding and Noah's baptism. Q and I spend 3 1/2 weeks out there while Jeff studied for boards. We had lots of fun being with family, but it sure feels good to be home!

More Shots Around Campus

2011-02-21T13:03:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos I took around the University of Michigan Campus. Hope you enjoy.

Christmas 2010...Finally!

2011-01-20T10:49:00.001-08:00

I have been such a slacker in the blogging department lately. I don't know why. I check other blogs frequently and always wish they had updates, and yet I have been to lazy to update my own. So, here it goes...We had a fabulous holiday in Utah with lots of family and friends. Jeff was able to stay for a couple of weeks and Q and I were out for 3 1/2 weeks! So there were lots of fun parties and playing with cousins which means lots of pictures! It's takes so long to upload them and it's kind of overwhelming with how many pictures we have (especially now that we have a budding photographer on our hands :) ) that I am just picking a few to highlight our fabulous time. (Don't worry, there are still TONS)Thank you to our families who put up with us for so long and spoiled us rotten!

Our pre-Christmas in Michigan

Playing at the Discovery Gateway

Fun seeing the lights
Loving Grandpa's new toy!
Matt and Jeff trying to get down the hill
Fun at the cabin!
Christmas at G&G J's
Trying to hold his present from Santa
Going for the pinata
The nativity cast...so cute!
Playing with the zoo
Riding Otis with grandpa
Do you think the little dude was happy Christmas morning????
Sledding at the ranch--don't worry Grandpa, we didn't post any of your cross country skiing lesson pictures :)
Tubing on New Year's Eve
Sliding with Noah at the New Year's party
Bath time to welcome in the new year
Playing with Grandma and the horses
Napping by Gramp only after Grandpa sang him some horsey songs :)
Lovin' the Jazz and the seats! Thanks Mom and Dad!
Chillin' in Macie's jammies--we had to stay an extra day because our flight was having issues...

Long Time

2011-01-07T19:14:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time since I got on here and posted, but we got a new camera for Christmas and I wanted to post a few pictures that I thought are pretty cool. Hope you enjoy.-Jeff

Quinn's New Do

2010-12-06T06:43:00.000-08:00

My baby is growing up! It's crazy how different Quinn looks now without his shag. He looks like a totally different kid. It was very hard for me to see all his beautiful hair come off and get used to his short new cut, but it's growing on me. He is still such a sweet, happy, hilarious boy!

In other news, we had a fabulous Thanksgiving in Las Vegas! I was a horrible picture taker so I don't have much to show for it though. We met all of Jeff's family there for his little brother, Matt's, football tournament. It was fun to watch him play again after not being able to for the past couple years. He did a great job! We played a lot in the hotel hall way, walked the strip, and ate lots of yummy food! My parents, my sister and her family all came down for the day, too, plus my brother and his family live there, so we got to see lots of family in such a short trip! We also got to do some shopping, so overall it was a great trip!

Now its on to Christmas...we are getting so excited! Q and I are only here for another week before we head out to Utah. We have got out a few decorations and this is Quinn's favorite. Jeff and I are getting more giddy than Q for Christmas! It's so fun having a little guy around to get things for. Quinn is growing so fast. He is speaking in little sentences now, and it's absolutely adorable. He sings songs to himself randomly throughout the day and it just cracks me up. He gives us a run for our money, but it's all worth it. He is a pretty special little guy!

Random

2010-11-18T19:13:00.000-08:00

I don't feel like we have really been up to much, but I was going through our pictures and found some cute ones of our little dude. So, for the grandma's and grandpa's out there, here you go!

Quinn likes to wear our shoes and thinks he is pretty cool!
He has started to pose and say cheese just so he can come and look at "Quinny", as he calls himself :)
My new little helper!

Hmm...do you think he needs a haircut???
We made our first of many tents to come the other day. He loved playing in it. A boy after his mother's own heart. I have lots of fun memories in our homemade tents in our front room.

Playing with his tractor in the tent

If you can't tell, we still think our little man is absolutely adorable. Despite his temper tantrum melt downs, throwing all his toys, and all the other "fun" characteristics that go along with a little 21 month old boy, we sure love our little Q!

Cowboy Q

2010-11-04T19:27:00.001-07:00

Here is our cute little cowboy! He has "Yee Hah" (like two words, hilarious) and "Giddy Up" down, followed by the click click click of his horsey. ADORABLE!

Carving some pumpkins
Still has lots of energy after the ward Trunk-or-Treat. He thought it was pretty cool he could just walk up to people and they would give him candy. He did say a cute little "Tickoteat", but why go to all that work when they will just give you candy anyways??
Trick-or-Treating downtown--It was fun to have Jeff with us this year!
A bunch of our friends downtown. Q had a blast!
Cowboy and the Black Spider Man--This kid is obsessed with super heros!
Q meeting a friendly ghost
More adorable pictures of our little man--Ya, the belt buckle was HUGE and we couldn't get it to stay on right, but our friend let us borrow it, so we couldn't pass it up!!

We Survived!

2010-10-25T10:40:00.000-07:00

Yeah! The half marathon has finally come and gone! I think we signed up in April so it has been hovering over us for a while. We had a really fun weekend though with our good friends Becca and Bryan Greenwood. It was a quick trip, but so much fun. We had an awesome room in Mackinaw City that was right on the beach of Lake Huron (I think...) and Q absolutely loved having his Auntie and Unca B with him 24/7! We had to take a ferry over to Mackinac Island and then walked over to where the race started. There are no vehicles allowed on the island. The only means of transportation are bikes, horse and wagon, or your legs! It was beautiful on the island, and the 1/2 took you all around and through the island. It was weird thinking we weren't by the ocean! We had good weather at the start of the race, but by the end, clouds had gathered and the wind was really bad. The good news is we all finished and didn't even walk!! We are very sore, but it's getting better. I'm not looking to do one again any time soon, if ever again, but it was a good experience and the scenery made it well worth it!

The sunrise on the morning of the run--Beautiful!
Thanks to this little man for getting us up in time to see the sun rise...

Q and Auntie feeding the birds
Stretching with Unca B
Just before the race started
And we're off...

Q sporting his medal
WE DID IT!
Wearing our matching jackets we got for running. We were glad we had them!

The downtown area
The horse taxi
Waiting for the ferry
Relaxing after an exhausting day!

DISNEY WORLD

2010-10-22T11:16:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that our trip has already come and gone. We have kind of been planning this for the past three years, now it's over! We had a wonderful time in Florida. It was so fun being all together and watching all the little cousins play. It was not a relaxing vacation per say (although it was nice to have such fabulous weather!), but we had a blast! We went to at least two kingdoms a day, and had lots of early mornings and late nights. It makes me sad that we don't live closer to our families, but it makes the time we do get to spend together that much better I guess. We already miss them that's for sure! Here are some highlights of our trip...

We started the trip off at the Animal Kingdom
The stroller parade...
Kyle, Hailey, Q, and Maya--they are so funny!
Q had lots of rides like this--all of the cousins just pampered him!
Q loves his "Dampa"
So much fun with the balloon
All of the cousins, except Niko and Nina...they slept in!
Waiting in line for Dumbo
So much fun. Q still randomly says "Dumbo ride?"
Waiting in line for Pirates, and trying to keep Q awake!
Thanks Dampa and Dama for such a fun trip!
Annie and Quinn are so cute together! Q giving A kisses
Isn't this the cutest picture?!?!?!?
We loved the Rockin Roller Coaster ride!
Epcot
Noah and Quinn playing by the fountains
The kids loved these cool lights in the sidewalk
Finding Nemo ride
Late night fun with Alexis and Marissa
Driving the race car with Dad
Q loves his new Buzz blaster
Enjoying some ice cream at the Magic Kingdom
"swinging" with Noah--Protective Alexis in the back :)
The whole gang--all 23 of us! Celebrating Carter's birthday
We went to a playhouse disney show that Q absolutely LOVED!
Waiting for the show to start
Lovin' Mickey and Donald
Oh the Magic of Disney! We loved it!

Now it's off to Mackinac Island for the big run tomorrow...while the rest of my family is headed to the cabin for the deer hunt...Guess where I would rather be???

It's BACK!

2010-10-11T10:55:00.000-07:00

Yep, our computer is finally back, so I have vowed to not get so behind on blogging and printing out pictures. It's a long story, but basically our computer crashed, we thought we lost ALL of our pictures and videos, our prayers were answered, and some how we were able to get the computer to work long enough to back up our files, and now we have a new hard drive! So without further adieu, here are some of our fall happenings...WARNING: LOTS OF PICTURES!

CAMPING--We went just before school started, and now I can't even remember where we went. We went with our good friends, Chris and Diana. Q loved being outside all the time and just being able to go and explore. He went to sleep fine, but as soon as Jeff and I went in the tent, he was awake. It was kind of a long night, but overall, lots of fun!

Q asks for popcycles from sun up to sun down--he likes to eat them out on the porch in his little chair.
One of his favorite places to play...and bug mom!
We spent lots of time at Independence Lake and another fun water park we found just before they closed for the season. I was a horrible picture taker, so there's not much to show for it. Q asks to "hold it" for almost anything we try and give him a bite of.
Tailgate Parties!! Jeff and I have tried to BBQ for all the football games. It has been a fun season so far, excluding last weekend...
This is what welcomed me home one night...Jeff has had a ton of lab stuff to do, but he has been able to bring some of his work home to work on.
Stake 5K
Jeff showing off his skill in the lab
My parents were finally able to make it out to see us! We were so excited for them to come and we had a wonderful time. We just kind of hung out and looked around here, so it was very relaxing!
Gallop Park
We went to a Tiger's game and it was a blast! We had tickets on the 6th row behind home plate. There were lots of runs, so it was an exciting game to watch!

Falling asleep watching the football game.
Apple Picking

Stretching with dad--so cute!

Now we are headed off to Disney World, so there will be more pictures to come!

Quinn's 18 month pictures...or should I say 19!

2010-09-27T11:06:00.000-07:00

My good friend Yolanda was kind enough to take Quinn's pictures again. We tried to do it while the weather was still nice, but the wind was blowing like crazy! I think they turned out pretty good for 40 mph winds! Here are some of my favorites...

Quinn's New Trick

2010-08-27T09:56:00.000-07:00

Man we love this little guy!

Summer 2010

2010-08-26T11:14:00.000-07:00

Well hello blogging world! It has been forever since I have updated on here, but that could be that we were gone for 6 1/2 weeks this summer. Jeff has now started his second year of dental school, and I'm just wondering where in the heck time has gone? We have a little man on our hands, talking up a storm, throwing temper tantrums, and all the other fun stuff that goes along with having an 18 month old. We have sooo many pictures of our wonderful summer in Utah, but I don't think I have it in me to post like a 100 photos, so I'll just try and highlight some of our summer fun!

We were lucky enough to have Jodie and Matt come out for a few days. We did lots of fun things around Ann Arbor and Detroit, and then they flew back to Utah with Quinn. It was soo weird not having Quinn! It did make the drive for Jeff and I a lot quicker, and it was fun to spend a couple of days together.

The most exciting part of the summer was Grandma and Grandpa Yardley getting home off their mission! It's so great to have them back in Panguitch, and they are soo glad to be back in Panguitch, too! They had a wonderful mission, and lead the Idaho Boise Mission by examples of hard work and dedication. We love you and are so proud of your service!
Of course the second they got home, Grandpa had to head up to the ranch! Q loved the 4 wheelers!

Back on the saddle again...

One of our favorite traditions is catching polly wogs up at the ranch. Quinn was fascinated by them!
Jeff and Q down in the meadow. Isn't it beautiful!
Q loved the horses!
His first ride on a horse.
The 4th of July in Kaysville! Jeff and I started the day off by running a 5K along with some other family members. I think it kind of tired us out for the rest of the day, but we had a good time at the parade. It was a lot longer than the little parades in Panguitch! Jeff made the parade, but that's about it. He had the flu for the rest of the day. He was sick last year on the 4th, too, so let's hope that doesn't become a tradition!!

After the parade we had a BBQ at G&G Jensen's. Q had a good time swimming with Jesse and Marissa!
Enjoying the fireworks with Macie! Those two just loved their little chairs! They sat in them through the parade and the fireworks. They are good little buddies!
This is how Q finished the fireworks. So darn cute!

Hogle Zoo-Q loved the carousal. It was hard to get him off!
Q and Macie feeding the ducks
Checking out the giraffes
Jeff and Q on the motorcycle. I swear Quinn can point out a motorcycle better than we can. He loves them!
LAKE POWELL! Q and Jeff experienced their first trip to the Wahweap side of Lake Powell. Quinn was not a huge fan of the water, but I think he had a good time overall. He loved finding the "seashes" and throwing them in the water. I was proud of my dad for being able to get up on the slalom after 4 years, and several of our nieces and nephews got up on the kneeboard, too. They are all growing up so fast!
Hanging out with Grandpa
Swimming with dad--That's the sand slide in the background. It's so beautiful!
More ranch fun! Jeff caught a good one!

Fun at Discovery Park in Cedar
Cherry Hill--Slowly but surely we will make a water dog out of Quinn. He likes baths, but that's about the extent of his love for water. He still had a good time with Grandma though!
Going down the water slide
Bear Lake! We finally got to see the new cabin at Bear Lake. We had a great time relaxing, playing games, going on the side by sides, boating, and just being together!

We all went with Q on his first tube ride! He was like falling asleep it was so relaxing :)
The three brothers reliving their childhood days!
Q taking over the driving

Pioneer Day Rodeo in Ogden--Jeff's Grandpa was the grand marshall of the rodeo, so we all got to go. It was a lot of fun! Grandma got these adorable boots for Q and Macie. They looked adorable walking around in them

Q had just woken up, but he normally loves grandma and grandpa great Jensen
Riggs Reunion--We had the reunion with my mom and her siblings. It was the first time they had all been together in over 10 years.

Q "jupin"
He was not too sure about the slide. It went really fast!
Most of the first cousins. It was so fun to see each other and catch up. I feel blessed to be apart of such a wonderful family!
Hatch Reunion--Quinn holding his first horny toad.
Getting more time on the horses
I just thought he looked so cute with his little cowboy boots on!
24th of July in Pangutich-- Trudi and I started off the day running the 5K. Danny ran it too, but he was way too far in head of us to get a picture with us
Annie and Q at the parade

I love this picture of my mom and dad
My parents would usually get up with Q and take him for a walk
Jeff and the girls getting ready for a movie
Hamoc time
Q and Annie on the 4 wheeler
The two little love birds at the ranch. Thanks for being such a good sport this summer Jeff!
Dancing to the music!
One of Q's favorite toys at Grandma's!
The big surprise and excitement of the summer...Let me introduce you to Sister Megan Jensen!! We are so excited for Meg and her new adventure. She will be serving in the Sweden Stockholm mission and leaves on December 29. She will do awesome!
My sister in laws and me all awaiting the big news!
The whole gang!
One last swim with Grandma before we came home
Dinner after we went through the temple with Megan. It was a fabulous day!

We got to spend some time at Temple Square with Grandma and Grandpa Yardley

Winter Quarters, NE--We decided to stop at Winter Quarters on our way back home. There is such a neat spirit there and it was a good reminder of the sacrafice of the early saints
I don't know if we would have been able to do it!
The beautiful temple. (as I'm doing this Quinn keeps saying "Moroni" with his Q accent of course!)

So I think this is the longest post ever, but I just wanted to finish by thanking our parents and other family members for spoiling us and making our summer so great. We love you all and appreciate all you do for us!

Crazy Days!

2010-06-14T13:03:00.000-07:00

Wow, where in the heck did May go, and it already mid June??? What's going on?? Life has been kind of crazy around here. We have been having lots of fun outside, trying to avoid the tornadoes or course, and cannot believe how fast time is flying by. Our baby boy is acting more and more like a toddler every day. He is growing up soo fast, and getting so smart. It's so fun to watch him figure things out and try new words. He is an absolute blast right now! (Of course there are the random ornery rampages, but I guess that's normal...) Jeff and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary on June 1, and we just moved into a new place over the weekend (pictures to come of that as soon as it's presentable), so that has been an adventure too. Oh, did I mention Jeff and I are training for a half marathon?? Never thought I would be talked into something so crazy, but it has been fun having a goal to work towards. Now, Jeff just needs to get through finals, and then it's off to Utah!! Yes! I can hardly wait!!!!! Here are some of our happenings over the past few weeks, in kind of reverse order.

Quinn and Auntie Becca--She made these adorable pants for him out of a sweatshirt! Of course she had to add a star, too!
Playing soccer at the park
Riding the "neigh"
Just being one of the boys!
Miniature golfing-- Step 1: Place the ball on the divot thing
Step 2: Hit the ball
Step 3: Go get the ball
Step 4: Bring it back! He loved it!!
The happy couple after 3 wonderful years of marriage! We went to dinner and a movie with just the two of us. Ya, that never happens!! It was fabulous!
Quinn loves to push everything! The stroller and grocery carts are some of his favs...
This kid loves corn on the cob--He gets every last kernel!
Jeff's new toy! I think we chose the hottest day of the year to try it out!
Quinn was soo hot!
The finished product--Great job Jeff!
At Cabela's picking up the tent. Cabela's is in Dundee which is just 20 min. south of here. A tornado hit there last weekend. Yikes!
The downtown fairy doors--We went for a YW activity
LOVE this picture!
Fun at Gallop Park
The waterfall over our front door awning thing. Ya, we ran through that.
Jeff has been enjoying intermural softball with his dental friends. Their team Plaque Attack is undefeated heading into the tourny!

Isn't he getting big?!?!?!?

May

2010-05-20T06:05:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that May is more than half way gone. Before we know it we will be hitting the road for Utah for a much needed summer break! I can hardly wait!! We have been getting lots of rain around here, but we have managed to still have lots of fun. The big news this week is that I was Jeff's first official patient!! He did a great job cleaning my teeth. He has a real, non related patient this afternoon, so I'm anxious to hear how it goes. It was so cool seeing him in all his dental grub and he sounded so smart with all his new vocabulary. He seems to really be enjoying what he is doing. I am so happy for him and proud of all his hard work. Quinn had his 15 month doctor appointment yesterday. It's hard to believe how fast he is growing up. He is learning so many new words and it's weird how much he actually understands too. He is so observant of everything that is around him. I swear he can spot a star anywhere! He's obsessed with stars! He has started to pick up a little girly squeal that is kind of annoying. I don't know where that came from. But, we love him lots and are so blessed to have such a happy little guy. Here are a few pictures of other fun things we have been up to.

Jungle Java--It's a cool indoor play area that you climb around in

We got to spend a few days with "Flat Stanley" from Marissa's class, so he is in a few of our pictures, too
Curly haired boy
Look at all those curls!
Jeff and I went to the Detroit Tigers baseball game against the Yankees
The stadium is right downtown and has a beautiful view
Our friend that went with us. The Havens and the Greenwoods
Happy after a Tiger victory!!
MESSY QUINN!! He loves the canned ravioli and pasta things, but it makes a mess! It's so darn cute to watch though.
Of course the spoon has to go in his ear...everything goes in his ears!!!!!

Gotta Love the 80's!

2010-05-06T09:50:00.000-07:00

Jeff's dental class had an 80's birthday party just before we went to Disneyland. So glad we didn't miss out! We had a great time!!

Our group of friends.
The guys!
The girls!

Disneyland

2010-05-03T06:34:00.001-07:00

We had a great time in California!! It went by so fast, and now it's already back to the same old grind. Quinn did pretty darn good for it being long days and early mornings. He loved seeing all the people and running around. He wasn't sure about some of the rides, but he definitely loved Dumbo, the fish carousel, Nemo, Winnie the Pooh, It's a Small World, and Toon Town. He wasn't too sure about the characters, but we saw a lot of them anyways. We went to the beach one day and despite the freezing weather, it was a blast. Q wasn't too sure about the sand, but he absolutely loved the bike/carriage thing we rented. He would say hi to everyone that passed and was so happy to be in the lead. Scott and Jodie were great! It seemed like they were always the ones staying behind, watching the babies while the rest of us went on big rides. We ate great, and gained lots of weight that's for sure! Thanks so much Scott and Jodie for such a fun vacation!!

Here is a slide show of all the pictures!

The opening day!
I love this picture of Quinn and Macie! They looked so cute in their matching outfits!
Three happy boys happy to be in Disneyland!!
Our awesome bike
We wiped Q out! He never just lays down and falls asleep, but he was so exhausted he couldn't even wait for me to put him in his crib. So cute!
Once again, soo tired! He fell asleep waiting in line to see Mickey
Macie Jane and Q playing in their new PJ's. Quinn loved saying "bang, bang, bang" to shoot the aliens on the Buzz ride,so we got him his own alien to shoot!
We just love this happy little man!!
Oh No!! Playin' at Toon Town

Lovin' Life!

2010-04-24T08:14:00.001-07:00

Things are going well for us. Jeff just finished another semester of dental school, Quinn ("Nin" as he calls himself :)) is just getting so big and fun, and I am just enjoying every minute of it! We feel so blessed. This is random, but here are a few pictures of what we have been up to.

Quinn is into everything! My cupboards are emptied multiple times on a daily basis. He has already unrolled a whole roll of tin foil and thinks it's hilarious. I'm glad he's able to find his own entertainment, but sometimes it's hard to cook with all the obstacles :)
He LOVES books. He will bring them to you, no matter where you are, and demand to be read to!
Q loves throwing food! I hate that our kitchen table is on carpet, but what can you do. We are trying to get him to understand you only throw balls, but we'll see how long it takes for him to understand!!
Quinn loving strawberry shortcake. We took a trip to Detroit's Greek Town and found this delicious bakery! I can't believe I didn't take more pictures, but we had such a fun time. We took a little tram thing around the city and got a good look at downtown Detroit without having to be actually in the downtown. Quinn LOVED the train ride!
It's Spring! We have spent lots of time outside, and it's just beautiful here. The flowers are blooming and so are a lot of the trees. Q is pointing to an "air pane" as he calls it.
Time out for Women--I went with some friends to Indianapolis for a fun weekend. It was just over 4 hours south of here and we enjoyed lots of girl talk and being able to go places without the kids. It was great. Thanks Jeff for watching Quinn!!

Our hotel was right downtown, next to the capitol

We ate at Buca di Beppo for lunch and got to sit at the table right in the kitchen. We got great service and had so much fun!
The Colt's stadium--this one is for you Brooklyn!
We went with some friends to the Botanical Gardens and Quinn had to do everything the big kids were doing.
oh boy...

Looking at the "ish" (fish)
Fun with friends!

King of the Hill--Quinn loves playing on this sewer thing in front of our house
Boys will be boys...this boy loves his sticks!!

Now it's off to Disneyland tomorrow! We can hardly wait!!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-08T13:10:00.000-07:00

Did I mention Quinn LOVES stickers???

We had a fun Easter weekend although we didn't to too much. We mainly watched conference, but on Sunday we had an Easter dinner with some of our friends. The dinner was delicious and we were so proud of us for having a "mom" Easter dinner. It turned out great! We didn't have any other real Eastery activities, but it was still a good weekend to remind us of the wonderful gift our Savior has given to us. Conference was great as usual. I sure felt the huge responsibility I have as a mother to teach Q and help him to stay strong and focused on what's really important. It's scary to think about, but I'm so glad we have leaders to help and cheer us along. I'm so grateful for the opportunity I have to be a mom!

Enjoying the yummy food!
All the fixin's...mmm
I made name cards so it would be somewhat festive
Jeffy being a good man of the house and carving the ham!
The cute cupcakes our friend Diana made
It has been really nice weather here over the past week or so. We have spent lots of time outside. Too bad it has kind of cooled off again :(
Quinn and our neighbor Jaxson out riding bikes.

All About Quinn

2010-04-01T05:00:00.000-07:00

So I have a bunch of random pictures of Quinn that I have never posted from the past month or so. I never really gave an update from his year old doctor visit, and that's when I usually post the pictures, so sorry. He did very well for receiving 5 shots! He's a tough little man that just went right back to doing his thing after the shots. He weighed 26 lbs 1 oz and was 30 inches long. So he continues to grow even though he looks so skinny! He is losing all his baby fat and looking so old. It makes me so sad. His thighs are no longer thunder thighs, and he is starting to have a neck. I guess they are all good things, but so sad! We are enjoying the nice weather and love being outside. He is really into books right now which is good, but kind of hard when he follows you around with a book crying for you to read it to him when you are trying to get things done! He also has started dancing whenever he hears music and it's funny to watch. He is so fun to have around the house, even when the stupid birds wake him up at 6:30...where's the shot gun when I need it!! Anyways, in backwards order, here are a few pictures of what Q has been up to.

One of his favorite new games...At least he helps me clean up--sort of...
Playing at a indoor bounce place. He liked running around better than jumping and going down the slides.
This was the only place he would stand by himself because there was a blow up monkey that he loved
Matching Dad--they are best buds!
Learning new tricks...I hope he's not going to be a climber!
Baking fun?? He was not impressed by the flying flour!
Loving his new ball toy!
Fun at the gymnastics meet against the UofU. Sorry, we are still cheering for the BLUE!!
Cuddly Q! We find him like this quite often at night. Upside down and snuggled into all his stuffed animals. He's so funny!

Wedding Fun!

2010-03-23T08:08:00.000-07:00

We had such a fun time with our family and friends in Utah/Idaho! Jesse and Marissa had a wonderful wedding day. They both looked so happy! We are so excited for their new life together. Q got spoiled, of course, by all his aunts, uncles, and grandparents. It's so fun to see him interact with his little cousins, too. Thanks everybody for making our trip so fun!

PS Megan's blog has more pictures of our fun time in Kaysville. I was kind of a slacker with the camera this trip!

The newlyweds!
Jeff and Q trying to stay dry at the temple--it was beautiful weather the day before, but it was raining/snowing their wedding day. We got soaked at the temple, but I guess it adds to the memories, right??
The luncheon
Quinn and Macie at the reception. They looked so cute and had so much fun playing together!
Our handsome little man in his new suit!!
Family and Friends at the reception
Grandma and Grandpa Great Jensen
The three brothers
Our family--this was taken at the end, so we were all pretty tired
Jeff was only in Utah from Friday night to early Sunday morning. It was a quick trip for him, but I'm glad he was able to make it out. Q and I headed up to Boise on Sunday afternoon.

Annie and Q having a snack
Bath buddies!! Annie is like a little water dog in the bathtub. Q was kind of traumatized for a couple of days, but he's all good now. She is absolutely hilarious to watch!!
Out doing our traditional walk along the river
With this probably being our last trip to Boise before my mom and dad come home, we realized we had never taken any pictures of the Boise temple. We had a good time walking around it the night before we left. It's weird to think it has already been three years since my parents have been on their mission. I will be so glad to have them home, but it has been really fun visiting them in Boise.

Photo Shoot

2010-03-04T05:04:00.000-08:00

My wonderful neighbor and friend took Q's one year old pictures the other day. I think they turned out pretty darn good for us just kind of messing around! Thanks Yolanda!

This one is hilarious because it reminds me of a senior picture pose!

In other news, Q is under the weather right now. We have had a couple of fun outdoor adventures in the past couple of weeks, and I think it has caught up to him. He has bronchitis and a sinus infection. He had to have a couple of breathing treatments at the doctor and now he has an inhaler at home. He hates it! I hope we can get him on top of things before our trip home for Jesse's wedding! We are sure getting excited!!

Traverse City

2010-02-25T20:32:00.001-08:00

Jeff has this week off from school, so we have been trying to take advantage of it! We headed up north to Traverse City for a couple of days. It's right on Lake Michigan and it was beautiful...cold but beautiful! It was a very relaxing and fun to spend time just with our little family. Now we can't wait to visit in the summer!

Quinn trying to get dad up for an early morning swim
So excited to get in the water
Loving it!
Dad did finally make it! Yeah!
We went to the Sleepy Bear Dunes National Park snow shoeing.
Quinn got rides from dad...
It was so pretty! I won't lie, I was on the watch for the bears..ha ha
and Mom!
The beautiful view at the top! It was crazy how bad the wind was blowing out on the point. Q was not amused!
So worth it!
Glad to be on the way back down--Isn't that just the cutest face!
Downtown Traverse-We froze walking up and down the streets as all the stores were closed by 6:00!
Some cool snow sculptures
Q riding the carousel at the mall. It went soo fast for being soo old...
This is where we ended up!

The Pre and Post Birthday Bashes

2010-02-16T05:49:00.003-08:00

So we had a fun week looking forward to Q's big day. We started off by going to Chuck-E-Cheeses for morning out with our ward.

Cruising around
Q loving Chuck
Not too sure about this ride
His favorite ride--next to the slide that's behind him
Playing a little slammer game

Then we had to make Valentine's cookies for our little Valentine Man! It was our first time trying to cook together. It was lots of fun, but got kind of messy...Q just loved it!

Lets hope he enjoys washing the dishes this much when he gets older!
He got a hold of the first one frosted. I thought this would be it...
But the frosting was just too much fun!
Then they even tasted good, so it just got worse!
He was not a happy camper when I took it away finally!

Then yesterday, we headed to the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit. Lots and lots of things to see and do there!!

The whole crew at the museum. It was free since it was a holiday, so of course we would go!!
Q and his surrogate aunt Becca!

Posing in front of one of the President's cars
The Wright brother's first plane
"All-A-Board!"

Ethan, Q, Amy and Lucy
He loved running around--if that's what you call going too fast and falling all the time...
Trying to build some cars

Quinn's 1st Birthday Bash!!

2010-02-15T04:26:00.000-08:00

Our little man turned 1 year old yesterday! I can hardly believe it! I can't believe how fast our baby boy is growing up. We had a little party with some of our friends. My cousin Courtney and her friend Steve even made a trip from Chicago for the party! It was soo nice to have family here, too!! We did a sports theme, but really just a "ball" theme since that is Q's favorite!

Q and his friends after a competitive game of pin-the-football-between-the-goal-post game! Yes, Q is WALKING!!
I was pretty proud of myself for how the cake turned out. Thanks for all your help Diana!
Blowing out the candle.
Not quite sure what to do with everyone staring at him...
Starting to figure it out...
Having fun...
Showing off...
The finished product! I love it!
Getting all cleaned off in the kitchen sink

Present time!
I think he got more for his birthday than he did for Christmas! Thanks everyone!!
Carrie, Kaylie and Andrea
Courtney!!
Becca loving the cake!
Yolanda and Andrea--Their husbands were all there, too, but I just didn't get any pictures of them!

Go Blue!

2010-02-04T19:44:00.000-08:00

We had a great weekend! We started Saturday by going to the temple with our ward. They provided a nursery at the chapel next to the temple, so it was great! It was the first time Jeff and I had been to the temple together since Q was born. It was really special being there with practically all people we knew, it's a small temple so our ward basically had the whole place reserved, and the sealers were even both from our ward. It was wonderful! We hit the big Troy mall after, then headed into Detroit to watch the Michigan vs Michigan State hockey game. It was at the arena the Red Wings play at, and it was so fun. Hockey is like THE sport out here, so it was funny to watch all the fans get into it. M ended up winning by a last minute goal! It was a blast!

I know we are a little early for the front facing car seat, but lets just say the little man is a LOT happier this way!

The area was a lot bigger than I thought it would be

We sat by some of the other dental students. They provided us with some good entertainment, too. Example: one was passed out before the game even started...
Some more friends from the ward/school, Chris and Diana.
Q loved the cheers

Just before we left, so we all look worn out

Treadmill!!

2010-01-27T11:12:00.000-08:00

So today, we got our new treadmill! We are so excited and hope it will be good motivation to get in better shape. (or should I say, "get in shape") We got one for Christmas and we were so excited to get it all put up and get going. Well, two Saturdays ago, Jeff spent 3 hours putting it together. We go to get on it, and let's just say, we weren't feeling too skinny. The machine would be going, but as soon as you got on it, it would stop! So Jeff called the company and spent another hour on the phone, and it still didn't work. Needless to say, Jeff decided we should just take it back, get a new one, and have them put it together. So, we looked around, found one, got it delivered and assembled (here for a total of 25 min), and IT WORKS! I am so excited!

Jeff and Quinn putting together the first one
Quinn's gated area
Quinn escaping the gated area
Not pictures of the disappointment, but here is our WORKING one!

In other random news, we went with some friends to the Melting Pot on Saturday. It was restaurant week and most of the really nice restaurants downtown offer great deals. We had a fabulous time! No wonder we need a treadmill after eating so much!

Our dinner party
Yummy dessert! Don't worry, we didn't leave any leftovers!!
We had a great date night!

11 Months Old...WOW!

2010-01-14T08:27:00.000-08:00

Well, today our little Q man is now only a month away from being one. I am trying not to think about that too hard because it makes me sad to think our baby is growing up. He is getting to be so fun though. It seems like he cracks me up over about anything he does. His new favorite things are going for the entertainment center and going up the stairs, both of which are a no no...go figure. His favorite time of the day is having his clothes off and the worst part is getting dressed. He seriously turns into a whole new boy when those clothes come off. Socks do NOT stay on this kid! He can take them off with ease! He is saying "hi" all the time and it's hilarious. He loves pushing things around as he is crawling, and his new thing is pushing them over the ledge of our little step and waiting for us to go and get it. (He has already learned the hard way that he can't get his toys after he pushes them over the edge) The weirdest things set him off into laughing hysterically. For example the other day we were looking out the window looking at some birds and so I was trying to get him to say "bird". So every time I would say "bird" he would just start laughing. It was sooo funny! As you can tell, we are just head over heels with Quinn! We feel so blessed to have such a happy, fun baby.

And he has found another place to play...oh boy.
He is just loving life!!
He thinks he is so big going up these stairs!

Trying out the big boy cup--more water landed on his shirt than in his mouth

He is getting so close to walking and I don't know if I'm ready for it!

We're Back!

2010-01-05T08:36:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! It's crazy how fast the holidays come and go! We had a fabulous trip over the holidays, but it sure feels good to be back home. We got to see lots of family and friends, do lots of fun things, and eat lots of yummy food! We are now trying to get back in the swing of things. It's hard having Jeff go back to school, and trying to come up with things to cook! Quinn is glad to be back in his own bed, but is missing all of the attention he got from all our family. We have lots of pictures, so I'll just kind of update what we did by the pictures. Thank you so much to our family for a wonderful Christmas! We were so spoiled and we so appreciate all you do for us!

Quinn and I started in Boise for a week. Grandma and Grandpa had to show him off to all their neighbors!
We saw Mrs. Claus
Q wiped out after two days of zone conferences
This is Q's new cheesy smile! It's hilarious!! The last year of my mom and dad's missionary Christmas tree.
Last night with Grandpa...Let's just say they bonded one night when Grandpa babysat for a couple hours...Dirty diapers, screaming in the car seat...Thanks Grandpa!
Quinn loved all the attention from Grandma Yardley! She's so great!
Quinn and Uncle Rob. They are best buddies
We got to see the Allen's while we were in Kaysville. They are so cute!
Macie and Quinn really bonded! ha ha
I love it!
Quinn was hilarious on Santa's lap at the Jensen Family Christmas Party. I guess after three Santa's he had the routine down. He was so excited and put on quite the show!
Grandpa and Grandma Great Jensen
We went to Richfield for a little family party with my family. It was fun to get together again.
Cute Annie! I think she is starting to look more like her mom!!
Noah is growing soo much. He is such a good boy! I feel bad I didn't take more pictures at Stacee's house...
Christmas Morning! Q was the first one up!
Jeff enjoying Grandpa Jensen's Christmas present--an AK-47! They got to enjoy it a couple of times. They went rabbit hunting one day and then to the shooting range another day.
Quinn loved his new piano from Aunt Meg!
Our family on Quinn's first Christmas!
Quinn's customized clothes from Uncle Luke. There is a song called "Quinn the Eskimo" and so Luke made Quinn some adorable clothes.
Enjoying Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa Great Haws
Bowling!
So cute!
Quinn loved the Merry-Go-Round with Aunt Brooklyn!
Jeff and Matt taking in some games, too.
Grandma and Megan watching the babies while we braved the go-carts in the freezing weather
Uncle Matt and Quinn at the aquarium
Grandma's favorite--the jelly fish...and Quinn :)
Quinn could hardly take his eyes off the fish!
Touching the sting rays

Jesse, Marissa, Megan and Jeff playing with the sting rays. We are so excited for Jesse and Marissa! We get to go back in March for their wedding!!Bath time! SO much fun!!
Playing with bubbles with Grandma Jensen! She always has fun things to do! Quinn just adores her!
One of Quinn's new tricks. He thinks he's pretty big!
Our family welcoming in the New Year!
One of Q's new favorite things was looking at the Christus statues. He tries to say "Jesus" and it's so cute! We tried to take him down to see the big one on Temple Square, but it was closed...It was a fun time anyways. Grandma, Jeff, Quinn, Matt, Megan and Grandpa
The Salt Lake Temple

Macie turned 1! I can't even believe how fast that happened. She had a fun party and we got to see our grandparents again before we left.

Q would not leave Macie alone while she was opening her presents. He was not happy with me for not letting him in on all the action!
Quinn and one of his best buddies again!
The birthday girl! So CUTE!

10 Months Old!

2009-12-10T13:35:00.001-08:00

I know it's a little early, but since we won't be here next week, I wanted to catch up on what Quinn has been up to over the past month. He is sure growing and getting to be lots of fun. He has such a fun personality and I love it! He now has the crawling thing pretty much down , and is now starting to pull himself up to things. We got the go ahead at his last doctor appointment to feed him pretty much whatever, and he is loving it! His new favorite food is mandarin oranges. He has had a bad cough and a runny nose, and I'm just hoping it doesn't last the whole winter. He loves yelling, "DADDY" at the top of his lungs, and continues to be an overall happy baby. He still loves being with his mommy, but I'm glad he will go to other people, too. We went and saw Santa the other day, and I think he and another boy were the only ones that dared to sit on Santa's lap without crying. It was hilarious to watch him stare Santa down! We sure love our little man!!
Quinn is starting to find himself in all kinds of crazy situations. He liked this until he realized he couldn't stand up straight and he got stuck!
He likes to attack dad!!
One of his new favorite places to play...
I usually find all the utensils emptied! At least it gives me time to clean dinner up!!

Michigan Christmas

2009-12-10T13:15:00.000-08:00

Santa decided to drop by a little early at our house this year. He must have known that we would have to pack everything back here after the holidays, so he came a couple of weeks early! Quinn and I are leaving for the holidays on Saturday, and so we celebrated our little Christmas as a family on Sunday. It was so much fun. Quinn didn't really know what was going on, but he has been enjoying his new toys. He would rip off a piece of paper, and then just play with it instead of opening the rest of the present. It's probably for the best that he is opening his presents in shifts since he didn't even make it through our little party. We had a fun time with our little family, but we are sure excited to be with everyone in a couple of weeks!
As a little update, Jeff has just been crazy busy with finals. He will of had like seven tests just this week, and they continue on into next week. He has worked so hard and I know he is sure excited for a break. Like I said, Q and I are heading to Boise on Saturday to spend some time with my parents, and then we will meet Jeff in Utah next Saturday. We will be gone for three weeks, and so I am not really knowing how to pack everything, and so I'm putting it off! I just hope we make it out there okay and we don't get too many crusty looks on the plane. It has sure turned off cold here, so I guess that means winter is officially here! We want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! We love you all and hope you have a wonderful holiday season!!!

Quinn playing with his new bead toy

Q and Dad showing off his new cars!
More fun!

Santa brought Jeff some new weights
Grandma and Grandpa Yardley got Q a new basketball game!

Thanksgiving!!

2009-12-02T12:07:00.000-08:00

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving in Boise with my family this year. It was a very quick trip, but we were so glad we were able to go. It was so weird flying through SLC and not getting picked up! We missed Jeff's family, but we are sure looking forward to Christmas. Quinn did pretty good on the plane although I am getting really nervous to fly by myself with him next week. He was younger when I did it before and he just likes to move. I'm sure it will be okay, but I'm nervous. Anyways, back to Boise, my whole family was there and although it is always chaotic, it's SOO fun. All of our nieces and nephews are getting so big. We had fun eating, having a talent show, getting family pictures, and swimming. Jeff even went with us to New Moon! (he secretly LOVED it, but he won't admit it :) ) I left feeling an overload of gratitude for all my many blessings. Thanks mom and dad for having us. Just think, next year you'll be in good ole Panguitch!!

Annie, Hailey and Quinn playing
I just love being a mom and an aunt!
Q loved the sweet potatoes!!
Luke, Nina, Grandma and Alexis playing with legos
Q loves his Grandpa Yardley! and Alexis, too!!
I can't believe how big these guys are! Alexis, Noah and Marissa
Carter, Hailey, Annie and Q having some fun
These guys are going to be such good friends!
Aunt Stac and Q
The look on Q's face most of the time he's crawling...
We just love this face!
Not too sure about this one though...

Before we left for Thanksgiving, we went and found the Detroit Temple. It is small, but so beautiful. It was fun to finally find it and look around for a minute. We then went to a cool mall, that's huge, so if those two things don't entice you to come and visit, I don't know what will!!

9 Months!

2009-11-19T12:18:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe it has been nine months since Valentine's, I mean Q's birthday! Those first few weeks were the longest of my life, but now here we are, nine months later, and feel so blessed to have Quinn in our family. He is what can make us laugh when we really need it or can make us crazy, when we really don't! J/K We had his 9 month doctor visit yesterday and we found out all is going well. The best part was there were no shots! Yeah! Here are his stats:
Weight: 23 lbs. 3 oz (85%)
Height: 28 in. (59%)
Head: 46.5 cm 82%)
This was his first time not being in the 95% or above on the weight, so I guess that means he is starting to be more active. He still feels like he weighs a ton though! Here is some new cool things Q has been up to:
-He loves to shake his head no
-He takes deep breaths and then wants to you do it back, and he thinks it's hilarious
-He now loves going "gucky" in the tub...
-He is CRAWLING! Slowly, but surely. He gets frustrated after only a couple crawls. He still doesn't quite get that means freedom...
-He is standing while holding onto things. Occasionally he will pull himself up
-He HATES getting in the car seat!
-He loves playing will balls
-He now has 6 teeth
-He is going through a skip-afternoon-nap phase...I hope that's all it is!
-He is still really social and loves being around other people--that means lots of friendly yells in the grocery store!
-He looks when we point to things
-His new favorite songs are: Popcorn Popping and the Wheels on the Bus
-He said Ma Ma for a day, and now my neighbor thinks he says a-ee instead of mom
-He LOVES when his dad comes home!
-He is making lots of new sounds. One of my favorites is "sss"
-He loves to talk to his grandparents, aunts and uncles on the phone

There are lots of other fun things that Q is doing right now. It seems like things just suddenly click and he can do or say certain things. He has been kind of clingy with me lately, but I'm hoping that's only a phase, too. We are sure excited to be with our families for the holidays. We miss them so much!

Our homey, Q
Quinn loved playing in this box!

I love this picture!

One of the tricks his dad taught him...
Watch out!
He loves to bang his balls on the floor. If it's on the carpet, he will move to the hard floor so he can make it louder!
Him frustrated. We have seen this quite often lately...
Q and I took the sister missionaries into Detroit to the Science Center. They had the "Accidental Mummy" exhibit from Mexico that was pretty cool. Q didn't love them though. He had lots more fun in the kids area!
Q loving the mirrors
This looks weird, but he kept trying to lean over to see the ground.

Beware of the Lion...

2009-11-02T08:14:00.000-08:00

We had such fun Halloween! Quinn didn't know what to think of his costume at first, but he started to finally enjoy it. We actually got to get him dressed up three times. Some of our friends had a party for just the little guys on Thursday, and that was fun. Q and I went trick-or-treating down main street on Friday afternoon with some friends. I guess they do that every year, and it was fun to see inside all the downtown shops and restaurants. That will definitely become a tradition for us. Then on Friday night our community had a little Halloween parade and party. We were kind of costumed out by actual Halloween and since it was so cold, we decided to go to the UM volleyball game. It was a blast!

Q, Me, Andrea and Lucas trick-or-treating downtown

Aren't they cute!
Our happy little lion
Jeff and Q on the Halloween Parade
Q holding his trick-or-treats
Ethan, Q and Jaxson loving their costumes
Thanks for the cute pajama's Grandma and Grandpa!
Q got a signed volleyball from the All-American!
Even though he had crazy hair, everyone was giving him lots of attention!
Go Blue!
Q has already started working out...his new push up trick!

Q and I also went to the hands-on museum with some friends. Quinn really liked looking at all the cool things and just watching the other kids play.

Liam, Q, Ethan, and Lucy playing with the blocks
Q enjoying the tornado
Quinn and Asher just talking on the phone!
Quinn liked eating the rocks better than just holding them!
The boys playing in the back of an ambulance
Most of us just before we left.
We had to have one more photo shoot in the leaves...Q loves playing in them!
I like this one because you can kind of see his top teeth. He has been grinding his teeth lately, and it gives me the chills...I don't know what to do!!!

Fall Fun

2009-10-22T04:24:00.000-07:00

Our family went to an apple orchard on Tuesday for Jeff's class activity. Most of the activities are bar related, so I'm glad they set up a more family friendly activity! It was in Plymouth and it was beautiful! They had a petting zoo, a wagon ride, pumpkin patches, and donuts! What more could we ask for?? Q and I were really glad Jeff was able to go with us! We had such a fun time with him over his two day break. I feel bad for him because it was so short that we couldn't do too much, but not long enough to really make him feel like he had a break. He is right back in the swing of things with four tests between today and tomorrow. I don't know how he does it. We are so proud of him though! Anyways, we had lots of fun and were sooo glad it was finally a nice fall day! Oh, Q's got another new tooth!! Maybe that explains all the yelling...

These beautiful trees are in the park by our house

We LOVE this hilarious picture of Q!

Dad and Q getting ready for the wagon ride
Quinn wanted to play with the pumpkins more than pose with them...

This is back behind the orchard. It's beautiful!
Quinn learned how to go down the slide yesterday! He gets excited and it takes about three reaches for him to finally get going, but he loved it!

We had a good time playing in all the leaves!! I love this picture! The leave in the mouth pretty much explains where everything goes with Q.
Even though I complain a lot, I feel so blessed to have this happy, healthy little boy. We love him SO much!

The rest...

2009-10-14T10:21:00.000-07:00

Quinn and I went with some friends from our ward to Wasum's Fruit Farm and picked raspberries and apples. It was cold, but lots of fun!

Q with some apples

All the apple picking wore Q out! Here we are with all our apples. That sure went a lot faster than picking the raspberries!

One of Q's new cute but cheesy smiles.
The boys just chillin'!

Q loving the fall

We love you Elmo!
He loved it in his little toy box. Yeah! Somewhere else to entertain him.
He loves brushing his teeth. His very independent when it comes to this!
Quinn enjoying the soccer game.

More to come...

2009-10-14T09:11:00.000-07:00

I have lots more pictures to post, but it won't let me post any pictures. So annoying. I will try later I guess so I don't kill our computer...

8 Months Old!

2009-10-14T08:16:00.000-07:00

Wow! Where has the time gone? The weeks go by so slow, but all of the sudden, Q is eight months. He is growing so fast and is lots of fun. He now has the rolling thing pretty good. He started out only rolling to the right, but he can now go to the left if he really wants to. He is jabbering more and more. He has started to be a yeller lately, too. He not only yells when he is mad, he also has a happy yell. He can get pretty loud. Most of the time people are pretty aware of where we are when we go anywhere. He now has four teeth. Two on top and two on the bottom. He thinks that he can eat anything that we are eating and gets mad when we don't let him try things. He's not picky so far! His new favorite toy is Tickle Me Elmo. He loves watching him and then he tries to wrestle him. He continues to love being outside, but it has been so cold lately that we haven't made it out yet. He also loves watching slideshows on the computer. He squeals and shakes with excitement as he sees all his long lost family! He always has a smile for people in the store. He is quite the flirt! I think he is getting a little cold, but it's hard to know since he kind of acted like this when he was getting his teeth so I don't know. It has made him super clingy and that has been kind of hard. He has a new high pitch whine that is driving me crazy. Let's hope he gets feeling better soon. He sure is a lot of fun though. We love him so much and it's so fun to watch him grow!

Quinn loves the two neighbor boys, Jaxson and Ethan.

This is how I find Q quite often. I first hear a thump, thump, thump which is his head banging on the door as he is trying to roll over. He usually gets mad when he gets stuck!
I guess it's time to child proof the house...
We went and watched Jaxson's soccer game in the pouring rain!

Jeff's White Coat Ceremony!

2009-09-28T07:54:00.000-07:00

We had a fun weekend with Jeff's family who came out for Jeff's white coat ceremony. Jodie came a day earlier than Scott and Matt and so we went to the Toledo, OH zoo with some friends. It was so fun! The animals were more active than I have ever seen. The polar bear kept jumping in the water, there were like six gorillas, one of which (the biggest) made eye contact with me (freaky!), and Quinn loved the aquarium they had. We had lots of fun! Grandma and Grandpa sure spoiled Quinn!! The ceremony was cool. The significance is that they can now go into the clinic and start assisting. It was kind of funny that they didn't shake their hands because they didn't want to help spread the swine flu. hmm... After, Jeff gave us a tour of the dental school and we got to see where he spends all his time. It was cool. To celebrate, we went to the Melting Pot for dinner. It was sooo good! On Saturday Jeff, Scott and Matt all went to the football game. They had second row seats! They enjoyed the win that's for sure. Jodie and I went shopping and we had a good time. We were so sad to see them go. Today Q is having withdrawls. He is having a hard time with me even setting him down! Thanks for coming and for spoiling us!
In Q news, he is now rolling all over! He only likes to roll to the right, but at least he is doing it. His top two teeth are trying to come in, and with that, he has had a bad cough and a runny nose which has not been fun. He is starting to wake up soo early, too. I don't know what to do to help him sleep longer. He is already going to bed after nine and I don't want to push it back any further, so who knows?!?!? He is clapping and has this little grunt that is so cute. He is growing so fast, but we love every minute of it!

Jeff getting "coated" I guess???
Quinn sure loves his dad!
The fam
All of us after the ceremony
These are some of Jeff's classmates--David and Bryan
Quinn loved all the attention he got from Grandma, Grandpa, and Matt!
Jeff's lab area
Jeff showing us the things he's working on
This is the classroom he spends all his days...Poor guy!
Just out in front of the dental school
The boys going to the game
We even went on a date!
The gang at the zoo!
Jodie, Q, and I by the polar bears
Grandma and Quinn looking at the elephants
Q and the huge Gorilla
Ya, we made eye contact, and it kind of scared me!

7 Months Old!

2009-09-14T06:45:00.000-07:00

Holy Cow! Our little man is seven months old! Where did the time go? He is growing so fast and is so fun! He is getting such a fun personality and we love having him around. Here is what Q has been up to:
-He loves waking up at 7am sharp and then going for a walk
-He loves spitting
-He is jabbering a lot, and one of his favorites is "da da da da" (Jeff LOVES it!)
-He now has two teeth! The other bottom tooth came in
-He likes to communicate with grunts--he has happy ones and mad ones!
-He has to try everything we are eating. So far, he's not too picky!
-He LOVES being outside
-He is still not a fan of being on his stomach (I don't think he will ever crawl!)
-He has started to take steps if you hold him up and start walking
-He gets soo excited when he sees his bottle--it actually starts when he sees it in the microwave
-He is just wearing his helmet at night--we went to the new helmet place out here, and didn't have a great experience so Jeff and I made the decision to just do this for a while.
-He hates getting his face washed off!
-He loves bath time
-He gets so excited that he starts to shake and his hands go crazy! It's so cute!
-He is also learning how to freak out when he doesn't get his own way!

Well, that's kind of what he has been up to over the past few weeks. It is so much fun watching him grow and learn. I never thought it would be this much fun to be a mom. Don't get me wrong, I have my moments of frustration and exhaustion, but overall, I just love being Quinn's mom!

This is Quinn doing his pilates. It's hilarious! (you can't really tell, but his head is off the ground too)
One of his new favorite places to play. He loves looking outside and watching the squirrels and birds.
All ready for church
Loving bath time!
This is an example of how fast his mood can change. One second he's happy...
The NEXT second, this...
Some more pictures may be coming soon. I'm getting annoyed trying to get some off my phone, so maybe I will try later!

Happy Birthday Jeff!

2009-09-14T06:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Jeff's big 26th birthday! We went to dinner on Saturday night, and then went to church to celebrate I guess... I tried to be creative, which I am not, and made him a tooth birthday cake. It was at least fun and gave me something to do. Hope you had a good day babe! Thanks for all you do!

Labor Day Weekend

2009-09-09T13:51:00.000-07:00

We had a fun weekend! It started with going to the season opening football game. It was so fun. There is so much tradition here. Quinn and I went for a run that morning, and they were already tailgating. Ya, it was 7:00 am and the game didn't even start until 3:30 pm! I made the comment that they started early around here, and these guys informed me that I was late! We went up by the stadium just to see what was going on, and there were cars lined up to get in the golf course to park. It was crazy! It's a little different atmosphere than the BYU games with the smoking and drinking, but overall, it was so cool. We couldn't believe how big the stadium was. There were over 109,000 people in there! Our neighbors watched Q for us, and we sure appreciated that. We came back with some friends and LOVED the BYU game. They finally won a big game! We have to admit that was probably our favorite game of the day!

Our pre-game BBQ (don't ask me why I am standing so weird...)
At the game

The team warming up

On Monday we took a trip to Kirtland, Oh! We are only about three hours away, and so we decided we better take advantage of that. We went to the temple first. It is still owned by the Community of Christ (RLDS), but they do have a tour that goes through the temple. It is amazing it is still standing so well, and it was so neat to think of the early saints worshiping in there. They gave us more of the history of the building, and then as we went to the LDS sights, we got more info on the meaning and the purpose of some of the things in the temple. There really is a special feeling there. I had no idea of how much really happened in Kirtland. So many revelations and lessons learned there. The missionary said it well; the temple was built in Nauvoo, but the church was built in Kirtland. We didn't get to go to all the sights, so we will have to go back for sure! We drove right through Cleveland and saw the arena for the Cavs and the stadium for the Indians, so I'm betting we will be going back for those events, too!

Quinn and I in front of the temple. Right as we came out, it started POURING rain! We got drenched!!

Jeff and Quinn at the LDS sights
The fam in front of the Newel K. Whitney store
Inside the store--I love this picture!
In the store, but upstairs. This table is the original. The Prophet Joseph would have sat at this table!
In front of the Newel K. Whitney home